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OCD incarnate!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

MECHANICS
Want a game you can play FOREVER? Yeah? Well your sick buddy! Real sick! ....and so am I! This game was made to entrap people with a compulsion towards micro management. Lets put it this way. Any given character can get to level 9,999 in the game....once again....9,999. Now for the veritable maniac who invests that much time into it...you can then just start said character over at level1 while retaining virtually all of the stat points you had....This is a dream come true and a nightmare. Cancel your weekend plans...in fact...dump your girlfriend too... Did I mention that every item in the game hosts a 100 level dungeon?....Every item in the game hosts a 100 level dungeon...there... So its cool you can go inside a sword and for every level you beat the blade gets stronger...so that when you go inside ...the next sword..you wont die...but you dont need to stop there...you can level healing items too... You may actually go insane if you are a completist trying to play this game...but it will be sort of a happy mania... Theres tons of Classes to choose from too! Wow... The con is that if you are a normal person with a life, you will be in over your head... It will keep you off the streets though...

PLOT and CHARACTERS
The plot and characters in this game are priceless. It has an episodic feel to it, like and anime, complete with changing character portraits. You will fall in love with Laharl who has sort of that same invader Zim charm. Thats your main character, and he is prince of the underworld. Your quest is to gain power over your domain after the death of your dad. Along the way you meet up with misfit demons to join you and usually after thrashing a boss he will enlist...Some of the characters are hysterical....particularly you will enjoy Captain Gordon cheeseball space hero, and "Mid-Boss" a hapless demon that you torment mercilessly throughout the adventure... The story is interesting and things keep popping without ever getting dull. This ones a real keeper, and at the very least its better than flipping the lightswitch on and off for 10 minutes or washing your hands 20 times...

disgaea: hour of darkness

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The first thing I'd like to say is that Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for the Playstation 2 is not for everyone. It's a single player strategy role-playing game (SRPG), a genre that many people find boring. The gameplay in Disgaea focuses on turn-based tactical decision making, and for this reason, the game can be slow-paced, difficult, and time consuming. I, myself, regretted purchasing the game at first, but after a couple of hours, the game grew on me and I learned to love it.

When I bought this game and started playing, the most apparent feature I noticed was its style. Disgaea, unlike many new games out now, uses bitmaps instead of 3D character models, which gives it the appearance of being graphically outdated. This, however, is not a bad thing. Although the graphics of the game are not technically superior, Disgaea is still beautiful. The characters and artwork are top quality, the colors are vibrant, and the use of bitmaps complements the Anime style of the game. Also, Disgaea is separated into chapters or "episodes" much like an Anime series; at the end of each chapter, there is preview for the next episode. Because of its similarities in artwork and structure with Anime, avid Anime fans will love this game.

Additionally, the Anime theme permeates into the story. Disgaea puts you in the shoes of a demon prince Laharl who is on a quest to conquer the Netherworld. With a girl demon who has on occasion tried to murder him, and a naïve angel dubbed "love freak" by his side, the story can be humorous and quirky. Parodies of the Power Rangers make their appearance in this game and perhaps one of the funniest scenes I can recall involves a "horse wiener." Since there is rarely a moment of boredom, Disgaea is a game that is equally enjoyable to watch or play.

In addition to being very stylish, Disgaea is fun to play. The gameplay involves controlling a bunch of units on a map, moving them onto squares, and taking turns attacking the enemy. This may sound boring and it sometimes is; however, the meat of the game is not in the actual combat, but is in the customizability of the characters and equipment. Disgaea gives you the ability to create characters from what seems to be an endless list of possibilities such as a ninja, a samurai, an archer, and a thief. You give them names, monitor their growth, and develop them into sword or staff or gun users. It's up to YOU. New classes of characters are unlocked as you progress through the game, and naturally, to get the better classes, you need to play a lot. This makes the game addictively time-consuming, but fun at the same time. With the maximum level for each character set at 9999, Disgaea offers a lot of replay value, and you never feel like you're finished. Even after beating the game, the "new game +" option allows you to restart with all your equipment and levels, so you can replay Disgaea in hopes of unlocking the secret map containing the level 4000 boss. Furthermore, unlike many games where items are static and fixed, every item in Disgaea is customizable. Items have "residents" living in them that give the items certain attributes. These residents in the items can be captured and transferred to another item making it stronger. There is game feature called "Item World" where you actually go inside an item. All items are composed of floors, each floor leading to the next with enemies inhabiting them. As you go deeper into the item, conquering more floors and enemies, your item gets stronger as well.

In the end, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is a very fun game that is unique in its style and customizability. It is definitely a hidden gem only overlooked because of its rough appearance. I think that Anime and RPG fans will definitely love this game. For the other people who are new to SRPGs but who are interested in the genre, I think that this is a good game to start with.

