Review for Disgaea 4 Complete +. Game for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 29/10/2019
There aren't many tactical RPG series that manage to survive on the market these days. Fortunately, fans of the genre can count on that of Disgaea, which since its debut on PS2 now over 15 years ago has continued to improve and consolidate chapter after chapter. Despite the undoubted quality of its games and critical acclaim, the series has always had some difficulty in garnering good sales. This rightly prompted Nippon Ichi to bring his chapters to various platforms. The latest example of this trend we saw a couple of years ago with the highly acclaimed Complete version of Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance on Nintendo Switch.
The original Disgaea 4 came out on PlayStation 3 way back in 2011, then returned to PlayStation Vita in 2014 in an extended version titled A Promise Revisited. Disgaea 4 Complete + is an exponentially enriched edition of this fourth chapter, and definitely its best version.
If you are new to the series and were wondering, the answer is no: You don't need to know previous titles to play Disgaea 4. Aside from a few recurring quotes and characters, each story in the series is independent.
The protagonist of Disgaea 4 Complete + is a vampire named Valvatorez, once known for his reputation as a ruthless tyrant, now in the much humbler position of Prinny's instructor and relegated to Hades, or the prison of the Underworld. In the past, the vampire was extremely powerful, but despite his brutality he holds promises sacred, and for some reason (which we won't spoil you) has made a vow to no longer drink human blood, the source of his vampiric strength. Since then he has been feeding only on sardines, which he says contain all the nutrients necessary to sustain him, but the decision made him lose much of his power and is now only a shadow of his glorious past. Valvatorez always has his faithful werewolf servant by his side Fenrich, but it doesn't have much else. Apparently satisfied with his life as an instructor, the vampire has however begun to notice that the Underworld no longer works as it once did, and as things worsen he decides to take matters into his own hands and investigate the sinister corruption that seems to have taken over. government of the Netherworld, to the point of carrying out a real rebellion towards power.
During the adventure we will meet interesting characters and we will see some twists that will shake the events, but from Disgaea 4 Complete + don't expect a particularly elaborate or deep story. As per tradition, the irresistible charm of the series has always relied on its humor made up of typically Japanese exaggerations, with charismatic and absurd characters. Even this chapter never takes itself too seriously: the narrative is goliardic and full of parody meta-comedy, but at the same time it still provides an interesting plot. In the singular qualitative range of the saga, Disgaea 4 remains one of the best stories, with a good balance between comedy and serious moments, and a cast of well-characterized characters who will be able to get more than a laugh from those who have in their strings the particular sense of Japanese humor typical of the series.
The absurd situations of the adventure are perfectly combined with the extreme style of the fighting, with its superhuman mechanics and techniques. Anyone who is just now entering the world of Disgaea will do well to keep in mind that this is a series of tactical RPGs with a deep and layered structure, therefore highly recommended for lovers of strategy, but less suitable for players looking for something not too complex.
The core of the game of Disgaea 4 Complete + remains faithful to the formula that the saga has accustomed us to: a phenomenally deep gameplay that involves different mechanisms to enhance your party and a strong grinding component with very high potential. In addition to the simple main adventure, much of the substance of the game lies in the side quests in which to upgrade the party members and the increasingly expensive endgame exploits.
Compared to the original version of Disgaea 4, this Complete + version contains all the DLCs released after the release, which greatly enrich the game experience with new missions, maps, playable characters from other chapters of the series and various contents.
Gameplay features introduced in Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness and Disgaea 5 have also been added. We find for example theEvent Viewer, which allows you to review all the segments of the plot faced up to that moment, a useful way to refresh your memory on the story in case you have taken a long break from the game. Peta-level spells (superior to Tera spells) and Job-specific abilities introduced in A Promise Revisited have been added. Particularly welcome is the return of the Cheat Shop which allows you to actively modify the obtained amounts of experience, mana, money etc. The perfect way to optimize the time for the grinding phases.
There are really countless many other additions that enrich the gameplay and that fans of the series will be able to welcome with open arms, such as the customization of weapon skins, theInnocent Warehouse, the possibility of bribing the senators of the Dark Assembly, the map editor (which can be uploaded online), a mode PvP online between player pirate ships and more. An auto-save after each battle and the ability to increase the speed of the game have even been introduced. Just a pity that, as with Disgaea 5 Complete, the touch controls for the Nintendo Switch screen have been left out.
The amount of content and features that accompany Disgaea 4 Complete + is immense. It will take about 40 hours of gameplay to complete the main adventure, but the endgame and additional content can keep you glued to the console even beyond 200 hours. A longevity that could rightly discourage a good part of the players, but which still remains optional and dedicated to those who can't get enough to boost their party and who find it stimulating to know that there is always a more difficult challenge waiting.
At the time of the original release, Disgaea 4 made the first qualitative leap of the series as regards the graphics sector, abandoning the pixel art used by the first three chapters and introducing really well animated HD sprites. In the Complete + version the visual aspect has undergone a further refinement, and the resolution has been raised to 1080p. Surely Disgaea is not a game that focuses much on visual spectacularity, preferring a simple but effective design for the clarity of the battles, so do not expect technical wonders worthy of this generation. The aliasing of the three-dimensional elements still leaves something to be desired and sporadically there is some drop in frame rate, but in general the visual aspect is pleasant, especially thanks to the excellent character design.
Even in the sound sector, the game defends itself more than well, with a good soundtrack and discreet dubbing. There is the possibility to customize the musical accompaniment during the battles by unlocking the Music Shop, and the most demanding purists will be able to set the original Japanese dubbingis. Unfortunately for the written texts there is no Spanish language, an aspect that could discourage the less virtuous with English.
Disgaea 4 Complete + is a colossal title in content and is certainly suitable for all lovers of tactical RPGs. Surely Disgaea's particular style does not make it a game for everyone, especially the layman: the unusual depth of the gameplay, the emphasis on grinding, the mammoth endgame, the lightness and humor floating in the storyline are all elements that may not resonate to your tastes, even if you are a fan of the genre and are used to the likes of Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics; the advice therefore is to try the demo available first. For fans of the series, the situation is obviously different: if you have already played the A Promise Revisited version on PS Vita you probably will not find enough reasons to buy Complete +, otherwise take it on the fly and we assure you that you will not regret it.
► Disgaea 4 Complete + is an RPG-Strategy game developed and published by NIS America for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 29/10/2019
