Hands-On: Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance Brings the Crazy
Disgaea plots are notoriously similar: a big, evil, scary demon comes to power with a million-man army and devastates multiple Netherworlds. The overlords of these worlds subsequently rise up to take their revenge. Been there, done that; if you’ve played one Disgaea game you’ve played them all.
What sets the series apart is it’s fully self-aware of its cheesiness. The characters flaunt their ridiculousness to the Nth degree, like the demon king of the Rabbit Underworld and the daughter of the Gorgeous Underworld. And let us not forget the main character, Killian, pronounce “kill ya” (or is it “killa’)? Regardless, the game knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else.
So while Disgaea 5 might be more of the same in terms of level grinding for characters and items, customizable options, and hidden secrets that will take hundreds of hours to unlock – the gameplay is where the real crazy shit happens.
Allow me to elaborate: remember when the most characters you could have in one battle and on screen at any given point was 10? Well, they threw that shit right out the window and decided you can use 100 in a battle now! Does anyone even have the time or patience to train 100 characters? Absolutely not. But I’ll make time for it. Will I get fired from my job? Most likely.
Other improvements include well-polished 3D landscapes. Previous Disgaea games looked like blocks of pixelated garbage lumps, even on a PS3 – which I never understood. While still 3D, the landscape in Disgaea 5 looks almost hand drawn, making for a unique and appealing environment. There’s also a revenge system that gets your characters pumped up when one of your own is slain.
Before there was 100 character armies, there was countless classes. This time, they’ve added even more. I hope you like maids with guns, dark knights, fairies, and a whole host of other surprises. Want more ridiculous abilities, combos and fusions? BOOM! You got it! Want to summon a giant zombie bigger than the entire screen to shoot lasers out of his mouth or throw an enemy into another planet? Sure, why not? Though come to think of it, I wonder if you can form a tower with all 100 of your characters at once?
I need more ridiculousness in my life, and chances are good you do too – get Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance on PS4 this Fall.
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