Pendulum Z Folder Continent Report #12?- Virus Busters

[e105zeta]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

 

[Kamotz]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

 

[e105zeta]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I mean the modern tamagotchi with the color detailed graphics are pretty overpriced for a toy at 70 bucks each, so be Careful What You Wish

 

[dansplosion]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

That's pretty much my issue. I love the lore standpoint that they're coming from and using this as essentially pendulum dlc but it's a separate device in the real world
That sounds more pessimistic than I actually feel though. I'm always happy for new vpets and evolution trees!

 

[Kamotz]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I mean the modern tamagotchi with the color detailed graphics are pretty overpriced for a toy at 70 bucks each, so be Careful What You Wish

doesn’t need to be color, really. Just look at what Pokemon did with the Pokewalker 10 years ago. The monster imaging on that was way higher quality than the sprites on the vpets.

 

[citramon]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I would love to have (and spend a lot on) something like the Xros Loader toy with mp3 player and all but being a raising vpet.

 

[Kamotz]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I would love to have (and spend a lot on) something like the Xros Loader toy with mp3 player and all but being a raising vpet.

Not to entirely derail the topic, but that's where I felt Digimon was always lacking compared to Pokemon. I like the overall concept, story, and lore of Digimon more - there's more depth to it. But they just don't have the same branding that Pokemon has. Pokemon has a very clearly defined brand and set of product lines. The Games, that drives everything. Drives the cards, drives the anime, drives the collectibles, etc. I never felt that Digimon had that. Maybe it's the lack of a "home" platform? But they've always been pretty closely associated with Sony? I dunno, but when I look at Digimon and their different product offerings, I get the feeling that the right hand doesn't always know what the left is up to.

I wish they did. I wish they did more. I think the evolution system from Cyber Sleuth was fascinating and needs to be built up/expanded. I think the Vpet idea - that you can take it anywhere and lets you evolve these monsters -- should be leaned into hard. Incorporate it into other games. Let your Vpets join you on adventures in other media. New game coming out? Vpet should connect to that (the tech exists). New Vpet makes your old one obsolete? You should be able to send your Digimon to a central bank or game or whatever so that you can keep it around.

Anyway. That's more of a tangent than I wanted to go on. It's just a bit disappointing after 20 years to see the exact same thing over and over again.

 

[e105zeta]

No, you’re really right. The virtual pets are intended to be he core experience but people outside of Japan never really got to have that because “caring for a living being is something only sissies and girls would do” is the sentiment in America and why nothing but the first Digital Monster was exported.

 

[Mattman324]

Shoutmon just grows the parts of the other Digimon lol.

I mean, it makes about as much sense as Gabumon taking a part of the pelt that it literally stole from someone else and turning into the thing the pelt came from. Digimon evolution gets wacky sometimes, that's just how it be.

So that leaves Gallantmon -- and while I'm fine with the Mega specifically (and we were getting a Royal Knight regardless, we all know that), I think Guilmon/Growlmon/WarGrowlmon just stand out a bit too much as Demon Dragons (or however they're categorized). I get it from the view of "these are heroic digimon" but in terms of variety there's more out there. Would've liked to see a little more lean into the "holy" and "heroic" aspects of the Virus Busters. Heroic knights/warriors or Holy beasts/things would have made it feel more rounded out.

Because if they did that, it'd have no Virus types, which may sound conceptually like a good idea for Virus Busters but causes a few logistical issues.

Guilmon's line is the easiest pick for "virus that fights for justice" because it's recognizable in that role.

but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely?

Na. The jetpack upgrade is always a really big deal. Just ask Mazinger.

Pokemon has a very clearly defined brand and set of product lines. The Games, that drives everything. Drives the cards, drives the anime, drives the collectibles, etc. I never felt that Digimon had that.

Digimon has the V-Pets.

You do not want a consistent product line being the entire basis of your franchise. This is how Transformers did it, and that's how Transformers died for the greater part of the decade in the 90s and has had multiple major slumps since. It's how Pokemon does it, and it's why that franchise has become one of those meme songs where it just keeps getting slightly faster and higher pitch because the people making the games are literally physically incapable of keeping up with the rest of the franchise while releasing actual quality content (and I say this as a Pokemon fan, albeit a very sad one). It's how Digimon tried to do it, and, well, we all remember what Digimon was like in the second half of the aughts.

