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This thread has been linked to the game 'Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'.
There are many games that can assume the title of being a "cult classic". Games such as Ico and Suikoden, while not selling millions of copies have a very rabid, dedicated fanbase of gamers that were smart enough to pick up these games before they went out of print and started fetching 50 plus pounds on Ebay. (Although in both these cases the developers have seen the demand for them and released a new batch of Suikoden 3 and Ico copies to appease the gamers demanding a second chance to buy these great games)
However, in 2003, the very definition of a cult classic arrived from the Nippon Ichi Software house. Atlus, who have a reputation for taking obscure Japanese titles that wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day away from Japan and bringing them over to North America and Europe, brought Disgaea to Western shores to critical acclaim. This was a game that had something for both the casual and hardcore gaming crowd, a funny story full of endearing characters and the ability to power level to your hearts content. Those in the know and who weren't blinded by Final Fantasy went crazy over it and for very good reason, of which you'll see in this review.
The tagline said *Giving RPG's a serious kick in the ass* and it did just that.
Story - The majority of the story takes place in an area called the Netherworld. This is another name for hell, a place for all the bad people and demons of the universe to hang out. King Krichevskoy, the Overlord (ruler) of the Netherworld had died 2 years previously by choking on a black pretzel (hmmm sound familiar?) and the demon world is full of cocky, confident demons trying to claim the throne for themselves.
It is here we join the story with the main female character of the game, Etna, a feisty female demon also secretly out to claim the throne for herself, trying to...."wake up"....the sleeping Prince Laharl, the king's son, from his coffin. Of course being the Netherworld instead of using an alarm clock or just telling him to wake up, Etna goes at the coffin with a variety of implements such as drills, flame throwers and sickles but with no luck. On the verge of giving up, Laharl finally wakes from his 2 year slumber to ask who would dare disturb his nap. Etna tells him about the demise of the King and the self-confident and evil Laharl decides he is the heir to the throne and goes in search for the King's mark that will confirm him as the next ruler of the Netherworld.
Unfortunately for Laharl it's not as simple as that, in his way of the throne are other demons with the same goal and he'll have to dispose of them. These however, are nothing compared to the real test he has to face along the way, a trainee angel called Flonne, sent from heaven to assassinate the King, obviously they didn't get the memo. Flonne is no assassin though and bumps into Laharl telling him of her mission. Hearing of the King's death she decides she has a new mission, to teach Laharl about love and understanding, 2 words that Laharl absolutely hates.
While the story here is not epic as other RPG's, what you do have is an extremely amusing tale that will keep you entertained for a good 20 hours. All the characters are endearing and likeable (it's good to be bad :-D) and have the perfect personality to suit their role in the story. You also get a Power Rangers and Lost in Space robot parody, what more could you want?.
Gameplay - Disgaea is a tactical, strategy RPG which means the good old chess board grid battle system. The map is split up into squares which your characters can move along (the distances they can travel, depends on their movement ability, some characters can move 4 squares while others can move up to 8) once you have moved your character into position then it's time to attack, your basic fighters will be able to hit for one, maybe 2 squares while your archers and magicians will of course have a larger attack area. As usual in games of this type, attacking from the back and from higher positions will result in more damage and a greater chance of a critical hit so it is always advantageous to try and move your characters around the enemy. Characters can choose from normal attacks or use their skills, for a magician this will obviously be magic and for a fighter it can mean unleashing a devastating combo onto the unsuspecting enemy. Another trick you have up your sleeve are the team attacks. When using a normal attack if you have allies positioned by your sides and behind you, you have a chance of unleashing a strong combo attack on the enemy. To improve your chances of using combo attacks it's always wise to position characters of the same class, with the same weapon or who are teachers and students together.
