Video Game / Digimon World 3

The third installment in the Digimon World series, known as Digimon World 3 in NTSC regions and Digimon World 2003 for PAL regions (since they never got Digimon World 2). The most significant difference is that in Digimon World 2003, it is possible to continue after what is the finale of Digimon World 3.

It was released late into the Playstation 1 life cycle.

You play as a child called Junior who enters an online virtual reality MMORPG called "Digimon Online", which is run by the "MAGAMI" corporation. A terrorist attack on the Internet (Or so it seems) traps Junior and his friends inside the game, and he sets out to stop them with his Digimon partners. The core gameplay is similar to Pokémon, while the game graphics push the limitations of Playstation 1 hardware as it features beautiful pre-rendered 2D overworld and decent 3D animations during battle.

This game contains examples of:

• Ability Required to Proceed: The Blue Card, whose sole use is to enable you to ride the gondola to the South Sector so you can continue the story, and only in Asuka Server.
• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Beneath Asuka and Amaterasu City.
• Apathetic Citizens: Justified. Most of the tamers who are aware of what's going on have either been turned into Oinkmon or joined La Résistance.
• Awesome, but Impractical : Many finishers ultimately fall into this. Cool animations, but the damage is comparable to standard elemental moves that you can unlock and the finishers cost way more than those moves, sometimes they're even weaker than the standard attack. There's a lot of cases where a player wonders why their Mega finisher deals little damage after the difficulty spike on Amaterasu Server.
• Bears Are Bad News: Averted with Kumamon, one of the partner Digimon, and his digivolution of Grizzmon.
• Beef Gate:
  • You will encounter a lot of these in this game.
  • The Knightmons in the Amaterasu Bridge are even worse. Without the four colored cards, they can't be defeated at all. You can't even run away, ensuring you a game over.

• Boss Rush: Kurt's team consists of bosses from earlier in the game.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Gunslinger's second floor, Junior looks at the camera and exclaims.
  Junior Hurry! We have to defeat Lord Megadeath and get everyone back!

• Chekhov's Gunman: Lucky Mouse and Vemmon.
• Combination Attack: DNA evolutions could be called that, or maybe Summon Magic.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive: The MAGAMI President.
• Counter-Attack: the Counter Crest, one of the challenge-killing accessories which was thankfully reimagined for the PAL version.
  • Gallantmon's signature move is this. There's also Counter Strike.
• Cue the Sun: Amaterasu Server after the A.o.A. are eradicated.

• Dark World: Amaterasu server is this in relation to Asuka server.
• Disc-One Nuke: The Asuka Black Market item shop can be visited once you beat the Seiryu Leader, and contains expensive weaponry rivalling stuff you find all the way on the North sector, which you'd reach hours later into the game.
  • For the most part the first or second digivolution acquired from the partner's natural digivolution line can be this. For Patamon and Kumamon, they acquired Digitamamon, a full fledged Ultimate level digimon. A lot them are Champions, which can let you get their Ultimate at digivolution level 40, and 5 levels earlier than their natural digivolution. MetalMamemon is particularly notable, being able to digivolve into MetalGarurumon at level 40 provided you have enough Machine Tolerance. While MetalGarurumon is one of the weaker Mega in this game, it can become MegaGargomon, one of the strongest.

• Dual Wielding: Almost always better than a sword-and-shield combo.
• Dynamic Loading: Well, the blue blocks that appear when the overworld graphics is loading is apparently this. Not that it's hidden, but...

