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<h1>How <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> is Much More than a <cite>Pokémon</cite> Clone</h1>
<div class="center-text">
<p>Written by Leilukin</p>
<p>First published on 26 August 2023<br>Last updated on 15 September 2023</p>
<p>First published on 26 August 2023<br>Last updated on 19 September 2023</p>
</div>
<details class="toc" role=”doc-toc”>
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<section class="article-section">
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>There is no denying that <cite>Pokémon</cite> is one of the largest franchise in the world and the most influential series in the monster taming genre of video games, and thus inspiring many games in the genre. <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, an indie monster taming RPG developed by the England-based indie studio Bytten Studio, is not an exception, as it does share similarities to <cite>Pokémon</cite>.</p>
<p>There is no denying that <cite>Pokémon</cite> is one of the largest entertainment franchises in the world and the most influential series in the monster taming genre of video games, and thus inspiring many games in the genre. <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, an indie monster taming role-playing game developed by the England-based indie studio Bytten Studio, is not an exception, as it does share similarities to <cite>Pokémon</cite>.</p>
<p>However, describing <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> as a mere <cite>Pokémon</cite> clone is doing it a massive disservice, because <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> executes many mechanics and aspects of <cite>Pokémon</cite> games in different, and sometimes arguably better ways.</p>
<p>However, calling <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> a <cite>Pokémon</cite> clone is doing it a massive disservice, because <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> executes many mechanics and aspects of <cite>Pokémon</cite> games in different, and sometimes arguably better ways.</p>
<p>Furthermore, there are things in <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> that you would not find in <cite>Pokémon</cite> games, at least in the main series games, thanks to Bytten Studio's creativity and passion that a gigantic corporate-owned franchise like <cite>Pokémon</cite> can only dream of.</p>
</section>
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<p>In <cite>Pokémon</cite>, from Generation 1 to 5, only the Pokémon you send out in battle and optionally the Pokémon that holds the Exp. Share item will gain experience after winning a battle. This means that if you want to add a Pokémon you just caught to your party, you often have to grind for experience points for the newly-caught Pokémon to catch up with the levels of other members in your party. The games starting from Generation 6 solve the grinding issue by making Exp. Share becomes an optional item that will reward the experience points you earned to all non-fainted members in your party. Starting from <cite>Let's Go! Pikachu</cite> and<cite> Let's Go! Eevee</cite>, the effects Exp. Share are present from the start of the game.</p>
<p>In <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, levels are instead tied to your human and your companion characters. While monster tapes have their own level system in the form of star system, gaining experience points means not only levelling up your human and companion characters, but also upgrading the star levels of your monster tapes. Some monsters can be remastered (the <cite>Pokémon</cite> equivalent is evolution) into stronger forms when being upgraded to 5 stars. It is worth noting that experience points are shared between all your monster tapes as well, including ones that have been broken (or "fainted") in battle, unlike <cite>Pokémon</cite> where fainted Pokémon cannot gain any experience points at all.</p>
<p>In <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, levels are instead tied to your human and your companion characters, while monster tapes have their own level system in the form of star system. Earning experience points means not only levelling up your human player and companion characters, but also upgrading the star levels of your monster tapes. Some monsters can be remastered (the <cite>Pokémon</cite> equivalent is evolution) into stronger forms when being upgraded to 5 stars. It is worth noting that experience points are shared between all your monster tapes as well, including ones that have been broken (or "fainted") in battle, unlike <cite>Pokémon</cite> where fainted Pokémon cannot gain any experience points at all.</p>
<h3>Field Moves</h3>
<p>Both <cite>Pokémon</cite> and <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> have field moves — moves that are used outside of battles and often required to access new areas of the map and explore every nook and cranny.</p>
<p>From Generation 1 to 6 of the main series <cite>Pokémon</cite> game, field moves usually take the form of HMs, though some TMs also have uses outside battles. Both HMs and TMs are items to teach Pokémon moves, and these moves take up move slots. From Generation 7 onwards, <cite>Pokémon</cite> games remove HMs, and assign field moves to certain Pokémon that you can use outside battles, so you longer need to worry about wasting move slots of Pokémon in your party.</p>
<p>From Generation 1 to 6 of the main series <cite>Pokémon</cite> games, field moves usually take the form of HMs, though some TMs also have uses outside battles. Both HMs and TMs are items to teach Pokémon moves, and these moves take up move slots. From Generation 7 onwards, <cite>Pokémon</cite> games remove HMs, and assign field moves to certain Pokémon that you can use outside battles, so you longer need to worry about wasting move slots of Pokémon in your party.</p>
<p>In Cassette Beats, it is your human character that learn these field moves by recording certain monsters. The game will provide hints to which monsters can give you these field moves through townsfolk gossips. Since it is your human character that uses these field moves, you do not need to worry about wasting any move slots in your monster cassette tapes.</p>
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<p>While <cite>Pokémon</cite> has its own fair share of sinister villains, the threat the main villain of <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> poses is even greater in scope than any <cite>Pokémon</cite> villain, maybe except for Rainbow Rocket Giovanni from <cite>Ultra Sun</cite> and <cite>Ultra Moon</cite>, who shares the goal of ruling the multiverse.</p>
<p>Moreover, even though the player character and their party are able to defeat the main villain in the end, the game makes it clear that since Archangels are not flesh and blood and born from human ideas, as long as humans are interested in conquest Aleph will return at some point. This reflects our world in that defeating a tyrant does not magically solve everything when the system that enables tyrants' rise to power still exists.</p>
