Wenzel Games

• Overview

Nexomon is a monster collecting action role playing game in the vein of another more popular franchise the name of which I’m going to try and keep out of this review. You collect monsters/companions, fight evildoers and save the world as you know it from becoming a hostile environment to the human race, yay. With around 300 Nexomon to collect this should be a very lengthy adventure and many a pint of cranberry juice will be had so why wait let’s get on with the review already!!!

• Story

First, there’s the usual character choosing, boy/girl and there are only 2 chibi sprites to choose from with next to no customization apart from that, then you put in your name. After that you get a nice short world building cutscene and you’re good to go. You start where all good adventure games start you out in, your parent’s attic sleeping the morning away when all of a sudden a loud bang and rumblings stir you from your slumber. So you go downstairs to check it out and when you get there you overhear your father, named ‘Father’, telling someone that an invention of his will revolutionize the world. Then, your mother, named ‘Mother’, tells you to go outside and play with your friend Ellie and her new ‘toy’. However, there’s someone trying to steal her ‘toy’ and being the good person you are, you procced to tackle the would be thief, a crate drops from their person and a scuffle ensues ending with Ellie’s robot Atlas sending the thief “blasting off again” for lack of a better description. It’s here where you choose your starter Nexomon and the actual adventure begins.

There are 7 starter Nexomon to choose from, a normal type, a wind type, a fire type, a plant type, a mineral type, an electric type, and a water type. However the original owner of your new friend soon shows himself, the Nexolord. He then proceeds to remodel your parent’s walkway with a nice new crater, insult you and teleport off. In order to find more information about the Nexolord you’ll have to beat his overlords which each have a region that they rule over. The first lord that you meet is named Ivan. Ivan is a bodybuilder and you’ll find him in his gym. The story continues on as you find out more about the dark event’s happening and act to prevent them.

• Gameplay

Exploration, battles, and leveling up your Nexomon are all fairly simple. However, simple in this context doesn’t necessarily mean short. As of the writing of this review I have over 80 hours of play time in the game. Exploration is there but it usually means about one dead end per area. The battles are far more satisfying than I originally thought it would be. While there are fewer moves than you would expect there to be in a monster collecting game, this does mean that every move has their own unique animation. There are weaknesses and resistances for every element affinity and status condition moves. I had fun testing out move combinations and I was able to find one that let me easily take down tough opponents.

• Personal Thoughts

There will be a new Pokemon game coming out this year. However, I found myself wanting and through my search I found Nexomon and Nexomon: Extinction. Though Nexomon was easier than I would have personally liked, I did have some fun and the story was entertaining enough to keep me playing. That and I’m a completionist. If you like monster collectors or you have a little one that wants a Pokemon game that you can’t afford right now, then you can purchase Nexomon on Switch and PlayStation 4 for 9.99 USD. Is it a ripoff? No. Is it a Love letter? The main developer goes by Vemon so I would certainly hope so. It was also definitely worth the money.

Thank you for reading.

J.C. Whetsell