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Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Review: Revival Of A Retro Classic
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Did you know it's been over 20 years since we last got a new 2D side-scrolling action-platformer Ninja Gaiden game? Once the series shifted to 3D hack 'n' slash action, it basically never looked back to its roots—but as good as those 3D games are, the 2D classics were just as good in their own way. Thankfully, running across stages, slashing demons, and clinging to walls just out of harms way is back and better than ever with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Developed by The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous, Blasphemous II) and published by Dotemu (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Marvel Cosmic Invasion), Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is everything I want out of a retro-style 2D Ninja Gaiden game and so much more. It could be recency bias talking, but I think this will go down as the best classic Ninja Gaiden game in the whole series. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Absolutely Delivers Usually when I'm sold on a game from the very first announcement like I was with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, I avoid all marketing, all demos, and all information for as long as possible so I can go in fresh and ready. I wasn't able to maintain that promise to myself this time, as I immediately downloaded and played the Ragebound demo on my Steam Deck as soon as I saw it listed during Steam Next Fest recently. Fortunately, it did nothing but solidify my interest and excitement. And after playing the game on my OLED Steam Deck, I can happily report that it ran flawlessly. Zero issues at all and during gameplay it easily maintained a solid 60fps the entire time. According to the publisher, it averages 30fps on Switch, but will 'benefit from the console's specs' on Switch 2, hopefully meaning closer to 60fps there. I was only able to play the PC version for this review. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder In Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, players primarily take on the role of Kenji Mozu, an aspiring ninja in the Hayabusa clan who is trained directly by the legendary Ryu Hayabusa himself. Naturally, Kenji is an up-close melee character. One of the other prominent new characters introduced in this game is Kumori, a female ninja in the rival Black Spider Clan. As you might expect, she excels at ranged attacks. One thing leads to another and you eventually can tap into both of their powers throughout levels. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound The whole thing takes around 6-8 hours to finish a first playthrough, but it's designed to be quite replayable. Each stage has a handful of collectibles you can find, some of which are pretty well hidden, as well as scores, and ratings, not to mention secret bonus challenge levels too. There's definitely a lot of meat on these pixelated bones. Most levels follow the typical 2D Ninja Gaiden formula of slashing away at mostly one-shot enemies, wall-jumping and climbing across obstacles, bouncing across the top of the screen as you perform guillotine boosts in the air, and deflecting attacks—however, there's a surprising amount of stage variety in Ragebound. Early on, there's a whole segment that takes place on a motorcycle and it's fantastic. It reminded me of something that could have been ripped right out of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. There's even a jetski level too! While Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound doesn't have difficulty levels in the traditional sense, it goes a few steps further with its Assist Mode. This lets you fine tune and tweak several settings from the range of your attacks to the amount of damage you receive, so you can customize the difficulty to whatever feels best for you, without completely removing the challenge. Once your whole suite of abilities is unlocked a few Acts in, things get pretty complex. For example, you can charge up more powerful attacks by sacrificing health or by killing marked enemies. It's important to time these attacks correctly because they can make taking down the bigger minions much easier. Then you've got your basic melee attacks and the ranged attacks which can be used in any direction, plus outside of levels you can unlock and equip talismans with passive bonuses (such as refilling health when you maintain kill combos) as well as additional powers and moves. Like I said, it gets pretty complex for a seemingly simple action platformer. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound To be perfectly honest though, many times I'd reach the end of a level and realize I rarely used anything other than the most basic attacks. