If you want to play a good Digimon game you should look no further than the World Series, Digimon Masters Online and Digimon Rumble Arena 1 and 2. I could go on for a long time on why I don't recommend this game to anyone but I think I've gotten my point across now. Not to mention the Battle Modes you can play are all worthless and terrible. So if you're playing a 4-player Match and someone is the same Digimon as you then you will constantly lose track of yourself. Not to mention there's no alternate outfits in this game. There's framerate issues in a FIGHTING game, the cards you collect are pointless as they only activate when an Attack Card is activated (which if you have one with a high number you will never lose) and if you really want to win this game you choose Impmon and fire your Badaboom till you win. but I can't let my nostalgia blind me on how bad this game is.
I've been a Digimon Fan for about 10 years and I thought that this game would be the game that would finally bring the series back to being sold internationally. turns out I could have saved those money for something that was worth a damn cause this game is TERRIBLE! The combat is wonky with absolutely no balance put into it at all, the story mode is bland to the point where not even the makers of the game remembered what they wanted it to be about, and the lamest and smallest roster in a fighting game with such a big pile of memorable characters. The moment this game was announced my jaw hit the floor and I knew I had to buy it at launch. It HURTS for me to rate this game so low. In short, don't be discouraged by the negative reviews, I've been playing the game for 20+hours and I've been loving the experience, if you like Digimon and/or Fighting games this is the game for you. If you have friends that enjoy this type of game or just digimon in general, you've just guaranteed tons and tons of hours of fun with them, but don't forget that the game is still fun on your own.
No online and making the A.I easier ( even on hard mode where it doesn't use the substition like jutsu or attack cancelling agaisnt you ) does hurt the game and it has a very chaotic ( but not fun ) feeling when you're up agaisnt a free for all match with 3 A.I players but the game compensates with a team battle mode and 6 unique battle modes that you can enjoy. Each local has it's unique visual feel to it and combine that with the detailed character models and you'll be enchanted with the game.
Graphical wise the game looks pretty good for a ps3 game and captures the essence of Digimon quite well. The voice acting is quite good as well, I was skeptic at first since there wasn't an option to get the original japanese voice cast but I was met with a pleasant suprise. The sound department isn't too shabby either, awesome pieces of original music that fit the stages and get stuck in your head more often than not. Basically, combat seems very simple at first and then becomes this very deep way of fighting and planning as you play more and more with the game. The combat seems simple if you look at it superficially, but once you try to experiment with it you'll discover about attack cancelling, ways to defend yourself more efficiently and even counter digivolutions.
With a simple story that has a few twists that you weren't expecting ( Play Guilmon's story to know what I'm talking about ) and interactions between diferent characters of the series makes it an enjoyable experience that becomes even better once you know how to get past those tricky wild digimon. Digimon All-Star Rumble not only made Digimon World 4's gameplay enjoyable but also enhaced the Rumble series! Bringing attack cancelling, counter options and making each character unique in their own special way, this game would have been a sucess if it wasn't for the release date, that was near Super Smash Bros 4. Unexpected depth in combat for those who explore, fan service for old digimon fans, gorgeous graphics, great OST with many memorable tracks Unexpected depth in combat for those who explore, fan service for old digimon fans, gorgeous graphics, great OST with many memorable tracks and a kickass roster to top it all off.