Gamernode: Reviews - Digimon World: Dusk

Digimon World: Dusk

• Digimon World: Dusk
• Nintendo DS
• Bandai Namco Games
• Bandai Namco Games
• September 19th, 2007

Digimon World: Dusk is one of those unfortunate titles which is going to be judged before it even boots up in the Nintendo DS. With the Pokemon franchise finally being released on the DS, any monster training RPG is going to be compared to Nintendo's popular cash cow. Digimon World: Dusk is no different. The second nail in the coffin is that Digimon World: Dusk is not a better game than Pokemon Diamond or Pearl. It has problems, which make it even more unlikely that the game will find the same critical acclaim or sales numbers that Pokemon enjoys. That isn't to say that Digimon World: Dusk is bad. In fact, for someone who has grown up playing Pokemon games, the tweaks to the familiar formula feel quite refreshing. Dare I say that some should be incorporated into the next Pokemon games? If Bandai Entertainment fixes some of the problems Digimon World: Dusk has in future games, then Pokemon's dominance over the DS may be in question. Until then, though, this game just doesn't Digivole enough.

 
Digimon World: Dusk along with Digimon World: Dawn (two SKUs in a nod to the Pokemon franchise) follows the adventures of a young hero or heroine. During the course of a regular tournament in the digital world a viscous virus infects the system, turning the all powerful Digimon into eggs, and reducing your own Digimon into their lower forms. It is a terrible tease to get the gamer hooked early. To start out with all-powerful Digimon and then have them downgraded gives the gamer incentive to get back to the powerful team he or she had before. After this attack the story falls into a series of quests that reduce the narrative. On paper the quests, given out by the more powerful Digimon not affected by the virus, could have worked. In execution, it doesn't. Part of the emotional connection between the quests is lost, and it feels more like a series of errand runs than a progression of the story. It doesn't help either that the dialogue is boring. Much of the what the characters say is predictable. Compared to Pokemon's light hearted, excellently paced adventure, Dusk's story doesn't feel up to par.

 
But we all know the story is not the most important part about a game of this genre. It's all about the turn-based battles, and the monsters which populate the player's army. The battle system in Dusk is familiar to the system from Final Fantasy X. On the top display of the DS is set of boxes displaying who will get to act, and in which order. It helps for planning out complicated attacks, and is much better than Pokemon's "Ok I think my guy gets to go now," system. In addition to the action list, the battle ground is divided into two grids of five panels each; one for the player's Digimon and one for the enemies. Each Digimon and enemy player takes a spot on the grid, with certain Digimon receiving offensive or defensive bonuses based on who is fighting next to them. This grid system also plays a role in the attacks with some being able to hit more than one grid space at a time. Battles play out until one side falls.

 
The Digimon which populate either side are also very impressive. Sure the lower evolved versions of come creatures could easily be mistaken with another franchise's animals, but hit the Ultimate version of these Digimon and try and use that argument again. The more evolved Digimon look baddass, and should appeal to those older gamers who are tired of fighting with their Charizards and Pikachus. Seeing the evolved versions of the Digimon alone is worth putting in the time. These Digimon also have different strengths and weaknesses based on their type. Since this is standard fare for almost any RPG of today, though, this shouldn't surprise too many people. It does take an hour or so to get used to who is strong against what. Dusk changes up some of the typical strength/weakness relationships we are accustomed to.
 

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