To create a character you must use a characters mana points which are obtained from defeating enemies, so for example if you defeat a level 20 enemy you will get 20 mana points. You will have 6 skill levels to choose from when creating a character ranging from incompetent to genius, the higher skilled the character the more mana points it will cost to create them however the higher their skill the more base points they have to be able to distribute amongst their attributes. Upon creating that character he or she will become the student of the character you used to create them with. The benefit of this is that the teacher or student can use attacks they otherwise wouldn't have if they are stood next to one another. For example if you use Laharl to create a magician and then have him stand next to her, he will be able to use spells such as fire and ice. The other advantage is as stated above it gives them a higher chance of combining for a combo attack.
Along with being able to increase the levels and power of your character, Disgaea gives you the chance to level and power up your weapons and items to. To do this you must enter the Item World, this is the world inside the item full of monsters and demons. There are 3 types of items, normal items which have 30 levels, Rare items which have 70 levels and then Legendary items which have 100 levels. The more levels you complete inside the item the more powerful it will become. Also helping to power items are demons called Specialists. These are special demons which give a boost to a certain attribute of the item, for example a Gladiator will increase the attack power of an item while a Statistician will increase the amount of experience you get from each enemy killed. While going through the levels of an item you may bump into one, these are neither friends or foes and are quite happy to attack you or the enemy. It is your job to kill these Specialists before the enemy do and once subdued the Specialist will double their stat boost to a weapon. So if before subduing him he was giving you a 50 point increase once he is defeated he will give you a 100 point increase. Every item in the game has the ability to go into the Item World which makes for a never ending game, you will always be getting new items so it is possible to just keep going and going. Or you could try to fill your warehouse full of Level 100 legendary items.
Along with weapons giving stat boosts you can also get them from coloured crystals on the map. These are called Geo Crystals, different coloured pyramids that give various advantages and disadvantages such as Attack power doubled or Defence lowered by half. These crystals will fill the map full of different coloured panels that correspond to the colour of the crystal, each coloured panel having the same effect that the corresponding crystal gives.
Graphics - Anybody who knows Nippon Ichi games knows they do not do ultra-realistic 3D models, instead they opt for my personal favourite, the cute animated sprites. This gives the game a very anime style feel to it. There are no cutscenes in the game and the story progression is done by an artistic background and then drawings of the characters on top of it with various animations depending on their mood. Spell and skill animations are also simple affairs, needless to say there won't be any summon style graphics feasts here.
In battle though every weapon has a different design, so each sword will look different instead of using the same one design that is seen in other games and depending on its rarity it will also have a different colour to it, the Legendary items will have a rather menacing dark grey colour to them to show they mean business.
Sound/Music - One problem most RPG's seem to struggle with is finding a voice cast that isn't extremely annoying and grating to the ears. Luckily though NIS have a reputation for good voice acting and it carries on with Disgaea. Every character's voice actor fits them perfectly, from Laharl's comedic while at the same time evil style laugh to Flonne's extra cutesy voice everything works well and there's not a weak link to be heard. The best part being the characters called the Prinnies the penguin like slaves of the group, you'll never get tired of hearing their shrill cried of DOOD!!!!. The only problem with the voice acting is NIS seem to have gotten sloppy and in some battle animations they will use their Japanese voices instead of English although that isn't really a big problem. The music also fits in well, from uplifting quick tempo pieces for the comedy moments to dark, sombre affairs for the sad and serious parts.
Lifespan - While the story mode will take around 20-30 hours to complete Disgaea is only really getting started then. There are numerous extra characters to beat after the main story is completed which are very difficult and require a lot of preparation. Plus the challenge of the Item World, the never ending world of item empowerment that will keep you absorbed for hours upon hours. I've played this for over 1000 hours so one thing Disgaea is clearly not lacking is depth and replayability although it must be said unless you are the sort of person who likes to have all secret enemies beaten and secret items obtained then once you have finished the story mode then you won't really have the inclination or the patience to obtain the extra bits.
Overall - Disgaea is an extremely deep absorbing RPG that puts gameplay above graphics in the old traditional style. There's no denying the cute, sprite style graphics will put off some people but if that is the reason they do not purchase this game then they are robbing themselves of one of the best RPG games ever.
