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Saturday 9 February, 2008
DIGIMON WORLD 2 GAMELOG ENTRY #2
GAMEPLAY:
After my second play session, I found myself becoming a little bored with the turn-based battle system. After finishing the fourth dungeon I found myself avoiding battles as much as possible. However, after learning how to catch digimon, I then became engrossed in expanding my digimon collection and making the best team possible. I think perhaps that this games main feature would be the plethora of digimon that were made available to the player.
The only thing I found the game to be lacking in was a 2-player mode. While I understand that multiplayer functions were not common for the Playstation systems, it has been done by taking data from 2 sources and letting the players battle it out that way. I was somewhat dismayed to find out that I could not battle my fellow hall mates. I found this very strange because ever since its conception, digimon has been a 2 player activity, with raising your monsters and then having them fight each other.
I felt that the story behind Digimon world 2 was not only very interesting but also moved at a fast pace. I enjoyed this because despite the length of the dungeons, you knew that you would get a juicy tidbit of an overlaying story. Not only was the progression of the story well done, but the explanation of the world and the relationships between humans and digimon were explained thoroughly all while keeping to the theme of digimon.
DESIGN:
The design of the game was great for its time, but unfortunately compared to recent titles, the game falls short; this is to be expected as the game is around six years old. The battle-system of the game is simply done, and can get monotonous after a while. The only thing that keeps the player going back for more is the gripping story and the chance to catch strange and new digimon. Another interesting touch to the game is the player’s ability to upgrade the digibeetle with different parts that can become handy in different situations.
The system of catching digimon is simple, yet original. The player gives gifts to the digimon they want to catch. Depending on the quality of the gift, the affection gained from the digimon will be different. A high affection means the digimon is more likely to join the player’s party. The player is then forced to fight the affectionate digimon, and if the player is successful, the digimon will want to join them and the player will be given the option to accept or decline the digimon’s offer for help. The more digimon you catch, the more DNA-Digivolving combinations you can make. DNA-Digivolving is what happens when you merge 2 digimon to create a stronger one. The created digimon begins at level one, but as it gains levels, its stats increase more dramatically and it gains the abilities possessed by its “Parent Digimon”.
The digibeetle upgrade system is also very engaging. The player is able to buy parts for the digibeetle, making it more resistant to the hazards in dungeons and able to get around obstacles the player may encounter. The only flaw in this system is the cost of the upgrades; the game seems to demand that the player upgrade their digibeetle almost immediately. Unfortunately, the game does not explain how to do this or catch a digimon. Despite these flaws Digimon World 2 provides a unique, fun gaming experience all while keeping true to the digimon world.
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