So I've had the original Monster Rancher since it came out when I was a kid. I have so many memories of sitting up all night with friends throwing everything we could in to the disk tray, watching in wonderment to see what type of monsters we could get.

I now live with my fiance, and on a whim decided to put this back in the tray of my old PS3. Though the case is beat to hell, the game itself still works despite it's heavy use in my childhood (the soundtrack skips a lot, but no freezes or crashes, and the shrine works as well as ever). My fiance immediately wondered what would happen if she dug out her old music CD collection that she hadn't touched in years in favor of MP3's, sending us both on a childlike nostalgia trip.

My family never really had money when I was growing up, so it was rare when I got a game. I unfortunately only ever got the original Monster Rancher on PS1, but now that I live on my own and having rediscovered love for the game, was hoping to acquire at least one other main series game to see some updated gameplay. Which leads me to my question and main reason for making this post. Having only played the original since I was 7, what would be the best game to get as a followup in the series?

Hope to read and post here more often!