Anyone who is familiar with the digital pets such as Tamagotchi or Gigapet should already have a fairly clear understanding of the gameplay involved in Bandai Namco ‘s Digimon Wolrd Championship for the Nintendo DS. In fact, the Digimon product began as a rival to the Tamagotchi and has since “digivolved” to the videogame medium.
Because the Digimon franchise focuses raising and training digital monsters, players will find that the Digimon World Championship experience is more about maintenance and management than actual gameplay. Most of one’s time with this game will involve moving Digimon from cage to cage in an effort to boost certain stats or give the little buggers a bit of rest, dropping food in their faces to prevent starvation, cleaning up waste with a broom and dustpan tool, applying bandages, administering medicine, etc.
The clock is always ticking in Digimon World Championship, and a schedule of events lets players know on which days special Digimon title matches will be held. It’s important to pay attention and have the creatures healthy and well-rested (with full HP) before registering for a match, and to be sure not to miss events altogether.
Building a stable of Digimon allows the player to compete in battles with other, CPU-controlled monsters for ranks, titles, and money. Unfortunately, Digimon combat is apparently a spectator sport, because the player has no control over anything once a match begins. Every battle’s outcome is based on the attributes of the Digimon in the arena, and each conflict plays out like a mini bumper car session on the DS screen. The game features a multiplayer battle mode too, but again, it simply pits one player’s trained monsters against another’s. Money earned through victory in any of these battles can be used to buy new stat-boosting cages, items to take care of Digimon, or tools to hunt for more of them.
Of everything there is to be done in Digimon World Championship, it is the hunting portion of the game that requires the most input from the player. Here, the task is to shoot, lasso, and capture whichever wild Digimon one’s little heart desires. The tamer (that’s what us players are called) heads to an area on the map where a number of Digimon bounce around through the grass, between trees and rocks, in and out of caves, etc. By using the stylus to poke, draw circles around, and drag these critters, a player can increase his or her army of warrior-pets.
Digimon World Championship, while not much of a hands-on gaming experience, is a great step up from the digital pets of old, and would be a good choice for the youngest of gamer demographics. Other than that, the game lacks any real gameplay value and is more a time-consuming and minimally enjoyable chore.
