Finally, I have reached a point in the game where I am happy enough to start reviewing the game. First of all, I would like to say that this game is absolutely brilliant, outdoing every other game that Nippon Ichi has done over the last few years. They have taken what was great about the series, and then adding and improving it many features that have improved the overall quality.
THE OPENING
I do feel that I must start from the beginning of the game. First of all, the opening theme is set out just like an animes opening, full with well, the randomness of the opening sequences (minus the credits). It was very funny to watch and I actually managed to get a few people convinced to buy hunt down (This is Australia -.-’) previous versions of the game (Since Disgaea 3 isn’t released over here yet) and try it out. It includes all of the characters in the game (Including the secret ones) as well as a very odd dance… Very good start to the game.
GRAPHICS
First of all, I am aware that a lot of people are calling this games graphics outdated and not good enough for the PS3. Sure, this would be the case for most games such as MGS4, GTA and all the other games which requires the high level of graphics to sell, however, for this genre, it is the best and more successful style for the tactical style of gameplay. I personally would be horrorfied to see a tactical RPG game with a very high level of graphics, straying from this style, as not only would the game suddenly be more complicated, but less styles of characters, lesser game quality in other criteria such as storyline and extras (As the extra space usage would be put towards only graphics) and personally, I cannot see much success in the graphic style. In comparison to other games in this genre, the PS3 has given it a nice boost with much clearer sprites and much more extensive usage of everything the graphic system has to offer. I am also glad to see that they use both ingame discussions and the style used in the first image above this criteria.
MUSIC/VOICE
As with all the Nippon Ichi games, this game has an extensive library of music, ranging from lyrical songs to instrumental songs. I did a review on the bonus soundtrack disk here and here. There are so many songs that it guarantees you to very rarely hear the same song twice in at least a chapter and does not get repetitive. Also, as I found out today, you can get a secret club which allows you to purchase and change music of both item and class worlds (More on the different worlds later). Tenpei Sato really did a good job this time around! With the voice overs, I am glad to hear the pre-existing characters with their old voices and all the new characters were voiced very well!
CHARACTERS/STORYLINE
First of all, the characters. The characters are just as weird and assorted this time. The main characters include:
- Mao: An honor student at Evil Academy and this is due to him attending a total of 0 classes and showing all signs of evil.
- Raspberyl: A delinquent at Evil Academy and has attends all classes and in our world, would be considered an honor student, but of course, with it being an academy for demons, she is portrayed as a bad and terrible student.
- Almaz: A fake-hero who ventures into the netherworld to hunt for the overlord, who he wishes to kill to save his “Princess” however, once running into Mao, his motives have changed to him trying to regain his title, after Mao stole it.
- Sapphire: The princess of the human world and the princess that Almaz is trying to protect. She has come to Evil Academy to hunt for the overlord and has a wild violent streak in her.
- Mr. Champloo: The home economics teacher at Evil Academy, besides that, much is unknown about him, as he hides from everyone.
Each of these, and the many other characters, each have different skills and personalities which adds a diverse variety of traits and aspirations to the games storyline. In regards to the storyline, I felt it was too short in comparison to the other games. Whilst other games had 13+ different chapters, Disgaea 3 stops at 7 plus an 8th chapter depending on storyline (Alongside a few extra levels). While there were equal or more storyline levels in comparison to the other games, there was still a little less opportunity for a storyline. However, what was added was funny, completely shattered the fourth wall more then any game, and kept flowing throughout, even if it was a bit weird at times. Definately not a disapointer!
REPLAYABILITY AND FEATURES
Every Nippon Ichi game is well known for its replayability and special features which keep gamers playing for many many more hours worth after finishing the storyline. First of all, some features that are available during the game include:
- Magichange: Allows any monster class unit to transform into a weapon for any member of their same club to use as for a certain number of terms.
- Dual-throw: Allows you to throw different numbers of characters in a human tower instead of just throwing one at a time.
- New Throwing Items: There are alot of different items for you to throw and stand on, including geocubes, which are similar to the old geo items except you can throw, destroy and stand on them. Which also allows you to throw similar colour cubes together, which shatters them. This also means there are lots of geocubes around!
- Skills/Evility: Characters do not automatically learn new skills now, they now have to buy and upgrade them using mana points. As well, you can buy special skills for your character called Evility, also using mana which allows you character special abilitys such as an increase in a stat (Eg. 10% ATK) or something like (5% Added to all stats for each adjacent enemy) which allows a lot of creative and challenging characters and bosses respectively.
- Clubs: As all administration work is done using the classroom system, you can use the homeroom to form different clubs which can include clubs such as Honor Students (10% EXP of adjacent party members) and Music Club (Allows a special person in the school to appear, which allows you to play and modify purchased music from the item world)
- Class World: Similar to the item world, except allows you to build certain abilities of the character that you choose.
In the end of the game, several things can be done which include:
- Extra Maps: Which allows you to earn characters from other games via completing these extra tough levels. (Which the level requirements increase greatly each time)
- Level! Level! Level!: The level 9999 limit still stands
- and MANY MANY MORE SURPRISES!
Overall:
Graphics: 4.5
Music: 5
Storyline: 4.5
Replayability: 5
Total: 4.75 (A)
I would honestly recommend this game to anyone who likes a bit of a challenge, as this game, whilst looking out of date and all that, it offers the experience not even other tactical RPG’s have ever given us. If you are Aussie… good luck finding a copy when it is released and if you are after a previous version, definately check out stores that sell pre-owned games, as Disgaea: Hour or Darkness, seems to be a bit more visible nowadays when even a year ago, it was impossible to find.
Credits and Notes
All Images were taken from Nippon Ichi promotional material. (Since I can’t get good pictures myself -.-’)
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