Great multiplayer fun, especially for those who DONT have a SSB game.
The Numbers
11 characters to start with.
8 unlockable characters
All except 5 unlockable bosses can digivolve into more powerful forms.
8 arenas with 2 unlockable.
2 game modes to start with: KO: You have 3 lives, if your alive at the end you win and Timed Rumble: score the most KOs in an amount of time.
7 game modes to be unlocked, many feeling like mini-games.
I think I should say something about the characters - and there are rather a few characters in this game...but inevitably in a franchise as bug as Digimon, you will want more. The characters are not equal, not in gameplay terms, but in where in the franchise they came from. 8 of them are leads from series 1(Adventure 01 for fans - I'll use numbers it's quicker), and there is only 1 lead from series 2(Adventure 02 for fans), 1 from 3(Tamers for fans) and 1 from 4(Frontier for fans). This may leave fans of the series feeling a bit disappointed. Of the unlockable characters, 2 of them are from the movie "Our War Game" which is the 2nd part of Digimon: The Movie - based on series 1. 1 Unlockable boss from series 2, and 2 from 4. None from 3, which is my favourite series. However, the characters themselves are well balanced, especially when digivolved. It is still possible for a rookie to beat a mega, however unlikely, rather than having an automatic win for the first to digivolve.
Something that people fail to understand is that digivolving is turning into a NEW digimon, and so you will have you original powers of the rookie taken away, leaving the strategic choice whether to digivolve or not to digivolve.
All characters have at least 3 special moves, but this is where the game falls into a hole. There is no energy meter, so these attacks can be constantly bombarded off, from both sides, so that "should" even it out right? Well, no, if you hammer X (Square for you *shudders* Playstation lovers) and have a projectile attack, you can basically kill everything, on easy or medium. Other wise, especially when you turn the difficulty or speed (CPU reaction time) up it is balanced, and playing with people is better as they are way more unpredictable than computer controlled digimon. The rest of the controls are solid, with A (X for PS2) being standard attack, which can be used to make a combo using almost all keys, with special attack as finisher.
The battlegrounds themselves are quite varied, and have many different strategic elements, which WILL effect how you play. There is one that does not stop moving right, and you have to avoid getting caught off screen, or you will lose a life. Although there are only 8 arenas, they are varied enough to satisfy your needs. Within a few hours of play, you will have a favourite, as that is how distinct the arenas are.
The graphics are crisp, with a style that does feel like the show, and although not brilliant(Don't play this after Ninja Gaiden, it will bring out that the graphics aren't advanced) work, and do not need to be any better, as you won't have time to admire them. The animations are nice, and reflect the digimon's movements in the show. At the end of each battle the winner will do a cringeworthhy victory dance on the winners podium...which if you are a teenage fan of digimon, will make you friend give you a funny look (I WON, I WON coming in a high pitched voice from a dancing monster...it is funny).
Now...the sound, the voices WILL make you laugh, some of them, especially if you are a fan. They are not all voiced by their TV counterparts, and so some sound too exaggerated (Patamon's voice is TOO high pitched), but this can be easily over looked. In general the sounds are good, with only one (that I know of) attack's name wrong (Omnimon's "Supreme" Cannon, given it's literal translation: Garuru Cannon), with all other attacks very true to the series. The music on the menu is heading down the Brash Bandicoot/Nintendo route of catchy hummable music, but just cannot compete with the masters of that stuff (It is embarrassing to hum the Mario theme, but try not to!).
Overall, so long as you don't own an SSB game or want an alternative, if you are a fan, and have people you know to play with, this game will last for ages, and if not, it will stand up as a solid single player game, and will have you repeatedly playing for high scores.
9 Gameplay
Not AS good as SSB, but still great, with just the being able to hammer projectile attacks bringing it down. The digivolve or not tactical element works really well.
8 Graphics
Good models, and animation, even though SSBM has graphcis that compare to this, you feel that even though the textures are not "as crisp" as some, they do the job nicely and stay true to the series.
7 Sound
Good overall, but a few weird voices and sounds that you hear in EVERY blaster ect. bring the score slightly down to just below a 7.
10 Value
Got it at bargin price, and there is one heck of alot of multiplayer VFM packed into this game.
9 Reviewers Tilt
Does a good job of bringing the Party Fighting genre alive on other than the cube. Nice futuristic, child friendly menus.