Disgaea PC Review by LumpDizzle666
Genre: RPG
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.  Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
Release Date: Feb 24, 2016

DOOD

Disgaea PC is a SRPG (Strategy Role Playing Game) from Nippon Ichi Software … And as a series Disgaea is pretty much king in the genre. Disgaea PC is the series’ first venture onto PC and I say… ABOUT *FUCKING* TIME! Disgaea PC is a port but not just a port. They have really gone the extra mile by adding Updated UI, new textures, Keyboard/Mouse controls, controller support and all content from Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness was a remake of the original Disgaea (Disgaea: Hour of Darkness) for the PSP. So I think that makes this the remake of a PSP game that was a remake of a PS2 game… hmm #legit laugh out loud.

Disgaea has also created one of the most beloved characters of all time. WAIT! You don’t know what I’m talking about?! The Prinny DOOD! Disgaea PC features a bizarre story and many many features and I will do my best to touch on them all.

DOOD!       (insert Prinny here)
The story breaks down like this. You are Laharl, Demon Prince, and you have been asleep for a while… years in fact. Upon being awoken by your loyal (or not loyal) vassal, you find out that your father the Overlord Krichevskoy has died two years prior and the Netherworld is in complete turmoil. There are Many Demons vying for supremacy over the Netherworld to claim the title Overlord. A title that by all rights belongs to you. You will embark on an adventure filled with unique allies and a even more unique story as you battle your way to the top and Claim that title that is rightfully yours Really though the story is pretty *damn* epic and you really need to experience it for yourself.

Disgaea PC being the remake of a PSP game that was the remake of a PS2 game you may be expecting some pretty terrible graphics… Not the case here. To start with the Original Disgaea: Hour of Darkness had really good pixel art and the remake Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness improved them. But Nippon Ichi Software did not leave it at that. From the UI to the Sprites and Maps. Nippon Ichi Software upgraded them all… As options. Yes that’s right you can choose to use the new or the old… and you know what? You can mix and match (that’s what I did).

The Battle animations oh the battle animations… They are an awesome over the top treat for the eyes. The battle animations can range from just neat looking to extreme ultra omega super over the top seizure (almost) inducing show of light and color. Learn every ability and enjoy them all.

You might think that Disgaea PC an SRPG might  handle awkwardly being it was created for console (PS2) but it works really good with a controller and Nippon Ichi Software could have left it at that but they did not… they added Keyboard and mouse controls which are pretty competent. Even having played many Disgaea games on console I find I much prefer the Keyboard and mouse controls. You can pretty much play one handed with just the mouse which means (for me at least) I can kick back and play   😀 Take note though that the controls are not perfect. You frequently have to click something twice with the mouse to get it to what you want. Still I choose mouse to play
The Music in the game is just plain great. You will find yourself tapping your feet or fingers to the fun and catchy music. The sound FX are from magic attacks to taking damage are satisfying and never get to the point of getting annoying. The Voice acting is utterly and completely amazing. It is over the top and fun to the extreme… DOOD!

You will start as the main character Laharl and get a number unique story characters/Units to battle with. They is however only the smallest portion of units you will get and use. Indeed you will be creating units from 40 base unit types. This portion of the game takes place in the Dark Assembly. As you battle your units will accumulate Mana and you in turn use that Mana to create units from the currently accessible units. You will be able to unlock new units as you go along. Some of the Human class units have special requirements that unlock them while Monster class units only require that you defeat one.

Each unit type will have a base Mana cost and when creating new units you will choose from Good-for-nothing, Incompetent, Average, Skilled, Distinguished or Genius. Good-for-nothing being the lowest tie and Genius the highest tier.  Not all will be available at the start as you will need to unlock the higher tiers by passing bills through the Dark Assembly. The Mana cost of each tier will be higher, the highest tiers have extremely high Mana costs but by the time you get to make them it will not actually be that bad.

The Unit designs are all pretty great… From Prinny to Dragon they all look cute and cool and never feeling just plain silly or boring. The Dark Assembly is a very important part of the game. The Dark Assembly is basically the Netherworlds Senate if you want to change something you must sponsor a bill (with mana) and get it voted in. Do you want more expensive equipment (higher level stuff) access to better class units? You will need to get it voted in your favor.

