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              Justin's Page

I have a lot of love for virtual pets! And, before you ask: yes, they do still make them. Below are some basic breakdowns of the various versions of Digimon virtual pets that I've copied and pasted into Discord about a hundred times to explain to newcomers. My hope is that in the future I can just direct people here to answer questions about the different versionf of them available.

Currently this is not an exhaustive listing of the models available nor does it say much in the way of how well I do or don't like each model. That will change over time as I continue to work on the site as I have a lot to say on that front.

What's a Digimon? What's a Virtual Pet? What's Broadband?

Virtual pets hit the market in the late 90's and quickly entered the popular culture. In America it was a bit of a flash in the pan with excitement spanning a few years before dropping off in the face of other new tech advancements in the early aughts.

During this time the main player was Bandai's Tamagotchi, which was a cute little 16x16 sprite that ran on an RTC with a non-backlit LCD display. You'd feed it, play with it, and take care of it until it croaked. It was a little pet, but a virtual one. Get it?

Digimon released shortly thereafter as a "boy" version (remember this was when all toys must have explicitly gendered versions). The difference, in addition to more aggressive marketing and grungier looking creatures, was that Digimon could battle one another. Care and battling would change which evolutionary path you ended up on. In America we only got a couple versions of Digimon, but in Japan they released many, many more variants.

Thankfully, Bandai continues to release Digimon to this day (with some breaks in the intervening time). While some of the newer, more full-featured devices remain Japan exclusive (more on that later) there are a few that have come to Western shores and are readily available on sites like Amazon.

Easily Obtainable English Devices

For evolution requirements, detailed operation instructions, and/or version exclusives always check the Digimon Hatchery at https://humulos.com/digimon/. It’s the single best and most complete Digimon guide available.

Digimon 20th Anniversary (DM20)
The DM20 is an anniversary device, which means it compiles all of the eggs from the original 5 brick-style Digimon virtual pets into one device (along with several others). This means the roster is very large, which is great if you like having lots of different types of Digimon available to you. Different colors have different exclusive eggs, but for the most part the rosters are very similar and they all have the Version 1 through Version 5 eggs.

If you’re nostalgic for the original 1997 Digimon then this will have the same egg and evolutionary lines that you had back in the day (with some minor changes). Originally only the V1 was released in America.

New additions to the DM20 compared to the original include (but aren’t limited to):

The DM20 is a great device and can often be found at pretty steep discounts. While it does have some issues, such as a very high poop rate, it’s a great introduction to modern vpets that also brings a ton of nostalgia to the table.

Digimon X (DMX)
The DMX is *not* an anniversary device, which means it has a much smaller roster compared to the DM20. Like the original vpet lines, it is being released in waves. The DMX 1 and DMX 2 have both been localized into English and are available for purchase from Amazon and other retailers. Their rosters are quite different, both between the different waves and the different *colors* within the waves. So if you’re just planning on getting a single device then be sure to check the rosters out and see which one you like the most.
The big addition in the DMX is the RPG mode. Digimon can now gain levels, use special items, go on quests via the colosseum, and have random encounters that pop up through out the day. Additionally, various evolutions are unlocked by going through quest mode and having random encounters. This means that the DMX is a much more goal-oriented and active device, with lots of different things to do. It’s much more of an actual game compared to the DM20.

Other notable features include:


The DMX is a great device if you want something more active and involved than the more passive DM20, and can be found discounted on Amazon frequently. There were some productions issues with the DMX early on that lead to swapped rosters on some devices by mistake, so check the versions/exclusives page on the Hatchery site to be sure what you’re getting because they’re correctly displayed there.

Japanese Devices

While Digimon vpets were basically discontinued in America for a long time, they just kept right on trucking in Japan. Thus, there are several devices available in Japanese that still haven’t released in American markets (and may never). In general they’re more expensive and harder to obtain, but they’re still very easy to use since they include very, very little Japanese. Personally, I recommend starting with an English device, but if you decide you want to dive deeper then you’ll see the following floating around out there. I’ll briefly cover them here for the sake of completion.

Digimon 20th Ver. Revival
This is basically a revamped DM20 with fixed poop frequency, a freezer function, and some other small bells and whistles. While it’s definitely an improvement over the DM20, the higher price tag required to import one makes it a difficult sell. Worth checking out if you love the DM20, but absolutely cannot stand how much poop it generates or demand a freezer function.

Pendulum 20th Anniversary
The Pendulum was the vpet that replaced the standard brick style Digimon in the early 2000s. Like the original vpets they also had several releases, and like the DM20 this is a compilation device of all the various classic pendulums that came out.
It’s notable because it’s easily hacked with some minor soldering, and once complete it’s possible to switch the device to English and unlock every egg from every version of the Pen20 on a single device. Unfortunately, this means it’s a very, very sought-after device so prices are high ($150 and up).

Digimon X3
The Digimon X line has had two English releases so far, but there is a third wave that has yet to release here. The hope is that an English version is announced sometime in the next year or so, so it's not advisable to pick up the comparatively high priced Japanese versions just yet.

Pendulum Z
The Pendulum Z series, which is comprised of six devices released in two waves, is basically the DMX but with a pendulum function. Like the original Pendulums, the eggs on each device are very specifically themed (green one is forest creatures, blue one is ocean creatures, etc…). These are the newest devices released at the time of writing and can be pretty easily found still, with import options from Amazon Japan ranging around the $40-$60 range.

Classic and other devices

There are still *lots* of other types of Digimon vpets out there released over the years. If you’re after anything not on this guide (or want more info on the things discussed here) then you should probably check out the Digitama Hatchery Discord: https://discord.gg/digimon
People there are extremely well-versed in Digimon and very helpful. It’s also a good place to get directions to any import devices you might care to track down.

Fan Devices You're Likely to Hear About

Acom/Dcom
The acom and dcom are both fan-made devices that allow your Digimon to communicate with a PC or Android phone. This allows you to unlock version exclusives that require connecting with other devices or trade codes to battle people via the internet.

The acom in particular is easy to order (or build if you’re handy with an Arduino) from various makers in the Digimon ONL1NE Discord (https://discord.gg/jV7rghYaME). There are some fancier versions available on sites like Etsy, and prices for an acom/dcom usually run between $30 and $50. Their operation can be a bit complex, so it’s best to do plenty of research before picking one up.

Wificom

The Wificom is a newer project compared to the acom/dcom and it does what it sounds like: interfaces with your phone/computer via wifi to allow you to load different codes to perform different functions with your Digimon such as battle and trading.