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PLATFORM
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PS3
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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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Adjustable
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COMPLETION
TIME
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20-40 Hours
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OVERALL
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+
Superb and addictive combat.
+
Best visual presentation in
the series.
+
Splendid mix of new and old.
-
Some base classes not
unlocked initially.
-
Disappointing story.
-
Some advanced features from
Disgaea 3 and 4 missing
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Click
here for scoring
definitions
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Disgaea D2:
A Brighter Darkness is the sequel to the
original game in the Disgaea series, just
in time for the tenth anniversary of the series.
In addition to the popular original cast
returning, the game makes a number of changes to
make the gameplay more like the original.
Surprisingly, what seems to be a game designed to
be a nostalgia trip actually plays like a fresh,
slimmed down take on the series, with some
interesting new features. The lack of some of Disgaea
4's more advanced features is disappointing,
and the story fails to consistently capture the
over the top humor the series is known for. What
it does capture, thankfully, is the addictive
strategy RPG gameplay that has kept the series
going for ten years.
The story
begins with the protagonist Laharl settling in as
overlord of the Netherworld after the events of
the original game. Seeing that many demons
apparently have no idea that he is the overlord,
Laharl sets out with his original vassals, Etna
the demon and Flonne the former angel, to inform
the public. Naturally things don't go according to
plan and they eventually face off with a group
loyal to the previous overlord. From there the
plot moves to the appearance of Laharl's long lost
angel sister and an invasion of flowers from the
home of the angels that threatan to destroy the
demon filled netherworld. There are some funny
moments, including a whole chapter where Laharl
turns into a woman, but on the whole the game's
story really lacks a lot of the over the top
insanity and self-referential humor that has made
many of the stories in the series so good. Being a
direct sequel, there are tons of opportunities for
that kind of humor that just never materialize,
and many of the favorite side characters from the
original game are nowhere to be found. Worse, the
plot loses direction and suddenly peters out at
the end. It's a huge missed opportunity, and
though nothing in the story is offensively bad, it
feels like it tries to coast on the player's
nostalgia. At least the game adds occasional
dialog to battle, something the series sorely
needed to prevent disconnect between story and
gameplay.
Thankfully the
gameplay, which makes up most of the player's time
with Disgaea D2, is a completely different
story. Gameplay has been the series' bread and
butter, providing relatively straightforward
turn-based strategy with a variety of different
systems added on to provide a plethora of
different customization and grinding options. The
game cuts out some of the fat from the more recent
games, making it play more in line with the
original. The selection of classes is small and
familiar, though more open up as the game
advances. There's no class world or map editing,
just the item world. Geo-panels, colour-coded
sections of a map, now have effects provided by
the simpler geo-symbols instead of the stackable
and traversable geo-blocks used previously.
Character advancement is also simpler, as
characters learn new skills automatically as they
level and power up those skills simply through
repeated use. All these changes could have
produced a game that felt like a huge step down
from Disgaea 4, but a number of
refinements, new features, and fantastic level
design prevent this.
Beware
of pirates, now a more frequent
occurrence in the item world.
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For starters, Disgaea
D2 replaces the often cumbersome magichange
system from the previous two games with a new
monster mounting system. Magichange provided a way
to change monster characters into powerful
weapons, but only for a short time period and only
for selected characters in the player's party. As
the name would suggest, the new mounting system
lets characters ride monsters, using them as a
damage shield and allowing for special combo
attacks. Weapon skills can't be used while
mounted, but magic can, turning the normally frail
and slow-moving magic types into mobile death
machines. Both characters gain experience
regardless of the type of attack used, so this
mechanic proves to a fantastic tool for leveling.
The other
changes in Disgaea D2 are more along the
lines of refinements than full new features. The
series has largely stuck with the same set of
weapons throughout. This game finally adds a new
book weapon type to the mix. With skills and
attack power based on intelligence, this new
weapon provides a great way for healers and mages
to get extra attack power. This serves to be
primarily useful for healers, as healing remains a
poor way to level up compared to killing enemies.
Also new to this game is a change to the item
world, a long series of randomly generated levels
with weapons and other items used to power them
up. Instead of starting directly on the stage,
players now enter the item world on ships, which
provide a base of operations to work from and make
the random levels easier to manage and often less
frustrating. Pirates will frequently invade stages
in the item world on similar ships, and upon
defeating these pirates more ships are made
available for players to use. Combined with
smaller levels in the item world in general, what
once could be a frightening place for novices is
now a lot of fun to explore and far less tedious
than it could get in previous games.
Balance has
always been an issue in the Disgaea
series, with heavy grinding often necessary at
certain points in the story. Also problematic were
the sheer number of secondary activities for
leveling characters, which could make the game far
too easy for those who dug into everything. Disgaea
D2 aims to fix this with a cheat shop that
allows for tweaking and even turning off certain
gameplay features such as experience gained from
battles. Though some of these features were
available in some form in previous games, this is
the first time they've been collected in such a
way. Options unlock as the player progresses so
not everything is available from the start. Even
so, the shop provides a great way for players to
tweak the experience specifically to their liking
in a way that most games don't provide. Those
intimidated by such options should note that Disgaea
D2 has a well-balanced single player
campaign that doesn't require much grinding until
the very end. These features are more geared
towards more advanced players.
The
series' traditional over the top
humor is in short supply in the
latter half of the game.
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Disgaea 4
was the first game to use full HD sprites and
environments, to somewhat mixed results. The
sprites were fantastic, but environments and some
3D effects disappointed. Disgaea D2
fixes these issues nicely. Environments are
noticeably more consistent, and effects using both
2D and 3D art look fantastic. Character portraits
during conversations look great and animate
nicely. The whole game has a very clean and
consistent look to it, with almost nothing to
complain about except that battle animations tend
to be a bit on the long side. The developers
seemed to anticipate this one complaint, as battle
animations can now be skipped with the press of a
button. Sound and music contain a lot of reused
effects and tracks, but some of the new music
mixed in really stands out. The voice work in the
game is quite good, with either the original voice
actors for the main characters in place, or
replacements that sound enough alike that most
players won't notice. The voice acting tends
towards to be a bit cheesy at times, but seems to
be intentional and usually fits the off-beat
humor.
The developers
of Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness could
easily have made a cheap nostalgic cash-in, but
luckily this isn't the result. Though the story is
a disappointment, the rest of the game is a joy to
play. Somehow eliciting a feeling of nostalgia
while adding new features to the Disgaea
formula, it manages to be the most accessible
entry in the series, making even the advanced
features of the series much easier to partake in.
Even Disgaea fans who didn't enjoy the
original game will find plenty to like here. It
may not quite reach the lofty heights of Disgaea
4, but Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness
still manages to be one of the brightest entries
in the series.
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