Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny Review – Zed’s Dead…Again

It has been a while since Nippon Ichi Software released a new entry in their famous SRPG series Disgaea. The series is known for ridiculous damage numbers, crazy stories of the Netherworld, and beautiful 2D sprite animations in combat. Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, however, is breaking away from that tradition. This entry will be the first for Disgaea to utilize full 3D models for the characters. It would also introduce many new mechanics and improvements to appeal to more casual newcomers and make veteran fans easier. As a long-time fan who has played all numbered mainline entries, minus D2 Disgaea, I wasn’t sure about the transition from 2D to 3D. Naturally, the questions were there. Does it play well? Does it continue the creative combo attacks? Just how easier is the grind of levels?

As said, it was a transition, to say the least. Some things they have done well while other parts they lost something in the exchange. Defiance of tradition? Lack of ambition or budget? There is a lot to discuss this reincarnation, or rather a super reincarnation of the Disgaea formula.

To Die, Die Again

The story begins telling of a God of Destruction that spreads, well destruction, in any world he appears in. Be it the netherworld, TV program world, the parallel universes, anywhere he goes; he spreads terror, destruction, and ruin. Of course, the neighboring Overlords, Demons, and citizens of the Netherworlds can’t have this God running about. They’ve all gathered into a discussion on how to take down the God of Destruction, with Overlord Ivar overseeing the proceedings. Unknowingly to them,  the God of Destruction has already been defeated. By a zombie named Zed.

The entire game is separated into two acts retelling the events that transpired; Super Reincarnation and how Zed became the Zombie that he is. A simple tale but a nice story nonetheless. The cast as well also helps bring in a bit more dimension to this story. We have Zed’s little sister Beiko who serves as his main motivation for going after the God of Destruction. Cerberus, a mage who cast the Super Reincarnation spell onto Zed and was resurrected as a zombie dog. King Misedor, the richest king of the Human world who puts his faith in the power of money. Princess Melodia, a princess who seeks her true prince and happy ending after 665 attempts. Piyori Nijino, leader of the current Rainbow Squadron Prism Rangers in the TV World; All she wants is to boost her ratings and adhere to her sense of Justice. Even though it becomes tainted by Zed’s influence when she meets him. And Majolene, a 10,000-year-old headmistress for a Magic Academy but turned into a Magical Girl to combat the God of Destruction to protect her students.

Quite a rag-tag bunch to take on something like the God of Destruction. Though if you are a fan of Disgaea, then it’s basically Tuesday in the Netherworld. The flow of the story is pretty much what you expect, though there are enough twists that it keeps the player’s interest, including some dark themes that can shock players who are not expecting it. Thankfully, there is a balance between the moods, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

I’ve got to give it to the scriptwriters and the voice actors here. Throughout my playthrough, there have been many moments that make me laugh out loud. Such some of the pop culture references are direct references to certain animes like One Piece, Ultraman Tiga, and Madoka Magica. The script and line deliveries from the English cast is top quality. Some rough spots, like Melodia’s sing-song speech, might be over the top, but overall a great cast overall. This also applies to the character creator at the dark assembly. Specifically, the Zombie Cameo voice, in which the actor purposefully breaks the fourth wall. Though I must ask, why did they use bird sound effects on a dragon character? That’s completely out of place.

While the spirit of Disgaea is intact with Disgaea 6, it has changed greatly from its departure from 2D sprites to full 3D models, revamped mechanics, and quality of life improvements. Some are quite welcomed, while others may leave veterans a bit estranged.

Super Reincarnation of the Formula

When they said that they would be going to full 3D models instead of sticking to 2D sprites, I was hesitant. Granted, 2D sprites are very time-consuming to make and expensive, but they have become the main pillar of the series after so many games. After playing the demo and the game, the 3D models slowly grew on me for the most part. The reason is based on the performance on the Switch. After being on Sony consoles for so long, making Disgaea 6 an exclusive on Switch is an odd move. In the game, you can toggle whether to focus on graphics, performance, or a balance of both. This is one of my criticism. On Switch undocked, the flaws are apparent; If playing on graphics mode undocked, the frames rate does take a bit of a hit. While performance mode does as it is intended but makes the 3D models look jagged and unsightly. While in docked mode, it is improved, and it becomes smoother. The way I’ve played is on balanced mode docked and personally the best way to play the game.