What you are getting is a RPG with a hilarious story and a game full of surprises and rich gameplay, it is an essential purchase for any self-respecting gamer.
Story - 4
Gameplay - 5
Graphics - 5
Music/Sound - 4
Lifespan - 5
Total Mark - 23/25
Game Screenshots
However, in 2003, the very definition of a cult classic arrived from the Nippon Ichi Software house. Atlus, who have a reputation for taking obscure Japanese titles that wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day away from Japan and bringing them over to North America and Europe, brought Disgaea to Western shores to critical acclaim. This was a game that had something for both the casual and hardcore gaming crowd, a funny story full of endearing characters and the ability to power level to your hearts content. Those in the know and who weren't blinded by Final Fantasy went crazy over it and for very good reason, of which you'll see in this review.
The tagline said *Giving RPG's a serious kick in the ass* and it did just that.
Story - The majority of the story takes place in an area called the Netherworld. This is another name for hell, a place for all the bad people and demons of the universe to hang out. King Krichevskoy, the Overlord (ruler) of the Netherworld had died 2 years previously by choking on a black pretzel (hmmm sound familiar?) and the demon world is full of cocky, confident demons trying to claim the throne for themselves.
It is here we join the story with the main female character of the game, Etna, a feisty female demon also secretly out to claim the throne for herself, trying to...."wake up"....the sleeping Prince Laharl, the king's son, from his coffin. Of course being the Netherworld instead of using an alarm clock or just telling him to wake up, Etna goes at the coffin with a variety of implements such as drills, flame throwers and sickles but with no luck. On the verge of giving up, Laharl finally wakes from his 2 year slumber to ask who would dare disturb his nap. Etna tells him about the demise of the King and the self-confident and evil Laharl decides he is the heir to the throne and goes in search for the King's mark that will confirm him as the next ruler of the Netherworld.
Unfortunately for Laharl it's not as simple as that, in his way of the throne are other demons with the same goal and he'll have to dispose of them. These however, are nothing compared to the real test he has to face along the way, a trainee angel called Flonne, sent from heaven to assassinate the King, obviously they didn't get the memo. Flonne is no assassin though and bumps into Laharl telling him of her mission. Hearing of the King's death she decides she has a new mission, to teach Laharl about love and understanding, 2 words that Laharl absolutely hates.
While the story here is not epic as other RPG's, what you do have is an extremely amusing tale that will keep you entertained for a good 20 hours. All the characters are endearing and likeable (it's good to be bad :-D) and have the perfect personality to suit their role in the story. You also get a Power Rangers and Lost in Space robot parody, what more could you want?.
Gameplay - Disgaea is a tactical, strategy RPG which means the good old chess board grid battle system. The map is split up into squares which your characters can move along (the distances they can travel, depends on their movement ability, some characters can move 4 squares while others can move up to 8) once you have moved your character into position then it's time to attack, your basic fighters will be able to hit for one, maybe 2 squares while your archers and magicians will of course have a larger attack area. As usual in games of this type, attacking from the back and from higher positions will result in more damage and a greater chance of a critical hit so it is always advantageous to try and move your characters around the enemy. Characters can choose from normal attacks or use their skills, for a magician this will obviously be magic and for a fighter it can mean unleashing a devastating combo onto the unsuspecting enemy. Another trick you have up your sleeve are the team attacks. When using a normal attack if you have allies positioned by your sides and behind you, you have a chance of unleashing a strong combo attack on the enemy. To improve your chances of using combo attacks it's always wise to position characters of the same class, with the same weapon or who are teachers and students together.
To create a character you must use a characters mana points which are obtained from defeating enemies, so for example if you defeat a level 20 enemy you will get 20 mana points. You will have 6 skill levels to choose from when creating a character ranging from incompetent to genius, the higher skilled the character the more mana points it will cost to create them however the higher their skill the more base points they have to be able to distribute amongst their attributes. Upon creating that character he or she will become the student of the character you used to create them with. The benefit of this is that the teacher or student can use attacks they otherwise wouldn't have if they are stood next to one another. For example if you use Laharl to create a magician and then have him stand next to her, he will be able to use spells such as fire and ice. The other advantage is as stated above it gives them a higher chance of combining for a combo attack.