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a game that gives you tons of options for how to tackle situations, but is totally willing to just let you finesse your way through obstacles all the same if that's what you prefer. One of my favorite elements were the demon alters in which Kenji can channel Kumori briefly for short, extremely time-sensitive platforming challenges. Usually they're required to progress through the level, but sometimes they also have collectibles tucked away you can only find if you're extra fast and efficient. They're like little secrets within secrets and feel really satisfying to discover. Just like the trilogy of pixel-perfect NES platformers that originally put Ninja Gaiden on the map as a game series, Ragebound is tightly crafted and wonderfully paced. There is this beautiful moment that anyone who has played one of the older games for any length of time can relate to in which it starts to flow like second nature eventually. You get into a rhythm with the structure of the level after dying a dozen times, you've got the spawn points memorized, and you're able to bound across the screen, never slowing down, slicing through enemies in an effortless flow of sword slashes and blood. It might take you 20 attempts to reach that point, but when it finally clicks, it feels incredible. One of the best seemingly small changes made with Ragebound compared to the original NES trilogy is the addition of relatively frequent checkpoints throughout levels. Since the levels are, generally, much longer, it feels necessarily from a level design and pacing perspective, but it also offers a bit of peace of mind since there aren't limited lives or continues anymore. The result is that not only do you avoid the rage-inducing (pun intended) controller-breaking moments of frustration often found in the 8-bit games since you can just keep trying over and over, but it also means the individual sections between checkpoints can be extremely unforgiving and difficult at times since the designers know you won't have to replay the entire level before trying again. On the one hand, especially later on, it leads to some of the most pulse-pounding and satisfying moments of crushing intensity, the likes of which I haven't seen in an action-platformer in quite sometime. But on the other hand, it sometimes makes the levels feel rather choppy since you rarely are able to maintain your flow and momentum without running into a checkpoint, wall to climb, or transition screen sprinkled throughout stages. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Saying anything negative about Ragebound though feels overly nitpicky, because as a whole it's just phenomenal. The pixelized art style and excellent gameplay take me back to a simpler time and you can't really put a price on that. Great retro games like Ragebound are more than just entertainment, they're time machines. As soon as I got past the portions that the demo had already covered, I immediately felt like I was 10 years-old again, sitting crisscross on the floor, in front of an old CRT TV, with an NES controller in my hand. All of the excitement I felt beating a stage in the original games as a kid came rushing back with each section I cleared. Music is a major part of any Ninja Gaiden game and they didn't miss with this one. I wouldn't say the music is anywhere near as memorable as the NES originals, but nostalgia plays a major role there. All the same, I did find myself humming along after sometimes hearing the same level music for 10+ minutes when I got stuck from time-to-time, but I can't really recall any of it as I'm writing this review. Perhaps the most surprising part of my time with Ragebound though is probably the writing. The way Kenji and Kumori interact feels especially authentic with Kenji's no-nonsense serious tone about the honor of being a ninja, and Kumori's comparatively lighthearted approach to situations. They're perfect foils for one another and the result is an excellent duo. The only other minor speed bump on this adventure for me would be the bosses. Frankly, they were just downright annoying at times. Like any classic Ninja Gaiden game, boss fights are a big part of the experience, but I do think they generally had a little bit too much health. In most fights you reach this point where you've figured out all the attacks and mechanics, so it's just kind of a test of patience to reach the end. But I usually got impatient and would get too greedy, resulting in having to start the fight over. Eventually this caused me to get less and less patient, which meant I was less and less careful, and it created a vicious cycle. Arguably this is by design, but I'd contend that the boss fights were only truly interesting and fun the first half dozen attempts when I was still figuring things out. Knowing what to do, but not having the patience to chip away at the boss again for the tenth time, definitely got old. Still wonderful battles and worthwhile affairs, just a tad more tedious than I'd like. Ultimately though, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is the kind of game you desperately want to keep playing. Whether you're replaying a past level to find all the collectibles, complete all the challenges, or simply beat faster than before, or you're addicted to pushing the envelope and getting further in the adventure, it's tough to put down. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Is A Long-Awaited Retro Revival Ninja Gaiden is back in a big way in 2025 with the prior release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black earlier this year and soon, Ninja Gaiden 4 in just a few short months. But much to my surprise and delight, Ryu Hayabusa's continuation into the realm of AAA 3D action elites once again does not mean the abandonment of where the series started this time around. Hopefully, if we're lucky, Ragebound is just the start of a whole new sub-series of excellent 2D classic-style Ninja Gaiden games. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Platform: PC (Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 Developer: The Game Kitchen Publisher: Dotemu (licensed by Koei Tecmo) Release Date: July 31, 2025 Price: $24.99 Score: 9/10 Disclosure: A representative on behalf of Dotemu sent me an early download code for a digital copy of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound on Steam for the purposes of this review.
