Have you ever wondered if there's a videogame similar to Pokemon? Do you struggle to find videogames to play due to Pokemon being it's own entity and most companies to try and replicate the Pokemon formula tend to fall under? Well, this list is for you then! I will be giving you guys 4 videogames that share something with Pokemon. And yes, ill go all out with these game suggestions as for once im not doing a top 10 list. While these aren't carbon copies, cause again those who try to copy NEVER become successful, these games ARE their own entity.

Every game listed below have similar storylines, have similar gameplay or functions that reminded myself of Pokemon when I played them. You might enjoy them as well😊

1. Persona Series (Especially Persona 5)

Persona 5 follows Ren Amamiya, a highschool delinquent who had been sent off to live in Shibuya Japan with a family friend after being convicted of a crime. Upon attending highschool, and being outcasted for that matter, he starts befriending the other outcasts and interesting figures such as the rebel, the teen model, the artist, the class president, the rich girl, the teen celebrity and so on. One day a mysterious app shows up on Ren's phone that teleports him and a friend to a parallel universe tainted by sin and its up to them and a talking cat to utilize creatures born from their rebel spirits called 'Personas' to rid of this parallel universe.

Persona 5 is one of my all time favorite videogames ever made! From the story, characters, gameplay, artstyle and most importantly the plot, this game is top tier! Reason why I feel this game is somewhat similar to or remind me of Pokemon is for two things to do with the gameplay. Just like Pokemon, MOST Persona games are played in the format of being Turn based. Also, a gameplay function surrounding shadows and personas, is surprisingly similar to Pokemon. Shadows and Personas act EXACTLY like Pokemon. The player is tasked with obtaining all of the personas in the game, personas act as your lifeline as you must level them up, teach them new attacks and even evolve them in order to perform well in battle and progress with the game.

The downsides of this game, it's VERY LONG!!!! I've played this game four different times and each playthrough took at least 90 hours to complete. The other downside being in order to get the true ending. The true ending is easy to obtain in one playthough of Persona 5 but DIFFICULT in a singular playthrough of Persona 5 Royal. In fact, the game rewards you in NUMEROUS ways if you do replay the game as to make your future playthroughs easier than the first/make the true ending easier to obtain. So, you're gonna need to dedicate 200 hours into this game if you want to get the best experience out of it😅

Do you need to play previous Persona titles in order to understand and enjoy Persona 5?
NO! Persona 5 is it's own entity and separate from the rest of the series. It was easy for me to play, enjoy and understand this game.

Which game should you play: Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal?
I'll give two answers for this one. Persona 5 is the CANON storyline for Persona 5 that the anime and sequel follows. So if you want a Canon storyline AND the true ending is easier to obtain, go with Persona 5. Play Persona 5 Royal IF you want about 20 more hours of game content AND the gameplay is slightly easier than the original game as Royal IS an ironed out version of Persona 5 with extra content such as new characters, new personas, an extra palace, new scenes and much more.

2. Fossil Fighters

Fossil Fighters is a game series with three titles to its name, all with their own unique plot, that follows the player in each title as they visit a series of islands with one thing on the mind, to become the best Vivosaur Fighter there ever was. In order to become the best, you have to dig up dinosaur fossils, bring them back to life, train them up then engage in tournaments until you reach the top.

I played Fossil Fighters, most specifically their second title, WAY too much when I was a teenager. I even pulled out that game again just to check my records and turns out ive logged 300+ hours onto it😅 It's a really fun game series!!! I do think it's self explanatory how it's similar to Pokemon. You're tasked with digging up dinosaur Fossils where you will then revive them back to life (Yes, just like how in Pokemon where if you have a Fossil a museum can restore it and bring the Pokemon back to life) The Vivosaurs you revive are now yours to command in battle. All dinosaurs or 'vivosaurs' as they call them, all have type attributes just like Pokemon BUT with 5 primary types instead of 18 like Pokemon does. The types in question being Earth, Water, Air, Fire & Neutral that you must carefully consider and utilize to your advantage in battle. Your vivosaurs can engage in battles in order to level them up, obtain items or in tournament battles where if you become victorious you can rank up and battle higher level Fighters until you're the very best. It's EXACTLY like the gym challenge in the Pokemon games. The gameplay is turn based as well. Each turn in battle you'll have a set number of stamina depending on how many Vivosaurs you have on the field as well as how strong the vivosaurs are in question. Once you deplete your stamina or decide to end your turn early, only then will the opponent have their turn.

Should you play the entire 3 Game series?
And
Do you need to play the games in the order they came out?
That's entirely up to you! Each game is unique in their own way and aren't sequels of one another. Each game/story is stand alone, hence why each game has a unique title and aren't labled as Fossil Fighters 1, 2 & 3. Bare minimum, you SHOULD play Fossil Fighters Champions as it's my favorite of the trio from the story, characters, gameplay & the amount of content it has. Meanwhile Frontier is the worst of the trio BUT still a game ive played and enjoyed a lot.