Along with being able to increase the levels and power of your character, Disgaea gives you the chance to level and power up your weapons and items to. To do this you must enter the Item World, this is the world inside the item full of monsters and demons. There are 3 types of items, normal items which have 30 levels, Rare items which have 70 levels and then Legendary items which have 100 levels. The more levels you complete inside the item the more powerful it will become. Also helping to power items are demons called Specialists. These are special demons which give a boost to a certain attribute of the item, for example a Gladiator will increase the attack power of an item while a Statistician will increase the amount of experience you get from each enemy killed. While going through the levels of an item you may bump into one, these are neither friends or foes and are quite happy to attack you or the enemy. It is your job to kill these Specialists before the enemy do and once subdued the Specialist will double their stat boost to a weapon. So if before subduing him he was giving you a 50 point increase once he is defeated he will give you a 100 point increase. Every item in the game has the ability to go into the Item World which makes for a never ending game, you will always be getting new items so it is possible to just keep going and going. Or you could try to fill your warehouse full of Level 100 legendary items.
Along with weapons giving stat boosts you can also get them from coloured crystals on the map. These are called Geo Crystals, different coloured pyramids that give various advantages and disadvantages such as Attack power doubled or Defence lowered by half. These crystals will fill the map full of different coloured panels that correspond to the colour of the crystal, each coloured panel having the same effect that the corresponding crystal gives.
Graphics - Anybody who knows Nippon Ichi games knows they do not do ultra-realistic 3D models, instead they opt for my personal favourite, the cute animated sprites. This gives the game a very anime style feel to it. There are no cutscenes in the game and the story progression is done by an artistic background and then drawings of the characters on top of it with various animations depending on their mood. Spell and skill animations are also simple affairs, needless to say there won't be any summon style graphics feasts here.
In battle though every weapon has a different design, so each sword will look different instead of using the same one design that is seen in other games and depending on its rarity it will also have a different colour to it, the Legendary items will have a rather menacing dark grey colour to them to show they mean business.
Sound/Music - One problem most RPG's seem to struggle with is finding a voice cast that isn't extremely annoying and grating to the ears. Luckily though NIS have a reputation for good voice acting and it carries on with Disgaea. Every character's voice actor fits them perfectly, from Laharl's comedic while at the same time evil style laugh to Flonne's extra cutesy voice everything works well and there's not a weak link to be heard. The best part being the characters called the Prinnies the penguin like slaves of the group, you'll never get tired of hearing their shrill cried of DOOD!!!!. The only problem with the voice acting is NIS seem to have gotten sloppy and in some battle animations they will use their Japanese voices instead of English although that isn't really a big problem. The music also fits in well, from uplifting quick tempo pieces for the comedy moments to dark, sombre affairs for the sad and serious parts.
Lifespan - While the story mode will take around 20-30 hours to complete Disgaea is only really getting started then. There are numerous extra characters to beat after the main story is completed which are very difficult and require a lot of preparation. Plus the challenge of the Item World, the never ending world of item empowerment that will keep you absorbed for hours upon hours. I've played this for over 1000 hours so one thing Disgaea is clearly not lacking is depth and replayability although it must be said unless you are the sort of person who likes to have all secret enemies beaten and secret items obtained then once you have finished the story mode then you won't really have the inclination or the patience to obtain the extra bits.
Overall - Disgaea is an extremely deep absorbing RPG that puts gameplay above graphics in the old traditional style. There's no denying the cute, sprite style graphics will put off some people but if that is the reason they do not purchase this game then they are robbing themselves of one of the best RPG games ever.
What you are getting is a RPG with a hilarious story and a game full of surprises and rich gameplay, it is an essential purchase for any self-respecting gamer.
