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A deep strategy RPG experience with an exceptional story, a fantastic script, and a host of loveable characters and settings. Upgraded graphics and art for the high resolution widescreen PSP Display. Geo Cubes add special effects in the battlefield, completely shifting the balance in the blink of an eye. The first time for multiplayer in the Disgaea series.
Customer Reviews
The PS2 Classic Goes Portable
The Original Disgaea on the PS2 was a sleeper hit. Creeping into the gaming scene. Those who played it were blown away by it. Eventually word of mouth helped the game become incredibly popular. However, the original Cult Classic on the PS2 is hard to find. And when you do find it, it often comes at unreasonable prices. Luckily, if you're a PSP owner, you can play the original game in a whole new light. You are essentially getting the same game, only with several extras.
For those who never played the original, Disgaea centers on Laharl. The prince of darkness who has been asleep for some time. As Laharl and with a gaggle of allies, your job is to conquer the Netherworld. The adventure is full of a lot of fun. Some hilarious antics as well as a really likeable cast of characters. The release on the PSP is even better than the original, and it's easier to find.
Disgaea takes the simple formula of a strategy RPG and mixes in its own little quirks. Battling in Disgaea is quite simple. You send your units into battle and you move them into attack position and then you execute your strategy accordingly. Unlike many tactical RPGs, battles in Disgaea can go fast. The maps are also incredibly large. In battle characters can also use abilities. The more times you use an ability, the more abilities you gain. Another great part about battle is that if your characters are standing next to one another and attack the same enemy, they'll perform a duel attack. As battles progress you'll also fill up a battle gauge in the corner of the screen. The more you fill up the gauge the more bonuses you get at the end of the battle.
There are a couple of things about Disgaea's system that separate it from other strategy RPGs. Some of them bizarre, others not so much. First there's the Geo Panel system. On the maps you'll certain tiles that are a certain color. These are Geo Panels. There are also Geo Symbols which have certain effects. Placing Geo Symbols on a specific color will make that Geo Panel color correspond with the effect of the Geo Symbol. Therefore, if you place a Geo Symbol that increases a characters attack on a yellow Geo Panel, all yellow Geo Panels will have an attack up. However, you can also destroy Geo Symbols. This causes a chain reaction that either turns all Geo Panels into the same color as the one which the Geo Symbol you destroyed was placed on or causes the Geo Panel to be destroyed completely. Either way, it racks up bonuses for your battle gauge.
Disgaea has other things that make it stand out above the rest of the crowd. Particularly in its smaller elements. Using items, for example, may cause them to become something else. For exaample, after you use Mint Gum it becomes ABC Gum and can actually be used again. A Drink will become an Unopened drink. Just the same, there's almost no limit to character raising. As the game progresses you'll discover that your level can increase into the hundreds and keep going until you're literally in the thousands.
Even better for Disgaea is the senate of the Netherworld. Battling will net you Mana Points which you can use in the Senate to recruit characters (the more Mana you spend the better the character) and assign him a job. Just the same, however, the senate has power over certain aspects of the game such as what items are available in the shops and whatnot. You can appeal to the senate and they'll vote on certain issues. You won't always win, but you can persuade by force, meaning, battle members of the senate who do not side with you. It's kooky and weird, but it works. There are also exams the senate gives you which are battles Laharl must fight alone.
Lastly, there's the item world. Throughout the game you can go into certain items and venture ten floors in and fight a boss. Doing this power ups items. The item world is no joke, however, as it's incredibly hard to conquer. Disgaea itself is not the easiest game around. There are many moments of the game dedicated to simply raising characters.
In terms of what's new to the PSP version, there are plenty of new missions to take on as well a couple of new secrets. This is much more than just one or two missions. There are plenty of hidden missions exclusive to the PSP version. Also, there is now a completely new game mode players can undergo. Lastly, there's multiplayer where you can play against a friend. In other words, there's enough new content here to justify the game to be a buy even for those who played the original to death.
In terms of production values, Disgaea looks exactly as you expect a Strategy RPG to look. It's pretty cute looking with sprites, but it's very colorful and runs smoothly without any problems. It's perhaps one of the fastest loading PSP games out there. The dialog presented throughout the game is also funny. The music is pretty catchy as well. If there was anything wrong with Disgaea, it would be that the voice acting isn't up to par with the rest of the fantastic game. The characters don't sound bad, but the voice acting doesn't have much feeling or emotion to it. Many scenes through the game that were funny would've otherwise been all out hilarious had the voice work been better.
