Top 7 best Pokemon-style games for iPhone and iPad (2012)

Ask a group of iPhone or iPad gamers what title they'd like to see arrive in Apple's App Store the most, and there's a ruddy good chance they'll cry out for a Pokemon adventure.

Unfortunately, the England football team is far more likely to win the upcoming European Championships than Nintendo is to port one of its monster-capturing titles to the iOS platform.

It means that clones and homages are the closest you're going to get, I'm afraid. So, we've had a look at what's already available to download, as well as what's on the way, and put together a handy round-up of the best Pokemon-style games for iOS.

Like Nintendo's Pokemon, Mighty Monsters sees you set off on a quest around several islands packed to the rafters with hundreds of colourful monsters - all of which can be captured.

Once successfully nabbed, your critters can be trained, levelled-up, and taught new abilities, which result in them evolving into even more powerful beasties.

You can also use them to compete against other players from around the globe in the game's worldwide arena.

Although developer Greyhound Games failed to attract enough donations to fund this project during its Kickstarter campaign last year, Dragon Island will still be making its way to the App Store.

This title, which has recently entered a beta testing period, features more than 200 collectible monsters, which can evolve through levelling-up and can even be combined to create new critters.

You explore Dragon Island's in-game world by unlocking various points of interest, such as towns, forests, randomly generated dungeons, and battle areas. There are no healing spells in this game, meaning your battle strategy is important.

Zenforms: Protectors is a 2D role-playing title for the iPhone and iPad that takes place on Planet Gaia. Your mission is to explore the game's world and collect Gaia Crystals, which house a range of creatures called Zenforms.

All Zenforms begin life as one of three critters: Freno, Rinba, or Slino. These branch evolve at certain levels based on their characteristics. There are five levels of evolution, which are triggered when set criteria are met.

You can customise the look and gender of the game's protagonist at the beginning of your adventure, and unlock new outfits and equipment as you play.

As you've probably already guessed, MinoMonsters tasks you with choosing and training a wide variety of beasties, each of which has its own special skills and personality.

Exploration-wise, you can unlock new areas by completing set goals. You can boost your critters' powers by interacting with them and showing them love.

Once you're happy with their abilities, you can use them to battle your friends anywhere in the world.

Like Nintendo's Pokemon offerings, Micromon will feature a "vast" explorable world and over 100 monsters to capture.

This isn't just a blatant rip-off, though, for it's packed with its own set of features, such as the ability to level-up the game's protagonist and gain access to online leagues and events.

This free-to-play title, which is currently part of a Kickstarter campaign, won't feature random battles, either.

In GeoSociety, you join an organisation charged with the research and preservation of the GeoRealm and GeoMonsters. Basically, you have to capture, train, and battle the little blighters in 3-on-3 time-based battles.

There are more than 350 different varieties of monster to recruit to your ever-expanding team. Yes, they can be levelled-up until they mutate into a new form.

There are four Mission modes to play through here, including (surprisingly) a Zombie mode.

Map Monsters, if it sees the light of day, will be a free-to-play location-based iPhone and iPad title in which you take on the role of a member of an elite monster containment unit.

It will apparently feature location-based gameplay "done right", meaning you won't be required to travel around real-world locations, but will instead advance through the game more quickly if you choose to do so.

You'll be able to trade with other players for items that you're missing or that aren't available in your immediate area.