Koei Tecmo has announced a Monster Rancher 1 & 2 world tournament, where players can battle to who is the best monster rancher in the world.

The new Monster Rancher 1 & 2 world tournament is being held to celebrate the Monster Rancher 25th anniversary, and marks the first time the tournament has been held outside of Japan. The original tournament was held back in 1997 at Tokyo Game Show, and has become the representative tournament for the franchise. This global event will allow any player that purchases Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX to participate by raising monsters in-game and uploading their data to a special server to see who are the top players in the world.

“I am planning to hold a world tournament like the ones we have been running in Japan,” executive producer, Kazumi Fujita said. “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!”

Here’s a new trailer:

English Version

Japanese Version

Here’s a rundown on the game:

Enjoy “Monster Rancher” and “Monster Rancher 2” to the fullest!

20 years since their release, the legendary monster training games “Monster Rancher” and “Monster Rancher 2” are bringing back the exciting days of growing, training, and competing with your unique monsters! “Will you grow your strongest monsters by doting on them or by developing an intense training regime? Find your own style among endless possibilities! ”

Features

• Raise, train, and battle just like in the original! – You can acquire, train, and battle with all kinds of monsters just like in the original “Monster Rancher” games. In addition, you can take advantage of the online features to both acquire new monsters and compete online.
• Compete against monsters trained by other players – Download monsters raised by breeders all over the world and play against them. Train the toughest monsters and become the best monster breeder in the world!
• Evolving from the original series – Based on the feedback from the series fans, some of the most requested improvements have been incorporated into the game,
  making it more comfortable to play while maintaining the fun of the original.
• The New Monster Generating System! – One of the most unique features of the original game, which allowed players to acquire monsters by importing CDs, has been replaced with a new music database that can be used to generate monsters by searching CD titles! “This is your chance to raise the rare monsters that you couldn’t acquire before!”

Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is launching for Windows PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, and smartphones on December 9 worldwide.