It was ported to a variety of consoles and PCs including the PC Engine CD, NEC PC9801, and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.

Its success in the North American market on the Sega Genesis proved sufficient for a sequel on the Sega Saturn, and an anime art-style enhanced Sony PlayStation version titled Disciples of Gaia with a Japanese role-playing game feel.

[1] Gameplay engages players by permitting them to summon and move monsters around a board in an effort to capture towers and to eventually defeat the opponents (which are controlled either by other humans or by the computer program).

Other notable features were the large variety of monsters, upgrading ("leveling up") of veteran units and control of a "Master" character who, if killed, can end the game for that player.

David White, creator of the open-source turn-based strategy game The Battle for Wesnoth, cited Master of Monsters as an inspiration.