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[The Artisan]

So there's absolutely no denying that as a franchise and pop cultural icon, Pokemon dwarfs Digimon. This thread is strictly about the games. Which franchise has the better games?

Latest Digimon game I played: Digimon Cyber Sleuth, if it weren't for the fucking ending and potentially Uc4, it'd be a contender for my GOTY.

On the other hand, Pokken, if I recall correctly, sold well and ended up charting on NPD. That's the latest Pokemon game.

What do you think?

 

[Hidden One]

Pokemon

/thread

 

[FelipeMGM]

Pokemon, hands down. If you want to talk animes though, Digimon prob wins.

 

[darkside31337]

Cyber Sleuth was just miles better than every single Pokemon game I've played. It'd be refreshing if there was a Pokemon equivalent to it instead of the same formulaic thing over and over.

But I would say the overall quality of Pokemon games as a franchise is better, not really sure thats debatable? Still I had more fun with Cyber Sleuth than any single game in that franchise.

 

[Chase17]

Are you sure we can't factor in the dance mix?

 

[wmlk]

Probably Pokémon.

Crystal/HGSS, Platinum, and B2W2 are some of the best games that I have ever played. I admit that I haven't played any Digimon game, but I don't see anybody talk about why they're great. If someone could recommend me any of the games then I'll take a look.

 

[Shizuka]

Cyber Sleuth was just miles better than every single Pokemon game I've played. It'd be refreshing if there was a Pokemon equivalent to it instead of the same formulaic thing over and over.

But I would say the overall quality of Pokemon games as a franchise is better, not really sure thats debatable? Still I had more fun with Cyber Sleuth than any single game in that franchise.

As a single game, Cyber Sleuth is ahead of all Pokemon games, without nostalgia googles. As a franchise, Pokemon is ahead.

 

[wmlk]

As a single game, Cyber Sleuth is ahead of all Pokemon games, without nostalgia googles. As a franchise, Pokemon is ahead.

Please elaborate on the nostalgia goggles thing. A few recent mainline Pokémon games do a lot of things right.

 

[Sponge]

On the other hand, Pokken, if I recall correctly, sold well and ended up charting on NPD. That's the latest Pokemon game.

What do you think?

Pokken was pretty good, but I always loved Digimon Rumble Arena when I was a kid. It's still my favorite Smash clone ever.

I wish Namco put as much love in their Digimon fighting games as they did Pokken. This was their last game and I didn't really enjoy it.

 

[GalacticToast]

Digimon: Cyber Sleuth is far superior to any Pokemon title.

Unfortunately, that's Digimon's only real gem, so Pokemon is the stronger franchise.

 

[bjork]

Pokemon is like Pepsi, the best. Digimon is Coke, and this cyber sleuth game can be the Dr Pepper

 

[Flame Lord]

I've always thought the Pokemon had the better games and Digimon the better anime, but I'd say Cyber Sleuth from a pure gameplay perspective was better than any Pokemon game I've ever played. It also came at a good time; I've pretty much hit max Pokemon fatigue.

 

[Fj0823]

Pokemon. No contest.

But if we talking anime: The sole existance of Tamers anime makes Digimon the winner forever.

 

[True Fire]

What's the point of this thread? Cyber Sleuth is obviously superior to every Pokemon game, but Pokemon is king and will always remain king. Pokemon wins.

 

[Fj0823]

What's the point of this thread?

Nerd Nostalgia Battle, greatest show on earth.

Let them fight.

 

[Leafhopper]

Pokemon if we are talking about consistent mainline titles.

Digimon I don't know if they have a mainline series but, Ill use Digimon World as a starting point.

Digimon only really started having decent games consistently starting with the later PSP games. The latest Cyber Sleuth game is great, although I am only going by gameplay I seen, haven't played it.

Digimon World 1 is technical mess, not very well explained and the entire game is based on frametimings and RNG. 2 was okay but not a great game, kinda basic with their gym based thing. 3 was actually a decent product and probably the best of the world games. 4 was a weird ass diablo ripoff that was really kind of bad.

