marukoto
It was a fun birthday party, actually getting all these kids to connect their goddamn Game Boys to the thing.
1996
this game took my "put the PS1 disc into the cd player to listen to the soundtrack" virginity
Honestly? Feels like a real return to form after Disagea 2.
I liked parts of Disgaea 2 — Rozalin's entire arc is actually really memorable to me, for example, since I didn't really predict where it was heading — but a lot of it dragged on. It felt too long; its experiments with geo puzzles were welcome but kind of difficult, it required a bit more grinding. It was a more serious story, but it didn't really let go of the comedy, so the tone felt muddled. At heart it's a romantic shonen plot.
Isn't all of Disgaea a sort of shonen so far, though? I suppose so, but the approach is different usually. It isn't purely "I must become stronger", it's the confused morality and irreverence that carries the story. Disgaea 1's cast was chaotic and mutually distrusting in a way that made you laugh. Disgaea 2's cast I barely even remember now! Disgaea 3's cast is comparatively really wholesome and loving.
The only outlier is Mao, our lead, who is being thrown through the psychological ringer. He starts out having long been in a state of regression, as though he is keeping himself a child because anything else would be too hard for him.
The story is a bit abbreviated — I think it's just the right length, giving me about 25h (whereas D1 was 45h and D2—was shorter at 22h? But man it felt long).
The difficulty curve is also just right, requiring really barely any grinding to proceed, depending on how tactical you want to be with your playstyle. And the story itself was silly enough to enjoy but had so much heart that I just fell for it more than I thought. (D1 also has heart and wholesome moments! I know! But it keeps it in the back half.)
Oh oh and I really like the new additions! Evilities are interesting to plan around; tossing geo cubes to remove obstacles is cool, tower swings are cool ... I don't recall the prior games showing you the attack queue, but maybe they did. Oh and the student clubs so you can split up your party into subteams and add bonuses to them! Those are also interesting to plan around and let you share EXP and mana in ways that streamline the game a bit. Honestly the QoL started feeling really good in this one.
If there weren't 700,000 Disgaeas I could be convinced to do the postgame in this one, but alas.
ps. Did they not rerelease this because nearly every chapter in the story has Mexican cariactures in the cast? It just felt like it was laying it on thick.
I liked parts of Disgaea 2 — Rozalin's entire arc is actually really memorable to me, for example, since I didn't really predict where it was heading — but a lot of it dragged on. It felt too long; its experiments with geo puzzles were welcome but kind of difficult, it required a bit more grinding. It was a more serious story, but it didn't really let go of the comedy, so the tone felt muddled. At heart it's a romantic shonen plot.
Isn't all of Disgaea a sort of shonen so far, though? I suppose so, but the approach is different usually. It isn't purely "I must become stronger", it's the confused morality and irreverence that carries the story. Disgaea 1's cast was chaotic and mutually distrusting in a way that made you laugh. Disgaea 2's cast I barely even remember now! Disgaea 3's cast is comparatively really wholesome and loving.
The only outlier is Mao, our lead, who is being thrown through the psychological ringer. He starts out having long been in a state of regression, as though he is keeping himself a child because anything else would be too hard for him.
The story is a bit abbreviated — I think it's just the right length, giving me about 25h (whereas D1 was 45h and D2—was shorter at 22h? But man it felt long).
The difficulty curve is also just right, requiring really barely any grinding to proceed, depending on how tactical you want to be with your playstyle. And the story itself was silly enough to enjoy but had so much heart that I just fell for it more than I thought. (D1 also has heart and wholesome moments! I know! But it keeps it in the back half.)
Oh oh and I really like the new additions! Evilities are interesting to plan around; tossing geo cubes to remove obstacles is cool, tower swings are cool ... I don't recall the prior games showing you the attack queue, but maybe they did. Oh and the student clubs so you can split up your party into subteams and add bonuses to them! Those are also interesting to plan around and let you share EXP and mana in ways that streamline the game a bit. Honestly the QoL started feeling really good in this one.
If there weren't 700,000 Disgaeas I could be convinced to do the postgame in this one, but alas.
ps. Did they not rerelease this because nearly every chapter in the story has Mexican cariactures in the cast? It just felt like it was laying it on thick.
2005
A GOTY. You love it or you hate it. I gave this game over 1,500 hours of my life over a decade. I still come back.
Extremely intense and uncomfortable. Makes you love life. If you can take that for 30+ hours, please do.
2023
The presentation is just incredible. The translation is just unreadable. All that’s left is aesthetics. Also it crashed.
2022
It's just sort of an okay Persona-like. As far as those go, TMS had more soul I think.
Saikoroshi is actually a 300x better ending to the series than Matsuribayashi, so at least they did that for us. The other two arcs, eh whatever.
This review contains spoilers
This review is specifically for the Miotsukushi PS2 chapter.
