Digimon Linkz Launches Today, Experiences its First Server Maintenance

Just a few hours after launching, Linkz undergoes its first bit of server maintenance.

March 24th, 2016. Early this morning Bandai Namco Entertainment uploaded a surprise for fans on Google Play and the AppStore, making Digimon Linkz live for the first time. The app is free-to-play with microtransactions, and features a combination of gameplay lifted from Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and music taken from Digimon World Re:Digitize.

The app is only available in the Japanese app stores. International users can download it by creating a Japanese iTunes account (if on iOS) or by using a Virtual Private Network application like TunnelBear to mask their location (if on Android). Android users will still need to create a Japanese Google Play account to download the game, and clear any cached data from their Play app.

Within ten hours of going live the app experienced its first server maintenance, with tamers around the world reporting on an apology message from the app’s navigator, Kurihara Hina. It appears that the game's servers became overloaded as a result of too many players registering in succession.

D-Pet Crowdfunds Android & iOS Versions

On March 1st, 2016, D-Pet developer Jorge "JoMdz" Mendez made his first announcement on the development of the project after a long hiatus. In order to fund the completion of D-Pet's iOS and Android versions, JoMdz opened up crowdfunding for the game in order to purchase the developers' licenses required to create the official .ipa and .apk files. Users were incentivized to donate by being given rewards in-app for providing their financial support.

As of March 7th, the project is believed to have met its funding goal, with JoMdz having begun development of the mobile version. Those that donated $1 were promised credit in the final app, and a spot as beta testers for future versions. Those that donated $5 or more will receive the final version a week ahead of the general public, and those that gave $10 or more will get a limited edition character. For donors that gave $20, a limited edition War Greymon X with inflated stats and battle animations is being provided on top of all previous rewards.

On March 9th, JoMdz uploaded a photo of an Android test for the app, and on the 14th began publishing an up-to-date list of donors. This was accompanied by a report on the first build of the mobile game. On the 17th JoMdz clarified that he was continuing to work on redesigning several of the game's objects and developing its networking system. On the 22nd, he announced that the game would have a Pendulum feature, increasing the Digimon's power by shaking the smartphone.

D-Pet, formerly known as Digimon Ver. PC, was originally developed by Malaysian programmer Hong Ming (alias "nrg890110" or "hosc") during Digimon's dark age in mid 2009. In part due to Digimon's long official hiatus--Savers had ended two years prior and Xros Wars did not air until a year after DMPC came out--the game experienced a brief surge in popularity when it first launched. After hosc disappeared in 2010, DMPC was revised by JoMdz into 2.0, working with a small team of designers and individuals that acted as public relations contacts, managing its various communities. DMPC 2.0 introduced color graphics, additional evolutionary levels, and new Digimon. The game had been especially notable throughout 2009 and 2010 for having online battles through Hamachi, and an ever-growing count of available Digimon.

Eventually, the difficulty of managing community fanpages for the game, design conflicts over the direction of Ver. PC, and a lack of enthusiasm on the part of fans lead to a slowdown in development and its user base shrinking considerably. In 2013, JoMdz resumed work on Ver. PC, and began developing D-Pet in 2014 as a continuation of the program. The rechristening to D-Pet was chosen in order to reflect the fact that the new program will be playable not just on PCs, but also on Apple computers, iOS, and Android devices. D-Pet is planned to eventually have Facebook connectivity in order to make finding a battle easier once the online functions are completed.

Second Digimon Linkz Preview Video

March 9th, 2016. Bandai Namco Entertainment uploaded a new Japanese trailer for the upcoming smartphone game Digimon Linkz, giving glimpses of a potential crisis affecting the Digital World, as well as a quick overview of the game's three-on-three battle system. No set launch date has been announced as of yet, but the game is set to come out sometime in 2016.