Story - 4
Gameplay - 5
Graphics - 5
Music/Sound - 4
Lifespan - 5
Total Mark - 23/25
Game Screenshots
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There are many games that can assume the title of being a "cult classic". Games such as Ico and Suikoden, while not selling millions of copies have a very rabid, dedicated fanbase of gamers that were smart enough to pick up these games before they went out of print and started fetching 50 plus pounds on Ebay. (Although in both these cases the developers have seen the demand for them and released a new batch of Suikoden 3 and Ico copies to appease the gamers demanding a second chance to buy these great games)
However, in 2003, the very definition of a cult classic arrived from the Nippon Ichi Software house. Atlus, who have a reputation for taking obscure Japanese titles that wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day away from Japan and bringing them over to North America and Europe, brought Disgaea to Western shores to critical acclaim. This was a game that had something for both the casual and hardcore gaming crowd, a funny story full of endearing characters and the ability to power level to your hearts content. Those in the know and who weren't blinded by Final Fantasy went crazy over it and for very good reason, of which you'll see in this review.
The tagline said *Giving RPG's a serious kick in the ass* and it did just that.
Story - The majority of the story takes place in an area called the Netherworld. This is another name for hell, a place for all the bad people and demons of the universe to hang out. King Krichevskoy, the Overlord (ruler) of the Netherworld had died 2 years previously by choking on a black pretzel (hmmm sound familiar?) and the demon world is full of cocky, confident demons trying to claim the throne for themselves.
It is here we join the story with the main female character of the game, Etna, a feisty female demon also secretly out to claim the throne for herself, trying to...."wake up"....the sleeping Prince Laharl, the king's son, from his coffin. Of course being the Netherworld instead of using an alarm clock or just telling him to wake up, Etna goes at the coffin with a variety of implements such as drills, flame throwers and sickles but with no luck. On the verge of giving up, Laharl finally wakes from his 2 year slumber to ask who would dare disturb his nap. Etna tells him about the demise of the King and the self-confident and evil Laharl decides he is the heir to the throne and goes in search for the King's mark that will confirm him as the next ruler of the Netherworld.
Unfortunately for Laharl it's not as simple as that, in his way of the throne are other demons with the same goal and he'll have to dispose of them. These however, are nothing compared to the real test he has to face along the way, a trainee angel called Flonne, sent from heaven to assassinate the King, obviously they didn't get the memo. Flonne is no assassin though and bumps into Laharl telling him of her mission. Hearing of the King's death she decides she has a new mission, to teach Laharl about love and understanding, 2 words that Laharl absolutely hates.
While the story here is not epic as other RPG's, what you do have is an extremely amusing tale that will keep you entertained for a good 20 hours. All the characters are endearing and likeable (it's good to be bad :-D) and have the perfect personality to suit their role in the story. You also get a Power Rangers and Lost in Space robot parody, what more could you want?.
Gameplay - Disgaea is a tactical, strategy RPG which means the good old chess board grid battle system. The map is split up into squares which your characters can move along (the distances they can travel, depends on their movement ability, some characters can move 4 squares while others can move up to 8) once you have moved your character into position then it's time to attack, your basic fighters will be able to hit for one, maybe 2 squares while your archers and magicians will of course have a larger attack area. As usual in games of this type, attacking from the back and from higher positions will result in more damage and a greater chance of a critical hit so it is always advantageous to try and move your characters around the enemy. Characters can choose from normal attacks or use their skills, for a magician this will obviously be magic and for a fighter it can mean unleashing a devastating combo onto the unsuspecting enemy. Another trick you have up your sleeve are the team attacks. When using a normal attack if you have allies positioned by your sides and behind you, you have a chance of unleashing a strong combo attack on the enemy. To improve your chances of using combo attacks it's always wise to position characters of the same class, with the same weapon or who are teachers and students together.