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound review - don't rage against the machine
After a long hiatus, the makers of Blasphemous 2 bring back Ninja Gaiden, with a 2D action game that should please both new players and veteran fans. It seems appropriate that the one Japanese-made franchise most closely associated with Xbox (alongside sister series Dead Or Alive) is also one that was largely unknown to European gamers, even in its early days. Ninja Gaiden started off in arcades, as a fairly ordinary scrolling beat 'em-up, which in Europe was known as Shadow Warriors. It was ported to various home computer formats of the day, including the Amiga, but it was the NES game, also from 1988, that defined the franchise for the next four decades. Created in parallel with the arcade game, the NES title was more of an action platformer, noted for its excellent graphics and extreme difficulty. Given the arcade game had a different name and the NES was never very successful in Europe – as a result of arriving years late and with a sky high price tag – most European gamers assumed the 2004 Xbox title was the first game in the franchise. Although versions of the game and its sequel were also released on PlayStation it's still thought of as primarily an Xbox game, although the double whammy of Ninja Gaiden 3 and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z put the whole franchise on ice for over a decade. But now it's back, with PlatinumGames developing Ninja Gaiden 4 and, ironically, Spanish studio The Game Kitchen making this 2D homage to the original games. The Game Kitchen is best known for the two Blasphemous games, which are an excellent pair of 2D Metroidvanias with a Dark Souls influence. Despite what you might imagine, Ragebound doesn't have much in common with them and it's definitely not a Metroidvania. It's also not that similar to the NES game, although that is clearly the primary influence. Although series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa is in the game you spend the majority of your time playing as his protégé Kenji Mozu, who starts off the game having to protect Hayabusa Village from yet another demon invasion. Thankfully, whether demon or human, most enemies succumb fairly easily to your sword and while the game is never easy the first few hours are certainly less difficult than you might imagine. There are some welcome complications to Kenji's repartee, with the ability to deflect projectiles and make use of enemies with a blue aura, who after you kill them leave you hypercharged so that the next enemy you attack dies in one hit. Although you can also hypercharge yourself at any moment by sacrificing a portion of your health. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. As well as a dodge roll and climbing up walls, and across ceilings, Kenji can also perform a Guillotine boost , which allows him to bounce off projectiles and enemies for a double jump. That feels like something straight out of the NES game, but again it's a lot easier to pull off than you'd think in the early stages. A little way into the story you encounter Kumori, a female member of the Black Spider Clan – the traditional enemies of the series. Both are at death's door when they meet, which results in Kumori fusing with Kenji and he being able to use her long range kunai attacks and the ability to teleport short distances. This opens up the gameplay in various ways, with enemies that have a pink aura, that have to be killed with Kumori's weapons to trigger a hypercharge, and more powerful weapons like a chakram (the circular throwing weapon Xena used to use). On top of this is a smart bomb-like magic attack and various defensive powers, like a shield, as well as timed platform sections where you control Kumori directly, but against a very strict time limit. That's just about the right size of moveset for a 2D action game and for the first several hours it's a lot of fun, even if it's not really doing anything new and the pixel art is a little drab at times. Coming from publisher Dotemu, who's been responsible for Streets Of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, you can't help but wish for 2D animation of that quality but while Ragebound has a few nice flourishes it's never that ostentatious. There's some good mission variety though, considering the limitations, with levels scrolling in different directions, hidden areas and collectables, and vehicle sections, such as Kumori's introduction on the back of a motorbike. More Trending The most surprising thing about the game is that it's not that difficult. It's definitely above average but not the ultra-punishing perversity that previous Ninja Gaiden titles would lead you to expect. There is a hard mode though, and some ultra difficult secret levels, so veteran fans shouldn't feel abanonded. But we found the game's more reasonable challenge to be very refreshing, allowing