Digimonvideo games have been in an awkward and stagnant state for the past few years. Since 2018, the only major game thatDigimonfans have been looking forward to isDigimon Survive. Only mobile games that have all terminated their services and region-specific spin-offs have come out during that time. The last major game to come out was 2019’sDigimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition, which is a collection of two prior games made available on all platforms.
Things have begun to look up recently, however. Digimon Con 2022 is expected to offer new information on all facets of theDigimonfranchise. Of particular interest is the Digimon Games Ultimate Information and Q&A Session running from 5:10 p.m. PT to 6:00 p.m. PT, which is expected to reveal therelease date ofDigimon Survive. Fans are also hopeful for other games to make an appearance, such as the newDigimon StoryRPG teased back in 2018. These new games will revitalize the franchise’s game side, but it would also be nice to get some updated versions of some of the franchise’s first games as well.
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The History of The Digimon World Series
There have been a lot ofDigimongames released over the past couple of decades, but two main series have emerged from them:Digimon WorldandDigimon Story. TheDigimon Worldseries consists of six main installments, thePocket Digimon Worldtrilogy, and a couple of upgraded re-releases for the most recentWorldtitles. TheStoryfranchise started withDigimon World DSin 2006, which istitledDigimon Storyin Japan. These two franchises have diverged in their approach toDigimon;Digimon Worldemphasizes the pet simulator elements of the series, whileDigimon Storyplays out more like a traditional monster-collecting JRPG.
The firstDigimon Worldwas a PS1 title that came out for Japan in 1999. It featured achild traveling to the digital worldto make friends and fight evil. While the game was ostensibly a JRPG, it allowed for fine control over a partner Digimon’s growth and expected players to take care of their monsters. Many games in theDigimon Worldseries are informed by this setup, though the specifics can vary. There is not a single unifying gameplay style that holds allDigimon Worldgames together like there is forDigimon Story, as the second and thirdWorldgames were designed like other PS1 JRPGs and the fourth was a hack-and-slash title.Digimon World Re:DigitizeandDigimon World: Next Orderin the 2010s serve as a return to the first game’s pet simulator formula, with some extra JRPG mechanics worked in.
Why The Digimon World Series Needs To Make a Comeback
These titles are a diverse bunch, and they all have their fans.Digimon World 1andDigimon World: Next Order International Editionare arguably the most popular, butDigimon World 2and3represent predecessors to the modernStorytitles, andDigimon World 4is a fun arcade-style romp with friends.Digimon World Re:DigitizeandDigimon World Re:Digitize Decodehaven’t been localized, leaving them as a blank spot in most English fans’ knowledge. It would be great if most or all of these titles could be remastered and released on more recent hardware, especially considering onlyNext Order Internationalis available on anything modern.
At leastthe first fourDigimon Worldgamesshould be remastered and released on all current consoles and PC. As the first three are PS1 games and the fourth was a fairly cheap PS2 title, they could all benefit from higher resolutions and possibly better frame rates.Digimon World 4is also ripe for online multiplayer, which could improve fan reception of the divisive title. TranslatingRe:Digitizeto English and porting it to consoles likeNext Order Internationaldoesn’t feel necessary given that the latter exists, but it could be a major selling point if lumped into a collection. These old games still represent a lot of what makesDigimonunique and charming, and it would be great if a new generation of fans could experience them.
