Digimon World

Digimon World is a video game by Bandai on the PlayStation, released in 2000, about the Digimon virtual pets. It has four sequels, Digimon World 2, Digimon World 3, Digimon World 4 and Digimon Digital Card Battle.

The storyline focuses on a human brought to File City on File Island by Jijimon to save the island. Digimon have been losing their memories and becoming feral and the city has fallen into disarray. The goal of the player, who is represented by a young boy whose name is given as "Hiro/Hero" (this is a common Japanese naming convention for RPG protagonists), is to save the island by helping Digimon recover their memory and return to the city.

As it came before the anime in Japan, it is very strictly based on the Virtual Pets. The gameplay revolves around raising a single Digimon from its Digitama form, hatching into a Fresh, up through In-Training, Rookie, Champion, and with work, Ultimate. A Digimon partner will die with age, and return to an egg eventually, so the player has to raise it again.

Fans of the anime will be familiar with the sixth stage, Mega; however this game was made only shortly after the Pendulum series of pets, which introduced Mega level.

To raise a Digimon partner, the player must train it, feed it, let it rest and take it to the bathroom.

The other main part of gameplay is battle. The player's partner Digimon fight the Digimon that have become aggressive due to a crisis on File Island. Partner Digimon begin the game with a few basic skills but acquire more as they progress in levels through the game.

The PAL region's variant cover art features the seven initial chosen Digimon from Digimon Adventure. The group includes Gomamon, who is otherwise completely absent from this game.

Gameplay
Digimon World's gameplay utilizes 2 major aspects: Raising and battling. The element of monster raising consists of feeding your Digimon, allowing it to rest, and leading it to the bathroom. As a Digimon grows and trains, it can digivolve into a stronger form; there are 5 stages of digivolution in total including the desirable Ultimate form. Raising a Digimon carefully and properly helps progress through the game, and improper treatment can lead to dire consequences. The second element of the game, battling, composes the other major aspect of the game. Digimon World's battle system heavily relies on options that a player can command, such as "Your Call" and "Retreat". As a player ventures in the wild, Digimon may engage in battle when touching each others paths. Battles are usually inevitable while adventuring, and they are a reliable source of techniques that a Digimon can learn and money. Training a partner Digimon enhances its parameters, enabling it to fight with better ease and digivolve to powerful forms. Digimon World also provides various mini-games for the player, including fishing, arena tournaments, and curling. Sub-quests are also available, mainly for new recruiting Digimon and other hidden surprises.

Initially, the game has very little to offer to the player in the beginning, however, as the game progresses, players gain significant advantages as the city flourishes. The game offers several feats for the player in the form of medals, allowing further gameplay even after the storyline is completed.

Plot
The plot begins when a small group of children are playing their Digimon Virtual Pet device. The protagonist, a young boy, arrives and excitingly observes a fight between MetalGreymon and MetalMamemon in the Virtual Pet devices. When the boy goes home, he notices light coming from his room. As he gazes into his Digimon Virtual Pet device, a Koromon appears attempting to talk to him. The boy gets sucked into the Digital World, where he is greeted by Jijimon and many other Digimon, including his partner. Once the boy realizes that File City is in danger, he takes it upon himself to recruit Digimon in order to populate the city. As the story progresses, the young boy discovers the evil plot created by Analogman and sets out to save File Island.

Obtainable Digimon
There are 65 Digimon in the game that a partner Digimon can become. All Rookie, Champion and Ultimate forms which can be acquired without cheating are also available as Digimon to recruit to File City, with the exceptions of MegaSeadramon, HerculesKabuterimon and Phoenixmon.

Trivia

 * Despite the Mega level not existing at the time of the game's creation, five Mega level Digimon and the statue of a 6th are in the game. Those who have actual level classifications are classed as "Ultimate".
 * Several infamous glitches exist in the game (most prominently in NTSC copies). Examples include the game freezing when the player tries to access Giromon's Juke Box (which only appears to happen in NTSC copies) and the player being unable to move on the floor after speaking to a Mojyamon a lot of times, requiring an Auto-Pilot to quickly escape.
 * The European version of the game can't be completed because you can't enter in the Ogre Fortress, and also in Mt. Infinity the second elevator doesn't work.
 * Giromon's Juke Box contains a track for the Underground Lab of the Grey Lord's Mansion, which is not used in the actual area itself (the Grey Lord's Mansion theme is used). The theme is very similar to the theme for the Secret Beach Cave, but slightly higher in pitch and with different instruments.
 * In all versions, the text given on each Digimon card appears in Japanese, as does the sign above the Drill Tunnel entrance.
 * Whenever the player confronts MetalMamemon to battle or for a game of curling, the title of the Digimon is given as MetalGreymon instead of MetalMamemon.
 * MetalGreymon's finish attack is listed as "Giga Scissor Claw", while HerculesKabuterimon's is listed as "Giga Blaster"; this should be reversed.