So Digimon using the V-Pets (and, if they can make it work like Hyper Colosseum did in its day, the card game) as the base and striking from there seems fine to me.

 

[Tetsuya Suoh]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I would love to have (and spend a lot on) something like the Xros Loader toy with mp3 player and all but being a raising vpet.

Not to entirely derail the topic, but that's where I felt Digimon was always lacking compared to Pokemon. I like the overall concept, story, and lore of Digimon more - there's more depth to it. But they just don't have the same branding that Pokemon has. Pokemon has a very clearly defined brand and set of product lines. The Games, that drives everything. Drives the cards, drives the anime, drives the collectibles, etc. I never felt that Digimon had that. Maybe it's the lack of a "home" platform? But they've always been pretty closely associated with Sony? I dunno, but when I look at Digimon and their different product offerings, I get the feeling that the right hand doesn't always know what the left is up to.

I wish they did. I wish they did more. I think the evolution system from Cyber Sleuth was fascinating and needs to be built up/expanded. I think the Vpet idea - that you can take it anywhere and lets you evolve these monsters -- should be leaned into hard. Incorporate it into other games. Let your Vpets join you on adventures in other media. New game coming out? Vpet should connect to that (the tech exists). New Vpet makes your old one obsolete? You should be able to send your Digimon to a central bank or game or whatever so that you can keep it around.

Anyway. That's more of a tangent than I wanted to go on. It's just a bit disappointing after 20 years to see the exact same thing over and over again.

I've felt for a while that there should be a "Digital Monster ver. M" or something that is literally just a V-pet on your phone, but instead of sprites, full color 3D models. Not like the recent mobile adventire games where you have to buy every new Digimon, more like what Bandai did with Tamagachi Life. Then, whenever they have a new series a V-Pets, they could release a new set of eggs to raise that are the same as the new V-pet. The raising style could be more in depth, but at its core, it would still be a mobile V-Pet.

 

[Loke]

Shoutmon’s never evolved to Goddramon so far, unless it’s possible in this pet.

I just saw that he was in the same row as Shoutmon's xross forms, so I assume x5 will go into him possibly; it bothers me that they could have squeezed in another form of Shoutmon, but picked what seems to be to be some random, obscure Digimon.

 

[Lord Bearmon]

it bothers me that they could have squeezed in another form of Shoutmon, but picked what seems to be to be some random, obscure Digimon.

None of the Ultimates are random. They had to include AncientGreymon/Garurumon as the last two 10 Legendary Warriors, Qinglongmon as the last 4 Holy Beasts and Goddramon as the last 4 Great Dragons.
That leaves 2 more slots and they decided to give Agumon and Guilmon their full line instead of Shoutmon since they're more popular.

 

[Kamotz]

Shoutmon’s never evolved to Goddramon so far, unless it’s possible in this pet.

I just saw that he was in the same row as Shoutmon's xross forms, so I assume x5 will go into him possibly; it bothers me that they could have squeezed in another form of Shoutmon, but picked what seems to be to be some random, obscure Digimon.

They needed to fill out the 4 Great Dragons, 4 Holy Beasts, and 10 Ancients. Those 17 Digimon were always going to be taking up spots, and 4 of them were left over to fill the VB spots.

 

[e105zeta]

I think I agree with most people on the shoutmon forms. While they're not to my taste I respect that Xros fans will like X3 and X5 featuring here but X5 is more like a form change/minor upgrade surely? Like they're the same digimon except X5 is kitted out with other digimon as weapons (but technically not legend arms. strange that they advertised the legend arms on that gimmick when it already exists). I would have much preferred X7 if it had to be the fusion forms, otherwise I would have gone with omnishoutmon to shoutmon DX (that would also give Raijiludo and Duramon a decent evolution). Omnishoutmon to goddramon would have worked better too and give at least one decent mega for shoutmon's line.

At the end of the day I've already pre-ordered it and I do enjoy a lot of the mon here, just think it's lacking a sense of cohesion outside of the anime lines, even for pendulum devices.

