I played one or two Disgaea games several years ago but I’ve never considered myself to be a huge fan of the franchise. Strategy RPGs, in general, have never caught my attention as much as other genres. Disagaea 5 Complete comes at a great time for Switch. Yes, it’s a port of a Playstation 4 game, but it’s one that’s packed full of content and one that’s on a console that doesn’t really have anything like it just yet. While Disgaea has never quite been my favourite series, my time with Disgaea 5 Complete has been pretty positive if not with some slight hiccups along the way.
I would be lying if I said I completely understood the world of Disgaea, but In 5 there are many “netherworlds”, otherworldly realms that are typically ruled by an Overlord with a unique ability. You play as a wandering demon named Killia, who works to bring together the various overlords to join as a rebel army, attempting to defeat and overthrow a major threat – a demon emperor named Void Dark. It’s a straightforward story with a quirky execution that I’m told is standard for Disgaea, with most of the characters being as, for lack of a better word, as hammy as ever. Though I suspect most won’t be playing Disgaea 5 for its story.
That’s because, for the most part, you’ll be deep in combat in Disgaea 5. At its core, it’s a conventional strategy RPG. At the beginning of each battle, you’ll place your troops on a field, then command them to move or attack on a turn by turn basis. Better players will formulate strategies to maximise their damage each turn, while more novice ones will probably just click through menus to progress the story. It’s a system that is easy to grasp.
Despite this, Disgaea 5 could easily overwhelm players who are just starting with the genre in its opening hours. Heavy on information and tutorials, you’ll find yourself getting slightly snowed under with all the different enemy types you can take on and the best way to take advantage of them. Despite this, Disgaea 5 as a game overall has a much more lenient, less steep learning curve to it, making it much more beginner friendly than other strategy RPGs of this ilk.
The combat itself is standard fare for an RPG, each character has a class which has various strengths and weaknesses, so filling your team with one type simply won’t cut it as you progress. Instead, a more varied team with a balanced set of skills is the way to go. Those who want to play at a higher level (and thus get through all the post-story content) will have to make similar efforts in deciding what weapons to use and how to power them up as well.
The more bizarre, abstract techniques are what makes the flow of Disgaea 5 different from other RPGs. Any of the characters you play as can be lifted and thrown at enemies. It provides an alternate, offensive strategy in battle but also provides an opportunity to cover more ground than the standard movement options available to you. There is a small catch – that you’ll use up the thrown character’s turn by throwing them, but sometimes such a sacrifice may be the difference between winning and losing.
If I had to briefly summarise Disgaea 5’s combat, I’d say that it’s got the considerable depth that’s almost mandatory to master if you want to complete everything the game has to offer. Those wanting to cruise through the story mode and the story mode only will appreciate how accessible the battle system is – the depth is there but you don’t need to venture into it too much if you just want to finish the Story.
Grind has become somewhat of a dirty word when it comes to role-playing games, and Disgaea 5 will probably have you doing quite a bit of it. In a strangely self-aware bid to soothe the pain of inevitable grind, Disgaea 5 has a wealth of options. You can adjust different aspects of the game’s battles using a variety of different methods. Such options, like increasing enemy levels along with modifiers for experience points, money earned and other factors, help players find that sweet or comfortable spot when grinding.
As mentioned previously, Disagaea 5 Complete represents great value for money. Even to buy a copy of Disgaea 5 with its season pass elsewhere is over a hundred dollars at the time of writing. For the price of $89.95, you’ll be getting the complete game with all its downloadable content. Even better, this rendition of the game is literally playable anywhere, though this is more of a praise of the Switch itself. As such, Disgaea 5 Complete is not only the best version of Disgaea 5 on the market but a Switch game that doesn’t feel neutered or overpriced just because it’s on the Switch. The hundred or so hours you’ll get from Disgaea are great value for money.
Thankfully, despite appearing on the Playstation 4 first, Disgaea 5 Complete looks great on the Switch. The sprites are all consistently drawn and animated, and while they could be higher quality, for the most part, the visuals are great especially in battles where special moves see a bevvy of colours dancing across the screen. As with most games of this type, the 2D visuals look much better scaled down on the Switch’s fantastic display rather than blown up on a television.
It’s so refreshing to be able to declare a third-party Nintendo Switch title as the truly definitive edition. Disgaea 5 Complete is just that – complete. It’s a competent strategy RPG packed to the brim with content that’s bound to keep RPG aficionados entertained for hours and hours. Despite this, some rough visuals and a little bit too much of an emphasis on grinding are bound to limit Disgaea 5 Complete’s mass appeal. Putting that all aside, Disgaea 5 Complete is accessible, and more importantly, great.
Rating 4 / 5
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