マスモンの動画｜Masumon Kids [マスモン Kids] Game Sample - Playstation

Masumon Kids [マスモン Kids] Game Sample - Playstation

”Masumon” Kids (Masumon being an abbreviation for Master of Monsters) is a tactical game with light RPG elements from SystemSoft. SystemSoft has made a LOT of games in their history and their specialty is strategy games and simulations. The game was published by Toshiba Emi (and later、 Hamster). While I’m sure that many feel that they got shafted when they released MoM:DoG in NA (Master of Monsters: Disciples of Gaia)、 how would those same people feel if they had got this game instead? Well、 I do know that a couple of Japanese sites rated this game quite favorably、 that’s for sure.

Masumon Kids’ whole name is ”Masumon Kids: The Another World of The Master of Monsters” and the aim of this game was to create a more ”kid-friendly” look to the game and this was achieved to an extent in a couple of ways. First and foremost、 SystemSoft employed the cute and quirky character designer ”Kokomai” or ”ここまひ” who is quite popular for making chibi/SD character designs. There is a good chance that few North American gamers are familiar with Kokomai’s work、 but I’ve seen quite a lot. A few other games that had Kokomai’s art were Crime Crackers 1 and 2 as well as ”The Queen of Duellist Gaiden”. Second、 the game is generally a ”simplified” Master of Monsters、 which isn’t played in the Hex style、 but rather、 the ”panel” movement of games like Final Fantasy Tactics、 Kartia、 etc. Summoning monsters is also simple and you can only use specific monsters with specific masters on specific missions. What this means is that you can summon a pegasus and a knight on the first mission、 but you summon a knight and a ghost on the second mission. Third、 the game tried to incorporate humor into the game.

After you watch a goofy opening movie with a song sung by Endoh Masaaki (the song being titled ”Stray Knights’ Courage”)、 you are then on the title screen and can start the game. You start the game with Kairi、 a 17 year old knight blessed with the abilities of a ”Master”、 who must first free four allies turned to stone to help her stop a fiend known as Garudo (Garuudo) who is trying to wreck the land with a powerful artifact. However、 the intervention of the heroes causes nearly everyone to get sucked into another dimension and the opening movie sorta explains this. Basically、 the fantasy heroes get thrown from their fantasy world and continue to fight evil in the ”Real” or ”Contemporary” world、 where the appearance of many of them changes. For example、 a warrior in the fantasy world will now fight dressed as a hostess.

I’m kinda still undecided as to how I feel about this game. On one hand、 I think the visuals、 while sharp、 are a bit limited in some areas (special effects of many spells). On the other hand、 SystemSoft’s forte was never graphics. Also、 the game can display a LARGE amount of sprites on screen at once. The music in the game is also very generic and somewhat boring. It doesn’t help to move the story along much、 if at all.

Looking at the game、 you might think the music should be more quirky and uplifting、 right? Well、 they didn’t go with that route. Instead、 the game has some music that I think is (mostly) generic and tries to put serious war tunes and brooding music with a game and universe that it clearly doesn’t cater to、 making many of the tunes seem out of place and unwanted. A couple of tracks are fair、 but the rest brings the game down a notch...not to mention the quality is questionably CD worthy at times. While being called a ”Kids” game、 this game can still be difficult like other MoM games if you don’t apply any strategy as the stats in the game seem really unbalanced. Enemies with a power stat of 13 or 15 will still hit powerful characters like Kairi for 30+ damage in one hit. Thankfully、 you can win simply by killing all the CPU’s monsters until they run out of summon power、 if you wait it out.

You don’t get equipment really...you can buy some books so masters can cast spells and you buy elemental orbs that you need to summon monsters for each map. You regenerate HP and/or MP per round and there are various mission clear objectives depending on the mission. Some monsters fly over terrain、 others move on water、 etc. You still have Law、 Neutral、 and Chaos types. Law is stronger during day、 Chaos at night、 and Neutral is normal regardless...once you learn the game、 you will find that it takes a mostly systematic approach to tactical RPGs; gaining more experience for killing people with higher levels、 gaining money after missions、 blah、 blah. Really、 I guess the game is okay、 but the music really hampers the experience...it’s pretty lame to see Kairi making quirky expressions and laughing to music that makes you think you’re about to raid a fortress...not cool. Anyway、 here’s some gameplay for this not-so-well-documented Master of Monsters game.