Monster Rancher 2 Game to Also Release for Smartphone Devices in Japan on September 17

It was announced on the official Twitter account of the Monster Rancher franchise that the Monster Rancher 2 video game (also known as Monster Farm) will also be ported for smartphone devices. The game will be lanced on September 17 for both iOS and Android devices.

The date of the release is also the same as its Nintendo Switch release.

Monster Rancher 2 was first released for the PlayStation 1 in Japan in February 1999 then was released for North America in August 1999 in the same year, then in Europe in October 2000. The first Monster Rancher video was also ported to iOS and Android devices in November 2019, then on the Nintendo Switch in December 2019.

The Monster Rancher 2 smartphone game will more than 400 monsters, and includes new elements as well as improvements based on the results of a promotional Twitter campaign.

Monster Rancher popularity also paved way to a manga and anime adaptation.

About Monster Rancher

The world of Monster Rancher was once a highly advanced technology-oriented civilization. The people of this society were especially skilled at genetic engineering. Using gene manipulation, they were able to develop special designer pets and store their genetic information on stone tablets known as “disks”, similar to CDs. Using these disks, the artificial animals could be regenerated at special shrines.

However, war broke out between the countries of the civilization. The pets were modified into biological weapons, and the war of the monsters began. The great civilizations completely annihilated each other, leaving nothing but relics behind, and much of the world’s technology was lost. The monsters were sealed into their mystery disks and hidden away.

Centuries later, as humanity was just beginning to rediscover basic technology, people found the artifacts owned by the so-called “Ancients” and attributed divine properties to them. They also discovered the lost disks and shrines. Using these, monsters were again born. Only through the power of the phoenix could the lost discs be revived back into living monsters.

Thus started a popular new sport, Monster Breeding. Breeders or trainers raised monsters for battle to compete in nation-wide tournaments to see who could raise the strongest beast.

Source: ANN, with synopsis from MAL