TheDisgaeafranchise started all the way back in 2003on the PS2. This whacky tactical RPG was a niche hit at the time and has continued to grow its fan base as the sequels carry on. Prior to this new game,Disgaea 5was released in 2015 on the PS4.
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There have been remasters and ports fromNISsince then butDisgaea 6is the first new game in six years. A lot has changed betweenDefiance of Destinyand the last game as well as how this series began in 2003. Returning fans should know what they’re getting into before they hop into this newSwitchRPG.
8From Sprites To Polygons
This is the first game intheDisgaeaseriesto feature polygonal characters over sprites. Unlike other companies that went full 3D ages ago, NIS stuck to their guns fromthe PS2 onward. They have experimented with 3D backgrounds before but their character work was always seemingly hand drawn.
The cartoony visuals translate well into the new polygonal forms, making this series still stand out as a colorful and lavish strategy RPG.
7Super Reincarnation
Reincarnation existed intheDisgaeaseriesbefore this new entry. However, the way in whichDisgaea 6uses it is more over the top. Any character, at any stage in their progression, can start over at level one. The reason why a player may want to do this is to make their character stronger by repeating early stages of development.
For example, if Zed at level fifty was started over, the next time he got to that stage his stats would be higher than when he got to that point the first time around.
6Auto-Battle
This is perhaps the bigger addition to the series. Thereare Strategy RPGs, likeFinal Fantasy Tactics, which are beloved because they are like an RPG game of Chess. They take a long time to play because of how diverse the battlefields are. The same was true for pastDisgaeagames as stages could take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour to complete. With auto-battle, the process is streamlined.
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Characters will not only act on their own but their actions can be sped up. Maps can now be complicated in minutes. Not only that but there is an auto-repeat button so that the AI will replay the same stage on repeat which is a great way to level up while not actually playing the game.
5Group Experience
In the pastDisgaeagames, party members leveled up based on actions taken during a mission. That’s how most RPGs operate. While party members that don’t participate on a map will not get experience outside of the max ten chosen, everyone who is there will share everything in a splash screen at the end of a stage. It’s sort of like the victory screen in an RPG likeFinal Fantasy 7for example.
There actually is a way for party members to catch up if they don’t get chosen for battle. There’s a Juice Bar that allocates a percentage of experience earned after every battle. This experience can then be spent on other party members in the hub world.
4How Shops Work
The item shop and hospital changed how they operate. Most games in the series had this item shop act sort of like a random number generator. A piece of gear of the same name could be completely different in stats from another. This time around, every piece of gear is the same in the shop.
There are rarer versions of weapons and armor that can differ in stats but they typically can’t be bought. As for the hospital, treatment is now automatic upon returning to the hub world. This is not true when using the healer in the Item World.
3Bigger Units
Disgaeahas always allowed players to have both humanoid-type characters with jobs as well as monsters to form parties. InDisgaea6,there are now monsters that are classified as bigger units meaning they take up more squares on the battlefield.
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They are also a lot stronger at the cost of being slower. Not only can these characters devastate the battlefield, but they can also be used as roadblocks so that enemies can’t get past them.
2D-Merits
The Nintendo Switchstill does not have an internal achievement system unlike the PlayStation and Xbox family of consoles. However, Nintendo games sometimes have their own trophy-like systems. D-Merits are like achievements forDisgaea 6earned by every character in the game. Hit a certain level? Get an achievement.
Kill a certain enemy “x” amount of times. Get an achievement. These D-Merits aren’t just for show either. They can unlock rewards such as rare items, Karma points, experience boosters, and so much more. Don’t forget to check this system out in the status menu for characters.
1Higher Levels
TheDisgaeaseriesis known for its whacky humor and overall over-the-top action. Stats and levels could progress way above other RPGs. This game takes that mentality and quadruples it. A character can now get to level 99,999,999 and the max amount of damage can get up to 10 quadrillions.
This is apparent from the very beginning of the game which does sort of throw off the balance based on how other RPGs operate or, for that matter, the pastDisgaeatitles.
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