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No company out there has come close to approaching the success of Pokemon. However, there is one other franchise which has at least secured a solid second place, and that is Bandai's Digimon. The franchises are quite similar in many ways, and even the games based on the respective franchises share more than a few common features. In this case, Digimon World 2 for the PlayStation, which could be best compared to the many Game Boy Color versions of Pokemon. The only problem is, as a console game, it ends up being a bit too shallow for the average, older gamer. The story is simple, and straight to the point as you would expect. The Digimon live peacefully on the Directory Content. Although recently, wild Digimon have begun to attack the city. The player (you) lives in Digital City and must join a Guard Team which has the responsibility of protecting the peace and security of the region. As the game begins you are prompted to give your hero a name, finish a quick training mission, and then it's time to hop into your Digi-Beetle and take on some missions
The game primarily revolves around collecting and Digivolving Digimon, for the sole purpose of building up a powerful security force. Missions are simple; you travel to a specified overworld location, enter the Domain (dungeon), and work your way to the end, all while battling evil Digimon and making Digimon friends. Domains, in typical RPG fashion, are full of blind hallways, traps, and of course enemy encounters. When approached by an enemy, a typical turn-based RPG battle scene begins. It doesn't take long to then realize that Digimon World 2 is essentially a stripped down RPG for beginners, Digimon fans and younger gamers. Domains are all structured very simply, and battles offer a small amount of distinct options such as Attack, Counter, Guard and Assist. There is certainly nothing that would rival a true RPG in any way shape or form, but then again, that would probably just frustrate the younger gamers as to whom Digimon World 2 is geared towards. The Digivolving options are pretty robust, however, and those familiar with other games in the genre will feel right at home. Visually, Digimon World 2 won't win any awards. The game is full of bright colors, and large, easily recognizable characters and objects. Most of the in-game objects and life forms are rendered as texture mapped polygons, as are the battle scenes and Domain backgrounds, and everything else is pre-rendered. The music is always quite cheerful sounding and cartoon-like and sound effects and voices sound a lot like they were taken straight from the Saturday morning animated series. Younger gamers and Digimon fans looking for a simple RPG to help pass some time, should give Digimon World 2 a try.
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