by Jose Martinez
There are many turn based strategy games that have left their mark over the years. From Ogre Battle to Final Fantasy Tactics, there is one that stands above all others. This title came unannounced from the shores of Japan from a developer that no one on the western shores had ever heard of. In a genre that was ruled by the power house of Squaresoft, Enix, Koei and Atlus, a little company called Nippon Ichi Software decided to throw in its lot. Being unknown in the US, to publish the title they partnered with RPG and tactics colossus Atlus to release their first American title on the Playstation 2. Their opening salvo was a game which American gamers could not even pronounce at the time. This shot heard around the world was fired on the American shores on August 27th, 2003 and it was called Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, and it was the single reason NIS is a household name for JRPG and tactics fans. It is the single greatest turn based strategy game I have ever played, and in fact, it's one of the greatest period.
As a game fanatic in 2003, I was working as a sales representative at Gamestop. At the time I was completely in love with the charm of the Japanese RPG and had devoted myself to titles published by Squaresoft, Atlus, Enix and Koei. When the marketing came in for Disgaea. I had no idea what it was. It was an oversized cardboard box made to look like the retail packaging. I remember really liking the artwork on the cover and noticing the Atlus logo on the bottom right hand corner. I quickly placed the game on pre-order and awaited it's release. In the meantime, I watched the trailer over and over as I fell in love with something else I had never heard of, the band Tsunami Bomb which Atlus used for the attitude filled US trailer. No one had any idea of this game's release, so when it launched we received three copies, including my pre-order. After picking up my game, I went home to play it, and found myself having many sick days thereafter. When at work, I felt compelled to spread the gospel of Disgaea and as other like minded gamers also fell in love, we found ourselves never having enough supply, and thus a sleeper, cult hit was born. After much success in game reviews and much praise from critics, Sony soon re-released the title as one of it's Greatest Hits lineup.
The game places you in the role of the Antihero Laharl, son of King Krichevskoy and heir to the throne of the Underworld. You take over as Laharl's vassal Etna awakens him from a two year nap. During this time, the King has choked to death and the entire underworld wants to kill Laharl for a seat on the throne. Laharl, Etna and a squad of Prinnies take to the road to prove Laharl is the most powerful demon in the Underworld and true successor to the dead King. On their adventures they meet Angel Assassin Flonne, Midboss Vyers, intergalactic dunderhead heroes Captain Gordon, Jennifer and their robot Thursday and many other colorful and memorable characters. As the plot unfolds you fall into a world of treachery in which you find yourself pitted not only against the Underworld, but Heaven and Earth as well. Suddenly, a world which was black and white gains many shades and our heroes grow with the challenges making demons and angels alike see that there is much more to what they are than just good and evil.
The charm of the writing and hilarious script aren't the only thing that makes the game so amazing. This game also brought a ton of innovation in the gameplay department and some of these features added hundreds of hours to the games play time. My favorite of these was the item world, a place in which not only your characters could become stronger but as you delve deeper and deeper into the item, it also levels up. You could jump into any item to power it up, as an added bonus you could defeat specialists in that item to move them into others that you are powering up, giving your favorite armors and weapons unlimited potential for power. Another great diversion is the Demon Court, in which you can spend the mana you earn from defeating enemies to purchase new troops and build a massive army of varied humanoids and monsters. Your troops could be comprised of anything from zombies, clerics, warriors, dragons, or dozens more. The possibilities are limitless and the more you do with them, the more characters become available to you. Another amazing feature is a clever twist on the battle plane called Geo Pannels. These color colored squares all have the attribute of the Geo Symbol on the same colored square, which can range from boosts to your party such as boosted experience or invincibility to boosts to the enemy's stats like damage plus 50%. You can chose to use these to your advantage, or set them up and destroy them for massive chains and a huge point boost at the end of the stage.
Sadly, many gamers have yet to play this masterpiece, but all hope is not lost as the game is still available via ports to the Nintendo DS (Disgaea DS) and Sony PSP (Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness). If you are one of the many that have not played, don't waste anymore time! If you are a fan of the genre or the Japanese style of storytelling this is an absolute must have title. This game will be a total time killer for hundreds of hours. I was so addicted that I purchased a small monitor so that I could play next to my bed on my Playstation 2 as I could not go to sleep without it. If you don't fall in love with this game and it's characters, you are lacking a soul. Prinny Dood!
If you haven't played it yet, click on the link below and end your sadness
This, of course, is my opinion. Feel free to leave comments below and let me know if you agree, or which one your favorite might be.
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