English Subbed Digimon Linkz 2/11 Trailer

February 11th, 2016. In today's Tokuban Adventure livestream a new two minute trailer for the 2016 smartphone game Digimon Linkz was shown to the public. Above is Tamer Union's subbed recording of the trailer. The trailer shows off the game's two main gameplay components, raising Digimon on a DigiFarm not unlike in the Digimon Story series, and engaging in three-on-three battles against both computer and human opponents.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed tp 2016 due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

-next 0rder- Smartphone Wallpaper Unlocked, Online War Greymon Evolved

February 9th, 2016. The official Digimon World -next 0rder- title site updated with the results of the game's Twitter campaign, which now reads "c0mplete." The online virtual pet hosted on the site finally evolved to War Greymon today after more than 25,000 tweets were made by fans promoting the game, unlocking many associated rewards. In total these comprise six Chain Melons for Japanese copies of -next 0rder-, and forty Digistones for Linkz. As was promised in the preceding Metal Greymon update, fans are being rewarded with not just in-game items, but also with two smartphone wallpapers. The first wallpaper is themed after the original V Jump promotional images of the game from late July to early August, while the second wallpaper is based on the game's cover.

A special message from Jijimon on the homepage thanks fans for all their hard work, congratulating them on raising a strong Digimon together. Fans can download the wallpapers here.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita for 6,980 yen (7,539 JPY after tax). It is the latest entry in the World series, succeeding directly from Re:Digitize Decode on the 3DS, Re:Digitize on the PSP, and World on the PSX.

Those that preorder the game will get access to five special DLC Digimon, a remastered copy of the 1999 Digimon World soundtrack, and two original Vita themes, "ver. Nostalgic" and "ver. Dot." Theme ver. Dot features a montage of original Digimon LCD sprites, while theme ver. Nostalgic turns the screen into the layout of a Digital Monster virtual pet. 

Digimon Linkz's Battle System is Based on Cyber Sleuth's

February 5th, 2016. The official Digimon Linkz title site updated today with additional information about the game's Command Battle System. According to the site, each Digimon in the game will have its own Leader Skills, Special Skills, Inheritable Skills, as well as Attributes and Resistances. This description invites immediate comparison with Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth on the PlayStation Vita and PS4, which also uses CBS and implemented a system of Special Skills, Inheritable Skills, and Attributes.

The update also shows off new key art of the game's navigator, Kurihara Hina, which was previously shown in an issue of AppliSoft magazine. Kurihara is designed by illustrator Okada Anmitsu. Her design includes a belt pouch shaped like an original Digital Monster virtual pet, with the zipper in the shape of an Adventure tag and crest.

Farm
A space where Digimon live. It's possible to build a wide range of facilities on the farm, not just for raising Digimon, but also for gaining the advantage in battle. The player challenges the recently-appeared "Digital World's strange phenomenon" using this farm as their base.

Battle
Use the Digimon you raised in the 3 vs 3 Command Battle System! The Digimon each have their own "Leader Skills," "Special Skills, Inheritable Skills," as well as "Attributes and Resistances" to gain the advantage in battle with and carry on to victory.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed tp 2016 due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

-next 0rder- Smartphone Wallpaper, Online Greymon Evolves to Metal Greymon

February 1st, 2016. Bandai's online virtual pet, hosted on the official Digimon World -next 0rder- title site, evolved to Perfect-level today. The Greymon that fans had raised over Twitter became Metal Greymon once it passed the 15,000 care mark, unlocking an additional Chain Melon and ten Digistones as in-game rewards for fans in -next 0rder- and Linkz. In order to reach Ultimate, Metal Greymon requires 25,000 cumulative care actions; at that point fans will unlock one more Chain Melon, 15 Digistones, and a Digimon World -next 0rder- smartphone wallpaper.

The Melons extend a Digimon's lifespan, while Digistones restore stamina. Previously, the online Digimon had evolved to Agumon on the 26th, and Koromon on the 25th. Fans can participate in the campaign by going to the page and clicking on エサをあげる ("Give food") which will create a premade tweet for them to share.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita. Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016, on Android and iOS. 

