In a time where there are so many RPGs available where the goal is to catch monsters and raise them up to be world beaters, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the genre didn’t need another one. Yet for the most part, Nexomon: Extinction actually proves the opposite, providing a refreshing take on this 20 year-old premise and stands out as a game that deserves your attention. Should you abandon those other two big-hitters in the genre though?
I Don’t Want To Be The Very Best?
When the game starts, the player is asked to choose from a set of character bodies and to name the playable hero. From there, the hero wakes up in the orphanage that they’ve grown up in on a very big day, it’s time to get their first Nexomon.
Remember how choosing a starter monster in previous games was the hardest decision ever? That was between 3 types. In Nexomon: Extinction there is a choice of 9 starter monsters making that decision even tougher. Though it must be pointed out that all of the monsters are available within the first few hours, they aren’t locked out.
A pleasant surprise is just how much more focused the plot is in Nexomon: Extinction compared to other monster catching games. With a wonderfully animated introduction, the player learns that the world is inhabited by Nexomon that are all fighting to be the king of monsters. Despite this being a sequel to a mobile and PC game, you don’t need any prior knowledge at all as it starts with a fresh story to sink into.
The more powerful of these monsters are known as tyrants and are usually dragons. These monsters are trying to prove themselves as the successor to the almighty Nexomon known as Omnicron but in the chaos of this civil war humans and monsters alike face extinction.
So where does the player come in? Our hero is part of a guild of monster tamers that have the responsibility to face these huge monsters and protect the world from them. Rather than gym badges, in this you must increase your rank within the guild and rise up to become the hero the world needs.
Capturing a Rare Style
Nexomon: Extinction feels very much like the older games in the genre but with its own art-style. The animations of trees and grass, to the move sets within battles all look fantastic. The characters you come across on your journey all look like they’ve been ripped out of the pages of an anime illustrators’ workbook, each as unique as the last. It’s a very pretty game that feels alive as you explore it.
The thing that impresses the most about Nexomon: Extinction is that it manages to be inspired by those older games but also be completely unique in its own right. The expectation going into it is to see a bunch of monsters that are almost direct rip-offs: i.e an electric mouse or a fire dog but it’s actually nothing like that at all.
The monster designs are actually very different and often feel more imaginative and interesting than those it is inspired by. The tyrants especially are very imposing figures and deserve their status as legendary monsters.
The game has some very witty and self-aware jokes that break the fourth wall. Much of the humour comes from the companion you travel with, a talking cat known as Coco. Coco is a brilliantly funny character with jokes that land exceptionally more often than not. It’s a very funny script and one that would actually translate very well to a tv show or at least a properly voice-acted game experience.
To trap them is my real test…
Everything great you remember about those games is in this game but with enough changes to make it feel unique. For example, with capturing monsters, you are able to alter your percentage chance of catching that elusive Nexomon by throwing food and different trap types. Of course, these aren’t new mechanics but what is new is engaging in the prompted button presses during the animation for the capture.
This makes the catch more involving and is an addition that feels quite fun and very addictive. It’s probably also a tongue-in-cheek reference to the supposed “cheats” that were never proved about pressing certain buttons to guarantee catching a Pokémon in Red and Blue versions of their games.
Another simple but welcome addition is the ability to see icons above the heads of the NPCs roaming around the map. These icons allow the player to know what that NPC wants to talk to them for. Whether it’s a battle or a shop, it’s made clear by the icons which helps a great deal if you’re trying to avoid fights while looking for somewhere to restore health.
A more significant upgrade in this compared to older monster catching games is the using proper side quests that you can track. Speak to an NPC with a star above their head and you will start a quest that you can return to whenever you feel like it. They’re often just to fetch something or defeat a monster but there are some absolute gem quests in there too that really add variety and humour to the gameplay.
…To Tame Them Is My Cause
A new feature that makes the battles a bit more strategic is the stamina bar. The monsters have a stamina bar that depletes as you engage in battles. Using a more powerful move uses more of that monster’s stamina bar.
This bar goes down incredibly fast, meaning that switching monsters is more important than ever, rather than relying on one powerhouse monster to win all the battles for you. If your stamina falls too low, your monster becomes tired and must recover before you attack again. It feels much more ingrained into the battle system than the PP system of other games.
Likewise, the tamers you fight will actually switch monsters often too, trying to maintain an advantage over you by switching to the type of monster that will be strong against yours. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t do a good job of explaining these type match-ups so you will have to rely on your knowledge from previous games to help you out here. This can be off-putting to newcomers so it’s best to learn your types as early as possible.
A Step Back Too far
Where the game really falters is in its pacing and difficulty. Too often, it requires backtracking to health centres as it’s almost impossible to stay ahead of the curve of monster levels. After almost every fight you will need to go and recover your party and it disrupts the flow of the game entirely. Also, earning coins to spend is a pain early on.
You meet all different types of monsters very early on and you just want to go and catch as many of the 381 monsters in the game as you can. Yet, there is very limited means to earn the coins to pay for the traps to catch them. So instead you find yourself running into monsters that you simply can’t catch. It’s very frustrating. To earn coins you can defeat other tamers, who will often try to offer you a rematch with improved stats of their own fairly quickly, so you never really feel like you have the advantage.
The fights are tougher than expected early on. Not tough enough to lose but it’s inevitable that you will need to recover after every fight unless you’ve grinded yourself up to a pretty substantial level early on. Either way, the early progress is so slow that at times it borders on boring which is at total odds with the actual gameplay and story which are both excellent. It’s a shame that everything isn’t just a little toned down to make that first few hours feel a bit more natural rather than a grind.
More Than Monsters
Nexomon: Extinction is a game that really brings back those feelings of those long car rides playing on your Game Boy Colour. Despite the game being available on most platforms, I think the Switch version is the best place to play.
It feels like a classic Nintendo game that you can take with you, unless of course you love your trophies and achievements. It also performs perfectly, with load times extremely quick and satisfying,
If the modern aesthetic and open-worldness of newer Pokémon titles feels too much then this is a step back in the right direction for you. If you can remove your own stubbornness to not play the same monster catching games over and over there is a world here that deserves to be explored. Nexomon: Extinction looks, feels and plays fantastic with a world that is beautiful as it is addictive to be in. If you’ve never played a Pokémon game, I think this is the perfect place to start providing you learn the type match-ups. If not, it’s still worth playing just for Coco.