Digimon Adventure: Cathode Tamer

Cathode Tamer and its counterpart version, Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer, are the first in a series of Digimon video games starring Akiyama Ryo and Millenniumon. The two games were later ported to the as the English-language compilation Digimon Anode/Cathode Tamer: Veedramon Version. =Story=
 * See also: Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer

On New Year's Eve 1999, Agumon seeks out a child from the Real World to help save the Digital World. The only child to respond to Agumon's call is Akiyama Ryo who, as he explores his new computer, grabs the Digivice that Agumon presents to him and is taken into the Digital World, and arrives in File Island.

After an encounter with a rampaging Shellmon, Agumon and Gennai explain the situation to Ryo. Millenniumon&mdash;a Digimon created when two Digimon, Mugendramon and Chimairamon, fused together in order to survive after being defeated by Yagami Taichi&mdash;Millenniumon has taken over the Digital World and disrupted the flow of time, causing evil Digimon who had previously been destroyed by the Chosen Children to be resurrected as its servants. All eight of the Chosen Children have been taken captive by Millenniumon's forces, as have their partner Digimon, and Agumon is the only one to have escaped.

Ryo agrees to assist Agumon to stop Millenniumon. The group comes up with a plan to gather an army of allied Digimon to fight back and chip away at the forces under Millenniumon's influence, to weaken Millenniumon's dark power. After clearing out a cave dungeon north of the Village of Beginnings, Gennai entrusts Taichi's Digivice to Ryo, so that he can use the one power that he is able to access, its "holy power," to turn enemy Digimon into allies. As Ryo progresses and clears out more dungeons, he diminishes Millenniumon's dark power and clears away obstacles between himself and reaching Millenniumon. Once he defeats Devimon, he frees two of the Chosen Children&mdash;Izumi Kōshirō and Tachikawa Mimi&mdash;from captivity and, before he and Mimi return to the Real World, Kōshirō gives him his Digimon Analyzer.

After Devimon, Gennai instructs Ryo to travel to Server Continent, where Millenniumon is amassing evil Digimon, via a gate that he has constructed. In Server, he encounters Pico Devimon, who now serves Millenniumon, fights and defeats the resurrected Etemon, Vamdemon and Piemon, and frees five more of the Chosen Children and enables them to return to the Real World. Upon defeating Piemon, a portal appears behind his dungeon, enabling Ryo to travel to a temple on a floating island where Millenniumon resides. Inside the temple, he and his Digimon face Mugendramon, then Millenniumon himself.

When Millenniumon is defeated, Taichi is released from captivity and reunites with Agumon. Taichi and the Digimon say their farewells to Ryo, and Ryo leaves the Digital World and reawakens at his desk. His parents notice that something about his demeanour has changed.

=Gameplay= Digimon Adventure: Cathode Tamer is a. As Akiyama Ryo, the player travels to dungeons around File Island and Server Continent and, within each dungeon, completes a series of turn-based strategy battles on each floor of the dungeon to clear it and unlock the next dungeon.

Battle
In each floor's battle, the player moves their team of allied Digimon (maximum of 3 at a time) moves across a battlefield grid to defeat all enemy Digimon (also a maximum of three at a time). Each Digimon, on both sides, takes turns to move and attack.

A Digimon must move into an adjacent space to an opponent Digimon in order to initiate an attack against it. Once the initiating Digimon has made their attack, the opponent has an opportunity to counter-attack. It is possible for both attacks and counter-attacks to miss.

When initiating an attack, any Digimon, allied or enemy, has a random chance to inflict a critical hit for increased damage. This is signified by the name of one of their attack techniques popping up on-screen, with an alert sound effect, during the attack. Critical hits can still miss.

A Digimon, allied or enemy, may also use its turn to perform a Variable Move. Doing so prevents them from moving around the map in that turn, but unlike attacks, their range is unlimited, and they do not miss by chance.

The player may use items, but doing so consumes the current Digimon's turn.

When the player wins a battle, they are rewarded with Bits (the game's currency) and up to three random items. If there are more floors to go in the dungeon, the player is prompted to continue, retreat, or save the game.

Digimon
The total group of allied Digimon which are currently traveling with the player, and which can be called for battles, is called the stock. The stock's capacity is limited; at the start of the game, a maximum of 10 Digimon can be in the stock at a time. Stock capacity can be expanded as the player progresses through the game, by purchasing HD space increases from Nanimon's shop; the maximum stock limit after purchasing all increases is 30.

Stats
A Digimon's abilities and performance in battles are governed by the following stats:

All allied Digimon of the same species will ordinarily have the exact same base stats when they are first received from the Server Room. However, there is a small random chance that upon receiving a Digimon at the Server Room, Nanomon will remark that "something wondrous" has occurred which has caused the new Digimon to bear "great power", indicating that the Digimon has special potential for stat increases.

