Disgaea 5: Alliance Of Vengeance Review – Defeating The Darkness

Disgaea 5: Alliance Of Vengeance is the first Disgaea to arrive on the PlayStation 4. Is the game worthy of coming to the next generation? Or should it of stayed in the past? Check out this Disgaea 5: Alliance Of Vengeance honest game review to help you make your choice!

Disgaea 5 follows the story of Killia and Seraphina on their journey through the Netherworld to fight Demon Emperor Void Dark. They both have their own reasons for wanting to take down Void Dark but help each other to achieve that goal. Along the way you will meet new allies that join you and plenty of enemies you will have to defeat. Though all the characters you play as want to defeat Void Dark, they all have their own reasons for wanting to do it.

Void Dark controls the Lost Army and is taking over worlds in the Netherworld one by one. What starts as Killia and Seraphina fending off the Lost Army, turns into them forming a rebel army to take down The Lost. Various other Netherworlds will join you in the fight if you can defeat The Lost that are invading them. Doing that will help you improve your army and help you learn more about the characters in your group. The story will easily take you 40+ hours to get through and there is plenty to do after you beat it.

To defeat The Lost you will need to recruit units to bring with you into battle. Disgaea 5 has about 40 different units types for you to recruit in all. There are a ton of different classes to choose from. You have your basic classes like Fighters and Mages and more advanced ones like Ninjas and Dark Knights. There are also Monsters to recruit and, of course, Prinnies dood. Creating the right team will be the key to defeating Void Dark and his minions. There is a DLC station in the game but I couldn’t see what was in it yet.

The combat it in the game is very tactical – think Final Fantasy Tactics. Placing the right units in the right spot will make it easier for you. On the other hand, placing units in the wrong spot can result in a wipe. Thankfully the game is much more forgiving than it used to be, it now auto saves after each battle. Along with the placement, you will want to try to land group attacks, combo attacks and gain Revenge. Revenge is basically the games Ultimate ability. As you fight you will fill up a Revenge bar that will let you use a unique move (on key characters) and buff your stats. These moves will vary from character to character and can be the difference between victory and defeat in a difficult battle. Monsters in battles have special effects as well. They can change into powerful weapons for characters, making a character much stronger for the next three turns. Prinnies can also be tossed at enemies like a bomb. Nothing quite like tossing a Prinny into more Prinnies and watching the chain reaction unfold.

Outside of combat you will spend your time in the Pocket Netherworld, the Hub for the game. This is where you recruit, buy and sell, pick up quests, and basically do anything not related to combat. This area starts of pretty basic, this is smart so people don’t get overwhelmed. As you progress in the story more and more things unlock in the Netherworld. You will be able to send units you don’t use in combat on missions to get you loot and new prisoners. You can also cook curry to buff you for a battle, similar to Monster Hunter. There is also a thing called a Chara World. This is like a board game mini game that you can use with one character at a time. Basically, you have x amount of turns to make it to the finish. There are buff, debuffs, fights and other things you can come across on your path. This idea is to get as strong as you can and still make it to the end, kind of like solo training without facing to many enemies. This actually reminded me of the mini game in Dragon Warrior 3. The item world, of course, makes a return as well.

The graphics are very similar to an anime and there is a lot of attention to detail on your characters. The background can look a bit rough but it gets the job done. The game is in English for those of you who care about that. For the most part is it a good dub but a couple of characters might annoy you after awhile. The jokes will be hit and miss depending on what you find funny. Music will help set the tone to a battle or a scene that is going on. There are also skits, like in a Tales game, that have the main characters interacting with each other in between battles, these can be pretty funny.

While I do like the art style, some of these characters need an overhaul. I’ve been using the same warriors, fighters, mages, thieves, archers and many other classes for way too long. With the jump to next gen, these guys need a makeover. Another thing that got to me later in the game was the camera. I have no problem with it when the ground is level, when you are fighting on uneven terrain though it can be bad. Only being able to turn it to the four corners should be addressed soon.

Disgaea 5 successfully leaps into the next generation with welcome improvements to the game and chaotic combat dood. If you are a fan of the Disgaea series, or a new comer thinking about trying it out, I think you should give this one a go.