Game Review | Disgaea 2 PC
After more than a decade of waiting and a year of anticipation, our friends over at NIS America have brought the second installment of the highly praised Disgaea series to the PC in the form of Disgaea 2 PC, and this time it was a port done right. Nippon Ichi Software does not disappoint with this fun new installment to the Disgaea franchise.
The Cursed Land of Veldime
The story finds players in Veldime where the powerful and mysterious Overlord Zenon has cursed everyone, wiping their memories and turning them all into demons. Players are introduced to Adell, the only person unaffected by Zenon’s curse who, in an attempt to summon Zenon to defeat him and save his family ends up with Zenon’s haughty daughter Rosalin instead. These two act as the main characters and focal points of the game as Adell tries to get Rosalin home and get his showdown with Zenon. The story itself takes many hilarious twists and turns along the way, revealing hidden depths you wouldn’t really expect at first glance but which feel right at home with a Disgaea title.
The fun thing about Disgaea 2 PC is that it follows the basic formula of Disgaea. The game brings with it a completely different story line with brand new characters, all of whome have questionable moral standing. Disgaea 2 doesn’t try too hard to mimic the first game. Instead, it focuses on recreating for players the experience of the first game in a completely different setting, all while holding onto key features so as to maintain a link between the games. The game holds even more potential for hours spent grinding away than its predecesor and if that’s just not your thing, the story and characters are more than engrossing enough for players to casually play through the main story to its end without delving too deeply into things like the Item World. Of course all the post story madness still await with features like the Item World, Axel Mode and the Post Story missions themselves to take up time. All in all, the game always has something for players to do.
A Netherworld Port to be Proud of
Disgaea 2 PC is a great version of the the second game which combines everything from Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories and Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days. The game features all of the DLC for Disgaea 2 at no additional cost, including not only the surprise appearance of Disgaea 3 sweethearts Almaz and Sapphire but also the never before released to the west Gig (Soul Nomad and the World Eaters), Dark Eclair (La Pucelle: Tactics) and Miabel. They each even come with their own mini-story to make them feel like a more organic part of the game. The additional characters do make your clutter up your character select list, which gets a little frustrating when trying to find someone specific. This however seems like a fair trade with the dynamic they add to your play.
Bonus characters aren’t the only benefit to the PC port. Following on from the Disgaea PC’s release last year, Disgaea 2 PC has updated graphics that improves upon the old PS2 look. While the option is there for players to use a controller, some effort was obviously put into refining the keyboard controls. This time around they don’t feel as awkward, and with the addition of shortcut keys, the gameplay itself is faster and convenient, even if it takes a little getting used to.
Most importantly, the game runs smoothly. After the last PC port, many were admittedly skeptical as to how the game would run on launch. Many were disappointed when Disgaea PC was released with its long list of issues. Dropping frame rates, synchronized audio, random glitches and crashing, and the list goes on. Even though most of the issues were patched up with updates released down the line, the initial chaos completely killed the experience for a lot of hardcore Disgaea fans as well as those new to the franchise. This time around however, NIS seems to have learned from their past mistakes. They have released a game that isn’t just aesthetically appealing but playable, running smoothly with no noticeable glitches and doesn’t that just make my nostalgic heart beat with pride.
PC Overlord Disgaea
Disgaea 2 PC is a victory for PC ports everywhere. While it doesn’t add anything explicitly new to the experience, it perfectly demonstrates to PC gamers why Disgaea is one of the greatest tactical JRPG franchises on the market. If turn-based or tactical RPG play isn’t your style, the hilarity and depth of the story will most definitely be lost on you. But, for any PC gamer who’s been looking for that next great RPG adventure, hardcore grinder or not, Disgaea PC is definitely a worthy investment.
With the hope of more entries for the Disgaea franchise to come, it’s great to see that improvements are being made to enhance the game play experience no matter how small. Little progress is progress all the same, especially when the bulk of content stands strong as is
