Prior to the full retail launch of Nintendo 3DS game Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters Cyber Arena, players will get a chance to dig into a free-to-play version in Japan. Bandai Namco announced details for what's technically a demo, but doesn't have a limit on how many times it can be played. It hits the Japanese eShop on September 21, and will feature the opening stages of the retail version.

Competitive play will also be enabled in the free-to-play version, and players will be able to acquire items and build a potentially powerful deck to transfer to the full game.

Here's a look at the game's male and female heroes, along with their online-app-based Appmon, Onmon:

And Naoto, your childhood rival. His Appmon is named Offmon, and is appropriately based on offline apps.

More shots from the game:

Via Siliconera

-------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every week at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.