Digimon Story: Time Stranger is one of the most anticipated Bandai Namco games in development, and a recent demo has just been released, showcasing how different this game is from its predecessors. After playing the game for almost 1.5 hours, it has made a great impression on me, as it shows how greatly improved both the graphics and gameplay features are. In this article, I’d like to share my thoughts on the demo, particularly for Digimon fans and gamers alike.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is the 7th installment of the Digimon Story series. The game takes place in Tokyo, Japan. Players take the role of an agent of ADAMAS, a secret organization that specializes in investigating and solving anomalous phenomena.
In the course of your mission, you will encounter an unknown creature known as Digimons in Shinjuku, which the government has quarantined. You are suddenly caught up in a mysterious explosion. Later on, they wake up 8 years in the past. The entire demo briefly shows what developers have been hinting at for the last year, and in other presentations and trailers shown on their YouTube channel. I am deeply impressed that the story content of this game is hyped up and shows great promise among Digimon fans such as myself.
The combat gameplay of this new Digimon Story game uses turn-based combat similar to its predecessor. However, for this new one, the actions and playstyles of one’s party have changed greatly as players won’t face random encounters. Instead, they will encounter roaming Digimons in different areas and can engage them using their Digivice. I really love the fact that we have a greater chance to farm experience points and strengthen our Digimon party to further improve stats and Digivolve into higher forms.
The animation of the game looks great, edging out Cybersleuth and Hacker’s Memory in that department. Players are now given a choice to choose what dialogue they can use to make the story interesting, plus doing so will help deepen the bond with their Digimons, as every choice a player makes will change their Digimon’s personality into something greater. I learned this when trying to know more about Digivolutions and how to get hidden skills that can be unlocked not only through battles.
The roster of Digimon is enormous, as there are a total of 450 playable Digimons that can be discovered throughout the game, making this the only game with the largest roster of Digimons ever. Various types of Digimons can be found in the manga, TV series, previous games, and other visual novels. Digimon Story: Time Stranger offers a vast amount of unlockables through Digicapture or Digivolution. I gotta say that this one game can truly rival the likes of Pokémon, as players will need to work harder than ever if they want to collect and unlock all the available Digimons that they wish to have.
Sometimes, there will be instances that will require them to plan what they should do to increase a certain stat trait of a target Digimon, and at the same time, increase their Agent’s Skill Level. An example is of Agumon. When reaching the proper requirements for Digivolving, the game’s UI will give a notification to players stating that certain Digimons in my party are eligible for Digivolving. Compared to the last two Digimon Story games, players won’t need a hub station to digivolve or change their parties, but can now do it during quests or missions. This makes it more comfortable and less strenuous.
The boss battles in the game are truly worth experiencing, especially when it’s your first time. There will be moments where players will face off against strong Digimon bosses like Dark Metal Greymon, Kuwagamon, etc. Don’t worry, defeating is as simple as the stronger your party is, the better the chances you have of surviving. Luckily, there is a new feature in this game called Cross Arts. This feature requires players to charge their CRITICAL POINTS to the max, and when used, they can either boost their party’s stats or deal critical damage to their enemies. This feature I really like, and I hope there are more instances where the CROSS ARTS feature will surprise me even further.
Overall, the demo of Digimon Story: Time Stranger is very good, and I may sound selfish, but I think this game has the makings of becoming one of the best JRPG games this year. With its story, content, gameplay, and newly improved features, Bandai Namco has truly outdone itself in making a game that is worth the wait for many Digimon fans.