DS games were hit or miss.

Rumble arena 1 and 2 were dumb fun though, would kill for a 3.

I would argue that on the Pokemon side, Hey You! Pikachu!, is worse than any bad Digimon game though, even if that's a spinoff.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I'm playing Cyber Sleuth right now and while fun, people saying it blows all the Pokemon games out of the water are exaggerating heavily---Cyber Sleuth is an extremely generic and archaic JRPG that doesn't bring anything new to the table for either the RPG genre or the Digimon franchise. I've played both franchises quite heavily, and while Pokemon does have problems of its own the last thing it needs to do is look to Cyber Sleuth for inspiration because the only leg up it has are the graphics really, and only the Digimon themselves as I find the new character designs to be less than appealing and the world itself extremely generic.

Digimon's always been at its worst when it tries to go the usual JRPG route like with Digimon World 3 (which I think did do something interesting with flipping the "Pokemon"-style on its head somewhat by introducing a Badge Quest yet putting that on the back burner most of the time) and the other Story games, the best thing about the franchise was definitely Digimon World 1 which was a completely different game from basically every other "RPG" at the time as it was more of a very in-depth Virtual Pet simulator, whereas in Cyber Sleuth the Virtual Pet elements are put on the backburner and there's very limited interaction with the Digimon that doesn't amount to anything more than putting in simple time to grind. I wasn't that big of a fan of Reigitize though, but I think the World 1 style is what the franchise should focus on for the most part.

 

[Neoleo2143]

Multiplayer Wise, Pokemon wins. It's one of the most in depth turn based battle systems out there and the Multiplayer puts it to work.

Single player, Cyber Sleuth is really really good. But god awful localization. And otherwise Digimon is too inconsistent.

Spin offs - Pokemon Wins hands down, Mystery Dungeon and Pokken to name a few so much ridiculous stuff.

 

[Stuart444]

Overall games: Pokemon easily. Digimon has had more duds than hits imo.
Individually: Cyber Sleuth is better than most of the Pokemon games.

 

[TreIII]

If we go by the entire catalog? Then it's no contest, PKMN has the more consistent quality in its catalog, even including its spin-offs.

I enjoyed Ryo's Wonderswan games, but of course, those were on Wonderswan, which most outside of Japan never got a chance to play...

 

[HammerFace]

Digimon world 3 and Cybersleuth to me are vastly superior than any pokemon game. I was also pretty fond of Digimon World Ds.
That being said pokemon is still dope and has held up better than digimon.

 

[Sandfox]

Pokemon.

 

[Cidd]

Are you sure we can't factor in the dance mix?

This song make me want to SourPls.

 

[rulerk1]

Um isnt Cyber Sleuth in the mid 70's on Metacritic with Pokemon games in the uppr 80's and 90's? I mean its good but it doesn't really destroy all of the Pokemon games. Especially not B/W 2

 

[Orniletter]

The only good Digimon game is Cyber Sleuth and even that didn't get close to the real Pokemon classics. It has some serious production values, but people who claim it is superior to every Pokemon game are out of their mind.

Pokemon, no contest.

 

[RalchAC]

Pokemon has been consistenly releasing great games while Digimon... was a goddamn trainwreck on the gaming side.

In general, Bamco strategy with the brand was really weird since:

A) Many Digimon games were locked in consoles that were never released in the West.
B) They vastly changed gameplay from game to game, confusing people.
C) And many times those innovative games were absolutely terrible.

The current World and Story structure works, but it's too late.

Which is a shame, because some of the Digimon shows were wonderful. They had wonderful characters, which got quite a bit of development and had problems that were relatable to its young audience. I recently rewatched Adventure and I was amazed at how good the characters were. I dunno how much of it was lost with the US dub, since I have only watched the spanish (Spain) and original versions. The show is a must watch IMO.