you to enjoy the mechanics instead of constantly cursing their inflexibility. Things do get harder the further you get, especially with the boss battles, but it's definitely not as spiteful as you'd expect. Ragebound isn't going to change the world, or change anyone's opinion about Ninja Gaiden, but as a prelude to Ninja Gaiden 4 it's very welcome and has a sensibly low price. We always wonder why retro themed games are so obsessed with being overly difficult, since that always seemed the least appealing thing about them, back in the day, and it's nice to see Ragebound confirm that they would be more fun if they were more reasonably minded. Which means that, in actuality, Ragebound is not that rage inducing at all. In Short: A fun restatement of the Ninja Gaiden 2D formula, that is just complex enough to engage both new and old fans, while being surprisingly accessible in terms of its difficulty level. Pros: A neat set of relatively unusual abilities, that requires both skill and forward-thinking to use. Nicely varied level design and some clever boss battles. Great rawk soundtrack. Cons: It's not doing anything very new and the graphics are mostly unremarkable by modern pixel art standards. Later stages are very difficult. Score: 8/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: £20.99Publisher: DotemuDeveloper: The Game KitchenRelease Date: 31st July 2025 Age Rating: 16 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo Direct announced for Thursday but don't expect Metroid Prime 4 MORE: New Switch 2 game leaks ahead of this week's Nintendo Direct MORE: Mario Kart World update makes the game easier but doesn't fix biggest issues
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound review – tight platforming and snappy combat makes this one of 2025's best
The Game Kitchen successfully revives Tecmo's classic ninja platformers for the modern era with ease and aplomb, making it easy for players to live our their 2D ninja fantasies. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is the kind of modern successor to a cult classic series designed to welcome new and existing fans alike, mixing tight action-platforming with satisfying combat and boss battles. Typical. You spend years waiting for a modern throwback to one old-school ninja-starring 2D action platformer, only for two to arrive at once. But whereas Sega 's forthcoming Shinobi: Art of Vengeance opts for a modern hand-drawn art style, Ninja Garden: Ragebound firmly keeps its foot in the retro realm using a beautiful, pixelated aesthetic. The kind of which developer The Game Kitchen is known for and swiftly became a master of. Such an art style is key to much of the charm found in this sequel to Tecmo's classic NES series, which when combined with tight platforming and rewarding combat abilities easily makes this one of the standout titles of its kind. Regardless of whether this is your first or thirteenth Ninja Gaiden, Ragebound is sure to hook you with the full force of a katana slice. Getting the obvious part out of the way, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound simply looks gorgeous. As a big fan of The Game Kitchen's two previous Blasphemous games, it's clear that the Spanish studio has spent just as much time, care, and attention finessing this world of ninjas, demons, and underground gangsters as it previously did 18th century Spain. It's often hard to stand out these days on the indie scene due to the avalanche of titles utilising a pixelated art style to try and recapture a sense of nostalgia. Despite this, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is both beautiful and richly detailed in all the variety-filled locations you fight through. From helicopter carriers to pirate coves, there sure is a lot of them. This same attention-to-detail is applied to the gameplay itself, which I have no trouble describing as tight, responsive, and rewarding. Roleplaying as an ambitious ninja apprentice proves to be incredibly easy as a result, as often while playing I felt I was moving through stages like butter. Bouncing on the head of an enemy using Ragebound's patented Guillotine Boost jump, slicing through another one in mid-air, and then landing into a roll to lunge into another... Chaining kills as up-and-coming ninja master Kenji Mozu often has a great sense of flow to it, providing you read enemy attacks far enough in advance and know what you're doing. While certainly not devoid of Ninja Gaiden's trademark difficulty – just wait until you run until the game's final string of bosses – Ragebound definitely takes a softer approach when it comes to onboarding. This helps not only if you've never played an old-school Ninja Gaiden game before, but also to learn all the gratifying mechanical quirks unique to Ragebound. The biggest is undoubtedly called Hypercharge, where, rather than simply wailing on enemies repeatedly, certain foes will