Digimon World: Next Order - PlayStation 4

Before you take in any of this, bear in mind that this game is aimed for fans of Digimon and/or Digimon World. As such, those unfamiliar with the game or television series may have a hard time enjoying the game. Digimon World Next Order is a legitimate continuation of the story of the original Digimon World game, complete with almost all of the same mechanics of the old game with a bunch of new extra ones. It follows a Tamagotchi-style gameplay where you have to take care of your twin Digimon (originally you only had one partner) by feeding them, taking them to the toilet, training up their stats, and fighting other Digimon. For people new to the Digimon World series, this is actually the first time a Digimon World game has not been in its own continuity and probably for the better (even if you don't necessarily need to know the old game's story to enjoy this one). While the story is inherently simple-minded ('good Digimon are being turned into bad Digimon, go save them'), even with the additional kids who help the city, it works in the game's favor in order to get you back into the gameplay. For those who enjoy the difficulty of the original, you might be a bit disappointed because the difficulty curve is slightly lower, something which will not be apparent to those new to the game. It's also much easier to grind for stats to go towards earning your partners' 'digivolutions' as you can upgrade the training gear and have very early access to foods that boost training. In fact, Next Order seems to cry out 'greater accessibility', which to some people is good or bad. To me, it feels good at first and then quickly kind of dulls on me because it feels like there's too much gained at once. With the rush to make sure you have all of the extra stuff to do at the city, there comes a lack of additional new things afterward that is replaced with 'upgrading buildings' which is where the bad grind comes in of mining specific spots for handfuls of items at a time to go toward upgrades. This in itself can get tiring as you can only mine spots once a day, and plenty of them are in the midst of high-level enemies. On the plus side, your character's Tamer level does more than just passively affect things: you earn points to put towards skills of a wide variety, including skills to boost stat training, max inventory, item mining, and even prolonging the life of your partners. This is probably the best part of the game as it opens the road to being able to play your character as you see fit, whether you focus on combat, care, item farming, or give it an even split which is only mildly difficult. These skills are actually pretty vital in some cases to getting on the fast track to better 'digivolutions' and in other cases will allow your partners more versatility in combat. So, all in all, is Digimon World Next Order a good game? Yes. Despite the issues of rushing to give you access to a lot of neat stuff at the city, it is a much more accessible game than its predecessor and at least makes the stat grinding more bearable. However, it's definitely a game for the fans and not something for people who have never played Digimon, barely watched the show, or are too used to the way games like Pokemon play out. So long as you don't expect to be getting right back to earning iconic Digimon partners from the get-go, you won't be disappointed. Having said all that, if you're willing to give it a try despite not being a Digimon fan, then I suggest giving it a very fair chance and keeping in mind that difficulty is half the fun. Side Note: For those who care, the game does have dual audio, which- before you groan- has a pretty good dub voice over going for it, including a lot of actors who voiced over the original Digimon show. The Japanese side isn't as interesting, though, as it has a lot of generic-sounding actors and the voice over isn't present for Digimon in-combat, only during dialog scenes.

This is a fantastic game with a lot of heart. I'm so glad and thankful they decided to bring this over with an English dub cast! I love that I'm able to have new memories filled with these games. I'm currently still on Chapter 1 (20 hours in, though), and can say that this game is very addictive, deep, and difficult. I am playing on Normal difficulty at the moment. I would drop it, but I've heard that Easy only affects the stats it takes to get digivolutions. Please purchase this if you love Digimon. Although it's not a perfect game -- being a little lacking in story, they are on the right track, and I can see them releasing more if they see the support. Also, please release a Digimon World 3 remake or sequel! I know the Bandai Namco US doesn't have too much say in the matter, but that entire world, characters, and music is so memorable. A revised Cyber Sleuth battle system with everything else World 3 had would be incredible. Also, making (unique anime-type based) digivices relevant and the reintroduction of crests and cards would be amazing. That was always a big standout to me growing up with seasons 1-3.

Liked from what I have played, but the 1 star is more related to the physical product. When I received it the game was moving around in the case, and was scratched. The game wouldn't let me go past the tutorial. I contacted the seller and was told that the problem was my PS4 Pro, and not the scratched disc. Either something happened on the way to me, which is possible or the seller didn't put the disc in all the way to where the disc could move freely. The case still feels new so the holder is not worn out. Either way I don't appreciate being told that my problem is my PS4 Pro, and the disc works perfectly fine.