Each time that a battle in a dungeon is won, there is a chance that the AP, PP, or VP of ally Digimon who fought in that dungeon may increase slightly. This is described by the game as "leveling up," although it is not tied to any visible levels. Stat increases vary depending on "how you fight," meaning the stats grow from seeing use; using Variable Moves increases VP, attacking directly increases AP, and taking direct attacks increases PP. Normally, the furthest that AP, PP and VP can increase is [(stat's base value) × 2], but if Nanomon identified a Digimon as bearing "great power," then that Digimon's maximum possible AP, PP and VP stats are instead [(stat's base value) × 3].

The three main Traits primarily affect a Digimon's mobility, including both its raw MP and how it handles different types of terrain, as follows:


 * Land: Maximum movement range is reduced by 1 when crossing water terrain. Generally has mediocre MP, but is an all-rounder.
 * Ocean: Attack power is increased when positioned on water terrain. Maximum movement range is reduced by 1 when crossing land terrain. Generally has mediocre MP.
 * Sky: Can cross any terrain without being impeded. Generally has high MP, but otherwise mediocre stats.

Partner Digimon
The player starts the main story with only Agumon as an allied Digimon.

When the player clears each of the first three boss dungeons for the first time, they will release other Chosen Children and their respective partner Digimon from captivity, at which point the partner Digimon will become allies as well:
 * Tentomon and Palmon join after clearing Devimon's dungeon (File Island #4)
 * Patamon and Piyomon join after clearing Etemon's dungeon (Server Continent #2)
 * Gabumon, Tailmon and Gomamon join after clearing Vamdemon's dungeon (Server Continent #5)

During the main story, the partner Digimon are permanent allies and cannot be deleted by the Server Room's "Return a Digimon" menu. In the post-game, this restriction is lifted, and the player may also encounter and recruit more Digimon of the partners' species in the fourth and final hidden dungeon.

Recruiting Digimon
Other than the partner Digimon, the player can acquire new allied Digimon from the Server Room, by choosing from the list of available Digimon in the "Receive a Digimon" menu. Upon acquisition, Server Room Digimon may be given a nickname.

If the player no longer wants a Digimon in their stock, they may use the "Return a Digimon" menu at the Server Room to remove it. If this is done, the Digimon is effectively gone forever, and is not re-added to the list of available Digimon.

Digimon become available at the Server Room under two circumstances. First, some Digimon are automatically added to the Server Room after clearing certain dungeons.

Secondly, the player is able to recruit enemy Digimon to their side using the Digivice key item, which is awarded to them after clearing the first File Island dungeon. Doing requires spending the Digivice's "holy power" points, which accumulate as the player fights and defeats enemy Digimon. During battles, the Digivice can be used from the Item menu to attempt to convert one enemy Digimon. If successful, the Digimon is sent to the Server Room and added to the "Receive a Digimon" list, and the Digivice's points are reduced to 0; if unsuccessful, the battle continues with no effect on the enemy, and the Digivice's points are not spent.

The number of Digivice points required to successfully convert an enemy depends on both its Generation and its Version.

The only Digimon who are of a higher Generation than Adult are the seven bosses (sans Devimon).

In the post-game, the third and fourth hidden dungeons that open up on File Island allow the player to recruit both the bosses and additional copies of the partner Digimon. Both groups require far more Digivice points to recruit than other Digimon, as follows:

Evolution
Since Ryo is unable to use the Digivice for the purpose of evolution due to not being its true owner, evolution is not a significant mechanic in the game aside from Variable Moves. However, three Digimon will evolve/transform into other Digimon species when traded at the Penmon Trading House:


 * Otamamon → Gekomon
 * Numemon → Scumon
 * Bakemon → Soulmon

Trading is the only way to obtain Gekomon, Scumon and Soulmon.

Digimon Analyzer

 * Main article: Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer and Cathode Tamer/Digimon Analyzer

The Digimon Analyzer is a key item that the player receives from Izumi Kōshirō after freeing him, by clearing Devimon's dungeon on File Island. It provides profiles of all Digimon, both playable/enemy and Variable Moves, in the game.

A given playable Digimon must be obtained, or a given Variable Move must be learned, before its Digimon Analyzer profile may be read. Since certain Digimon are only available in one version, completing the Digimon Analyzer requires trading between versions.

Completing the Digimon Analyzer grants access to the fourth and final hidden dungeon, in which the player may battle and recruit duplicates of the Chosen Children's partner Digimon.

Variable Moves
Variable Moves are special technique in which a Digimon briefly evolves into another Digimon to perform a single Special Move. Both allied and enemy Digimon are able to perform Variable Moves.

