Coromon Preview: Gotta save em’ all!

There’s plenty of franchises that wish they had even a fourth of the success that Pokemon has had in its thirty-decade career. To say that Coromon has some stiff competition would be an understatement, but it definitely seems like the guys at TRAGsoft are walking into the ring with heads held high and some beefy fists.

Coromon looks like a Pokemon fan-game at first glance, but after taking a closer look, there’s definitely more going on than meets the eye. The Coromon preview left me feeling pretty interested in this potentially new contender in the JRPG genre.

Heck of a first day

The premise is simple, you’re a new hire at Lux Solis, a technologically advanced organization. Despite being new, you’re pulled into an epic quest to save the natural balance of the planet by gathering the essences of massive creatures called Titans.

Along the way, you’ll use gadgets provided by Lux Solis to not only solve puzzles but also acquire Coromon to fight alongside you. You can probably guess that Coromon are monsters that you can use to fight other Coromon and other Coromon Trainers (?) you encounter in the world.

You’ll craft your team to your liking by catching Coromon with different elements and different variations, even within the same type of Coromon. During the preview, in particular, a rest mechanic was shown that would allow your Coromon to restore SP, which is needed to activate different special moves. This definitely emphasizes more thoughtful gameplay, as just relentlessly attacking your opponent can lead to hard times.

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Advanced Roots

Despite the obvious similarities to other monster-catching games, there seems to be an emphasis on a more structured journey this time around. The devs made it clear to me that despite the similarities, heavy inspiration was taken from GBA-era games like Golden Sun and Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap as well.

What this means is that despite the monster-catching aspect of the game, there’s gonna be an emphasis on other things like puzzle-solving and exploration. Replayability will also be emphasized, with post-game features and even a randomizer mode being included for those who love meaty games. In addition to the single-player campaign, there’s going to be multiplayer at launch, so players will be able to test the mettle of their teams with others across the world.

Suffice it to say, Coromon was an impressive preview to witness. Here’s to hoping for a smooth development cycle for the guys at TRAGsoft. While an early access version is out on mobile devices at the moment, Coromon will be arriving on Steam and the Nintendo Switch in Q1 2022.

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