Amazing Island
A 2004 GameCube minigame collection focused on monster creation.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Amazing Island is a 2004 action-adventure game for the GameCube, developed by Ancient and published by Sega. It is a minigame collection focused on creating and customizing monsters, with the player aiding the Maboo Tribe in driving out a possessing spirit called the "Black Evil."
Players begin by choosing a boy or girl avatar and a monster companion. Completing courses earns Vision Orbs, which push back the Black Evil, restore parts of the island, and unlock new abilities and customization items. Once the island is fully cleansed, the villagers and player celebrate.
At the Hall of Life, players can modify existing monsters or create new ones at no cost. Creating a new monster grants a Chance Star, contrary to the earlier statement that they are only earned through gameplay. If a creature loses all its Chance Stars, it is sent to the Hall of Life, and the player remains in the village. To build a monster, players select a Frame—a skeleton for body types like dragon or giant—then draw limbs and body parts, adjusting thickness. New frames come from completed courses, while advanced tools like Stamp or Resize are unlocked with Vision Orbs.
After construction, monsters can be further customized with Patterns (textures such as Glass, Rock, Lava; preset monster templates like Dog, Cow, Parrot; or costumes like Ninja, Santa, Cute Robot), eyes, voices, and accessories like clothing or weapons. More components and tools are gained from Vision Orbs, while new parts can be bought from shops, found in silver chests, or imported from Monster Cards. Players name their monster and take its photo, creating a card that links it to the human world. Preset monsters, found in gold chests, are fully designed and cannot be modified, but they do not take a save slot; however, the game's save data still takes memory card space. A five-question personality quiz can also randomly generate a monster.
Every aspect of a monster—frame, accessories, drawn shape, and thickness—affects its stats: Speed, Mental, Power, Stamina, Weight, Element, and Class. Different events rely on different stats (e.g., races use Speed, fights use Power). Class indicates overall skill level. There are no elemental advantages based on stage type; the Spin stage is a minigame type, not an element-specific environment.
Multiplayer supports two to four players competing on courses or linking up in the Monste
- Developer
- Ancient
- Publisher
- Sega
- Platform
- GameCube
- Release Year
- 2004
- Genre
- Action-adventure, minigame collection
- Notable Feature
- Monster creation and customization
Lore & Background
In Amazing Island, players customize a character's gender and name, then assist the Maboo Tribe in driving off the 'Black Evil' spirit. The game is structured around completing courses to earn Vision Orbs, which restore parts of the island and unlock new abilities and items for customizing a monster companion. Upon purging the entire island, a celebration is held with the villagers.
Monster creation is a central feature, accessed via the Hall of Life. Players choose a Frame (e.g., dragon or giant) as a skeleton, then draw limbs and body parts, adjusting thickness. New frames are earned from courses, and advanced drawing tools like Stamp or Resize are gained from Vision Orbs. Monsters can be further customized with patterns (e.g., Glass, Rock, Lava; preset monster templates like Dog, Cow, Parrot; or costumes like Ninja, Santa, Cute Robot), eyes, voices, and accessories. Com
Reader's Guide
Amazing Island received mostly mixed reviews, with IGN describing it as 'Frankenstein meets Pokemon meets Mario Party' but criticizing its simplistic graphics, sound, story, and gameplay, concluding it 'could have used a little more depth.' The game's significance lies in its ambitious monster creation system, which allowed players to draw and customize creatures with a wide range of frames, patterns, and accessories, influencing stats and gameplay. This system, combined with multiplayer options for up to four players—including linking Game Boy Advances for the Monster Cards minigame—offered a unique, if shallow, experience. Its legacy is as a niche title that attempted to blend creativity with party-game mechanics, but failed to achieve critical or commercial impact. The game remains notable for its experimental approach to user-generated content on the GameCube, though its execution was seen as lacking depth for even younger audiences.
Did You Know?
- Creating a new monster costs nothing and grants the player an additional Chance Star for minigames.
- Preset monsters cannot be modified but do not take space on the Nintendo GameCube memory card.
- Up to four Game Boy Advances can link up to battle in the Monster Cards minigame, with all four screens forming an entire battle view.
- Monsters in their element, such as a Fire monster in a Spin (lava) stage, gain an advantage.
More in Monster-taming games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record