The 20 Best Digimon Games Of All Time, Ranked - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

There have been a lot of Digimon games over the years, but not all of them have been hits. Here are the amazing ones, and some that weren’t.

The Digimon anime has featured tons of hits and misses throughout its history, but the Digimon video games have had a much better track record of quality. For a franchise that came from a variety of Tamagotchi-style virtual pets, Digimon has had a massive range of video games on various platforms, each varying wildly in terms of style and substance.

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Most of the games in the franchise center on the idea of collecting and digivolving your partners just like in the show, but this basic mechanic has been utilized in all kinds of genres, from classic RPGs to fighting and racing games. The best Digimon games are incredibly different from each other, but only a few are considered to be the top Digimon games, and only one can be properly considered the best Digimon game of all time.

Updated April 28, 2021 by Gene Cole: Digimon has remained as a cult classic series for many gamers and anime fans, particularly since their videogames were as wild as Pokemon for an incredibly long time. There have been several over the years with new ones still in development, appearing on almost every console from the original PlayStation to smartphones, and the debate for which is the best Digimon game is still an active discussion among fans.

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Digimon World Championship

Release Year:
2008
Platform:
Nintendo DS
Developer:
Epics

While Digimon World Championship isn’t exactly the worst Digimon list, it definitely doesn’t come close to the top Digimon games, particularly when it comes to the best Digimon World games. This series is known for great RPGs with wonderful stories and methodical combat, and World Championship takes a step back to utilize the Nintendo DS’s touch screen.

As a result, this entry plays in an especially odd way, being a somewhat active combat system full of text and movement around while you guide your Digimon to dodge attacks. It’s certainly not unplayable, but it definitely isn’t something that Digimon fans might be itching for if they want a good Digimon game.

Digimon World 4

Release Year:
2005
Platform:
PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube
Developer:
BEC

Time has not been kind to Digimon World 4, a hack and slash video game starring everyone’s favorite Digimon that strayed from the RPG style of the past great Digimon World games. It was a little bland and the graphics weren’t that good, but it certainly played fine considering it was one of the first action-based Digimon games in quite a while.

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Since Digimon World 4 was released, though, the world was spoiled by better hack and slash games. The Devil May Cry series was already on its third installment when Digimon World 4 came out, and the God of War series was just getting started. It’s still fairly good as a Digimon game, but it’s gameplay is extremely lacking and the Digimon characters add surprisingly little to its charm.

Digimon Digital Card Battle

Release Year:
2000
Platform:
PlayStation
Developer:
December

The Digimon TV show was definitely its own entity that was separate from its competitors, but Digimon was hardly afraid to branch into similar successful series. Digimon Digital Card Battle was one of those games, borrowing elements from both the popular games of the Pokemon TCG and Yu-Gi-Oh.

This was made smoother by its release shortly after Digimon Tamers, the third series that used cards as special attacks and power-ups. It’s slightly more interesting than you would expect, but it ends up feeling like a poor imitation of the series it feels derived from, rather than being fun in its own right.

Digimon All-Star Rumble

Release Year:
2014
Platform:
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Developer:
Prope

Many people consider Digimon All-Star Rumble to be the worst Digimon game, particularly the Digimon fighting games, but it’s poor quality is much more because of how it compares to many modern fighting games. At it’s core, it’s fairly similar to the classic games that will be mentioned later, being 2D platforming brawlers with a wide variety of Digimon full of unique abilities.

The main appeal, though, is that this game has some stellar graphics thanks to its modern console homes. If you don’t like RPGs, you certainly aren’t going to have a bad time fighting it out with fellow childhood fans of Digimon in this game, but it hardly has the level of polish that players could enjoy in the actual best Digimon games.

Digimon ReArise

Release Year:
2018
Platform:
Android and iOS
Developer:
Bandai

Digimon ReArise is where the games start getting much higher in quality for the Digimon series, but this time it comes in the form of a mobile Gacha-style game. This plays much like a typical RPG, with your Digimon being collected and Digivolved through various collectibles and microtransactions.

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While it’s not going to be everyone’s favorite Digimon game, it’s hard to argue that it’s a bad one thanks to some gorgeous visuals and an interesting modern twist on some classic gameplay. Since it’s free-to-play, it also is much more accessible to try if you haven’t touched the Digimon series in a long time.

Digimon Adventure

Release Year:
2013
Platform:
PSP
Developer:
Prope

Despite how immensely popular the early seasons of Digimon were in the US, interest in the series greatly waned around the fourth season of the anime. With a lack of interest in the west to see more Digimon products, Japanese developers will occasionally not release Digimon games outside of Japan, but given how fun they were, it’s a fair bit of a shame.

The Digimon Adventures game on the PSP, which is based on the first season of the show, was one of those great games that never made it to Europe or North America. The graphics are impressive for the handheld and the game’s story closely matches with the story on the show, making it feel more nostalgic and interesting than the original stories of the other games on this list.

