Which Disgaea is your favorite?

Is 2 better than 1? They are currently both the same price. Do you have a favorite Disgaea over all?

Outside 6 can't go wrong with Makai Senki Disgaea. It's an over the top Strategy RPG series many fans refer to as hyper shōgi. With replayability unmatched by other games in the genre.

They all have strengths and weaknesses. Some are more mechanically refined, some are more known for story and have less features.

I'll break down categories. All round, story, gameplay, personal favorite-

All round many find that Disgaea 4: Complete, Disgaea Dimension 2 (sequel to the first game so probably best to play the OG first) & Makai Senki Disgaea: Tsū Potaburu/ Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days are the complete package(s). Overall these are the best games. Story not the best, yet has some standout characters and fairly competent plot, well placed humor as well. Most importantly these games are well balanced and not bad in any particular area.

Story is the original game Netherworld Battle Chronicle: Disgaea/ Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Which has seen its fair share of ports. The remake Makai Senki Disgaea: Refine unfortunately isn't the ideal way to play the game. As they cut a lot of corners and reuse assets from other games, outright changing some classes. Neither is the janky P.C. port either, so before someone defends that mess. Disgaea: Mobile is factually the best version of the game currently.

Issue with the first game is just that, it's the first game so many quality of life improvements are not seen outside some minor adjustments in ports, it handles the most stiff and offers little variety compared to other entries here. Balance in classes is also ridiculous too. Story and characters however is the series top game by a large margin.

Raw gameplay and replayability it's Makai Senki Disgaea 5. While the mini games overstay any form of welcome the core Strategy RPG gameplay loop is perfected in D5. It's very well designed and very enjoyable. In this sense it is the best Disgaea and has many enjoyable end-game super bosses to encounter. The story however is arguably the worst in the franchise and not many likable characters in general.

My favorite is two games (cheating I know). I'm fairly fond of Disgaea 3 but the original holds a soft spot even if the gameplay has nothing on many other entries. I like them both equally. Before 5 I would say D3 held the tightest and most refined gameplay in the franchise with tons of content. However D5 has taken that spot since then. If interested in D3? well you'll have to hunt the Vita version Makai Senki Disgaea 3: Ritānor or just wait for a remaster. As Nippon Ichi Software has been doing a good job bringing its catalogue to modern systems.

*Which ones would I recommend to someone new and curious? Well the first game is an easy answer, best story and because you won't know of the series refinements yet, it's easy to wrap your head around before they add layer after layer into the systems.

The other answer if you want a game more modern is Disgaea 4, as it's a good balance, the gameplay was also toned down after 3 to be less complex & more user friendly.

*I won't cover Disgaea 7 as I've only played a few hours so far (Dead Space is preoccupying my free-time). While it seems an overall improvement over 6 because it's more in line with D5 in terms of gameplay, it's far to early to rank the game. Not to mention the 3D models blend less into the environment from D6 yet still not as clean or as stylistically pleasing as prior game sprites. So even then, I would be surprised if D7 made the cut in any category.

@RSM-HQ: Thanks for the write-up! Gonna give the first one a try.