You will start off with low level bills but as you level up your Demon rank will gain access to better bills. In order to get your demon rank up you will need to take Promotional exams which take the form of special battles… win and you rank up. Getting a bill voted on will cost you mana… Once you have started a bill you are taken to the Dark Assembly floor where you will find the senators. You can if you want call the bill to a vote right away but you will likely lose the vote. You will need to bribe the senators with items you have. Bribe enough of them and your bill will pass… HUZZAH! However if you lose a vote you will have a choice, Return to the castle of Persuade the senators… By force. You can battle the opposing senators and if you defeat them they will change their vote but they are not pushovers so be careful.

Each unit can equip up to four items, one weapon and three Pieces of gear. Human type units can equip any of the standard weapons, Glove, Sword, Spear, Bow, Gun, AX, Wand. Human units will level up with each weapon type and you can equip any weapon on them whoever each their have preferred types and will level up with them much faster. Monster type Units can only use specific weapons and do not gain any expertise with them. All Units can equip three pieces of gear. Gear can augment any number of things from defense to damage dealt… as a fact a single piece of gear can affect multiple aspects so look carefully and equip them where they will do the most good

The Item World is something special I wish I found in other games. Item World? Yup you read it right… The Item world is a randomly generated set of dungeons that you use to level up your items. Have a weapon you love but it is just no longer up to snuff? Then go to it’s Item world and battle your way through randomly generated maps to level it up… the deeper you go the better it gets.. Pretty nifty if I do say so myself… and I do so yeah.

By Leveling up a unit’s skill with a weapon they will get access to special abilities for those weapons while they have it equipped. Each Unit also has access to abilities that are specific to their type. Leveling up the unit will unlock new abilities as well as leveling up each ability will give you access to variations of them. Level up a fire spell and it will go from attacking one square on the grid to two and more. Eventually you will be able to unleash some amazing power that devastate …well everything. There are a couple pretty interesting abilities that all the human units have called lift and throw. Lift allows you to lift another unit and throw lets you throw that unit. This will allow you to cover ground quickly or even reach place you otherwise would not be able to. You can also throw you enemies around And as a fun side note… Throwing a Prinny will cause them to explode so have fun with that, I know I did.

So Disgaea PC  is an RPG and that means earning XP and leveling up right? Of course it does… But you are not going to cap out at Level 99 or even 999 no, Then Level cap 9999 Yup 9999 is it, Hit Level 9999 and you have reached the top… or have you? You can Transmogrify you Units. Transmigration does several things towards every unit. First off it resets them to level one but takes the levels they had and stores them and uses them to calculate bonuses to base stats and points to allocate. This will let your transmogrified unit become more powerful per level This process also allows in the case of non story units to change their names , change them to another class and  change them into another tier within the class. Transmogrify today and become even more awesome! DOOD!

The Combat takes place on single maps with multiple elevations and obstacles. Take you time and examine the maps devise a strategy… do not just rush forward, Though there may be times where that would work. On the battle maps you may notice colored areas. These are Geo Panels. Geo Panels are places on the map that may have special effects like +% XP, +% enemy damage or – % something. Geo Panels can alter the flow of a battle pretty quick and in fact can Devastate on side or another if used just right. Think of them as a Puzzle inside them game that if solved and used right are you best tool or if not your greatest folly. Learn them love them and sometimes hate them. I will put this down as a con though in truth it does not bother me and I already expected it. The games starts pretty slow with a lot of back and for between you and your vessel as well as the tutorial is long and slow moving. I quite enjoyed it as the banter between characters really tickles me. The average player may not enjoy it as I did so just keep that in mind

So if you enjoy SRPG’s and want to live your fantasy of being an “ Openly “ evil Politician , Want to become Overlord of the Netherworld or just want hit level 9999 and do millions worth of damage to your enemies with your awesome power, Then Disgaea PC is a MUST own. And at $19.99 USD it is one Hell of a bargain or is Nether of a bargain… hmm either way do get it. I personally do hope that this is just the first of the Disgaea series on PC.

Pros:
One of the better ports.
Possibly hundreds of hours game play .
Great animations from sprites to the over the top battle skills Fun and tap your fingers to music.
Wonderful and quirky Story.

Cons:
The controls are  “okay” requiring some patience to get used too.
The game can move a bit slow for the average player and the tutorial is long.
With so many features to use in the game it can be daunting for some.

DOOD!

LUMPdizzle666 gives Disgaea PC a Drastik Measure 8.5 out of 10.0 (85).