Video Game / Digimon World 3

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The third installment in the Digimon World series, known as Digimon World 3 in NTSC regions and Digimon World 2003 for PAL regions (since they never got Digimon World 2). The most significant difference is that in Digimon World 2003, it is possible to continue after what is the finale of Digimon World 3.

It was released late into the Playstation 1 life cycle.

You play as a child called Junior who enters an online virtual reality MMORPG called "Digimon Online", which is run by the "MAGAMI" corporation. A terrorist attack on the Internet (Or so it seems) traps Junior and his friends inside the game, and he sets out to stop them with his Digimon partners. The core gameplay is similar to Pokémon, while the game graphics push the limitations of Playstation 1 hardware as it features beautiful pre-rendered 2D overworld and decent 3D animations during battle.

This game contains examples of:

• Ability Required to Proceed:
  • The Blue Card, whose sole use is to enable you to ride the gondola to the South Sector so you can continue the story, and only in Asuka Server.
  • The Digi-egg of Serenity is needed in order to ask Submarimon to get you across water to the West Sector. Thankfully, unlike above it has more than the one use case.
• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Beneath Asuka and Amaterasu City.
• Apathetic Citizens: Makes sense for Asuka server, as until any mention of A.o.A's involvement, they just think the game is undergoing extended maintenance... Until everyone who isn't part of the La Résistance gets turned into Oinkmon.
• Awesome, but Impractical : Many finishers ultimately fall into this. Cool animations, but the damage is comparable to standard elemental moves that you can unlock and the finishers cost way more than those moves, sometimes they're even weaker than the standard attack. There's a lot of cases where a player wonders why their Mega finisher deals little damage after the difficulty spike on Amaterasu Server.
• Bears Are Bad News: Averted with Kumamon, one of the partner Digimon, and his digivolution of Grizzmon.
• Beef Gate:
  • You will encounter a lot of these in this game.
  • The Knightmons in the Amaterasu Bridge are even worse. Without the four colored cards, they can't be defeated at all. You can't even run away, ensuring you a game over.
• BFS: There are sets of two-handed swords for Agumon, Veemon and Guilmon. Apparently, the sword is big enough to consume both weapon slots, but offers larger attack boost compared to other weapon types of the same tier.
• Blue Boy, Pink Girl: The dynamic between Junior and Ivy/Kail, with the former wearing blue while the latter wearing pink. At one point during the story, both of them acquire Agumon suit with their own respective colors to infiltrate Admin Center in order to find Teddy.
• Blue Is Heroic: Junior wears blue outfit and is The Hero of the game.
• Bookends: The game starts and ends with Junior waiting for Ivy and Teddy outside of the building in Kusanagi City. Junior and Ivy also briefly get into argument both times.
• Boss Rush: Kurt's team consists of bosses from earlier in the game.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Gunslinger's second floor, Junior looks at the camera and exclaims.
  Junior: "Hurry! We have to defeat Lord Megadeath and get everyone back!"
• Chekhov's Gunman: Lucky Mouse and Vemmon.
• Color-Coded Characters: The main trio are distinguished by their outfit colors. Junior (the player) wears blue, Ivy/Kail wears pink, and Teddy wears yellow. The former two also obtain Agumon suits with matching colors to infiltrate the Admin Center.
• Combat Medic: Kotemon, Patamon, and Veemon's natural digivolution lines can learn healing techniques while also remain as good attackers as well.
• Combination Attack: DNA evolutions could be called that, or maybe Summon Magic.
• Competitive Balance: Althought each of the playable Rookie Digimon can be trained through using TP to adjust their stats to become potentially a Master of All with access to every evolution line, by the end of the game, each Digimon generally have a specific pre-defined stats growth that corresponds to a specific archetype, and an early evolution lines to match:
  • Kotemon is a Jack of All Trades who can learn some healing techniques as Dinohumon alongside elemental slash line of moves, with all-around stats aside from above-average Strength and below-average Speed.
  • Monmon is a mix of Fragile Speedster and Stone Wall, having the highest Speed in the game, below average attack (though is able to learn techniques that tend to deal bonus damage to certain Digimon types to compensate), good defense, but has weakness to some relatively common attacking elements (Water, Wind and Thunder) and mediocre HP. Monmon notably have the fastest level curve out of every partner in the game, and all of its evolution focused on speed and defense.
