Pokémon Legends: ZA,the next major installment in the Pokémon franchise, isn’t planned for a release until late 2025, and if you’re anything like this author, you’re already grinding at the bit for news of an official launch date. And if you’re getting tired of making sandwiches and hunting for shiny Pokémon inScarlet and Violet, fret not.
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The next installment in the Pokémon franchise is set to bring back Mega Evolutions, including new Mega Evolution forms.
While none of the games on this list will provide quite the same feeling as stepping into a modern Lumiose City for the first time surely will, they all provide something that you might be able to enjoy in the meantime - whether it’s monster hunting, battling with companions, or a mix of those features.
These games are listed in no particular order, so there’s a good chance you might be interested in several - if not all - of the games on this list.
8Monster Sanctuary
Fight Alongside Monsters in Turn-Based Combat
Monster Sanctuary
With graphics that call back to the early days of pixel-style Pokémon games, Monster Sanctuary still feels refreshingly modern and fun. In this game, you play the youngest heir of an ancient line of Monster Keepers, and step out into the world to begin your own journey. You hatch monsters and keep track of them in a Monster Journal (not unlike the Pokedex).
If building the perfect team and breeding for perfect stats in Pokémon games appeal to you, Monster Sanctuary will definitely scratch the right itch as it’s all about team-building. Each monster has its own unique skill tree that you can customize according to your team’s needs, and along with being used for combat purposes, you’ll also need to rely on your monsters to solve different environmental puzzles and unlock new areas to explore.
7Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest game in the Monster Hunter franchise, might raise a few eyebrows on this list, and that’s OK, we understand the skepticism. After all, you’re hunting and killing monsters in this game, not capturing and collecting them. Things are a lot more fast-paced and violent, and the combat is certainly more involved than the turn-based combat in Pokémon games.
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However, the gameplay loop of riding your Seikret across the open-world map while hunting your next monster feels incredibly similar to thePokémon Legends: Arceusloop of riding your Wyrdeer into dangerous areas full of wild Pokémon. And if you enjoyed the crafting aspect of Legends: Arceus - where you had to collect items from the open world in order to craft things like Pokeballs and potions - then you’ll enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds, where everything - from health potions to weapon and armor upgrades - requires collecting materials from both the open world and monsters to craft.
Modernized Monster Taming Game Worth the Hype
If you haven’t yet playedPalworld,then you’ve probably heard of it, with people referring to it as both “Pokémon with guns” and “a Pokémon clone” (though this writer personally disagrees with that latter statement). It’s a monster-taming game where you craft Pal Spheres in order to go out into the open world and capture all kinds of different Pals.
Some Pals are great in combat, others are mounts that you can ride or fly with, and other Pals are perfect for running your home base, where you return every time you need to craft more Pal Spheres or cook some food. The Palworld environment feels a little more dangerous, too, with both creatures and human enemies able to attack you if you get too close.
Best of all, Palworld added both hardcore and randomizer mode options in one of its recent updates, so if you’re a Pokémon player that enjoys the “Nuzlocke” experience, then you’ll be able to enjoy a similar experience in this game.
5Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
A Monster Hunter Title that Feels Familiar for Pokémon Players
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin might feel different from the most recent installments in the Monster Hunter franchise. Wings of Ruin is a spin-off RPG from the main line of Monster Hunter games, and it features a turn-based combat system that will feel more familiar to longtime Pokémon players.
You play the role of a Rider and infiltrate Monster Dens to steal eggs. When those eggs hatch, they will be added to your “Monstie” roster - monsters that can join your party and aid you in battle. And if that wasn’t enough to sell you, monsters in this game can even evolve, which changes their physical appearance (sound familiar?) and unlocks new skills and abilities.
4Pokémon Legends: Arceus
See Where the ‘Legends’ Concept Started
Pokémon Legends Arceus
Pokémon Legends: Arceus was the first game to introduce us to the “Legends” line. Set in the ancient Hisui region, you play a time traveler who is thrust into this strange world and tasked with capturing Pokémon and learning more about them by completing research tasks. It was thefirst official gameto stray away from the traditional Pokémon formula, so it’s a great way to get a taste of what the “Legends” concept is all about.
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You are able to freely explore several different biomes and return to a Hisuian village where you’re able to purchase goods and accept quests from random villagers. What’s most exciting about Legends: Arceus, however, is that it made the open world more dangerous. you’re able to be attacked by aggressive Pokémon, and the world is full of even more powerful “alpha” Pokémon that pack a punch if startled.
You’re also able to sneak up to Pokémon (but don’t get too close - some Pokémon will run away if alerted) and try to capture them without ever engaging in battle. You craft everything in this game - from your own Pokeballs to potions and revives - making it feel a lot more like an adventure than in traditional Pokémon titles.
3Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
More Than 200 Digimon to Collect
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
After decades of living in Pokémon’s shadow,Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth- first released in 2017 (with a “complete edition” in 2019) - provides an action-adventure experience that combines turn-based combat elements with an engaging storyline. You play Tatsumi or Ami (depending on whether you want to be a male or female protagonist), who is immediately thrust into the mysteries within EDEN, the game’s digital world. Before you set off on your adventure through cyberspace, however, you get to choose who your starting Digimon will be: Palmon, Terriermon or Hagurumon.
Although Digimon has long stood in Pokémon’s shadow in the gaming universe, Cyber Sleuth is just plain fun and will kill some time while you wait for Legends: ZA. The combat is engaging, a turn-based system that enables you to have up to three Digimon on the battlefield at a time, and don’t forget - Digimon can evolve, too, through a process called Digivolution.
2Moonstone Island
Pokémon meets Hearthstone meets Stardew Valley
Moonstone Island
Moonstone Island is a call back, yet again, to the pixelized style of early Pokémon games, but that doesn’t mean the game itself isn’t modern and engaging. The game begins with you moving to an island in the sky to complete your alchemy training. Along the way, you’ll discover new islands, befriend a variety of NPCs (and even fall in love with and marry them a la Stardew Valley, if you so wish), craft potions, explore temples and dungeons, and - above all - befriend spirits.
Review: Moonstone Island
Moonstone Island offers a variety of spirits with different elements and skills, but the true content comes from exploring the hundred islands.
“Spirits” are the monsters to collect in this game. With more than 70 spirits to collect, you’ll be able to tame them and have them fight alongside you in Moonstone Island’s turn-based card battle system. It’s a fun and unique take that somehow manages to blend elements of Pokémon battles with Hearthstone-like duels, with a life sim tucked in-between it all, and it does so successfully.
1World of Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Spin-Off Where You Tame Monsters
World Of Final Fantasy
World of Final Fantasyis a spin-off from the main Final Fantasy games, which heavily revolves around taming and collecting monsters (called ‘Mirages’). The story follows siblings Lann and Reynn and takes place in a world called Grymoire, which is made up of various Final Fantasy locations you may recognize from mainstream games. (The game also features guest appearances by popular Final Fantasy characters Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, as well as Rikku, Tidus and Yuna.)
World of Final Fantasy features turn-based battles, utilizing the help of your captured Mirages to defeat enemy Mirages. As you explore the world, you may evolve your Mirages so they take on new forms and learn new abilities. These Mirages you capture can also be used as mounts to traverse the world, or to help you navigate your way through various environmental puzzles. The world is broken up between “safe towns,” areas where you can purchase items and organize your Mirages, and dungeons, where you will battle enemy Mirages and solve puzzles.
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