Klinsman Hinjaya's Blog: May 2020

Monster Rancher 2 Cover
Image source: https://monster-rancher.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Rancher_2?file=Mr2cover.jpg

If there is one positive thing for me resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that I have returned to playing one of the best games ever developed on the planet: Monster Rancher 2! Not only that, this global crisis has also turned me into an active YouTuber, recording and posting countless battle videos showcasing the mightiness of my raised monsters, the current roster of which consists of my very first, dinosaur-resembling monster Dinoking (Zuum/Zuum); the incredibly brawny, brown-furred Furezo (Suezo/Hare); the hideous-looking, lobster-like Mockster (Arrow Head/Mock), the macabre, scythe-bearing Genie Reaper (Joker/Bajarl); the enormous dog-cum-cat Hugie (Baku/Kato); the ultra-powerful wooden robot Exterminator (Henger/Mock); and the god of plants Vegetheos (Gali/Plant) (you can watch them perform their gallant actions here).

Monster Rancher 2 (MR2) is my all-time favorite game. I first took enjoyment in this monster-raising game when I was probably aged 13. Perhaps, due to the arrival of the newer console PS2 in my home, my MR2 pastime simply vanished, and I spent my free time playing other addictive games such as the ninja quest delight Tenchu: Fatal Shadows instead. Thanks to a second wave of exposure to this legendary game, including that I received via the amazing YouTube video series by teawch, my passion for producing top-notch monsters has been reinvigorated!

This two-decade-old game perfectly mirrors our life, and I think that's one of the major reasons why MR2 is timelessly fascinating. For instance, your monsters can be exhausted, stressed out, and even die. They can be plump if you keep feeding them on Candy, and they can become skinny if you keep pushing them to train and never let them sleep. What's more, your monsters' abilities depend on what types of training you give, and if you are too hard on them, they can run away! These are just several aspects that demonstrate that this boredom-decimating game can seem to be too breathtakingly impressive to exist.

I don't have my PSX console anymore and I am using an Android phone, so I downloaded an emulator called ePSXe to play the game (one of the most worthwhile purchases I've ever made in life). One method for getting monsters in MR2 is by using a feature called Shrine. Originally, this would mean exchanging the MR2 CD with another CD for a while and allowing your PlayStation console to read the data in order to acquire a monster "sealed in it". Obviously, this CD swapping mechanism is not possible on Android: to obtain monsters using Shrine, Android users need to use ROMs instead of CDs (for a tutorial on how to do it, click here (Indonesian)). And through this post, I would like to contribute to the MR2 universe and help trainers acquire their desired monsters by listing all the PSX ROMs I've tried and the monsters they spawn. So, here you are and have fun raising your best monsters!

Friday, May 22, 2020

Monster Rancher 2: PSX ROM List

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Cotton Candy