History VideoGame / DisgaeaHourOfDarkness

''Disgaea'' details the misadventures of a demonic EvilOverlord (in-training!) called Laharl and his quest to succeed his deceased father as the undisputed ruler of the Netherworld. Alongside him are his [[TheLancer devious number-one vassal]] Etna, a [[LoveFreak bubble-headed angel]] named Flonne (who was originally sent to assassinate him) and an army of exploding penguins called Prinnies.

''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}: Hour of Darkness'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game released by NipponIchi in 2003 for the PlayStation2. It details the adventures of a NobleDemon EvilOverlord (in training!) named Laharl and his quest to fulfill his perceived destiny as Overlord of the Netherworld. He enlists the help of his [[TheLancer number-one vassal]] Etna, a somewhat [[LoveFreak bubble-headed angel]] named Flonne, and a host of exploding penguins called Prinnies.

*** '''Laharl''': [[PaintingTheFourthWall Huh? Endings to what?]]

** '''Flonne''': Oh, please, by all means.
** '''Kurtis''': As I was saying... It's been five years since I lost my wife and daughter... and with them, my soul..

* OnTheNext: Subversion; Etna's chapter intermission interludes have absolutely nothing to do with the following chapter [[spoiler:...most of the time]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: In chapter 4, Maderas does this to [[spoiler: Etna after she unwillingly betrayed Laharl. Fortunately, she foresaw this and her counter-plan was set into motion.]]

* BonusBoss: Baal, [[{{Disgaea2}} Rozalin, Adell]], [[{{MakaiKingdom}} Zetta]] [[LaPucelle Priere]], and [[RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure Marjoly]].

* BonusBoss: Baal, [[{{Disgaea2}} Rozalin, Adell]], [[LaPucelle Priere]], and [[RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure Marjoly]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous: Laharl's ideas on what to do after becoming the overlord:
** [[spoiler: Rain pepper on earth so people can't stop sneezing.]]
** [[spoiler: Give human kids an addicting video game to deprive them of their sleep.]]

* HellInvadesHeaven: This is what the last few levels are based around. You're the one controlling TheLegionsOfHell. [[spoiler:It turns out to have been a part of a plan cooked up between the guy in charge of heaven and Laharl's father to make sure he ends up as a NobleDemon and not a CompleteMonster]].

* LargeHam: Mid-Boss is one, as is '''Captain Gordon, [[LargeHamTitle Defender of Earth!]]''', who apparently has NoIndoorVoice. Vulcanus counts, as well.

''{{Disgaea}}: Hour of Darkness'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game released by NipponIchi in 2003 for the PlayStation2. It details the adventures of a NobleDemon EvilOverlord (in training!) named Laharl and his quest to fulfill his perceived destiny as Overlord of the Netherworld. He enlists the help of his [[TheLancer number-one vassal]] Etna, a somewhat [[LoveFreak bubble-headed angel]] named Flonne, and a host of exploding penguins called Prinnies.

--> '''Flonne''':''"Oops, pardon me!"''

-->'''Aramis:''' The fists of a Dark Karate master... The legs of the fastest demon in the Netherworld... The brain of Mahogany, a famous sorcerer... The iron body of Hercules... And a '''horse wiener!'''

* ArtifactTitle: Etna still calls the game by its original name, "Hour of Darkness," in the remake despite the remake's name being changed to "''Afternoon'' of Darkness."

* BareHandedBladeBlock: In the trailer for the anime (on the ''Disgaea 2'' disc), Laharl catches the blade of a sword that looks to be ''[[{{BFS}} the size of his castle]]'' with his bare hand. Mind you, said blade was also being swung by [[BonusBoss Tyrant Baal]].

* BattleshipRaid: [[spoiler: Gargantua.]]

** Becomes [[IncrediblyLamePun literally true]] when [[spoiler: Jennifer becomes a modified cyborg. Indeed, when the characters imagine what she looks like, she is pictured with machine-gun boobs.]]
* BreatherEpisode: Probably the reason for '''Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth!''' and company getting introduced right after [[TearJerker Chapter 8]].
* BrightCastle: The Overlord's Castle is a gothic version.

** There's also Sakura, in an example of [[DefeatMeansFriendship Defeat Means Friendship]] going a little bit too far. Even [[MakaiKingdom Pram]] is hitting on him.

