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Developer: Nippon Ichi Software | Publisher: NIS America |
| Release Date: April 17, 2012 | Available On: Vita |
The latest entry of the Disgaea franchise is the third release for a Sony handheld – it also happens to be a re-release of Disgaea 3, subtitled “Abscence of Detention”. On the plus side, the game boasts better controls and bonus content, exclusive to Vita players.
What is this game about?
The game follows Mao, a young demon who
attends The Evil Academy in the Netherworld. The
students gain honor titles by not showing up for
class and just generally acting badly.
Oddly enough, the “delinquents” are the students who actually go to class and do good deeds. Mao yearns to defeat his father and take his title of Overlord. Why? Because his father destroyed his video games.
Since being late for class is considered honorable, Mao spends most of his time reading manga. These books make him want to become a hero, even though to him that would be considered delinquent activity.
The game is almost fully voice-acted outside of battle. As with most traditional turn-based strategy RPGs, the dialogue unfolds through static images and text-based conversations; I usually find these dialogues boring, but the voice acting is so well done, and the humor is timed so perfectly that I constantly found myself laughing at my Vita. Without the terrific voice acting, the humor would have fallen completely flat.
One of the very first things I noticed when I
loaded up the game was how clear it looked. Having played Disgaea 4 for PlayStation
3, I immediately noticed a crispness on the Vita
that I didn’t even see on my HDTV. I’m not sure if it was because of the screen size, or the OLED screen, but the already well-drawn characters seemed much more vivid on my Vita.
But how does it play?
Well, basically the same. If there is one thing I’ve never understood about the Disgaea series, it’s how it has not progressed. Yes, team attacks are cool, but I’m ready for developer Nippon Ichi to make more changes to the franchise. With the limited
time I’ve spent with Disgaea 4, it seems the exact same on the surface. Even dialogue seems similar.
To those who haven’t played it, let me elaborate. The biggest portion of the game takes place on a grid battle field like most strategy games. Enemies are already there when the battle
starts, and players position their characters in a limited movement pattern from a spawn zone.
Different characters have different abilities,
and better ranges for attacking. The battle
system is where Disgaea sets itself apart from
most strategy games, though: if a player-controlled character attacks an enemy with one or more allies positioned next to or behind the attacking character, there is a chance a team attack will occur. Team attacks are special abilities that can deal heavy damage and usually involve some sort of fancy animation between the attacking characters. Sometimes enemies are positioned in unreachable places, and to attack, you must lift and throw characters to positions in order to attack. The last major element that you can see in the battle field are geo-blocks. Geo-blocks provide bonuses or cause detrimental effects to player characters or enemies. By attacking and
destroying linked geo-blocks, players cause
chain reactions that can cause heavy damage to
themselves or enemies. These Geo-blocks have always been one of the most unique and strategic parts of the Disgaea series.
Why should you buy it?
If you own a Vita, and like strategy games,
Disgaea is not only the first game of its kind
available for the handheld, but could end up
being one of the best. I know it’s early in the
Vita life cycle to say that, and Disgaea 4 may
eventually end being ported to the handheld, as Nippon Ichi seems to know what it’s doing when it comes to handheld ports. The game
takes full advantage of the rear touch pad,
allowing control of the camera just by tapping the back of the system. Tapping the
upper right of the pad will change distance from
the field, allowing players to see more or less
of the battle. Tapping the upper left will
change the screen to a top down view, showing
enemy positions, and land gaps.
To me, Disgaea on consoles does not feel
nearly as good as its handheld counterparts.
The series has always felt like a handheld game
being played on a television, and Disgaea 3 has
found a better home on the Playstation’s new
portable.
| Graphics: | 8.5 |
| Sound: | 8.5 |
| Gameplay: | 8 |
| Creativity: | 7 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 9 |
| Final: | 8.2 out of 10 |
| Written by Drew Meadows | Write a User Review |
