Monster-taming game

A monster-taming game (also known as monster-catching, creature-collecting, or simply Pokémon clone) is a subgenre of role-playing video game that most notably includes the Pokémon franchise. While Pokémon is the most recognizable example of such a game to Western audiences, the origins of the genre were in the Megami Tensei series, which involved fighting, negotiating with, and recruiting demons and other mythological beings.

Monster-taming games share core mechanics such as being able to capture creatures, train them, and use them in battle against similar creatures. In many such games, these creatures are the only means of combat, although the darker-themed Megami Tensei series also allows the player to participate in combat, using weapons such as guns.