User blog:Otakon7/Quick Look - Digimon World: Next Order

I'm back for another blog post and it seems I'm on a roll with Digimon games.

The last two months or so have been a dream come true; with me playing Digimon all the time. First came Cyber Sleuth, then the sequel was released, now I'm playing Next Order, and we finally got an EN patch for some games that never came out in the West (still hoping they do).

This type of blog will be short and simple, but I hope you like it.

Let's talk about Digimon World: Next Order

Intro
It was (almost) Summer 2001, Digimon was popular in the region and I saw the news about a Digimon game in the local gaming magazine which for a kid like me back then was like a dream come true, and boy, was that an adventure.

16 years later, we finally got a direct sequel that once again brought us to the stunning world of Digimon.

P.S. We did kinda get a spiritual successor in 2012, but alas, it was never ported to EN.

Premise
You're home, now you're not, now you're in Digimon world and things are attacking you.

Yeah, that's how it goes, no big intro, just happens :P

Jokes aside, you are given explanations as the story goes, but if haven't played the original, you might find yourself a bit overwhelmed. This is not really a bad thing as you're thrown into gameplay right away with the quick (and nostalgia fueled, if you played the 1st DW) tutorial giving you all the basics.

After being dragged into the digital world's problems, you learn the Digimon face a strange "curse" that threatens their world and they hope you can help them solve it while you're trying to find a way to get back to your own world.

The (Digimon) World
One of the things that really got me into the 1st Digimon World was the world. Much like the anime, it's a crazy world where everything looks like it's parts of electronics, down to the naming sense and exploring it was the biggest joy ever.

Now, I will say, due to how Next Order handles gameplay, the exploring isn't quite as mystical as with the 1st game but it's still nice to look at each region.

The idea with the gameplay world is for you to recruit townspeople that will improve and add new mechanics to help you out, making the city grow and look more stunning as you pogress.

Gameplay
There are two main gameplay styles in Digimon games; one is (which I like to call) the (Nintendo) DS gameplay (thought technically, it started in Digimon World 3 for the PS1, but the NDS really expanded on the mechanics), which is seen in the Cyber Sleuth series and then there's the Digimon World gameplay, which is based on raising your digital pet (some of you might remember Tamagotchi, it's exactly like that); feeding it and letting it use the restroom.

As you raise your Digimon, you will have to do battles, and to do so, you will have to train your Digimon. This can be achieved by going to the Gym where you train to raise your stats and by fighting where you learn many different techniques to help you win battles.

Right off the bat, the selling point of Next Order compared to previous games is that you now have 2 partners with you. A bit of extra work, but double the fun once you succeed.

Digivolution is handled by each Digimon have an evolution tree and each branch has a criteria you need to fulfill in order to evolve into it, BUT, you have limited time to do so since your Digimon have a lifespan, each time you digivolve, your digimon get to live about extra 5 days, if the time is up, your digimon die...

That's not a bad thing tho, each time your digimon dies, you get to have them be reborn, which adds nice little bonuses that make you become stronger and stronger each time. There is no game over, so you don't have to feel bad about losing, you get stronger as you go.

Coincidentally, the time in the game is divided by 60, so 1 second in real time is 1 minute in the game time, making one hour take 1 minute in real time.

The game allows you to get skills which help you raise your digimon; for example, you can get better stats when evolving or being reborn, you can extend your Digimon's lifespan and so on. The game is only as hard as you make it.

Speaking of which, in the original, max stat cap was 9999 for HP/MP and 999 for the rest; so when I reached those stats with my 1st generation digimon (it was pretty hard getting to ultimate level digimon and having good stats in the 1st game, it was more of a late game stuff), I felt strong... and got the tar beat out of me by some random enemies... turns out the raised the cap by 1 digit, 99999 and 9999, so what I thought were great stats were just the tip of the iceberg.

After investing in some stat bonuses, I could see my digimon grow stronger in the 2nd generation, having their stats doubled and tripled where my 1st generation was in their lifespan.

I was able to beat the main story with my 2nd generation, but that was due to a fun mechanic they added: ExE (Extra Xross Evolution), which is basically in-battle DNA Digivolution which combines stats of your digimon to make a new one. The condition to use this mechanic is to have your Bond and Friendship to 100% (basically, your relationship with your partners has to be in the best condition). ExE lasts until end of battle and you can use it once per (in-game) day.

Closing Thoughts
OK, this WAS meant to be short, but I got motivated as I was writing this :P

All in all, while it can't come close to my love I had for the 1st Digimon World game, it's still a fun trip through the digital world with many different Digimon you can acquire (and you literally acquire ANY, even the bosses) and spend many hours trying to see what you'll get next.

Hoping for more Digimon games in the future, see ya!

And here's a little bonus clip of me beating the final boss of the 1st Digimon World game with a giant turd (no joke):