  • Kumamon is a Magically Inept Fighter and a Lightning Bruiser with good Strength, Defense, Wisdom and Speed, at the cost of having the lowest MP and Spirit. Notably, Kumamon have the highest overall stats in the game, being strong in every stats except for Spirit and MP, with a very high HP total. This is offset by Kumamon's leveling speed, being the slowest out of every partner in the game. On top of elemental punch line of moves, Grizzmon gained the move Hammer Riush, allowing it to perform multi attack, and later gained Charged Attack moves in Soul Charge and Mishukikou.
  • Agumon is a Mighty Glacier and a Magic Knight who has good physical and magical offenses and defensive stats as well, but the worst Speed out of all 8 rookies. Fittingly, Greymon's skillset are filled with Fire Magics, and the Greymon line primarilly learns Fire and Machine elemental magics.
  • Renamon is a Squishy Wizard that has low physical defense, but also the highest Spirit and second-highest MP to make use of magic-based techniques. Kyubimon and its evolutionary lines primarilly focused on Electric and Ice elemental magics.
  • Patamon is a Support Party Member with weak physical attacks and lowest HP out of all 8, but the Angemon lines gets access to support and healing techniques earlier than any other Rookie and learns the higher-tier support skills earlier, and has highest MP, good Wisdom (governs magical defense and healing techniques effectiveness), and decent Spirit.
  • Guilmon is a mix of Glass Cannon and Fragile Speedster with high speed and strength, but low Defense and HP. Growlmon evolutionary lines are comparable to Thieves, having exclusive access to the stealing moves in the game alongside counters and status buffs.
  • Veemon, much like Kotemon, is also a Jack of All Trades, with the only difference being Veemon having medium-low Defense but high Wisdom instead. While Kotemon is more of a Physical Combat Medic, Veemon leans more towards Magic, with Ex-Veemon having a magical attack, a heal, and a status cleansing move. The later stages of Ex-Veemon would get Machine elemental attacks to further diversify its skillset.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: The MAGAMI President.
• Counter-Attack:
  • Some of the techniques requires taking damage before retaliating, such as Counter Alert, Counter Strike, Grizzmon's Maul Attack, or Gallantmon's Final Purification.
  • The Counter Crest, one of the challenge-killing accessories which was thankfully reimagined for the PAL version.
  • Gallantmon's signature move is this. There's also Counter Strike.
• Cue the Sun: Amaterasu Server after the A.o.A. are eradicated.
• Dark World: Amaterasu server is this in relation to Asuka server.
• Disc-One Nuke: The Asuka Black Market item shop can be visited once you beat the Seiryu Leader, and contains expensive weaponry rivalling stuff you find all the way on the North sector, which you'd reach hours later into the game.
  • For the most part the first or second digivolution acquired from the partner's natural digivolution line can be this. For Patamon and Kumamon, they acquired Digitamamon, a full fledged Ultimate level digimon. A lot them are Champions, which can let you get their Ultimate at digivolution level 40, and 5 levels earlier than their natural digivolution. MetalMamemon is particularly notable, being able to digivolve into MetalGarurumon at level 40 provided you have enough Machine Tolerance. While MetalGarurumon is one of the weaker Mega in this game, it can become MegaGargomon, one of the strongest.
• Dual Wielding: Almost always better than a sword-and-shield combo.
• Dynamic Loading: Well, the blue blocks that appear when the overworld graphics is loading is apparently this. Not that it's hidden, but...
• Eldritch Abomination: It's hinted that if Galacticmon merged with the Earth, the Digimon called Gaiamon would have been created. This would not only have killed all humans but also made the most powerful Digimon to have ever existed. Just think that over a bit. Then again, Galacticmon can itself be considered one, being the merged consciences (for lack of a better world) of Megadeath and Snatchmon combined with a giant Kill Sat and multiple forms with which to kill you.
• Elemental Powers: Most moves in the game have an element tied to them, and you can even add element to normally non-elemental attacks like your regular attacks and a few other moves, by using certain accessories.
  • An Ice Person: For example, Cold Slash and Giga Freeze.
