Digimon Story: Time Stranger Hands-On Preview — A Surprisingly Deep Creature Collector

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After an eight-year hiatus since the release of “Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth”, the popular creature-collecting franchise is once again shining brightly. Unlike its predecessor which was more like a visual novel, “Digimon Story: Time Stranger” is primarily an action-focused turn-based RPG. The focus here is on refining your party composition and mastering the detailed stat systems, making for a rich gameplay experience. Although it does have a strong narrative component, complete with flashy cutscenes and an engaging mystery, its main purpose is to provide a platform for strategic, tactical gameplay.

At PAX West in Seattle, Washington, I had the opportunity to spend several hours with the Bandai Namco team, playing “Digimon Story: Time Stranger”. The session involved two save files – the initial one guided me through the game’s first hour filled with exposition and tutorials, which was largely a scripted experience. In contrast, the second save file showcased the mid-game progress, where many of the game’s systems, such as Digivolution, personality system, Agent Skill tree, and Dedigivolution (try saying that ten times fast!), became more accessible.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger’s RPG Mechanics Are a Highlight

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is essentially an RPG focused on collecting digital creatures, referred to as Digimon. You gather a diverse array of these creatures, form teams, and engage in turn-based battles against others of their kind. Initially, character customization is limited to choosing your character’s name and gender, but the game’s RPG mechanics are remarkably versatile. Each Digimon has standard RPG attributes like attack, defense, and elemental resistances, but these attributes are influenced by a distinct personality system. This system can be adjusted during dialogue and other interactions, which in turn alters the Digimon’s stat distribution and crucially, its Digivolution path.

In the world of monster collectors, just like many other famous games, Digimon allows creatures to transform into different forms as they evolve. Unlike some other games, though, Digimon don’t adhere to a strict evolutionary hierarchy. Instead, a Digimon’s evolution can take various paths based on its unique stat distribution. By cultivating a Digimon’s personality traits in line with the desired evolution, players employ what is often referred to as the min-max strategy. However, the game appears to be quite accommodating, allowing players to experiment with their Digimon’s personalities without strictly following this approach. This flexibility reminds me of Shin Megami Tensei 5’s Demon Fusion system, where strategic players can carefully choose specific creatures based on their knowledge of beneficial combinations, or more casual players can simply capture and fuse whatever they come across. Digimon also have the ability to Dedigivolve, reverting back to their original form to explore alternative evolutionary paths, further encouraging experimentation.

Besides the Digimons, players can also benefit from another significant advancement system known as Agent Skills. These skills are drawn from various skill sets and empower different facets of gameplay, allowing players to focus on their preferred playstyle and priorities. It’s quite rewarding to watch my Digimon grow in power through evolution and level-up, but having an encompassing progression system like Agent Skills that amplifies my overall strength adds a sense of empowerment as well.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger Is Packed With Player-Friendly Features

The game Digimon Story: Time Stranger distinguishes itself not just for its rich RPG content, but also due to user-friendly quality-of-life improvements. These include options like accelerating combat animations up to fivefold, an auto-battle feature for minor skirmishes, and a quick health and SP regeneration when players remain stationary for a while. Furthermore, there’s a Preemptive Strike ability that lets players attack wild Digimon with their selected Digimon’s basic move before the battle even starts. This is especially beneficial in the early stages of the game, as it often leads to instantly defeating Digimon without needing to switch to the turn-based fight screen. Other time-saving features include Digirides, which are rideable Digimon that make long overworld journeys much shorter. In essence, these features streamline gameplay by reducing time spent on less significant battles and minimizing unnecessary random encounters.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger boasts an astounding potential for party compositions.

In the game “Digimon Story: Time Stranger,” you can collect over 450 unique Digimon, offering a multitude of possibilities for party configurations. You could create aggressive parties that launch powerful initial attacks, damage-over-time focused parties that weaken opponents, or balanced parties with a tank, damage dealer, and supportive Digimon. Due to the game’s rock-paper-scissors style elemental system, it’s crucial to have a diverse collection of Digimon as no single party can handle every situation effectively. To clarify, Digimon are categorized into three types: Virus, Vaccine, and Data. These categories differ from elemental skill effects like fire or lightning, and each Digimon also possesses varying resistances to these elements.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger’s Gameplay Is Addicting

In the heat of battle, Digimon Story: Time Stranger feels like a standard turn-based RPG where Digimons take turns based on their speed, choosing from a pool of offensive or defensive moves. To add excitement, after critical strikes in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, there are timed follow-up attacks, offering extra damage with quick button presses. Although it’s less frenetic than Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s fast-paced input sequences, these follow-up attacks enhance the traditional turn-based combat experience by providing a bit more interaction. The battles in Digimon Story: Time Stranger can range from effortless early game skirmishes to nail-biting boss fights that challenge both my party setup and strategic choices.

As a dedicated fan, I can’t seem to put down Digimon Story: Time Stranger – it’s captivating me with the prospect of growing my collection and perfecting my party. Each encounter holds the promise of a new Digimon discovery, keeping me eagerly anticipating the next step. For collectors, completionists, and combat-loving fans alike, this game is brimming with content that truly scratches the optimization itch. It strikes a balance between the simplicity of Pokemon and the complexity of Shin Megami Tensei, offering more intricate mechanics than the former without being as harsh as the latter, while also adding its unique touch to the genre.

Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.

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2025-09-08 18:24