It's cool how monmon memo 55 suggests that mimicmon is somewhat based on the digimon vpet, makes me crave a custom mimicmon DM20 xD

The change from X3 to X5 is a bit more comprehensive because the entire helmet is changed. That seems to be what symbolizes a new "tier" of Shoutmon Xros. X3/X4/X4B has a specific helmet. X5/X5B has its own new helmet. X7 has a further new helmet.

The thing to note about the Pendulum Z is that it is implicitly a supplement to the original Pendulum, not a replacement. The original rosters still co-exist in the Folder Continent ecosystem alongside the new rosters, as shown by the Field Report artworks.
There is a greater sense of cohesion when you combine both the old and new, as is implied. In the very MonMon Memo that you mentioned, they even described that the most cohesive evolutions for Junkmon are Tankmon and Deputymon, both from the original Metal Empire.

Too bad we have to take their word for it and they weren’t gracious enough to include the original 23 Digimon of each field as anything other than NPC cameos even though we know these devices can hold data for literally over 5 times that. This set of pets are pretty naked half arsed cash grabs compared to what we’ve been getting since the Digital monster 20th.

Honestly the most off-putting thing for me is the outdated graphics/interface. This still is just a Tamagotchi from 1998 inherently. There's a LOT they could do with these to make them stand out more and seem like a more solid product, but nothing seems to change with it. It's just kind of a bummer.

I would love to have (and spend a lot on) something like the Xros Loader toy with mp3 player and all but being a raising vpet.

Not to entirely derail the topic, but that's where I felt Digimon was always lacking compared to Pokemon. I like the overall concept, story, and lore of Digimon more - there's more depth to it. But they just don't have the same branding that Pokemon has. Pokemon has a very clearly defined brand and set of product lines. The Games, that drives everything. Drives the cards, drives the anime, drives the collectibles, etc. I never felt that Digimon had that. Maybe it's the lack of a "home" platform? But they've always been pretty closely associated with Sony? I dunno, but when I look at Digimon and their different product offerings, I get the feeling that the right hand doesn't always know what the left is up to.

I wish they did. I wish they did more. I think the evolution system from Cyber Sleuth was fascinating and needs to be built up/expanded. I think the Vpet idea - that you can take it anywhere and lets you evolve these monsters -- should be leaned into hard. Incorporate it into other games. Let your Vpets join you on adventures in other media. New game coming out? Vpet should connect to that (the tech exists). New Vpet makes your old one obsolete? You should be able to send your Digimon to a central bank or game or whatever so that you can keep it around.

Anyway. That's more of a tangent than I wanted to go on. It's just a bit disappointing after 20 years to see the exact same thing over and over again.

I've felt for a while that there should be a "Digital Monster ver. M" or something that is literally just a V-pet on your phone, but instead of sprites, full color 3D models. Not like the recent mobile adventire games where you have to buy every new Digimon, more like what Bandai did with Tamagachi Life. Then, whenever they have a new series a V-Pets, they could release a new set of eggs to raise that are the same as the new V-pet. The raising style could be more in depth, but at its core, it would still be a mobile V-Pet.

They actually did this, once. It was called Digimon Revive and was a mobile version of the pendulum series, with at least one new Ultimate in each pet but without the .5 Digimon. It was released around Savers but I guess it didn’t do that well? I too would like to see Bandai release a v pet “platform” on mobile for both Tamagotchis and Digimon that would allow you to have most of the features of the toys + option to have colorized versions of all the sprites. Perhaps even giving all Digimon both 16x16 sprites and the Digivice style for closeups like Tamagotchi started to do.

If they made all the DigiVice and Vpet DigiTama lines micro transaction purchases . . . That’d be something like 50ish regular DigiTama to collect and something like a couple dozen non branching lines from the Digivices and 20th event eggs.

it bothers me that they could have squeezed in another form of Shoutmon, but picked what seems to be to be some random, obscure Digimon.

None of the Ultimates are random. They had to include AncientGreymon/Garurumon as the last two 10 Legendary Warriors, Qinglongmon as the last 4 Holy Beasts and Goddramon as the last 4 Great Dragons.
That leaves 2 more slots and they decided to give Agumon and Guilmon their full line instead of Shoutmon since they're more popular.