Online Agumon Evolves to Greymon

January 29th, 2016. Bandai's online virtual pet evolved to Adult-level today, unlocking another tier of rewards in Digimon World -next 0rder- and Digimon Linkz. The social media campaign depends on fan tweets to progress, with each tweet representing a "Care" function like on the original Digital Monster pets. At the 12,000 mark fans unlocked an additional Chain Melon for -next 0rder- on top of previous rewards, and eight Digistones for Linkz.

At the 15,000 mark Greymon will evolve to Perfect-level, earning fans one more Chain Melon and ten additional Digistones (a total of five Melons and 25 Digistones). The Melons extend a Digimon's lifespan, while Digistones restore stamina. Previously, the Digimon had evolved to Agumon on the 26th, and Koromon on the 25th. Fans can participate in the campaign by going to the page and clicking on エサをあげる ("Give food") which will create a premade tweet for them to share.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita. Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016, on Android and iOS.

Digimon Heroes Adopts New Name Translations, Drops Dub Name Support

January 27th, 2016. This morning the English translation of Digimon Crusader, Digimon Heroes, launched worldwide on both Android and iOS platforms. In a surprise move, the app abandons many of the conventional English names for various Digimon, ditching many older names in favor of direct translations from Japanese. For example, Pegasusmon is now called Pegasmon, Armageddemon is now called Armagemon, and DemiDevimon is now called Picodevimon. Armor Digi-Eggs now go by their original Japanese names, Digimentals.

Although for many years Digimon has had strong advocates of adopting the Asian-English names used by Bandai of Japan in the Digimon Reference Book and merchandise, these names are not exactly the same as those used in Japan. For example, "Picodevimon" is normally parsed as "Pico Devimon." Some anomalies also remain in the translation, with the app using "Digifuse" (a dub name for DigiXros) for what Crusader just called "strengthen."

Players in Digimon Heroes take on the role of a Digimon tamer called to File Island by Angewomon to save it from Armagemon. In-game the player battles by matching cards of different colors, which power up Digimon of the same color.

Online Koromon Evolves to Agumon

January 26th, 2016. Just an hour after we reported that Bandai's online virtual pet had evolved to Koromon, the Digimon crossed over the 8000 tweet threshold necessary evolve to its Child stage, Agumon. This has unlocked the next reward tier for Digimon World -next 0rder- and Linkz; every time the Digimon evolves, fans are rewarded for participating in the event by earning additional in-game Chain Melons (for -next 0rder-) and Digistones (for Linkz).

As of now Agumon has accrued a cumulative 8,964 tweets, and will evolve to Adult at the 12,000 mark. The current total number of rewards being given is three total Chain Melons and seven total Digistones. At the Adult level, fans will earn one additional Chain Melon and eight additional Digistones.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita. Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016, on Android and iOS.

Global Launch of Digimon Heroes Approaching

January 21st, 2016. The official Digimon Heroes Facebook page posted today hinting at a rapidly approaching global release for Heroes, the English-language localization of the Digimon Crusader mobile game. Until now Heroes has been restricted to specific regions; it was originally announced for a late 2015 global launch, but was delayed to fall 2016. More than 3,000 people had preregistered for the game the first day that registration opened late last December, and the current number of cumulative preregistrations at the time of this writing exceeds 19,000.

New Key Art for Digimon Linkz's Kurihara Hina Shown in AppliSoft

A spread from the December 28th issue of AppliSoft magazine uncovered by Japanese Digimon fan @morimoriurf over January 9th revealed new key art of Digimon Linkz navigator Kurihara Hina hatching a Botamon. The upcoming smartphone game will be focus on raising Digimon to have 3-on-3 battles, and will be available both in the App Store and on Google Play.

