RPGfan reported yesterday and NIS' official site confirmed today that Disgaea 2 will be released in Japan on Feb 23 '06. I'll import it if I have nothing else to play when the time comes.
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RPGfan reported yesterday and NIS' official site confirmed today that Disgaea 2 will be released in Japan on Feb 23 '06. I'll import it if I have nothing else to play when the time comes.
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Originally Posted by RedCoKid
nice nice any word on a US release by chance?
I don't see why they wouldn't. I'd bet Aug/Sept 2006.
Nis store is offering Prinny plushes on Nov. 11.
ssb
I was gonna play Phantom Brave (bought it for $20) and played it for about 5 hours, then realized a friend of mine spent like 300 fucking hours playing Disgaea. I used to love these strategy RPG's, and I played through front mission 4, but honestly, how does anyone with a job and a social life have time to play these kinds of games? I do love the art though.
For the record Stevon, I played through Disgaea, but couldn't ever finish Phantom Brave or La Pucelle Tactics.
I play through N1 games veeery slooooo
oooo
ooo
o
w
ly.
Disgaea and Rhapsody are all i've ever played to the ending, and i never played much beyond the ending in Rhapsody.
I've been playing La Pucelle since the day it came out. Once every few months i pull it out, raise everyone another 20 levels by lining them up and killing them, build a few weapons to insane levels, sell them, and put it away again. I could stomp the end boss, but i'm trying for everything. One day.
I'll get to the others some day. Doesn't make sense that i still insist on picking them up on release day, but whatever.
NIS updated with lots of screenshots, an illustrated battle system description, and a new movie. Basically, it looks like it'll play very similar to Disgaea (not Phantom Brave or Makai Kingdom) but with a new storyline. They've also added a supreme court to go along with the senate.
Impressions I posted last March on my now-defunct blog. At first Disgaea 2 felt like a huge improvement, especially after the disappointing effort NIS put into Makai Kingdom...
Later on, it lost its appeal and felt like a slog...Quote:
Disgaea 2: A return to the good and bad of 2003's strategy RPG
posted at 03/06/2006 07:28 PM EST
This time one year ago, I wrote a review entitled "Look but don't touch," harshly criticizing Nippon Ichi Software's Phantom Kingdom (later released in the US as Makai Kingdom) on gamefaqs and NIS America, and received in return a hearty disapproval from NIS faithful. Conveniently avoiding the guillotine, I removed it from both sites prior to US release. The internet hasn't (nor have I) seen it since, but to best illustrate how well Disgaea 2 redeems NIS, it'd be relevant to rehash a few points:
- hideous graphics and backgrounds in cutscenes after chapter 1
- limited contribution by NIS' longtime composer, Tenpai Sato
...and the biggest offense...
- only one playable NIS-licensed character before the ending
D2 addresses each of these complaints while also "correcting" the evolution of NIS' SRPG battle system in Phantom Brave and MK.
A lot more attention was given to the presentation. The introductory anime turned out excellent. It even gives a hint of how the upcoming Disgaea anime may look, while reuniting and introducing fans to favorite characters, classes, and newcomers. No 6-month development cycle this time around! The next obvious improvement was the switch to high-resolution graphics: full-screen anime portraits, level textures, and the font all sport a cleaner look. However, some cutscenes mix the portraits with resampled low-res animated sprites, the exact ones used during battles. In other words, large blurry characters are thrown on top of ultra-crisp backgrounds.
Tenpai Sato is back! He blends remixes of the prequel's best with plenty of new Disgaea-esque tunes. None have been as catchy as my personal favorites "Violent Emotion" or "Heaven's Garden" from PB, but usually the best is saved for last.
I've acquired 6 all-new story characters through chapter 9, but Etna, Laharl, and Flonne still haven't joined my party. You know they're going to show up eventually because they're in the intro, but it's still weird to play a Disgaea "sequel" without the big three. That begs the question, "Can a game be a sequel without its original characters?" After all, NIS already brought them back in PB and MK as unlockables. There has to be an extra level of consistency because all of their games already are spin-offs of one another. And... (I love to find faults) this brings up Disgaea's only flaw; you will feel like you've played this game before, in the good sense and bad.