This game is so captivating and amazing, I have no idea why it's not getting the attention it rightfully deserves. Digimon World 1 is a classic and is being sold for $229 while this one is well below its initial selling price. I honestly feel insulted about that. This game is reminiscent to the classic World 1 but better! Everything has been made easier but it is up to YOU to do the things you do. You can make it harder for yourself by not utilizing all the tools afforded to you and it will function the same way as the 1st game, so don't complain that's it's just for casuals! It's like you don't want Digimon franchise to grow and prosper. I am honestly so happy I gave this a try and relive my childhood, and I believe it will give you the same nostalgia of you played World 1 or even watched the first Digimon anime. Get it!!!!

I enjoy what this game is trying to be, but it bungles it's execution a bit. Next Order goes back to the roots Digimon World gameplay-wise. You get Digimon to come to your city and thus upgrade your available interactions in the city both visually and mechanically while raising Digimon that eat and poop and fight. This time you get 2 though. The training's a point of contention for me, it results in what you would expect a tamogach training session to result in, better stats at the cost of time and hunger meter. However, this time around, the game tracks and incentivises figuring out evolution requirements. Unfortunately, learning these is only viably grindable while in the first couple generations of Digimon, as the more power they have, the less times they will tell you what they are, eventually only ever telling you anything after 5-10 battles after which they feel satisfied or when they complain. This brings up another issue. To make them complain more often, you need to reduce their obedience stat, however this stat is used in combat to order your Digimon to sue a move or EXE Digivolve, which is sometimes necessary for story events and escaping high-level areas. So there's a point where you must battle 5-10 decently leveled Digimon to learn with the occasional random complaint, meaning you'll most likely be put in a pinch between obedience and survival. This is my biggest mechanical complaint however. Otherwise, the walking speed is way to slow for how big the areas are, the battles are strange to say the least, the plot is... meh, and I don't understand why there are wifus in my Digimon game. On the plus side though, the music and sound design in general is pretty good, the Digimon look great, the special moves rarely get old to watch, and the EXE Digivolutions feel great to achieve mid-battle. It's definitely my favorite Digimon title I've played, and I would recommend it to those who like Digimon and/or tamogachi in general.

This game is great, but it is not for everyone. I love how challenging the game is and how it takes time to get stronger. The game play reminded me of Monster Rancher. You have to take into account what you are feeding your Digimon and what stats you want to train in order to get your desired Digimon. It takes a lot of trial and error to get the Digimon you want unless you use a guide, but that is just part of the journey. In this game you have to put in effort in order to get the top Digimon and it takes a lot of time to get there. This is why so many people are giving it a bad review. If you are someone who is impatient and is looking for a straightforward game that gives you hand outs then steer clear from this game. However, if you are someone who enjoys putting in effort in a game and love Digimon, then this game is for you!

I recently bought Cyber Sleuth around a year ago and I loved it, it had been too long since we had an official english localized TRUE Digimon game. (Rumble doesn't count) It had a decent amount of Digimon and long, decent (sometimes obvious) story. So when I heard a new Digimon was released around the same time overseas I didn't bat an eyelid this was typical Bamco but much to my surprise they decided to release it in English as well I did remain skeptical as the down time between releases were minimal for gaming standards and low and behold I was right. I'll start with the positives: Legal and Localized - Can't be emphasized enough how nice it is to simply go out and purchase the next Digimon game like our fellow tamers overseas. Voices/Graphics are Bearable - Could be better could be worse. Sound Effects - Some familiar sounds from previous games return you should recognize them immediately if you've played older games. Updates to the old system - You no longer have to use Faqs or guess what you'll need to Digivolve into a specific Mon granted it would still help but it's unneeded as after praising or scolding your partner they will slowly reveal their paths to you.You also gain upgrades that help speed up almost everything you will be doing besides running. Negatives: Enemy Level Escalation - May be less of a headache on the easy difficulty but on the normal one don't be surprised if you're Ultimates gets knocked out by a level 20 Rookie and its friends. Grinding - The amount of grinding you have to do on a constant basis can be pretty draining and I found myself getting sidetracked as the process got pretty boring quick. Music - It just doesn't have the same charm as the original Digimon World and at times I found myself getting annoyed of it altogether and cutting it off. Recruit Missions - It would've been nice if these were optional but they're not you can only go so far in the game before Jijimon has nothing to do for you and you must run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find Mons to join the city for the next mission to start. Roster - At the time of this review the roster is at 231... 231 on a PS4!! They're thousands of Digimon why do we have access to such a small amount? A certain Mon game that came out on the Game Boy Color had 251! To make matters worse it's almost the same exact roster from Cyber Sleuth some Digimon were even removed and replaced with reskins for who knows what reason and only a handful of new ones was added. So in retrospect I recommend this only for the hardcore gamers/digimon fans or anyone who wants to support Bamco in hopes they get the next one right and continue to release it everywhere.

I love digimon but this is terrible. You are basically a spectator watching your digimon fight. I saw no appeal and would avoid trying this game.