Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

"A Strategy RPG Fan's Dream"

Disgaea is a game that I really wanted to give a 9. This game has a whole lot of charm, and for me I enjoyed it more than a lot of games I would rate higher. Really, if you like strategy RPGs you owe yourself to get this game, and do so without even reading further at all. Yes you heard me, go get it now. If you have some questions about strategy RPGs or just want to know how this one stacks up, read on. Or if you don't have the money for it, then read on, and then hopefully you'll be convinced to GET the money.

Graphics: Alright, I've read a lot of reviews giving Disgaea a lot of bad mouthing about the graphics. I'll admit something to you; the Playstation One could definitely have handled these graphics if someone had tried. However, some of the edges that would have appeared on a game like, say, Final Fantasy Tactics, don't appear here. Disgaea is smooth. That doesn't mean the graphics detract from the experience, because unless you're expecting a Final Fantasy, they don't. Disgaea's graphics look cartoony without being cell shaded, which works out just fine and adds to the game's style. Each character is nicely colored and given his or her own unique style. This may be a story set in hell, but that doesn't mean the game doesn't use a nice pallet of different colors and different varieties of said colors. The different levels also usually look vibrant and colorful and portray what they're trying to do succesfully. Much of this is because of the genuine creativity of the developers; it really looks like they loved making this game and coming up with these levels and characters. It would be a crime not to mention that most of the different moves and magical spells in Disgaea look really good. If you want big explosions, play on, because you're going to get a lot fo them. After all this praise of the graphical style, however, I can't help but say that it still doesn't totally make up for Disgaea's admittedly dated appearance. Its nice, but not really as immersive as it could have been. But you guys can make an exception for a small Japanese developer, can't you?
Rating: 7/10

Audio: Disgaea is a bit better audio wise than it is visual. The music is good and varied enough that it doesn't get annoying even after playing for a long time. There's a song by Tsunami Bomb in here, but it doesn't really fit in that well and I'm not totally sure why they put this in here, truth be told. Its only in one of the levels and will loop several times while you play, so I don't see any reason it should really be in the game. The voice acting, however, is very good considering it's coming from a Japanese developer in the first place. Its not brilliant but it definitely gets the job done and even manages to impress the mood correctly most of the time. The voice actor for the main character is better than say, Tidus from Final Fantasy 10. Yes, if you play this around your friends you (usually) won't be embarrased! If only all Japanese RPGs could have voice acting like this, then we could all have a few less head aches. Disgaea has fairly good but not exceptional music and good voice acting. This is good stuff, but not a game buy issue or a soundtrack to buy separate of the game itself.
Rating: 8/10

Gameplay: This is what a strategy RPG should be all about, and Disgaea has A LOT of gameplay. Your main character is extremely powerful, and this is one thing that might be a problem; he's so powerful that he might start to lose some of your other characters in his dust. Still, this is cool for the most part as it gives you a feeling of power and coolness that is sometimes lacking from other games. The other story characters are also sufficiently useful, and come with amusing and very cool looking spell and special move effects. Do yourself a favor and try to use them all, you won't be dissapointed. Their personalities are also effectively transferred to their battle moves, which is a nice touch. The different classes for the humans in the game are cool and you can do a lot of different gameplay styles with them. Yes, this is a good game for you strategy nuts who like to go through a game as only one ridiculously weak class to prove how 1337 you are. You can also get monsters to join your team, and increase the level and power of your weapons. This allows you to customize your characters however you want. You can equip basically whatever you want and have it be however powerful you can make it. The class levels actually don't add up to the characters being as different and interesting as the game would at first lead you to believe; they're not as well done as in Final Fantasy Tactics, but they still lend plenty of depth. Its not as perfect or as deep as it would have you believe at first, but the style and options given to you in Disgaea make it a whole lot of fun. Make no mistake; this is an obsessive strategy RPG fan's wet dream come true.
Rating: 8/10

Story: Disgaea's story is a lot like its gameplay; not as deep as it could be but very enjoyable. Some RPGs take themselves too seriously, but not Disgaea. In fact, the game pokes fun at a lot of RPG cliches that other games are still throwing out all the time. Disgaea's plot is cute and extremely humerous without being obnoxious. All of the characters have their own characteristics, and they're not all cliche either. They're really a lot of fun, and the chemistry they have with each other is brilliant. The story itself has a few twists and turns, many of them pretty random, but that's all part of the fun. Don't be surprised if you mutter wth? under your breadth. The story is revealed through cut scenes and in game, but either way, you'll find yourself laughing plenty of times and enjoying most of the rest of it. I think the word 'Midboss' pretty much sums up the story pretty effectively. I know you don't understand now, but play the game, and you will. The story is worth the journey.
Rating: 8/10

Value: Disgaea is a game that, if you really love it, you could probably play forever and never run out of things to do. The storyline may not take more than 30 hours or so (I didn't time it) but there is some much to do outside of it that you'll never be bored. You can go through the game again and choose different things; you can explore item world, or you can level up your character into the high heavens (level 9999 is the limit, and you can restart at level 1 as a stronger character any time). There are also higher level bosses for those dedicated (or insane) enough to reach levels in the high thousands. You can really put as much into this game as you want.

In the end, Disgaea is a 'classic' without really being one. Its just as fun as one without being as deep or as strong gameplay and story wise. If you poke under the surface too much, you might find that Disgaea can get repetitive, that the 'class' system isn't fleshed out enough, and that the story doesn't bring you a new philosophical understanding of life. But you won't care, you'll be having too much fun to notice all of that.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/04