Digimon Story: Time Stranger Is A Promising Comeback That I Didn’t Want To Stop Playing

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In Digimon Story: Time Stranger, the seventh game in the series known for its role-playing focus, the appeal of nostalgia remains strong. As with previous games in the Digimon Story franchise, the storyline is significant, but it’s the creature collection and turn-based battles that kept me engaged even after my three-hour test run ended.

In simpler terms, the main character in Time Stranger is an adult spy delving into mysterious Digimon occurrences. I began my game at the story’s outset, where we witness the Digital World impacting our real world. You can decide whether the protagonist is male or female, and their partner – a character in the game – interacts with you via a small hologram. The opening scene establishes the conflict between these two worlds, featuring conversations among ordinary people about unusual events and protests alleging officials for keeping secrets hidden.

However, the background details are merely a prelude to the main focus of my experience – the core gameplay mechanics. The Digimon Story spin-off games derive their name from their storyline-centric essence, often accompanied by turn-based combat. One key aspect that producer Ryosuke Hara emphasized was achieving balance in battles, a similar approach he took while working on Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. At the age of 36, he belonged to the intended audience for Digimon Adventure when it debuted in 1999.

In our latest iteration of Digimon’s Story, I found myself eager to address some areas that needed enhancement compared to previous versions. However, one aspect that stood out was the balance in battles. In past games, I noticed players heavily leaning on specific characters, which wasn’t ideal for a balanced experience. With this new title, we aimed to significantly refine the RPG battle mechanics to create a more even playing field and enhance the overall gaming experience.

In Time Stranger, the game kicks off by presenting us with its primary “type triangle,” akin to the fire, water, grass setup in Pokémon and the axe, sword, lance configuration in Fire Emblem. This system functions similarly to the Digimon Story games, like Cybersleuth. While Digimon attacks may have secondary vulnerabilities based on elements, the primary type defining a Digimon significantly influences its strengths and weaknesses. To illustrate this concept, Time Stranger offers you one representative of each type for your initial Digimon: Patamon (Data), Gomamon (Vaccine), or Deviveemon (Virus).

In my childhood, one of my favorite characters was a companion of Patamon from Digimon Adventure. Consequently, I chose to adventure with Patamon. Initially, he handled most of the opponents I encountered within the first half-hour. However, after that, I had to rely on additional Digimon like Koromon to exploit type advantages. The game boasts a diverse collection of approximately 450 Digimon, many of which are nostalgic reminders from the series and previous games.

In the initial two hours, I identified nearly every Digimon, ranging from the seldom-seen digital creatures in Digimon Adventure to well-known mascot characters like Agumon. Time Stranger is primarily aimed at older fans who followed Digimon Adventure, but even if you’re unfamiliar with previous shows and games, you can still enjoy playing it as it presents a fresh narrative.

Hara highlighted the unique evolution system of Digimon when contrasting it with other monster-taming shows. He explained that unlike other series, a single character like Agumon can transform into various distinct forms, and these transformations can differ significantly among players.

In Time Stranger, the most captivating aspect lies in the collecting and nurturing of Digimon. Unlike Pokemon, where each creature follows a predetermined and limited evolutionary path that seldom branches out, Digimon offer a more dynamic experience. A baby Digimon like Koromon can evolve into Agumon, Guilmon, Dracomon, among others. The evolutionary outcome of a Digimon remains uncertain until it transforms, revealing how your interactions and care for the digital pet have influenced its development.

If you wish to attempt transforming a Digimon into a different form, you can have multiple copies or revert the ones you currently own (I decided to revert my Pagumon because I found it unattractive). However, be aware that reverting a Digimon has its own difficulties. Once my Pagumon transformed back into its baby Kuramon state, I had to contend with its level being reset to 1, so consider this carefully before making hasty decisions about de-digivolving.

Digimons now possess one of sixteen unique personality profiles, each accompanied by a “matrix” that allows for customization in their stats and abilities as they are nurtured. For instance, elevating your Digimon’s Courage can enhance its HP and offensive growth. These Personality Skills serve to amplify attacks, decrease the number of skill points required for attacks, and offer numerous additional benefits.

In simpler terms, when you play, your Digimon characters engage in conversations with you. At any given time, your main group can consist of up to three Digimon companions who accompany you and pose questions as they advance levels, such as how to be a good friend or what they should name their next powerful attack. This feature adds a charming touch to the gameplay, and it’s also practical because your responses influence the direction in which their statistics develop. This, in turn, may impact how they evolve, since certain evolutions require specific stat thresholds like a high enough Health Points (HP) or Intelligence (INT).

In my hands-on experience, the narrative somewhat took a step back amidst the thrilling battles and captivating creature collection. Given our limited progress in the storyline and lack of character connection so far, this isn’t surprising. As a gamer, all I can do is cross my fingers that the characters are as engaging as the Digimon themselves. Nonetheless, even without compelling characters, I’m drawn to keep playing, primarily due to the intrigue of exploring various strategies for raising and nurturing my Digimon.

Time Stranger arrives at a point when the Digimon series seems to be in a rut, primarily relying on nostalgia from Digimon Adventure rather than venturing into fresh territories. However, as it’s the first Digimon Story in a decade and promises what could be the most intricate battle system the franchise has ever had, my eagerness to return to the Digital World is stronger than it’s been in years.

The video game, Digimon Story: Time Stranger, will be available for purchase starting October 3, 2025. For those eagerly waiting, it might be worth revisiting Digimon Story: Cybersleuth and its spin-off sequel, Hacker’s Memory, as they offer a glimpse of where the upcoming game is heading from.

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2025-09-08 17:11