Platform: Gamecube

Developer: Rare

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: RPG

ETA: 2002

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Kameo: Elements of Power

NOTE: Development has shifted to XBOX.

When it comes to RPGs on a console system most gamers associate the genre with one of two predominant dialects, Final Fantasese and Zeldonian (after being renamed from Zeldocian what with the recent referendum).  By and large it isn't a division of sub genres between turn-based traditional role-playing combat and an action/RPG hybrid, it's that Game XYZ is either a lot like Final Fantasy or a lot like Zelda in the mind's eye of most gamers.  Always on the fringe, and never quite having entered this level of consciousness is the animal/pet/monster raising games.  By all accounts the sub-genre is an RPG, but has never really been recognized as one by the masses.  Heaven forbid that these "kiddie" games get mixed up with such sophisticated delicacies as Dragon Quest or Tales of Destiny.  Now with the GameCube on the way Rare has decided to take a crack at this realm of monster rearing with Kameo: Elements of Power.

The game centers on an elven-looking lass named Kameo who has a knack for capturing and raising animals/monsters in her land to do as she says.  Now she's out to find the six Elemental Children.  Why is she doing that?  We don't know, Rare hasn't divulged that bit of information yet.  We do know that Kameo won't be able to do this on her own, so she has to capture a bunch of these monsters so that she has a little muscle behind her to get the job done.

With 60 monsters out there to be caught she'll have plenty to keep herself busy with.  What's nice is that Kameo doesn't simply have a 

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magic wand that she waves and ala-kazam, the monster is under her control.  Instead it's like a fishing game, in a manner of speaking.  Kameo's weapon launches a bubble which gets around the monster being sought and then players have to reel it into a vortex before they can get it in their inventory and begin its training.  An interesting approach to combat, the game allows players to have Kameo fall back and let her monsters do all of the work, or to have her enter the minds of the beasts and control them herself.  However, there hasn't been any mention yet of what, besides training monsters to fight, then fighting will be included as well.

So far the game is looking cartoon-like, somewhat reminiscent of the art style found in Jet Force Gemini and what's been shown so far looks intriguing.  Perhaps when Rare meshes this game together what comes out will be something that makes this whole monster raising phenomenon something people are more willing to associate with the RPG.

Previewed by Mr. Nash