Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Dood, this game is good!
Disgaea: Hour Of Darkness was certainly an interesting beast of a game. Not only was it the first strategy RPG I've ever played (keep in mind that I grew up with a Master System, Game Boy and Nintendo 64, none of which really had any to speak of), but even after playing more of them like Final Fantasy Tactics and the various Fire Emblem games, this one still stood out amongst the rest because it did something special. It's not just the story, but also the playstyle. While Fire Emblem was straight up "move unit to enemy unit and attack", Disgaea has tiles that can make battling vastly different and it has group attacks. It's a special breed of game, but unfortunately, it is quite flawed. Not in the traditional sense because at its core, it works fine, but it's more on an enjoyability level where you'll probably get annoyed with it, unless it just happens to be your kind of thing.

Dood, this story is funny!
Laharl is the prince of the Netherworld, and when he awa...

THE GOOD:
The battle system on Disgaea is probaly the best of any tactical RPG game, however insignificant the genre is. The interface is easy to use and understand, and you'll have learned most of the basics towards the beggining of the game. The story-line is quite different from other japanese oriented games, aside from the fact that it entails humor, and is enjoyable to say the least. The game is detailed with numerous options, including mini-games, such as customizing a large army, a seperate world to explore, and multiple endings.

THE BAD:
The graphics tend to be sub-par which really doesn't impede much on the overall gameplay, but it would have been great to have seen a little more polish to the game. The voice-acting could have been better, but once again it doesn't do much to itch your agitation.

SUMMARY:
Disgaea was a huge hit in Japan, but has only found nominal success stateside. Part of the reason for that is the game communities lack of knowledge of the game. In fact IGN aw...

When Laharl, Prince of the Netherworld awoke from what he intended to be a ten day nap, he was somewhat shocked to discover that two years had passed, he was now an orphan, and that his existence (and claim to the throne of the Netherworld) had been forgotten.





Together with his 'humble vassal Etna', and a motley crew of various demons, he begins reasserting his claim to the throne in a typically demonic fashion - hitting anyone who objects very firmly over the head with a blunt (or, in the case of the swords and axes, blood-lettingly sharp) object.

Soon, Laharl and Etna are joined by many other characters, demonic, angelic and even human, as well as stalked by self-proclaimed rival, Vyers. However, the fun of the game lies in the creation of a completely unique army - many find themselves ignoring the plot characters altogether, in favour of their own customizations.






By using Mana players are able to create their own characters. Mana is used f...

THE GOOD:
This game has a great amusement to it. Though there is some mild language, it is all good fun playing through this game. The plot is wonderful, instead of playing the well known hero, you are an evil demon instead, which turns things around for you. Doing bad things, stealing stuff, fighting other demons who are just as bad as you, it's cool. The game play added to it is enough for you. It keeps you busy for a while.

The characters were very well designed, Laharl, the demon Prince, son of the overlord of the netherworld who's goal is to become Overlord himself and destroy anything that blocks his way. His companion Etna, the cute young demon who looks like a young devil/succubus girl. She's got a fiery attitude and a look that could kill. There has to be someone good in this game, someone holy and innocent which is the young Angel Flonne, who comes to the Netherworld, but teams with Laharl. there is also Vyers, the one known as the dark adonis or mid boss. He becomes your de...

THE GOOD:
Some of the most memorable RPG characters in a long time, music is excellent and varied, EXTREMELY deep gameplay, challenging, hilarious dailogue, super-cute anime graphics, multiple story lines & endings, original advance-gameplay system...

THE BAD:
Requires a LOT of free time, some of the English voices could be better, slight character imbalance,

SUMMARY:
Disgaea is one of the PS2's leading cult hits for a good reason: It has some of the most impressive strategy RPG gameplay I've seen on the console. It's not quite as good as Final Fantasy: Tactics, but it definitely comes close.

The game definitely deserves props for it's originality: Especially the lack of RPG cliches in it. There's almost no hint of FF-inspiration anywhere. The characters aren't some save the world quest, they're on a take over the world quest. Playing dirty, stealing, bribing, etc. is encouraged, and there is TON of edgy humor in the dialogue as well. Hell, the humor is one of the things that makes charac...

