There have been a lot of great games in the past that became a part of our childhood. Some popular games like Super Mario, Pokémon, and Legend of Zelda have continued and been made increasingly better by their developers to fit the modern standard. However, it’s good to be able to go back and play the exact same game to rekindle the same emotions you had when you first played those titles from your childhood, and this is the same feeling Toshimon is trying to evoke.

Background

Built on the Ethereum/Polygon blockchain, Toshimon mixes Pokémon games from the Gameboy era and its Trading Card game into a play-to-earn title. You assemble a team of 5 Toshimons that have 14 different types, strengths, and weaknesses then battle with other players in a turn-based arena. Not much is known about its developers as they aren’t shown on their website, but one LinkedIn profile mentioned their founder is named Alexander Perry.

Graphics and Gameplay

Toshimon looks pretty close to where their name stemmed from. You can see the similarity of Toshimon to earlier Pokémon titles like Red/Green and Ruby and Sapphire with the 16-bit graphics that provide that nostalgic look. It may even look too close to a fault since some of the characters from Pokémon are actually inside the game just with a couple of changes. Like a buffed-up Snorlax, a low-saturation Alakazam to even a multi-colored Eevee for example. Although it may seem funny at first, it does make it seem like a knock-off game.

At its core, Toshimon is a browser-based online battle game with Trading card games and RPG elements sprinkled in. (Very) Similar to Pokémon including its TCG, you play as a trainer who trains and fights with monsters called Toshis, leveling them up to try and become the very best trainer like no one ever was. Although in Toshimon, the different creatures you battle with aren’t stored in Pokéballs but inside cards. You can also equip your Toshis with items that are also in card forms like potions and attack/defense boosts to help make your battles easier. There are also TMMS which stands for Toshimon Move Modules that enable you to change a Toshimons ability in a match.

Earning Mechanics

Toshimon uses $TOSHI as the main utility token in the game. You can earn $TOSHI by winning matches against other players in the battle arena. It can be used to purchase card packs, in-game cosmetics, and items that are all NFTs. There are different rarities for each card and their value scales with their rarity as well. This makes trading the NFT cards profitable as well. There are also legendary cards that are limited in volume so be sure to keep an eye on them.

Final Thoughts

With how similar Toshimon is to Pokémon, I think players who have experience playing it will find it easier to get into this game and understand the trading part sooner. There isn’t a storyline to follow and all you can do inside the game is battle with other players and some NPCs which I believe can get boring fast since there is no variety.

It can also be hard to build your team of 5 Toshis as the stats for the Toshimons you get from the packs are random and they don’t come cheap, so it makes it feel somewhat pay-to-win or at least hard to start. They also didn’t display the team and their whitepaper on their website so be extra cautious if you’re wanting to try the game out.

Overall, if you like the Pokémon franchise and want to see what it’d look like if it was a blockchain game or just want to play something similar and can look past the cheap, knock-off vibes the game exudes, then I think you may find Toshimon rather enjoyable as it captured what a retro Pokémon game is and brought it into the blockchain.