Digimon World 3 Retrospective Review
By: Nik S
Developers: BEC, Boom Corp
Publisher: Bandai
Platform: PlayStation
Release: June 5, 2002 (NA); July 4, 2002 (Japan); November 29, 2002 (EU)
Digimon World 3 is the first in the Digimon World series to be released in the same year world wide and be released in North America before other regions. The game is known as Dejimon Warudo 3 Aratanaru Boken no Tobira (Digimon World 3: The Door of a New Adventure) in Japan, and Digimon World 2003 in Europe and Australia. The game was showcased at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) back in 2002 where it had a playable demo.
This game, much like the second World game, strays from its predecessor's formula while keeping and changing certain elements from the previous two. Instead of being a semi-open world or dungeon crawler, the third goes for a more traditional JRPG feel (similar to Final Fantasy). The game has two modes in which you play: overworld map and battle screens (Digimon vs wild Digimon, and trading card game). Every character has their own unique spritework which is impressively done, and they are set in a prerendered 3D world that is similar to that of the first game (just with a fresh new coat of paint and a more modern look). The overworld map does take a while to load, and sometimes your character can run into a patch of land that is still rendering.
The third generation of Digimon are included to the roster, as well as three unique starter ones just for the game, and a sneak-peak of a Digimon from the fourth season of the anime. Starting off, players are able to select from three different teams or "packs": Balanced (Kotemon, Renamon, Patamon), Powerful (Monmon, Agumon, Renamon), and Maniac (Kumamon, Guilmon, Patamon). If the Digimon have met certain level and stat requirements, they can have branching Digivolutions.
The story follows Junior (default name), a brash young man, who wants to try out the new Digimon MMO game called "Digimon Online". He impatiently waits for his pals Teddy and Ivy to get registered at a store while he is introduced to some foreshadowing. After he and his friends arrive, the players are trapped inside the game (.hack//Sign or Sword Art Online style). MAGAMI's (the developers of the MMO) Game Master makes a public announcement to try and assure the players that the situation is under control. Despite being reassured, it's believed to be the work of hackers and it's up to Junior to get to the bottom of it. Along the way, Junior must take on the chiefs of each region to become the ultimate Tamer.
Gameplay is an odd mesh of a Pokémon and the first Digimon World. Battles are random encounters when outside of a town. Each battle is in 3D unlike the over world and have a 1v1 turn-based setup.
Unlike the second game, special moves and regular attacks are separated into two different actions. The Fight option is a regular attack that doesn't require MP to use. Tech is all your Digimon's techniques, like Pepper Breath or Blue Blaster. DV is all of your Digimon's evolutions. Tag allows you to tag our your current monster with another in your party. Item and run are pretty self explanatory, as they're traditional in every single JRPG. It should be noted that battles take some time because each action is slow. Battles seem to drag on forever as attacks can take anywhere from 5 to 45 seconds if frame rate allows (trust me, I've timed it). Every time you Digivolve your Digimon in the middle of battle, you'll have to sit through a cinematic.
The gym mechanic makes a return to build up certain stats of your character. There are only a handful to start with, focusing on the basics, and some are added after a while of play time. Whatever you choose to train in, your Digimon can spend points (which is gained from leveling), to choose a training regiment which allows them to get more or less stat boosts. Each option has its own little cinematic with some really great looking sprite work. Your Digimon is allowed a best out of three, each time your monster does something right it gets a stat boost. If it does all three correctly it can get an extra fourth chance.
Another type of battle is the trading card game, which certain tamers throughout the world will battle you in. Much like training, these matches are done best out of three. You have a deck of around forty cards that have two primary types: Digimon and Programs. You can start your turn with a Program card, which acts like a summon or spell. Then you can summon Digimon from your hand to try and build up the most HP and AP (attack points). Certain cards require a mana pool-like energy to summon out on the field. Your goal is to have your health high enough that your opponents AP doesn't take it to zero, while having your AP high enough to destroy your opponents. Cards pool together their HP and AP and can be altered with Programs (either positively or negatively by opponents cards).
While the game looks gorgeous, it's just ludicrously slow with very little direction. You're just dropped in the middle of things and are left to your own devices to figure out what to do. The loading and frame rate really kills the vibe and makes the game feel sluggish. Battles just tend to drag on forever and you have to grind just to get any kind of advantage. If you're a big fan of Digimon I say get this one to be part of your collection, but for everyone else you're better off playing the first two.
