You begin
Digimon World DS as either a young boy or girl who, while investigating digital monsters (or Digimon) on the Internet, receives a strange invitation to see Digimon for yourself. Before you know it, you are sucked into the Digital World, given your own companion monster and Digivice, and branded a Digitrainer.
The first few minutes are spent going through every aspect of the game. You’ll learn about battles, collecting Digimon for your Digifarm, evolution… if it is in the instruction manual, you’ll find it here. If you manage to get past the interactive instruction book, you’ll find a solid, enjoyable monster collection game.
Digimon World DS feels a lot like the Poke’mon series, but with a few tricks of its own. One of the main differences is that Digimon is a little more quest-based. You are always going somewhere and never just roaming around just to pick fights with random people. Even with the added focus, there is still a lot of roaming, especially when you come across dungeons, which are sparse and not all that interesting.
Another addition is that you can build relationships with your monsters by talking to them. By talking to them, you can lower their stress levels (which makes them more reliable in battle). Sometimes you can even unlock quests that will net you Trainer Points.
Points lead to another difference. Rather than teaching moves to your party, you can equip them with armor and weapons, similar to a traditional RPG. By equipping items, your Digimon can learn new abilities. The system is flexible and allows for more customization. There are, however, limits to who can equip which items.
As you defeat other Digimon, you earn data. Once you’ve acquired enough data, you can convert the data into a new Digimon. This method has its advantages and disadvantages. You never have to worry about running out of room since you can transfer your creations to the Digifarm; however, it does make it harder to nab rare Digimon since you’ll have to seek out and defeat them multiple times.
While in your Digifarm, your Digimon train and gain experience. Digimon on your farm don’t gain as much experience as the ones in your party, though you’ll never run into the problem of not having the “right type” at a high enough level if the situation calls for it. The downside is that a good Digifarm costs money, so unless you’re willing to shell out big money, you won’t be able to support some Digimon or train them properly.
Your Digimon will eventually evolve into stronger versions. Digimon takes a different approach to evolution. You not only get to choose when your monsters evolve, but can choose between multiple evolved versions if you wait to meet certain conditions. It is usually in your best interest to create multiple copies so you can get all of the evolved versions.
Digimon World DS also offers both WiFi and LAN multiplayer options. WiFi is, unfortunately, limited to Digi-matching – which lets you breed your Digimon with your friends, producing Digi-eggs. LAN options include battle and trading. The game’s younger audience takes some of the sting out of the lack of competitive online modes. It isn’t hard to imagine young kids joining WiFi battles, though I imagine most would rather battle with friends from school and around the neighborhood.
