Many people consider Japanese culture to be strange, while others think it is the coolest thing they have ever laid eyes on. Quirky animation and humor is the center of most Japanese themed games. We tend to prefer action oriented experiences that reflect real life situations rather than pure fantasy. The Japanese often times believe that video games should be even more bizarre than real life. That is why things like Poke’mon and Yu-Gi-Oh come as such a culture shock to us. We simply can’t believe how these people come up with their strange but intuitive ideas. The strange concepts that come out of the minds of these geniuses is also what prevents a lot of Japanese games from making it to the other side of the world. Many publishers are simply too afraid to release a title that is unfamiliar (notice the increasing trend of sequels?) to American audiences. This often leaves us with the most conventional games and everything seems to always be more of the same (Jak, Ratchet, Crash, Sonic, Wario, Mario, and Spyro ring a bell?). So when one of these bizarre games finally comes stateside, its failure in terms of sales is expected. People have been so used to publishers shielding them from cultural games that when one finally arrives, no one seems to care anymore. This is where Disgaea: Hour of Darkness comes in. Atlus is one of the few brave souls who attempt to bring over and market a Japanese themed game. While they have enjoyed mixed success with these various attempts, they have gained an extremely loyal fan base that simply can’t wait for the next cultural based game to be released. The summer of 2003 has been filled with mediocre sequels and remakes of concepts that have already been used to their full potential. Disgaea brings all the qualities of a good summer game and single handedly makes up for the poorly received batch of games that has confronted us this year. With its quirky humor and oddly chosen setting, the game’s story enchants us while the gameplay enthralls us. This is the purest representation of a true Japanese game that this country has ever seen, and it is that aspect which makes this game all the more fresh. This game is not for everyone though, as the Japanese culture is an acquired taste. Some people may not become interested in the game simply because of its style and that is very unfortunate, because deep under the Japanese flair, there is the most balanced and enjoyable console strategy game ever.

    The game’s plot is purely insane. You take the role of Laharl a demon prince who has just woken from a two year slumber to find out that his father is dead and that there is a battle being waged for control of the crown that is rightfully his. Yes, you are essentially a bad guy. This is one of the things that make the game so appealing. Laharl is so set in his ways of mischief and mayhem; you can’t help but wonder if there is any heart buried beneath the rock. The story is quite simple but different gamers will pick it apart in so many different ways that it may not be interpreted the same way twice. Along with Laharl there is Etna his loyal guard. She is quirky and funny and even provides parodied coming attractions for the various game chapters (reminiscent of the Dragon Ball Z “next episode” scenes). There are many other characters that join you along the way, but describing them would further uncover the secrets of the two main characters and that is best left for you to find out. The plot thickens later on as you find out about a war being waged between heaven and the demon world. Spies and assassins are frequently used to attempt and stop each others plans. The story gets even deeper later on as the game gets close to its ultimately fulfilling climax (something that too few RPGs have provided in recent years). Basically this is a Japanese tale in the highest quality. Some of the things that happen throughout the game are simply hilarious and some of the more somber moments are broken up by intentional humor. For a game based on a genre not known for its storytelling abilities, Disgaea sure changes all that.

    When you first play Disgaea, the first thing that will pop into your head is Final Fantasy Tactics. While the gameplay resembles FF Tactics a lot, the way it is set up, is much more accessible, enjoyable and challenging. You start off with a small party, (like most games) and as you progress you will be able to create new party members to vary your skills and strategies. There is an in-depth tutorial mode available for beginners that explains the various gameplay elements scattered throughout the game. This will help the uninitiated get familiar with the gameplay mechanics. You are basically placed onto a field (like a board game) and there are various enemies scattered along it. You call out your party and strategically place them in areas where their unique abilities will come in handy. The game is turn based, but it never feels that way. The action is always intense and the complexity is simple stunning. You make a really stupid move and the computer will make you regret it, but if you pull out the good stuff, all it can do is grovel. A neat addition to the genre would be the geo-triangles. These objects are placed in specific locations on a map and when your character steps on a grid of that color, they will receive a status effect that will either help them, or hurt them severely. An example would be the “Double XP for a kill”. When you do away with an enemy while standing on that panel, you will receive double the amount of experience points if you hadn’t been on it. Most of them are positive for your characters, but the computer AI can almost always use them to its advantage when the time calls for it. The level structuring is menu based, so that you are able to replay levels after you are done with them. This helps when the enemies on the latest level are too difficult for you. There are bosses and mini-bosses and each world you enter, the difficulty will ramp up significantly. Another innovative idea that is present in this game is the “Lift/Throw” technique. It allows you to lift a member of your party and throw them to high up places or to a distance that could not normally have been reached by walking. This helps in the later levels when the stronger enemies are too close to your allies. On a whole, the game will take the casual gamer about 80 hours to complete. The hardcore gamer could get through it in about 40, but none of this is counting the time spent in the innovative “Item World”. In the Item World, you choose a weapon that you would like to upgrade and you are then transported into that item (yes I did say they had some odd concepts). You then begin to fight in various randomly generated maps until you make that weapon as strong as possible. You are able to leave the Item World when the levels become too difficult for you, and luckily you can save your place in the dungeon. This is just another thing that makes the game immensely enjoyable. Along with the item world, there is the senate. Depending on your influence with the senate, you will be able to create stronger characters for your party. Gameplay wise, this game is ten times better than the awful Hoshigami and is even more enjoyable (in most respects) than Final Fantasy Tactics.

    The visuals in Disgaea are just as bizarre as the story. Perfectly animated 2D sprites are used on the nicely textured battlefields. They will even show various expressions during the cut scenes that relay parts of the story. Speaking of the story, the plot is progressed through a series of anime stills. The art direction in this game is fantastic and is reminiscent of the creepy Tim Burton films and the recent mediocre game Okage: Shadow King. The anime stills represent the story very well and never seem to be out of place. The special effects are here in full force. The developers mixed the 2D sprites with 3D particle effects for a very nice looking light show. Most of the visual flair is seen in the game character’s special moves, including summons and other spells. While some say that the developers should have used a more advanced graphics engine, I whole heartedly disagree. I doubt this game would have had the same effect if they had altered the visuals. Thankfully they didn’t. They succeeded at making a visual experience more pleasing to the eye than FF Tactics, and Hoshigami, and that is no walk in the park.

    In terms of sound, this game is no slouch. An effective soundtrack complements the superb graphics and sound so nicely that you can pretty much forgive the questionable voice acting. The tunes are haunting and upbeat when the plot requires it and the soundtrack never seems repetitive or bland. For a game that puts so much emphasis on battling, this is a good thing to hear. The voice acting isn’t bad, and it isn’t average either. It’s pretty good, but some of the actors seem to over emphasize their characters expressions. They are most likely supposed to sound like that so I am not going to be picky reagrding that aspect. Mainly because the voice acting stays true to the bizarre theme of the game and it never seems out of place or poorly done. Overall the audio presentation is top notch and does a great job of retaining the Japanese flair.

    So is Disgaea too Japanese for its own good? Probably. I cannot honestly say if the game will become a massive success because these games have not been in full circulation around the US. On the other hand though, Disgaea is the perfect first step in the right direction. I hope it spawns many new American translated Japanese games, because as much as we all love our culture, we can’t help but be intrigued by the culture expressed by the Japanese. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is the best strategy game on the Playstation 2 and it will surely be the sleeper hit of the year. Tell others about it, word of mouth can take this small masterpiece far. Kudos to Atlus for caring.