Good fun strategy action, just too demanding.....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Disgaea is a good strategy game. The graphics are outdated, but they are still very decent. The soundtrack is good, and the gameplay is fun. The best things about the game are the voice acting and storyline which are both excellent, and the game takes pride in poking fun at the traditional genre with its own twist of humor. The only problem with the game is the immense amount of commitment required. This isn't the kind of game you can beat quickly. It requires massive amounts of leveling up which equals hours upon hours upon hours. To add to the misery, the level up system is designed so that only the character who strikes the finishing blow recieves the exp., while everyone else who helped is left out. It all equals massive frusturation. If you have no problem spending alot of time leveling up then go ahead and play this. But if you are like me, and aren't too keen upon it, just skip over disgaea and try something easier like final fantasy tactics advance or fire emblem.

WELL WORTH the fifty bucks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I remember reading about this game in Gameinformer, and i hadnt even read the review; but i knew i HAD to get this game. I bought it on the first day it came out and was simply stunned. Many say the game has bad graphics, but you know, tactics games are hard to give extremely awesome super 3-D graphics. And besides, the graphics in this game are colorful, clean, and fit perfectly to the tone.
This is the best tactics game since FFT and tactics ogre. No, wait, its BETTER!!! More classes, more levels, more secrets, and more endings! The new game plus feature is a great bonus too.
One of the great things about this game is the plot. Its not serious and confusing, but it's hilarious and has GREAT character development. I saw the normal ending, and it was sort of sad, but i thorougly enjoyed the little bit after the credits. I'd have to say this is without a doubt the funniest game i've ever played. Its funnier than Earthbound, Leisure Suit Larry, and even Conker! You have to play it to believe it.
If you've played a tactics game, then i dont really NEED to explain how you play it. There are many new things thought that if youre a beginner to these, i wouldnt select this one to play first. Instead, play FFT, THEN try this. It's not THAT confusing. In fact, it's really fun to figure out new tricks.(there are a bunch)
The music and sound are great, and so is the voice acting! The game is full of spoofs, laughs, and even a (small) dash of drama! But they luckily ruin most of those moments with hilarious dialogue.
The fifty bucks is well spent. You can level up to 9999, there are over 100 classes, TONS of items,(each with hilarious little descriptions) and there are (i think) 8 different endings! And being an Atlus game, you know it's gonna go out of print soon, so hurry up and get it!

disgaea

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Well, it's definitely an interesting game concept: a teenage demon whose name I can't even begin to pronounce learns of his father's death (by choking on a pretzel [wait a minute... is his dad George W. Bush?]) and needs to protect his kingdom from being taken over my every other demon vying for control of the kingdom. Very interesting.

Here's where the fun begins. There are a few interesting things that not all RPGs have. First is a new technique called GeoPlates. If you are facing an army and attack just the right GeoPlate, the entire army is destroyed. If only "LOTR: The Return of the King" had that... Next is the overall character design. "Now introducing..."-the Prinnies, penguin zombies (wow.. how original) and a plot line you can actually follow. Cool.

Overall rating: If you like RPGs and laughing your ass off at some completely irreverent humor, you'll love this game.

One of the most addictive strategy/roleplaying games ever made.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are nothing groundbreaking,the story is silly and the music forgetable so why should you get Disgaea?Because like Tetris it's all about the gameplay itself.Most of the fun comes from creating and leveling up new characters,fighting through stages with tricky handicaps like Ally Damage 20% and the horrible clone stages,leveling up items in the Item World and trying to get to secret areas.Unlike most strategy/roleplaying games you can actually lift and throw people to get them closer to where you want them to be.Adding to the variety are Promotion Exams(FIGHTS!)and a twisted political system.When you try to pass a bill in the Senate and it doesn't go through you actually have to fight all the senators!So much fun it took me 54 hours to complete it instead of what it should actually take,40 hours,because I kept going off into bonus areas like Prinnie Land and the Human World.Unlike normal RPGs this strategy based RPG doesn't have you walking aimlessly around in circles to level up and doesn't have annoying puzzles to solve that you have to buy a strategy guide to get through.Disgaea is pure strategy/roleplaying game bliss that you'll find yourself playing through more than once for the multiple endings.

Best buy of the year for strategy and replay.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Talk about a well-made game. I enjoyed playing every minute of this game. With multiple ending, tons of items, leveling items to level 100, tons of classes to choose from, character levels of 9999, that's right 4 digit levels, there is no game that could be better for tactical games. It's even better than Square's Final Fantasy Tactics.

