Digimon Power: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest New Monster Game!

by Hank Schlesinger

Overview

The hottest new craze in monster games is DigiMon--short for Digital Monsters. Players must hatch, raise, and train their DigiMons in order to battle with other DigiMon--and that's where the fun begins. The ultimate guide to this awesome game, DIGIMON POWER, in detailed, kid-friendly language, gives readers:

*All the fun facts about the DigiMon phenomenon, including the video game, trading cards, action figures, and the DigiMon TV show.

*In-depth monster facts, plus the coolest hints, tips, tricks, and secrets from kids just like you

*An exciting look at Japanese cartoon-anime, and television shows we might see in the future

*Hot info about other monster games, trading cards, and shows, like Tamagotchi, Pokemon, and Monster Rancher

*And much, much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466875852
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/15/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	257
File size:	235 KB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Hank Schlesinger is the author of DIGIMON POWER..

Read an Excerpt

Digimon Power

---

By Hank Schlesinger

St. Martin's Press

Copyright © 2000 Hank Schlesinger
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-7585-2

---

CHAPTER 1

THE MONSTER INTRODUCTION!

This story begins very simply. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away I was sitting in my favorite chair thinking serious thoughts. As you know, if you've read the other video game books, I'm a big-time serious writer with lots of very serious thoughts. A lot of people don't realize this because I do most of my big-time, important-writer thinking while watching cartoons and eating cold pizza. But the fact is, I'm such a big-time genius that I can do all three things at once: eat cold pizza, watch cartoons, and think big-time writer thoughts.

Anyway, I was deep into thinking, eating and watching when a brick came crashing through the window. I got to the window just in time to see the car zooming off down the block. Anyway, tied to the brick was a note that said, "Write Digimon Book. Now!" Plus, there was a coupon for $2.00 off from my next pizza delivery.

Now if you're not a big-time important writer like me, you might worry about a brick through the window and the pizza coupon. Truthfully, the first time it happened to me, I was kind of worried. But as my editor, Marc, explained, that's how all big-time important writers get their work assignments. And he said that most really, really important writers get paid with pizza coupons. It's all pretty standard stuff, really. All the editors are so busy, it's just easier to race around in fast cars throwing bricks through the windows of big-time important writers like me. Anyway, that's what Marc told me.

He also explained that since I mostly work in secret, that I should never ever call them again or come by their offices. And the last (and most important) rule is that I should never come by their homes, especially late at night with any ideas about how they might want to play board games. But that's another story ...

HAS THE WORLD GONE MONSTER CRAZY?

I know there's no such things as real monsters, but if they existed kids would be scared of them. Digimon aren't that scary.

— Scott

When I first heard about Pokémon being "pocket monsters," I thought that was really weird. Nobody ever heard of small monsters before. But they weren't like the monsters in horror movies. They were a lot different. The same with Digimon, which means digital monsters. Monster means something else in these games. The monsters aren't scary. They are more like weird creatures.

— Max

As anyone with way too much time on their hands knows, there's a whole bunch of monster TV shows, video games ... and trading cards out there. The thing that makes these monsters different from other monsters is that they're almost always cute ... I said almost always.

Well, back in my day, monsters were scary. Godzilla was scary. Mothra was scary. The Creature from the Black Lagoon was scary. And Frankenstein was really, really scary. Now the monsters aren't so very scary anymore. Kids collect and trade monsters with Pokémon.

Plus, the monsters are a lot smaller. If you've ever seen a Godzilla movie — either the old or the new one, then you know just how big they used to be. Today, monsters are small enough to fit in your pocket!

Pokémon — pocket monsters — were probably the first monsters that a lot of kids discovered. Pokémon is great. It's a great game and will probably get even better once the company introduces the Gold and Silver versions to the United States. But there are even more monster games, cards and shows out now for kids. Digimon and Monster Rancher are two others. And Tamagotchi (though not officially a monster) is still another one.

I think that all of these characters are pretty cool for a lot of different reasons. And, there's a lot of different stuff out there for all of them. Video games and trading cards, cartoons, action figures and battle figures. I'll talk about a lot of these in the book, though I won't be talking too much about Pokémon. I pretty much said everything I have to say about Pokémon in the last two books. This book is going to be mostly about Digimon, Monster Rancher, Dragonball and Tamagotchis. I'll throw some other stuff in, too. So read carefully. There will be a test on it next week.

