Disgaea 6 Complete
The Grind Never Stops, Dood!
It feels like after covering many NIS games over the past year and revisiting some classics in two different volumes, we've finally touched upon the developer's flagship series. Released last year, Disgaea 6 was a Nintendo Switch exclusive, a unique decision considering it's been favorable on Sony consoles. In what seems like an inversion, Disgaea 6 Complete was released on the PlayStation 4 and 5 as Disgaea 5 Complete was released on Nintendo Switch following an initial Sony release. Was it worth the wait for PC and Sony owners? Or is it dead in the Underworld like our zombie protagonist?
The original Disgaea 6 featured a new protagonist, Zed, an ambitious if not reckless zombie named Zed. For reasons, Zed has a bone to pick with the God of Destruction and has lost the fight each and every time, resulting in his death. Because zombies are technically already dead, he comes back to life to have a go at God again and again. The first tutorial fight shows Zed at his peak power, defeating "lvl 999 guards" with ease, much like the introduction to Makai Kingdom. The actual game begins once he wakes up from his slumber, insisting that this was either a dream or a vision of the future.
After Almost Two Decades, Disgaea Makes It To 3D
Disgaea 6 made headlines well into its development stage for being the first game in the series to be fully rendered in 3D. The transition from 2D sprites, to hand-drawn sprites, and finally 3D models. The models themselves are cute "chibi" versions of the characters themselves, which are already adorable by default. Most of the charm expected via previous Disgaea entries exists in Disgaea 6, which further encaptures the series charm. Despite there being six titles in the franchise, each story is self-contained so players can begin with 6 as their first one if they wish.
The "Complete" edition includes all previous DLC from the Switch version, including the chance to recruit protagonists from previous games. Rozalin and Adell from Disgaea 2 are such examples, including series fan-favorite Pleinair. Pleinair has always been one of my favorite characters from the franchise so not only was I happy to see her return, but she also has a small bonus chapter. In previous Disgaea titles, recruiting cameo demons consisted of going to their map and beating them into submission. While this is still the case, each cameo recruit has their own story as to why they are in Disgaea 6.
There's Enough DLC Content For Its Own Separate Title
Humorously, the reason for Pleinair's existence is because of an overly-obsessed Prinny who is such a huge fan of her that it borderlines stalking. After attacking Zed and the Prinny, largely out of self-defense, she apologizes to Zed in particular and joins his party. The Prinny is properly punished. The humor in Disgaea 6 is routine with the rest of the series including dark comedy and sheer irony. Aside from a new graphics engine, Disgaea 6 doesn't reinvent the wheel in its gameplay. It continues the Tactical RPG genre that the franchise is known for, polishing several mechanics like the camera and movement. There are optional tutorials that I chose to go through for the sake of the game's recording, but it felt as familiar to me as it did when I played the original on the Nintendo DS.
Perhaps the most intriguing of the DLCs is the Hololive collaboration, featuring four Japanese vtubers across the generations as if they were in the Disgaea-verse. Fubuki, for example, is a white Prinny rather than a white fox, yet she is still voiced by Fubuki herself. While fans of Hololive will enjoy this, I wasn't as invested in the Japanese Hololive. With the exception, of course, being Kiryu Coco who was my favorite.
Beware Of Using TOO Much DLC However...
While it's not a negative towards Disgaea 6 itself, the Complete edition suffers from being too good in assisting players. Accessing all of the DLC will reward players with enough exp, HL, and Mana to plow through early to mid-game. The added bonuses ensure players will comfortably make it to the end, ideally, without modifying the difficulty of the enemies. Therefore, if players just want the Hololive and the cameo DLC, it's important to watch what you're activating. Otherwise, the game may unintentionally become "too easy."
Overall, Disgaea 6 Complete is indeed the definitive version of last year's Switch exclusive. The higher resolution and increased framerate of the PS5 version were enough to make the wait worth it. Although I do feel as if the Switch owners were robbed as the Complete Edition is exclusive to the Sony and PC versions. Regardless, for first-time and returning players who waited for a compilation, now is the perfect time to enjoy the trials and tribulations of being an overlord, again.
Disgaea 6 Complete is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and the PC.