Amazing Island

Create your very own Monster and save Amazing Island!

JP release: 15th January 2004
NA release: 24th August 2004
EU release: N/A
Developer: Ancient Hitmaker
Publisher: Sega
NGC Magazine Score: 60%
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

A rather curious little game. It’s a minigame collection with a singleplayer focus, set on a mythical island that exists in a forgotten book. Upon finding the book, you get whisked to the Amazing Island and find it in turmoil – demonic creatures have infested the residents and only you – with the help of creatures you create – can stop them and return the island to its peaceful state.

Using a magical portal on the island, you can create your own monsters. You start off with a frame (you unlock more as you progress) and draw the head, body, arms, legs and tail. It’s similar to Tensai Bit-Land Glamon Battle, although much simpler, making it easier to create but you can’t really fine-tune anything. With the very limited amount of accessories you have to begin with, you just end up with messy looking things. Still, it’s entertaining to have your drawings brought to life.

These creatures are sent off for the minigames, which are Mario Party-style bashing minigames. You need to hit a particular score to proceed, which the game doesn’t like to tell you, so you have no idea if you’re doing something completely wrong or if you just need to fine-tune what you’re doing. That said, the minigames themselves are good fun. There’s one where your creature spins in a bowl, knocking out other spinning creatures, that in itself is a much better game than the official Beyblade video game.

I didn’t detest any of them, although some of them are just basic bashing A. Creatures also have stats which determine how well they perform. These stats are generated based on how you draw your creature, which means you could draw something which turns out to be not that good. Still, it’s a cute, charming and rather cosy game.

Fun

This sort of thing would be great in a more substantial game. When you’re limited to playing just 30 basic minigames, many of which are less than satisfying, it seems like a wasted opportunity.
Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #103

Remake or remaster?

A re-release would be fun, with the ability to share monsters.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get Amazing Island.