The Disgaea series is one that needs no introduction in the SRPG market. After the successful release of Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten for the PS3 in 2011, a port entitled Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited was published for the Vita in 2014. Following these releases was the official launch of Disgaea 4 Complete+ for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. One year later, Disgaea 4 Complete+ has finally made its way to the Microsoft Store and Steam in September 2020.
Life is far from glamorous for the Netherworld vampire, Valvatorez, who has been relegated to a Prinny instructor after vowing to never drink human blood again. Despite his fall from a once grandeur status, he commits to putting the Prinnies, the lost souls of sinners, through vigorous training and discipline as expected. During this intense boot camp, he witnesses a dark energy snatch away the very Prinnies under his command before his own eyes. Having made a promise to treat everyone to sardines, Valvatorez is fed up and retaliates against the powers that be to reclaim his Prinnies by launching a legendary revolution in Hades. As he is resolved to keep his promise, Valvatorez bands together with an eccentric cast of angels, werewolves and quirky bosses to usurp the evil regime.
In the tradition of the Disgaea series, you select party members and strategically move them on a grid to defeat enemies. Team attacks are performed when your comrades stand around you in close proximity in the midst of striking your foes down. Allies can either be selected to stand valiantly next to you or be thrown via the Lift & Throw system to expedite their movements. Many characters possess unique combat skills with special animations and effects to unleash heavy damage and turn the tide of battle. These character skills range from devastating and ungodly to simply being fun or silly. Not every terrain is straightforward or predictable in question with Geo Effects visible in select battle maps with colorful panels and blocks. With trial and error and a bit of luck, they are helpful in giving your squad the upper hand in tricky situations.
Magichange is a valuable skill used to convert monster units into weapons to defeat the most difficult foes. In a pinch, their abilities are passed over to you in an instant to wield and unleash destructive damage on the battlefield. Should you decide to keep the monster units intact, they can be fused to create larger units with more powerful attacks and stronger abilities. The fun doesn’t stop there as you can wield giant weapons by using Magichange with fused monsters. Utilizing this skill with two fused monsters grants dual-wielding weapons for more destruction and mayhem. The evolution of spells has risen from the previously high-tier Tera spells to the superior Peta level spells.
One of the highlights is the Cam-Pain HQ location at home base to manage and power up your units by blatantly spreading evil symbols all over Hades to earn bonuses. In between managing your otherworldly affairs, you can create units to accompany your party and they range from warriors, wizards, clerics, monsters and more. The Assembly System makes its triumph return by passing bills to improve the shops, boost the creation of new job classes and other activities. One can never have too many friends as bribing or fighting Senators to achieve your desired outcome is always on the table.
Weapons, item and equipment have their own respective worlds where you can delve deep to boost them for further use. If that’s not enough, there’s a Chara World for the characters and as expected, you can build and enhance them to make them stronger outside of the conventional experience. Variety is the spice of life and at the Cheat Shop, you can customize and tailor battle mechanics and parameters to your liking for increased money and EXP levels. As for the Event Viewer, you can replay previously viewed scenes and other content to boot. There is plenty to enjoy in Disgaea 4 Complete+ with the inclusion of additional characters and the ability to customize your own maps. In the future, NIS America will further release DLC enabling online features with other players.
As the name suggests, Disgaea 4 Complete+ is the best and most definitive version of Disgaea 4. With humorous dialogue, solid gameplay and more content to come in the future, this game is charming and an absolute delight to play. Newcomers might find it difficult to pick up initially as there is a lot to digest from the very beginning. Thankfully, none of this takes away the fun and excitement of pouring hundreds of hours to max out your characters and discover all the game has to offer. Disgaea 4 Complete+ is a grand SRPG experience and another great reason to jump back into the series.
PROS (+): Cast of Characters, Solid Gameplay, High Replay Value
CONS (-): Steep Learning Curve
SCORE – 9.0/10
This review is based on a digital copy of Disgaea 4 Complete+ on Steam provided by the publisher.
