With the Digimon series set to return to western shores later this year with the release of Digimon Survive, many series fans are excited to find out what the title has to offer. Despite one or two pandemic related delays, it seems to be shaping up fairly nicely so far, although fans may be a little weary about getting their hopes up given the quality of some of the earlier Digimon games.
There have been plenty of them over the years, but the franchise's flagship series is perhaps Digimon World. It is by far the longest-running Digimon series and has spawned numerous games and spin-offs over the past few decades. Unfortunately, however, not all of these have hit their mark and some have missed by a considerable distance. If Survive is to be a success, it could perhaps learn a thing or two from some of the series' past failings.
8 Digimon World 2
Despite the first Digimon World game finding reasonable success in both Japan and the west, its sequel was seen by many as a huge step backward. Rather than another creature-raising adventure, the game is instead a dull and uninspired dungeon crawler with mediocre combat and substandard visuals.
Its biggest problem is definitely its combat system, which is about as enjoyable as a poke in the eye. This is further exacerbated by the huge emphasis that's placed on grinding; with players expected to spend countless hours battling with the lazy and unintuitive system. To the game's credit, some of the boss battles are pretty cool, although, other than that, there's very little enjoyment to be found here.
7 Digimon World Data Squad
Like several of the other Digimon World games that released in the west, Digimon World Data Squad is not actually considered to be part of the Digimon World series and was simply named as such during localization. It's actually based on the Digimon Data Squad anime series, although was likely placed under the Digimon World banner in the hopes of improving western sales. Sadly, this plan failed miserably.
This was in large due to the series' waning popularity on western shores, although the game's abysmal critical reception certainly didn't help too much either. It did feature a few interesting exclusive characters that expanded the lore of the anime a little, although they weren't nearly enough to make up for the generic and poorly presented gameplay.
6 Digimon World 3
Following the poor response to Digimon World 2, the series' third entry once again brought with it some sweeping changes; this time to the game's combat system. Unlike its predecessor, it plays a lot more like a traditional JRPG and this is something that definitely suits the series a lot better. Sadly, however, the game still has its fair share of problems.
Heavy grinding is once again a requirement and some of the 3D models used are poor; even for the era. Loading times are also incredibly slow and the lack of enemy variation can lead to things becoming stale very quickly. At best, it is an average RPG that will likely only appeal to die-hard Digimon fans.
5 Digimon World
For a first attempt, Digimon World is a fairly impressive game that features one or two really interesting ideas. Releasing in Japan at the beginning of 1999, the game revolves around raising and training a Digimon with a view to becoming strong enough to take down the evil Analogman and saving the world from destruction.
Digivolving works surprisingly well and provides players with plenty of motivation to power up their partners. Raising the Digimon from egg form and being limited to a single companion is also a nice touch as well. Having the Digimon fade away and return to egg form over time, however, didn't go down too well with some players.
4 Digimon World 4
As was tradition for Digimon World games at this time, Digimon World 4 once again found itself flirting with other genres. Unlike its predecessor, which was more in line with a JRPG, the series' fourth mainline entry is instead an action RPG with co-op support. As it happens though, this change ended up being a very good one for the franchise.
Gameplay is solid and the four player co-op mode can be incredibly enjoyable with the right people. What's more, the game features an interesting and well fleshed-out story and boasts some fairly decent visuals for the era as well. The Xbox version is perhaps the pick of the bunch, although the GameCube port really isn't too far behind.
3 Digimon World: Next Order
With over 200 Digimon obtainable in the western release, Digimon World: Next Order is one of the largest Digimon games to date. Although the bond between players and their Digimon is still incredibly important to the game's mechanics, however, it is now just one of many elements that players will need to consider.
Despite one or two issues, it's a well designed game with a decent battle system; not to mention some of the best graphics to have ever graced the series. Sadly, grinding is still a big part of the experience, although nowhere near as much as it was in earlier Digimon World titles. It can still be frustrating, but nowhere near as much as it once was.
2 Digimon World DS
Strictly speaking, Digimon World DS is part of the Digimon Story series. Granted, there are still plenty of similarities between the game and some of the earlier Digimon World titles, but it arguably draws most of its inspiration from the hugely successful Pokemon series.
Players are placed in the shoes of a Digimon "tamer" and must embark on a quest to tame and train each and every creature in the game. There are quite a lot of them too; with several having been created specifically for the title. Despite - or, perhaps, because of - these similarities, the game performed well both critically and commercially and spawned numerous sequels.
1 Digimon World Re:Digitize
First released on the PSP before later being ported to the 3DS with the word "Decode" slapped on the end, Digimon World Re:Digitize is considered by many to be the finest Digimon game ever made. Sadly, however, it's one that never ended up making its way to western shores.
The game returns to the series' roots by focusing heavily on its digital pet mechanics. Much like a Tamagotchi, it allows players to raise their Digimon through various different life stages and features more than 10,000 accessories that can be used to customize their appearances. It received mainly positive reviews and was one of Japan's 75 best selling games in 2012.