The Nintendo Switch is no stranger to the video game collections market. With the likes of Final Fantasy X / X-2, Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2, Mega Man Legacy Collection 1+2, already on the system, I am thrilled to say that the new Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition fixes a specific complaint that many have with these collections. There is no download required for the second game, a rarity with collections like these! Both games on a single cart! I can’t express the elation I felt when I discovered this wondrous fact, and that I didn’t have to worry about that ugly “download required” line on the box.
For those of you not familiar with Cyber Sleuth, this game drops the digital pet aspect that the Digimon World and actual digital pet toy that the company began its life with. This collection of games opt for a more turn-based RPG style of combat with a focus of monster collection, training, and battling. These will allow them to evolve, referred to as “digivolve” in this game, into stronger forms, changing them into your digital champions to save the digital world. Both you and your enemies can have up to three combatants out on the field at once, though you’re able to have a few additional Digimon waiting in the wings that you can swap in when needed.
Being composed of data, each time you encounter a particular Digimon, you will collect a set amount of data from them. When you reach a 100+% scan rate, you are able to then digitally reconstruct the data into your own creature. From there, you can add them to your party, or send them off to specifically tailored training islands to improve their stats, giving them access to additional options to digivolve into, when various stats reach a specific threshold.
In the original game, you play as a newly deputized Digital Detective that must sniff out the truth behind a string of individuals that have fallen into a coma after trauma in the digital world. You’re charged with Tracking down and thwarting an evil digital terrorist hacker group with the help of your handy-dandy digital squad of monsters. Hacker’s Memory takes place alongside the original title, viewing the events from a different perspective, crossing paths with new characters and those from the other game. After your online account was stolen after a phishing scam, you’re convicted of a crime and it’s up to you to prove your innocence..
When originally released on the PlayStation 4, Hacker’s Memory would reward you with various bonus items. Your medals and the field guide carry over from your CyberSleuth save file. This helps keep things nice and organized, while also helping facilitate the carryover function from the original version.
Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition won’t be the last collection that is released on the Switch. These sorts of packages do gangbusters, and I love getting them. My hope is that more companies will take note of this one though, and the practices it went with, following in its stead. Having a single save file just makes things so much more organized, and the fact that you all games in the collection are included in the cartridge is a must, going forward. I understand that the higher capacity cards are more expensive, but with many old games, whose files are small, there’s not a good enough reason for any more reason not to. Plus it would save physical game collectors from having the nice box art marred by an unsightly warning saying that you will have to download things. Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition is a damn good game. Be like Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition.
This game was played on a Nintendo Switch system with a retail copy provided by Bandai Namco.