Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software America
Platform: PlayStation 4
Tested on: Playstation 4
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance – Review
When you go to a party, don’t be that gaea, be Disgaea. Bad puns aside, Disgaea 5 is the first in the series to hit the Playstation 4. When news about the game hit, the creators initially planned for the game to also be released on the Playstation 3 but that idea was scrapped. It is also the first in the fact that it is currently not released on any hand held devices. A little strange seeing as the previous games had a portable version.
Story
The story starts when Seraphina, Overlord of Gorgeous, comes into contact with the strange demon Killia. This happens on a battlefield, her army has their backs against the wall and just when all seems lost, Killia appears. He downs a bowl of noodles and unleashes all hell on the opposition. The ease of his victory impresses Seraphina and she is smitten and even better, it seems both of them have something in common: Void Dark. Void Dark, or better yet, Emperor Void Dark is out to rule every dimension. Of course the Overlords of the Dimension rise in rebellion. Seraphina isn’t all about revenge or rebellion, as she was to be married to Void Dark and she ran away and wants to see the man dead. Because she doesn’t love him and seeing as she has no say in the matter the only way to get out of the rearranged marriage is by either one of them dying. With a growing group of Overlords on her side, she marches against his rule of terror and dispose of him, once and for all.
The story is interestingly written, and even though almost every Overlord’s reason for wanting a piece of Emperor Void Dark is known and clear cut, the reason Killia is something left hidden to keep you from losing interest in the plot. The dialogue is really well written and every character has his or her own personality which becomes clear from the get go.
Graphics
If you think about the Playstation 4, you think about a monolith of high graphical fidelity. Disgaea 5 doesn’t take part in the whole ‘this game sells because of the hyperrealistic grahics’ gig. The game has an anime feel to it and the art style is found in every fibre of Disgaea 5. From the intro cinematic to the drawn characters that aren’t really animated in conversations. Even the little avatars look quant. The developers have paid attention to every detail. Even more, Disgaea 5 ups the amount of possible characters on screen from ten characters to a hundred. That’s a tenfold, so maybe all the extra power that drives the current generation of consoles isn’t going to waste.
Sound
Nothing is more dull than having barely animated characters being held down by bad voice acting and dull writing. Disgaea 5 makes sure to surprise player with top notch voice acting. Every line and every joke is delivered with a lot of gusto, even when the puns are cringe worthy and the jokes only manage to make you snicker. The voice actors were convinced of their capabilities and the developers have really picked out the right people for the job. When we are talking music that’s where the game isn’t bad, but the soundtrack is kind of lacklustre. The song that plays in the pocket dimension is soothing, yet somehow it sounds like the singer misses some notes and her voice sounds off. The change between battle music and the revenge tune you get when a character goes into revenge mode is extremely abrupt and meshes badly.
Gameplay
Disgaea 5 is an action/adventure tactical RPG by Nippon Ichi Software. Fans and newbies to the game will be pleased to know that whatever skills you need to play the game will be explained when you start. As long as you pay attention and take notes, either mentally or physically, you’ll be fine.
The size of Disgaea 5 is massive. With 16 chapters each spanning several episodes, you’ll be in for a long haul. Mechanics get explained clearly and concise. Every time a new mechanic is introduced, Killia explains which actions you can perform and which does what. The NPC’s then act out the actions and you can follow along. Afterward, you can try out the actions in the real fight. If you are confident in your skills or if you are on your second play through, you can always skip them by pressing triangle and get on with the action.
Where the game starts slowly and you’ll be downing enemies left right and dead centre, soon you’ll have to start tackling more badass foes. What often makes them difficult to take down and powerful is the fact that the A.I. doesn’t make it easy for you. Teamwork comes naturally to the NPC’s and if you aren’t paying attention and want to brute force your way through you’ll be flattened like a pancake before you have the chance to react. Not every battlefield is the same and there are ‘Geo Symbols’ which can make things interesting. Every colour of symbol has its traits, if you hit them and deplete their hit points, they change colour and their effects. Should the battle go completely south, you can always quit the battle and start over again from the start.
As you battle, you’ll level up your characters, who’ll learn skills which will aid them in battle. By using these skills they’ll level up and become stronger. But using them in battle isn’t the only way to upgrade them, you can pay mana to upgrade them and make them stronger. When the battle is over the three MVP’s (Most Valuable Person) will be awarded extra experience.
Every character have their strengths and weaknesses and Disgaea 5 makes it clear that you have to pay attention to the character information screen to see if your attacks will have effect, and if not, which character will be strong against them. If you’ve no characters available to you, or all of the effective ones have been knocked out, you’ll have to retreat to the pocket dimension and heal them back up. It does mean giving up on the battle, so be prepared and never head into battle with injured characters.
Conclusion
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is a game which both fans and gamers with no clue to what the games have going on for themselves can enjoy. It isn’t a game you can play without focusing, it’s not leisurely stroll around the park, especially not later on in the game. Disgaea 5 also isn’t a game you can pick up and play for five minutes and then move on to something else, battles can be massive and there is no way to save midbattle, so if you are going for it, then you best clear out at least an hour to sit down and play the game. There’s a lot of negativity in the last couple of sentences, but don’t let that deter you and give Disgaea 5 a shot, certainly if you want to be challenged.
No Comments