I like Disgaea and the brand new title Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless. It’s a novel collection, to say the least; mixing tactical SRPG parts with a comedic storyline and a few arguably ridiculous mechanics. In what different SRPG are you able to throw your allies throughout the battlefield or slap your enemies with a pile of your pals? Sadly, the collection has had a tricky time of it lately with the newest entry, Disgaea 6, prioritising 3D visuals however shedding a few of the distinctive sense of favor and selection the collection is understood for. The preliminary launch on Swap had a bevvy of efficiency points in addition, and while the releases on different consoles mitigated this considerably, the sport as an entire by no means actually felt completed.
With Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless, Nippon Ichi appears to have gone again to its roots and recognised what made the collection so beloved within the first place.
Like each earlier entry, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless takes place within the Netherworlds; basically a multiversal illustration of parallel hells populated by quite a lot of demons, devils and souls. In earlier video games, they had been proven to all have their very own equal of the satan; an Overlord, however 7 appears to streamline the lore somewhat for the advantage of new gamers. On this recreation, you’re offered (no less than initially) with a single demonic realm – Hinomoto – with a larger emphasis on Japanese theology and themes than what we’ve seen so far.
Moderately than having merely an Overlord, Hinomoto is dominated by a gaggle of demonic magistrates who’re suppressing the cluster’s beforehand honourable “Bushido” repute. The plot follows Fuji; a lone warrior with a mysterious previous, and his benefactor Pirika; a lover of all issues Hinomoto and a profitable businesswoman – as they seek for the facility to overthrow the oppressive magistrates and restore the Bushido code.
After the ridiculousness of D6’s tremendous reincarnation storyline, it’s good to have a extra grounded-feeling plot which follows the collection’ traditions. Fuji, Pirika and the remainder of the supporting forged really feel utterly at dwelling on this new world, and the Japanese inspirations refresh the Netherworlds simply sufficient that it looks like a breath of contemporary air. While I’d argue that D5’s plot was higher total, it’s a enjoyable romp which underlays the meat of the expertise – the satisfying SRPG fight – with panache.
The sport performs as a collection of turn-based battles in an isometric world, with gamers ready to make use of as much as ten models per battle. While D6 simplified these battles, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless takes the standard of life updates; autobattle included, while bringing again the deep stage of character customisation and skill utilization the collection is understood for. It flows so a lot better in Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless, with enemy selection a lot improved over the earlier entry and environments feeling extra various and fascinating than ever earlier than. As at all times, you’re taking turns transferring your models, participating assaults and utilizing a combination of single-target and AoE expertise, however there feels to be much less wasted time and busywork right here and that’s at all times appreciated.
As soon as once more, you’ve got quite a lot of distinctive and recruitable models to come across which will be levelled and improved nearly infinitely. A widely-held criticism of D6 was the shortage of character lessons which then translated to a lesser stage of customisation to your squad. Fortunately many lacking character varieties are again, as is the break up between monster and humanoid models. While you would argue that a lot of them are merely gender-swaps of different lessons, it’s good to have a bunch of customisation again and with it the flexibility to really select the paths of your models. Including to that is the return of weapon expertise, which once more provides to the potential versatility on supply.
One other difficulty with D6 was the over-inflation of the sport’s stats. Disgaea is beloved by many for the straightforward truth you may stage your models nearly infinitely, maxing stats by means of reincarnation and turning your squad into your personal private powerhouse military. Sadly, D6 took the ridiculous heights of D5 – max stage of 9999 and stats within the hundreds of thousands – and escalated issues over that within the first few hours.
Taking the extent cap to 99,999,999 and stat values to the billions was a step too far and made development really feel much less satisfying consequently. Gadgets nearly felt nugatory compared to a unit’s base stats, as a single level-up dwarfed any merchandise profit. Fortunately, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless has returned to an affordable stage of silliness. You may nonetheless find yourself with stats within the hundreds of thousands, however the identical is true for gadgets they usually’ve rebalanced these parts for a extra satisfying development curve.
Among the options you’d hope for have additionally returned. The Merchandise World has been rejigged and now has a smaller variety of ranges per run, however in doing in order that they’ve opened up the doorways for merchandise reincarnation and merchandise evolution feels extra significant because of it. They’ve additionally introduced within the potential to ship Prinny squads into the merchandise world to grind for you and a model new mechanic – Jumbification. It’s clearly a little bit of a gimmick, however I like the flexibility to unleash a kaiju-sized aoe assault each from time to time.
There’s additionally hell mode, which is actually a brief increase state for sure characters; which once more is a pleasant change. I additionally just like the dimension sightseeing characteristic, which supplies you entry to every Netherworld after you’ve completed the chapter and presents secret gadgets, non-obligatory battles and minigames to take pleasure in. Lacking nonetheless are Magichange, chara world and tower expertise, however Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless looks like such an enchancment from the earlier recreation that I can forgive these omissions. I simply hope they return within the inevitable sequel.
Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless Trailer
Lastly, we’ve got the visuals and audio to think about. Like D6, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless is in 3D, however they’ve lastly discovered the proper midpoint between the high-quality pixel visuals of the sooner collection and the 3D type they clearly needed to implement. Fortunately, the attraction is again in spades and it looks like a visible return to type on so many ranges. Efficiency can be a lot improved on Swap, although there’s the occasional dip in FPS throughout sure ability animations. The music and VA is stable although, with some splendidly composed eastern-inspired tracks to enrich the number of worlds you’ll go to.
General, I’ve only a few complaints about Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless. It actually looks like a return to type after the disappointing D6, bringing again a lot of character lessons, beefing up the fight complexity and restoring stability to the general gameplay. While the plot isn’t as revolutionary nor the expertise fairly as full as that seen in Disgaea 5, it is a solidly pleasant entry within the long-running collection and one I can simply advocate to newcomers and veterans alike.
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