• Eldritch Abomination: It's hinted that if Galacticmon merged with the Earth, the Digimon called Gaiamon would have been created. This would not only have killed all humans but also made the most powerful Digimon to have ever existed. Just think that over a bit. Then again, Galacticmon can itself be considered one, being the merged consciences (for lack of a better world) of Megadeath and Snatchmon combined with a giant Kill Sat and multiple forms with which to kill you.
• Elemental Powers: Most moves in the game have an element tied to them, and you can even add element to normally non-elemental attacks like your regular attacks and a few other moves, by using certain accessories.
  • An Ice Person: For example, Cold Slash and Giga Freeze.
  • Blow You Away: For example, Sylph Storm and Vacuum Cannon.
  • Casting a Shadow: For example, Black Dart and Darkness Chaos.
  • Extra-ore-dinary: For example, Mechanical Bash and Metal Attack.
  • Making a Splash: For example, Grand Wave and Divine Rain.
  • Playing with Fire: For example, Giga Fire and Heat Cutter.
  • Shock and Awe: For example, Heaven Hit and Electro Bolt.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors. When you realize it's there, you will be almost done with the adventure. But once a player figures this out, they will feel a lot better.
• Fake Ultimate Mook. There are many Ultimate and Champion digimon that aren't really strong at the begining of the game, such as Kuwagamon and Triceramon. When going to the North Sector and to the Amaterasu Server, the game inverts it. Many Champion-level digimon and sometimes even Rookie-level are stronger than an Ultimate that you fought at Asuka server.
  • And when you enter in the Amaterasu Server, it just gets nonsensical. You can have an area with Megas, Ultimates, Champions and Rookies dealing the same damage.
• Fetch Quest: This game has so many of them, they could get their own page.
• Finishing Move: All playable Digimon have a finisher, as do a few of the bosses.
• Fishing Minigame: The only way, other than not having a full party of three, to cut on the time spent on...
• Forced Level-Grinding. You can go from pwning in one area to being pwned on the next in less than 10 minutes of game time.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Right in the opening scene in the human world, with its mention of the A.O.A., who've recently been done for misuing Digimon.
  • Talking to Baronmon before he learns of Account Change and he'll mention seeing the future, with "pigs. Pigs everywhere." At the climax of the game, everyone save you is turned into an Oinkmon.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: You can use Submarimon and Digmon as transportation, even though you have no way of getting hold of an Armadillomon partner.
• Genre Shift: From a standard JRPG to a 1-versus-1 JRPG in vein of Pokémon.
• Gentle Giant: BlackWarGrowlmon, found in Amaterasu Server's Dum Dum Factory, is a dark recolor of what is already a Virus-type cyborg dragon worthy of the Digital Hazard symbol. He is also extremely nice and polite, only fights you because he wants to play (and NOT in a twisted way, either) and after the battle, he cheerfully thanks you for the good match and gives you Hazard Armor, Guilmon's Infinity-1 Armor.
  • All of the other "Black" Digimon found on the Amaterasu server are this to varying degree. Either they give you encouragement and praise, or is genuinely happy to see players having fun.
• Get on the Boat: I mean, on the Submarimon.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: While on the Gunslinger, an Armageddemon appears to attack you.