Using Variable Moves consumes a Digimon's VP. If a Digimon does not have enough VP to cover a Variable Move's cost, then the move cannot be used.

Unlike conventional attacks, Attack Variables are able to target any opponent anywhere on the map, regardless of distance.

Variable Moves are divided into three categories:
 * Attack Inflict damage on, depending on the Variable Move, one or all opposing Digimon. Some Attack Variables target specific Digimon Traits to inflict greater damage, while simultaneously being weaker in effect against Digimon of opposing Traits.
 * Defense Grants buffs to one or all Digimon of the same allegiance. Includes DP recovery, increases to stats, restoration of debuffed stats, protection from damage, and other beneficial effects.
 * Assist Inflicts debuffs on one or all opposing Digimon. Includes stat decreases, prevention of using items or Variables, and other disruptive effects.

Allied Digimon learn new Variable Moves automatically during battles when certain criteria are met. When a Digimon first has "an epiphany" for a new Variable Move, it immediately use the move for the first time once, with no VP cost. Each Digimon can know a maximum of five Variable Moves; if they already know five when they learn a new Variable, the player is asked to forget a previous Variable if they wish to keep the new Variable.

The main determining factor of learning new Variable Moves is the player's party of Digimon in a battle. More often than not, if a combination of specific Digimon species, or a combination of Digimon who have a particular trait or traits in common, are together in the battle, then they will be able to learn specific Variable Moves. Relevant traits include:


 * Version Pairing Digimon whose Version is the same virtual pet together will often yield a Variable Move from the same virtual pet.
 * Generation Pairing Digimon of the same Generation together can result in particular Variable Moves; usually, both Generation and Version in common are required.
 * Trait Pairing Digimon of the same Trait will often yield a similarly-themed Variable Move.
 * Backstory For example, pairing the partner Digimon together will frequently result in learning Variable Moves of their evolved forms from Digimon Adventure.

The NPCs in the Village of Beginnings' Digimon Houses provide hints about Digimon combinations for learning Variable Moves.

When a Digimon repeatedly uses a Variable Move that it already knows, there is a small chance that their allies present in the same battles will also learn that Variable.

Facilities
The game's main hub is the Village of Beginnings, which offers various facilities to assist the player. In addition, there are numerous NPC Digimon in the Village, both inside "Digimon Houses" and standing outside, who give new hints about gameplay mechanics, and party combinations to obtain Variable Moves, as the player progresses.

Village square
 * Penmon Trading House (top-left) Operated by Penmon. Facilitates linking with Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer or other copies of Cathode Tamer to exchange Digimon via Link Cable. See Connectivity section.
 * Nanimon Shop (bottom-left) Operated by Nanimon. Offers recovery items for purchase, as well as HD expansions. The player may also sell unwanted items to Nanimon for Bit (the game's currency).

North of village square
 * Server Room (left) Operated by Nanomon. Facilitiates managing allied Digimon, including both receiving new ones when available (Receive a Digimon) and deleting unwanted ones (Return a Digimon). See Recruiting Digimon section.
 * Hint Tree (center) The player may read fallen leaves on which gameplay hints are written. More are added as the game progresses, for a maximum of eight.
 * Ancient Colosseum (path at far right) A Digimon Pendulum embedded in a mountain face. Facilitates linking with Digimon virtual pets, via the Digital Monster Link Adapter. Unlocked by completing one practice battle at Piccolo Battle Lesson. See Connectivity section.

East of village square
 * Gennai's House Gennai provides advice on the player's next objective. The player also returns here whenever they clear a dungeon or lose a battle.

South of village square
 * Gate Constructed by Gennai and operated by Toy Agumon. Transports the player from File Island to Server Continent. Added after clearing Devimon's dungeon.

West of village square
 * Leomon Colosseum (left) Operated by Leomon. Facilitiates linking with other players for multiplayer battles. See Connectivity section.
 * Piccolo Battle Lesson (right) Operated by Piccolomon. Allows the player to play practice battles with pre-set teams of ally Digimon. Four themed battles may be played: "Standard"  (the player is given a team that covers all Traits), "Terrestrial Digimon", "Aerial Digimon" , and "Underwater Digimon"  (the player is given a team comprised only of, respectively, Land Digimon, Sky Digimon and Ocean Digimon).

Dungeons
For most dungeon floors, a different battle map is randomly chosen each time that the player attempts the dungeon.

Connectivity
Cathode Tamer can link up to Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer and other copies of Cathode Tamer for multiplayer modes via the WonderSwan's Link Cable. These multiplayer modes are accessed at the Penmon Trading House and Leomon Colosseum.

