Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Atlus - Atlus
PlayStation2
Release date: 2008-09-02
Video Game
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Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Date undefinedI've played a lot of RPGs over the years, and this one really is unlike any of the others. You've got funny, quirkly dialogue between the different players in the storyline, a game cleanly structured into "Chapters" that take you to the end of the story, and then several different ways to tackle the gameplay. Getting from beginning to end is half the fun: you can "reincarnate" and go 'round again, making different choices on the next pass.
Battle is turn-based, but again unlike anything else: push your character up to another like pieces on a chessboard. Is an ally next to them? They get to double-up and both attack. Instead of a Final Fantasy-style method of applying actions to the whole party...then everyone takes a turn, in Disgaea each character gets to make their move whenever you choose to...then the opponent gets a turn. Special moves might have certain rules as to when you can use them, such as the character needing a clear path behind them to get a running start.
Disgaea then takes the action up a notch by coloring the squares on the battlefield...and allowing you to apply bonuses / penalties to squares of that color...or a character can pick up the bonus / penalty token and move it to another color. Can your player not get close enough to the enemy? Move them close, then have another party member pick them up and throw them the rest of the way. Unless they're penguins: penguins explode when you throw them. Handle pengiuns with care.
Sound weird yet? How about this: you can go inside of items and "play levels" in things you find or buy. For example, I found a gun, took the party into the gun, and started going through battle maps, finding loot and unlocking goodies. I needed more people in my group, so I created some. If I wanted to, I could petition a kind of legislative panel to make new people, but that's harder: you should probably bribe them. And if they don't vote your way, threaten them. Just don't be too obvious about it, or they'll all jump out of their seats and come after you!
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is hilarious. It's bizarre, but it's still something you can learn fairly easily. And the gameplay is both fun and addictive. Creativity will be rewarded. The only real hindrance here is that sometimes the isometric 3D battle map is hard to see: despite being able to rotate the board, there will be spots that you can never quite put your eye on. That can makes it difficult to move characters to exactly the right spot without some effort.
Higly recommended for the RPG gamer, novice or pro, who wants to do something different.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Date undefinedI found this game good for story, not as good for game-play.
The cut-scenes are classic, and they're the reason I kept playing. The repetitive battle format and constantly being in the same castle... not so much.
The graphics reminded me of Final Fantasy Tactics, which would be great if the game was as fun as FFT, and wasn't on a superior system with much greater capabilities.
Good game, but I'm not sure why it's getting 5-star reviews.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Date undefinedI am no stranger to the games that Atlus produces. While many other companies will have hit-and-miss attempts at games I enjoy, Atlus has never disappointed. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, is no exception.
You play as Larharl, the demon prince of the netherworld, and next in line to become the Overlord. Joining you is Larharl's "loyal" vassal, Etna, who seems to be plotting behind her master's back, and the angel trainee assassin from Celestia, Flonne, sent to kill Laharl's father (already 2 years dead).
In terms of graphics, I can honestly say while they could have done better, it would've ruined the overall feel of the game. Atlus employs a 2D anime style of art when dealing with the characters talking with one another, and a simple grid-based battle system. The simplicity of the setup is unheard of in most PS2 games, and that sets it apart from the rest. The music in the game has a wide range, from contemporary pop music to almost classical varieties.
The leveling system, which allows units (and items too!) to reach up to level 9999 and then transmute back to level 1 with improved stats and start all over is an absolutely astonishing idea. It allows units to gain near god-like powers (necessary in order to fight some of the hidden bosses in the game). The units themselves range from dozens of choices of humanoid units, like typical mage and cleric units up to the rare and powerful Majin, and monster units, from the fierce Dragons to the hilarious penguin-like Prinnies who go around saying "Dood!" everywhere, all at varying levels of power. There are hundreds of units to choose from, offering many different play-styles.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness will never get old, especially if you enjoy powerleveling and micro-managing every little detail of your characters. Even if you don't, the game itself has multiple endings which allows for numerous playthroughs with different strategies every time. I highly recommend this game.
