Digimon celebrates its 20th anniversary with the re-release of an updated Digivice this year

Bandai Namco is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Digimon by re-releasing the virtual pets this year with an updated version of the Digivice this summer.

The new iteration of the creatures alongside its digital gadget referred to as the "Digital Monster Ver. 20th" packs in some great features that will have old fanboys happy with nostalgia. In a press release for the upcoming rollout, Bandai Namco released some information of what gamers can expect when they finally get their hands on the device. This includes a slew of special Digimons that have appeared for their 10th and 15th anniversary such as Digimon, Dracomon and Hackmon. Meanwhile an additional 20th-anniversary Digimon, Zubamon, will also make its debut. There is a total of 154 appearing Digimons, and 134 of them are trainable.

Speaking of training, the improved version of the game also allows gamers to train two Digimons simultaneously for the first time, meaning that not only will the trainer be allowed to save time by doing sessions almost at the same time, but he/she can also watch the two Digimons befriend each other. Battles, meanwhile, get some updates on its own. For starters, the tag battle being able to "copy and receive a Digimon a friend has trained to tag up and fight with the Digimon you trained."

"Digital Monster Ver. 20th" is scheduled to roll out in Japan on June 3 while no word as of yet regarding its international release has been in the cards right now. Needless to say, it is safe to expect that if the phenomena brings in enough interest in its local country, Bandai Namco can eventually go ahead and launch it worldwide.

Meanwhile, other celebratory releases for the two-decade anniversary of the Digimon includes Toei Animation reviving the original show starting with a six-part film called "Digimon Adventure tri." The series is already scheduled to release the fourth film next month but for those who want to catch up, below is the official synopsis for the overall arc.

"Following Meicoomon's rampage and the Reboot, Tai (Taichi) and the others leave behind a distressed Meiko and head to the Digital World. But the partner Digimon that they've reunited with have lost their memories. They once again try to forge new connections, but only Biyomon is wary, telling her partner Sora that she doesn't know anything about the past. While Sora normally thinks of others even before herself, she now has distrust in her heart. As Sora stands heartbroken, Tai and Matt (Yamato) cannot find the words to help her."