Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

aka: Makai Senki Disgaea
Moby ID: 10160
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Special Edition

Description official descriptions

After a two-year sleep, Prince Laharl awakens to find his father, King Krichevskoy, dead and the Netherworld in the middle of a civil war over who takes the throne. Not willing to give up his rightful place as the next king, Laharl joins with his subordinate Etna and her underlings to fight back.

The Overlord's castle acts as a hub to manage the party. It has shops to get new equipment, a gate to the different battles, a NPC to travel to the Item World, which is used to boost items, and the Dark Assembly, where the player can create new units, and have the assembly vote to pass (or not) special laws that will affect the game. To unlock some characters, a special chapter must first be unlocked by the Assembly.

The story progresses in the form of chapters. In each chapter, new battles become one after another, with dialogues at the beginning and end of those battles. Any completed battle becomes available to play again, sometimes with minor changes. At the end of every chapter, a parody cut-scene announcing the next chapter,(most often, it is Etna who tells the story as if she were the protagonist) is shown.

Battle In a similar style to Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle, Disgaea is a turn-based strategy RPG on an isometric grid. Characters are dispatch in battle one after another, and each have a move action and an battle action. Each class has its own set of abilities, ranging from simple attacks and area attacks to magics that can affect all the battlefield. In each battle, up to ten bonuses can be obtained by clearing the Geo Panels and defeating enemies to fill the Bonus Gauge. The battle is won when all enemies are defeated, or, in the Item World, by accessing a gate to move to the next floor.

The Item World The Item World is a world divided in floors, inside any of the player's item. The goal of the Item World is to progress through the floors, which raises the item's level. The more enemies are defeated before moving to the next floor, the more the item will improve. A special king of enemies, Residents, can be found in the Item World. These have their own level, and add a bonus to the item in which they reside. Once a Resident is defeated, it is "subdued", its level doubles and it can be moved between items. Residents can be fused together to get better bonuses. This is necessary because each item has a maximum number of Residents it can contain, determined by the item's rarity (common, rare or legendary).

Spellings

  • 魔界戦記ディスガイア - Japanese spelling

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

110 People (94 developers, 16 thanks) · View all

Product Management
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'The Invasion From Within'
  • Lyrics/Music: Tsunami Bomb
  • From the EP 'The Invasion From Within' on Tomato Head Records
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[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 41 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 38 ratings with 1 reviews)

One of the best Strategy RPGs of all time

The Good
Disgaea is probably one of the most lighthearted games I've ever played, and for a game that takes place in the demonic underworld, that's quite a feat. It has compelling characters, amusing dialog, and more replay value than most games. Geo panels, the ability to throw teammates for strategic advantage and the ability to fight battles INSIDE of any item in the game gave Disgaea a uniqueness that's helped it become a niche hit. Being able to take back any action (so long as you don't attack) allows for some pretty meticulous planning to boot.

The Bad
While the main story arc can be completed in a matter of hours, there are endless hours of sidequests and extras to be found in Disgaea. While this is all well and good, certain aspects of the game, leveling up character classes and weapon skills for instance, are far too time consuming and become tedious far too quickly. The graphics are somewhat dated, even for when the game was released, and while they are highly stylized and serve their purpose well, it could be a barrier to entry for some who have grown accustomed to prettier games.

The Bottom Line
Disgaea is a turn-based strategy RPG for the Playstation 2. Its narrative is whimsical, often corny, but always entertaining. It is your task as hell's overlord, Laharl, to exert your supremacy over your subjects and reclaim your father's throne -- but many things aren't as they seem. There's lots of fun to be found -- you can battle monsters using speed and terrain to gain the upper hand, power up your weapons and armor by fighting through the item world, or create powerful minions in the Dark Council. There are plenty of things to do, and hours of possible play time, but how you choose to play is entirely up to you.

PlayStation 2 · by Nick Rycar (155) · 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Anime

An anime version of Disgaea was made, and aired in Japan in April to June 2006.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2003 – PS2 Strategy Game of the Year
    • 2003 – #9 PS2 Game of the Year

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Related Games

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
Released 2006 on PSP, Windows
Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance
Released 2015 on PlayStation 4
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
Released 2006 on PlayStation 2, 2013 on PlayStation 3
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
Released 2011 on PlayStation 3
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny
Released 2021 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Disgaea 5: Complete
Released 2017 on Nintendo Switch, Windows
Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention
Released 2011 on PS Vita
Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited
Released 2014 on PS Vita

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  • MobyGames ID: 10160
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

PlayStation 3 added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: Mickey Gabel, Apogee IV, Kabushi, DreinIX, Spenot, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.

Game added August 27, 2003. Last modified March 19, 2024.