To start things off, this game can be played and beaten by the lax, normal gamer who just decided to pick it up. Those gamers will probably play up until their main hits level 107 and they beat the last boss. Some more avid gamers might go a bit further and get to maybe level 255 and beat up some extra enemies. Disgaea, however, does not stop at 255, nor does it stop when you beat the last boss, or even the one secret boss.

This game can either be a 30 hour play, a 60 hour play, or upwards of 250 hours of play. Being an SRPG nerd, I've clocked in around 150 hours on the PS2 just playing this game. There is so much more to this game than going through to storyline that you're missing a lot if you don't do the extra stuff that it has in it.

That's the bottom line, on to the actual sections of this game.

Gameplay;

First of all, this game is almost like any SRPG, turn-based, tactics games before it. The battle methods are quite similar, until you toss in the fact that you can lift and throw opponents and allies across the map, adding more maneuverability and stacking of up to 10 characters. (the max on one map at a time)

Next to the battle system, this game is nice and full of menus. That's to be expected, right? Of course. Normally one menu takes you to another, and another, for about 4 menus before you do what you want to do. Now, in 20 battles from starting, you're blazing through these simple menus, but at first it's very daunting.

The learning curve is almost easy, but if you reeeeeally want to understand this game and how it works, you'll be studying a lot, or looking up formulas and faqs from people who have already gone deep into the game. You can understand the basics just by going through the first few tutorial levels that the game forces you to do the first time around. Just with those and a bit of strategy, you can work your way around every story level in this game.

- Item World

This little gem is what makes Disgaea into the massive game it is. You wouldn't likely be reaching the insane level cap of 9999 without the random item world. Item world is how you reach that level cap, how you find worthy opponents to face at low-high levels, how you eventually beat the item gods, and how you get the best weapons in the game. Most of the time you spend on the game if you're going hardcore on it will be spent in the item world leveling up legendary items.

- Grinding

Training on the same unit over and over to gain experience (otherwise known as grinding) is a very evident thing in Disgaea. If you're just in it for the storyline, you can get by with the grinding levels it throws out every few chapters. If you're interested in destroying this game though, you'll get very used to one level in particular. A lot fo your time will also be spent grinding, if you wish to achieve the highest levels in the game.

- Character Creation / Transmigration

Two of the main features in the playability of the game. There are 20 monster classes and 17 humanoid classes to choose from and 6 variations of each class (with one exception of 5, from my own experience). The range of skills between classes is evident, from Archers to Clerics to Warriors to Brawlers, there are enough classes to get you around.

Transmigration. For the extreme Disgaea player who thinks that only reaching level 9999 isn't enough. You can actually clock in around 14 hours per character you want to fully transmigrate. For example, you start off with 0 transmigration level. The cap for transmigration initial stat boost is 190000 or so levels. That's many, many more times 9999. By the end, your character, equipped with the best equipment in the game, would be dealing millions upon millions of damage in a single blow. Transmigration is not recommended for anyone who doesn't plan on spending well over 200 hours on this game.

- Storyline

The storyline isn't much of an emotional trip as it is, in my opinion, funny. At times it can be taken seriously, as you get to the growth of characters as an omnipresent being at times, you also get to see the changes in main and side characters throughout the progress of the story. However, with 7 endings, you can beat this game in quite a few ways.

Graphics;

However big a fan of Takehito Harada I am, the sprite work in this game could really use an improvement. I love the character art and the backgrounds, but the sprites and special effects leave a bit to be desired. No 5 out of 5 here, but a fat juicy 3.5 rounded up to 4 for great character design.

Replay Value;

This game has little to no replay value if you're not interested in other ending or beating this game to death. Once it is over, you have the choice of starting a new game with all your levels, pupils and equipment. To some that may bring them happiness and joy enough to go through it again, but to many that's just not interesting. In the case of fairness though, this game can be replayed seven entire times before there is nothing else to see ending wise, and there are bonus levels and secrets all throughout it, so if you like to replay games, this has enough replay value for another 20 hours.

Fun Factor;

I would not call Disgaea fun on many levels, more so tedious and enjoyable. After playing it for so long, you realize you're doing the same things over and over, so if you're not a fan of repetition, Disgaea won't be 'fun' at all. It's worth it for the storyline, though.

Conclusion;

All in all, there's way too much more to be said about Disgaea that I doubt I'd have the time and patience to write down. All I can say for now is, if anyone has considered buying the game, it's well, well worth the 40 bucks or so to grab it. It could just well become a major pass-time. Certainly a favorite in my collection.

A definite 5 out of 5.
~jam

Learning Curve: Takes a while

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Disgaea may be the funniest strategy RPG ever. That being said, the overall play is pretty typical for the genre. However, subtle nuances to the grid based system make this game tougher to learn. It will be a few hours into the game before you've even encountered all of the elements of the battle system. However, once you see these elements and learn to exploit them, the battles become more interesting. The game, to me, didn't have much replay value. However, that's really not an issue since you can easily spend 200+ hours on one play through if you go beyond the story. Item dungeons and extremely high level bonus maps give the game a lot of life beyond the story.

This game is a must play.

Learning Curve: Takes a while

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