Dhruv Sharma
The ‘Digimon’ anime series, which premiered from 1999-2002, was long forgotten because of being overshadowed by ‘Pokemon‘. But with the release of ‘Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth’, it rekindled people’s interest. Apart from involving some typical elements of one of those traditional monster-raising games, ‘Cyber Sleuth’ has a very rich storyline that offers the most unpredictable and well-timed plot twists and turns.
When one compares Digimon this with ‘Pokemon’, the gameplay of the latter can be considered to be better but in terms of storyline, ‘Pokemon’ is a bit too simplistic. So if you’re looking for a JRPG that not only retains the mechanics of most others but also makes things more enthralling with its diverse characters and well-thought-out plot, it’s the best time to dive into ‘Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth.’
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Plot: What is it About?
As a player, depending on the gender you choose, you either get to play the role of Takumi Aiba (male) or you get to be Ami Aiba (female). As an amateur hacker, the game starts with Ami hanging out in an online chatroom where a hacker suddenly shows up and lures all the members to log on to Cyberspace EDEN, where he has a “special present” for them. While most members of the group get all suspicious about the hacker’s ulterior motives, Aiba, along with two other hackers, “Akkino” and “Blue Box”, decides to further investigate this. After a predetermined arrangement, the three of them meet in Kowloon, which is known to be a hacker infested area.
The two other hackers reveal their names as Nokia Shiramine and Arata Sanada, and soon after this, all three of them are assigned “Digimon Captures” by an unknown hacker of EDEN. The hacker then locks them there. Desperately looking for an escape, they run into another skilled hacker named Yuugo, who claims to be the leader of hacker team Zaxon. Strangely enough, he also strongly resembles the “white boy ghost” who, according to rumors, lurks around EDEN. He also teaches them how to properly use their Digimon captures and also ends up revealing that Arata is by far one of the best hackers out there. Using his skills, Arata is then able to hack a way out of there but as they try to escape, a strange monster appears and grabs Aiba’s leg. With this, their log out process is hindered and eventually, corrupted.
Unlike the other two hackers, Aiba is not able to retain his true form in the world and comes out as a digitized entity. Seeing him as an asset, Kyoko Kuremi, head of the Kuremi Detective Agency, hires him as her assistant and uses his abilities to her advantage. Aiba’s “Connect Jump” ability allows him to move through networks and this turns out to be really helpful for Kyoko as she specializes in cyber-crime. Post this, the game splits itself into three simultaneous story modes where it follows the perspectives of three distinct characters.
In the first plotline, Aiba reunites Nokia with Agumon and Gabumon, who are Digimons that she had previously met in Kowloon. The Digimons reveal that though the common beliefs suggest they are hacker programs, they are actually living creatures who head from the Digiworld. They also remember being sent to EDEN for a very specific purpose but as of now, they cannot remember what that purpose is. Nokia promises them that she will help them recollect their true purpose but after being ruthlessly defeated by a Zaxon team hacker Fei Wong Tomoe Ignacio, she realizes that she must first grow stronger to help the lost Digimon. She trains hard with her Digimon and eventually, it all pays off when they evolve into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. With this, she gains a huge fan following and Yuugo geta concerned about his own goals of protecting the hackers of EDEN.
In the next plotline, Arata keeps a hold on his previous position as a great hacker and also helps Aiba with the investigation of a strange phenomenon known as the “Digital Shift”. This phenomenon has been taking the cities of Tokyo by storm and has been “half-digitizing” them. Upon further investigation, they are led to a scientist named Akemi Suedou. He tells them that a mysterious creature known as the “Eater” is digitizing all these areas and is also forcing humans to fall into a deep state of “EDEN Syndrome”, where all of their mental data is destroyed. Arata realizes that the world around him is changing for the worst when many of his friends fall prey in the hands of the “Eater”. This is when he takes it upon himself to save the world from the corrupted mass of data.
The third storyline centers Yuuko Kamishiro, who asks Kyoko’s detective agency to further investigate her father’s suicide. In return, she also allows them to infiltrate the company’s system whenever necessary. As this investigation ensues and they further hack into the deepest domains of Kamishiro Enterprises, they discover that the company’s current president, Rie Kishibe, has been plotting a dubious EDEN update called “Paradise Lost Plan”. As the investigation proceeds further, Aiba also gets to know that even Yuuko’s elder brother is another victim of the “EDEN Syndrome.”
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Gameplay
The ‘Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth’ is an RPG where, as a player, you get to experience the third-person perspective of several characters. Just like the original anime, the human character that you’re controlling has the ability to interact with creatures known as Digimon and you can also use them for battling against other creatures of their kind.
In the initial stages of the game, the player is only restricted to the use of three Digimon—Palmon, Terriermon or Hagurumon. But as you further proceed and explore new areas in the game, you get exposed to other Digmon as well. There are a total of 249 Digmon that can be explored by each player and out of these, seven are available downloadable content throughout the game. Also, two of these downloadable Digmon are only exclusive to Western players. The complete edition of ‘Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth’ includes as many as 341 Digimon in total.
A third installment in the Cyber Sleuth series seems very less likely because, just like the previous versions of the ‘Digmon Story’ games, Bandai will probably move on to new themes that explore the lives of other characters in a different universe. But if there were to be a direct sequel of the series, it would probably involve a whole new setup where a vast assortment of Digimon—especially the special ones like Lighdramon and Bolgmon—could be added to the existing catalog.
Apart from that, even Digivolutions could be more prominent instead of just being confined to a digital wireframe in a lab. But since two games have already exhausted the story around EDEN and the Eaters, Bandai will just probably take whatever they’ve learned from the basic mechanics of this game and they’ll further implement or improve it in the next version of ‘Digimon Story’. However, as they do this, hopefully, they’ll keep adding new Digimon and won’t inexplicably remove the existing ones.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Developers: Who Are the People Behind it?
‘Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth’ has been developed by Media Vision and has been published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, which is also known for its work in other anime-based games such as ‘Naruto: Ultimate Ninja’, ‘Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2′ and many others.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth 3 Release Date: When and Where Can I Play It?
According to reports, a new ‘Digimon Story’ game is under development but no details regarding it have been released yet. Our best guess is that Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth 3 will release sometime in 2022. As for ‘Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth’, you can find its complete edition on Steam.
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