is a tactical role-playing video game series created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, 2003, with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, later re-released as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Disgaea DS. One of Nippon Ichi's most popular franchises, it has branched off into both a manga and anime series. The Disgaea games are known for complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and humorous dialogue. The Disgaea series has shipped 5 million copies as of 2021.
Common elements
Gameplay Each Disgaea game consists of a number of missions that the player undertakes from a central hub. In the hub, the player can manage equipment and team members, heal their party, and other functions. When the player is prepared, they can then travel to the next available mission as well as replay any mission they have already completed. Missions are usually arranged in a number of chapters with cutscenes before and after to advance the plot.
Each mission requires the player to complete an objective, all missions can be completed by defeating all the enemy forces. The mission takes place on an isometric grid-based board with spaces at various heights. The player and the computer alternate turns. During the player's turn, they can summon members of their party from a starting point, up to ten. Each character, once on the board, can move and then perform an action, including melee attacks and special abilities. Once a character has performed an action, they may no longer move that turn unless they attack before moving. The player can move as many characters as desired and plan their actions at a time, then issue an "Execute" command to carry out those actions. If the player has characters that can still move and perform actions at this time, they can do so, otherwise, they will end their turn. The computer opponents then perform their actions. When the player successfully completes a mission, they are given bonus items based on their overall bonus score, which is earned through combo attacks, special attacks, and other features of the game.
The player can arrange to have allies next to each other to fight a foe with a chance to launch a combo attack, which can do more damage and boost the mission's scoring meter. Players can also have characters lift and throw other characters or objects on the level for various effects: for example, a character can throw another character to an empty space to allow that second character to move farther than if on foot, or certain monsters called Prinnies can be thrown at others to cause explosive damage. It is possible for characters to pick up a character that is already carrying another character, and so forth, allowing for one character to move within a single turn to the far side of the map. However, any character that is still carrying another character at the end of the turn will take damage. While a character is holding others they can attack, when this is done each character adds to the damage.
Across some boards are glowing colored spaces which are either red, green, blue, yellow, purple, or cyan, and special objects called "Geo Symbols" which are either null, red, green, blue, yellow, or purple. When these are placed on a colored field, they impart a bonus or penalty to all battle participants on the same colored field; such bonuses can also stack if multiple Geo Symbols are on the same field. A character can destroy a Geo Symbol which will cause all the field spaces it affects to cause some damage to the characters on them as they turn to another color determined by the destroyed Geo Symbol. It is possible to arrange a chain of these effects, with each chain increasing the amount of damage earned and increasing the bonus score for the mission. As with characters, Geo Symbols can also be lifted and thrown to affect the board's bonuses.
In addition to maintaining their party at the central hub, the player can create new characters to the party based on experience each character earned in battle, or, with enough experience, attempt to alter the features of the central hub, such as having better weapon or armor at the stores. This itself involves convincing the Dark Assembly to agree to such changes, and it is possible to initiate combat in the same manner as the missions to convince the creature to see otherwise. There is also an Item World gateway; here, the player can select any item in the party's inventory and enter it. The Item World for an item is randomly generated but depends on a number of factors based on the item itself such as its rarity or power. By descending through the Item World, each level similar to one of the main missions featuring a random map and a number of creatures as well as an exit portal to the next level, the player can improve the abilities of the item as well as free Guardians that live in the item. These Guardians impart certain benefits to the item, such as increased in attack or defense values, and once they are freed, they can be moved between items freely.
The game can be played through multiple times, as each game features multiple endings. However, each time, the player's party, with all characters, items, and abilities, are carried over. This New Game Plus allows the player to develop extremely powerful characters, approaching the maximum character level of 9999 and 186,000 combined levels in reincarnation through repeated playthroughs.
The series exists for the moment only in Japanese, English and French languages.
Setting All Disgaea games take place mostly in the "Netherworld", a parallel universe inhabited by demons where moral values are reversed from those of humans. Multiple Netherworlds exist, each with their own Overlord. Other areas include the human world, shown to possess a futuristic level of technology in Hour of Darkness, and "Celestia", a heavenly realm inhabited by angels. Rather than being purely good or purely evil, inhabitants of the Netherworld and Celestia possess human-like qualities, but are swayed far more towards either moral extreme. It is shown in Disgaea 4 that both the Netherworld and Celestia are dependent on energy from the human world for survival, and that if humans begin to fear themselves, more than they would fear demons and monsters, the Netherworld will fall apart.
Recurring characters Most major characters from previous games make a cameo appearance, or lend their services to characters in later ones. The main characters of the first Disgaea game Laharl, Etna and Flonne are playable in every subsequent main title so far. Due to the large number of different Netherworlds being magically connected, characters from other Nippon Ichi games and series, such as La Pucelle: Tactics, Marl Kingdom, Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, Soul Nomad, Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman, The Witch and the Hundred Knight, Battle Princess of Arcadias and The Guided Fate Paradox have also appeared in Disgaea games.
Baal, the most powerful enemy in the Disgaea series, is a legendary overlord that appears as a recurring boss throughout the different games. Known as the Lord of Terror, he is a collection of evil souls that can transfer into other bodies when defeated. He often appears in a towering, monstrous form, though he is forced into more diminutive ones after being defeated.
The Prism Rangers are a troupe of gag characters heavily inspired by the protagonists of the Super Sentai/Power Rangers universes. Each of the members are named after the colors of the rainbow with the word Prism preceding it, with their leader being "Prism Red". The Prism Rangers tend to be portrayed as weak, having been taken down in one shot or being unable to do the slightest bit of damage to their opponent.
Asagi is a character meant to be the main character in a development hell Nippon Ichi title, Makai Wars. She constantly attempts to become the star of other games.
is a mascot character for the artist and character designer of the series, Takehito Harada. She makes various appearances throughout the series. She is typically portrayed as a petite, blue-haired girl with red eyes, wearing a red ribbon, a white dress, white stockings, and sometimes glasses. She is also known for being mute, with characters at times referencing her refusal (or perhaps inability) to speak; This can be used to comical effect such as when she is a co-anchor, despite herself, for a Netherworld news show that plays between chapters in Disgaea 2. She is often accompanied by a stuffed rabbit named "Usagi-san" and a stuffed shark named "Same-san".
Prinnies
are common servants, and one of the protagonists as well as enemies in the series. They resemble small pouch-wearing penguins with disproportionately small bat wings and two peg legs for feet. Their personalities are upbeat, and they are required to use the word "dood" at the end of their sentences to signify their status ("-ssu" in the Japanese dialogue). While Prinnies use machetes as their primary weapons, they are also able to use "Prinny Bombs" from their pouch and fire a laser called the "Pringer Beam". They are created when a human who has led a worthless life or committed a mortal sin in life dies, leading to the soul being sewn into the body of a Prinny. After being reborn, they serve as maids and domestic servants in Celestia, where their good deeds lead to their reincarnation, or as servants and slaves (and sometimes cannon fodder) in the Netherworld, where they obtain money towards their reincarnation, often under lords who treat them horribly for little pay.
Prinnies explode when thrown due to the human soul being unstable, and thus, a jostling, such as being tossed, will cause them to do as such.Takehito, Harada (2008), World of Disgaea, Volume 2. Broccoli Books. p. 100. Prinnies are also mass-produced with demon souls, which leaves them stable. During a certain time of the year a red moon appears in the sky of the Underworld; when this happens, all the Prinnies meet together and Prinnies who have earned enough money are allowed to reincarnate.
Media
Games