After not liking Matsuribayashi at all, I came to Miotsukushi hoping for something a little more cohesive with the other chapters, and the arc, well, it definitely is that. But it also doesn't quite stick the landing, I think because it's so afraid to diverge...
It does nice things! It sets up Keiichi and Mion very aggressively in a way no chapter does; it feels grounded and it's paced well. It juggles perspectives but without telling us what a character is feeling.
But it borrows so many scenes from Matsuribayashi that it felt like the "how we got here" is the main thing that diverged, and the "how we got here" felt a little unbelievable. While the other chapters treat timelines as probabilistic outcomes, Miotsukushi refers to them as previous experiences. Everyone remembers everything. And in the process of recovering those outcomes within themselves, they grow as people.
The writing is very not Ryukishi, which is somewhat refreshing after dozens of hours with his style. This author, Kiichi Kanou, is pretty good at each character's voice and understands their motivation well; he has a weird predilection for referencing other media, especially very old media that I am not sure the cast would be familiar with at their age. Shakespeare, for example...
The problem with separate authors is that they are often afraid to break canon and go their own way. This route diverges, but only slightly; it is far more self-referential than anything Ryukishi has written, referring to past arcs a lot ... and the message it's trying to tell is only slightly different and gets there in a more grounded way.
And then the scene where Satoko fights an entire paramilitary outfit with just traps happens again! And it feels like, man, we were so close to something grounded ... but then again this route also contributes both Keiichi and Rika dodging entire magazines of bullets through sheer willpower.
I think overall Miotsukushi PS2 is a better ending, but only slightly. It gives us closure for each character in a really nice way; it sets up a couple that no other route has the balls to; it's sort of a golden route where everyone grows up instead of collapsing under their own faults ... but that's the thing, right?
Who really likes a golden route?
After not liking Matsuribayashi at all, I came to Miotsukushi hoping for something a little more cohesive with the other chapters, and the arc, well, it definitely is that. But it also doesn't quite stick the landing, I think because it's so afraid to diverge...
It does nice things! It sets up Keiichi and Mion very aggressively in a way no chapter does; it feels grounded and it's paced well. It juggles perspectives but without telling us what a character is feeling.
But it borrows so many scenes from Matsuribayashi that it felt like the "how we got here" is the main thing that diverged, and the "how we got here" felt a little unbelievable. While the other chapters treat timelines as probabilistic outcomes, Miotsukushi refers to them as previous experiences. Everyone remembers everything. And in the process of recovering those outcomes within themselves, they grow as people.
The writing is very not Ryukishi, which is somewhat refreshing after dozens of hours with his style. This author, Kiichi Kanou, is pretty good at each character's voice and understands their motivation well; he has a weird predilection for referencing other media, especially very old media that I am not sure the cast would be familiar with at their age. Shakespeare, for example...
The problem with separate authors is that they are often afraid to break canon and go their own way. This route diverges, but only slightly; it is far more self-referential than anything Ryukishi has written, referring to past arcs a lot ... and the message it's trying to tell is only slightly different and gets there in a more grounded way.
And then the scene where Satoko fights an entire paramilitary outfit with just traps happens again! And it feels like, man, we were so close to something grounded ... but then again this route also contributes both Keiichi and Rika dodging entire magazines of bullets through sheer willpower.
I think overall Miotsukushi PS2 is a better ending, but only slightly. It gives us closure for each character in a really nice way; it sets up a couple that no other route has the balls to; it's sort of a golden route where everyone grows up instead of collapsing under their own faults ... but that's the thing, right?
Who really likes a golden route?
2020
I literally spent 3 hours just trying to get the achievement where you do the opposite of the thing you’re supposed to do.
shrugging aggressively
2005
Understated, matter of fact. There’s not even room for sadness — that would imply you lost something. These characters instead are learning to become people at the last second. I preferred the more literal translation, which kept the dialogue laconic and implied.
2007
In 1999, out of the world's 1 billion Catholics, one disappeared.
Reflections on following the Merciful Spirit.
Like its predecessor its world is almost too simple, the same few people are found in the same few locations that seem almost improbable; lending it a sort of fairy tale or children's book feel that sits weirdly alongside the really specific questions it wants to ask. Still it accomplishes its goal; while I really liked how understated the previous game was — its ending hit harder — I prefer the questions here. I guess I'm a sucker for anything Christian.
Reflections on following the Merciful Spirit.
Like its predecessor its world is almost too simple, the same few people are found in the same few locations that seem almost improbable; lending it a sort of fairy tale or children's book feel that sits weirdly alongside the really specific questions it wants to ask. Still it accomplishes its goal; while I really liked how understated the previous game was — its ending hit harder — I prefer the questions here. I guess I'm a sucker for anything Christian.
2008
At Some Point In My Life I Have Indeed Played Nights Into Dreams
2009
Best vibe, but it's still just shooter missions underneath it all. I just wanted Metroid.