Okay, so even though the note from my publisher wanted me to write about Digimon, I thought I'd write about all the other stuff out there, too. It's not that Digimon isn't a great game, but the other stuff is pretty great, too. So, here goes nothing.

ALL THE STUFF!

First off, I know how much monster stuff is out there. A lot! And secondly, I know that a lot of kids are arguing over which is best. I'm going to settle that once and for all — the best one is ... the one you like most.

It's true, there is no "best one." If you like Digimon best, then that's the best one — for you. If you like Pokémon best, the same is true. All of them are pretty cool and interesting for their own reasons. Remember, these are toys. I didn't say they are "only toys," but they are toys. So the best game is the game that gives you the most fun. And that's not going to be the same one for everybody. If that were true, then you would go into a toy store and there would be only one toy — say that toy was model dump trucks — you'd have a whole toy store filled with just model dump trucks. You'd walk away saying, "What a dumb toy store."

So, if you like Digimon and another kid likes Dragonball Z, it's no big deal. People have different tastes in toys. That's just the way it is.

Secondly, you don't have to pick one that you like best. If you like both Digimon and Dragonball Z about the same, that's fine, too.

For awhile it seemed like everybody — I mean everybody — liked Pokémon. And that was kind of true, but not really. First off, there was so much Pokémon stuff, that a lot of kids liked a lot of different stuff. Some kids just liked the video game. Other kids liked the trading cards. And some kids just liked running around in circles yelling, "Pokémon! Pokémon! Pokémon!" That's what made Pokémon so great, there was something for everyone, except maybe those kids who ran around in circles yelling. The whole point is that you should have fun. So it is okay to talk about what TV show and video game you like most and why you like it most, but it is definitely not okay to make someone feel bad for liking a particular show or saying that one show is definitely, absolutely better than the others.

WHO ARE THOSE KIDS, ANYWAY?

If you read any of my books about Pokémon, then you know that I listened to a lot of kids talk about their favorite games. They talked about Blue and Red cartridges, and trading cards and the television show. They wrote out stuff for me about Pokémon or they talked to me about the game. Then I took what they wrote and said and used it in the book.

This was a pretty good idea. First off, kids reading books sometimes get tired of old-guy authors going on and on and on about the games. Secondly, the kids who bought the book were interested to know what other kids all over the country said about Pokémon.

The question I was asked the most was, Who are those kids? So, I'll answer it the same way that I answered it in the last book — Hey, they're kids just like you. They are kids who like playing the game. Some of them finished the game and some of them didn't, but all of them loved Pokémon.

Some of these kids lived in my neighborhood. Some of them were kids whose parents I know. They're not famous kids or anything like that. Some of them were very good players and some of them were not-so-very good players. However, they all enjoyed Pokémon and that's what was important.

The kids in this book are no different. Just average, everyday kids who like the TV shows and video games.

I'd like to thank them all of their help. They really made the book better and I appreciate that. I also appreciate the help my friend Beverly provided. She interviewed a bunch of the kids for this book and the last book. Plus, she did a really great job.

A WARNING TO PARENTS

A lot has been made of the violence included in video games over the past year. As I have mentioned in previous books, video games are a fact of modern life. They are a part of childhood pop culture. In this, video games are no different than movies, home videos and music.

However, video games do have a much wider audience than ten or even five years ago. Games like Pokémon were designed specifically for children. Other games were never intended for use by children, just as some movies, music, books and every other entertainment medium contain products designed for mature audience.

To their credit, the video game manufacturers have acted responsibly in instituting a ratings system for their video games. Just as movie, music and other entertainment mediums have done, they are acknowledging that not all of their products are suitable for all age groups. Pokémon, for example, is rated E for Everyone under the ESRB rating system. Other games may be rated T for Teen audiences or M for Mature players.

However, with the current increase in cross-marketing and entertainment imports, the job of monitoring a child's intake has become even more difficult. Mainstream television does an adequate job editing shows aimed at a young viewership that might be deemed offensive by U.S. audiences. Cultural differences account for some of this. Indeed, there are even a few Pokémon episodes that were not seen as appropriate for young American audiences. One of these, for instance, featured a handgun.

However, cable television, comic books, home DVDs and VHS cassettes generally do not have the same standards employed in broadcast television. This is something that parents should be well aware of when monitoring a child's entertainment. Likewise, manga — Japanese comic books — are also difficult to judge. Again, this is due, in large part, to cultural differences.