You play as a demon creating mischief as you take over rule of the netherworld. Filled with lots of humorous moments and tactical game play this game will keep anyone busy well over 100 hours.

I would say this is the best game I purchased in 2003.

Not fun...addiction

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I won't go into a long review, there have been plenty of those that explain the game in great detail. I will say this is one of the best games I have ever played (on any console).

I was coming off one of the best games ever made (Chrono Trigger on the SNES) and this blew me away and over-shadowed the addicting play without comparison. I'm a level-up nut and have spent 95% of my time leveling up, a little over 70 hours at this point, and have not tired of the play. The item world and various unlockable worlds, in my opinion, are the main story. What is called the main storyline seems more of a break and relief from the hordes of difficult enemies and stress of hours without saves :)

If you like the idea of a Tactical RPG but weren't all that impressed with games you've played in the past, don't let that deter you from trying this game, it is one of the best!

Bought the hour after the Afternoon! because this ROCKS!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

WOW! (was my reaction to the psp version and is to this as well)
This was my first thought when I saw how High you can level up.
9999 to max your character!! this game like it's psp brother has a nearly endless number of things for the "loot mongers" like me out there and soooo much customization it is insane
top this with actual reasons (such as maxing out character stats) for leveling up into the 9999 range only then is your character's potential fully unlocked!
you also level up your weapons and armor in a method similar to dark cloud where you go into Item world and defeat the bosses there and residents to make weapons ann armor stronger.
truly the voice acting is top notch and the hilarity of some of it is really good. as another reviewer said usually there's pro's and con's to every game but at this time even after having beaten disgaea I can not think of ANY bad points about this game.
IF you are a loot monger and into twinking out your character to the absolute maxium this game was MADE FOR YOU!
if you prefer the intense action of titles such as W.O.W. or diablo this Might not be for you but for anyone that liked Final Fantasy Tactics well, this seems to do all of that FAR BETTER then tactics : war of the lions has done. plus an unlockable etna mode that let's you find out what would have happened if etna killed laharl. totally as good as the ps2 version with so many bonuses it's a must have game of the year!

Graphics: 5 Stars! very cool anime graphics with a japanese flair (plus cool demons!)

Sound: excellent voice acting and humorous dialogue 5 stars!

Fun: A Blast! 5 Stars!

Ease of play Vs FF Tactics: better learning curve and does not end just as you get addicted actually I could be item hunting till this time next year! 5 Stars!

Overall: 5 stars! Simply the best tactical RPG out to date and this coming from me a huge FF Tactics fan is a Big Endorsement of how well this game was made and how much consideration for the players the creators put into this Gem. buy it now while it's retail or pay a few hundred later. I bought this and afternoon of darkness and I recommend you do the same or you might regret it later.

Buy Hour of Darkness for PS2 Here
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Or Afternoon of Darkness for PSP Here!
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

And the Strategy Guide Might help!
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - The Official Strategy Guide ***Strategy Guide Note*** this guide is intended for BOTH Games and states this fact in and on the new guide. enjoy!

An excellent game, needs only a few improvements.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 17
Date: September 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I so wanted to be able to give this game 5 stars, as it has almost everything Final Fantasy Tactics had, with a few more layers of complexity. The item world is a rediculous concept, but it's also one of the things that makes the game so enjoyable! The dark council is another stroke of genius, allowing character combinations and classes that make the game infinitely replayable.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws which detract. First of all, the graphics look similar to FFT's PS1 graphics. There's little detail, and only being able to rotate the camera by 90 degrees on the isometric battlefield can make seeing some tiles and enemies nearly impossible. It's a rule that many game companies ignore: If the characters can see something, the player should be able to as well. The camera angles simply make the game harder to play, and it shouldn't have to be that way. Even the option of being able to see the battlefield from directly above would have helped greatly.

With the graphical lack of detail, it can also be difficult to tell who is who on the battlefield. When you have your 10 characters mixed up with the enemies who often look identical, it can be easy to lose track of enemies. The "characters" tab on the battlefield helps out a lot, making this only a minor problem instead of a serious annoyance.

And finally, there is no in-battle save feature. I know that not being able to save makes the battles a little harder, but it also means that you have to invest a nice chunk of time to play the game non-stop, especially in the item world where you have to fight through 10 levels without being able to save during or between the levels. Item world runs can often take hours, making it difficult to simply pick up the game for half an hour. The only other option is to leave the PS2 running for long periods of time, but for many of us that's not an option, nor is it desirable... and it ruins the # of hours played counter on the save games as well. :)

So, 4/5 stars. Despite the length of the paragraphs above, these are minor gripes compared to the overall enjoyment of the game. It's too bad, because the flaws that keep this game from being perfect are so easily fixable as well.

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