Something like Pokémon, but as a (side-view) platformer.
So, you’re going up this mountain, and the “patches of grass” containing pokemon are just on horizontal platforms that you can jump to.
And your goal is simple and obvious: get to the top and defeat the boss (“gym leader”) there.
The map is divided into clear areas/zones. Each area has different terrain types, platforming sections, and of course different matching monsters to find and catch.
We might have some bridges or platforming sections to get from one mountain to another, making the world a bit bigger and making them truly different islands.
I don’t know why this hasn’t been done yet. Should work quite well!
The ONLY downside here is that it’s annoying if you just want to get somewhere … but you need to complete the same platforming section again (which you might even fail).
To soften this issue,
- Add ample/friendly reset points everywhere, so you never lose a lot.
- Most platforming is rather basic and simple.
The best solution, however, is to make this an actual part of the game.
- The monsters you’re carrying decide your platforming capability and how well you can save/reset yourself.
- Falling down or reaching hidden sections is what you want to do a lot of the time.
- As you defeat the “gym leader” in an area, you “complete” that area. All difficult platforming sections now become easy/repaired. You get a clear tool that will help you get up quickly again (like the bike, fishing rod, etc in pokemon) when you fall in that area.
- Your “badges” are just skills (to easily get through old arenas again) and passports (that allow you through gates that give shortcuts to higher sections on the mountain)
Further Brainstorming: Any other genres for which we can use the general pokemon idea? Card game? Small management? Cozy game? Roguelike?