NIS America’s Disgaea series continues to provide tongue-in-cheek satire, outrageous Prinny antics, and a likable main character that leaves a lasting impression. You assume the role of Valvatorez, a once feared vampire that has sworn off human blood for failing to scare an old lady before she passed away. As punishment, Valvatorez must train the human souls turned Prinnies for inclusion in Hade’s army. But this is Disgaea, and there is nothing nonchalant about the game’s plot.
The story quickly takes a turn for the worst, as Valvatorez’s class of graduating Prinnies are swept away by a vortex before eating their congratulatory sardines. The kidnapping prompts our vampire anti-hero – along with his assistant Fenrich – to form a team of lowly minions to search Hades for his missing student body. In the process, Valvatorez decides to purge Hades and usher in a new era of evil.
A Promise Revisted revisits (sic) the gameplay that made its predecessors a success. But most importantly, some features from Disgaea 3 make their return in this installment. For example: The Magichange system is used to combine monsters and humans together to form stronger versions of themselves. When two monsters are used together, they create a powerful Mega Monster. It is also possible to combine a Mega Monster with magichange weapon equipped humans to increase their efficiency on the battlefield. And since a small number of variations exist, the Magichange system encourages the player to experiment.
The Educational Coaching system is used to torture enemy units. For this to occur, you must throw an enemy into a base panel. You can then use what is called the ”Disciple Room’ to either torture or punish the enemy unit. The rewards for torture can range from stealing your enemy’s money to unlocking a treasure chest in one of the many story maps. As odd as it may sound, this system provides a wealth of goodies when used throughout the course of the game.
Combat is turn-based and uses a grid-like system for movement. Geo Blocks – which are large blocks that occupy certain spaces in the battlefield – can be destroyed to inflict damage on enemies. For example: creatures standing next to Geo Blocks of the same color will incur damage if they’re destroyed. In some cases, bonuses can be earned depending on the blocks, their colors, and locations.
There are many different strategies available to the player depending on the situation. Sometimes creatures will hide on platforms that are too hard to reach, making it difficult to attack them. When this occurs, you can stack your characters into a tower and perform a ‘tower’ attack. This is one of countless strategies available and it’s impossible to mention them all in a single review.
The NPC shops from previous games are still present, including the Rosen Queen Co (where you can purchase and sell armor and weapons); the Netherworld Hospital (owned by well-known healer Florence); and the Data Shop. Owned by Paparazz, the Data Shop keeps track of everything your party has accomplished. This system allows the player to view the items they have collected, the amount of damage their party has inflicted, and the skills their party used during combat.
The Reincarnation feature, also known as Transmigration, plays a reoccurring role in A Promise Unforgotten. It involves transmigrating or ‘reincarnating’ a character from your party to another class. This starts the character over from level 1, but with increased stats and skills. It also allows the character to reach the game’s level cap, which is level 9999. This feature eventually unlocks what is called Chara World, a random dungeon that is similar to Item World. But instead of entering items like in previous games, you enter characters’ bodies to enhance a character’s critical rate, skill inheritance, movement, and jump power, to name just a few. Exploring these dungeons gives you experience instead of items.
Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited may not be a vast improvement over its predecessors, but the features that are available help it stand out as a sequel. Here’s hoping that we see a next gen version of Disgaea with redrawn sprites, a new story, and additional improvements to its aging engine.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: PSVita
Developer: NIS America
Publisher: NIS America
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $19.99 ($59.99 Premium Edition)
Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited’s Official Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The graphics look sharp on the PSVita's small screen. | |
| Sound | |
| A charming soundtrack and classic sound effects enhance the experience. | |
| Gameplay | |
| A diverse combat system prevents the gameplay from growing stale. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| This is one game that you should add to your Christmas wish list, especially if you're a fan of JRPGs. | |
