8.5/10

Positives: 2 stories or games for the price of one. Both can be very lengthy. Depending on your playthrough. Both also have a few different added types of content than the other. A very large variety of Digimon that span out from the franchise over the years. From old favorites, to new you may have not remembered. Balanced out mechanics for a turned based JRPG. A lot of flexibility on how you want your Digimon to digevolve into discovering a new form and/or to make them powerful than before. So a lot of experimentation. The Digifarm inside the DigiLab helps out leveling your monsters faster and provide added stats while continuing the story. Which can also be used to to have your monsters make items for you, or find cases for you in the game to solve for me rewards. You can have when possible, up to 11 Digimon in your party and have 3 in battle at a time! The more, the better. The game also features PVP battles you can go up against a random person on the internet. So hope you have a strong party of Digimon for the fight. After beating one story or the other, New Game+ is unlocked for a 2nd run with everything that can carry over to replaying the game of that story. If you complete both games however, you will be able to transfer Digimon from one game to the other like an in game trading system for Digimon that are only available in one side of the story exclusively towards that story. So there's a lot of replay ability. If you plan on filling out the encyclopedia of all the Digimon as a completionist, you can. Not to mention, a lot of side quests, and quests that can be discovered by your Digimon from the Digifarm to earn more rewards in the game.

Negative: The characters of the story and their personalities can be a bit one note and stereotypical. Which they might end up being a bit forgettable after playing the game. Although, some characters stick out more than others and can be from likable to slightly annoying. Even some of the Digimon themselves have personalities. The game's story telling can feel a bit of a visual novel. From the lack of creative cutscenes. So expect a lot of reading. There is also no English dubbing or any language dubbing other than Japanese voice overs. So subtitles for this game will only be your friend here. But the Japanese voice overs do put in emotional effort to the characters. So it's something I can deal with. The game can be a bit of a halt when level grinding happens way too much. Especially, when trying to digivolve into a stronger form and meeting requirements to reach it. So it can be pretty tedious. The dungeon layouts of the game feel non creative and generic and bland at times. So there was more focus on the Digimon themselves than just the world layouts of the game. So it can feel like drawling a line in a maze from going to point A to B.

Digimon Stories: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition is a must own JRPG for fans of the franchise who've been around for over two decades. The game combines elements if you had Pokemon and Persona by combining the two together. Like the title of the game, it is a mystery and more to be solved on what is going on with the Real World and the Digital World. Not only you can play the main story, but can play the side story as well. Both with the same or different ways of gameplay. Depending on which story you would play first. If you want a slow build up for both games and their stories that happen at the same times and place, I recommend you play each game after beating each a chapter of one and then the other. And alternate on both stories. You have the option to connect both stories at once and can play each story by alternating on both. You do have the option to play the main game and then play Hacker's Memory side story if you wish. But since I did that, I recommend alternating in between the two for more suspenseful build up for both stories. And you can do that. All and all, for the price of this game, there's a lot this game has to offer and then some. If you think normal difficulty isn't enough, try hard mode. Which makes the battles harder, but in return, higher item drops. Of course, the music in the game is decent to listen in the background too. It's also neat even your Digimon will talk to you. Via their own social media on your Digivice. Giving you that superficial feeling they are alive and even care for you. There's just so much more in this game, it's hard for me to write down everything. If you're a fan of Digimon or someone who enjoys the thrill of collecting monsters and to use them into battles for whatever the cause, this is the game for you. And you won't regret it. I haven't. The only thing that makes me enjoy the game more than ever is the welcoming of familiar Digimon of the franchise. Whether from the shows, movies, or the previous games, puts a smile to my face. For this is what we all have grown up to what a franchise that first started a type of Tamagotchi toy that was made in Japan in 1997, to this.

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