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All images in this LP will include stupid filename jokes, because SomethingAwful still doesn't support images with alt-text. This is how I spend my free time. 
What is Digimon?
Let's pretend you live under a rock or in some obscure part of Europe, or are allergic to The Animes and would actually need to ask this question. Digimon is short for Digital Monsters, and they were basically designed as 'Tamagotchi for boys'. You got a little electronic keychain with a shapeless blob that would eat and poop all day and eventually turn into something stronger. (Theoretically, anyways. All I ever got was the slug.) This got an anime, and video games, and invested in as a competitor to Pokemon in the States, and eventually exploded into a whole giant thing.
And what's Digimon World?
Digimon World is a series of Digimon RPGs, a cult classic that tried to merge Digimon-raising with RPG combat. Every sequel after that changed the mechanics in some major way, and sometimes even the whole game genre. Some did well, some did poorly, but you'll find fans of almost all of them without looking too hard.
And then Digimon World: DS happened. Because, lo and behold, the series got what every monster raising game needs: portability. Now, you can make your midget t-rex fight an anthropomorphic shit while taking a regular one. The reception immediately jumped from "why not just play Monster Rancher?" to "yeah, actually, this is pretty ok". Still not as popular as Pokemon, but nothing ever will be.
And this is the sequel to that?
Yes. Well, one of them. Digimon World DS 2 was released as two different versions of the same game, because nerds will buy the exact same thing twice if it means collecting those three or four pretend monsters that they don't have yet. (See: Every Pokemon game ever.) The one we'll be playing is Digimon World: Dawn, which has the lion-furry Coronamon. If I'd decided to play Dusk instead, we'd get suupa kawaii moon princess desu Lunamon. Because of the weaknesses of some of the plot enemies, Dawn tends to be significantly easier.
Why are you playing it?
Because I hate myself. Because, for all its flaws, at times, this game can be pretty fun, and the system for raising and training mons is kind of ridiculously complex. Like, the mon-raising guide on GameFaqs is larger than all the walkthroughs for the game combined. And that's really where this game shines.
Doesn't mean I won't be bitching about the parts that don't, though! 
Why no audience participation?
Last time I tried to LP this game, I held formal votes about who to keep in the party in almost every section, and it added even more busywork to an already-grindy game. This time, for the sake of my sanity, I'll be making choices based on power and ease of training, while still keeping a decent variety of Digimon. However, I'll be keeping my fingers on the pulse of the thread, and any suggestions that come up that strike my particular fancy may end up influencing who I use.
No anime derails.
It doesn't matter how innocently and on-topic it starts, every discussion of the Digimon anime ever turns into a slapfight about which seasons of a children's television show shit on your grandmother's grave because they changed things from when you watched it. Feel free to discuss other games, or the keychains, or whatever. Just not the anime. That's what the actual Digimon thread is for.
Addendum: This includes the movies.