And Cyber Sleuth is cool.

 

[Mr-Joker]

I haven't played Cyber Sleuth yet but can someone explain to me how it's better than Pokémon.

Pokken was pretty good, but I always loved Digimon Rumble Arena when I was a kid. It's still my favorite Smash clone ever.

I wish Namco put as much love in their Digimon fighting games as they did Pokken. This was their last game and I didn't really enjoy it.

That's because it's a license game funded by Saban, Pokkén was funded by the Pokémon company and Nintendo.

What's the point of this thread? Cyber Sleuth is obviously superior to every Pokemon game, but Pokemon is king and will always remain king. Pokemon wins.

So we can relive the 90s playground.

 

[Stuart444]

Um isnt Cyber Sleuth in the mid 70's on Metacritic with Pokemon games in the uppr 80's and 90's? I mean its good but it doesn't really destroy all of the Pokemon games. Especially not B/W 2

We're talking from our own perspectives I'd assume, metacritic really doesn't factor into that.

 

[Moltenix]

Always been a fan of the Pokemon games and the Digimon anime.

 

[Leafhopper]

It's a damn shame that Digimon hasn't had a better track record for games. Since they are digital monsters, you can realistically make digivolution trees be some really complicated stuff in game. However that sounds like a programming nightmare.

Always been a fan of the Pokemon games and the Digimon anime.

Same as me but, Pokemon anime has it's moments and as has Digimon games.

 

[CoolBatteryCharge]

I am a diehard Digimon fan. I enjoy Digimon as a franchise FAR more than Pokemon.

Pokemon has better games by far. The best Digimon games are ok at best (though Cyber Sleuth so far has been pretty good). The best Pokemon games are all great. The thing Digimon games have going for them are they're usually pretty unique in a way that serious Digimon fans can find the charm in how their mechanics represent the complexities of Digimon lore and in-story systems.

I'm still working through Cyber Sleuth (20 hours in) which so far is the best experience I've had with a Digimon game, but it still feels kinda flat. Maybe it ramps up in the back half, I don't know yet.

 

[J-Tier]

I wish they actually put in a bigger budget for another rumble arena type fighter. The last one was pure galacta.

 

[Tenki]

Are you sure we can't factor in the dance mix?

We should factor in Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure boss theme.

 

[wmlk]

Like, I really need someone to explain what makes Cyber Sleuth better than a Crystal or B2W2. Those games are great even without the franchise branding.

 

[PreyingShark]

Digimon for me. I haven't played Cyber Sleuth yet either.

For one thing they beat Pokémon to the MMO punch a longass time ago.

 

[PinballRJ]

When I first herd about Digimon as a kid I just thought it was a parody like chinpokomon

 

[marmoka]

Crossover when??

 

[sensui-tomo]

Crossover when??

whenever monster Rancher/Farm comes back and Koei Tecmo puts it on all platforms. Never be a monster rancher/farm fan, its never going to work out in the end. Heres hoping we get that digimon world :next order here.

 

[Resilient]

why don't you play it and find out for yourself? no amount of explaining will convince you otherwise.
here: cyber sleuth has more funner stuff than Crystal. convinced?

anyway. as games, RBY > GSC > Digimon World 1 > all other Pokemon shit

and that's being generous/nostalgia goggles to RBY GSC as well. take away the nostalgia, Digimon World 1 is tiers higher in quality than the pokemon games.

 

[-Horizon-]

Do we count spinoffs as well? If so Pokemon Conquest is the best thing ever.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Pokemon

/thread

.

I do wanna try Cyber Sleuth myself but this really shouldn't even be a discussion

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

One thing I don't like is how easy it is to access the different Digivolutions in Cyber Sleuth, I'm sure it gets harder once I get to Mega but so far it's been very easy to basically get every Digimon I've wanted except those locked through Items. At most I've had to feed them some meat to raise the CAM%, and the ABI requirements are basically just grinding.