  • Blow You Away: For example, Sylph Storm and Vacuum Cannon.
  • Casting a Shadow: For example, Black Dart and Darkness Chaos.
  • Extra-ore-dinary: For example, Mechanical Bash and Metal Attack.
  • Making a Splash: For example, Grand Wave and Divine Rain.
  • Playing with Fire: For example, Giga Fire and Heat Cutter.
  • Shock and Awe: For example, Heaven Hit and Electro Bolt.
• Elemental Rock–Paper–Scissors. When you realize it's there, you will be almost done with the adventure. But once a player figures this out, they will feel a lot better.
• Evil Is Bigger:
  • Some of the Digimons exclusive to the bad guys are very huge that they tower even the largest Mega level Digimons you have (Gallantmon, Omnimon, Diaboromon). For example, MAGAMI president's Raidenmon and three of Megadeath's Digimons (Fujinmon, Suijinmon, Raijinmon) are significantly taller than your Digimons.
  • Taken into the extreme by Destromon and Galacticmon. Destromon is a transformed Juggernaut ship that dwarfs even real-life battleships, while Galacticmon is a transformed Kill Sat that its head alone makes your huge Mega Digimon feels rookie-sized. And that's not to mention Gaiamon since it's Snatchmon fused with the entirety of earth.
• Fake Ultimate Mook. There are many Ultimate and Champion digimon that aren't really strong at the begining of the game, such as Kuwagamon and Triceramon. When going to the North Sector and to the Amaterasu Server, the game inverts it. Many Champion-level digimon and sometimes even Rookie-level are stronger than an Ultimate that you fought at Asuka server.
  • And when you enter in the Amaterasu Server, it just gets nonsensical. You can have an area with Megas, Ultimates, Champions and Rookies dealing the same damage.
• Faux Action Girl: Kail is built up as The Rival to Junior, but never actually fights with or against the player. Much of her screentime is spent doting over Kurt after he becomes a Distressed Dude.
• Fetch Quest: This game has so many of them in both the main plot and in sidequests, they could get their own page.
• Finishing Move: All playable Digimon have a finisher, as do a few of the bosses.
• Fishing Minigame: The only way, other than not having a full party of three, to cut on the time spent on...
• Forced Level-Grinding. You can go from pwning in one area to being pwned on the next in less than 10 minutes of game time.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Right in the opening scene in the human world, with its mention of the A.O.A., who've recently been arrested for misusing Digimon.
  • Talking to Baronmon before he learns of Account Change and he'll mention seeing the future, with "pigs. Pigs everywhere." At the climax of the game, everyone save you is turned into an Oinkmon.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: You can use Submarimon and Digmon as transportation, even though you have no way of getting hold of an Armadillomon partner.
• Genre Shift: From a standard JRPG to a 1-versus-1 JRPG in vein of Pokémon.
• Gentle Giant: BlackWarGrowlmon, found in Amaterasu Server's Dum Dum Factory, is a dark recolor of what is already a Virus-type cyborg dragon worthy of the Digital Hazard symbol. He is also extremely nice and polite, only fights you because he wants to play (and NOT in a twisted way, either) and after the battle, he cheerfully thanks you for the good match and gives you Hazard Armor, Guilmon's Infinity-1 Armor.
  • All of the other "Black" Digimon found on the Amaterasu server are this to varying degree. Either they give you encouragement and praise, or is genuinely happy to see players having fun.
• Get on the Boat: I mean, on the Submarimon.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere:
  • While on the Gunslinger, an Armageddemon appears to attack you.
  • From a narrative point-of-view, Lord Megadeath is one of these. He shows up in the last hour of the game, declares himself the true mastermind of the events, and is immediately defeated by Snatchmon.
• Glass Cannon:
  • Guilmon is this with a mix of Fragile Speedster, having high attack and speed but low defense and wisdom. The in-game guide by the MAGAMI staff suggests that you train his defense first.
  • This also carries over to Guilmon's evolution line, especially Gallantmon. For a Royal Knight with armored appearance and huge shield, Gallantmon is surprisingly frail, especially against magic and dark elemental attacks. However, this works for his advantage since Gallantmon's signature technique, Final Purification, is a Counter-Attack that deals more damage the more you take.