Marine Angemon is pretty random . It’s from the original wave of pendulums but doesn’t belong to any groups or is in any way special. They should’ve had Vikemon in its place.

 

[Chimera-gui]

You do not want a consistent product line being the entire basis of your franchise. This is how Transformers did it, and that's how Transformers died for the greater part of the decade in the 90s and has had multiple major slumps since. It's how Pokemon does it, and it's why that franchise has become one of those meme songs where it just keeps getting slightly faster and higher pitch because the people making the games are literally physically incapable of keeping up with the rest of the franchise while releasing actual quality content (and I say this as a Pokemon fan, albeit a very sad one).

So Digimon using the V-Pets (and, if they can make it work like Hyper Colosseum did in its day, the card game) as the base and striking from there seems fine to me.

As a Transformers fan, I think you mean the late 80s season 3 of the G1 cartoon and G2. Beast Wars revitalized the franchise as a whole and while there have been rough patches, it's more or less evergreen thanks to its mythology.

I won't say you're wrong about Pokémon though but what Digimon needs is some form of consistency which has been a major component of Transformers and Pokémon's longevity and is presumably what Kamotz is taking about.

Both Transformers and Pokémon have been good about having a set of universal laws that apply across all media. And while these laws have been amended overtime to integrate new concepts such as Sparks in the former and new Types in the latter with Pokémon's implementation of certain rules being fluid depending on medium, these laws are still present in some form across their franchises (e.g. the Electric Type Pikachu will always have some degree of advantage against Water and Flying Types in both games and anime but the anime grants Water and/or Flying Pokémon the ability to overcome this advantage with sufficient enough strength/skill that video game constraints simply cannot allow because the anime is more fluid in implementing the rules of the franchise as Suede explained when he covered his review of The School Of Hard Knocks).

Digimon however has not only been inconsistent in its handling of the Armor and Hybrd levels but has had Digimon species change Level randomly (GoldNumemon being a notable repeat offender) and even outright dropped the traditional classification system altogether in Xros Wars.

The addition of Levels/Attributes to the Xros Wars Digimon was good because it added a consistency these Digimon desperately needed going forward while also staying true to the spirit of Xros Wars itself since there was a logic applied to what Xrosses because Jogresses vs what ones became Fusions making it a step in the right direction.

At least Appmon were actually introduced as a new lifeform altogether with its own classification system that already has this consistency with itself hence why they shouldn't be retconned into Digimon as they can and more importantly should be allowed to exist as their own lifeform distinct from Digimon.

 

[e105zeta]

At least Appmon were actually introduced as a new lifeform altogether with its own classification system that already has this consistency with itself hence why they shouldn't be retconned into Digimon as they can and more importantly should be allowed to exist as their own lifeform distinct from Digimon.

Aside from Rookies being able to jogress, Appmon already follow all the same rules as Digimon, though. And there are several games where Child Digimon are able to do that, too. And Appmon have nearly the same four stage leveling system (with the caveat that Baby 1 and Baby 2 mostly exist for lore in Digimon). DigiGnomes and D Reapers and Spirals and Eaters are more different from Digimon than Digimon and Appmon are from each other.

All Appmon did was make the designs a bit more chibi/super deformed than usual and renamed Child, Adult, Perfect, and Ultimate into Standard, Super, Ultimate, and God.

It was literally just an attempt to divide the franchise into a kid’s line (Appmon) and an adult line (Digimon).

 

[Tetsuya Suoh]

You do not want a consistent product line being the entire basis of your franchise. This is how Transformers did it, and that's how Transformers died for the greater part of the decade in the 90s and has had multiple major slumps since. It's how Pokemon does it, and it's why that franchise has become one of those meme songs where it just keeps getting slightly faster and higher pitch because the people making the games are literally physically incapable of keeping up with the rest of the franchise while releasing actual quality content (and I say this as a Pokemon fan, albeit a very sad one).

So Digimon using the V-Pets (and, if they can make it work like Hyper Colosseum did in its day, the card game) as the base and striking from there seems fine to me.

As a Transformers fan, I think you mean the late 80s season 3 of the G1 cartoon and G2. Beast Wars revitalized the franchise as a whole and while there have been rough patches, it's more or less evergreen thanks to its mythology.