Although there are a few modifications to the prequel's gameplay (the judicial accompanies the legislative branch of hell's congress, every 10 floors in item dungeons have shops and a recovery point, characters can deal extra damage when stacked, etc.), there's no change here as significant as PB's "confine" or MK's "invite" system. Plus, we're back to methodical grid movement. No big deal, right? Well, don't forget that to get anywhere in the story mode, you'll occassionally need to take a time out to level-up by traipsing through long random dungeons. Therefore, even though the story mode boards are unique (not to mention quite complex brainteasers), the item world would feel exactly the same if not for the graphics and new characters (IF you prefer them over created characters, that is)! Who wants to level-up something from scratch that they've already mastered? Not me at least... that's why RPGs have an inherently low replay value unless there's a bonus dungeon or "new game +" feature. Wouldn't it have been cool to transfer high-level transmigrated characters from your Disgaea 1 savefile instead of making them anew? Imagine if you'd have been given the chance to level them from 9,999 to 99,999,999... XD
So there you have it--I always can find something wrong! Nevertheless, I strongly recommend it, especially when considering how well NIS America's quality voiceovers will highlight the slapstick humor. Dubbing rules!
More complaints. Both of the following refer to the second most annoying stage in the game:Quote:
Disgaea 2
posted at 03/13/2006 09:29 PM EST
I've started chapter 13 of 14. The grids and especially the crystals are wearing me down. I love gridless SRPG systems and haven't a clue where this facination with 90 degree movement comes from... Final Fantasy Tactics nostalgia perhaps? Anyway, I'm annoyed by invisible invincibility/resistances. Damage from ATK is inversely proportional to DEF just as INT is to RES. Late in the game, however, you'll find the occassional wolf or boss who's stats SUCK but inexplicably can "0" whatever you throw at them. Suddenly you realize you've dug yourself into a statemate because the AI knew this and you didn't-- which is why they killed off your strongest mage when the stage started. Pure evil. I felt like cracking my disc after that happened. At least 90 minutes were wasted.
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March 19, 2006, 05:34:27 pm
I'm at 13-2. ... 3x enemy bonus highlights everything: the enemies hit you 3x as hard, and you're 3x as weak. You've gotta destroy the crystal, right? Well, it's on the far side of the board and would take 5 turns to move a character there. No problem, just stack some characters and toss 'em all over there, huh? Wait a minute, there's another crystal on the same color disabling you to stack and/or throw. Plus another color disabling you to walk across.
For the record, I eventually beat D2, although it's apparent that you either have to: (1) be at least 10 Lvls higher than your enemies or (2) beat each stage the way NIS planned it. Every board is like a puzzle with different rules to win. There's no leeway to be creative in how to kill your opponents. Not a good quality.Quote:
March 21, 2006, 10:20:23 pm
When you guys get to the map I was talking about, please tell me how to beat it! It's shaped like an amphitheater with flashing red 3x bonus. The crystal is on the far side, and there's a 20% damage crystal on the top edge that you could throw onto the red squares for added effect. There also are 3 planks with girl mages on each overlooking the donut hole. You'll know when you get there.
Shamelessly stolen from neogaf:
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XBOX 360
Dead Rising - 7.5, 7.0, 8.0
Prey - 6.5, 7.0, 8.0
Ninety-Nine Nights - 4.5, 4.5, 6.0
Bomberman Act: Zero - 3.0, 3.0, 2.0
PS2
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories - 7.0, 8.0, 6.5
Okami - 9.0, 9.5, 9.0 Gold Award, GOTM
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII - 5.0, 5.0, 4.0
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - 8.0, 9.0, 8.0, Silver Award
Dance Factory - 3.0, 7.0, 2.0
MULTIPLATFORM
Flatout 2 - 5.0, 4.5, 6.0
Super Monkey Ball Adventure - 3.5, 4.5, 5.0
Pac-Man World Rally - 6.5, 6.0, 5.0
DS
Deep Labyrinth - 2.0, 3.0, 7.5
PSP
Bomberman - 6.5, 5.5, 7.0
Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins - 7.5, 6.0, 4.5
Tekken: Dark Resurrection - 8.0, 8.5, 8.0, Silver Award
Eek. Sounds a bit grim. Thanks for the impressions though. I'm sure I'll play it eventually, but it's no longer much of a priority.