Category:

Let's Play

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So... while going through our archives, we decided to add more of our imports on this channel. We purchased more titles years ago than we realized, so we slowed down on the importing until we can actually record some of them. The game today is "Monster Collection: Kamen no Madoushi", a TCG (Trading Card Game) that was originally designed by Group SNE in 1997 and adapted into a variety of media, with a few surprising releases. With several games, comics/manga, and an anime spin-off called "Mon Colle Knights", the franchise was pretty popular for a time. Spearheaded by Fujimi Shobo, this Playstation title was a collaborative effort with Kadokawa and ESP Software, released in 1999. It was fairly mediocre upon release, with mostly static imagery, a limited soundtrack, no voice acting, compromised gameplay (as some elements were deemed "too complex" to adapt to the Playstation), almost indecipherable card illustrations, and lacking in content as the card game had seen several expansions over the two years (this is somewhat understandable though... the game was already in development).

The story revolves around the exploits of a young prodigal summoner named Robin Prophecy (by default... I'm not even kidding) from the faraway village of Air who travels to the capital of the continent, Sazan, to partake in their Monster Collection Battle Tournament, an event held to promote the greatest summoners in the land. Apparently skilled in summoning but lacking in common sense, he doesn't understand the laws of the town and has to first prove himself by forming a guild and acquiring a guild name through several trials before he can participate in the tournament proper. As such, he needs three other members to round out his roster and, through a menagerie of quests, encounters Mash (a brash eleven treasure hunter who knows you'll lead him to riches), Sophia (a maiden-in-training from Sazan who wants to get out of her father's arranged marriage to one of the top-ranking members of the tournament) and Origa (a female warrior from Garshilt who is also participating to demonstrate her power and pride) who join his team. The narrative is light and, at times, conflicting; the game jumps from a tournament theme to a save-the-world theme back and forth, often without much reason to do so, and you don't learn much about the characters or their motivations, which is probably for the best as they likely won't be revisited ever again.

The gameplay is a mixed bag; the main card battle mechanic is here, but bogged down by the baffling decision to add a board and "Bingo" element -- players can add as many cards to their board as their level will allow (maxing out at ten) and different cards have unique abilities, spells, and inventory (buff) slots. Characters like Mash, Sophia and Origa are added as "special cards" and can get unique buffs with the right items, making their stats much greater than their level would imply... a level two Origa with five attack and six defense? Yes please! Adding five unit cards horizontally creates an "Attack Bingo" while going vertically creates a "Defense Bingo", DOUBLING each stat respectively as long as the formation holds. Theoretically, you could have both with a bunch of level one cards, but it would be hard to orchestrate and you're better going for one or the other. This feature almost single-handedly breaks the game, and because you can't play against others (only trade with them), you don't have much need to experiment against the CPU, who aren't exactly bright.

The "Rogue" aspect also feels unnecessary; dungeons are randomly generated and some cards are specific to some dungeons. Players go through these dungeons whacking enemies while keeping their HP up and can get a variety of items to aid in this endeavor, such as some that heal or turn all enemies on the floor into cards. Like a Rogue title, there are also a variety of traps and a few bosses here and there (who are the only people you actually card battle against). Players can also gain experience and level up, increasing their hit points and proficiency in the six different "elemental gates". It's an unusual way to encase the typical TCG trappings and I get the effort involved, but it just feels out of place... that time could've been spent perfecting the A.I., focusing on the illustrations and tweaking the core card system. They're also really long and kinda dull, though you can at least save at any time.

I won't say this is a bad game, but it's one of those titles that came and went with little fanfare and for good reason. A fairly cheap title to import, only add it if you feel compelled to play every digital TCG, as there are better alternatives (Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic, Culdcept, Card Fighter's Clash, etc.). This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.

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