Capsule Monsters – the Kanto Landscape

These 2 pictures were enhanced from a photo of the “Game On 2.0” exhibition poster about Capumon.

This proto-Kanto landscape was revealed in the preface to the 2018 manga about Satoshi Tajiri’s life. You can see many different habitats that didn’t make it to the final (like the desert, lakes, and rivers) as well as locations that evoke a familiar feeling. Please note that the actual layout of Kanto was included in the pitch and was dated 1990, so all this is a conceptual, not an entirely different design for Kanto:

The text above is unrelated to this concept art. Instead, it explains the functionalities of the trading cable and how it will be used within the games. Apparently, money was planned to have another function in the earliest stages, and trading items would have been possible. To this day we still can’t trade items by themselves, but Generation 2 onwards added the ability to attach them to Pokemon while trading, and Pokemon Stadium allowed you to store items and move them between games (allowing for a rather interesting sequence break in Gen 1).

通信ケーブルを使った、新しい遊び方の提案

“CAPSULE MONSTERS”は、ゲームボーイの通信ケーブルを使った、新しい遊び方を提案します。

Proposal of a new way of playing using the Link Cable

“CAPSULE MONSTERS” proposes a new way of playing using the Gameboy’s Link cable.

1 – 通信ケーブルを使って、友達同士で、カプセル怪獣やアイテムを交換したり・売買したリします。普通、ゲームボーイ用ゲームは、ケーブルを使ってゲームフィールドを共有するタイプのものが、圧倒的に多いと思います。このゲームにおけるケーブルの使い方の提案は、従来のタイプはちょっと違っていて、文字どおり ”転送” です。スタンドアローン型のある生態系から別の生態系へ、怪獣が越境、移戻するイメージです。”CAPSULE MONSTERS”は、時間と経験を共有し、かつ交換します。

2 – オプションとして、または第二の目的として、「格闘場」モードも考えられます。ケーブルを使っての対戦モードです。この格闘場で、友達の持っている怪獣と戦むせたりすることができます。

3 – しかし、このゲームで大きな魅力となるのは、それらだけではありません。通しナンバーの入った怪獣カプセルや、アイテム類を取集するのに、夢中になるでしょう。自分の持っていない怪獣があるとき、友達が持っていれば、交換できるのですから、きっと楽しくなるでしょう。コレクター気質は、子供達のほとんどが持っています。思い出してみてください。古くは、めんこ集め、王冠集め、プロ野球カード、チョコベーシール, ビックリマンシール、そしてカードダス, と子供は、いつの時代も小物を一生懸命集めて遊んでいたのです。

1 – Using a Link cable, you can trade the Capsule Kaiju and items with your friends, or even sell and buy them. In general, there are many games for the Game Boy that share a world using the link cable. The proposal on how to use the cable in this game is slightly different from the traditional type; it’s literally a “transfer”. Imagine a standalone monster that crosses the borders of its habitat and moves to another ecosystem. “CAPSULE MONSTERS” will share and exchange time and experiences.

2 – As an option or as a second objective, there is also a “battleground” mode; a match mode using the cable. You can fight monsters your friends have in this fighting place.

3 – However, it is not the only thing that makes this game appealing. You will be engaged in collecting numbered Capsule Monsters and items. If you’re missing a monster, you can exchange it with your friends, and it will surely be fun. Most children have a drive to collect things. Remember when you were a child in the old days, collecting Menko cards, bottle caps, baseball cards, chocolate stickers, bikkuriman stickers, carddass, and so on? Actively collecting small items has always been a popular game among children.