No other game, none of the vaunted Pokémon and Digimon games, at least from those years, comes even close to the depth and complexity of MR2. The game features incredible mechanics, with stress and fatigue driving your monster's growth and development. Achieving a balanced raising style is the most difficult part of the game! There's also an intricate battle system. While apparently basic, it actually features many different types of moves, with diverse effects, that need to be well understood to succeed. MR2 is definitely the best game of the whole series, and maybe of the entire genre.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I've been playing this game to pass the time until the release of another game, and it's been really fun. You can most if not all the disks in your household to create a monster for you to raise, (And you can even use this game's disc itself to get a pretty solid monster) and it doesn't take long for your monster to become a powerful and reliable fighter, given that you raise it well. And with so many types and variants of monsters and ways to raise them, it'll be a long time until you run out of things to do. A great purchase for retro game fans and virtual monster fans alike.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Monster Rancher 2 is the sweet spot when it comes creature raising games. There are 38 main types of monsters you can raise as well as numerous sub-breeds. In all you can raise 391 different types of monsters (there are 408 in the game if you count opponents). You might think that all the sub-breeds are identical to the pure other than appearance, but that isn't true. The lifespan, stat gains, and even some techniques are different. Monster Rancher isn't some level grind forever creature raising game, your monster actually has a life span and you need to make the most of raising you monster by having it perform drills to boost stats, sending it on errantries where it can learn new techniques, sending it on expeditions where it can find unique items, and fighting in tournaments to win money and gain fame. To start you can either get one of three creatures from town to start your game or 'spin a disc'. Take any CD (no DVDs) and go to the shrine and spin the disc to unlock the creature. It may not open if it's a type you don't have access to yet, there are certain requirements to unlock the ability to raise some breeds (like upgrading the property, finding an item on an errantry, or defeating that creature it battle). Once you have a creature you go to the ranch and begin raising it. You determine what to feed the monster, what items to give it, and what it does: drills, errantries, expeditions, or battles. Ultimately you want to get to S class, win the major 4 and win the fight to enter the hall of fame. Monsters have 6 stats (Life, Power, Intelligence, Skill, Speed, and Defense) that can be improved up to 999. The number of techniques depends on the monster, some have only 9 while others can learn more than 20. And one day your monster will die, but don't worry, you reload the save before that happens and go to town and freeze your monster. You can have up to 10 frozen monsters. Once you have at least 2 frozen monsters you can choose to combine them to make a new one (it will be some combination of the existing breeds of the monsters you choose). It's a percentage based chance on the result, so you can reload and try again if you weren't happy with what you got. Why freeze and combine, well you can have a lot better starting stats and more techniques. You can also add ingredients to boost stats or create unique monsters. You can also battle your frozen monsters against each other or your friends. Many things play into the lifespan and performance of your monster: Stress level, Fatigue, Form (skinny, normal, fat, etc.) Nature (Good, Neutral, Evil, etc.) Raising style (Harsh, Doting, etc.) and Special abilities (Grit, Anger, Power, etc.) There is just so much more depth and involvement to Monster Rancher 2 than any other monster simulation game I've seen. And the gameplay formula is done very well. I have raised over 100 monsters to date and still raise a couple more from time to time. Not bad for a 1999 PS game! And it is possible to raise awesome monsters, some of my personal best are: Pebbly (Wracky-Golem) 922-999-999-936-999-999 Garuda (Durahan-Phoenix) 835-999-999-939-752-951 Big Blue (Golem-Tiger) 668-966-722-911-999-903 Jell (Jell-Jell) 799-615-999-943-766-999 Plated Arrow(Arrowhead-Durahan) 881-999-662-821-821-858 Bottom line, this game is AWESOME!!! Buy and Enjoy!Read full review
I had this game 18 years ago and fell in love with it. I am older so I feel this game is by far easier for someone like myself. Better art and playing than the first two (Monster Rancher and Monster Rancher Card). Easy saves, CD's help and I was hold it can be played on most P.S. models. Mine is a PS1.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Compared to the first monster rancher this game is quite an upgrade. The monster raising mechanics are more complex making it harder, there are more monsters than ever before and tons of secret monsters even compared to the first one. Monster Rancher 2 might be the best game in the monster rancher series.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Video Games