Monster Rancher Advance (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2001)

Monster Rancher Advance is the first title in the long-running series to be created for a cartridge-based system. As in previous titles, the object of the game is to train a menagerie of monsters and win as many of the tournaments possible. You begin with a single monster, which is randomly generated by typing in a four-letter word. Your monster is then put through a rigid training regime, building up its individual abilities week by week. Its performance in battle is dependent upon how well you care for your monster. The more respect you show it, the more loyal and obedient it will be.

Multiplayer matches can be played by up to four players or tag-team matches for two players. Tag-team matches allow players to swap monsters in and out of battle as they see fit. The monster not currently fighting will slowly regain health while sitting on the sidelines.

By competing in and winning tournaments, you receive prize money that can be used to, among other things, perform a special training exercise that involves sparring with a coach. Older monsters are unfit for fighting and must be either retired, turned into coaches to train new monsters, or combined with another monster to create an entirely new creature. Overall, there are over 400 types of monsters to create and train in the game.