review | Disgaea 6: Complete

Over the years I’ve played four games of the Disgaea series and in my opinion Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance was the best by far. The game was more accessible and more straightforward than its predecessors, but this did not come at the expense of depth. Add to that a whole load of downloadable content which was a feast for NIS fans and it was hard not to look forward to what Nippon Ichi Software will do with the next release.

When it became known that this sixth installment was coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch, the decision to drop the review key was quickly made. I was convinced that the PlayStation and/or PC version would follow naturally and would much prefer to play the game over it. As an exception, the owner of GameQuarter, a loyal Disgaea fan, climbed into the pen himself to provide the game with a moderate pass.

with your own eyes

As expected, TRPG has recently made its way to platforms other than Nintendo, so I’ve secured the PS5 key for myself. My prediction was that the technical issues Dave had on the Switch wouldn’t show up on Sony’s latest console, and to my relief, that turned out to be largely true. The game runs smoothly and the new 3D graphics are positive, even in performance mode. It crashed twice, but given the temperatures I played with, it’s possible that my console got too hot. I played Disgaea 6 a lot more than I did.

The reason for this is simple: a new mechanic called auto-battle. As the name suggests, this lets you auto-repeat battles, allowing you to skip the grind closely associated with the Disgaea series when combined with auto-repeating. After downloading the game I played it for a while and then let the console run while I slept. A great way to trade in different currencies and levels, but maybe not recommended at first.

It’s easy to talk afterwards

It’s not what Disgaea is best known for, nor is it usually its most memorable aspect, but as befits an RPG, Disgaea 6 has a story to tell. The story of Zed, a zombie who wages a one-on-one war against the God of Destruction who destroys everything in different worlds. A magic called Super Reincarnation allows him to continue this fight as he returns stronger after being killed. He died many times.

Our story begins when magic, who has a will of his own, decides that Zed is beginning to reach his limits. That was why he had sent him to different worlds to learn different kinds of strength other than the brute force he had trained so far. Money, love, justice, duty and friendship are represented by the colorful characters we are used to from NIS, but they get remarkably little time to shine. When it comes to dialogue, the D6 is much lighter than the previous parts. This is why the automatic battle option might not be a good place to start. It makes the already short campaign a joke to play with, which is a shame if that really appeals to you. However, if you particularly want to see the numbers get bigger, go ahead.

MEEEERR

Anyone motivated by this will find salvation in Disgaea 6. The maximum level has been increased from 9999 to 99,999,999 and the stats are completely ridiculous. So automatic battles are much needed if you want to see everything the game has to offer. However, in my opinion it has no added value. The dynamics of the game do not change, except that there are a few zeros behind everything. In contrast, much of the content has disappeared. You can think of different classes, ride monsters, transform characters into weapons and overloads.

Also in terms of combat, Disgaea 6 is a lot easier which I personally feel. The game remains a true TRPG with a turn-based isometric combat system, but Geo Blocks usually provide the necessary variety and challenge. However, well-found stages were a rarity in the campaign, and while enemy fusion, skill leveling, and reincarnation mechanisms still provide plenty of depth, they’d become redundant or less profitable if you could automate the grinding process. In a way, the best way to play the game is to let the game play by itself, which made me very confused on a personal level.

DLC

The same can be said about the full part of Disgaea 6: Complete: DLC. This consists of characters from previous Disgaea games, complete with very short stories and stages stacked together during a lunch break. Fun for fans, but apart from the DLC for Disgaea 5, which I really liked personally. In addition, the bonuses and powers of these characters, which you now have at your disposal since the first chapter, cut the game even further. So, if you want to experience the story as intended, it’s best to leave this story alone until the credits go on your screen.

conclusion

Disgaea 6 is arguably the easiest part to complete thanks to the auto battle and auto-repeat options, which are enhanced by DLC that totally destroys the balance. If you just want to travel through the game with ease or get the platinum trophy as fast as you can, you’ll be fine with that. True Disgaea fans are happy to make things as efficient as possible and break the game with their own ingenuity, which isn’t really possible in D6. After all, the game is best when it plays itself. Add to that an amazing short story and a lack of content and this is the first disguise I don’t see myself plunging into for countless hours.