Digimon Story Time Stranger is anticipated for many reasons, and with over 450 Digimon, dual-world traversal, and an upgraded battle system, this entry promises to be one of the most ambitious in the franchise.

In a recent interview, Ryosuke Hara, the producer behind the upcoming title Digimon Story Time Stranger, shared insights into the game’s evolution, design philosophy, and standout features. Hara-san served as the main producer for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and Dragon Ball: The Breakers after gaining experience as an assistant on Dragon Ball Xenoverse and My Hero One’s Justice.

Digimon Story Time Stranger Interview

A Story of Bonds and Time

The heart of Digimon Story Time Stranger lies in its emotional narrative. Hara-san mentioned that their aim in the game is to highlight the relationship between the Digimon and their tamers, and key to this is the relationship between the heroine Inori and her Digimon partner Aegyomon.

“The main part of this story is regards to the heroine, Inori is her name, and Aegyomon. It’s to show how their relationship progresses and grows along the way of the story… even though the setting is kind of dark, in general, this relationship is kind of the brighter tone to everything. It shines above the darkness and shows the strong relationship and bond that the tamer has with their Digimon.”

Time itself plays a thematic role in Digimon Story Time Stranger, chosen deliberately by the team to highlight the evolving bonds between Tamers and Digimon.

“One of the biggest things to prove bonds and relationships was the passing of time… the first thing that came to mind with regards to the theme was time.”

Battle System Upgrades

Digimon Story Time Stranger also introduces a new “attachment skill” system, allowing players to customize party combinations and Digimon abilities that result in more options than before.

“It gives them more versatility and more flexibility in how they want to play as well as what skills they use with their Digimon. With regards to balance, we have increased as well as rebalanced a few of the boss’s difficulties to allow people to have more fun with different bosses in the game.”

Another new feature in Digimon Story Time Stranger is the “critical point system,” which rewards strategic combat and results in the use of “Cross Arts,” a heavily damaging attack. Because of the Rock-Paper-Scissors system of the game concerning elements, players can gain an advantage in battle as long as they are tactical in their use of attacks that the enemy Digimon is weak against. Hara-san says that despite the difficulty level, utilizing this knowledge about weaknesses is key to leveling the playing field.

“Even if you don’t grind like in a normal RPG, as long as you hit the weakness of the boss, you can defeat them if you get the right combination… it kind of increases the playability as well as the enjoyment of the boss battles even though they get difficult as the story progresses.”

Evolution Systems and Accessibility

With five different evolution systems, Digimon Story Time Stranger offers depth for veterans and improved accessibility for newcomers as one of its selling points. Hara-san hopes that this will be a hook for fans, old and new, to try out the upcoming title.

“We hope that this would bring back old fans of Digimon and even brand new fans… allowing versatility as well as flexibility with growing or evolving their Digimon.”

The team also addressed concerns about balancing with such an extensive roster. With over 450 Digimon to choose from, it’s possible that players, especially newcomers, may struggle to decide which one to select right away. Hara-san stressed that they’ve balanced the game in such a way that players can remain comfortable with any Digimon they choose.

“We have balanced it so that regardless of which Digimon you start with… all of them will eventually evolve or reach a point where they’re strong enough. As long as you use them in the adventure and in battles, they will be strong enough to tackle the final part of the story.”

“There’s also system called DigiFarming where you can train specific parameters and traits of the Digimon.”

Dual Worlds with Distinct Designs

In Digimon Story Time Stranger, players will be able to experience both real-world and digital-world environments, each crafted with unique aesthetics and gameplay mechanics.

“In the digital world, the main town would be Central Town… a town that feels lived in, very lively with Digimon just going about their normal lives without feeling stagnant or stale.”

Real-world locations like Shinjuku and Akihabara are recreated with meticulous detail, while the digital world leans into fantasy motifs with characters living in the world.

“In the Digimon universe, the motif of a gear is a very significant part… showing gears moving in the background… It would show that they are in the digital world versus like in the real world. It proves a contrast but it is also a very strong motif for the world in general.”

Narrative Complexity Due to Time Travel and Dual Worlds

With time travel and dual-world traversal, narrative clarity was a key challenge to navigate, as these are pretty complex storytelling elements. Hara-san says that they introduced characters like the Operator and Mirei to guide players through these complications.

“The interpretation of how time moves will be up to how the player sees it. However, there will be parts that feel conflicting to each other. The existence of these two characters… would help to ease this transition… and help hopefully make it a smoother experience for the player.”

Cyber Sleuth Comparisons and Visual Upgrades

Compared to Cyber Sleuth, Digimon Story Time Stranger puts improved focus into growing and evolving your Digimon. Hara-san points out that one of the differences is the improvement and usability of the evolution system.

“We’ve improved the quality and usability of the entire thing, and it makes it easier for players to play around with it.”

The addition of Digimon personalities and parameters is also another improvement that adds further nuance to the training and evolution process.

“Personalities now have parameters… Digimon will be affected according to these parameters.”

Digimon Story Time Stranger will launch on October 2 for PS5 and Xbox Series and on October 3 for PC via Steam.