* BreakthroughHit: ''Disgaea'' became a SleeperHit for Creator/NipponIchi in the West, and they would open a publishing branch in the U.S. after the game's release in that territory.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The initial North American [=PS2=] release had a very low-print run, resulting in high prices on the second-hand market. However, the game would eventually receive a second run and a Playstation "Greatest Hits" release, making it more available to players. The later ports and {{Updated Rerelease}}s would further increase the availability of the game.
* SignificantDoubleCasting: In the English dub Creator/GrantGeorge voices both King Krichevskoy, Laharl's father and predecessor as Overlord, and RecurringBoss Vyers (A.K.A Mid-Boss). [[spoiler:That's because Vyers ''is'' Krichevskoy, brought BackFromTheDead by Lamington]].
* TheOtherMarty:
** The late Creator/BobPapenbrook's voice work as Thursday and Vulcanus were replaced by Creator/{{David Lodge|AmericanActor}} in the {{Updated Rerelease}}s. His voice work as General Carter was completely untouched, presumably out of respect.
** For consistency's sake, the same happened to Etna.
* TheOtherDarrin: Creator/AmandaWinnLee was the original English dub voice for Etna, Laharl's second-in-command. In all of her subsequent appearances, including later versions of this game, Creator/MichelleRuff took over the role.
* StudioHop: The original [=PS2=] release was published by Creator/{{Atlus}} in North America. All future releases of the game were published by Nippon Ichi's North American branch, NIS America, starting with the PSP UpdatedRerelease ''Afternoon of Darkness'' in 2007.
* UncreditedRole: As typical of NIS America, none of the English voice actors were credited for their voice work in the game itself.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Mid Boss was originally going to be a hulking monster who easily cried and Laharl originally had a sister. The designs of proto-Mid Boss and Laharl's little sister would make its way into the [[Anime/MakaiSenkiDisgaea anime]] as two monster guarding the dump Flonne finds Laharl in and Maharl, a demon trying to pose as Laharl's sister, respectively. The idea of Laharl having a sister would later be revisited in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2ABrighterDarkness'' through Sicily.
** Originally, the series was supposed to be a space-set rail shooter series, similar to VideoGame/StarFox. Several elements from the original idea can be seen in-game, such as the gun turrets from Chapter 13 and the Scout's Geo Cannon ability [[CulturalTranslation (the latter of which is called the Dark Cannon in the US version to better fit in with the game's main setting)]].
* WorkingTitle: According to an [[https://tcrf.net/images/4/4b/Disgaea1_J_TitleMj0.png unused graphic]] in the final game, this game was called "Makai: ~Little Prince of the Darkness~"[[note]] Makai/魔界 literally means "evil world". Often the word is translated into English as "Hell", but it can refer to other places too. The ''Disgaea'' series and the other related games translate it as "Netherworld".[[/note]] some point in development.
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