Nexomon Nintendo Switch Review
Summary: Many people will be familiar with the most famous Monster collector Pokemon, many others have tried to copy the formula each with their own twist be it Digimon or Dragon Quest spin-off series Dragon Quest Monsters. Though those two franchises have each seen success the juggernaut that is Pokemon keeps trucking and leading the way in this Genre. Now a new challenger has stepped up in the form of Nexomon, fresh off last year's release of Nexomon: Extinction comes the release of the original Mobile and PC game just titled Nexomon.
4
Monster Catcher
Many people will be familiar with the most famous Monster collector Pokemon, many others have tried to copy the formula each with their own twist be it Digimon or Dragon Quest spin-off series Dragon Quest Monsters. Though those two franchises have each seen success the juggernaut that is Pokemon keeps trucking and leading the way in this Genre. Now a new challenger has stepped up in the form of Nexomon, fresh off last year’s release of Nexomon: Extinction comes the release of the original Mobile and PC game just titled Nexomon.
Story
Nexomon tells the story of your character as he must defeat the evil Nexolord who is trying to take over the world! Yes, those of you who have played enough Pokemon are all too familiar with that particular chestnut and of course Nexomon follows the same path. Whilst this is nothing new creating a unique story for a mobile game this is not always the main priority and keeping simple gameplay is most paramount for most developers.
Just like Pokemon, a game that I will be referencing back to alot; Nexomon is about collecting a team of six Nexomon and training, battling and catching more to increase the level and skills of your monsters. Every Nexomon has a range of physical and elemental attacks with certain moves that are damaged multiplied if super effective to the Nexomon hit, i.e Water on Fire. As you traverse new areas you will find wild Nexomon that suit each new biome (environment). This makes sure that the player investigates all wild areas. To take away from the normal RNG of random battles Nexomon adds shaking grass this alerts the player to the fact a Nexomon is there ready to battle, it also allows the player to avoid certain areas if they do not want to get into combat.
Throughout your adventure you will battle overseers of each town. After defeating these Overseers you will unlock the next area to continue your adventure.
To help the player through the game items can be bought at found that can be used in and out of battle like potions, revives and status healing items.
To capture Nexomon you must battle and whittle their health low enough so that using a Nexotrap (pokeball) to catch them. There are two main types of Nexotraps, first is your standard Trap that will catch Nexomon but there is always a chance for failure, which is multiplied by health of the Nexomon and rarity. The second type of Nexotrap is the Golden Nexotrap. This item is akin to the Masterball in Pokemon; it has a 100% capture rate. Now comes my first major gripe, as this Nexomon game was originally made as a mobile game having the Golden Nexotrap feels like a cheat and was how they originally made money by selling these for real world money. But keeping it in a game without microtransactions feels weird and jarring.
Now onto the world design, whilst all the assets and Nexomon designs are very well done with a cute Chibi aesthetic. The game world design is very linear and suits the Mobile game theme, but for veteran JRPG and Pokemon fans this may seem too simple and takes away from the searching and adventure aspect. That being said it does make this game very easy to follow and to play in short bursts without feeling lost when you return
Final thoughts?
Overall Nexomon on Switch is much better served in the sequel Nexomon:Extinction, than in this version. Whilst having its moments of fun and slightly addictive gameplay, it is still at its core a mobile game that’s really best enjoyed in smaller 5-10 increments rather than a proper hour or two of normal playtime. It was disappointing to see that no effort was made to update the game from the mobile with the exception of the removal of micro transactions. At £9.99 it is not the most expensive game and would be good for those of you who want to scratch that monster catching itch before the new Pokemon games come out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DurWOhOrrlY
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