Nippon Ichi (Disgaea, Makai Kingdom, etc.)

Well I've figured out how the battle mechanics work, at least I think. Phantoms need to be holding an item after the battle ends and before they are Removed to earn exp, and Marona has the traditional more enemies she kills the more exp she gets.

But holding things will also give protection and stat effects.

Only thing now is, and this is just a problem most strategy games give me is it's easy to lose direction and lose the track where enemies have gone. It's a good thing it lets you snap back to the character's starting spot.

As I understand it, phantoms get exp both from defeating enemies and from the item that they were confined in - they don't have to be holding something in their hands.

Also, I'm pretty sure Phantom Brave has the "character list" feature like in Disgaea, so you can see where everyone on the map is.

edited 16th Jan '17 8:15:11 PM by Durazno

Thanks, okay it's all good to go now. Appreciate all the help.

Finished Disgaea 4 (after doing 1, 2 and 3. 5 was the first one I ever played). Of the Disgaeas, I'd have to say that 4 is my favorite in terms of story and characters. Valvatorez > you, your dog and your grandma.

Yeah, 1 and 4 definitely seem to be the favorites. Nobody really seems to like 2 much, though. I find the cast in that one to be pretty bland, and the reveal is extremely obvious.

2 didn't really fit the 'play the strange and funny bad but not so bad guy' theme that the rest of the games had which is the big difference people didn't like.

edited 20th Jan '17 9:43:42 PM by Memers

I liked 2 for its gameplay improvements. It was way more fun to play than Disgaea 1.

As someone who went from 1 to 4 and then back to 2 and 3, I found them both to be rather unplayable after all the bells and whistles in 4. 2's cast was also rather boring.

2 had Rozalin in it and Rozalin is great, but basically everyone else is really boring. Adell is okay.

I enjoyed 1 and 2. Only having gotten as far as the Playstation 2, that's about where I've gotten. :)

I do like her design. I find it funny interviews have consistently said they went with a new cast with 2 because they felt they'd done everything they set out to say with those characters, and yet they keep bringing them back for cameos and DLC most chances they get, and they got two games starring them after. And despite the potential for declining quality, Laharl, Etna, and Flonne remained as funny as they'd always been.

I guess somewhere along the line the writers still have a fondness for them.

Well, cameo characters is one of their things. That they managed to keep Laharl et al at that level of endearing and funny just goes to show how well designed the characters were. Most would have played out their schtick by that point and had the audience turn against them. Instead the audience embraced their presence and they seemed to run with it.

Cameos are a theme in the series, even dating back to the La Pucelle era.

I was a little frustrated with how the Disgaea trio seemed to be rewound for a lot of their appearances.

Apparently some of the games don't happen in chronological order. Makai Kingdom happens during Disgaea 1 and 2 while Disgaea 5 happens before all of the other games, for instance.

edited 21st Jan '17 6:01:46 AM by Zeromaeus

Disgaea 5 -> Disgaea 1 Good Ending -> Disgaea D2 -> Makai Kingdom -> Disgaea 2 -> Disgaea Infinite -> Disgaea 3 -> Disgaea 4.

The prinny games branch off from D1 normal ending.

And in addition to being in that order:

• There is an enormous time gap between 5 and 1.
• Disgaea 2, 3 and Infinite happen very close to each other.
• Disgaea 4 seems to happen a decent stretch of time after 3.
• Disgaea 5's DLC happens after the events of the last game each DLC character was a main character for. (In the case of Etna, after D2, not 2. In the case of Priere, only after her demon ending.) You get to use the characters in Disgaea 5 despite taking place a long time earlier because shut up.

edited 21st Jan '17 6:18:46 AM by burnpsy

Let's add onto this to make it even more confusing!

Disgaea 5 main game and post-game> Disgaea 4 Flashback episode> Disgaea 4 Return time travel episode> Disgaea 1, Prinny games branch off here> D2> Makai Kingdom, at least two timelines here, I think> Infinite, which branches off into a bunch of cameo appearances and the best ending is probably non-canon> 2> 3> 4 main and post-game> 5 DLC.

Oh yeah, and Zenon meeting Babylon is somewhere in there before 1.

5 DLC is all over the place on the timeline, as Flonne is still a Fallen Angel for the part with the D2 character section, but Artina exists as an angel for the 5 character section.

I choose to believe that Flonne is just visiting Laharl on his birthday, but it doesn't really matter if I'm wrong.

I do think it would be hilarious if Flonne was being 50/50 Fallen/Arch.

That was a thing for part of D2 and in 3's Raspberyl mode.

edited 21st Jan '17 7:14:28 AM by burnpsy

I assume then that the Rhapsody/Marl Kingdom stuff happens in its own era, followed by Phantom Brave/Soul Nomad.

Eh, probably overthinking all of this. Besides, most characters are long-lived anyway.

Disgaea 2 PC is out!

This is my first time posting in this very thread, so FULL DISCLAIMER:

I've never played any of the games, and I don't think I will because turn-based JRPG's don't feel like my cup of tea.

HOWEVER. What really ropes me into this kind of game discussing are the characters and story. I love watching and hearing this series whenever I can. As of this posting, I am brainstorming a hypothetical action RPG focusing on Asagi (enigmatic girl determined to be "the main character") and Nisa (flat-chested heroine, formerly of Gamindustri, now of the Netherworld and has recently become a personal favorite Nippon Ichi character in general for me).

And on the subject of characters and story, you guys know how Yo-Kai Watch is getting a western comic book adaptation courtesy of IDW Publishing in a few months?

How do you guys think a hypothetical western comic book adaptation of Disgaea would work itself out?

Would it fill in the gaps established in the games or just assume nobody's heard of it and start from scratch, while making it clear to any Disgaea fans that yes, you are familar with the world via good writing?

edited 14th Feb '17 6:48:17 AM by TargetmasterJoe

I feel as though it would start with another adaption of Hour of Darkness, move onto some sort of original story (perhaps around the Defenders of Earth) cover D2, and then go the way of the light novels and continue to focus primarily on the adventures of the original trio.

Further adaptions would either be from their perspective or involve them more than the games did, with the possible exception of 5.