• Groin Attack: There are two variants of Numemon, purple and icy blue, whose only attack is biting your Digimon right in that spot, especially if you fight them as Angemon, HolyAngemon, or Angewomon. The purple ones' attack will also reduce your Digimon's defense, so it's pretty dangerous.
• Guide Dang It!: The part where you have to cross the sea to the West sector by obtaining the Submarimon. Most NPC didn't know when asked.
  • To get the fishing pole, you must talk to the fisherman Tai Kong Wong at Shell Beach and he will tell you to bring him a pole, string and a hook. While the hook is easy enough to get (you get it from the mouth of a Divermon), the pole and string may cause some head scratching. The "pole" in this case is Bamboo Spear, a relatively cheap weapon you can buy from vendors. While its description mentioning that it is "like a pole" may be considered enough of a hint, the "string" is next to impossible to figure out without a guide: it's Spider Web, a Random Drop from Dokugumon. It's an in-battle item that lowers the opponent's speed and nothing in the game hints at it being the string Tai Kong Wong is talking about.
  • The Tree Boots, whose purpose is more or less identical to the fishing pole's, qualifies too. You begin the Side Quest by approaching an NPC in Plug Cape, who sends you to find a Gabumon card he lost. While he says that he thinks he lost it at Asuka Inn, to find it you must check a shelf that does not even look interactable, being a part of the background. After you return the card to the NPC, he tells you that you must befriend Veemon to get the boots. To find Veemon, you must go to Lamb Chop in Asuka City and speak to the waitress there to learn that Veemon is at Wind Praerie. You run over there, find Veemon and end up playing a game of hide 'n seek with him. So where does he hide? Behind one of the Kicking Trees in Kicking Forest. Or rather, behind the leaves of the tree, making it impossible for the player to see him and forcing him or her to blindly mash X behind every possible tree. And woe betide you if you accidentally exit the forest, in which case you must run all the way back to Lamb Chop and speak to the waitress again to make Veemon appear at Wind Praerie!
  • Many maze areas in the game can be rather complex to figure out by adults without a guide, let alone kids. Is there even any kid who ever heard about "toroidal grid" before they wander into Mobius Desert? And there's just no real pattern on how the Underground connects one place to another. You can even enter from Asuka server, and exit at Amaterasu server! And then there's also that one invisible stairs on Bug Maze.....
  • It doesn't really matter in DW3 due to lack of postgame, but nothing in DW2003 tells you that you have to collect all 5 legendary/epic weapons, otherwise you can't fight the bonus bosses in the postgame tournament. Oh, and getting all of them involves a specific order (for example, you can't make Supernova before making Eternally first), which is also not hinted at anywhere. The quest to make the weapons is an even bigger example - it's a multi-step process of making the old/rusty weapon (considered as Level 1) into Level 2 weapons, which are then used to make Level 3 weapons, which are needed to make the Level 4/legendary/epic weapons. Hope you didn't sell any of the materials... not to mention the 'mons who ask you for the weapons only show up if the appropriate partner is at level forty-five. Nothing in the game tells you that, either.
  • Acquiring Veemon. There's no hint you can get him, besides an extra spot in the partner selection tab at the labs. In order to do so, you need to have gotten the Byakko badge, then find Veemon's related DRI agent in Protocol ruins... but they'll only give you the quest if you talk to them with a party of Digimon with a combined level at or below 30.
• Ham-to-Ham Combat: Megadeath and Snatchmon spend their shared screentime shouting at each other about which of them will rule over existence. Snatchmon wins handily.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Justified; you don't name the player character per say, but rather, you come up with a username for Digimon Online for him. And because Digimon Online apparently is such Serious Business, even his closest friends refer to him by his made-up moniker instead of his real name. Baronmon also somehow learns of "Account Change" after you get the Digi-Egg of Knowledge, which allows you to change your Digimon partners' names, again justified by it being a gameplay feature of Digimon Online.
• HP to One: The Ragnarok Cannon, used by the final boss in the game. God forbids you if your Digimon is slow and you are only using one.
• Humongous Mecha: Destromon and Galacticmon, a Humongous Mecha IN SPACE!.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: WaruMonzaemon's justification for attacking Lisa.
