Ellie even advances in ability herself just like Nintendo's bounty hunter.

Happening both concurrently but also separately from Chomp's growth on the lower screen are Ellie's antics up above, and there it's a platforming adventure straight out of Samus Aran's signature series. And then we've got some Metroid going on. They're even elementally typed, tapping briefly into the 'Water beats Fire' Rock/Paper/Scissors mechanic that has helped make Pikachu's series so popular. It's a blast! A pinch of Pokemon then comes into play, as little monster Chomp can evolve into dozens of larger, more powerful forms that each learn new attacks and support techniques.

But Chomp's development is more akin to a pet sim game, as the whole lower screen on the DS is given over to a special area where you can customize his growth with specific items like food, books, and exercise equipment. Here you're in control of a young blue-haired heroine named Ellie and her companion creature Chomp, who similarly hovers over your shoulder and auto-attacks foes for you. Monster Tale takes that same concept and pushes it one step further. They'd even level up in strength over time, becoming more powerful and gaining more advanced abilities. You had the option to summon little hovering bats, demons, or other mini monster friends in that old Castlevania and they'd help you out in battle by automatically attacking enemies around you. Rather, it's because its core mechanic reminds me of Alucard's familiars. Let's track the connections to the classics as we make our way through this review, shall we? First up has to be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - but not just because Monster Tale boasts a fully interconnected and re-traversable world like that game did.

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