The issue confirms that Botamon, Koromon, Agumon, Gabumon, Gomamon, Tailmon, Gaomon, V-mon, Guilmon, Kuwagamon, Scumon, Diablomon, Monzaemon, and Hackmon will all be available in the game, but no concrete launch date has been set as of yet.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

Digimon Linkz Is "In Development"

December 28th, 2015. The official @Digimon_game account tweeted that the upcoming smartphone game Digimon Linkz is "in development," asking fans to look forward to the game while its team makes improvements. Bandai also shared two screenshots from Linkz in the meantime. The images show a maxed-out Stamina bar, icons for Missions, Presents, a Digivice, options to Configure items in the DigiGarden, a Farm Goods option, and a Capture feature to acquire new Digimon. In the second screenshot, fans can also make out one of Digimon's traditional meat farms.

Digimon Linkz has had a troubled production since its first announcement, having its launch date delayed from 2015 to 2016, and very little concrete information about it is known. Most recently, the game introduced its navigator character Kurihara Hina to issue an apology for the delays. Nonetheless, the game has proved popular even in lieu of a release date, with over fifty thousand people having preregistered for the game as of last November.

Linkz will launch in 2016 on Android and iOS. The game will be free-to-play, with microtransactions. Watch the trailer here.

Digimon Linkz Introduces Navigator Kurihara Hina

December 9th, 2015. The official Digimon Linkz homepage updated today with a modified version of its previous announcement regarding the game's delay to 2016. The new version of the announcement introduces the game's navigator, Kurihara Hina (栗原ひな) who is designed by freelance illustrator Okada Anmitsu. The update also adds a new introduction for Linkz;

The Digital World, a place where the data of the real world ends up.
Within that world live the Digital Monsters, also called "Digimon."
Digimon Linkz is an application that connects the real world to a different one, the Digital World.
This story begins when you take Digimon Linkz into your hands.
Everything is connected, Digimon Linkz.

Over 50,000 users have currently preregistered for Linkz, which will be available on both Android and iOS. Those that preregister during the ongoing Start Dash campaign will receive a special V-mon and 20 Digistones in-game.

Soul Chaser Asks Korean Chosen Children to Return to the Digital World

Special thanks to @fuzzleyan for acting as our Korean consultant.

On November 24th, 2015, Bandai Namco Korea uploaded the first trailer for Digimon Soul Chaser, an upcoming smartphone RPG formerly known as Soul Hunter. The trailer plays heavily on Korean nostalgia for the first season of Digimon, using the anime's Korean dub opening theme Digimon Adventure by Hong Jongmyeon, and prominently features the Digimon partners of Adventure's Chosen Children. (Known in Korea as the Seontaek-badeun Ai-deul, a literal translation of the Japanese terminology.) A translation of the trailer's narration is provided below, in both English and Japanese, with Korean transcription.

Although the Korean dub was generally more faithful to the script of Digimon Adventure than the now-infamous American dub, it was extremely harsh on the series' setting, removing all references to Japan and renaming Japanese characters to be either Korean or ambiguously foreign (i.e. Takaishi Takeru became "Ricky"). Political tensions over Japan's colonization of Korea, and refusal to admit to war crimes or compensate the victims, have lead to strong cultural censorship of Japanese products in Korea, particularly anime. While Korea has been one of the strongest advocates for Digimon in the world, even joining in the 2002 D-1 Grand Prix and dubbing every anime up through Young Hunters, this policy of censorship continues. In part due to Japan's proximity, the Koreanization of Digimon appears paper-thin to Korean fans, who are are well aware of the series' Japanese roots.

The narration in the trailer is done by Jeong Misuk, the Korean dub voice of Yagami Taichi, while the theme song Digimon Adventure is the original version aired with the TV series.

Thanks to Dimensão Digimon for the tip.