• Improbable Power Discrepancy: Amaterasu server is home to Champion level Digimon stronger than Mega level ones on Asuka server.
• Infinity -1 Sword: The second tier Mega Level Digivolution are this. A notch weaker than the strongest Digivolutions of the game, while being stronger than the standard Mega level Digivolutions. Most of them are required to unlock the strongest Digivolutions in the game. This list includes Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, Omnimon, GranKuwagamon, MegaGargomon, and MaloMyotismon.
  • MegaGargomon is particularly notable for having a lax unlock requirement, only requiring a single evolution chain with MetalMamemon at level 40 and MetalGarurumon at level 99 making it relatively straightforward to unlock provided the digimon in question have enough Metal Tolerance to unlock them. Conversely, it's the only one that doesn't lead into unlocking the strongest digivolutions. Similarly GranKuwagamon stands out for not requiring a single level 99 Digivolution skill level in any of its unlock requirement and learned Impact Rush, the most powerful physical technique in the game.
• Infinity +1 Sword. And wand, and claw, and gun...
  • For Monmon, you can buy the Raven's Bow, which grants it several hundred attack power and the ability to confuse its enemies, before you've ever met Bulbmon.
  • As far as Digivolution goes Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, Beelzemon, and Diaboromon are the three most powerful Digivolution in the game, each requiring the Infinity -1 Sword Digivolutions to be leveled to unlock them.
• Informed Flaw: The description of Maniac Pack (Kumamon, Guilmon, Patamon) states that they are all quirky and difficult, and you can only count on Patamon, yet they're actually no less effective than other packs. Guilmon, in particular, is one of the easier Digimon to train due to his lax experience points requirement to level up, only rivaled by Monmon.
• Irony: The Amaterasu Server looks like a creepy night version of Asuka Server. Amaterasu is the name of the Shinto Sun Goddess.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Basically most Mega level mons' finishers. Some of the finishers such as Imperialdramon's Mega Crusher and Fighter Mode's Giga Crusher are borderline Wave-Motion Gun though.
• Killer Rabbit: All joking aside, if you meet an Antylamon in the Amaterasu Server, you're probably screwed. It's not invincible per se, but it's pretty powerful.
• Kill Sat: Gunslinger. And then Galactimon, which is made from Gunslinger.
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: Excluding Black King Numemon, who is an Optional Boss, the red version of Numemon encountered in the Asuka Fire Dungeon is the strongest Numemon stat-wise, and also gives you the most Bit and experience.
• La Résistance: While there is no specific name for the group in the game, this is basically what you joined into the moment A.o.A. announced its intentions and took over Amaterasu server by turning everyone into Oinkmons.
• Limit Break: The Blast Gauge, filled as your Digimon takes hits. When full, your monster skips to its next natural digivolution, heals to max and its finisher is usable at zero MP cost.
• Loads and Loads of Loading: The game push the limits of Playstation 1's processing to power a JRPG. The results are obvious.
• Magic Knight: Veemon, the only playable partner not in a starter pack. Seeing as his role is that of a pumped-up Jack of All Stats, it's understandable.
• Magikarp Power: Patamon starts out relatively weak, but once it reached level 20 on Angemon, its able to digivolve into Digitamamon, an Ultimate level digimon who has a proper Ultimate level of power in this game. Considering that Ultimates are naturally a level 20 digivolution, with off-branch mainline Ultimates requiring level 15, and level 40 on their respective Champion this is quite a notable advantage in their favor.
• Metal Slime: Not really metallic, but Numemons of all colors are always swift and brutal to your own mons, regardless of evolution. Maybe to compensate them for their Butt-Monkey role in the anime.
  • Cardmon can only be encountered by using items obtained from Side Quests, they are always tougher than other Digimon in the same area, can "Curse" your Digimon's stats, weakening them (Curse also happens to be the only status condition in the game that lingers even after the end of a battle and higher level Cardmons can curse more than one stat) and can potentially flee from battle leaving you with nothing. On the other hand, if you manage to beat them, they award more experience and Bits in addition to dropping powerful booster packs.