To create a character you must use a characters mana points which are obtained from defeating enemies, so for example if you defeat a level 20 enemy you will get 20 mana points. You will have 6 skill levels to choose from when creating a character ranging from incompetent to genius, the higher skilled the character the more mana points it will cost to create them however the higher their skill the more base points they have to be able to distribute amongst their attributes. Upon creating that character he or she will become the student of the character you used to create them with. The benefit of this is that the teacher or student can use attacks they otherwise wouldn't have if they are stood next to one another. For example if you use Laharl to create a magician and then have him stand next to her, he will be able to use spells such as fire and ice. The other advantage is as stated above it gives them a higher chance of combining for a combo attack.
Along with being able to increase the levels and power of your character, Disgaea gives you the chance to level and power up your weapons and items to. To do this you must enter the Item World, this is the world inside the item full of monsters and demons. There are 3 types of items, normal items which have 30 levels, Rare items which have 70 levels and then Legendary items which have 100 levels. The more levels you complete inside the item the more powerful it will become. Also helping to power items are demons called Specialists. These are special demons which give a boost to a certain attribute of the item, for example a Gladiator will increase the attack power of an item while a Statistician will increase the amount of experience you get from each enemy killed. While going through the levels of an item you may bump into one, these are neither friends or foes and are quite happy to attack you or the enemy. It is your job to kill these Specialists before the enemy do and once subdued the Specialist will double their stat boost to a weapon. So if before subduing him he was giving you a 50 point increase once he is defeated he will give you a 100 point increase. Every item in the game has the ability to go into the Item World which makes for a never ending game, you will always be getting new items so it is possible to just keep going and going. Or you could try to fill your warehouse full of Level 100 legendary items.
Along with weapons giving stat boosts you can also get them from coloured crystals on the map. These are called Geo Crystals, different coloured pyramids that give various advantages and disadvantages such as Attack power doubled or Defence lowered by half. These crystals will fill the map full of different coloured panels that correspond to the colour of the crystal, each coloured panel having the same effect that the corresponding crystal gives.
Graphics - Anybody who knows Nippon Ichi games knows they do not do ultra-realistic 3D models, instead they opt for my personal favourite, the cute animated sprites. This gives the game a very anime style feel to it. There are no cutscenes in the game and the story progression is done by an artistic background and then drawings of the characters on top of it with various animations depending on their mood. Spell and skill animations are also simple affairs, needless to say there won't be any summon style graphics feasts here.
In battle though every weapon has a different design, so each sword will look different instead of using the same one design that is seen in other games and depending on its rarity it will also have a different colour to it, the Legendary items will have a rather menacing dark grey colour to them to show they mean business.
Sound/Music - One problem most RPG's seem to struggle with is finding a voice cast that isn't extremely annoying and grating to the ears. Luckily though NIS have a reputation for good voice acting and it carries on with Disgaea. Every character's voice actor fits them perfectly, from Laharl's comedic while at the same time evil style laugh to Flonne's extra cutesy voice everything works well and there's not a weak link to be heard. The best part being the characters called the Prinnies the penguin like slaves of the group, you'll never get tired of hearing their shrill cried of DOOD!!!!. The only problem with the voice acting is NIS seem to have gotten sloppy and in some battle animations they will use their Japanese voices instead of English although that isn't really a big problem. The music also fits in well, from uplifting quick tempo pieces for the comedy moments to dark, sombre affairs for the sad and serious parts.
Lifespan - While the story mode will take around 20-30 hours to complete Disgaea is only really getting started then. There are numerous extra characters to beat after the main story is completed which are very difficult and require a lot of preparation. Plus the challenge of the Item World, the never ending world of item empowerment that will keep you absorbed for hours upon hours. I've played this for over 1000 hours so one thing Disgaea is clearly not lacking is depth and replayability although it must be said unless you are the sort of person who likes to have all secret enemies beaten and secret items obtained then once you have finished the story mode then you won't really have the inclination or the patience to obtain the extra bits.
Overall - Disgaea is an extremely deep absorbing RPG that puts gameplay above graphics in the old traditional style. There's no denying the cute, sprite style graphics will put off some people but if that is the reason they do not purchase this game then they are robbing themselves of one of the best RPG games ever.
What you are getting is a RPG with a hilarious story and a game full of surprises and rich gameplay, it is an essential purchase for any self-respecting gamer.