Parents should also be aware that just because it "looks" like a comic book or a cartoon does not necessarily mean that it was ever intended for children. Comic books and cartoons — known as anime and manga in Japan — are produced for a wider range of audiences than in the U.S. Many of the comics and cartoons available in retail stores were never intended for children.

However, the final responsibility does fall on the parents. As a parent it is your job to monitor the video games, television shows and reading material your child consumes. We've come a long way since Space Invaders or Centipede, just as we've come a long way in terms of music, movies and television.

In video games, technology and audience demand have pushed the limits of what many parents would consider appropriate content for their child. And only a parent can make the final determination of what is appropriate for their child. That requires not only reading the rating on the box, but previewing the game as well.

WHAT'S NOT IN THIS BOOK

There's a lot of stuff in this book. There's stuff about TV shows and video games and even comics. There are episode guides and glossaries and game reviews. There are even a few jokes. I tried to put as much stuff in the book as I could.

What you won't find in this book are descriptions of very violent games, TV shows or comic books. Personally, I don't think that all of the violence in video games, comics and TV shows is really needed or all that cool. I know there's a lot of very violent games and shows out there, but there are also a ton of really fun shows and games that aren't violent. A lot of people seem to miss this fact. So, I've done my best to pay attention to the less violent shows and games. And guess what? They really are a lot of fun.

Another thing that isn't in this book are complete walk-throughs for the games. I know, a lot of books include the walk-throughs. But I've said it once and I'll say it again, the walkthroughs make the game less fun. Where's the fun in reading about a surprise you'll encounter in a game? What's so fun about that? A video game or a comic book or even a TV show should be surprising. When you think about it, all three of them tell stories in different ways. So, I think it is more fun to let the stories tell themselves and explore the worlds in video games — let yourself be surprised.

I have included tips and hints for the video games. Hopefully these won't ruin the games for you. I've also reviewed a lot of the games and comics and TV shows. I did this to let you know what they were about and whether you might like them or not. What I have tried to do is create the kind of book I'd like to read. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and maybe even learn something.

TAMAGOTCHI

I used to have a Tamagotchi original. When it first happened it was annoying going off every three seconds. The more it goes up the more you can leave it alone. I think I ended up taking out the batteries. I don't play with it anymore.

— David

You could say that it all started with an egg. Okay, that's not quite true, but it sounds good. The first digital pets were called tamagotchi. You say it like this: TAM-AHHH-GOTCHI. The name is Japanese and means "lovable egg." They were called "lovable eggs" because they were small, about the size of an egg and kind of shaped like an egg, only flatter.

According to the story, the Tamagotchi was invented when the designer saw a kids' cartoon about a young boy who wanted to take his pet turtle to school but couldn't. This lead him to think that it would be nice to have a pet you could take everywhere with you. And that's how they say Tamagotchis were born.

Anyway, the first time these eggs went on sale was in 1996 in Japan. Kids in Japan loved them. And when the eggs became available in the U.S., kids here loved them, too. These were the first "digital pets." If you compare them to Pokémon, they are pretty easy. There really wasn't a game that came with them. The whole idea was to keep them alive by feeding them, giving them medicine when they were sick and putting them to sleep when they were tired. And every once in awhile they would beep when they needed something.

The eggs then became available in the U.S. in 1997. And guess what? Yep, American kids — boys and girls — liked them just as much as Japanese kids. As a matter of fact, it was reported one store sold out of 10,000 of the little critters in one day.

The first ones were made by a company called Bandai (the word Bandai, by the way, is Japanese for the word "forever") Toys — the same folks who make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Digimon and a bunch of other stuff. However, after the first original Tamagotchis came out, a lot of other companies started making them, too.

These were very simple toys. They were small enough to fit in your pocket and had a tiny LCD screen like with your Game Boy, only smaller. I'm not sure why they were so popular, but they were. Even adults bought them.

I even bought one. Yes, I admit it. I bought a Tamagotchi and carried it around for a couple of weeks. And then it became annoying. I mean it was really annoying. Finally I did the unthinkable — I ignored it. Not only did I ignore it, but I put it in the bottom of my underwear drawer to ignore it. Say what you will about Tamagotchis, they did not die quietly. Brave little critters, they went out beeping. My own personal Tamagotchi went out beeping under a pile of underwear ...

The original Tamagotchis looked like, well, chickens. After all, you did "raise" them from an egg. However, after the fad caught on, other "virtual pets" started showing up in toy stores. The best one, I think, was Giga Pet, that had a large choice of different kinds of animals, like a cat and dinosaur.

