Instead of a port of the older games, LINE Corporation and KOEI TECMO has announced LINE: Monster Rancher, planned to release in Japan sometime 2022. Otherwise known as Monster Farm in Japan, LINE: Monster Rancher will be a new application that will feature the creatures from the original games (naturally) with improved graphics.

For this version, you’ll be raising these creatures who you can send off on expeditions, or bring them into competitive battling. You can essentially “generate” monsters with CDs or DVDs for the console versions, for quite the avant garde experience and unique selling point. Since this is a mobile game, the LINE communication platform will be utilized in some way to create your creatures. Exact details on how this will work will be disclosed at a later time.

This title is meant to appeal to the nostalgic fans of the series. The older games have seen ports to mobile and the Nintendo Switch as premium titles, while the LINE version will be the usual free to start with in-app purchases. Besides the monsters from Monster Rancher and Monster Rancher 2, a new species will be added here.

You can check out the official website and the Twitter account for any further updates.