be coded blue or red. Attack those in blue with a sword attack or those in red with a special, 'Spider' attack, and your next hit is guaranteed to kill in just one hit. The Hypercharge system takes a little while to get used to since it can substantially change the rhythm of combat. Grow accustomed to dishing out red- and blue-coded attacks as necessary, though, and you can save yourself a lot of time and effort. In fact, some of the most frustrating moments I experienced were those when I accidently unleashed a Hypercharge attack on an underling as opposed to a hulking, shielded enemy. Someone that could have been defeated with one swipe suddenly demands several, severely slowing down my pace and making my actions feel less ninja like. Hypercharge is flexible in that it can technically be totally ignored, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice. This strategic throughline bleeds into Ragebound's simple but effective upgrade system too. Essentially, Kenji has two talisman slots that can be equipped with different types of perks or penalties in between stages, all of which contributes greatly to how tough a time you'll have fighting through stages. Although a specific hard mode is unlocked after finishing the campaign, choosing the talisman that, say, warps you right back to level's start instead of the last checkpoint, makes for a great way to tweak Ragebound to suit your preferred level of challenge. I personally could never take off the talismans that restored Kenji's health when passing a checkpoint or healed him when achieving a three-kill combo. However, there's sure to be a talisman combo ideal for your playstyle. Air your rage A pixelated 2D action-platformer isn't traditionally the type of game where I worry about the narrative. And yet, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound surprisingly does enough legwork in the narrative and characterisation department, that I couldn't help but care about the plight of our two main protagonists. You see, roughly as third of the way into the game a new playable protagonist, Kumori, is introduced, focused on ranged play and a tougher degree of platforming. Demons threatening to take over the Earth is enough to force them to work together, and it allows for the Kumori sections to break up the regular bout of firing off Guillotine Boost jumps, Hypercharge attacks, and Spider abilities rather nicely. If anything, I would have liked Kumori to stand on her own a bit more, but she definitely has moments to shine as the story progresses. Another slight nit I have with this otherwise tightly produced and carefully balanced package are the Secret Art abilities you can equip Kenji with. They work similarly to Talismans in that they can be swapped in and swapped out before selecting a level, but my issue is that I never really felt the need to try any others aside from those I started with. The screen-tearing Ragebound art attack proved too useful when entering the later phases of a boss battle, while the Kama curved blade always came in handy to target hard-to-reach enemies behind walls or out of range. Still, Ragebound rewards players willing to check off every level's three specific challenge qualifiers – beat a boss under 4 minutes, don't fall into a pit, and so on – with a tier rating that unlocks these new abilities, doing a good job at encouraging you to play through them again after finishing the story. While each level in Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is memorable to fight through and expertly designed for their own distinct reasons, I'd be remiss not to mention the truly exceptional boss fights on display here. Although incredibly tough at times (I don't think I ever beat one in fewer than 10 attempts) no one is ever like the last in terms of what's required of you to take them down. From demons able to send lightning sparks flying all around the screen to those that force you to keep your feet off the ground for almost too much time as flames swirl, Ragebound's boss battles had me gripping my gamepad in a way I hadn't for years, with each truly primed to test every player's mettle. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one of the biggest surprises to come out in 2025 for me. Having little to no affinity for those original NES games, or even the 3D successors that followed, it still enraptured me with its thrilling, Hypercharge-powered combat system, glorious pixel art, and some of the toughest (yet fairest) platforming sections and boss battles I've experienced in a modern 2D side-scroller. Against all odds, Ragebound finds a way to pay respect not just to the series, but the entire genre's past by imbuing it with plenty of modern features. The result is a near perfect concoction that makes roleplaying a ninja not only something to be enjoyed in the moment, but something not afraid to test these skills by offering up a decent challenge.
