Introduction
Digimon World was the first major Digimon video-game to be released in the west, and was heavily influenced by the original virtual pet. While many likely bought it expecting a game along the lines of Pokemon, such as myself, we were instead treated to a unique, yet punishingly difficult and obtuse, experience. Digimon World received rather bad reviews all around due to its learning curve, but became somewhat of a cult classic. Future Digimon games went a different route, however, aiming closer to Pokemon's style, until just recently with Digimon re
igitize. It's a shame that it took Bandai this long to return to the format (although World 2 and World 3 are in my opinion equally quirky but fun games in their own right), because while World 1 was rough in many places, it was still an interesting game that didn't deserve to be completely abandoned like it was. I've yet to play re
igitize, but I'm anxiously waiting for the translation patch to see if it can live up and surpass the original.
In Japan, the game was released shortly before the anime revived Digimon's popularity, while in America, the game hit during its peak right around the airing of Digimon. So, for most western players, who weren't as familiar with the Digimon franchise prior to the television show like Japanese players, a few things may have come across as odd. How come Agumon doesn't always evolve into Greymon? Why does Tsunomon not evolve into Gabumon? Why is MetalGreymon
purple? Where's Tai? The European version was even worse, as it featured the Anime's Partner Digimon on the box, even though Gomamon is completely absent, and Tentomon is only an NPC.
Unfortunately, Digimon World...all three of them...are quite rare, and expensive to find, so many who were introduced to Digimon later on likely never got to experience it. Furthermore, despite being what I'd consider decently popular, they've never been put on the PSN, at least in the West. I believe it may have something to do with perhaps Disney owning the rights to Digimon, but as far as I know an official reason has never been given. Perhaps with Digimon Tri's release, the popularity revival may finally see a movement to put them on the PSN.
The game perhaps is at its best now in this current age. The game was quite obtuse, and in the early days where the internet was young, the best source of information was the official guidebook, which was woefully incomplete and in some cases, wrong. Even now, there are still many elements of Digimon World which aren't quite understood, and people are always finding new little tricks and figuring out how the mechanics work. It's perhaps quite a deep game? Perhaps deep is the wrong word, but nowadays where everything about a game is known within days, it's nice to have an old game with an air of obtuseness to it.
Being a Digimon Tamer
In Digimon World, your Digimon goes through five stages of life: Baby -> Training -> Rookie -> Champion -> Ultimate. Depending on how you raise it, excluding Baby -> Training which always follows one of four linear evolution patterns, you can end up with a variety of different Digimon. Getting the Digimon you want can be a challenging task, and the game does not tell you how to do so. It is quite likely that many first-time players, unaware of the various game mechanics, will end up with a Numemon or Sukamon, weak Champion Digimon who literally eat shit. And if you're lucky enough to get a decent Champion Digimon, good luck seeing it live long enough and training it well so that it reaches its Ultimate Level.
There are a variety of factors when raising Digimon, the most important being "Care Mistakes". Care Mistakes are errors made when raising a Digimon, and can and will prevent them from reaching many of the Ultimate Level Digimon, although a few actually evolve WHEN Care Mistakes are made enough times. When your Digimon is hungry, if you don't feed it fast enough, that's a Care Mistake. If your Digimon needs to poop, and you don't make it to the bathroom in time, that's a Care Mistake. If your Digimon grows tired after a round of training, and begins to "sweat", that's a Care Mistake. If you don't let your Digimon sleep, that's a Care Mistake. And if your Digimon gets sick, injured, or loses a battle, those are also Care Mistakes. As you can see, there are a LOT of opportunities for you to fuck up in this game.
The next important factor when raising a Digimon is its statistics. These are HP, MP, Offense, Defense, Brains, and Speed. They are increased by training at the Green Gym, or other locations, as well as battling against other Digimon. Focusing on certain stats increases the likelihood of evolving to certain Digimon, however, so much of your time during the game will be spent at the Green Gym, training up your Digimon so it can evolve. There is also Weight, which effects evolution and lifespan, as well as happiness and disclipline. Happy Digimon live longer, but may not listen to you. Disciplined Digimon live shorter lives, but are more obedient. It's up to you to reach a balance depending on the situation.
Even after all this is taken in account, evolution still seems to have somewhat of a randomness factor to it, with the various parameters factoring into evolution in different ways. Sometimes, you'll get the Digimon you want by meeting the requirements, or you'll end up with a different Digimon, because you also met a requirement for it that overrode the other requirements. There are items that can induce specific evolution, but finding them is no easy task, and some can only be obtained through hacking. The exact mechanics of evolution are still being figured out to this day, so it takes quite a bit of trial and error. Furthermore, unless you're using an emulator, you can only save when your Digimon sleeps, so it's rather difficult to save-scum. Getting all the Digimon is quite a feat.
Digimon do not live forever: they die after a certain amount of days, depending on how well you raise them, or if they lose three fights. You then must start over by choosing one of four eggs, and raising a Digimon from its Baby Stage. HOWEVER, by increasing your Tamer Rank through evolving enough Digimon, winning tournaments, and gaining medals through accomplishments, your Baby Digimon will inherit a percentage of the stats the previous Digimon had. But, of course, raising your Tamer Rank in the first place requires a lot of work.
Battles in Digimon World are done in real-time, with your Digimon moving on its own. As the Tamer, you can give it commands, and feed it items, but it does all the work. As you increase its Brains, you are able to give it more specific commands, including which techniques to use, but you'll always be at the mercy of your Digimon's A.I. Battles can be quite frustrating---it's not uncommon for your Digimon to waste its MP firing off missed shots, or being trapped in a corner by a faster Digimon and its HP quickly drained. Fights against multiple Digimon are especially difficult at times. Luckily, most random battles are avoidable, but they are useful for helping you earn some extra funds, as well as find items.