Now the combat. The typical Disgaea style of the SRPG genre is still present. You move your characters on a grid, set the attacks, heal or defend, throwing and explode your Prinnies. The mechanics are still the same and retains the tradition of the series. Then there are the updates for this entry. Back in prior games, when you group characters together to take on an enemy, they would have a unique combo attack with a special combo animation utilizing the characters involved. This is no longer available. All that is left is the multiplier on your attacks. Personally feels like a downgrade from prior entries. I understand that perhaps that would be too much work, stress the budget, or don’t know how to incorporate it with 3D models, but it feels that it loses a part of a long done tradition.

There is one thing about this entry that does deserve praise. This is easily the most accessible Disgaea to date. As shown off in prior trailers, they have added auto battles and repeat battle functions. With these functions, it is much easier to grind — perhaps almost too easy. I have my game in auto-battle, which allowed me to gain levels while I was busy doing other things. The beginning level cap is at 9999, but at the end, the level cap is at the 99 million levels. I got to 9999 in about 10+ hours. This is added with the mana, skill level, job experience, and the other aspects of your characters.  All this plus a cheat shop modifier, in which you can alter the percentage gain of EXP, karma, mana, and others.

All this allows newcomers to ease in very fast, but it feels like something is lost to veterans. The inflation of the EXP and Mana is read in K’s, as 21K EXP gained. No longer is read in low digits amounts. Understandably is to make it scale to the level cap of 99 million, but it feels so strange to see. Pardon my old age, but we had to grind manually for the past five games back in my day. Now it is easy to reach insane levels in a short & efficient time. Forgive me if I’m a little envious. With players now able to reach insane levels, you can easily plow through the story or the item world with little difficulty. When I had to play manually, the only time there were levels in which the map caused some issues during battle or when the AI ended up melting itself. So essentially, you can let the gameplay by itself. So depending on if you want to play the levels and be engaged or just wanting to witness the story, your experiences and feelings will vary.

There is post-game content after completing the story that does ramp up the difficulty should players seek a challenge. But again, for the basic story playthrough, you can auto power battle through it.

Another minor gripe is the Item World. From prior games, the Item World levels were sizable and had the height for some platforming. Here in Disgaea 6, it is fairly small with not many variations. Plus, the background image is just a single color abyss. No longer is their artwork that pops out. A bit of a downgrade considering the last game.

One more compliment is the addition of a few free DLC characters that are in the base game. Included are Lady Laharl of D2 Disgaea, Adel and Rozalin of Disgaea 2, and the cameo character of Asagi. Available for free to download are the Hololive characters. The Hololive characters are funny and keep to the YouTube persona counterparts. If you wish for other main characters from prior games, those can be purchased via the Nintendo e-shop.

Defying Destiny, Changing The Game

Simply put, the changes to Disgaea 6 will either make or break your opinion. The core style and spirit of the series are still here. The characters and story are what you expect from the series. Zed and the cast are a fine addition to the long line of protagonists and supporting characters. I liked the twist and turns of the story. The meta-humor and script are standard of what you expect from the Disgaea series. Creating your characters and exploring the Item World is always nice, though the lack of background art is a bit disappointing.

The transition of adapting new mechanics and the new 3D models will be the main area of debate. Performance is solid while in docked mode, but in handheld mode, the flaws become apparent. While making it the most accessible entry of the series to date and taking the heavy level-grinding stress away, it feels that the difficulty Disgaea is known for does not apply here anymore. With the auto-battle-on, you can effectively let the gameplay by itself like any mobile game. You still can play manually should the AI can’t finish by itself, and there is the post-game. If you wish only to witness the story, then, by all means, this is the easiest way to do so. Veterans will have a bit of shock when it comes to the changes, but it may be the best gateway to the series for newcomers.

Disgaea will continue to be the main staple series for Nippon Ichi Software.  With Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, it continues to show that the Strategy RPG genre isn’t dead yet.