Digimon World: Next Order has virtual pets fighting, evolving, pooping

Real pets don’t shoot laser beams out of their faces, so we turn to digital creatures, such as Pokemon and Digimon, for our pets-that-can-vaporize-your-ass needs.

“Digimon” may not have the cultural impact of “Pokemon,” but it remains near and dear to many a ‘90s kid’s heart. Digimon were virtual pets we cared for, fought alongside, and cherished. So the excitement around “Digimon World: Next Order” isn’t surprising.

“Digimon World: Next Order” is a role-playing game, but it’s a pet-raising simulation first. This harks back to the franchise’s beginnings as a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet toy – another reason why it would appeal to longtime fans. But what of the rest of us? Is there anything about this title that justifies its inclusion in our video games library?

Rebuilding a world

In “Digimon World: Next Order,” you play as either Shiki or her brother Takuto. It’s been seven years since you last enjoyed a Digimon adventure, but the moment you activate your Digivice, you’re transported into an arena to face a mighty Machinedramon!

Fortunately for you, two partner Digimon are in the arena, as well. And though you don’t remember them, they’re eager to help you. They manage to defeat Machinedramon, but at the cost of their own lives.

There’s no time to mourn, however, as you’re immediately whisked away to Floatia, a village in the Digital World. Here, a bearded Digimon named Jijimon brings you up to speed on the situation: Machinedramon are rampaging across the lands, wrecking everything in their path and scattering friendly Digimon everywhere. Your task is to find these errant Digimon, bring them back to the village, and rebuild what the monsters destroyed.

It’s a simple story, yes. But what it does effectively is unify the game’s core mechanics: pet management, monster fighting, and settlement building.

It ain’t easy being a Tamer

“Digimon World: Next Order” doesn’t waste time teaching you the basics of gameplay. Within a minute, you’re already fighting your first battle against a Machinedramon.

As a Digimon Tamer, combat is not completely under your control. You’ve got two A.I.-controlled Digimon partners who’ll do as they please, attacking and moving around automatically. You can, however, issue specific commands to each one. For example, you can tell one to execute a special attack, and the other to enter an “Agitated” state, which can boost its offensive strength. Commands have to be timed correctly, though; if your Digimon is too far from an enemy when you give it the order to attack, it will likely miss its target. Yeah, Digimon are dumb that way.

You can also cheer your partners on, which raises their Order Power. Each move consumes a specific amount of Order Power. So if you want, for example, a pet to carry out the most devastating attack in its repertoire, you’ll need to keep cheering it on until it has enough Order Power to make performing said attack possible. The timing of your cheer is also important; if you cheer just as your partner’s attack hits the enemy, or just after your partner takes damage, it gets a boost in Order Power received.

Eventually, you’ll even have the ability to temporarily fuse your partners together, so that they form a single, more powerful entity.

Combat, of course, is but a fraction of “Digimon World: Next Order.” You also need to keep your pets healthy, and that entails feeding them. And boy, do these critters get hungry, fast. They’ll keep reminding you about it, too. They also need to poop, which means taking them to the nearest restroom. They need to sleep. And you need to discipline them. Praising or scolding Digimon will encourage good behaviors – or bad ones, if you’re inconsistent.

If you fail to cater to your partners’ needs, they can get sick, grumpy, fatigued, or worse. So it’s vital to pay attention to what they tell you. All this maintenance can get overwhelming and downright annoying. When you’re busy exploring an exciting location, there are few things more irksome than your pets nagging you that their bowels need emptying. If you’re far from civilization, and you’ve forgotten to bring a portable toilet, you’re going to have to make that long, boring trek back to your village – or else they’ll soil themselves.

Proper care for your pets improves your bond with them. This not only makes them more effective fighters, it also affects what they evolve – or “Digivolve” – into.

Life cycle

You can evolve Digimon into larger, more powerful creatures by taking them to Floatia’s Training Hall.

Training allows you to choose which of your partners’ attributes – such as strength, speed, or stamina – to enhance. Under the right conditions, training also evolves them. What they morph into, however, is difficult to determine early in the game. There are so many obscure factors involved in the transformation process that it’s possible to end up with a creature you never planned on having. Fortunately, the more you interact with your pets, the more you learn about them, which could help you give direction to future evolutions.

Here’s the thing: your partners eventually grow old and die. They do get reincarnated, but they return as babies. Yep, you’ll have to do the entire process over from scratch.

Imagine training and evolving a Digimon until it’s the most powerful version of itself that it can be, and then that same Digimon kicking the bucket after a number of in-game days. It’s distressing, not only because of all the hard work that’s now gone down the drain, but also because by this point, you’d have probably already formed an emotional bond with your virtual pet.

All is not lost, however. Digimon carry over some of the skills they learned from their previous lives. With the data you’ve gathered from your time training them, you’ll also have a better understanding of the nuances of Digivolution, making it easier for you to evolve them into forms of your choosing.

But your partners aren’t the only ones who grow from experience – with every battle, you, as the Tamer, gain experience too, allowing you to amass skills that provide an assortment of benefits to your team.

Floatia also gains from your hard work. Digimon you encounter and battle in the wild return to the village, where they’ll assist in its restoration. In time, Floatia will blossom into a city filled with buildings offering a variety of services. Being part of such a transformation is immensely satisfying, and is one of the things that will likely keep you going in “Digimon World: Next Order.”

Exploring the world itself is entertaining. The environments are varied and populated by a rich variety of monsters. The visuals are pretty but not too impressive. The game started out as a PlayStation Vita game, after all, and while the graphics have received an upgrade, they’re nowhere near as grand as what you’d expect from a PlayStation 4 title.

Get ready, Tamers

“Digimon World: Next Order” won’t please everyone. Pet management can be a pain. Partner deaths are depressing. The complicated Digivolution begins as a hit-or-miss process that will require patience and hard work to fully grasp. And if you’re aching for a deep, meaningful story, you’re out of luck.

But if you’re committed to this franchise or others like it, and you can’t get enough of adorable, digital monsters, then there’s nothing I can say to dissuade you from getting this game. “Digimon World: Next Order” comes with all the challenges, frustrations, and rewards of caring for a virtual pet – and you get to build an awesome city in the process, too. For all these reasons, anyone who’s ever dreamt of being a Tamer should ready themselves – because this is going to be an interesting ride. — TJD, GMA News

Rating – 7/10, or 8/10 if you’re a “Digimon”/virtual pet fan

Platform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita