N-Philes

Digimon: Digimon World DS

Posted February 6th 2007 by Curtis Brunet.

Ok, I just want to state something before I continue with this review: the first season of the Digimon television show was fantastic. It was significantly better than Pokémon's attempt at capturing youth. I know I was older than their target demographic, but the show had an edgier feel to it that I actually enjoyed and could get into. So yes, I was a fan of the series, and was quite familiar with most of the elements of the game when I received Digimon: Digimon World DS, but what is with the title? I don't know if someone misprinted something, but shouldn't the actual title of the game have been Digimon: Digital World DS, as the term "Digital World" is what is actually used to describe where the stories take place? What does it matter you say?

Well let me just put it this way - if the title was a mistake, it wouldn't surprise me, as the production value could have definitely used some evolving of its own.

This isn't to say the entire game is a mess, because that would just be a lie. Digimon World is actually quite a solid RPG on the Nintendo DS. The title starts out as every new season of the Digimon television show began: a young man logs into his email at school, is thrust directly into the digital world and headfirst into an adventure the likes of which he might only see in dreams. Sure, the story doesn't sound innovative, but an RPG's meat and potatoes don't always come in its story; it's all about the battle system.

Digimon World falls into the turn-based battle category, but added to this core style is an amazing array of differentials to make it a unique experience. It's also a grid-based system with each side having 6 spaces to choose from. Player characters and enemy characters alike must all occupy a space, and attacks now have range of up to 6 grid spaces, so that a single attack can hit multiple characters. These digital monsters can also occupy more than 1 grid space depending on their size. This system works tremendously well, adding to the fact that having certain Digimon side-by-side on a grid allows them to share the others' certain abilities (such as speed, strength, or defense increase). However, any enemy with a 2 (or more) grid attack could technically hit both at the same time, which adds some complexity and strategy to the mix.

Unfortunately, aside from an all-around fun battle system, the game slowly slides downhill, particularly in the form of endless menu systems. Most of the time, either you are stuck spending countless hours traveling back and forth between experience information screens and evolution route screens of your monsters to confirm what you need to evolve them, or you're ruffling through clunky sub-menus to simply equip your monsters with armor and weaponry. The experience just seems convoluted and should have been simplified before the title shipped. Along with that comes the GBA-quality graphics that could have desperately used some added effects for the digital monsters. Attack animations could also have used extra work as most are weak effects and screen flashes as opposed to more impressive attacks we've seen in other titles. The sound goes the same route, with cheap sounds for the different Digimon and annoying 8-bit music that is used throughout the title.

The real mess however shows up its evolution system, or to use proper terms, their "digivolving" system. There are 5 separate classes of evolution: In Training, Rookie, Champion, Mega, and Ultimate. Getting from one class to another requires a collection of a certain number of experience points. The Digimon must also have certain abilities and must be at a certain level, for example having enough defense points in order to evolve. The problem is that each Digimon is saddled with a max level they can grow to, and in most cases, this max level clashes directly with what is needed to digivolve a Digimon to a higher class. It just seems ludicrous to add in such a thing, as it forces gamers to ditch certain Digimon who have been working great in a team from the beginning as they can no longer grow to higher classes. This forces gamers to continuously retrain Digimon from beginning to end just to simply see if they can be Digivolved to the Ultimate class. Not only will this turn off gamers once they reach this point (drastically bringing down the replay value), but also may also alienate incoming players to the series who want to give the franchise a chance.

If a player can get over these shortcomings, they might be able to find a solid game with lasting appeal. Sadly, Nintendo doesn't help much. The game does support wireless LAN and WiFi internet play through Nintendo WiFi Connection, but trying to find other people with the game may be as challenging as working through Nintendo's poorly manufactured online system. This issue, added to the downfalls of the evolution system, really bring down the replayability of a title that could have benefited from multiple tournaments and challenges that showcase gamers' ability to train the best team in the digital realm. It's obvious that more time was needed in development, and because of this, we suggest you forgo this trip into the Digital World.

Slight Pulse - This game is as broken as its title.

Digimon: Digimon World DS had plenty of potential. With a solid battle system, focusing on strategic movements and special attacks, the game had plenty of potential to succeed in the massive digital monster RPG genre. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a convoluted menu system and an evolution system that just hampers the gamers' experience rather than enhances it. You can expect a few hours of solid gaming out of the title, but the shortcomings of the game show up early and eventually become too much to bear. Warning: for fans of the series only.

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