Most strategy RPGs generally follow the same pattern as far as gameplay goes. The player goes from one battle to another, moving characters around an isometric map grid, using their unique abilities to defeat the enemies and earn experience points. Outside of battle, the player can equip the characters with a variety of weapons and armor, and perhaps even change a character's class entirely. If one were to look at these aspects of the genre alone, then it could be said that Disgaea: Hour of Darkness doesn't stray far from the pack. On the surface, it's a cute, if demented, SRPG that utilizes many of the genre's conventions that have existed since Square's seminal Final Fantasy Tactics. However, despite the appearances of a cookie-cutter exterior, Disgaea contains a deep, original gameplay experience that is truly all its own. The game focuses on Laharl, the prince of the Netherworld. Waking up after a two year sleep, the young prince discovers that his father, the overlord, has passed away, and other demons are itching to claim the throne as their own. Thus begins Laharl's quest to solidify his place as the new overlord, smacking down all pretenders to the throne in the process. If this sounds like a rather ordinary or conventional plot, don't be swayed by that notion. Disgaea's plot is filled with welcome comedic absurdities that are truly funny, and that fit with the cute, manga-style appearances of the characters. Cutscenes play out using still images of the characters with text boxes, and most also utilize voice acting, which can be set to either Japanese or English. The basic gameplay of Disgaea is fairly straight forward. When in battle, up to ten characters can be brought out and moved around on the map. Sometimes, characters standing adjacent to an ally attacking a foe will assist, creating a team attack with a maxiumum of four participants. When multiple party members attack the same foe in succession, a combo will result, dealing more damage. Individual characters can use special techniques ranging from powerful physical attacks to magic spells. When a battle is won, the player then has the option of moving on to the next battle, and so on. Most RPGs cap character development at 99 levels. In other words, once a character has gained enough experience points to reach level 99, then the character can't develop any further. Disgaea, however, takes character development to a whole new extreme with a level cap of 9999. When significantly leveled, characters can do thousands of points of damage in a single attack, with team and combo attacks leading to thousands more. Disgaea is a game that encourages and rewards power leveling, an easy feat with the use of team attacks. Experience points are given only to characters that finish off enemies, but if a team attack is used, all participating attackers earn experience, even if an individual character did no damage. This creates an excellent way for stronger characters to help weaker party members raise their levels at an accelerated rate. Outside of combat, there are a few services that Laharl has access to within the palace. There's a weapon and item shop, a hospital to heal and revive characters, the Dark Assembly and the Item World. The Dark Assembly is a senate of monsters. It is here that new characters can be created, experienced characters can be transmigrated and proposals can be made. When a new character is created, the character is assigned a mentor (i.e.: The character that spent mana earned in battle to create him/her). The mentor/pupil relationship is an important one, as it creates a greater likelihood that these characters will join together in team attacks. When a mentor is standing adjacent to a pupil on the map, the mentor can also use some of the pupil's abilities to a limited extent, and once the mentor has used that skill enough to earn at least one level, then (s)he'll learn it permanently. This is what the game refers to as Extra Gain. Transmigration is the process by which characters can change from one class to another. However, transmigated characters always start back at level 1, albeit a more powerful level 1 than they once were. Story characters such as Laharl that are unable to change classes can also be transmigrated, making them more powerful in the long run. Submitting proposals to the Dark Assembly for a vote can bring about a variety of additions. Some proposals allow for newer, better items to be sold in the shops, whereas others can open up bonus worlds with challenging new maps. When a proposal is made, the character making the proposal will stand before the senate, and the player can view how each senator feels about the proposal. If their attitudes are hostile, they can be bribed using items from the inventory to sway their potential nays to yays. If a proposal is turned down, the player even has the option of beating the naysaying voters into submission, passing it by force. The Item World is utilized to increase the power of existing items. By going "inside" the item, floor by floor on randomly generated maps, the weapon or item's power will be increased with each cleared floor. Specialists, or neutral monsters that live on certain floors, can be subdued to give the items an even greater bonus, and also transferred from one item to another. As can be seen, Disgaea offers much more than a series of story battles. The story itself even has multiple endings that depend on multiple factors. When the game ends, a New Game + can be started using the previous game's character statistics. Simply put, the game offers players a wide variety of things to do and never shoehorns gamers into following a set pattern. Disgaea is easily one of the best strategy RPGs on the market today, as well as one of the best games of this console generation. Players who love to powergame will find a lot to enjoy in it, as will anyone with a taste for the darkly comedic storyline and characters. Worth far more than a rental, Disgaea is a straight purchase and then some.
At times, the video game era we're currently in can be tough on some of the more dedicated gamers. Small developers used to tune a game towards a small subset of a genre's fans, but since the production costs were so lo... Read Full Review
I received Disgaea as a birthday gift for my 26th birthday. I didn't play it until after my 27th birthday. I had not read reviews, and had not even considered giving it a chance until after I grew bored of my other, ov... Read Full Review
