Digimonfans are still waiting for the release ofDigimon Survive. First announced in the middle of 2018 by a V-Jump article, this strategy-RPG/visual novel promises to be the next evolution of matureDigimonstorytelling, giving players an option to go down potentially dark routes. The battle system was also somethingDigimonhad not tried to do before, being a grid-based tactics game similar toFinal Fantasy TacticsorFire Emblem. Unfortunately,Digimon Survivehas been subject to many delays, and fans are hoping that the 2022 release window will stick this time.
Given thatSurviveis developed by the studio Witchcraft instead of any veteran developer, it would be reasonable to assume that its delays are not holding up the rest of the franchise. However, Bandai Namco seems dead-set on making this the current flagship consoleDigimontitle, and little in the way ofDigimongames have been announced sinceSurvivewas.Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Editioncame out later, but the rest ofDigimon’s many facets have been neglected. There have been many different lines ofDigimongames over the years, and one of the oldest and most well-known,Digimon World, should come back afterDigimon Surviveis out.
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Digimon World Has a Strong Legacy
Digimon Worldis a long-running series ofDigimonRPGs that’s been around since the PS1. The first game came out in Japan in 1999, and featured a young boytraveling to the digital worldto make friends and fight off an evil force. Many games in theDigimon Worldline go something like this, though the specifics can vary. Sometimes other human characters were around, and sometimes the player commands a lone Digimon or many. At any rate, one thing almost every game in the series has in common is their Digimon raising mechanics, which encourage the player to actively train and take care of their partner Digimon. Different evolutions can result from this in some games, but that’s more the realm of theDigimon Storytitles.
Digimon Worldis notable in that it doesn’t have a single unifying type of gameplay throughout its entries. Most of them can be defined as some type of RPG, though this can mean anything from aFinal Fantasyimitator to an action game where the player must give orders to AI-controlled Digimon in real time.Digimon World 4stands out the most, as it is a four-player cooperative brawler that only possesses light pet-raising mechanics. The poor reception to that change was probably the reason whyDigimon Worldwent on a seven-year hiatus after that.Digimon World Re:DigitizeandDigimon World: Next Orderare the series' most recent games, and they return to the real-time command gameplay style of the firstDigimon World.
There Needs To Be a New Digimon World
It’s not hard to see how this particular series stands out among other monster collecting games. Whereas in aPokemon,Shin Megami Tensei, orDigimon Storygamea player might collect many different monsters and evolve or fuse them into different forms,Digimon Worldis more focused on the relationship between a player and their Digimon. Aside fromDigimon World 2and3, the series also trends towards light action gameplay where the player directs battles from the sidelines. This alternative approach gives theDigimon Worldgames their unique flavor. In a time whenSMThas returned andPokemonis still going strong, it makes sense to release a game targeting a niche that neither of those franchises is trying to fill.
It feels likeDigimon Worldhas been on the cusp of greatness for a long time, and one more big title could be the push it needs. The series has suffered from a combination of not refining old ideas, and, in the case of later titles, being initially made for portable systems. A newWorldmade for consoles that carries on the real-time-with-pause advancements made inDigimon World: Next Ordercould be the big break the series needs. Giving players a chance to go on an adventure with a party of two or three Digimon who can be raised into many different forms sounds like a great experience. All that needs to happen first isforDigimon Surviveto finally come out.
Digimon Surviveis scheduled for release in 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
