Battle Spirit: Digimon Frontier- Lightweight fighter that packs a punch.

Battle Spirit: Digimon Frontier

Battle Spirit: Digimon Frontier is a tour de force of Wonderswan development. The enduring beauty of the sprite work is quite evident through the beautiful barrage of colors on screen. The captivating soundtrack of catchy beats is sure to entertain and energize those lucky enough to listen to it. While Digimon Frontier is the black sheep of the original four series of Digimon there is no mistaking the caliber of this game’s gameplay.

Let’s first talk about the visual majesty that is the character design and sprite work positioned into this game’s tiny resolution of 224x144 pixels. The game is so vibrant and entrancing with its graphics that it continues to impress with the much more capable GBA via a port to the newer system. While the original Battle Spirit and 1.5 subsequently are no slouch in bedazzling the viewer, but it is just so much more impressive to have humanoid Digimon move so effortlessly and fluidly as the animation is some of the best sprite work, I have seen on a portable system. The melody of the game’s various tracks has a mirage-like effect of pumping your adrenaline and keeping you engaged. Given the technical limitations of the system’s audio, it is also a herculean feat to achieve such a harmonious sound out of the handheld.

Anyone who knows Digimon knows Frontier is the black sheep of the four main anime series, and while I agree with the masses in that regard this game is in no such misfortune of being labeled as such. The gameplay in this game is more refined than the previous iteration. Rather than chase a floating Calumon to evolve and annihilate your opponent you are tasked with fighting to charge up your evolution. In addition to collecting orbs to win by striking your opponent (whoever has the most orbs collected at the end is victorious), you can collect gold diamonds that allow you to perform a special attack. By embodying the ability to evolve into your attacks the game feels more engaging.

The structure of the game gives numerous difficulty and time options. There is a multiplayer mode where you can battle other tamers in a one versus one fight and a single player campaign where you battle all the base game Digimon and then Kerpymon as the final boss. The final boss is an engaging test of platforming and action. There are three unlockable characters and finally a mini game where you launch a top (kind of a time waster for when you are bored). I wish there were more options in playing and more modes but other than that it is an addicting experience.

To summarize this lightweight fighter that packs a punch, it is the best portable 2D fighting game I have ever played. If there weren’t a lack of options, it would be a perfect game. The visual presentation exemplifies the grace of exemplary sprite work. The music is very enduring despite hardware limitations, and the gameplay is solid and differentiates itself from other fighting games including its predecessor.

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[DunkeyKong]

This game is my childhood, played it so much back in the day. It kinda reminds me of the flash one, it looks almost the same. The game is quite beautiful, especially for an handheld

 

[Bomberman]

This game is my childhood, played it so much back in the day. It kinda reminds me of the flash one, it looks almost the same. The game is quite beautiful, especially for an handheld
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Yeah, its my childhood too lol. I had two games on GBA growing up. Digimon BattleSpirit 2 and Pokemon Ruby. I wanted Digimon Battlespirit but never could find a good deal on it. Thankfully emulators and work allowed me to achieve getting a wonderswan crystal and 1.5/frontier.

As much as I prefer the cast of 1.5/1 I have to say that the gameplay of 2 is better imo. Both are amazing showcases of the wonderswan (I prefer those versions on emulators because lack of borders).

I am eager to try One Piece: Grand Battle Swan Colosseum as I hear that is another magnum opus for this phenomenal handheld. I feel like I need to watch the anime to appreciate it more tho as I only saw the netflix live action.

Also retroachievments needs to update the system to include support for english patched roms.

Guilty Gear Petit looks great too.

Spike is the GOAT for hosting Wonderswan roms.

 

[Game Joy]

Looking amazing! Thanks for sharing!