Disgaea, now this is a game that will sit on your shelf for the life of your PS2. I’ve been sitting on this review for a while and I really need to just toss this out there. Let me make a gestalt summary.
You’re a kid, a prince actually, in Hell of the Netherworld. You awaken to find your pops the King dead and a whole lot of demons vieing for the throne. The dialog is simple, well written, and funny. It doesn’t take a half hour to watch a clip and you can skip them if you want. Game graphics are sprite based which take us back to a decade gone by, mixed with some rather modern effects which add a neat flare when doing thousands of points of damage in a fireworks like display.
The mechanics of the game are something many have not witnessed state-side. You can capture monsters, upgrade their abilities, have them be a mentor to apprentices and able to learn their skills, and re-evolve characters to build more and more powerful units. This is where the real meat is in this game is character growth. If you played the game for many tens and tens of hours you could have a serious god squad at your disposal. Pretty neat. The actual gameplay is turn-based and rather short-sequenced. Meaning a) turn based games you can pause and walk away from without worry. No time limits, no hassle to grab a phone call, and b) by being short ie, less than 30m a board you can feel pleasure in completing things and moving forward. Which is important in keeping your attention.
This game has more things to work towards than you’d think. Feel like your sword or hat aren’t powerful enough? Enter Item World! Where you can go into the dungeons that exist in all items and make them stronger. It’s a tricky place to be so you need to be prepared for the dangers that lurk in the extended sessions but boy is it worth it.
Game Rating: 7.5/10
This game really has longevity. It is beginning to look a bit aged on the shelf but it’ll make rounds into the player time and time again for the struggle for the perfect party. If you are in to dominating monsters and leveling them to the extreme then this is for you. If you are looking for a modern engine you can now look towards [Nocturne](http://andy.ciordia.info/archives/2004/10/ps2_shin_megami.html “Shin Megami: Nocturne”) which boasts some fun along the same lines but not as deep.
Enjoy, I am.
-a