Digimon learn techniques through two ways; by raising their Brain to a certain amount, they'll learn their trademark technique, as well as fighting other Digimon. Every Digimon has a set of techniques it can learn, although once you've learned a technique, you've learned it for good (unless you die from battle, then your Digimon may lose techniques), and every future Digimon can utilize it if it's a technique they're capable of using. Learning techniques is random, but increasing Brains increases the odds. Battling Digimon that are similar to yours is often the best bet of learning a new technique. Techniques have different power-levels, MP cost, and range, and you can only choose three at a time to give your Digimon. At first, they use them on their own accord, but with enough Brains you can choose which one for them to use. Each Digimon also has a unique Finisher Move, which they can use after it has charged up enough energy. But if they're hit during the start-up, they lose their opportunity to use it until they recharge it.
Exploring File Island
While much of the game is spent on raising your Digimon, that is not the central goal of the game. Rather, your goal is to explore File Island, and recruit Digimon to your town, as well as find out the root of the evil infecting the Digital World. Recruiting Digimon first involves finding them, often by asking other Digimon or just wandering around until you find them, and then talking to them, where more often than not a battle must be won to convince them to return to File City. Some Digimon give you other challenges, such as running their shop for them, or even playing them in curling. Recruiting Digimon is important, as they often offer you helpful services to make your training easier, such as selling items, providing you with a daily helping of meat, or healing your Digimon of tiredness and sickness. Other Digimon, though, are less helpful, but the more Digimon you recruit, the more chances open up of meeting more useful Digimon. You don't have to recruit all the Digimon to complete the main story, though. If I recall correctly, only two are actually needed, but doing so makes things much more easier.
Battles are somewhat optional in Digimon World, outside of recruitment. There are wild Digimon wandering around, but you're usually able to avoid them (although in some cases they ambush you during screen transitions), without any penalty, and the stat gain they provide is meager compared to that which can be gained through training at the Green Gym. However, there are some evolutions that require meeting a certain amount of battles. But overall, you'll want to avoid them most of the time to conserve HP and MP for the Recruitment Digimon you must face.
Exploring File Island is not fun, especially early on. Your character moves extremely slowly, and the game is divided into screens, like the PSX Final Fantasy, meaning it takes quite awhile to get anywhere. Furthermore, it is a bit confusing figuring out at first what areas are passable, and what aren't, and it's easy to get turned around. There's no map, so you'll need to memorize the layout. As you progress, though, new routes and shortcuts open up, and you even obtain a Digimon that can fly you to certain areas to reduce travel time. You also can purchase the Auto-Pilot item, allowing you to return to File City at any place in case you run out of items. Much of the exploration, though, involves you playing Solid Snake as you try and move past wild Digimon with erratic movements so you won't waste time with a pointless fight. File Island is quite large, though, and rather interesting, so while it's cumbersome to explore it, there is a sense of reward when you discover a new location, or finally come across a new Digimon to recruit to your cause.
Beyond training and exploring, there are a few mini-games for you to partake in. You can fish, collect Digimon trading cards, which can be used to trade for rare items, and compete in Tournaments, although to be quite honest, the Tournaments can be quite challenging, and is an element of the game I never touched much as a kid, and have yet to get around to. You can also save your trained Digimon to use them in battles against other players.
Tips and Tricks
* Don't be prideful, use a guide! You'll want to try and plan which Digimon you get, otherwise if you play blind, you might end up with the rather useless Numemon.
* Use time wisely! You can't tackle everything the game has to offer with just one Digimon. Get a decent Champion-level Digimon, and begin accomplishing small goals at first. By doing this, you'll build up your City, Techniques, and Funds, and then can focus on getting an Ultimate-level Digimon for the harder parts.
* Keep well stocked! Always carry HP Items, MP Items, Food, a portable toilet, and an Auto-Pilot. When you run out of the other items, use an Auto-Pilot to return to File City and stock up. In the early game, you'll likely need to use recovery items during most fights in order to recruit much of the Digimon which will help make the game easier.
* Rest often! Tiring your Digimon out counts as a Care Mistake, and can reduce their lifespan. Generally, train about four or five times, and rest using Punimon's bed in Jijimon's house. Don't just sleep once, sleep about two or three times to ensure you're fully rested.
* If you're short on cash, and don't wish to cheat, use a Digimon as a "money maker". Get them up to Rookie, invest in decent stats, but ignore their cries for food. That way, you can save up the daily meat you get. Then, beat up the DIgimon around File City to increase your funds for your next Digimon. Alternatively, by reaching Freezeland, you can trade Sm. Recoveries, which you can buy for cheap in File City, to a Mojyamon for Offense Discs, which can then be sold for a net profit gain.
* If you're going for an Ultimate Digimon, do not explore. Stay close to File City to ensure you're always near a toilet and rest-spot, and can easily buy food. Some Digimon may need to fight a bit to evolve, so beat up the weak Digimon so you don't risk dying. Train, rest, train, rest, etc. Naturally, getting an Ultimate Digimon is not realistically something you should attempt at the beginning of the game. Focus on getting a decent Champion-level Digimon, and use him to complete the tasks needed to raise your Tamer Rank, to get stats passed on, and recruit the Digimon who help with Training like Pixiemon, Kabuterimon, and Kuwagamon.
