>He plays Pokemon for its single-player when he could be playing

Shin Megami tensei (and to an extent, persona) do the single player monster catching rpg genre way better than Pokemon ever has.

>Dragon Quest
>Final Fantasy
Hurr.
How about you recommend an RPG with a large roster of characters. I can't vouch for everyone here, but I definitely play Pokemon because I like to fuck around with weird party combinations.

that's just your opinion m8

>>33241612
I play Pokemon for its collection aspects and yes I know Dragon Quest Monster, Shin Megami Tensei, World of Final Fantasy, Digimon, and Yokai Watch exist and I have all of them, but to me the simple gameplay and the designs of the Pokemon appeals to me more than what those games have.

>>33241657
Yeah, Shin Megami Tensei is good but my god is the recruitment mechanic random.

Pokemon offers a setting and campaign no other competent RPG does. It's like saying why want good strawberries when you could have a good orange. I already eat fucking oranges, doesn't mean I don't want some good strawberries too.

>>33241664

If you're actually interested and not just flaming OP, here are some suggestions:

-SMT and its spinoffs are monster catcher like games not unlike pokemon, which allow you that same sort of party comp stuff you'd be interested in

-FF games with job systems would kind of be up your alley, as it lets you be flexible with how your party plays. I've heard Bravely Default is good for this, but I haven't played it yet.

-Some dragon quest games do have monster catching mechanics, as well as job systems. They're pretty fun, but ymmv

-chrono cross has the biggest fucking roster ever