• More Dakka: Armormon, Monmon's Ultimate form, is essentially a robotic centaur outfitted with enough guns to take on a small army... and its Finisher has it fire every single one of them at the enemy. Of course, there is no such thing as enough dakka... though Cannondramon, its Mega stage which is a giant dinosaur with cannons up the wazoo comes pretty darn close.
• Mutually Exclusive Power-Ups: Equipping weapons/armor with special effects will null those provided by accessories (yes, that's why your Counter Crest stopped working).
• Mythology Gag: A Terriermon in the Asuka City inn murmurs "Momentai" in its sleep.
• Now, Where Was I Going Again?: It's very easy to get lost on what you were supposed to do or on who to talk to.
• Oddball in the Series: The Water element, among a series of attack elements in this game. For unknown reason, even though there are four Water element attacks in the game, only two are available to players^note  not including use of accessory that adds Water element to any non-elemental attack (other elements have such accessory too, so it doesn't count). The two that are available to players, are only accessible via Angewomon and Rosemon evolution, which are part of the same evolution line. This is odd, because all the other elements have at least three attacks accessible to players, many having at least four, and many are shared among different evolution lines.
• Paint It Black: All of the Amaterasu boss Digimon are the black colored versions of certain Digimon.
• Palette Swap: Most of the Digimon you fight (or at least see) have alternate color versions you can also fight. These alternate colors also indicates that they are either stronger, or has different element, or has added effect to their attack, compared to the original color one. The most extreme example is Numemon, who appears in at least four other colors. Subverted with Meramon and BlueMeramon, who are separate Digimon, as well as all the "Black" Digimon.
• Playable Epilogue: The PAL version allows you to continue playing after beating the Final Boss. You'll enter Amaterasu Server, albeit limited only to Central and East sector, but with expanded seabed and circuit boards. You can also challenge all four city leaders to obtain their badges, provided that you have all the legendary weapons, and fight the champion, who turns out to be Kurt/Lucky Mouse.
• Point of No Return: Amaterasu's Admin Centre is this in the American version.
• Purely Aesthetic Gender: Digimon are supposed to be genderless. Say that to Cute Monster Girl Angewomon, Rosemon, Sakuyamon or Persiamon.
  • It makes more sense to say "sexless." Digimon definitely have genders, but they're functions of the Digimon's data instead of DNA. And since data is changeable, a Digimon's gender can change, particularly as it evolves. This game shows that with all the overlapping evolutions (Angewomon being a common evolution, for example).
• Random Encounters: They can (and will) shoot up in difficulty as the game proceeds. And don't be surprised if you keep running into them one after the other.
• Random Drop: Some Digimon may drop items at certain chance. There are also Rare Random Drop that's more like very rare, to the point that players often can, and will, go through the entire game without realizing that one random enemy Digimon may drop a certain item. The most notorious example of this is Crimson Cable. It's not an important item, and you most likely won't need it in battle^note it's an in-battle item that lowers opponent's attack and defense stats, but by the time you can get this item, your Digimon would be strong enough that they don't really need this anymore. However, it's a rare drop that's only dropped by enemies in a near endgame location you can only visit ONCE. In fact, it's the only item in the game that's permanently missable.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Gee, the president of MAGAMI sure IS a battling champion.
• Run, Don't Walk: Unlike mainline Pokémon games or even previous Digimon World, the player is defaulted to running despite having a walking sprite animation, which are mostly used for cutscenes.
• Save Point: Guardromon acts as the save point in this game.
• Save Scumming: Saving as often as possible is recommended thanks to the Continuing Is Painful described above. Can get a little irritating thanks to saving always taking 30 full seconds, not counting going through the menus.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Junior & Co. enter Jungle Grave and soon encounter Zanbamon, they exchange words then fight. Upon making his attack, Zanbamon causes huge damage resulting in the Digimon currently in use automatically running away. And even if you could beat him, you have to get Sepikmon's mask first to get his help. Thankfully, Zanbamon is fightable later.
  • Bulbmon is a boss example, running away after having its health at critical point. Only at the first encounter when going to the South Sector the first time, thankfully.