What are the names of each game/the order they were released?
1. Fossil Fighters
2. Fossil Fighter Champions
3. Fossil Fighters Frontier

3. Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a game, anime & toy franchise that was created to RIVAL Pokemon. Bakugan Battle Brawlers follows the player as they stumble upon a dragon Bakugan with no owner by the name of Leonidas who apparently has amnesia... With nowhere to go, Leonidas partners up with the player as their Ace Bakugan as he seeks to regain his memory and learn his true purpose in life. Now a Brawler, the Player enters tournaments and interacts with the cast of Bakugan such as Dan, Shun, Yuno, Marucho and many more as Masquerade throws the world into havoc!

I know I may receive backlash for recommending a now dead rivaling company but when I was in highschool me and my boyfriend would always play this game. It was really fun to experiment with what Bakugan and gate cards you could use on your team, the fighting sequences never got old, the game encouraged rematching if you wanted to obtain Bakugan the characters would use like Skyress, Tigrerra, Hydranoid, Preyas & Dragonoid. It was endless fun!

So how is this game similar to Pokemon? Unlike the previous two entries, this game is not turn based. The player and opponent will fight head to head. Whether you become victorious in matches or not depends on how well you perform in minigames such as popping bubbles, rubbing the bottom screen of your DS, tracing shapes, drawing circles, etc. In this game all Bakugan belong to a certain attribute class such as Pyros(Fire), Haos(Light), Darkus(Dark), Ventus(Air), Aquos(Water), & Subterra(Earth) just like how Pokemon would have a particular typing. You must build yourself a team of Bakugan through collecting them as well as leveling them up. You COULD specialize in one attribute or have a balanced team of multiple attributes in order to properly deal with your opponent. It is the competitive and team building aspect that has me saying Bakugan and Pokémon are somewhat similar. A lot claim Bakugan is the product of Pokemon & Yu-Gi-Oh having a baby. I mean, Bakugan was created to rival Pokemon afteral.

4. Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts follows a young boy named Sora, his best friend Riku & his love interest Kairi as they all live on a tropical island longing to know what lies beyond the horizon. After a mysterious darkness engulfs the island separating the trio of friends, Sora wakes up in a foreign town with a weird key-like sword in his possession. After meeting Goofy & Donald, Royal servants to King Mickey Mouse, they inform Sora that he is the Master of the Keyblade and that his destiny is to travel the universe and save worlds succumbing to darkness.

While Kingdom Hearts is the most UN-Pokemon game on this list, it's still a phenomenal game series that I love to the depths of my heart. How this game is deep and dark all the while with a cute Disney style about it. The cast of characters are all unique and way too easy to get attached to. I literally can't count how many times I've replayed this game series let alone cried while playing them!!!!

I grew up on Kingdom Hearts & Pokemon and they do have similarities although not so many. So how are they similar? Let me just point out how Kingdom Hearts and the Pokemon anime are both owned by the same company. Yup: Disney. The cast of characters in Kingdom Hearts remind me of many Pokemon characters oddly enough like how Sora is Ash, Riku is Gary, Kairi would be Misty. The art styles remind me of Pokemon as well. Heck, Pokemon Sun & Moon was like a punch in the gut with Nostalgia as it reminded me of KH 1 so heavily!!! Gameplay wise, there's differences as Kingdom Hearts isn't turn based BUT there's heavy emphasis on exploration or revisiting old areas you couldn't previously explore just like how in Pokemon you're encouraged to revisit older areas in the game you couldn't previously explore once you obtain the item, Pokemon or HM necessary to explore further. Similar to Pokemon, in Kingdom Hearts you have to level up your team of characters, teach them new moves, give them protective gear or items to have them perform better in battles and occasionally command them to perform certain actions.

In one KH title in specific, Dream Drop Distance, it's THE MOST like Pokemon as in this game Sora & Riku obtain Dream Eaters. Dream Eaters are creatures of which you can obtain, train, bond with, travel with and lastly they're vital in helping the player out in battles as they attack on your behalf just like a Pokémon would.

On what platforms is Kingdom Hearts available on?
Unlike a year or two ago, Kingdom Hearts is no longer a Playstation exclusive game series. You can now play the series on Xbox, PC, Playstation or the Nintendo Switch.

In what order should you play the games?
Although the fanbase is divided on how you should play the games, from fans claiming you should play the games in release order to other fans claiming you should play the games in timeline order. I'm personally in the middle! There's some games that should not be played in timeline order while some games shouldn't be played in release order. So, here's the order I suggest you should play the games if you do dare to try and brave this long game series.

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. Kingdom Hearts 358 1/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Fragmentary Passage
7. Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded
8. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
9. Kingdom Hearts 3
10. Kingdom Hearts Re:Mind
11. Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory

Although I'll admit that some of these titles don't need to be played😅 I love this series to death and personally there's some games that felt 'unnecessary' to the series overall and could've lived without. I'm talking about Re:Coded and Melody of Memory. I'm being 100% serious that you don't need to play those as they don't offer anything to the series. On the other hand, just watch the cutscenes of Chain of Memories as this game is infuriatingly difficult to play to the point even veteran players cannot play the game.

What about you? Have you played any of the games on this list? Is there any games on this list that you now plan to play?