English Translation

Another crisis comes to the Digital World!
Chosen Children!
Come back to the world of Digimon!
An RPG to restore your Digimon to Ultimate.
Help us! Greymon!
Greymon, evolve: Metal Greymon!
—Evolution—
—Raising—
—Leveling up—
Let's make our own super-powerful Digimon team!
Through many battles, you'll get stronger and stronger~
Let's complete a collection of the best Digimon!
Please make your reservation for Digimon Soul Chaser!
Advance reservation! Let's go!

Japanese Translation

デジタル世界にまた危機が来た！
選ばれし子供よ！
デジモンの世界に戻って！
完全体に戻ったデジモンRPG
助けてくれ！グレイモン！
グレイモン進化！ メタルグレイモン！
進化
育成
レベルアップ
極強のデジモンチームを作ろう！
多くの戦闘を介して
きみはますます強くなるだろう〜
最高のデジモンコレクションを完成しよう！
今すぐデジモンソウルチェイサーを予約してください！
事前予約！Let's go!

Korean Transcription

디지털 세계에 또다시 위기가 왔어!
선택받은 아이들아!!
디지몬의 세계로 돌아와!
완전체로 돌아온 디지몬 RPG
도와저! 그레이몬!
그레이몬 진화!
매탈그레이몬!
진화
육성
레벨업
극강의 디지몬 팀을 만들자!
수 많은 전투를 통해
넌 점점 더 강해질거야~
최고의 디지몬 컬렉션들 완성하자!
지금 바로 디지몬 소울 체이서를 예약하세요!
사전 예약! Let's go!

Over 3,000 Tamers Preregistered for Digimon Heroes

November 28th, 2015. Mobile application preregistration platform PreLaunch.Me has put up a page for the upcoming Digimon Heroes, the English-language localization of Digimon Crusader. At the time of this writing the Android version of Heroes is currently leading at 3,130 preregistrations, while the iOS version has just 19.

At present Heroes is only available in Australia, New Zealand, and Romania. Bandai US has indicated that there may be news on Heroes during their December 1st Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth livestream on Twitch.

More than 50,000 People Have Preregistered for Digimon Linkz

November 25th, 2015. Japanese gaming news outlet Inside Games reported than more than 50,000 people have registered for Digimon Linkz, Bandai Namco's 2016 iOS/Android app. In September 2015 Bandai implemented the Start Dash Campaign to reward players for the number of registrations, promising a V-mon gift at the 10,000 registration milestone, and later 20 Digistones once the app hit 50,000 preregistered.

Digistones are an in-game item used to recover a Digimon's stamina, allowing the player to continue training their Digimon past the normal limit for one day. Linkz takes cues from the Digimon Story series in giving the player a DigiFarm they can train and raise Digimon on, before taking their monsters into dungeons or battling other tamers.

A Digistone

Originally announced for Autumn 2015, Linkz was later moved to a 2016 launch date for development purposes. According to Inside, Linkz deals with a "disaster" in the Digital World--the first anything has been said of the game's plot.

Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016 on Android and iOS. The game will be free-to-play, with microtransactions. Watch the trailer here.

Bandai Publishes Digimon Linkz Trailer

November 24th, 2015. Bandai Namco Entertainment has published a trailer on their official YouTube channel for upcoming smartphone game Digimon Linkz, identical to the video uploaded by V Jump for TGS2015 earlier this year. The game's farm system is derived from the Digimon Story series, with a gashapon machine replacing the standard shops, while its 3-on-3 battle system is partially borrowed from Cyber Sleuth.

Instead of SP, Digimon in Linkz are shown to have AP gauges divided into a fixed number of bars, and the battle menus read (clockise) "ATK, AP2, Activate, AP3" rather than the normal Sleuth menu. The player is also given the option to set the speed of animations in the game while in-battle, while in Sleuth they could only turn the animations on or off in the field.

Digimon Linkz will be available on Android and iOS phones in 2016. Those that preregister for the game will be eligible to receive a special V-mon in-game.