Music CDs might be a dead medium, but there is one video game that will honor their legacy. The remake of the first Monster Rancher game is bringing back the original method of generating monsters with the help of CDs, but not in the same way as it did on the PlayStation.
Monster Rancher was released for the original PlayStation in 1997. The game involved raising monsters on a farm so that they can be used to battle other monsters in tournaments. One way in which the player could gain monsters was by inserting a music CD into the PlayStation, which could be scanned and turned into a monster. There are lists available online which break down the monsters given out by different CDs, such as "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd creating a RockWorm and "Ziggy Stardust" by David Bowie creating a Dento. There is currently no word on what monsters are created by "All Star" or "Mr. Brightside."
The original Monster Rancher game is being remade for Nintendo Switch and smartphones. It has been revealed that the music CD feature from the original Monster Rancher will be making a return, but in a different form than it originally appeared, as the Nintendo Switch and most smartphones don't have CD drives.
According to Ryokutya2089, the new Monster Rancher game will have an online database that players can search by typing in the name of CDs. If the CD is compatible with the game, then a monster will be created. There is a possibility that rare monsters will be created from popular songs.
The CD drive was a huge selling point of the original PlayStation, as it was released at a time when standalone CD players were expensive to purchase on their own. The idea of using the CD drive as a component within a game was a novel one, which meant that a lot of the biggest hits of 1997 (like "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba and "Barbie Girl" by Aqua) were used to create creatures in Monster Rancher. It's good to see that the remake is honoring the series' roots and allowing fans to create monsters from their favorite Backstreet Boys singles.