by Jason Dobson on November 16, 2008

Nippon Ichi’s unique brand of niche turn-based gameplay finally makes the leap to current generation consoles in Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice. Though to be perfectly honest I’m not exactly sure why, given that this latest sequel still very much looks the part of a game belonging on the PS2 rather than Sony’s Blu-ray behemoth.

Disgaea 3 returns players to the series’ pixilated Netherworld, to a hellish university where being bad is the preferred way to get ahead. Honor students skip class and mouth off while delinquents do their homework and enjoy the ire of the student body. Protagonists Mao and Raspberyl, aspiring honor student and chronic delinquent respectively, pair up for what turns out to be a memorable combination of humor and emotional attachment. Together with a strong supporting cast and guest characters from previous titles, Disgaea 3 is a real treat, especially for existing fans.

A marriage of complex strategy with absurd humor, it’s an experience wholly unlike any other. Except, unfortunately, other titles in the series. While Disgaea 3 stands apart from its contemporaries, Disgaea as a brand has become muddied, with individual titles becoming largely indistinguishable to all but the most ardent observer. Like Capcom’s Morrigan, here the same sprites from previous games are once more pulled out of the vault and reused; unfortunately graphics that five years ago appeared charming and whimsical, today simply look dated, especially against environments and menus that enjoy the added sharpness afforded by the move into high definition.

Despite this, however, Disgaea 3 is still a lot of fun to play. The mechanics are ridiculously deep, the dialog is sharp, and the gameplay, while largely unchanged from previous games, still represents some of the best the turn-based strategy genre has to offer. The game is also massive; it’s easy to lose yourself for hours on end just tweaking characters or power leveling through the series’ infamous Item World. The new Academy World offers another layer of depth as characters venture into and improve their accumulated skills. The game also includes more special attacks, spells, and abilities than ever before, and while series vets may balk at new abilities now having to be purchased rather than earned through experience, altogether Disgaea 3 represents the best game in the franchise to date.

This is the third game in a series that refuses to evolve. As such it looks and feels like a game whose heart, like its niche fanbase, remains grounded with the PS2. Grinding through the Netherworld today feels much the same as it did five years ago, making it difficult to recommend Disgaea 3 to any but the most fervid strategy demons.

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