Games PlayStation2 Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Game Info:
| Platform: | PlayStation2 |
| Developer: | Nippon-Ichi |
| Publisher: | Atlus USA |
| Players: | 1 |
| Format: | 1 DVD5 |
| Gallery: |
Editor review
Strategy RPGs have never been so addicting
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For the longest time Final Fantasy Tactics has had a stranglehold over the console strategy/RPG market; leaving little breathing room for possible contenders to its throne. Even the absence of a sequel on the next-gen consoles wasn't enough to open the door to newcomers. Miraculously, after nearly a decade of rule, a new king has taken the SRPG throne and the funny part is, it isn't a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is the creation of Nippon-Ichi, a company that has not had much of a presence in America until this momentous release. I have to say that putting out a game of this caliber in their American debut is nothing short of astounding. You take the role of Laharl, the son of the late King Krichevskoy and the rightful heir to the throne of the Underworld. For some reason, he had been sleeping for almost two years after his father's passing, leaving the kingdom in disarry as demons from all over try to usurp the crown. Fortunately he was awakened by his loyal vassal Etna and he sets out to reclaim his birthright. Along the way he meets a bunch of unsavory characters like the wanna-be angel assassin Flonne and the self-proclaimed defender of Earth, Gordon; whom after subjugating them in battle makes them his new, albeit unwilling vassals. It's a tale of a young man's coming of age and the trials associated with it. As a demon, he believes that he is incapable of loving, but in the end he realizes that he too has begun to respect and adore his comrades. Think of it as a twisted Disney film; like The Lion King, but with bad language, violence, sexual innuendo, and Power Rangers. Gameplay is typical SRPG fare along with a few little surprises mixed in. In addition to the main characters in the game, you can create minions of different classes, from simple fighters to monsters that you've already defeated. Each class has its own unique features like increased speed or massive damage, which adds an extra element of strategy when choosing a battle team. You're allowed to deploy up to ten characters in any given battle so suffice to say there will be enough room for some variety. As you may have probably already assumed, Disgaea plays like most SRPGs; one side must complete their turn by assigning actions to all of their characters before the opposing team can act. In addition to special moves, team attacks can also be performed if friendly units are nearby and you share a high enough affinity; the best part is, the characters that participate in the team attack don't lose their turns and they also gain experience. This can be used as an unfair tactic at times, but keep in mind that enemies can use abuse this as well. The heart of the game is in intense character build-up. There are several ways to increase your levels exponentially in the game and the key to making a powerful character is through transmigration. Instead of creating a new character when a class is unlocked, you can simply switch classes. This comes at a price, however, as the character will have to start at level one again, but depending on how much mana they've gathered (basically how much enemies they've defeated) they are allowed to retain some of their previous stats. Using this method can creat some truly awesome characters with levels in the thousands and while the average gamer won't even bother with such a feat, there are others who will always shoot for the top. In addition to participating in the story battles and secret areas, you can also try your luck with the Dark Assembly or the ever popular Item World. The Dark Assembly is nothing more than a congress of demons that take charge of making all of the decisions in the Underworld. They handle everything from allowing new items to be sold in the shops to increasing your stats. Seeing as how the congress is made up of some of the most powerful and evil creatures in the Underworld, you'll find that sometimes they need convincing. You can either sway their opinion by giving them extravagant gifts or simply kill them. During the early stages of the game killing members of the Assembly isn't an easy task, but as you climb the ranks destroying all opposition will become progessively easier. The Item World is yet another place to hone your battle skills, but here you are leveling up your weapons as well as your characters. You choose a weapon to enter and then you have to fight through dozens of randomly generated battlefields. The kicker is that you can only leave the Item World every ten levels or through the use of an item called Mr. Gency's Exit. Lower quality weapons will house relatively weak monsters, but as the levels increase so does the difficulty and this is where strategy comes into play. You want to try and not bite off more than you can chew because you never know which floor is going to house the monsters that your party can't handle. Visually, Disgaea is nothing too amazing; it's entirely in 2D and it'll no doubt disgust some gamers who don't enjoy too much pixellation in their games. The in-game art is beautiful though, especially the various animations used during dialogue and the character designs in general. The higher level attacks boast some decent special effects, but it's nothing we haven't already seen before. The game fares better with its music and sound effects; I never thought I'd be a fan of American voice talent, but this game proves that there is hope after all. The music is incredibly catchy and it fits the setting perfectly, which is no small peanuts considering the game's hellish setting. Nippon-Ichi proves that it has the skills to stay alive in the American market and with games like Makai Kingdom coming up, it looks to be a very prosperous year for them indeed. Disgaea will keep you busy for hours and if you're not a hardcore SRPG player, the story will keep you company long enough to get you addicted. | |||||||||
Reviewed by Toma-kunDecember 26, 2008 #1 Reviewer View all my reviews Report this review |
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