From its humble beginnings in all the way back in 1997, as a unique version of the Tamagotchi, Digimon was about players not only raising their virtual pets but also battling other players just about anywhere.

The Digimon franchise has evolved into almost all forms of media from manga to action figures, trading cards to a popular anime series, even movies and now of course video games, appearing over various platforms and in different genres.

Digimon Story: Cybersleuth Complete Edition is actually two games in one, with Digimon Story: Cybersleuth released in 2015 and its sequel Digimon Story: Cybersleuth – Hacker’s Memory released in 2017, both for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and PC. The Complete Edition includes both games and all DLC now in 2019, for Nintendo Switch.

Beginning the game, players will be given the choice to play either game. The story of Hacker’s Memory is more of a side story set during the events of the original game. Playing both versions can actually share the same save file, which connects the two games and shares the progress of the field guide and Digimon Medals collected.

The biggest draw with Complete Edition is that it brings in all the Digimon from Hacker’s Memory into the original game, with a total of 341 Digimon to collect, raise and battle enemies with.

In terms of gameplay, both games are mostly identical. Set mostly in the Digital World, players will journey through, encountering various NPCs and enemies and settling disputes in Digimon Battles. Speaking and listening to NPCs can be helpful at times, but can also feel like they’re just slowing down the game, as most of what they talk about gets repetitive really quick.

Cut-scenes help tell the story of the game and explain the current objective, but can feel quite long and dragged out especially to those unfamiliar with the franchise. Not having the option to skip the cut-scenes and get straight back into the game can be quite irritating, as the game’s battles are quite enjoyable and what players will be looking forward to the most.

It can also be unclear what the objective is at times, causing players to run everywhere and speak to every NPC, until it triggers the next part of the game. The overall story of the game is interesting, but won’t be everyone’s liking whether they’re Digimon fans or not, since the biggest fan base is due to the anime series, ‘Digimon Adventure’. The series tells its story far better than the game with its unique and diverse cast of characters both Digimon and human.

Throughout the journey, players will come across various Digimon to collect and encounter threats such as other Digimon as well as villains with their own digital creatures used for evil. Digimon Battles are the most fun part the game. Playing on hard mode is recommended for more exciting battles, as normal mode is just a bit too easy for anyone hoping for a decent challenge.

The difficulty on hard mode can spike significantly later in the game, so levelling up the Digimon will help overcome the tougher challenges that lie ahead. The battles will feel very similar to the Pokémon games, a highly successful franchise which Digimon is often compared to. Just like Pokémon, the battles are turn based strategy in either one on one, one on two or two on two matches.

Players will have to strategically pick which of their Digimon are best suited for the battle based on their levels, species and moves in their arsenal. Even with the strong similarities to Pokémon, the Digimon Battles is the game’s biggest draw.

The graphics do look like they’re from the early 2000s era, but actually fit the game’s aesthetics. The characters with their cell shaded appearance actually look like they came straight from an anime. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said with some of the backgrounds, which up close can look very blurry and the Switch is capable of better graphics than what’s seen in this game.

The background designs, especially in the Digital World will quickly feel old with the constant repeating scenery over and over. The music also fits the game’s style and personality, but feels like 15 second tracks continuously on loop and gets repetitive really fast.

Even with its shortcomings, Digimon Story: Cybersleuth Complete Edition is still a fun experience overall. With both games taking approximately 50 hours each to complete and 341 Digimon available for the fun and challenging battles, fans of the Digimon franchise will find plenty to enjoy in this port for the Nintendo Switch.

Written by: Sammy Hanson