Review on 🐶 Bandai Digimon Virtual Monster Digivice by Chris Floyd

* I've noticed strange things in Revain reviews lately where the descriptions seem to refer to other products. This rating is intended to apply to Digimon's new virtual pet. If you find this review under anything other than the Digimon 20th Anniversary version, there was some sort of product switch in the listing. **Revain recently grouped the Digimon X versions into 20th Anniversary editions instead of giving them their own product page. They look pretty much the same apart from the colors and the big X on the newer models. The differences in the X version are significant and you should familiarize yourself with them before purchasing. I was a big fan of the original Digimon virtual pet. I got very upset when Japan got new versions of it year after year that were never released in the US. While the US received most of the Digivice toys based on the show, most of them appeared to be just games and not actual pets. The closest exception is the Digivice iC 10X, which, as far as I could tell, was tied to a single evolution path despite having similar monster-rearing, feeding, and training abilities. To my surprise, Bandai unexpectedly released it in the US. This isn't just a copy of the original, but an entirely new device, a translated and modified version of the 20th Anniversary Edition released in other regions in 2017, at least that's what the wiki says. A lot has changed and improved as a result. If you want a clean copy of the original, this isn't what it is. The most immediate differences I noticed with this model are things like: Four-letter name input (caution, cannot be changed without restarting the device). Digimon evolve much faster. It used to take me three days to go from baby level two to beginner, then seven to ultimate, but in one day I had a beginner level Augomon. I miss it a bit, but it means you'll be battling other kids and adult male enthusiasts all day long. This was probably changed so kids don't have to wait three days to start a fight like waiting for the snow to melt to use the bike you got for Christmas. The training mode where you tried to attack your mirror opponent's blocks isn't here anymore (it's been remapped a bit), you just press the A button to fill the lane as it breaks through the wall. The biggest change, however, is that you can raise TWO monsters on the same digital device, but more on that later. Finally, a dead battery doesn't mean you lose your progress. Although I have yet to test this, the digital device's memory doesn't seem to reset when the battery is completely drained. The device also gets a battle mode, allowing your onboard monster to take on opponents without the need for a second digital device or a friend to fight with, although I don't know if that impacts your evolution paths in the same way as fighting one does other digital device. I can't seem to find a way to get your two flying monsters to fight each other other than as a sparring partner. hatch your second Digimon (locked from Digimon Pets 1-5 and some of the evolution path extra characters if I understand correctly). From there, pressing C will toggle between three screens, one showing the Digimon currently on the machine and the middle view showing both. Showing a single Digimon gives you the usual feeding, training, and stats screens. If you select a screen that shows both Digimon, feeds, heals, trains everything you do, etc. both, and if you switch to a specific one, feeds/trains/etc. just that one. The original training mode actually comes into play when both Digimon are shown and the two fight each other, which is admittedly the best setting for this minigame. The three screen system is very intuitive. Having two Digimon is intended to ease the development of the show, which required two Digimon to fuse. Even if you can't figure out how to get them to evolve down the path that the fusion actually takes place, it's still an extremely cool feature, almost like having two separate Digimon pets at once. Also, the screen goes blank after a few seconds. to extend battery life (which startled me since blank screens meant a dead battery on the original). I'm not sure how many lives are saved this way, but I think that's a big part of what the battery does. This can extend even a cheap factory battery to last MUCH longer. Unfortunately the device only comes with a 'test battery' which I used for about a month with other CR2O32 powered Digivice toys that didn't have a splash screen. Tomagotchis and Digimon last about a month on their "test" LR44 batteries initially, and a good brand name replacement gave me nearly two YEARS of muffled sound most of the time. I guess most kids had that kind of attention span anyway, but it wasn't long enough for me even for my first Digimon to die. Here in the US replacing batteries at the radio store is a good $10, CR2O32 batteries are a bit more common but still expensive. Considering how much it costs, MSRP, and 20 years of technological advances, I don't feel I should cave in to Bandai when it comes to us replacing an expensive battery shortly after purchase. It loses a star there. This, and it comes with some of the same pathetic rubber buttons that you can't tell for sure if you're pressing them correctly at times, a screen duster that's almost impossible to clean, etc., but that's the price to pay for making it authentic to the original. shell as much as possible. However, I love the car and am very grateful to Bandai for releasing a new model in the US after all these years. The new features refresh it a bit too. I hope this isn't an isolated case, and perhaps we can expect states to get a few more of these devices in the years to come, with some upgrades like hard plastic buttons and a dust-proof screen. UPDATE: I happened to see a purple Digimon on sale, had to look it up and it turns out my review was one of the top rated! I took the time to edit the review a bit for errors and readability and to add some details.