Disgaea is a well loved Strategy RPG series that made its home on PlayStation systems, although it did have an entry on the DS. Now the series has returned to Nintendo systems with Disgaea 5 Complete on the Switch. This contains Disgaea 5 as it was on PlayStation 4, and has all the DLC that came with it.
Disgaea 5 is about a conflict between demons in the various netherworlds and has a fully realized plot and characters. In fact, the characters are a major selling point for this game. There is the protagonist Killia, the overlord of Gorgeous Seraphina, Red Magnus and more. Each character has a unique personality and mannerisms and the various interactions they have in the game are always great to watch. Sometimes they are downright hilarious, especially Red Magnus, who is based off pro wrestlers like the Rock.
The gameplay, for those who are not familiar with Disgaea, is similar to the Final Fantasy Tactics series, with battles set up in the same way. You advance around the battlefield and plan your moves carefully. You can team up characters for attacks, throw characters to move farther, and combo your moves. Different battlefields will have different obstacles and each character has unique abilities, including passive abilities that will provide either new challenges or new ways of winning. Disgaea is essentially a 3D game of chess with better visuals and great storytelling. Once you get the idea of what to do, you will start to have a lot of fun and lose yourself in it. Characters have unique moves as well such as the overload, and the different moves for the monsters. Each character has to be handled differently which offers a challenge and a good sense of reward. When you hit the right move, you will be amazed at what you can do.
Then there are the recruitable classes, whom you can interact with when off the battlefield. There are numerous classes that you can hire and customize, including their personalities. This means you can set up your party to be exactly the way you want it, which is a great touch. Speaking of being off the battlefield, there is a great overworld of sorts, with Seraphina’s pocket netherworld serving as your base. there are shops to go to, different characters to interact with, and more skits available. As you progress in the game, you unlock more characters and the world changes a bit each time. The characters are great, with witty dialogue and good voice acting. In fact now is the time to mention that Disgaea 5 has some of the best voice acting ever in a game, along with some amazing music. The visuals are a perfect match for the sound and the skits become great to watch as a result.
If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of a tactical RPG, Disgaea 5 offers several tutorials on how to play the game, each offered when starting a new part of the game or exploring a new mechanic. These do a great job of explaining things and getting you up to speed. If you feel these tutorials aren’t necessary though, then they can be skipped completely and you wont need to worry about hand holding the entire time. The game has a perfect balance with the tutorials and I recommend checking some out.
One thing I found very cool, is that the game still has Trophies from the PS4 version. They even sound have the same sound effect and can be seen by talking to a character in Seraphina’s base.
As mentioned, this version of the game has all the DLC and it is obtainable right away. You have your choice of when you access it though, so don’t feel rushed to use it all.
Disgaea 5 is an excellent experience on the Switch. Whether docked or in handheld mode, this was a lot of fun, and I lost hours to this. I highly recommend checking this out as it is one of the best games for the Switch right now. You will not regret this.
A code was provided for this review.