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Monster Rancher 4

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Monster Rancher 4
North American box art
Developer(s)Tecmo
Publisher(s)Tecmo
SeriesMonster Rancher
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: August 14, 2003
  • NA: November 17, 2003[1]
Genre(s)Life simulation game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Monster Rancher 4 (known in Japan as Monster Farm 4 (モンスターファーム4, Monsutā Fāmu Fō)) is a monster breeding and management game that was released by Tecmo for the PlayStation 2 in 2003.

Gameplay

Like the previous installments, this game involves the raising, breeding, and fighting of monsters. Monsters are created via a "Saucer Stone" regeneration system. There are several methods to obtaining a monster. Players must go to the Shrine, where they can choose their preferred method to generate a monster. One is the disc method where the player swaps the Monster Rancher 4 disc with a CD, DVD, or another game disc. A monster is then generated from the data contained on that disc. The next method is through in-game disc stones. Which can be obtained from adventures or tournaments. A pre-determined monster will then be generated based on the specific disc stone. Once the monster has been generated, their data is recorded in the encyclopedia. Players can then regenerate any monster that has been recorded in the encyclopedia at any point. Once a player regenerates a monster, they can raise it on a ranch, and train it to compete in battles. The limit for monsters depend on the size of their ranch but the maximum is five monsters.

Premise

Monster Rancher 4 is the first game in the series to be story-driven. Breeder rank progression is no longer tied to beating official tournaments, but by progressing the main story. The playable character is no longer silent, and has the default name "Phayne." The story centers around Phayne, who is offered a job working on a ranch, and the mysterious girl Rio, who has the abnormal ability to talk to monsters. Rio eventually works alongside Phayne on the ranch, and once a mysterious man by the name of Mr. K appears at their doorstep, the real plot begins to unfold.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2]

IGN ranked it as the 88th best PlayStation 2 game. The staff praised its improvements over its predecessors.[12]

References

  1. ^ Lewis, Ed (2003-10-24). "Monster Rancher 4 Pushed Back". IGN. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  2. ^ a b "Monster Rancher 4 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Edge staff (January 2004). "Monster Rancher 4". Edge. No. 132. p. 106.
  4. ^ EGM staff (January 2004). "Monster Rancher 4". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 174. p. 142.
  5. ^ Reiner, Andrew (December 2003). "Monster Rancher Action Adventure 4 [sic]". Game Informer. No. 128. p. 145. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Manny LaMancha (November 4, 2003). "Monster Rancher 4 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Davis, Ryan (December 2, 2003). "Monster Rancher 4 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Tha Wiz (November 24, 2003). "Monster Rancher 4 Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (November 18, 2003). "Monster Rancher 4". IGN. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  10. ^ Steinman, Gary (December 2003). "Monster Rancher 4". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Archived from the original on March 25, 2004. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  11. ^ "Review: Monster Rancher 4". PSM. December 25, 2003. p. 40.
  12. ^ "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games (Monster Rancher 4 - #88)". IGN. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
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