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Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Review
User Submitted Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Reviews
Date: 2008-10-22
Dood!
I am no stranger to the games that Atlus produces. While many other companies will have hit-and-miss attempts at games I enjoy, Atlus has never disappointed. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, is no exception.
You play as Larharl, the demon prince of the netherworld, and next in line to become the Overlord. Joining you is Larharl's "loyal" vassal, Etna, who seems to be plotting behind her master's back, and the angel trainee assassin from Celestia, Flonne, sent to kill Laharl's father (already 2 years dead).
In terms of graphics, I can honestly say while they could have done better, it would've ruined the overall feel of the game. Atlus employs a 2D anime style of art when dealing with the characters talking with one another, and a simple grid-based battle system. The simplicity of the setup is unheard of in most PS2 games, and that sets it apart from the rest. The music in the game has a wide range, from contemporary pop music to almost classical varieties.
The leveling system, which allows units (and items too!) to reach up to level 9999 and then transmute back to level 1 with improved stats and start all over is an absolutely astonishing idea. It allows units to gain near god-like powers (necessary in order to fight some of the hidden bosses in the game). The units themselves range from dozens of choices of humanoid units, like typical mage and cleric units up to the rare and powerful Majin, and monster units, from the fierce Dragons to the hilarious penguin-like Prinnies who go around saying "Dood!" everywhere, all at varying levels of power. There are hundreds of units to choose from, offering many different play-styles.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness will never get old, especially if you enjoy powerleveling and micro-managing every little detail of your characters. Even if you don't, the game itself has multiple endings which allows for numerous playthroughs with different strategies every time. I highly recommend this game.
Date: 2008-06-15
cRAZYYY
This game is so much fun.
It also has high replay value
Date: 2008-03-28
Awesome title for strategy gamers and anime/manga fans!
Disgaea what can I say? Well it is a great game with a variety of characters to choose and little by little raise his/her stats to achieve ultimate control. What I like is the characters design along with the original Japanese audio with the option of subtitles something very rare in today's games, but important for Japanese games' followers like me. The game's story is decent and the combination of combos and skills the characters use during a battle certainly makes you become more and more interested in exploring other areas as well. I spent hours and hours playing this game and never get tired of it. Think you have what it takes to get to the lowest level on a very rare item and defeat the boss? You are in for a big surprise. I certainly recommend this game given that it is very fun to play and the rarity of its kind due that is not longer in stores will make you feel you have a jewel in your hands and it really is.
Date: 2008-02-01
Proof that graphics dont make the game
This game is simply amazing. I was a big fan of FFT. And havent really found a game that matched the enjoyment I had until I played this game. The first reaction you'll have is "wow, the graphics suck." But give it some time and soon you'll soon fall in love with it. The game has a sort of quirky humor to it that will have you busting out laughing. Not to mention that combat and the item world are addictive as heck. You'll also be hard pressed to "complete" this game. You can easily put in 100++ hours into this game and still not be able to beat some of the secret bosses. Now thats what I call replay value. If you can find this game, pick it up immediately, trust me you wont be disappointed.
Date: 2008-01-14
Perfection
Disgaea manages to take the standard "tactics" format and improve to perfection what was already quite breathtaking. Being a big fan of Final Fantasy Tactics, I picked this up concerned that I might not be able to adapt well to Disgaea's new format. I was pleasantly surprised. The battle format is extremely similar to FFT and is picked up immediately by any fan of the genre. In places where it is dissimilar to FFT, Disgaea is always far more simple and elegant.
For example: You move all your units in one turn, then the enemy moves. It's that simple. No waiting for that one character with low Speed to finally get a turn, no hoping against hope that your healer might get a chance to move some day. Even better: In your turn, you may move as many or as few of your units as you want. No more having to tediously click "Defend" for all the unused mages and clerics while cycling through an easy battle. And most elegant of all, your orders can be cancelled and reissued at any time prior to the final "Execute" command at the end of the turn - no more accidental orders screwing up your game OR your melee combos.
If the battle system is superb in its elegance and simplicity, the game also provides plenty of complication for those who desire it in the form of the Item Dungeon. EVERY item in the game can be "entered" magically and all the enemies within can be defeated in a standard randomized near-endless dungeon. I don't play with the Item Dungeon much, but hey it's there for those who want it - and it's not required to finish the game. Perfect.
A lot has been said about the story. It's witty, it's fresh, it's different. The voice actors are skilled and the animation is beautiful. I won't spoil any more than that, but I WILL say that the story is deep but easy to grasp - another improvement over my beloved FFT. Pick up a copy of this today - Amazon is almost the only place to find it, outside of the occassional blessed GameStop or Half-Price Books.
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