Digimon World Preview

Much like Pokemon, Digimon World is all about collecting and raising virtual pet monsters. The lead character in Digimon World is a kid - an established Digimon trainer who is sucked into his electronic Digimon device and who finds himself in Digimon World. Not unlike the plot of Tron, the premise of Digimon World is that behind the LED screen of your Digimon are actual electronic characters, not conductors and diodes. It's your job to save the world of the Digimon by finding all the lost Digimon, fighting them, and then convincing them to return to File City - the central metropolis of Digimon World.

Since you're a Digimon trainer, you'll set out to find a Digimon to train. In the beginning of the game, you're assigned a Digimon, but as you progress you can select different digital monsters to train and command in battle. You'll not only have to look after your Digimon's needs, but you'll also be responsible for teaching him how to fight. Every monster has stats, and good time spent in the game's training facilities will let you beef up your Digimon's powers. Each of the different training programs increases a different stat, letting you fully customize your monster's training. Additionally, each training will give you the option of a "bonus training," which lets you play a slot machine to determine if your monster will receive extra training points.

Once your monster is strong enough, you'll want to take him out to find the island's lost Digimon. Once you run into a wandering monster, you'll engage in a battle sequence where you pit your trained Digimon against the wild Digimon. You can either issue commands directly to your monster or let him decide how to fight on his own. Win the fight, and you can convince the wild Digimon to return home. But lose and you risk your Digimon's life.

The characters in Digimon World are of a cartoony polygonal nature much like those found in Tomba. All of the Digimon characters are instantly recognizable, and the backgrounds are nicely drawn. At this point, the game's music is a bit repetitive, and the sound effects need a little work.

Digimon World should have the monster breeder inside of you fighting digital monsters in May.