Story - 4
Gameplay - 5
Graphics - 5
Music/Sound - 4
Lifespan - 5
Total Mark - 23/25
Game Screenshots
However, in 2003, the very definition of a cult classic arrived from the Nippon Ichi Software house. Atlus, who have a reputation for taking obscure Japanese titles that wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day away from Japan and bringing them over to North America and Europe, brought Disgaea to Western shores to critical acclaim. This was a game that had something for both the casual and hardcore gaming crowd, a funny story full of endearing characters and the ability to power level to your hearts content. Those in the know and who weren't blinded by Final Fantasy went crazy over it and for very good reason, of which you'll see in this review.
The tagline said *Giving RPG's a serious kick in the ass* and it did just that.
Story - The majority of the story takes place in an area called the Netherworld. This is another name for hell, a place for all the bad people and demons of the universe to hang out. King Krichevskoy, the Overlord (ruler) of the Netherworld had died 2 years previously by choking on a black pretzel (hmmm sound familiar?) and the demon world is full of cocky, confident demons trying to claim the throne for themselves.
It is here we join the story with the main female character of the game, Etna, a feisty female demon also secretly out to claim the throne for herself, trying to...."wake up"....the sleeping Prince Laharl, the king's son, from his coffin. Of course being the Netherworld instead of using an alarm clock or just telling him to wake up, Etna goes at the coffin with a variety of implements such as drills, flame throwers and sickles but with no luck. On the verge of giving up, Laharl finally wakes from his 2 year slumber to ask who would dare disturb his nap. Etna tells him about the demise of the King and the self-confident and evil Laharl decides he is the heir to the throne and goes in search for the King's mark that will confirm him as the next ruler of the Netherworld.
Unfortunately for Laharl it's not as simple as that, in his way of the throne are other demons with the same goal and he'll have to dispose of them. These however, are nothing compared to the real test he has to face along the way, a trainee angel called Flonne, sent from heaven to assassinate the King, obviously they didn't get the memo. Flonne is no assassin though and bumps into Laharl telling him of her mission. Hearing of the King's death she decides she has a new mission, to teach Laharl about love and understanding, 2 words that Laharl absolutely hates.
While the story here is not epic as other RPG's, what you do have is an extremely amusing tale that will keep you entertained for a good 20 hours. All the characters are endearing and likeable (it's good to be bad :-D) and have the perfect personality to suit their role in the story. You also get a Power Rangers and Lost in Space robot parody, what more could you want?.
Gameplay - Disgaea is a tactical, strategy RPG which means the good old chess board grid battle system. The map is split up into squares which your characters can move along (the distances they can travel, depends on their movement ability, some characters can move 4 squares while others can move up to 8) once you have moved your character into position then it's time to attack, your basic fighters will be able to hit for one, maybe 2 squares while your archers and magicians will of course have a larger attack area. As usual in games of this type, attacking from the back and from higher positions will result in more damage and a greater chance of a critical hit so it is always advantageous to try and move your characters around the enemy. Characters can choose from normal attacks or use their skills, for a magician this will obviously be magic and for a fighter it can mean unleashing a devastating combo onto the unsuspecting enemy. Another trick you have up your sleeve are the team attacks. When using a normal attack if you have allies positioned by your sides and behind you, you have a chance of unleashing a strong combo attack on the enemy. To improve your chances of using combo attacks it's always wise to position characters of the same class, with the same weapon or who are teachers and students together.
To create a character you must use a characters mana points which are obtained from defeating enemies, so for example if you defeat a level 20 enemy you will get 20 mana points. You will have 6 skill levels to choose from when creating a character ranging from incompetent to genius, the higher skilled the character the more mana points it will cost to create them however the higher their skill the more base points they have to be able to distribute amongst their attributes. Upon creating that character he or she will become the student of the character you used to create them with. The benefit of this is that the teacher or student can use attacks they otherwise wouldn't have if they are stood next to one another. For example if you use Laharl to create a magician and then have him stand next to her, he will be able to use spells such as fire and ice. The other advantage is as stated above it gives them a higher chance of combining for a combo attack.