Digimon World 1's biggest strength for me, and probably the reason it pushed so many people away, was how challenging it was to get the Digimon you wanted and how you had to work for your favorites. In Cyber Sleuth by the first few hours I'd already gathered the entire Adventure, 02, and Tamers Champions.

But Cyber Sleuth is really lacking in depth---the game is pretty much down to four things: you'll explore dungeons with randomly encountered enemies, said dungeons apparently start to repeat later on; you'll "investigate" by talking to NPCs with a system that's kind of like a light version of the Psyche Locks from Phoenix Wright, though it basically boils down to simply talking to every NPC in a given area; you'll grind Digimon to evolve them, then de-evolve them, then re-evolve them again, this is honestly the main draw of the game for a Digimon fan IMO and pretty easy once you score three PlatinumSukamon; finally the battle system most of the time can be set to Auto-Battle so you can progress through the story and gain access to more Digimon, only really having to focus when it comes to the Bosses.

It's really no less linear than Pokemon except for the addition of sidequest, but none of them I've done have been particularly interesting and some of them have the caveat of requiring you to wait hours in real life for the chance to unlock them. The best part about Cyber Sleuth is the Digimon, so I feel if you like Digimon you'll like it, and if you like a more in-depth story in your JRPGs (that has some fun ideas but is still mostly generic anime without some of the better writing seen in the original Digimon Adventure) you'll appreciate it compared to Pokemon, but it's really a low bar here people are setting.

 

[Menitta]

Even the Mystery Dungeon games, I'd say were better than Cyber Sleuth. Also, Pokken is the best fighting game on the Wii U for sure.

 

[PaulBizkit]

Why is this even a question? Pokemon blows Digimon out of the water in terms of games. The core mechanic is so simple and optimized that anybody can jump right in and have fun but not everybody can IV train, level pokemons to lv100 or make a competitive team.

Digimon world 1 is a mess, digimon 2 is okay, Rumble Arena 1 is great (IF you play it in japanese, since it uses the music from the show; the us version uses generic techno beats) and Reigitize is the best game ever but your digimon dies every 10 days (on average) and you have to start all over again on the digievolutions... it's tedious and it sucks.

Digimon has great anime series and movies but their games need to streamline a bit more its personality.

 

[Leafhopper]

Actually, I didn't even know Digimon All Star Rumble existed. This doesn't look great though.

 

[L.O.R.D]

Crossover when??

Project X Zone 3,Red with Blue as pairs and Hiro as solo character.

 

[Menitta]

Project X Zone 3,Red with Blue as pairs and Hiro as solo character.

I still wouldn't get it.

 

[RalchAC]

I haven't played Cyber Sleuth yet but can someone explain to me how it's better than Pokémon.

Many people is tired of Pokemon formula. Cyber Sleuth is quite good. Since they are bored of playing Pokemon but CS was more fresh and up to their tastes they say it's better.

The battle system itself is nothing special (gets a bit boring near the end) and the limited budget is noticeable in some areas.

The story, while interesting, is not perfect and is badly paced at times (which can annoy people to different degrees), but Pokemon games never have that much of a story.

The graphics are good (better than Pokemon's, even with a lower budget), the Digimon models look awesome and the game has some awesome Digifanservice.

The digimon in your active party follow you in the field and each has their signature move beatifully animated (some like WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon and Omnimon have 2 signature moves). Add to that the fact that they released the game with most Digimon Adventure 1 and 2, Tamers and Savers Digimon and you have a recipe for success.

If you ever liked Digimon, the game is a joy to look at. Really. Watching my WarGreymon using Gaia Force never got old. No matter how much I had seen it before.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Pokemon easily. Cyber Sleuth is a pretty piss poor RPG tbh but Pokemon Company could learn a thing or two about presentation from it

 

[MaximumSpider]

Pokemon wins in the games department.
Digimon wins in the anime department.
I thought this even as a kid.