Two Pokémon-likes release in Japan around the same time: Nexomon & Coromon

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-04-07 13:23 JST)

The two Pokémon-like titles Nexomon and Coromon recently released in Japan within the same launch window, and both are getting attention from players.

Nexomon is a monster raising RPG from the Canadian studio VEWO Interactive. Players venture across various locations catching Nexomon that live in the wild while training, evolving, and building their team. The English version of the game released for mobile devices in 2017, with PC and console releases following later. A sequel called Nexomon: Extinction also released in 2020.

In March of this year, a Japanese version of the first title was released on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S by publisher PQube, with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions launching in April. It’s relatively robust for a Pokémon-like, so Nexomon is even finding its footing in Japan.

The other Pokémon inspired title is called Coromon, and it launched March 31 on Steam supporting multiple languages including English and Japanese. This game was developed by the Dutch studio TRAGsoft and a mobile release is planned for a later date. Coromon also revolves around exploring a field while catching and raising monsters. Battles in the game aren’t just 1vs1 but have situations where you battle multiple Coromon at once.

Despite being a new IP from a small studio, Coromon has been maintaining a concurrent player count of around 2,000 players (SteamDB). Its peak concurrent player count even eclipsed the Nexomon series. Coromon has amassed 900 user reviews and sits at a rating of “Very Positive.”

But Nexomon and Coromon aren’t simply just clones of Pokémon, with each mixing their own unique elements into the formula. For example, Nexomon doesn’t have a set number of times a move can be used, but has players manage a stamina gauge. Nexomon also has a system where there are different levels of rarity for each Nexomon. Coromon on the other hand, has difficulty options that change the experience. It has a stamina system and provides a lot of flexibility for how each Coromon can be raised, giving it its own unique flair.

Pokémon-likes have been on the rise recently. There was also the 3D monster raising game called Temtem, with MMO elements mixed in that sold over 500,000 copies in one month when it began early access in 2020. It looks like there’s a big market for the genre. With the upcoming Pokémon proper being an open world game, it will be interesting to see what comes next for other Pokémon-likes.