Casino Kid and Digimon Video Games Crossover

“It took a while before it really grew on me,” Ruberg says. My friend and fellow Digimon podcaster Jeff Ruberg sought out the show specifically to get something “like Pokémon” but soon found himself preferring Digimon. Seeing a little kid nearly dying at the hands of a giant monster and then getting saved by a fire-breathing dinosaur was unlike anything I’d ever seen on a Saturday morning.įox Kids viewers all around the world were having similar experiences. I didn’t even know that this was Digimon yet, and I had missed all of the setup, but I was already invested in this moment.

Tai was being attacked by Shellmon and Agumon Digivolved to Greymon to save him. Who can blame them? But I’ll never forget the first time I saw Digimon. I immediately thought, “Well, the premise and name of this show sure do sound familiar.” Everyone thought Digimon was just an egregious Pokémon knockoff. I still remember the first time I saw a brief commercial for Digimon. Digimon wasn’t just our favorite show - it was a lifestyle. But you could also find Tai and Agumon on your school supplies, coloring books, lunchboxes, even your bedsheets. Saban Entertainment and Bandai America wasted no time licensing the Digimon brand to whoever wanted it. Perhaps more important than the anime, however, was the massive merchandise push that came with it. They were each partnered with their own Digimon companions to aid them in the adventure to come. The series followed seven young kids who went to camp for the summer and wound up living in a digital world. The first part of the story of Digimon and its fans begins with the anime’s premiere in 1999. But this is not the story of Digimon’s toys, video games, manga, or even the anime.

This is where our story of Digimon really begins. That same year, the anime premiered in America on Fox Kids. The toys rose in popularity over the next few years as more versions of the virtual pet were released alongside a video game, a manga series, and eventually a TV anime series in 1999. We just didn't realize it at the time.ĭigimon first came into existence in 1997 as a spinoff to Bandai’s Tamagotchi targeted to boys who loved battling monsters more than cute animals. It told a story that mattered to us and would speak to us for the rest of our lives. Little did we know, it was so much more than that.

When we were kids, Digimon was another in a sea of franchises about monsters trying to sell cards and toys to us.

Casino Kid and Digimon Video Games Crossover