* DoubleEntendre: Done by Laharl three times [[hottip:*: "Try to make a fool of me? I'll make you moan in pain!" "If you want to show your gratitude, you can repay me with your body." "Well, maybe he'll be more submissive with a little physical persuasion."]], which is then lampshaded each time by Etna [[hottip:*: "Prince, did you mean to say, scream in pain?" "Hmmm... I never knew you were like that..." "Uh... Prince, I hope you didn't mean it ''THAT'' way..."]]

* [[{{Expy}} Expy]]: Aside from having tighter pants and a much prettier face, Mid-Boss' sprite resembles a recolored Alan from LaPucelle.
* FailureToSaveMurder: Kurtis' family got killed and he personally holds Captain Gordon accountable for this, even though the latter wasn't involved in this in any way. As far as Kurtis is concerned, though, Gordon didn't do his job as a Defender of Earth and should be replaced.

* {{Forgiveness}}: Laharl unexpectedly forgives Etna for poisoning him in his sleep and using him as bait for her revenge against Maderas because it is what a true demon would do.

* FunSize: The trio is often drawn this way on promotional artwork.

* HeroesPreferSwords: Played straight by Laharl for promotional images and cut-scenes. Being a humanoid character, however, the player can choose to equip him with any weapon. In fact, he's one of the few in the first Disgaea to be highly proficient with multiple weapons. [[hottip:* : He has an A ranked proficiency with all melee-type weapons (Fists, Swords, Spears, and Axes) and even a bow]]

* IMadeCopies: In episode 5 Maderas sends a challege to Laharl to contend for overlordship on the back of a embarrassing photo, he threatens to scatter copies of set photo all across the Netherworld if Laharl does not comply.

* KilledMidSentence: At one point, Flonne steals Etna's role of providing a wildly inaccurate [[OnTheNext preview]] of the next episode.

--> '''Flonne:''' Oh, hi Et...

* NobleDemon: Laharl, after some character development, in the anime and in the canon ending. He's still a brat, though.

* NoodleIncident: Episode 5 gives us the "embarrassing picture". All we ever know about the picture is Laharl's ''[[http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/burnfist23/InPain.jpg reaction]]'' to said picture and that it's something Flonne never expected Laharl to have done.
** Just before that, Etna talks to Flonne about how some guy pissed her off so in response she "''[[GroinAttack kicked him right there]]''".

* OedipusRex: Laharl's relationship with the former Overlord, King Krichevskoy. [[spoiler:It later turns out his old man is NotQuiteDead...just reincarnated in the form of one-man GoldfishPoopGang Mid-Boss.]] It also doesn't help that the {{UST}} between Laharl and Flonne starts creeping up when Etna mentions that she acts an awful lot like his late mother.

* PicnicEpisode: Episode 10.

* [[RoundedCharacter Rounded Characters]]: Each of the three main characters got a great spectrum of emotions, possesses a wide variety of personality traits that that can be categorized as virtues, flaws and idiosyncrasies, struggles with internal conflict, learns and grows from their experience, got backstories and motivations that reinforces their behavior. Even the masterminds behind the plot get their fair share of [[HiddenDepths hidden depth]] as well.

* ShoutOut: [[{{ShoutOut/Disgaea}} Has its own page.]]

* SuccessionCrisis: The first half of the game.

* WithCatlikeTread: When Flonne infiltrates Laharl's castle, she loudly provides sound effects. [[hottip:*: Whoosh! Nin nin nin!. Wumph!]]

* ChickMagnet: Laharl, at least in the [[DisgaeaNovels light novels]]. He manages to attract Etna, Flonne, her sister Ozonne, and Gordon and Jennifer's daughter Jane.

* IGotBetter: [[spoiler:Laharl]] in the main ending of Etna mode. [[spoiler:The shot that supposedly killed him just knocked him out for four episodes.]]

* CuteShotaroBoy: Laharl - well, a cantankerous and irritable shotaro boy, anyway.

* BareHandedBladeBlock: In the trailer for the anime (on the ''Disgaea 2'' disc), Laharl catches the blade of a sword that looks to be ''[[BeyondTheImpossible the size of his castle]]'' with his bare hand. Mind you, said blade was also being swung by [[BonusBoss Tyrant Baal]].

* ApologeticAttacker: Male Healers sometimes say "forgive me" while attacking.

** TheChick/TheHeart: Flonne

** TheChick: Flonne