Digimon Games In Order: Which To Play First
Are you looking to play the Digimon games in order? Digimon is a well-established franchise that has been around for a while already. Digimon games have been released since the early 2000s up until the most recent one Digimon Survive. Throughout all these years, the franchise has gone from a Tamagotchi aimed at boys to games that tell more personal and dark stories. But if you want to know what order you should play the Digimon games, we’ve prepared this guide.
Since this guide is focused on presenting the order you should play the games, you are not going to find a whole historical discussion on the evolution of the series. So far, there are two main lines of Digimon games that you can have access to. In this guide, we’re also going to consider Digimon Survive as a third branch in the series since it presents a very distinct approach.
- Want to know what we thought of Digimon Survive? Read our spoiler-free Digimon Survive review.
Digimon World Games
Click to enlargeThe World series is probably the first contact many players had with Digimon games in the early 2000s. To tackle this series, you don’t need to necessarily begin with the first in the series, although eventually, the series does reference it. In each game, the experience is very different since each of them brings a different style of game, from a Tamagotchi-like system of raising and training Digimon to a hack’n’slash one.
Digimon World (1999)
The first Digimon World puts you in control of a kid who is taken to the Digiworld and must help some Digimon, populating File City, while raising one of their own. This is a very simple game in which the idea is to give players a more complex experience than they used to have with the Tamagotchis. Important to mention that it is a difficult game without some guidance on how to train your Digimon.
Digimon World 2 (2000)
In the second Digimon World, we experience the Digiworld through a dungeon crawler game, controlling a boy named Akira. This is a better game than the first one with a combat system that gives players ways of being more strategic. Digimon World 2 also brings a new Digivolution: you can fuse two digimons to get a brand new one!
Digimon World 3 (2002)
In the series’ third entry, you’ll find a very different game from the previous two. Digimon World 3 brings a very JRPG experience. Players take control of a kid who gets trapped in the DigiWorld and together with a party of Digimon try to save the world. Visually it is totally an improvement for the series while the battle system tries to emulate more
Digimon World 4 (2005)
A new entry in the World series and once again we see a new genre being used to create a Digimon game. Digimon World 4 was released for the PlayStation 2 with a hack and slash style of gameplay. While you fight with other Digimon directly without having to wait for turns, you could also play in co-op mode.
Digimon World Re: Digitize/Decode (2012/2013)
With Digimon World Re: Digitize for the PlayStation Portable, the series gets back to its origin focusing on raising and training digimons. Now you control Taiga and need to take care of your digimon that goes from the “Baby” stage up to the “Ultimate” one. One year later the game received a version for 3DS with the game Digimon World Re: Digitize Decode.
Digimon World: Next Order (2016/2017)
Initially released for the PlayStation Vita and then receiving a PlayStation 4 version, Digimon World: Next Order brings the series to modern consoles. It still has the mechanics of raising digimons (now you have two to take care of!), but Next Order adds something new to the experience by being an open-world game.
Digimon Story Games
Click to enlargeThe Digimon Story series mixes the Digimon battles and evolving mechanics with tight-structured plots. But maybe what is most distinctive in this series is that it lacks some of the Tamagotchi tradition that some of the World games have in them.
Digimon World DS (2006)
Although it is named World, this game is the first one of the Story series and from which many others have come. Based on the Digimon Data Squad anime series, it brings a very cute 2D art style and will take players on a mission to defeat the evil entity Unknown-D.
Digimon World Dawn and Dusk (2007)
In Japan, these two games have been released as Digimon Story Sunburst and Moonlight for the Nintendo DS. Structured similar to Pokémon, each of the games portrays a different protagonist with the same mission: to investigate a virus that has not only made several Digimon get back to their Digi-Eggs form as well as destroyed the access to the Digiworld.
Digimon Story Lost Evolution (2010)
Back with a more traditional plot, Lost Evolution tells the story of a group of kids that is transported to the Digiworld and needs to save it, together with their Digimon, from the group of villains Uno, Dos, and Tres. This may be a difficult game to play since it was only released in Japan!
Digimon Story Super Xros Wars Red and Blue (2011)
Another entry in the Story series that has been released only in Japan, Digimon Story Super Xros Wars has two versions: the Blue and Red, each having different antagonists. It is based on Digimon Fusion, the sixth Digimon animated series. These games feature a combat system heavily based on a fusion mechanic in which by having two specific Digimon in the party players can trigger a special attack.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (2015)
With Cyber Sleuth, players have the chance to experience the game’s story through the perspective of a male (Takumi Aiba) or female (Ami Aiba) protagonist. This game’s story focuses on solving the mysteries around EDEN, a platform for physical interaction with the digital world, taking advantage of the protagonist's Connect Jump.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth - Hacker’s Memory (2018)
Hacker’s Memory is not necessarily a sequence, but it is a story that occurs simultaneously with the first Cyber Sleuth. Still happening within EDEN, Hacker’s Memory tells the story of Kaisuke Amasawa who needs to find the real culprit of a crime with the help of a group of hackers named “Hudie”, so he can prove his innocence. Even though Hacker’s Memory is not a sequel, playing the previous Cyber Sleuth first is recommended.
Digimon Survive (2022)
Click to enlargeA quite anticipated title, Digimon Survive brings not only a new style for its combat system but it’s basically a Visual Novel with lots of dialogues and a route system. In case you haven’t read our Digimon Survive Review, the basic idea behind the game is a group of kids that go camping and find themselves in a new world with Digimon. Their main goal is not only to escape this place but to find the means to survive.
As you can see, there are many entry points to the series for you to choose from. Digimon games have evolved with time and they are always trying something new! But if you also want to try a new anime JRPG, you should check out our Soul Hackers 2 Review or even learn more about Genshin Impact!
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