Disgaea

Every once in a while a video game comes along that keeps me coming back. It won’t matter whether I’ve played the game two or twenty times, my enjoyment level is the same. Disgaea is one of those games.

The Story Line and Characters

Laharl, Flonne, & Etna

The storyline, on the surface, is pretty simple. After waking the prince from his two year nap, Etna informs the prince that his father’s been dead for quite a while. The kingdom lacks a ruler. She and Laharl then go on a quest to regain the title of Overlord and fend off all of the greedy demons clawing at the kingdom.

Etna’s more devious than she lets the prince know initially. But, this is no surprise. They are demons, after all.

Celestia also sends an Angel Trainee into the Netherworld to assassinate the already expired Overlord, and she naturally gets roped into the party.

Laharl, Your Pissy Prince

Laharl

The main character of this entire fiasco is known as Laharl. He is the son of the now dead Overlord King Krichevskoy and carries with him all the baggage a royal father seems to bring teenage boys. He’s arrogant, rude, and easily stirred to anger.

In battle, Laharl is your standard ‘swing a sword until the damned thing dies’ sort of character, which seems to suit him just fine.

Etna, Monologue Champion

Etna

I’m pretty sure that Laharl’s vassal Etna is why I adore this game’s characters. For starters, she’s outspoken. Secondly, she’s ultra violent in an odd way. I’m not sure if she aims for causing severe bodily harm, but she is not shy with her spear.

Flonne, Wayward Angel

The third main character is the ever cheerful Flonne. Her optimism and odd vapidness is enough to make you heave. According to Etna, her head is full of flowers, and Flonne didn’t seem to have much of an objection to this assessment.

On her own, Flonne seems pretty useless in battle.

The Game Play

The game is a tactical one, which borrows heavily from Final Fantasy Tactic’s gameplay style. You move your members around a square-filled playing field attempting to wipe out all of the enemies.

You’ve got a load of different types of characters to create, mentor (which allows the teacher to gain abilities native to the student’s job), and level-up. Certain jobs only become available after arduous tasks, special existing combination, or having one character leveled up enough.

Beyond that, the storyline is hilarious.

What Happened…

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I adore the game. When I heard that it was out for the DS, I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased it. I wanted to make sure I had it for my flight down to Austin for SXSW. When I started playing it, something felt wrong.

Had… had they really changed Etna’s voice actor? My favorite character’s lines weren’t being delivered in the same, snarky ways as before. She almost had whiny, rather than a jeering lit to her voice. Oh, no… What had I bought?

So Much For That

SXSW didn’t give me much time to enjoy my new game, but I also didn’t have much desire to pick up the game and run with it. That single change killed much of the game for me. I suppose it’s a word of warning for users to get attached to a single character like that.

Did this sort of thing ever happen to you? Did you ever get completely attached to a single character and have them changed just enough to kill your love in a sequel or re-release?