Monster Monpiece Review (PSV)

I know it’s late but I just got around to playing the game and felt it was worth a review. Developed by Japanese developer Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory, Monster Monpiece is a PS Vita exclusive card game that involves a lot of “rubbing”.

Monster Monpiece on paper may look like a typical card game from Japan, but it’s distinctly different. What makes it different are the overly sexual “monsters” confined to bodies of young girls which players have to level up by rubbing their private parts vigorously. I’ll be honest, not only did this feel very weird and I wouldn’t be caught dead doing this in public but it’s also very uncomfortable. Players will have to rotate the Vita 90 degrees every so often and rub for several moments. No other game made me loathe touch controls more than Monster Monpiece, I’m just glad my Vita survived the vigorous rub sessions but I’ll definitely be needing a new screen protector.

Monster Monpiece takes place in a world where God has punished monsters for their ever lasting battles against humans and trapped them into bodies of human females. In an effort to get to know each other better and solve their problems, both humans and monsters attend universities to learn about each other. These establishments also serve as garrisons to protect cities from The Lost, who are humans that lost their hearts.

The game’s story stars May, a student, who is asked to travel with her group to a nearby academy for a battle. On their way all hell breaks loose as one of May’s friend becomes a Lost. After the battle May sets out on a mission with her monster friend Fia to save the day. I’ll be honest in saying that the story did seem a bit interesting at the start, but overtime it failed to develop into anything fruitful. The story is mostly an afterthought with the developers mostly seeming to focus on the gameplay.

The gameplay involves battle taking place on a 7×3 grid, with the player starting on the left and the enemy on the right. The main aim is to reach your opponent’s homebase on the opposite side of where you start. New cards are added from the top of the players deck each turn for them to use. Monster cards chosen are to be placed on the starting grid of choice, the card will then move towards the enemy’s base each turn and battle with any enemy that crosses her path. In each battle abilities and stats of the Monster Girls will be compared, the better stats will win and move on. It is important to field Monsters with varying abilities that counter those of the enemy as no single card can clear a stage by themselves.

Although most of the cards are offensive units, there are also others like healer cards. The healer cards when placed behind offensive units will heal them each turn. Ranged Monster Girls are able to attack enemies further away than normal brawler cards. There’s also a species system, which allows cards of the same species to fuse and combine stats. Aura cards provide boosts and are of four different colours depending on their type. Some cards will also have Potential which allows them special buffs like health and movement increments.

Now on to the creepiest part which is the Final Crush Rub. To permanently increase a Monster Girl’s stats players have to rotate the Vita 90 degrees and proceed to find the best spot to rub. Every Monster Girl has a different preferred spot so you might want to pay attention to the screen as well. Without spoiling anything for you guys, there seems to be no point to this mini game, just unneeded sexualization.