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PLATFORM
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PS3 |
BATTLE SYSTEM
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INTERACTION
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ORIGINALITY
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STORY
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MUSIC & SOUND
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VISUALS
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CHALLENGE
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Moderate
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COMPLETION TIME
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40-60
Hours
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OVERALL
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+ Finest iteration of the Disgaea series
+ Varied, complex maps keep things
interesting
+ Great story, localization and voice acting
+ Enough
optional
content
to
fill
several
games
- Graphical presentation is uneven
- Difficulty not balanced for series
newcomers
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Click here for scoring
definitions
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Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten marks
the
latest
in
the
strategy
RPG
series
from
Nippon Ichi. The biggest
addition promised for this entry was a big uptick in the graphical
presentation after Disgaea 3,
which largely looked like a PlayStation 2 title instead of the
PlayStation 3 game it was. Though the graphics are
certainly a vast improvement over the previous entry, the highlights of
Disgaea 4 end up
being the refined
gameplay and entertaining story. In fact, with graphical elements
outside of the beautiful new character sprites often being uneven, this
continues to be the weak link for the series, though other areas more
than make up for that.
Disgaea 4 tells the tale of a
former demon tyrant, Valvatorez, and his faithful werewolf servant
Fenrich. Valvatorez, having made a promise in his past not to drink
human blood again, has lost all his former powers and is forced to be a
lowly prinny instructor. Adding further insult, he must rely solely
on sardines as a power source. After a plan to exterminate all prinnies
is enacted by the netherworld's government, the corrupternment,
Valvatorez sets off on a
quest to topple the current president and restore demons to their
proper role of instilling fear in humans to keep them in line. If this
sounds like a silly setup for a story, it's because it is. Disgaea 4 keeps up the humor that
the series is known for, complete with the over the top story and
setting. All kinds of hilarious shenanigans happen throughout
Valvatorez's quest, including the occasional bit of fourth-wall
breaking. The game's party members are all equally as silly, with
a final boss in training and a money-grubbing angel
being among their number. Despite the light-hearted tone of the
narrative, it touches on some serious matters and looks at the overall
place of demons and angels in the Disgaea
universe in a way that has
yet to be done in the series. The quality of the story and
characters here is simply top notch.
Going back to the visuals,
Strategy RPGs have rarely been known for providing the highest quality
visuals available. Still, the previous entry in the series left a lot
to be desired on this front, and there is no doubt that the series has
now entered the HD generation. Everything in the 2D realm, from
character sprites to the moving character portraits that are often
shown during character conversations, looks fantastic. However, because
these elements look so good, poorer visuals stand out by comparison. 3D
effects such as terrain and some character attacks often
look blocky, and not quite up to par compared to the wonderful
character sprites. That's not to say these things are bad; they just
tend to feel dated in comparison. Still, the overall presentation is
beautiful thanks to the incredible quality of the abundant 2D artwork.
The new character sprites are as beautiful
as fresh sardines. |
|
Music and sound, on the
other hand, are spot on. The music in Disgaea
4 provides a nice backdrop for whatever the current situation
may
be. The battle themes match the severity of particular fights,
light hearted music matches the more humorous moments of the game, and
of course somber music matches the infrequent, but present, serious
moments. Some of the themes contain vocal work, though regardless of
the language option selected they are always in Japanese. The sounds,
for everything from spells to attacks to battle cries, all provide the
necessary weight to players' actions. The Disgaea
series has always featured excellent voice
work, and the latest entry does not disappoint. The voice actor for
Valvatorez is the best of the group, providing a hilarious amount of
bravado, especially when imparting ever important facts about
sardines. Though some of the voice actors don't shine quite as well as
the rest, none could be called bad. The voice actors have great
chemistry, so it blends wonderfully. The option to use
the original Japanese voices is
also available, for those who prefer it.
The battle system is the
heart and soul of Disgaea
4. The game uses a simple setup much like other tactical
RPGs, especially the prior games in the series. The biggest
feature the series adds to this formula is the use of geo blocks and
geo panels. These allow for a greater variety of battle stages where
players have to deal with various status effects on the terrain as well
as enemies themselves. In addition, the series includes
features such
as combo attacks, lifting and throwing ally and enemy units, and the
ability to change monster class characters into weapons during
battles to power up a character. These features are all completely
integrated into the experience. The battles are designed in such a way
that players will need to use all of these features to succeed, as the
enemies will be just as quick to use them to their advantage. Thus,
there is a greater deal of strategy required, keeping the experience
deep and challenging.
Geo blocks are a constant challenge, and
many maps are full of them. |
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Disgaea 4 doesn't drastically
deviate from the established formula of the series, but instead refines
older systems. New to this entry is the ability to
fuse two monster type characters together into a larger and more
powerful monster for the duration of a battle. Players can also carry
two monster weapons and change a fused monster into a weapon.
Sadly, these abilities are relegated to the post game, though late game
enemies will use them. Strangely, a system from Disgaea 3 that allowed characters
to combo together skills in a similar way that characters can combo
regular attacks is missing from this game, at least in the initial
playthrough. Disgaea 4 may
not have much in the way of new features in the combat system, but it
more than makes up for this with challenging map design. When the
geo panels/blocks aren't present, this is often made up for simply by
increasing the enemy count, or making the terrain more challenging to
navigate. There are almost no maps where players can simply charge
forward with the most powerful characters and expect to succeed. The
level designs are a vast improvent over those from earlier games in the
series, which could often be bland. Disgaea
4 is always finding new ways to challenge players, keeping
things interesting from the start of the game, to the end, and beyond.
The game provides a number
of optional features to help overcome these many different challenges.
Players are given enough story and other characters to round out the
party, but are also free to create their own characters if they so
choose. Classes range from the usual fighters and mages, to various
monster
types such as zombies. In Disgaea 4,
one
can
place
characters on a campaign map screen, with each square on
the map representing an area of the netherworld they've conquered by
completing a story battle. Characters closer to each other will be more
likely to combo their attacks in battle. On this map players can also
place various symbols, which provide beneficial effects to the
characters within them. Many of these effects are quite powerful,
though the most powerful symbols must also be gained via the senate.
There are just many different ways to create and organize the party,
giving players a tremendous sense of freedom. New characters
start at level one, so a bit of grinding is required to get them up to
strength with the rest of the party. Disgaea
4
provides seemingly limitless ways to go about such grinding, including
random dungeons accessible inside each item, replaying previous maps,
and, new to this entry, designing and completing custom maps in the map
editor. The map editor also allows players to
create maps with their own high level characters as enemies. Creative
players can find ways to turn such maps into easy grinding zones for
their low level characters.
In the end, Disgaea 4 is simply the finest
expression of everything that the Disgaea
series is. It has a fun story with memorable
characters, an excellent battle system, and hundreds of hours of
optional content. It is well
balanced for the most part despite a difficulty spike in the
final chapter of the game. For those less inclined to a challenge, the
many grinding options provide an easy way to overcome these battles.
The battle system, through the geo block and geo panel
systems, provides constantly evolving battles that keep things fresh
and interesting through the main story, never reducing the game to
simple brute force strategies. With numerous post game
challenges, the random dungeon system of the item world, and a new game
plus option, it gives new meaning to the phrase "bang for your buck."
It may be difficult for those new to the series to figure out, despite
tutorials that go over all of the basic features. However, those who
stick with the game to the end will find an an extremely entertaining
and challenging strategy RPG on par with Final
Fantasy Tactics and Tactics
Ogre, if the players just dig deep enough.
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