Combining 1997s Monster Rancher and 1999s Monster Rancher 2, Koei Tecmo will be releasing Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX across western markets in early December 2021. This marks a long-awaited return for the series, having not received a home video release is a decade and a half since Monster Rancher EVO on the PlayStation 2. This collection will be released on the Windows PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, and the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch via the Apple App Store.
To mark the series’ 25th anniversary, Koei Tecmo has also announced the Monster Koushien World Battle. “Monster Koushien” is the official Monster Rancher tournament series. The first tournament was held in 1997 at the Tokyo Game Show and has become the representative tournament for the franchise. This global event will allow any player who purchases Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX to participate by raising their monsters in-game and uploading their data to a special server to see who are the top players in the world.
Additional information about the tournament will be announced at a later date.
I am planning to hold a world tournament like the ones we have been running in Japan. We have never run a tournament like this outside of Japan. This is an endeavour to allow everyone around the world to take part and decide who is number one in the world.
Since the original release of Monster Farm in Japan, and Monster Rancher globally, I have always dreamed of running a worldwide tournament. I am very excited to see this dream become a reality!
Kazumi Fujita – Executive Producer
