rating:4
The turn based strategy game, Disgaea 3, gets the Vita make over. Set in the Netherworld, the world of demons, we are introduced (or re-introduced, I've not played the previous instalments) to The Evil Academy, a school for evil kids and the best of them are the worst of them. Mao, the son of the Overlord, has a rebellious streak (you don't say) and wants to become a hero and overthrow his father, but he has no understanding of love or indeed strategy turn based fighting it seems. From the fantastically Japanese opening theme song, with flashy anime graphics and mad lyrics Disgaea 3's presentation is top notch. Wonderfully bright, animated characters, with great English voices, full of madcap character and excitement. Sure the game is very, very talky, to the point where you will find yourself clicking 'X' to skip certain elements but there's no getting away from how pretty this game looks.
Of course that's just the talky bits. The game itself looks more like what you'd expect from the genre. Simple locations, high end, but still very 8-Bit inspired graphics and a fighting system that tells characters to move, throw, attack or special there way through the seemingly endless situations. Planning each member of the teams approach to the baddies, executing them and then hoping the bad guys don't pull out a devastating surprise when you end your turn and pass over the enemy. Disgaea 3 is a whole lot of fun in that respect. Step by step approaches to the battles initially feel drawn out , especially with the tutorials that spell out every one of those steps but once you get going and the fun and funky flashy battle visuals kick in Disgaea 3's charms begin to win out.
Between all that, there's also the evolving story and many, many likable characters to meet. There' s buying stuff, upgrading weapons, touch controls that help out with your viewing angles and make the menus more hands on and more madcap humour than you'll be able to deal with. I'm not the biggest fan of turn based strategy games (outside of the elements in the Final Fantasy series anyway) but Disgaea 3 welcomed me in, let me know everything I needed to know and entertained me on a story level as well as a gaming level. Once I was settled in, I found myself picking up the game and playing little stints, which really is a great thumbs up for the Vita edition of the game. The longer periods I spent with the game also felt as if a momentum was building with my skills and before I knew it, I was planning my battle steps without a second thought.
Disgaea 3: Abense of Detention is available
to buy now on PS Vita