Digital Trends
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
6 under the radar games for the second half of 2025
Believe it or not, but we've already crossed into the second half of 2025. Depending on how you look at it, this year might feel like it has only just started or has been the longest six months of your life. In terms of games, though, we've already had a bounty of amazing games this year, with standouts being Monster Hunter Wilds, The Alters, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Death Stranding 2, just to name a few. Looking ahead, we have a fairly clear roadmap for what the big upcoming games of 2025 will be, such as Ghost of Yotei, Borderlands 4, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. This felt like the perfect time to highlight some of the smaller games that you might not have heard of or maybe forgot were coming out in all the excitement. These are my 6 most anticipated games that might be flying under your radar. Shadow Labyrinth – July 17 Starting off in July, we have the strange reimagining of the classic arcade game as a dark Metroidvania. Shadow Labyrinth pulls out the horror elements that were always present in Pac-Man and fully embraces them. You will take control of a character known as Swordsman No. 8 who teams up with an orb called Puck, which is a direct reference to Pac-Man's original name. Besides standard action and exploration, alongside your usual progression systems of unlocking new moves, you will also be able to fuse with Puck to traverse the map as if it were a classic Pac-Man maze. While I was originally skeptical this game wouldn't stand up beyond its shock value, everything I've seen since its reveal has me convinced it will be a great new Metroidvania. Recommended Videos Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound – July 31 We're seeing a major resurgence in old ninja and samurai games between the new Onimusha and Ninja Gaiden 4 on the way, but we're also being treated to retro-style entries that call back to the series' origins. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound might be more exciting than the next big entry. Coming from the amazingly talented team at The Game Kitchen and Dotemu, it only takes one look at the pixel art to know this game will be something special. Just like the original NES games, Ragebound looks like a brutal but fair 2D action platformer that will bring modern sensibilities to a classic genre. Sword of the Sea – August 19 One of the newer games I added to my list is Sword of the Sea. This is the next game from developer Giant Squid, who you would know as the team that made Abzu and The Pathless. This next game looks like it is combining the vibes and tone of the former with the more advanced and satisfying movement of the latter. The footage shows off a mysterious character surfing through a dead world on a floating sword, bringing life back wherever they go. As water and life return, more areas to explore and restore open up. This game will be all about the world, vibes, and satisfaction you get from the movement. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – August 28 Remember how I mentioned how many classic ninja games were coming back? Well, here's another one for you to check out in August. Shinobi was a cult classic title compared to its contemporaries, which makes the existence of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance all the more exciting. Like Ragebound, this game is sticking to the classic 2D action style, but with a smoother and hand-drawn art style. If I had to guess from the footage, I'd say this one will be a bit more forgiving than Ragebound, but we will have to see. While there is some clear overlap between the two games, I think there's more than enough room for two excellent 2D action games. Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree – September 18 The only roguelite to make my list is the charming Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree. The hook this game promises that is somewhat unique for the genre is the fact that choice and bonds will impact the game. That hasn't been detailed much yet, but the gameplay already has my attention. Action looks slick with tons of characters, plus the inclusion of co-op, but different quests will take you to different timelines. As time advances, the hub village and characters will change. Again, we need to see just how deep these systems go, but it sounds interesting enough right now for me to want to check it out. Digimon Story Time Stranger – October 2 The Digimon Story games have been underrated ever since the first Cyber Sleuth. While some still pass this entire franchise off as a Pokémon clone, the games at least have forged their own path as amazing RPGs. Sure, you will tame and battle with your digital monsters, but the battle system is leagues ahead of Pokémon, and the story and world are a clear step up. This entry will have over 450 Digimon to find and collect, but it is the plot featuring time travel, parallel worlds, and secret organizations that has my inner anime fan fully onboard. If you're not sure Pokémon Legends: Z-A will shake off the poor reputation the series has had as of late, you can always jump ship to Digimon Story Time Stranger.