• Groin Attack: There are two variants of Numemon, purple and icy blue, whose only attack is biting your Digimon right in that spot, especially if you fight them as Angemon, HolyAngemon, or Angewomon. The purple ones' attack will also reduce your Digimon's defense, so it's pretty dangerous.
• Guide Dang It!: The part where you have to cross between island by obtaining the Submarimon. Most NPC didn't know when asked.
  • To get the fishing pole, you must talk to the fisherman Tai Kong Wong at Shell Beach and he will tell you to bring him a pole, string and a hook. While the hook is easy enough to get (you get it from an NPC), the pole and string may cause some head scratching. The "pole" in this case is Bamboo Spear, a relatively cheap weapon you can buy from vendors. While its description mentioning that it is "like a pole" may be considered enough of a hint, the "string" is next to impossible to figure out without a guide: it's Spider Web, a Random Drop from Dokugumon. It's an in-battle item that lowers the opponent's speed and nothing in the game hints at it being the string Tai Kong Wong is talking about.
  • The Tree Boots, whose purpose is more or less identical to the fishing pole's, qualifies too. You begin the Side Quest by approaching an NPC in Plug Cape, who sends you to find a Gabumon card he lost. While he says that he thinks he lost it at Asuka Inn, to find it you must check a shelf that does not even look interactable, being a part of the background. After you return the card to the NPC, he tells you that you must befriend Veemon to get the boots. To find Veemon, you must go to Lamb Chop in Asuka City and speak to the waitress there to learn that Veemon is at Wind Praerie. You run over there, find Veemon and end up playing a game of hide 'n seek with him. So where does he hide? Behind one of the Kicking Trees in Kicking Forest. Or rather, behind the leaves of the tree, making it impossible for the player to see him and forcing him or her to blindly mash X behind every possible tree. And woe betide you if you accidentally exit the forest, in which case you must run all the way back to Lamb Chop and speak to the waitress again to make Veemon appear at Wind Praerie!
  • Many maze areas in the game can be rather complex to figure out by adults without a guide, let alone kids. Is there even any kid who ever heard about "toroidal grid" before they wander into Mobius Desert? And there's just no real pattern on how the Underground connects one place to another. You can even enter from Asuka server, and exit at Amaterasu server! And then there's also that one invisible stairs on Bug Maze.....
  • It doesn't really matter in DW3 due to lack of postgame, but nothing in DW2003 tells you that you have to collect all 5 legendary/epic weapons, otherwise you can't fight the bonus bosses in the postgame tournament. Oh, and getting all of them involves a specific order (for example, you can't make Supernova before making Eternally first), which is also not hinted at anywhere. The quest to make the weapons is an even bigger example - it's a multi-step process of making the old/rusty weapon (considered as Level 1) into Level 2 weapons, which are then used to make Level 3 weapons, which are needed to make the Level 4/legendary/epic weapons. Hope you didn't sell any of the materials... not to mention the 'mons who ask you for the weapons only show up if the appropriate partner is at level forty-five. Nothing in the game tells you that, either.
  • Acquiring Veemon. There's no hint you can get him, besides an extra spot in the partner selection tab at the labs. In order to do so, you need to have a Digimon at exactly level twenty, and be in Byakko City.

• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Justified; you don't name the player character per say, but rather, you come up with a username for Digimon Online for him. And because Digimon Online apparently is such Serious Business, even his closest friends refer to him by his made-up moniker instead of his real name. Baronmon also somehow learns of "Account Change" after you get the Digi-Egg of Knowledge, which allows you to change your Digimon partners' names, again justified by it being a gameplay feature of Digimon Online.
• HP to One: The Ragnarok Cannon, used by the final boss in the game. God forbids you if your Digimon is slow and you are only using one.
• Humongous Mecha: Destromon and Galacticmon, a Humongous Mecha IN SPACE!.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: WaruMonzaemon's justification for attacking Lisa.
• Improbable Power Discrepancy: Amaterasu server is home to Champion level Digimon stronger than Mega level ones on Asuka server.
• Infinity -1 Sword: The second tier Mega Level Digivolution are this. A notch weaker than the strongest Digivolutions of the game, while being stronger than the standard Mega level Digivolutions. Most of them are required to unlock the strongest Digivolutions in the game. This list includes Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, Omnimon, GranKuwagamon, MegaGargomon, and MaloMyotismon.
  • MegaGargomon is particularly notable for having a lax unlock requirement, only requiring a single evolution chain with MetalMamemon at level 40 and MetalGarurumon at level 99 making it relatively straightforward to unlock provided the digimon in question have enough Metal Tolerance to unlock them. Conversely, it's the only one that doesn't lead into unlocking the strongest digivolutions. Similarly GranKuwagamon stands out for not requiring a single level 99 Digivolution skill level in any of its unlock requirement and learned Impact Rush, the most powerful physical technique in the game.
• Infinity +1 Sword. And wand, and claw, and gun...
  • For Monmon, you can buy the Raven's Bow, which grants it several hundred attack power and the ability to confuse its enemies, before you've ever met Bulbmon.
  • As far as Digivolution goes Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, Beelzemon, and Diaboromon are the three most powerful Digivolution in the game, each requiring the Infinity -1 Sword Digivolutions to be leveled to unlock them.
• Irony: The Amaterasu Server looks like a creepy night version of Asuka Server. Amaterasu is the name of the Sun Goddess.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Basically most Mega level mons' finishers.
• Killer Rabbit: All joking aside, if you meet an Antylamon in the Amaterasu Server, you're probably screwed. It's not invincible per se, but it's pretty powerful.
• Kill Sat: Gunslinger. And then Galactimon, which is made from Gunslinger.
• La Résistance: While there is no specific name for the group in the game, this is basically what you joined into the moment A.o.A. announced its intentions and took over Amaterasu server by turning everyone into Oinkmons.
• Limit Break: The Blast Gauge, filled as your Digimon takes hits. When full, your monster skips to its next natural digivolution, heals to max and its finisher is usable at zero MP cost.
• Loads and Loads of Loading: The game push the limits of Playstation 1's processing to power a JRPG. The results are obvious.
• Magic Knight: Veemon, the only playable partner not in a starter pack. Seeing as his role is that of a pumped-up Jack of All Stats, it's understandable.
• Magikarp Power: Patamon stars out relatively weak, but once it reached level 20 on Angemon, its able to digivolve into Digitamamon, an Ultimate level digimon who have a proper Ultimate level of power in this game. Considering that Ultimates are naturally a level 20 digivolution, with off-branch mainline Ultimates requiring level 15, and level 40 on their respective Champion this is quite a notable advantage in their favor.
• Metal Slime: Not really metallic, but Numemons of all colors are always swift and brutal to your own mons, regardless of evolution. Maybe to compensate them for their Butt-Monkey role in the anime.
  • Cardmon can only be encountered by using items obtained from Side Quests, they are always tougher than other Digimon in the same area, can "Curse" your Digimon's stats, weakening them (Curse also happens to be the only status condition in the game that lingers even after the end of a battle and higher level Cardmons can curse more than one stat) and can potentially flee from battle leaving you with nothing. On the other hand, if you manage to beat them, they award more experience and Bits in addition to dropping powerful booster packs.
• More Dakka: Armormon, Monmon's Ultimate form, is essentially a robotic centaur outfitted with enough guns to take on a small army... and its Finisher has it fire every single one of them at the enemy. Of course, there is no such thing as enough dakka... though Cannondramon, its Mega stage which is a giant dinosaur with cannons up the wazoo comes pretty darn close.
• Mutually Exclusive Power-Ups: Equipping weapons/armor with special effects will null those provided by accessories (yes, that's why your Counter Crest stopped working).
• Mythology Gag: A Terriermon in the Asuka City inn murmurs "Momentai" in its sleep.
• Nintendo Hard: Insane grinding, high encounter rate (also it didn't help that backtracking required is also insane), and even the card battle minigame wins the game in the opponent's favor should you managed a draw...
• Now, Where Was I Going Again?: It's very easy to get lost on what you were supposed to do or on who to talk to.
• Oddball in the Series: The Water element, among a series of attack elements in this game. For unknown reason, even though there are four Water element attacks in the game, only two are available to players^note  not including use of accessory that adds Water element to any non-elemental attack (other elements have such accessory too, so it doesn't count). The two that are available to players, are only accessible via Angewomon and Rosemon evolution, which are part of the same evolution line. This is odd, because all the other elements have at least three attacks accessible to players, many having at least four, and many are shared among different evolution lines.
• Paint It Black: All of the Amaterasu boss Digimon are the black colored versions of certain Digimon.
• Palette Swap: Most of the Digimon you fight (or at least see) have alternate color versions you can also fight. These alternate colors also indicates that they are either stronger, or has different element, or has added effect to their attack, compared to the original color one. The most extreme example is Numemon, who appears in at least four other colors. Subverted with Meramon and BlueMeramon, who are separate Digimon, as well as all the "Black" Digimon.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: When Junior and Kail need to dress up as Agumon to get into the Admin Center, her Agumon suit/costume is pink, while Junior's is blue.