Digimon Racing

Release Year:
2004
Platform:
Game Boy Advance
Developer:
Griptonite Games

Digimon Racing is easily the weirdest Digimon game out there, playing unlike anything else in the series. Not only is it one of very few Digimon games on a console as early as the Game Boy Advance, but it’s a classic kart racer in the vein of the original Mario Kart games.

It isn’t actually that bad, with eleven playable characters who can all Digivolve over the course of a race to gain new powers that attack your foes on the course. It’s an extremely interesting kart racer that’s unlike any other Digimon game, made even more unique by being one of the only Digimon games that was developed in the United States rather than Japan.

The Digimon Virtual Pet

Release Year:
1997 Onward
Developer:
Bandai

Digimon has always been called out as a Pokemon rip-off, but many gamers and childhood viewers may not have known that Digimon was much more based on Tamagotchi pets. These were virtual-pets that you carried around in a tiny handheld device, and these were popular toys both before and after the Digimon anime debuted.

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Without the original Digimon virtual-pet devices, we wouldn’t have gotten the anime or any other proceeding product of the series afterward. They also were surprisingly deep compared to other digital pets, with many later Digivice pets resembling the anime and having many minigames and features such as MP3 players that put them above their peers.

Digimon World

Release Year:
1999
Platform:
PlayStation & PC
Developer:
BEC & Flying Tiger Development

It’s hard to get into the best Digimon games without discussing Digimon World, the original entry in perhaps the most iconic franchise of the series. This let you play as a fully new character exploring a 3D world with their own partners and turn-based combat to fight strangers.

Compared to the later games on this list, it’s somewhat anticlimactic in terms of functionality, but it’s absolutely an enjoyable experience and it’s clear why this series took off as strongly as it did. It didn’t entirely succeed in its attempt to dethrone Pokemon as the key digital pet game, but it was still good enough to foster an enthusiastic fanbase.

Digimon World: Next Order

Release Year:
2016
Platform:
PlayStation Vita and PS4
Developer:
B.B. Studio

Open world games have become increasingly popular since gaming consoles have become powerful enough to handle games as huge as open worlds. Even Digimon has their own version of the open world video RPG called Digimon World: Next Order, and it attempts this with surprising success.

The game is a fun take on the open world genre, and the story is pretty entertaining too. It definitely has more modern polish than many other Digimon World games, and while it definitely feels unlike past games in terms of gameplay, it still has many of the best Digimon from throughout the series to help make it feel more classic.

Digimon World Re:Digitize

Release Year:
2012
Platform:
PSP and Nintendo 3DS
Developer:
tri-Crescendo

Digimon World Re:Digitize serves kind of as a predecessor for future titles in the franchise. Re:Digitize was a PSP game released exclusively in Japan in 2012, but would later get an enhanced port on the 3DS in the following year called Re:Digitize Decode. Re:Digitize’s gameplay is a return to form for the franchise, following a gameplay similar to that of the classic best Digimon World games through a more slow turn-based RPG.

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The biggest change with this game is its human character designs, all of which feeling more out of a modern anime instead of the more cartoonish vibe of past games thanks to the choice to feature the character designer for the Durarara!! and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. This is an excellent shift, as it makes it feel better for new fans who have trouble returning to the older games that feel more meant for kids despite their deep RPG elements.

Digimon World DS

Release Year:
2006
Platform:
Nintendo DS
Developer:
BEC

Digimon World DS is absolutely not the best Digimon World game, but it’s absolutely one of the best Digimon games out there and a standout given its unusual platform. This was the first Digimon World game on the Nintendo DS after the series living on the PlayStation for so long, and this new platform brought a 2D pixelated style that felt more reminiscent of the digital world that fans of the anime enjoyed.

This isn’t to say it’s the top Digimon World game, since there are many great qualities that the older and newer games both have on this. Nonetheless, it’s a great introductory Digimon game for the platform, and absolutely worth picking up or trying if you want one of the most straightforward Digimon RPG experiences you can find.

Digimon Battle Spirit

Release Year:
2003
Platform:
Game Boy Advance
Developer:
Dimps

Digimon Battle Spirit may not hold up as well as some other Digimon games, however, there is still a lot to love with this game. Battle Spirit is a Digimon fighting game that was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Digimon begins fights in their rookie or champion forms, but they can digivolve into their stronger ultimate or mega forms, giving them the edge in battle.

Battle Spirit plays well on a handheld, and the graphics are pretty good thanks to some incredibly clean sprite work. Considering it gave such a complex fighting game such a new look and play style, it’s a remarkable game that feels pretty underrated, especially since most fans associate Digimon with the PlayStation rather than something like the GBA.

