Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher

Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is the quintessential Monster Rancher experience, just bigger, louder, and more polished looking. The mechanics of the combat and training cycle will be familiar to long-time fans while the new larger scale of the creatures lends itself to the scale of Ultraman and his monstrous foes. Scanning every electronic device in your house to see what monster pops out is satisfying even if the actual gameplay gets stale over time.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher builds on Monster Rancher 2's best aspects and represents the Ultraman universe well for a satisfying monster raising simulation experience.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a pleasant surprise that was extremely unexpected.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a very specific title that is going to appeal to a specific audience. What it does it does very well with heaps of charm, but that is counterbalanced by repetition and not a lot of challenge. Much of the dialogue eventually becomes superficial, training animations wear out their welcome rather quickly, making the 'fast forward' option a required feature, and there aren't quite enough monster variations or tournament types to keep it all from blending into the same thing. Despite this, it is still likable, and seems like it would be very much at home on mobile devices. Regardless, it's always going to be a kick to see Ultraman show up to keep a rampaging monster in check.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher surprised me by its addictive nature. Who knew raising Kaiju could be so engaging? This simulation title makes giant creatures loveable companions, with plenty to keep you busy. I enjoyed this guilty pleasure.

After a hard day’s work, you and your Kaiju return to The Ranch where you can tell your Kaiju to rest, check letters that have arrived offering words of congratulations or letting you know your breeder rank increased, give your Kaiju a treat, or visit the shop to get some more goodies or food ingredients. Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a great game for passing time or winding down after a long day at work. I only play for short periods of time myself, but one could easily sink hours in a day just hanging with their Kaiju.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher demonstrates that, even after a long, uneventful hiatus, the Monster Rancher franchise still has plenty of wood to burn. Its sometimes repetitive gameplay and slow progression may scare players who like quick results, but for all intents and purposes, there's no denying that this is a natural and successful crossover like few others.

That said, seeing familiar kaiju–Gomora, Bemstar, and Sevinger (which was the first kaiju I raised)–and even Ultraman himself will definitely hit home for a certain audience. After playing around with the remastered first two Monster Rancher games, there wasn't enough in this release to keep my attention, but its updated graphics and presentation could make it a decent place for newcomers to the franchise. Here's hoping that the next time we see Monster Rancher on a Nintendo platform, it takes some kaiju-sized risks in order to offer a fresher experience overall.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher does a good job of infusing Ultraman essence into an established series, all without potentially putting people off of it.