• Point of No Return: Amaterasu's Admin Centre is this in the American version.
• Purely Aesthetic Gender: Digimon are supposed to be genderless. Say that to Cute Monster Girl Angewomon, Rosemon, Sakuyamon or Persiamon.
  • It makes more sense to say "sexless." Digimon definitely have genders, but they're functions of the Digimon's data instead of DNA. And since data is changeable, a Digimon's gender can change, particularly as it evolves. This game shows that with all the overlapping evolutions (Angewomon being a common evolution, for example).
• Random Encounters: They can (and will) shoot up in difficulty as the game proceeds.
• Random Drop: Some Digimon may drop items at certain chance. There are also Rare Random Drop that's more like very rare, to the point that players often can, and will, go through the entire game without realizing that one random enemy Digimon may drop a certain item. The most notorious example of this is Crimson Cable. It's not an important item, and you most likely won't need it in battle^note it's an in-battle item that lowers opponent's attack and defense stats, but by the time you can get this item, your Digimon would be strong enough that they don't really need this anymore. However, it's a rare drop that's only dropped by enemies in a near endgame location you can only visit ONCE. In fact, it's the only item in the game that's permanently missable.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Gee, the president of MAGAMI sure IS a battling champion.

• Save Point: Guardromon acts as the save point in this game.
• Save Scumming: Saving as often as possible is recommended thanks to the Continuing is Painful described above. Can get a little irritating thanks to saving always taking 30 full seconds, not counting going through the menus.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Junior & Co. enter Jungle Grave and soon encounter Zanbamon, they exchange words then fight. Upon making his attack, Zanbamon causes huge damage resulting in the Digimon currently in use automatically running away.
  • You run away even if you can beat him, because you have to get Sepikmon's mask first, unfortunately.
  • Bulbmon is a boss example, running away after having its health at critical point. Only at the first encounter though.
• Sequential Boss: Could apply to any tamer boss since they usually have multiple Digimon just like you, but especially to the assimilated satellite final boss, who has more than one form.
• Shout-Out:
  • To Digimon Digital Card Battle, and by extension, Digimon World. The card battle minigame in this game uses many of the card artworks in Digital Card Battle, artworks which feature a background of maps in Digimon World.
  • The Big Bad is called Lord Megadeth.
  • Two old men in Amaterasu City Inn are named Mickey and Donald. Donald even joked that after being turned into a pig (Oinkmon), he probably will get turned into a duck next.
• Status Effects: Surprisingly useful. If you manage to poison or confuse an opponent the battle is as good as won.
  • The opposite can be true. If you get paralyzed/frozen, for example, you will have a chance of literally skipping the turn.
• Stupidity Is the Only Option: At Byakko City. The "Tamers" in the gym are obviously evil, with their military uniforms, but you've no choice but to walk right into their trap.
  • Getting the Blue Card involves a fetch quest where you get tricked first and receive a 8lue Card instead. You as the player will easily know it's fake, but the plot of the quest demands you to try using the fake card first anyway.
• Theme Naming: The cities of Asuka and Amaterasu Server. They are themed after Four Symbols, the four guardian gods of the cardinal directions in Asian mythology. Asuka Server uses Japanese names for the gods, while Amaterasu Server uses the Chinese names.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Junior, Teddy, and Ivy also Lisa, Nick, and Keith.
• The Unfought: Destromon gets an impressive introduction, with its own cutscene, but since it's in the real world, you're never going anywhere near it. Your mission is to find the off-switch.
• Victory Pose. Yeaaah, go get them tiger!
• Video Game Geography / Eldritch Location: Mobius Desert. It's easy to get lost in it due to its seeming endlessness, the identicality of all its cells (except for NPCs), and unusual geometry. It is in fact a 4x4 toroidal grid, which may be exited only by moving in the right direction from the right cell.
• Visual Pun: Digitamamon as its name suggested, is an egg shaped Digimon. So obviously it have the most well-rounded stats amongst every digivolutions in the game. Internally, Digitamamon gets a bizzare stats increase of 30 in every main stats, 40 in every elemental tolerances, and 20 in every status resistances.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Persiamon. You can easily curbstomp all other tamer battles until her.
  • And before that, Byakko Leader.
• Wham Episode: At first the game seems like a standard Pokémon knockoff... then when you beat the Seiryu Leader, the exit to the real world gets shut down and you and everyone in the MMO are trapped.
  • Reaching the Asuka Western Sector, and meeting the A.O.A.
• You ALL Look Familiar. Used by the Guilmon gang to Mind Screw you over an important item.
• Your Size May Vary: In the opening FMV, Beelzemon and Gallantmon are roughly the same height while Armageddemon towers over both (which is, more or less, true to the anime). In the game, Beelzemon's small, Gallantmon fills half the screen, and Armageddemon is significantly shorter than Gallantmon.

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