Digimon Rumble Arena 2

Release Year:
2004
Platform:
GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2
Developer:
Bandai & Black Ship Games

Digimon Rumble Arena 2 may not be the most polish fighting game out there, but it is still a lot of fun. Rumble Arena 2 is a Super Smash Bros. type fighting game starring the iconic characters from Digimon. They can absorb orbs to get more energy and can digivolve into their more powerful champions and mega forms, and they come with some gorgeous 3D models that justify the new consoles.

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The controls for the game are actually pretty clunky, and there are a lot of aspects of the game that haven’t held up as well as fans would hope. For more die-hard fans that don’t enjoy many newer Digimon and enjoy the classic style, though, it’s definitely the best Digimon fighting game that you can sit down and play with friends.

Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars Red & Blue

Release Year:
2011
Platform:
Nintendo DS
Developer:
B.B. Studio

Released only in Japan, there’s one fairly strong final entry to the Digimon games on the original DS that many fans may never have experienced. This game came out at the height of the Digimon Fusion anime, focusing on Pokemon from this series and even starring the anime’s main protagonist instead of an original one.

This leads to some interesting fusion mechanics, but more fascinating with these dual-version games are that it’s much more similar to Digimon World than the later Digimon Story games that would come out later on. This anime wasn’t particularly popular outside of Japan, so it hasn’t had an English translation, but it could easily be one of the most underrated games that few Digimon fans around the world will be able to play and appreciate.

Digimon World Dawn And Dusk

Release Year:
2007
Platform:
Nintendo DS
Developer:
Bandai

A sequel to Digimon World DS, Digimon World Dawn and Dusk improves on what was established with its predecessor, and is an overall superior game. Following the Pokemon tradition of releasing two games in each generation, Dawn and Dusk are two separate games that tell the same story using unique day & night themed Digimon.

The games are RPGs that center on collecting and Digivolving your own Digimon still, but Dawn and Dusk offer more variations to Digivolve your Digimon, and the story is more engaging than the first thanks to some original Digimon for each game. The presentation and the graphics are pretty great, especially on the DS, and it mostly just perfects the mechanics found in the best Digimon World games on handheld consoles.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth

Release Year:
2015
Platform:
PlayStation Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer:
Media.Vision

With the middle of the 2010s, things were looking quite good for Digimon for the first time in years. The Digimon tri. films were being released and doing well in Japan, but more importantly, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth was released on the Vita in 2015 in Japan to massive critical acclaim for its original graphics and return to the original Digimon World gameplay style.

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Criticism for game centers mostly on its long length, and the fact that it forces gamers to grind for a long time, but most JRPG fans can tell you this is a very common trend with most games in the genre anyway. Despite these flaws, Cyber Sleuth has undoubtedly reinvigorated the enthusiasm for Digimon, and it’s much thanks to an acknowledgement of the games that fans generally consider the best Digimon games.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory

Release Year:
2019
Platform:
PlayStation Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer:
Media.Vision

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory isn’t necessarily a bad Digimon game, but many fans were definitely a bit disappointed by it. It is a sequel to Cyber Sleuth, and it is more or less the same as its predecessor. A lot of Hacker’s Memory takes place in the same setting as Cyber Sleuth, making it feel especially familiar.

Hacker’s Memory does polish the gameplay a bit, but it’s still repetitive and long and doesn’t fix many of Cyber Sleuth’s main problems. Fans were clamoring for something a bit different for the sequel, but nonetheless it only builds on the strengths of its predecessor, making it hard to put lower than the original game.

Digimon World 2

Release Year:
2000
Platform:
PlayStation
Developer:
BEC

Coming in at second place is one of the games that heavily inspired Cyber Sleuth, as it ended up being a more polished version of the popular Digimon World series at its start. This game added tons more Digimon from the later seasons, leading to a more diverse cast and deeper game overall.

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More importantly, it also could grow past the poorer quality of the original Digimon World’s graphics, which definitely felt dated by the fact that 3D graphics were still quite new. Digimon World 2 is substantially smoother, making it a much more enjoyable experience alongside the improved combat.

Digimon World 3

Release Year:
2002
Platform:
PlayStation
Developer:
BEC

Digimon World 3 is without a doubt the best Digimon World game, but more than that is the best Digimon game overall. Released at the very end of the PS1 lifespan, World 3 serves as a fitting swan song for Sony’s first console with a polished story and battle system that takes everything that was established in Digimon World 1 and 2, and makes it infinitely better with the lessons learned from these first massive games.

Not only is the gameplay faster and smoother thanks to a better understanding of the PlayStation hardware, the graphics have improved wildly in a way that’s aged much less poorly. Digimon World 3 also has a pretty sweet soundtrack, and a larger variety of Digimon to play as thanks to several additions from the Digimon Tamers series, and builds greatly off of what many fans consider the best Digimon series and best Digimon games.

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