I won't say you're wrong about Pokémon though but what Digimon needs is some form of consistency which has been a major component of Transformers and Pokémon's longevity and is presumably what Kamotz is taking about.

Both Transformers and Pokémon have been good about having a set of universal laws that apply across all media. And while these laws have been amended overtime to integrate new concepts such as Sparks in the former and new Types in the latter with Pokémon's implementation of certain rules being fluid depending on medium, these laws are still present in some form across their franchises (e.g. the Electric Type Pikachu will always have some degree of advantage against Water and Flying Types in both games and anime but the anime grants Water and/or Flying Pokémon the ability to overcome this advantage with sufficient enough strength/skill that video game constraints simply cannot allow because the anime is more fluid in implementing the rules of the franchise as Suede explained when he covered his review of The School Of Hard Knocks).

Digimon however has not only been inconsistent in its handling of the Armor and Hybrd levels but has had Digimon species change Level randomly (GoldNumemon being a notable repeat offender) and even outright dropped the traditional classification system altogether in Xros Wars.

The addition of Levels/Attributes to the Xros Wars Digimon was good because it added a consistency these Digimon desperately needed going forward while also staying true to the spirit of Xros Wars itself since there was a logic applied to what Xrosses because Jogresses vs what ones became Fusions making it a step in the right direction.

At least Appmon were actually introduced as a new lifeform altogether with its own classification system that already has this consistency with itself hence why they shouldn't be retconned into Digimon as they can and more importantly should be allowed to exist as their own lifeform distinct from Digimon.

But that same "consistency" has lost Pokémon it's original fanbase in exchange fore continuously bringing in new fans. The old fans got bored and left. If Digimon follows that route, sure, it may survive long term, but many of us us older fans will lose interest. Even when Pokemon tried something "new" in Sun and Moon it wants actually new. The island Challenge was exactly the same as the Gym Challenge they have very game, just under a different name.

 

[Mattman324]

Beast Wars revitalized the franchise as a whole

And Beast Wars debuted in 1996. Over halfway into the decade. When Transformers was already gone by the late 80s.

I don't think a lot of people really remember just how long Transformers was gone for - there was an entire franchise of Japanese TV shows meant to fill the hole Transformers dying left that ended when it came back, and it had 8 full ~49 episode shows by the time it wrapped up.

 

[Deep Saver]

I’ll just say I’d rather look forward to the potential greatness of trying something new than worrying that it will alienate me. Heck, I already feel pretty alienated BY Bandai’s nostalgia obsession, though I’m not the longest standing fan of the franchise compared to a lot of people, so maybe I’m just not the target demographic. If I am fated to drift away from the franchise because it one day decides to try something totally new to really attract new fans, so be it.

 

[Kamotz]

I’ll just say I’d rather look forward to the potential greatness of trying something new than worrying that it will alienate me. Heck, I already feel pretty alienated BY Bandai’s nostalgia obsession, though I’m not the longest standing fan of the franchise compared to a lot of people, so maybe I’m just not the target demographic. If I am fated to drift away from the franchise because it one day decides to try something totally new to really attract new fans, so be it.

And I don't think we're hoping that Digimon tries something radically new either. Just that it finds the thing it already does and figures out a way to build its brand around that. Innovation breeds longevity. Look at Magic the Gathering. The game is 25+ years old and is constantly trying new things. You can argue that a lot of it recently has been floppy, but there have been bonafide hits in there as well, and these flops are more due to things going too off the rails rather than going off the rails at all. What we want is for Digimon to find its identity - what is it other than an IP? What is the thing that Digimon builds is brand on?

Is it the V-Pets? Probably should be, right? That's where it all started. That's what they're consistently churning out. I have my own opinions on why that's not an ideal thing to build a brand on, but if they do I'd love it if they built it more...substantially. Less like a generic chachki and more something you can market globally. I love the lore and character design of Digimon, but you can't even experience the latter in their core product line. Would you be able to pick out one V-pet sprite from another? If I gave you 4 sprites would you be able to correctly match them to their names? Maybe? Probably not, because it would be a trick question and one of the 4 provided names wouldn't be there.