This game deserves better...
I have to say just from a first glance the art in this game is great. I enjoy the character design and was pleasantly surprised to find out that this has elements of the story taken from Alice in Wonderland and other children's stories. The main character is a quirky witch student not satisfied with her lot in life and plans on doing something about it. The dialogue still has that Disgaea wit I truly enjoy. It is also much more accessible then the Disgaea series. This is not a hardcore game and perhaps that is where the disdain comes from. I was not expecting it to be anything like Diasgaea since most NIS games that do not have that title are nothing like it.
The only drawback that I have found is that using the stylus for battle can become a bit tedious, not in the sense that it is hard to do things but that you must do them often with little variety, that is it so for the people say that it is awful using the stylus it should not be a deal breaker. As far as using it for everything else it is fine. The character responds well for movement on screen and even in battle there is never a mistake made for a selection and even if one were made you can go back. The battle system is quite simple, you select an action ad drag and drop the appropriate target. It may seem simple at first but once you get more dolls your options start to expand as well as learning ancient spells to do more devastating attacks. It is not as involved a system as its RPG brethren but it is fun.
The music is well done and not cloying as many hand held games can be. And as I said earlier the art is great, especially with the different themed areas and interesting character designs. The first characters you meet are a vampire, a cat girl and your main character a witch. Their interactions are funny and the vampire enjoys eating tomatoes (that explains that red stuff around his coffin).
Overall, this is definitely worth checking out but don't expect Disgaea or Mana Khemia depth game play. Do expect the same great story telling and art style.