THE GOOD:
incredible amounts of replay value, interesting cast, funky soundtrack, well-written dialogue, addictive gameplay, stylish art

THE BAD:
PS1 graphics, poor English voice acting (with the exception of Etna), some overly sentimental plot twists towards the conclusion

SUMMARY:
Disgaea immediately departs from the ordinary by giving you control of, not a one-deminsional hero out to save the planet from certain doom, but a spoiled demon prince with the goal of taking over the Netherworld. With a cast of quirky characters and humorous situations, Disgaea breaths new life into the strategy RPG genre that has long been considered dead. The genre's simple controls leave room for heavily strategical situations within the fourteen required levels, a number of secret realms, and the randomly generated 100-level item worlds inside the over 1,000 weapons, accessories, and armor available. Disgaea's systems of attaining abilities and raising attributes allows for some serious customization, an...

THE GOOD:
Storyline.
Humor.
Very long character development.
Great soundtrack.
Addictive.
Various endings/storylines.

THE BAD:
Graphics.
Still priced at fifty dollars, even after a very long time from it's original release-date.

SUMMARY:
Disgaea is probably the best Strategy Role-playing you'll find, that integrates humor,addictive game-play, and some great music. This game is also very challenging, as you progress along in the game, the changes in difficulty become very subtle, which is good for first time players. All in all, you should find yourself becoming very addicted to this game, and wanting to unravel it's very humorous and odd story-line. Character customization is very deep, you can choose from a wide selection of classes, change their weapons, etc. Even though the graphics are limited, most of the special abilities do look quite nice.

THE GOOD:
Graphics (sprites! ^^), storyline, character development, music, battle system, many special abilities and magic, many different monsters, excellent animations for special abilities, secret areas, and multiple endings.

THE BAD:
The English voices.

SUMMARY:
I had always thought that Final Fantasy Tactics was the best strategy RPG ever made. That was until I played Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. The storyline is nothing less than excellent, and the characters are very well devoloped. The battle system seems a little complex at first, but anyone who's played a strategy RPG will be able to pick it up pretty quickly. The only thing I can find wrong with this game is that the english voices aren't that good, but show me a recent game that doesn't have at least one character with a bad english voice. Lastly, the music is extraordinary. I've listened to every song on the game at least 15 times each and they still sound just as awesome as the first time I heard them.

THE GOOD:
It has a funny plot, multiple endings and SO much character customization! And lots of secrets! HIGH replay value. You can create human and monster characters. And any person has the choice of using ANY weapon, though some classes are more skilled at certain ones.

THE BAD:
Sometimes I miss the action from an action RPG, but what can you expect? It's a STRATEGY RPG! I also wish there was a way to skip sequences during new game+ (you can skip the mini sequences, but not end-of-chapter sequences).

SUMMARY:
If you like FFT at all, this game has all that plus MUCH more! The whole idea of controlling demons and being on the side of the netherworld is awesome. Plus, you discover that the demons aren't just "evil" and actually have character and feelings of their own. Too make the plot even better, angels and humans become the villains!!

THE GOOD:
everything

THE BAD:
n/a

SUMMARY:
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness may be Atlus' greatest undertaking. This game is incredible from the get-go. Plenty of action packed RPG styled fighting with the tactic/strategy system and tons of combos and factors that competitor games couldn't even fathom. The storyline's pretty engrossing, you won't find a boring moment in it. The beginning is very tutorial oriented, but that's of course to prepare you for what's to come. I haven't played through the game yet. To tell you the truth, I just purchased it and barely made much progress. From what I can tell, this game has everything you'd look forward to in an RPG and more. You'll definately be kept busy with this one. I can already see how the replay value is insanely high. Tons of endings, levels, characters, skills, and classes await in this masterpiece. What makes things even better is the voices, which really adds to this unique gameplay experience. I think other games seem to get you bored from ...