"Creatures! Made out of energy! Amazing! And when hit... sparks fly off their bodies!"
inviZimals is a PSP-exclusive Mon-catching game developed by Spanish developer Novarama. It makes intensive use of Augmented Reality technology.
A mad scientist working with other mad scientists in the Sony PSP R&D lab discovers invisible animals that can be seen only when a person with a particularly powerful aura uses the PSP camera attachment. His sensors indicate you have a very powerful aura, so he proceeds to teach you how to capture these creatures.
The game combines live-action briefings with gameplay that takes place through the PSP's camera and microphone.
It has spawned a plethora of sequels for PlayStation Portable, Play Station Vita and PlayStation 3, as well as a Trading Card Game and other various pieces of merchandise. A 26-episode animated series entitled Invizimals: The Alliance Files was made in 2012, and the first 13 episodes were released on Netflix in 2015.note
Warning: It also contains BRIAN BLESSED.
This game contains examples of:
- Artificial Stupidity: The opponent uses moves seemingly at random, and depending on the matchup, will repeatedly use elemental moves against your Invizimal even if it's immune to them. The AI also has trouble timing the defend action.
- Augmented Reality: The game mainly operates by using PSP's camera extension, using a designated card (can be printed) to lock in and making the player pivot around it, and also utilized a microphone in certain capturing minigames.
- Badass Adorable: Par for the course in a Mon game. Many of the unevolved Invizimals curl up to sleep on their status pages, adding to the adorable factor.
- Big Bad: Sir Sebastian Campbell hired Axel Kaminsky to steal the technology to capture Invizimals.
- Brutal Honesty: Jazmin Nayar is much more grounded than a Lovable Nerd like Kenichi. When he tells that he's good at playing dumb, she replies that he is, but without "playing".
- Common Place Rare: An attempt to steal the technology to capture Invizimals is central to the plot, and yet there are trainers all over the world who already have it and are waiting to do battle...
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Fire/Burn beats Jungle/Bite, which beats Desert/Poison, which beats Ocean/Sonic, which beats Rock/Charge, which beats Ice/Slice.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: In the Capture tutorials, Kenichi's PSP has a female robotic voice, but the player has the same male narrator as everywhere else.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: It's a mon game so this is also a feature.
- Interface Screw: The Screen Jammer Vector hides the screen controls, though doesn't block them.
- Invisible to Normals: The natural thing about the Invizimals is that they are invisible and live in a parallel dimention. In-Universe, the PSP is said to have a designated Sci-Fi software to control them.
- Insistent Terminology: In the west, we call it an "X" button. Kenichi calls it "the cross button." Of course, he's from Japan.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: When he arrives to Mumbai, Kenichi gets arrested by a false tip from an enigmatic hacker, so he leaves all research to the player and says it'd be the last time they meet. Subverted, as Sir Campbell pulls some strings to get him releases in the next cutscene.
- Mr. Exposition: As the player's advisor and one of the first people to discover them, Kenichi Nakamura tells everything he knows about the Invizimals, either directly or through video logs.
- Multinational Team: The R&D division has researchers in Japan, US, India, and UK.
- No Fourth Wall:
- In an effort to take this as far as possible, the interface is a physical card at which you point the camera, making the gameplay take place in the camera view of wherever you physically are.
- Also, there is no player character, only the player.
- Product Placement: Oddly, for the system on which the game is played. The characters never fail to mention it's on the PSP.
- Punny Name: The Invizimals themselves tend toward these, including Bearserker, Porcupain, Furmin...
- Smug Snake: The first boss, Akira, boasts to the newbie player, before his mom calls him out for decorating his room like a nightclub.
- Starter Mon: You can choose whether to catch Stingwing or Ironbug in the first game.
- Stock Sound Effects: The Fire Dragon has Zilla's roar.
- Title Drop: While it's to be expected in a game named for the major gameplay element, Kenichi explicitly names them in an early briefing, as though he just came up with that name on the spot.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential:
- In addition to battling the Invizimals against each other, at least two of the creatures are caught by sneaking quietly up on themnote and slapping your hand flat down on top of them as fast as you can, effectively crushing your new pet the moment you see it. It's completely unharmed, of course.
- In a betting match, you can choose to capture, forgive, or destroy a defeated Invizimal.
- Weirdness Magnet: Invizimals normally don't appear in front of people even if they are invisible, and it's explained certain people, and especially the player, have a certain aura that attracts them.
- World of Ham: In addition to the aforementioned BRIAN BLESSED as Professor Robert Ben Dawsonnote , Kenichi Nakamura, the aforementioned discoverer of the titular mons, is fond of scenery as well. And snacks. The first Hunter, of whom you get video is pretty ham-tastic as well.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The game logo emphasizes this. Apparently, the title is not Invizimals, but inviZimals.
Did I mention it's on the PSP?
