Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories

"The Disgaea series never gets old"

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories is the ever-awaited sequel to the fan-favored, cult hit Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. All the wacky humor and intense turn-based strategy is back, with some innovative extras. Although Disgaea 2 doesn't fallow the original story line of the original Disgaea there are returning characters, extra stages, and some secret characters (for the people who actually played the original). In fact, a reason Disgaea 2 doesn't follow the original games' story is that not that many people played the original, so if a newcomer to the genre wants to step in they can have the general wacky feel of Disgaea with very few flaws in the story. By the way, if you were wondering how Disgaea is pronounced it's: Dis-guy-ah.

Gameplay 10/10- Disgaea games are my absolute favorite to play, they're fun, endless, simple, and somehow require a level of intelligence higher than “2+2=4”, like most video games demand. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't complicated, you can beat the basic story line with very minimal knowledge of the neat extras, but if you want your moneys worth it's going to be a long fight. The controls are very basic; it's almost like chess… with evil demonic pieces that have cool ass-kicking specials. If you've played any other SRPG (like Fire Emblem or Stella Dias) you will be alright, if you don't even know what SRPG stands for you'll be ok also, there are very helpful tutorials at the beginning of the game.

Story 8/10- I'm going to just come out and say it now, this is my least favorite N1 story out of all of their games. It doesn't have the dramatic sad ending N1 is known and loved for. Anyway, Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories is about a young man that goes by the name of Adell. Everyone in Adells world, except for himself, have been turned into demons by the wicked overlord Zenon. Adells family tries to help his constant hunt for overlord Zenon by trying to summon him, so Adell can kick his but and return everyone to normal. Adell's family accidentally summons the mysterious and unknown overlord Zenon's daughter Rozalin, so Rozalin is forced to accompany Adell in his seemingly constant search for the overlord due to certain summon rituals.

Graphics/Sound 8/10- The graphics and sounds compared to the system's capabilities are sub-par, but they go great with the games' theme. Its 2D sprites and 3D maps are what N1 games have always used and I wouldn't want it any other way. It's large maps, many weapons, and numerous specials are great ways N1 has taken advantage of their unique graphic style. The soundtrack of Disgaea 2 is by far the best of all the N1 games. It has all the great songs from the original Disgaea with many new songs. The music sort of has a techno gothic feel to it, and even if you aren't a fan of techno-goth don't fear, it goes great with the game and gives it the spooky feel Disgaea has always, and hopefully always will, have.

What makes this game so fun and endless? - There are many things that make Disgaea games so unique I had to make my own section for it to name them all. First of all, unlike many games, Disgaea 2 isn't set to one ending; there are numerous endings that allow Replayability to surpass most games. All N1 games live by the rule that you can be stronger then just level 100 or even 1000, the max level in all N1 games for PS2 is level 9999, but there is also a feature where you can restart or “reset” your level to 1 and keep a fraction of your previous stats depending on how much mana you use. There is a limit on resetting, or as they call it in the game reincarnating (transmigrating), you can only store up to 189,999 levels (I think).

One upgrade in Disgaea 2 is it's “item world,” for the people who aren't familiar with the item world, it is the world in an item that you go inside of. Item world is where you level up your items to make them stronger, gather specialists to make them even more stronger, and the item world is the only place where you can find the higher rank weapons. The new upgrade in Disgaea 2's item world is its mystery gates that you can enter and its “Innocent Town.” Mystery gates, which you can find in the item world, transport you to secret rooms that range from special item dealers to a seemingly impossible battle. Innocent Town is almost like a village that you may visit every 10 floors in an item, you may not enter every time but it's a cool new extra that makes it seem like the item world is totally different.

Disgaea games also introduced the Dark Assembly system, where you appeal a bill before a group of senators. The bill can be unlocking classes, unlocking extra levels, getting triple EXP with your next kill, and many many more. If the senators don't pass the bill you can always try to “persuade by force” where you battle with the senate to pass your bill.

The Geo Symbols have returned! If you've played the first Disgaea you know what geo symbols and geo panels are, but for all the people who don't this is what they are: geo symbols are small triangular symbols on the map that put certain effects on colored panels on the field. The geo symbol doesn't always have to be stationary in Disgaea 2; they made it so some geo symbols can move. Some geo effects are: invincibility, ATK +50%, move –1, evade, and many many more.

There is also something new in Disgaea 2 called the Dark Court system. In Disgaea 2 getting a felonies is a good thing, some things that you get felonies for is having too high HP, mastering a type of weapon, or killing too many people. To earn your felonies you have to enter a “subpoena” (an item that you get from the post officer for doing something bad/good) through the item world, and once you reach a certain floor of the subpoena (through the item world) a “Dark Court Gate” will appear, once you step through the gate you will be put on trail and automatically be found guilty, you can get money and special items for your felons.

Another new thing in Disgaea 2 is the “Dark World.” Once you complete a level with certain conditions a Dark World of that map will appear (to enter Dark World you must find the 5 secret buttons in Holt Village map, and fight the level 100 “Friday MK11”). The Dark World version of the map will have much harder enemies and much better rewards. On the Dark World maps there will also be a “Dark Sun” above the map that can do things to plague your characters; it can range from healing, to all males sleep, to game over.

Play Time/Replayability 10/10- If you just want to finish the basic story mode of the game, it's going to take you about 25-45 hours. But no one buys Disgaea for the minimum, Disgaea is known for endless gameplay, multiple endings, rank 40 weapons, secret maps, extra obtainable characters, and the famous level 9999 cap, and you can do over 2 BILLION damage. Many people have played the original Disgaea for over 600 hours and still have stuff to do! Disgaea 2 is diffidently worth playing a second time, and even a 5th and 6th time, maybe not the story, but all the secret stuff to do and getting and beating all the secret stuff.

Final Recommendation 9/10- Disgaea 2 is diffidently a buy especially if you like chess, humor, or RPGs. It's worth looking around for even though lots of stores will most likely have it in stock for a while to come… don't worry it wont be as rare as the original Disgaea. I love Disgaea games and they're worth the amount you pay. There aren't many games you can say you played for over 600 hours and enjoyed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06