Despite the voice work, that's a small price to pay. The game is still better than the original PS2 version and has a ton of gameplay behind it. This is an RPG that will last you hundreds of hours. Disgaea is quite possibly the best Strategy RPG you can find on the PS2.
Good Port of a Solid Game
A fairly direct port of the popular PS2 game "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness", "Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness" mostly keeps things the same, though a few new features are added.
The game should be familiar to anyone who has played the original Disgaea, but as a refresher for those who haven't: Disgaea is a turn-based tactical role playing game. Using a grid system, characters move, attack, and use special abilities. The RPG element comes in as characters improve through battling, compared to the disposable soldiers of many RTS games. There are, furthermore, many classes to choose from, including warriors, mages, and thieves. This is a system seen in games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and many others.
For its part, Disgaea brings a lot of elements that are unique to it and its sequel. For example, the RPG system includes not only the effects on the character's leveling up, but also a teacher/student system that grants abilities to other characters. Geo Symbols, another feature of Disgaea's combat, are colored pyramids that, when put on certain location types, can give off various effects to connected areas. The ability to lift and throw characters, either as an offensive attack or to give allies a boost in a certain direction, is also present. Units with similar types can use team-up attacks that boost their power when they're near each other.
In Disgaea, you take the role of Laharl, the Prince of the Underworld. After being awoken from a 2-year nap, Laharl finds that his father, the King, has passed away, and in his absence the underworld has been rife with conflict over who the next overlord will be. With his faithful vassal Etna in tow, Laharl seeks to regain control of his empire. The story and dialogue are rife with comedy - unusually clumsy assassins, parodies of the Power Rangers and Flash Gordon, and the general apathy that Laharl's underlings display toward him. The writing is excellent, and the PSP edition allows you to use both the English and Japanese voice acting.
The graphics have been well maintained in the transition to the small screen. They actually seem to fit better on the PSP, without as many obvious pixels and edges. Both the graphics and the sound are unchanged from the PS2 version, the only new features being the aforementioned dual language audio choice and a new music changing option.
As a whole, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is a good port of a solid game. It doesn't change much, but there wasn't much that needed to be changed. If you've played the game before, though, it's not exactly worth buying again.
8/10.
Prinny d00d!
Facts fist: this is a port of the original Disgaea for PS2. There are some new features: an extra game mode where you play as Etna rather than Laharl, widescreen graphics, and some new boss battles (including one with the main characters from Disgaea 2). Still, it's the same main game.
But with a game as good as Disgaea, this is no problem at all! The price for the PSP version is similar to the PS2 original, but you get a few more features and the chance to play it on the go - a feature you'll greatly appreciate if you become as hooked on the game as I have. Nippon Ichi specialize in strategy RPGs, and out of all their excellent releases, Disgaea is probably the best and the most welcoming to new players.
If you love the original Disgaea, or you are a fan of Nippon Ichi in general, you really don't need to read this review. But for new players, here's a rundown. Disgaea is an isometric strategy RPG, meaning that the story unfolds by playing through sequential turn-based battle stages. If you've played Final Fantasy Tactics, probably the definitive SRPG, it has similar basic game mechanics. In Disgaea, you start with two main characters (Laharl and Etna) in your party. However, the only way to progress is to build a strong roster of characters of different classes, each with different special abilities. Leveling up characters in the basic classes, such as warrior and mage, gradually unlocks new and more powerful classes. The main storyline battles are tough, and you'll need to do a lot of leveling to play successfully; however, this is much more enjoyable than in a typical RPG, because SRPGs naturally specialize in battle mechanics. Approaching each battle correctly requires considerable thought and forward planning - this is not a quick action-fix game, but it is incredibly rewarding to build up a roster of strong team members and to learn to take full advantage of their abilities.
The graphics in Disgaea might be disappointing to fans of next-gen 3D games. The dialogue between characters features some excellent (if static) artwork, but the game itself is entirely sprite-based. If you can get past this - and the adjustment should take no time at all - you'll find that what the game lacks in visuals, it gains in gameplay, music, and writing. This is one of the funniest, most well-written and translated games I've ever played - and, as usual with Nippon Ichi games, the voice acting is excellent. Sounds like a small thing, but believe me, so many games get so badly wrong. The music is fun and catchy, and the basic story provides a constant motivation to win each battle. Disgaea is a complete timesink, I admit, and after 100 hours of gameplay you still won't have seen everything the game has to offer. But if you're willing to devote some time, and some brain power, this is one of the most fun and rewarding games on the PSP. Definitely recommended!
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