Disgaea 1 Complete

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Disgaea 1 Complete is the latest remake (there have been a few) of the PS2 title that started the series, picking up the reigns of the same quality strategy-RPG gameplay we saw in Final Fantasy Tactics and saying “let’s do some interesting stuff with this”.

The result is an amusingly silly story about a bratty boyish demon seeking to reclaim the throne of the underworld and his hapless band of odd companions. The game’s cutscenes are done with amusing voice acting, and there are even silly “preview episodes” after each chapter that usually have nothing to do with the actual game’s story. Suffice it to say, this game doesn’t take itself at all seriously, and in doing so it makes for a fun and wacky experience.

As for the gameplay itself, the game starts with Final Fantasy Tactics’ strong core of strategy-RPG gameplay and expands on it in all sorts of inventive ways, such as the ability to pick up and toss enemies or teammates (even teammates currently holding another teammate, who is holding another teammate…), “geo panels” that change fundamental game conditions based on what objects are placed on them, and team attacks, where attacking enemies gives other allied characters near you the chance to attack them as well on top of any other attacks those characters have done.

It’s really engrossing gameplay, which is good, because this game doubles down on the gameplay hard. Grinding up your stats in this game is amazing because you can grind damn near anything. Your characters level up of course, but so do each of their attacks as you use them, as does their affinity for the type of weapon they’re using. Oh, you like that weapon? Take it to the item world to grind up the weapon, where you can continue grinding your character. While inside the weapon, you can fight the weapon’s individual stats, which powers them up and allows you to move those stats to other weapons… oh, and then there’s the Dark Assembly, where you can bribe and/or beat up the local politicians to vote for changes to the way the game works, like allowing you access to better equipment in shops or freeing up your characters to counter-attack more often.

As for what this version of the game brings to the table, the graphics have received an overhaul, making the game look sharp in HD, and all of the extra content from prior versions of the game is included here.

Really, the biggest complaint here is that a lot of the interface improvements later games in the series made weren’t retroactively added here. But it’s not like they didn’t change anything – the game’s interface is distinctly different from the original, and in some places that makes it harder to parse the stat differences… in a stat-heavy game. Ugh.

Still, despite that frustration, this game is still a fantastic version of the first game in a series of game’s that’s arguably the best there is when it comes to this genre. If you enjoy strategy-RPGs or especially if you relish the opportunity to grind your characters into unstoppable beasts, this is the game for you.

tl;dr – Disgaea 1 Complete is a strategy-RPG in the same style of Final Fantasy Tactics, but with a lot more content, options, and some really inventive approaches to genre standbys. This version brings the game into HD looking sharp and featuring all the content of previous versions, but it’s unfortunately lacking some of the improvements later games in the series made. Still, if you like juggling stats and grinding characters, this game will be a joyful playground for you.

Grade: B+

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