Monster Rancher GBA in 2002

Tecmo has confirmed that it currently plans to release its Monster Rancher game for the Game Boy Advance on January 2, 2002. Simply titled Monster Rancher Advance, the game will be based on the classic Monster Rancher 2 and will let players raise and train their monsters and enter them in tournaments. New features include a coaching system, in which aging monsters can be retired as coaches. The game's training results vary depending on the statistics of the monster selected as the coach. Additionally, on the GBA, the monster creation system has been revamped. Players must now enter combinations of letters and numbers in order to generate new monsters. As the player progress through the game, the number of digits available for input will increase, with a maximum of eight digits.

"With all the different combinations of numbers and letters available, the replay value is simply astronomical," said John Inada, marketing director of Tecmo. " Monster Rancher fans will enjoy plugging in the names of their pets, the latest winning lottery numbers, or their friends' phone numbers."

In terms of multiplayer options, Tecmo currently plans to add link cable support for up to four players.