This is my first foray into the world of Digimon and I’ve returned feeling like there’s a good game hidden in here somewhere, but it’s been buried underneath some atrocious pacing, a bad localization, obnoxiously oversexualized designs for the female characters, and a general lack of polish. This game really assumes you picked to play as the male character, which leads to a lot of accidental lesbianism. That’s just one of the many ways this game feels rough around the edges.

The story is interesting when it’s allowed to take focus. Interesting plot points are sandwiched between disgusting amounts of dull padding, and the stakes are all over the place. The first half of the game especially is a real slog.

Gameplay wise, things are pretty smooth. Combat is nice, collecting Digimon is fun, and it’s rarely frustrating or unintuitive. As someone unfamiliar with the franchise, I enjoyed all the edgy, overdesigned monster designs.

If someone trimmed the fat from this game and polished it a bit, this could be pretty decent.