<p>Moreover, even though the player character and their party are able to defeat the main villain in the end, the game makes it clear that since Archangels are not flesh and blood and born from human ideas, as long as humans are interested in conquest Aleph will return at some point. This reflects our world in that defeating a tyrant does not magically solve everything, especially when the system that enables tyrants' rise to power still exists.</p>
</div>
</details>
</section>
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<p>In this section, I am adding a counter for the things <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> has that <cite>Pokémon</cite> lacks, to further prove that <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> is perfectly capable of standing on its own apart from <cite>Pokémon</cite>. If Bytten Studios only want to make a <cite>Pokémon</cite> clone, they did not need to do these additional things at all, but they did it anyway. If this is still not evidence of Bytten Studio's passion for their game to build its own identity, I do not know what is.</p>
<p>Even if one day the <cite>Pokémon</cite> games decide to add any of the below features, it still would not change the fact that <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> had done them earlier.</p>
<p>Even if one day the <cite>Pokémon</cite> games decide to add any of the below features, it would still not change the fact that <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> had done them earlier.</p>
<h3>Character Creator with Pronouns Options</h3>
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<p>The concept of monster fusions by combining the designs of two monsters together are popular in the <cite>Pokémon</cite> fandom, showing up in fan art and dedicated websites such as web developer Alex Onsager's <a href="https://pokemon.alexonsager.net/" target="_blank">Pokemon Fusion website</a>, but they are not part of the official <cite>Pokémon</cite> franchise. Although there is an instance of a human fusing with a Pokémon creature in <cite>Sun</cite> and <cite>Moon</cite>, it is not the same as fusing two monsters together.</p>
<p>In <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, monster fusions are a defining feature both in gameplay and the lore. Any two of the 141 monsters in-game can fuse together, thus there are 19,881 fusion combination in total, and the nature and origins of fusion is also explored in the game's story and lore.</p>
<p>In <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, monster fusions are a defining feature both in gameplay and the lore. Any two of the 141 monsters in-game can fuse together, thus there are 19,881 fusion combination in total. The nature and origins of fusion is also explored in the game's story and lore.</p>
<p><strong>They Did Not Need To But They Did It Anyway counter: 2</strong></p>
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<h3>Romance Options</h3>
<p>Related to the above point about the companion system and relationship mechanic with human characters, the main series <cite>Pokémon</cite> games do not have any option for the player to pursue a romance with another character. The closest a main series game attempted a romance arc for the player character is <cite>Omega Ruby</cite> and <cite>Alpha Sapphire</cite>, where the protagonist and their neighbour rival are implied to become a couple in the post-game story by going on a date, as well as <cite>Black 2</cite> and <cite>White 2</cite>, where the protagonist can pursue an optional subplot with a different-gender NPC who eventually develops a crush on the them.</p>
<p>Related to the above point about the companion system and relationship mechanic with human characters, the main series <cite>Pokémon</cite> games do not have any option for the player to pursue a romance with another character. The closest the main series games attempted a romance arc for the player character is <cite>Omega Ruby</cite> and <cite>Alpha Sapphire</cite>, where the protagonist and their neighbour rival are implied to become a couple in the post-game story by going on a date, as well as <cite>Black 2</cite> and <cite>White 2</cite>, where the protagonist can pursue an optional subplot with a different-gender NPC who eventually develops a crush on the protagonist.</p>
<p><cite>Cassette Beasts</cite>, on the other hand, as an addition to its companion system and relationship mechanic, provides players the option to pursue a romance with one of their human companions after raising their relationship level to 5, the highest without romance, with unambiguously romantic dialogue and scenes.</p>
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<p>While it is understandable to compare <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> to <cite>Pokémon</cite>, <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> has countless claims to forge its own identity apart from the pioneer of the monster taming role-playing game genre, as explained throughout this essay. As someone who has played <cite>Pokémon</cite> games since the <cite>Red Version</cite> from Generation 1, but has become jaded with the state of the series since <cite>Sword</cite> and <cite>Shield</cite> from Generation 8 and is losing interest in playing their recent titles, <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> provides a perfect indie alternative for something different.</p>
<p>Frequent releases and rushed development schedules have taken their toll on the quality of recent <cite>Pokémon</cite> titles, resulting in cutting corners, and in the case of <cite>Scarlet</cite> and <cite>Violet</cite>, glitches and performance issues on launch. Furthermore, as a multi-billion dollar corporate-owned franchise, <cite>Pokémon</cite> is primarily targeted at children and meant to be able to be enjoyed by everyone. Therefore, despite a few attempts to do something new, maximising profit is still prioritised over innovation.</p>
<p>Frequent releases and rushed development schedules have taken their toll on the quality of recent <cite>Pokémon</cite> titles, resulting in cutting corners like empty maps, removal of National PokéDex, etc., and in the case of <cite>Scarlet</cite> and <cite>Violet</cite>, glitches and performance issues. Furthermore, as a multi-billion dollar corporate-owned franchise, <cite>Pokémon</cite> is primarily targeted at children and meant to be able to be enjoyed by everyone, so despite a few attempts to do something new, maximising profit is still prioritised over innovation.</p>
<p>Art that tries to appeal to everyone, even if not bad, tends to be bland and reluctant to take creative risks. <cite>Cassette Beasts</cite> is another evidence that indie games can be much more creative than AAA games.</p>