I had unfortunately missed out on the original release of Cassette Beasts. Inspired by the third and fourth generation of Pokémon, Cassette Beasts 2002 is a standalone continuation of the series. Set in London in, you guessed it, 2002, you set out on an adventure as you get dragged into a mysterious world filled with Cassette Beasts. Unlike Pokémon, you do not capture the creatures, but rather transform into them yourself. Alongside a party of companions you try to figure out what a mysterious cult is up to as you fight in turn-based battles.

What struck me was the wonderful mixture of pixel-art and 3D environments. Comparing the sprite-art between the first and second installment is like night and day, with much more refined details that reminded me of Pokémon Black and White, which is never a bad thing in my opinion. The demo was a bit story heavy and for someone new to this world there was quite a lot of information to take in. But I was surprised to learn about the companion system.

The demo set up four possible people to tag along with. I chose the shy but curious librarian and she became a valuable partner in the demo. The developers told me that, unlike most traditional RPGs, these companions do have their own schedule and if you don’t interact with certain ones your story will turn out quite different. The turn-based combat was fairly straightforward: relying on status moves and attacks to take down enemies. Although I did struggle with immediately running into multiple enemies at once when I was only able to transform into a measly caterpillar-like creature.

I’ve often said that the trap of Pokémon-likes is that it is hard to form an attachment to these creatures outside of their design. Perhaps the transformation into these beasts is the key to grow more attached to them and their different abilities. Time will tell as you can travel back to 2002 in March of next year.