Monster Rancher DS sneaks past the Ninja Gaiden hype

With the whole gaming press freaking out about the new Ninja Gaiden game, another Tecmo franchise announcement has gone virtually ignored. And, like Ninja Gaiden, it uses the DS's unique features in surprising and possibly inappropriate ways.

Monster Rancher DS goes back to the Playstation-era art style of Ranchers 1 and 2. Like other games in the series, it makes use of data on other media to generate creatures. However, instead of random CDs like in the previous version, this one makes use of the GBA slot. Shapes drawn with the stylus also figure into the gameplay in ... some way.

We've rounded up some screens after the break. Get it-- "rounded up" because it's a "ranch" game, and... we're sorry.