Penmon Trading House facilities:
 * Log In -> Trade Both players send each other one Digimon.
 * Log In -> Upload One player temporarily loans out one Digimon to the Install menu in the other player's Trading House. The Digimon will disappear from the Uploading player's game for a period of time, after which it will automatically reappear their Server Room, without any further connection to the other player required.
 * Install The player selects a Digimon that has been Uploaded to the player's game, to borrow for use in one dungeon. After clearing or leaving the dungeon, or in the event that the power is turned off in the interim, the borrowed Digimon will disappear from the game and cannot be Installed again, unless the player links with the other player and has them Upload it again.
 * Remove　 The player returns a Digimon that has previously been Installed.

Leomon Colosseum facilities:


 * VS Battle Initiates a multiplayer battle between two players.

Cathode Tamer can also connect to two-prong Digimon virtual pets and other LCD games using the Digital Monster Link Adapter peripheral. Connectivity with LCD devices is accessed at the Ancient Colosseum. Cathode Tamer is known to be compatible with:


 * The following Japanese two-prong virtual pets and LCD devices:
 * Digital Monster
 * Digimon Analyzer


 * The following Bandai America/Bandai Asia two-prong virtual pets and LCD devices:
 * Digivice Toy (International)

Ancient Colosseum facilities:
 * Start Initiates a battle with a virtual pet, after the player selects one Digimon from their stock. The battle follows the traditional virtual pet battle rules.
 * Analyze Transmits one Digimon species of the player's choosing to the Digimon Analyzer toy, so that the Analyzer displays its profile on that Digimon. Cathode Tamer restricts some Digimon species from being sent to the Analyzer, primarily (but not exclusively) blocking those who are not present in the Analyzer. A Digimon species also cannot be sent until the player has unlocked its entry in the game's own Digimon Analyzer (i.e. a playable Digimon must have already been obtained, and a given Variable Move must have already been learned).

Differences from

 * Cathode Tamer and Anode Tamer each have several exclusive Digimon which cannot be encountered in the opposite version. To obtain these, players must trade for the version exclusives with the opposite version. Some Variable Moves also require Digimon from the opposite version to be learned, and Digimon from the opposite version are required to complete the Digimon Analyzer.
 * The different versions also have different dungeon enemy rosters, including for boss battles, to take this into account.
 * The identity of the Digimon who attacks Ryo in the opening cutscene, and of the low-level Digimon who assists it in the non-player-controlled battle against Agumon that follows, differs between versions. In Cathode Tamer, the attacker is Shellmon, and it is assisted by a Botamon.
 * In accordance with the difference in available Digimon rosters between versions, each version has a different one of Millenniumon's two constituent Digimon act as the penultimate boss on floor 11 of the final dungeon. In Cathode Tamer, it is Mugendramon.
 * The first two of the post-game hidden dungeons have totally different Digimon rosters and themes depending on the version. In Cathode Tamer, hidden dungeon #1 features Child Digimon, and hidden dungeon #2 features Ocean Digimon. Additionally, as usual, Mugendramon's appearance in hidden dungeon #3 is Cathode Tamer-exclusive.
 * Cathode Tamer adds the "Analyze" feature to the Ancient Colosseum. This feature was not present at all in Anode Tamer.

=Characters=

=Obtainable Digimon=
 * Main article: Digimon Adventure: Anode Tamer and Cathode Tamer/Digimon Analyzer

Variable Moves
=Production= A promotional card depicting Millenniumon was enclosed in first production run copies of Cathode Tamer.

Digimon Adventure: Campaign Limited Version
Digimon Adventure: Campaign Limited Version (デジモンアドベンチャー 限定バージョン Dejimon Adobenchā Kyanpēn-gentei bājon) was a limited-edition release of Cathode Tamer that was distributed as a prize in Bandai's "Digimon Adventure 2000 Campaign" sweepstakes. Between late October 1999 and mid-January 2000, by purchasing eligible Bandai Digital Monster or Digimon Adventure merchandise priced at ¥500 or more, individuals could enter the draw to win one of 500 copies of the Campaign Limited Version; separate draws were also held for a complete (at the time) Digital Monster Card Game collection, and a limited edition Super Evolving Metal Greymon toy.

The Campaign Limited Version makes the event-exclusive V-dramon available to the player. Other than V-dramon and its packaging, this edition is identical to the standard edition of Cathode Tamer.

=Additional Information=

=External Links=
 * Digimon Adventure: Cathode Tamer on the WonderSwanWeb official site (JP) (Archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
 * Digimon Adventure: Cathode Tamer manual on the Internet Archive
 * Digimon Adventure: Cathode Tamer on GameFAQs
 * Yesterday: Wonderswan