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Pokemon is one of the most popular franchises of the last few decades.
It has spawned many sequels of the game, anime, and even movies.
Even though there are many Pokemon games to choose from on the Switch, there are alternatives for the player that has seen all Pokemon has to offer and is looking for something new.
Recommended Read: Best Single-Player Games for the Nintendo Switch
These games all include elements of the popular franchise, but with new twists and different mechanics for a fresh start with familiar gameplay feel.
In this guide, we feature some of the best Nintendo Switch games like Pokemon.
Table of contents
- Nexomon: Extinction
- Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth
- Coromon
- Monster Harvest
- DRAGON QUEST XI
- Monster Sanctuary
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- FINAL FANTASY IX
Nexomon: Extinction
Nexomon: Extinction is almost like another version of Pokemon, but with a different developer and some different style quirks to it.
Heavily influenced by Pokemon, but just different enough for it to feel original.
The world’s humans have been in harmony with creatures called nexomon for centuries. But there is one evil nexomon that threatens humanity.
You must rise in the guild ranks and build a team strong enough to battle the evil nexomon and save the world.
The battle system is very much inspired by Pokemon, and type strengths and weaknesses are equally similar.
The game is a sequel to Nexomon, but it can easily be played as a stand-alone game.
Nexomon: Extinction will be familiar enough to Pokemon players that it will be easy to pick up without too much to learn.
Those looking for new adventures in the same spirit as Pokemon won’t be disappointed with this one.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth
If you like Pokemon, it’s very likely that you know Digimon.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth follows the story of the player who has been attacked in the virtual reality world of EDEN and was separated from their real body.
They are then recruited to a detective agency for cybercrimes in the digital world.
What makes this game appealing to Pokemon fans is the RPG elements and random encounters where you can catch, train, and digivolve your digimon.
The battle system is turn-based and familiar for the pokemon player.
This Nintendo Switch version of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is a “complete edition”, which includes the Hacker’s Memory DLC, a side-story that occurs simultaneously with the main story.
Pokemon fans who are also fans of the Digimon anime or other Digimon games will find a lot of enjoyment in this game.
Coromon
Coromon takes you back to the pixel graphics of the older Pokemon games and almost begs the question, what if Pokemon had kept the pixelated style?
This monster-collecting game follows the story of an aspiring researcher who has joined the organization Lux Solis.
Assigned to a team called the Titan Taskforce, the researcher must investigate the six titans that reside in the regions of Velua.
Coromon has great character customization, a difficulty setting for a more challenging experience, stat customization for your coromon, epic boss battles, fun puzzles, and beautiful visuals.
It also has an extensive soundtrack that makes the experience even more enjoyable.
Monster Harvest
If you’re a fan of Stardew Valley and wished it was somehow like Pokemon, Monster Harvest is the game for you.
You own a farm, previously owned by your mad scientist uncle who doesn’t have time for it anymore.
Grow crops and mutate them with red slime to produce a planimal. The planimals in this game follow you around and will fight on your behalf, much like pokemon.
They cannot be revived after being defeated in battle, however. Once they’re defeated, you can replant them, and they will benefit your soil, making each new planimal grown of the same type stronger.
You can also mutate your crops into mount planimals that will help you get around the world faster.
The game also features seasons, dry, wet, and dark, with their own corresponding crops to grow.
There are red, blue, and green slimes in the world of this game.
Using the red slime onto one of your plants will grow a planimal, green slime will instantly grow the plant to its final stage of growth, and the blue slime will turn the plant into livestock for your farm.
Pokemon and farm simulator fans will love this hybrid game that has all the elements you love from both games.
DRAGON QUEST XI
If you love Pokemon, you’ll love a great JRPG. Dragon Quest XI is that great JRPG.
You play as the Luminary who has been destined as humanity’s hope against the rise of the Dark Lord.
The Dragon Quest series of games is legendary for its RPG elements, compelling story, and captivating characters.
Dragon Quest XI is the most basic turn-based JRPG with combat that is very simple to pick up while keeping the JRPG traditions.
There are tons of team combinations to try, and you can switch out characters at any time during combat.
This will take up a turn, but if you want to use another character’s abilities to help in the battle, it can be beneficial.
If your main party has been wiped out, your secondary party members will jump in and continue the battle.
This game may not have monsters you can recruit to fight for you, but you can have a compelling party of characters that will fight alongside you in this classic story.
Monster Sanctuary
Welcome to Pokemon meets roguelike in this Metroidvania game with 2D graphics and RPG elements.
In the world of Monster Sanctuary, monsters run around freely but are threatened by more powerful monsters.
You take control of a Monster Keeper who takes on the quest to save the day.
You are asked to pick one of four spectral familiars to begin your journey, each with its own skills and type. The choices you have are a wolf, eagle, toad, or lion.
While traveling the world, you will encounter other monsters you can battle with the ones you have caught.
Battles are turn-based and always fought three on three, as long as you have three monsters to battle with. You can start a battle by touching a monster you want to battle.
When the battle starts, you will be shown what monsters you are going up against and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
If you love RPG elements, Metroidvania platforming, and a Pokemon-inspired monster battle system, check out Monster Sanctuary.
Shin Megami Tensei V
From the original smash hit JRPG series comes Shin Megami Tensei V on the Nintendo Switch.
The battle between order and chaos begins when the player is on his way back home to his dorm, and an earthquake hits.
He wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world in the middle of a battle between gods and demons.
This game gives you the chance to battle and catch demons to be part of your party. They will fight along with you in turn-based battles and help you advance in the world.
To recruit the demons, you don’t defeat them but rather negotiate with them to have them join you.
If you fail, the battle continues. A long-standing feature of this series is being able to combine up to three of your demons to create a stronger demon once you reach certain levels.
You can then transfer any moves from the combined demons’ moves to the new demon’s move set.
There are parts of the map that cannot be accessed since they are blocked by what’s called an “abscess”.
These can be attacked by hitting them and initiating battle. When you win, you can access that new part of the map.
There is so much you can do in Shin Megami Tensei V, and it’s sure to delight any Pokemon fan who loves a fantastic JRPG.
FINAL FANTASY IX
Back to the original series of JRPGs that has a hand in making the genre what it is today.
Final Fantasy is a series close to any JRPG fan’s heart, and Final Fantasy IX is no different.
Zidane and the Tantalus Theater Troupe have decided to kidnap the princess, Garnet, heir to Alexandria.
But little do they know that she wanted to be kidnapped all along, yearning to escape the castle.
The switch version of this game offers the option to rewatch the FMV cutscenes and even play the secret blackjack game once you finish the story.
There is a cheat system that can make the playing experience more casual for those interested. These modes can be changed at any time.
You can turn off random encounters, bring everyone in your party to level 99 for easier combat, and enable high-speed mode to accelerate parts of the game that are normally slow, like grinding.
FINAL FANTASY IX brings Pokemon fans the JRPG experience that Pokemon was inspired by, with a compelling story and equally compelling characters.
Those are our picks for the best Nintendo Switch games like Pokemon.
Know of any other great titles you believe should be added to this list? Let us know in the comment section below.
