So, I recently wrote a little preview about Digimon Story Time Stranger. Remember how I said I was going to play Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story Hacker’s Memory? Well, those two had to wait because I was actually given the opportunity to do a review of the full game.
Buckle up kids, because I’m about to give you a more in-depth look that has probably worsened my Digimon obsession.
First, let’s talk about the story. Since Digimon Story Time Stranger is an RPG, I don’t want to delve into too many details. So, for that reason, I’m going to keep spoilers to a minimum. As I mentioned in my discussion of the demo, you play as an agent of an organisation known as ADAMAS, tasked with stopping anomalies. Also dealing with Digimon are the Public Safety Officers; however, they work separately from ADAMAS. After all, they may be top secret, but we’re… TOP SECRET (full capitalisation for the full effect of secrecy).
After going to investigate an anomaly in the Wall of Hope, our protagonist is hurled eight years into the past, where they are officially introduced to one Inori Misono and her father, former Public Safety Officer turned private detective, Kosuke. With nowhere else to go, they offer their home to you, and soon you’re joining them with your own secret plans as you struggle with the knowledge that in the future, the world is about to end with a cataclysmic event called the Shinjuku Inferno.
Your goal is to prevent this catastrophe from happening, so Inori and her friend Hisoko — a streamer and childhood friend who becomes famous for her channel where she investigates weird happenings in Tokyo — go to investigate rumours of other weird circumstances. However, during their investigation, they find an injured Elecmon whom Inori has named Coo, who will Digivolve into Aegiomon.
Now, Aegiomon hatched from an egg of which you are constantly accused of being the thief of. So, you’ll need to make do with having the title of Egg Thief attached to your resume. The egg’s the most important element, as it contained that of the Great Guardian, who is charged with protecting the digital world, which is embroiled in a war between the Olympos XII (a group of Digimon based on Roman and Greek mythology) and the Titans.
Naturally, your investigation will lead you through the Digital World as you find a way to bring Inori home and stop the apocalypse. All the while, you’re also in charge of trying to find a way back to your own time. Except when does travelling through time ever go according to plan? Now, this is as much of the story as I’m going to give you for now, because frankly, that’s the gist of it. If you want to know more? I encourage you to play it, so to tempt you, let’s talk a little bit about the actual gameplay.
You can have a party of up to three Digimon, but then there are your reserve members that you can switch out in combat. All Digimon have a different attribute: Vaccine, Data, and Virus, and you can learn more about how these work by playing the mini-game: Jogmon (made up of the term Jogress Digivolution and Monster, which I couldn’t stop giggling at), where you have five random cards and you need to win three separate battles to emerge the victor of the match. While it does feel random, it’s not unbeatable, and I was… a little bit addicted. It didn’t help that the screen looked a lot like the ol’ Digimon V-Pet battles I would do with my brother, so that added to the nostalgia.
Except, I’m getting ahead of myself! I was talking about the gameplay, not just the mini-game. The actual gameplay has you run around different maps, either around Shinjuku or around the Digital World. You’ll have to fight with other Digimon, and in battle you have four options as you partake in turn-based combat. You can use an item once per turn, and you can also change to your reserve member. You can also guard, which is helpful if you’re in a boss fight and they’re about to unleash a powerful attack, and a skill too. Skills require SP, but if you’re running low, don’t forget that melee attacks are also great. Well, depending on the type advantage.
A guest member will also join your party every once in a while, and Aegiomon will also join you, but he can’t be switched out for another of your party members. Unlike guest characters, you can give him orders in battle. However, while you can’t switch, later on you can have him Digivolve into a special form, and it doesn’t use up any SP or the cost of a turn.
Most Digimon won’t be able to Digivolve in battle, but you’ll find that you can train them up so that they can go to the next level. Each Digivolution will require specific stats, so it’s essential that you keep these in mind as you play. These stats are HP, SP, ATK, DEF, INT, SPI, and SPD. If your Digimon doesn’t meet those stats even after getting to their max level, don’t despair. And, let’s not forget about the DigiEggs of Courage, Friendship, Knowledge, and so on. But, for the most part, that’s where the DigiFarm comes in.
You can access the DigiFarm by going to the In-Between Theatre, which is a place somewhere between time and space, and you’re the only one who can get there. Here, you can either go to the DigiFarm or the Outer Dungeons, other areas in the Digital World that offer a challenge, rewards, and more. You can also purchase items, skills, and clothes here, too. The DigiFarm allows you to work on a specific stat at a time using different training items that you can purchase from Zudomon. However, keep in mind that you can’t check the Digivolution criteria in the DigiFarm menu, so please make note of what you want to work on or you will be going back and forth, like I, unfortunately, did.
To get to certain Digivolutions, you’ll need to increase your Agent Skills. These will also allow you to learn more Cross Arts, special moves that only you, as an Agent, can do. You can customise these in the Agent menu, and as you increase your Agent Skills, you can up your Agent Rank to get to further Digivolutions. To get more Agent Skills, you’ll need to gain Anomaly Points, which you can earn from either progressing in the Main Quest or partaking in Side Quests. If you want to focus on the Main Quest, don’t worry, because you can go back to your Side Quests later on.
As I mentioned earlier, you can change your costume in the Agent menu. There are several costumes you’ll get depending on the edition of Time Stranger you purchase. You can also purchase different T-shirts from other properties, like TEKKEN 8, Taiko no Tatsujin, PAC-MAN, and Tales of Arise. It’s kind of hilarious, I’m not going to lie. Some Side Quests allow you to change your Costume to a specific one. For example, in one quest, I had to change into the Chosen Children outfit, allowing me to look like Tai, with Inari as Mimi, and Aegiomon as TK. All because someone is trying to kidnap tamers, and it’s just… It’s just so goofy.
So, let’s talk a little bit more about my thoughts about Time Stranger overall. In terms of story, I thought it was great. It took me around 40 hours to beat the Main Story with a few Side Quests, and I think it’s a testament to how good the story was that I just didn’t want to put my PlayStation controller down. Instead, I found myself insistent on playing more, so now my sleep schedule is definitely out of whack.
Converting Digimon is a lot of fun, and it’s a good way of unlocking more Digivolution lines. You can De-Digivolve, but doing this may decrease your stats, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Instead, it was a fun way to find out about different lines.
But the best part of all? You can ride your Digimon partners. Some of these are Rideable, and they all have their own unique style. For example, you can ride on Greymon’s shoulders, be carried around in ExTyrannomon’s costume, and ride on the back of Beelzemon’s motorcycle. This was such a lot of fun, and while it doesn’t make you go around much quicker, it certainly made some childhood dreams come true.
The only issue I had with Time Stranger was the fact that I couldn’t check the Digivolution lines while in the DigiFarm. That just made it more tedious and took more time than I really wanted to spend. I liked that all Digimon could gain EXP regardless of who was in your Party.
Overall, if you’ve never played a Digimon Story game, not playing the other games doesn’t hinder you at all. In fact, I think this is a great entry point into the series for new or old fans alike. If anything, it’s made me want to play the previous Story games and appreciate the amount of depth in the franchise.
So, if you’ve never experienced Digimon before? Well, this is a great place to start.
