Game #854: Digimon Rumble Arena

 Leeeeeeet's get ready toooooo rrrrrrumbleeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 Pokemon may had had Pokken, but Digimon did it first with their very first Digimon Rumble Arena on PS1.

 It's a very basic 2-D, but with 3-D graphics, one-on-one fighting game. The roster is decent, with a few main characters representing the first three seasons of the show. Since Digimon 03 was pretty much built around three protagonists, they are the only show to get their entire main cast represented! If anything, because it has main characters from the show, the roster is made exclusively out of already popular Digimon, Digimon that are probably way overexposed, while a few weirdos getting a spot in the game could've been neat.

 Gameplay is very rudimentary, with a block and an attack button, as well as two other face buttons to use special moves. Landing attacks and taking hits fills your Digivolution gauge, which you can use to temporarily digivolve into your Mega(Except Wormmon who always gets the short end of the stick) form

 The fighting itself feels very slow paced and kinda dull. While the game plays in 2-D, every level is quite large, usually with multiple floors. In the end, levels are two large for only two combatants, instead of incentivizing players to duke it out, it makes for overly prolonged duels if one of the fighters decides to run around.

 There are stage hazards as well as a few power ups you can pick up, further rewarding players who'd rather run away and waste your time.

 Most of the unlockable characters are Mega level 'mons, including the ability to play as your digivolved Digimon from the get go, although the latter can only be used in VS and no on the Single Player arcade run. This is a bit unfair, because these 'mons build the Digivolve gauge in order to use their super moves, while rookies NEED their digivolution in order to compete on equal grounds... for a short while until they revert back to their base forms.

 Very basic, very simple and a bit boring, but if you like Digimon it's not bad, but the sequel is a bit better since it executes the concept much better, as this sort of game and large stages would benefit from more combatants at the same time.

 5.0