The Digimon franchise has covered a wide gamut of genres in video games. is known for its wide array of collectible monsters and their ability to Digivolve into stronger forms, but unlike similar games, the creatures cꦍan return to their previous forms to increase their stats, or even follow a different chain of Digivolution.
The two most popular game series are Digimon World and Digimon Story. While the World games focus on the raising and caretaking side of Digimon, the Story games live up to their name by delivering compelling stories within the world of Digimon. The two newest entries in the series, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Digimon World: Next Order and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, are two great yet different options when🐟 starting a bran🤡d-new journey to the Digital World.
Gameplay
Digimon World games have been around since the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation. While they vary a bit with each iteration, the formula and gameplay loop tends to remain tඣhroughout the different entries. The games usually revolve around receiving a DigiEgg, sometimes two, as your partner Digimon to resemble the original V-Pet toys that Digimon originated from. After hatching, you are greeted by your first creature, and it is now your job to raise♓ and care for your new friend. This includes tasks such as feeding them periodically, exercising with them to better their stat lines, and even taking them to the restroom to relieve themselves.
Digimon Story games offer something more akin to the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:classic JRPG formula. In most Story games, you aren't locked to up to two partner Digimon; you can build a party of usually three Digimon to take to battle with the ability to take even more Digimon with you to switch out freely whenever you desire. While both types of games offer a story for a natural progression, the Story games, and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth in particular, offer a more compelling story with character building and plenty of side quests to flesh out the world.
Combat
Digimon World: Next Order's biggest focus lies in the gameplay loop of raising your partner Digimon until the end of its life cycle, rather than hard-hitting combat. Battling in Next Order consists of auto-battles between the monsters with a hint of player input. Based on their stats, your Digimon will move freely around the battle arena while auto-attacking the enemy and performing some of their special moves randomly, frequently, or not at all, depending on the strategy that you have selected in menus before entering the battle.
While the battle system is not as robust as other games, cheering on your pals while they decimate the opposing Digimon while💟 you throw a plethora of floppy disks and meat at your Digimon is quite endearing.
On the other hand, Digimon World: Cyber Sleuth prides itself on its battle system. It includes a solid turn-based battle system that implements Digimon traits, such as Data, Vaccine, and Virus, as a weakness triangle. Many of the Digimon's unique qualities can shine through with their special moves that have incredible one-of-a-kind animations. Although it may seem simple on a surface level, the combat system in Cyber Sleuth is quite deep and its many layers of weaknesses and status afflictions add another layer of strategy to the mix, making boss battles and even the PvP mode exhilarating.
Characters
Just like most Digimon media, Next Order features a group of teenagers that were suddenly transported to the Digital World with no idea where or how they got there. While cheesy and a bit tropey at times, the human cast in Next Order is passable since you are not interacting as much with them as you are with your digital companions. But hey, we at least have a Mameo cameo from the original Digimon World game. Besides the main human cast of characters, Next Order offers 232 Digimon, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:including the mighty WarGreymon, for y🃏ou to raise and ba🐼ttle with, which is an impressive amount of creatures to play with.
Cyber Sleuth makes a bigger effort in fleshing out its characters, by giving them gripping backstories and motives to keep you engaged with the overarching plot. With memorable characters like Nokia Shiramine and Arata Sanada, Cyber Sleuth offers some of the best-written characters in Digimon video games. It offers 249 Digimon to build your party with, but with the release of the second part in Hacker's Memory, the number was raised to a whopping 341.
Setting
Although both games take place in the Digital World, there are some key differences between the two settings. Next ♔Order strictly places you in a Digitalꦓ World more familiar to fans of the Digimon anime: A spiraling map with differently themed locales, such as a meadow, forest, swamp, volcano, etc. While simple, the Digital World in Next Order feels right at home with any Digimon fan. Entering a brand-new unexplored area feels like a breath of fresh air after grinding for a while on the previous location.
You can visit the Digital World in Cyber Sleuth, but it is done a bit differently. In the Cyber Sleuth world, the internet is known as EDEN, a virtual reality world where everything is at arm's length. Between your small part-time job as an assistant detective in Tokyo and logging in to EDEN to stop the terrifying virus known as Eaters, the setting that Cyber Sleuth gives you is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:unique yet still familiar.
Plot
Next Order's story closely resembles a plot that you might find in one of the many seasons of Digimon's anime. A group of kids is randomly transported to the Digital World where they meet small creatures that feel more like pals rather than enemies. They must now find a way to return home while helping their newfound partners in saving the Digital World from a looming threat. While the plot is not boring by any means, it is not the central focus of the game and tends to be only to drive your progression further while keeping you engaged with the world.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth lives up to its title. It is a game that focuses on its story and many branching plot lines. While Cyber Sleuth does not present you with a grand and spiraling world like Next Order does, it makes it up with a gripping story set in a world that relies on technolo💎gy more than society currently does, and characters that feel real, rather than a hodgepodge of anime tropes and clichés.
Verdict
While each game offers something different for every Digimon fan, Next Order's tediousness and repetitive gameplay loop, which might seem disheartening to many, is an acquired taste for even some of the more seasoned Digimon lovers. Whereas Cyber Sleuth's gameplay, story, and lovable characters, make it an easy game to recommend to anyone and even players who have never dabbled in Digimon but are fans of traditional JRPGs.
If you are a fan of the original Digimon V-Pet toys and Tamagotchi, then you'll love Next Order. Otherwise, Cyber Sleuth can offer you a solid and traditional JRPG with tons of Digital Monsters to collect.