Developers: BEC, Boom Corp
Publisher: Bandai
Platform: PlayStation
Release: June 5, 2002 (NA); July 4, 2002 (Japan); November 29, 2002 (EU)
Digimon World 3 is the first in the Digimon World series to be released in the same year world wide and be released in North America before other regions. The game is known as Dejimon Warudo 3 Aratanaru Boken no Tobira (Digimon World 3: The Door of a New Adventure) in Japan, and Digimon World 2003 in Europe and Australia. The game was showcased at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) back in 2002 where it had a playable demo.
This game, much like the second World game, strays from its predecessor's formula while keeping and changing certain elements from the previous two. Instead of being a semi-open world or dungeon crawler, the third goes for a more traditional JRPG feel (similar to Final Fantasy). The game has two modes in which you play: overworld map and battle screens (Digimon vs wild Digimon, and trading card game). Every character has their own unique spritework which is impressively done, and they are set in a prerendered 3D world that is similar to that of the first game (just with a fresh new coat of paint and a more modern look). The overworld map does take a while to load, and sometimes your character can run into a patch of land that is still rendering.
The third generation of Digimon are included to the roster, as well as three unique starter ones just for the game, and a sneak-peak of a Digimon from the fourth season of the anime. Starting off, players are able to select from three different teams or "packs": Balanced (Kotemon, Renamon, Patamon), Powerful (Monmon, Agumon, Renamon), and Maniac (Kumamon, Guilmon, Patamon). If the Digimon have met certain level and stat requirements, they can have branching Digivolutions.
The story follows Junior (default name), a brash young man, who wants to try out the new Digimon MMO game called "Digimon Online". He impatiently waits for his pals Teddy and Ivy to get registered at a store while he is introduced to some foreshadowing. After he and his friends arrive, the players are trapped inside the game (.hack//Sign or Sword Art Online style). MAGAMI's (the developers of the MMO) Game Master makes a public announcement to try and assure the players that the situation is under control. Despite being reassured, it's believed to be the work of hackers and it's up to Junior to get to the bottom of it. Along the way, Junior must take on the chiefs of each region to become the ultimate Tamer.
Gameplay is an odd mesh of a Pokémon and the first Digimon World. Battles are random encounters when outside of a town. Each battle is in 3D unlike the over world and have a 1v1 turn-based setup.
Unlike the second game, special moves and regular attacks are separated into two different actions. The Fight option is a regular attack that doesn't require MP to use. Tech is all your Digimon's techniques, like Pepper Breath or Blue Blaster. DV is all of your Digimon's evolutions. Tag allows you to tag our your current monster with another in your party. Item and run are pretty self explanatory, as they're traditional in every single JRPG. It should be noted that battles take some time because each action is slow. Battles seem to drag on forever as attacks can take anywhere from 5 to 45 seconds if frame rate allows (trust me, I've timed it). Every time you Digivolve your Digimon in the middle of battle, you'll have to sit through a cinematic.
The gym mechanic makes a return to build up certain stats of your character. There are only a handful to start with, focusing on the basics, and some are added after a while of play time. Whatever you choose to train in, your Digimon can spend points (which is gained from leveling), to choose a training regiment which allows them to get more or less stat boosts. Each option has its own little cinematic with some really great looking sprite work. Your Digimon is allowed a best out of three, each time your monster does something right it gets a stat boost. If it does all three correctly it can get an extra fourth chance.
Another type of battle is the trading card game, which certain tamers throughout the world will battle you in. Much like training, these matches are done best out of three. You have a deck of around forty cards that have two primary types: Digimon and Programs. You can start your turn with a Program card, which acts like a summon or spell. Then you can summon Digimon from your hand to try and build up the most HP and AP (attack points). Certain cards require a mana pool-like energy to summon out on the field. Your goal is to have your health high enough that your opponents AP doesn't take it to zero, while having your AP high enough to destroy your opponents. Cards pool together their HP and AP and can be altered with Programs (either positively or negatively by opponents cards).
While the game looks gorgeous, it's just ludicrously slow with very little direction. You're just dropped in the middle of things and are left to your own devices to figure out what to do. The loading and frame rate really kills the vibe and makes the game feel sluggish. Battles just tend to drag on forever and you have to grind just to get any kind of advantage. If you're a big fan of Digimon I say get this one to be part of your collection, but for everyone else you're better off playing the first two.
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