• Seeking Ultimate Strength: At first, Lord Megadeath intends make Snatchmon the most powerful Digimon, by absorbing matrix data from all life forms of both real and digital world so that he can Take Over the World. However, Snatchmon wants to be the strongest by itself without its tamer, so it absorbs Megadeath first, then fuses with the Gunslinger satellite to become Galacticmon as the next step, before fusing with the entire earth to become Gaiamon. In theory, had its plan succeeded, Gaiamon would of become the most powerful Digimon in the entire franchise.
• Sequential Boss: Could apply to any tamer boss since they usually have multiple Digimon just like you, but especially to the assimilated satellite final boss, who has more than one form.
• Shout-Out:
  • To Digimon Digital Card Battle, and by extension, Digimon World. The card battle minigame in this game uses many of the card artworks in Digital Card Battle, artworks which feature a background of maps in Digimon World.
  • The Big Bad is called Lord Megadeath.
  • Two old men in Amaterasu City Inn are named Mickey and Donald. Donald even joked that after being turned into a pig (Oinkmon), he probably will get turned into a duck next.
• Status Effects: Surprisingly useful. If you manage to poison or confuse an opponent the battle is as good as won.
  • The opposite can be true. If you get paralyzed/frozen, for example, you will have a chance of literally skipping the turn.
• Stupidity Is the Only Option: At Byakko City. The "Tamers" in the gym are obviously evil, with their military uniforms, but you've no choice but to walk right into their trap.
  • Getting the Blue Card involves a fetch quest where you get tricked first and receive a 8lue Card instead. You as the player will easily know it's fake, but the plot of the quest demands you to try using the fake card first anyway.
• Take Over the World: In your typical JRPG fashion, Lord Megadeath aims for this in both real and digital world. To do so, he forms the A.o.A. and infiltrates MAGAMI to take over the digital world, then by absorbing enough matrix data from both worlds to create Snatchmon, he'll become powerful enough to rule in fear and despair. Too bad, Snatchmon disagrees, and wants to become the strongest life form alone, so it absorbs Megadeath first.
• Terrorists Without a Cause: It's unclear what A.o.A.'s motivations are for serving Lord Megadeath and bringing so much chaos to the real and digital worlds. We don't even learn what their name stands for.
• Theme Naming: The cities of Asuka and Amaterasu Server. They are themed after Four Symbols, the four guardian gods of the cardinal directions in Asian mythology. Asuka Server uses Japanese names for the gods, while Amaterasu Server uses the Chinese names.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Junior, Teddy, and Ivy also Lisa, Nick, and Keith.
• The Unfought:
  • Destromon gets an impressive introduction, with its own cutscene, but since it's in the real world, you're never going anywhere near it. Your mission is to find the off-switch.
  • Snatchmon is treated as The Man Behind the Man, but is never actually fought before it transforms into Galacticmon.
• Victory Pose: Your currently active Digimon celebrates when they defeated the enemy (be it a wild digimon or tamer).
• Video Game Geography / Eldritch Location: Mobius Desert. It's easy to get lost in it due to its seeming endlessness, the identicality of all its cells (except for NPCs), and unusual geometry. It is in fact a 4x4 toroidal grid, which may be exited only by moving in the right direction from the right cell.
• Visual Pun: Digitamamon as its name suggested, is an egg shaped Digimon. So obviously it have the most well-rounded stats amongst every digivolutions in the game. Internally, Digitamamon gets a bizzare stats increase of 30 in every main stat, 40 in every elemental tolerance, and 20 in every status resistance.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Persiamon. You can easily curbstomp all other tamer battles until her.
  • And before that, Byakko Leader and/or Bulbmon.
• Wham Episode: At first the game seems like a standard Pokémon knockoff... then when you beat the Seiryu Leader, the exit to the real world gets shut down and you and everyone in the MMO are trapped.
  • Reaching the Asuka Western Sector, and meeting the A.O.A in Byakko City.
• World's Strongest Man: By the end of the game, Lord Megadeath refers you as "The Strongest Tamer", and sees you as the final obstacle to his plan of Taking Over The World.
• You ALL Look Familiar. Used by the Guilmon gang to Mind Screw you over an important item.
• Your Size May Vary: In the opening FMV, Beelzemon and Gallantmon are roughly the same height while Armageddemon towers over both (which is, more or less, true to the anime). In the game, Beelzemon's small, Gallantmon fills half the screen, and Armageddemon is significantly shorter than Gallantmon.