Digital pets are still around, sort of. I saw one recently that was a mermaid and another that was a dinosaur-creature-thing. These were different from the original toys because they did different things. They were more like little video games, where the character did tricks or you could teach it things. I can't say for certain, but I think that they will always be around from now on.

Tamagotchis were really, really successful in Japan. A lot of kids really, really liked them. So, the next thing was a sequel, right? Okay, so the game they brought out next you've probably never seen because it wasn't sold in the U.S.

Called "Angel's Tamagotchi," kids had to raise a ghost that turned into an angel if they took care of it the right way. However, if they didn't take care of their ghost, then it turned into a devil. Japanese kids loved that game, too. But nobody was really sure if American kids and their parents would like it, so it was never sold in the U.S.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Digimon Power by Hank Schlesinger. Copyright © 2000 Hank Schlesinger. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright Notice,
Dedication,
Acknowledgments and Other Stuff,
THE MONSTER INTRODUCTION!,
HAS THE WORLD GONE MONSTER CRAZY?,
ALL THE STUFF!,
WHO ARE THOSE KIDS, ANYWAY?,
A WARNING TO PARENTS,
WHAT'S NOT IN THIS BOOK,
TAMAGOTCHI,
WHAT'S A VIRTUAL PET, ANYWAY?,
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A VIRTUAL PET AND A REAL PET,
IF THEY WERE SOOOO ANNOYING, THEN WHY WERE THEY POPULAR?,
IF THEY WERE SO POPULAR, THEN WHY CAN'T I BUY ONE NOW?,
SO, YOU MISSED OUT ON THE TAMAGOTCHI FAD? HA! HA! TOUGH LUCK!,
GAME BOY TAMAGOTCHI TIPS, TRICKS AND HINTS,
TAMAGOTCHI ON THE NET,
AND ANOTHER THING!,
ANIME,
BIG, BIG HUGE EYES,
WEIRD, WEIRD HAIR,
SOME OF THE STORIES ARE STRANGE,
AN ANIME NOTE TO PARENTS,
AN ANIME GLOSSARY,
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER ...,
DIGIMON THE TV SHOW,
DIGIMON EPISODE GUIDE,
MEET THE DIGIKIDS,
HANDY-DANDY FULL NAME GUIDE,
MEET THE MAIN BADDIES,
SOME INTERESTING STUFF YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR,
SO, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?,
FIVE DUMB (BUT TRUE!) DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIGIMON AND POKÉMON,
GADGETS, GIZMOS AND DIGIVICES!,
WHAT DOES "DIGITAL" MEAN, ANYWAY?,
TEN STUPIDEST DIGIMON QUESTIONS (EVER)!,
YEA! HOORAY! DIGIMON TRADING CARDS!,
THE CARDS,
IS ONE SET OF CARDS MORE VALUABLE THAN THE OTHER?,
ARE COLLECTOR CARDS AND STRATEGY CARD GAMES BAD?,
DRAGONBALL Z,
MAIN CHARACTERS,
DRAGONBALL GT,
THE GREAT DBZ DEBATE!,
DBZ TRADING CARDS AND OTHER STUFF,
THE VIDEOS,
THE COMICS, UH, MANGA,
A NOTE TO PARENTS,
MONSTER RANCHER,
THE TV SHOW,
MONSTER RANCHER EPISODE GUIDE,
THE MONSTER RANCHER VIDEO GAMES,
MONSTERS, MONSTERS AND MORE MONSTERS!,
STATS YOU NEED TO KNOW,
SPECIALISTS,
CARE AND TRAINING,
YOU NEED THESE THINGS!,
TRICKS AND TIPS,
MONSTER RANCHER 2,
WHAT'S THE SAME ...,
SO, WHAT IS DIFFERENT?,
TIPS FOR MONSTER RANCHER 2,
MONSTERS ON THE INTERNET,
BASIC INTERNET RULES,
AND REMEMBER ...,
THE VIDEO GAME (SORT OF),
MAX AND WILLY'S ACTION FIGURE ARENA (ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED NON-EDUCATIONAL),
... AND HERE'S SOME MORE ANIME YOU MAY LIKE,
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND TOO MUCH IS ... BAD,
THE END,
St. Martin's Paperbacks Titles by Hank Schlesinger,
Copyright,