Along with being able to increase the levels and power of your character, Disgaea gives you the chance to level and power up your weapons and items to. To do this you must enter the Item World, this is the world inside the item full of monsters and demons. There are 3 types of items, normal items which have 30 levels, Rare items which have 70 levels and then Legendary items which have 100 levels. The more levels you complete inside the item the more powerful it will become. Also helping to power items are demons called Specialists. These are special demons which give a boost to a certain attribute of the item, for example a Gladiator will increase the attack power of an item while a Statistician will increase the amount of experience you get from each enemy killed. While going through the levels of an item you may bump into one, these are neither friends or foes and are quite happy to attack you or the enemy. It is your job to kill these Specialists before the enemy do and once subdued the Specialist will double their stat boost to a weapon. So if before subduing him he was giving you a 50 point increase once he is defeated he will give you a 100 point increase. Every item in the game has the ability to go into the Item World which makes for a never ending game, you will always be getting new items so it is possible to just keep going and going. Or you could try to fill your warehouse full of Level 100 legendary items.
Along with weapons giving stat boosts you can also get them from coloured crystals on the map. These are called Geo Crystals, different coloured pyramids that give various advantages and disadvantages such as Attack power doubled or Defence lowered by half. These crystals will fill the map full of different coloured panels that correspond to the colour of the crystal, each coloured panel having the same effect that the corresponding crystal gives.
Graphics - Anybody who knows Nippon Ichi games knows they do not do ultra-realistic 3D models, instead they opt for my personal favourite, the cute animated sprites. This gives the game a very anime style feel to it. There are no cutscenes in the game and the story progression is done by an artistic background and then drawings of the characters on top of it with various animations depending on their mood. Spell and skill animations are also simple affairs, needless to say there won't be any summon style graphics feasts here.
In battle though every weapon has a different design, so each sword will look different instead of using the same one design that is seen in other games and depending on its rarity it will also have a different colour to it, the Legendary items will have a rather menacing dark grey colour to them to show they mean business.
Sound/Music - One problem most RPG's seem to struggle with is finding a voice cast that isn't extremely annoying and grating to the ears. Luckily though NIS have a reputation for good voice acting and it carries on with Disgaea. Every character's voice actor fits them perfectly, from Laharl's comedic while at the same time evil style laugh to Flonne's extra cutesy voice everything works well and there's not a weak link to be heard. The best part being the characters called the Prinnies the penguin like slaves of the group, you'll never get tired of hearing their shrill cried of DOOD!!!!. The only problem with the voice acting is NIS seem to have gotten sloppy and in some battle animations they will use their Japanese voices instead of English although that isn't really a big problem. The music also fits in well, from uplifting quick tempo pieces for the comedy moments to dark, sombre affairs for the sad and serious parts.
Lifespan - While the story mode will take around 20-30 hours to complete Disgaea is only really getting started then. There are numerous extra characters to beat after the main story is completed which are very difficult and require a lot of preparation. Plus the challenge of the Item World, the never ending world of item empowerment that will keep you absorbed for hours upon hours. I've played this for over 1000 hours so one thing Disgaea is clearly not lacking is depth and replayability although it must be said unless you are the sort of person who likes to have all secret enemies beaten and secret items obtained then once you have finished the story mode then you won't really have the inclination or the patience to obtain the extra bits.
Overall - Disgaea is an extremely deep absorbing RPG that puts gameplay above graphics in the old traditional style. There's no denying the cute, sprite style graphics will put off some people but if that is the reason they do not purchase this game then they are robbing themselves of one of the best RPG games ever.
What you are getting is a RPG with a hilarious story and a game full of surprises and rich gameplay, it is an essential purchase for any self-respecting gamer.
Story - 4
Gameplay - 5
Graphics - 5
Music/Sound - 4
Lifespan - 5
Total Mark - 23/25
Game Screenshots