Just plain fun, not as a good as Disgaea 1 in terms of storyline, but a better version in terms of gameplay, etc.
Genre: RPG-Strategy
Developer: Nippon Ichi Soft
System: Playstation Portable
Total Score: 92/100
Value Score: 9.2/10
• Story: 9/10
o Disgaea 2's storyline has nothing to do with the origin or the basis of Disgaea 1, however characters from Disgaea 1 do appear, they make close to no impact….unless your Etna. Anyways, the storyline of the game is pretty much, a world named Veldime has been cursed to transform its inhabitants into demons. However the exact effect did not work on the inhabitants, some of them contain their original utmost memories and thoughts as humans. However one person was not affected by the curse, his name is Adell and he is the main character. He vows to defeat Over lord Zenon who was the one who placed the curse on Veldime. His family (which the player finds out that their his foster parents) try to summon overlord zenon, but end up summoning the daughter instead named Rozalin, from that point onward, Adell promises Rozalin after a few incidents, that he would return her to Overlord Zenon safely however he also vows to destroy overlord Zenon and turn his family back to humans.
• Characters: 9/10
o The characters of Disgaea 2 retain their humorous demeanor from Disgaea 1, however majority of the cast is entirely new, though there are some tie ins between the first game and this game, the impact on the storyline is minimal however. Just like Disgaea 1, you are able to create characters to create your own personal army and you are also free to customize them however you want as well.
• GamePlay: 10/10
o Just like any other Strategy RPG, Disgaea brings a grid based battle system, which also brings back the geo sphere system from Disgaea 1 as well. With fast paced action scenes when using skills, and a battle system which can of course be abused (such as the fact you can move a character who is far away near a buffer character , buff them and than move back the original character back to his/her original position and move them again to another position all at the same turn), Disgaea 2 brings back nostalgic memories from the days of Disgaea 1 and of the days of FFTactics.
• Graphics: 8/10
o Perhaps the RPG-Strategy game that has the most hi-res'd graphics of its time and generation. Each cell is nicely done, the character sprites are well made and have a anime look, it blends well with the world maps. Though the environment graphics look exactly like FFTatics or even Disgaea 1. Regardless, the animation scenes between the characters and their battle/storyline scenes is absolutely one of the most best aspects of the game.
• Sound: 9/10
o The voice overs are nicely done, and each character's actor fits well, the sound effects in certain attacks and of when a character jumps or growls seems a bit off however. There are also times when the sound may be a bit low as well. Other than that, nothing a major issue.
• Music: 10/10
o The game contains several tracks from the first Disgaea game, and of the Disgaea PSP game as well. Most of the OST is originally made for the game, however , the game's OST isn't as well made as the first Disgaea games. But it does have that nostalgic feeling especially the battle themes. Regardless nothing tops the last boss battle from Disgaea 1 *-*.
• Length: 9/10
o Storyline wise , the game's story is composed of 13 episodes, which could take you from anywhere between 15-20 hrs to complete. Along with that you got the dark assembly where you can unlock characters, remake characters, edit characters, unlock features which were not included originally such as the feature which makes the main character a senator, or even unlocking more levels. You also got the item world which can make you travel around for hours, just like Disgaea 1, Disgaea 2 also contains a new game + , which allows you to play the game all over for the additional endings, getting those endings of course will add a bit more to your game clock, making this a really long RPG.
• Replay Value: 10/10
o Most Strategy RPGs usually do not have much replay value, matter fact not a lot of RPGs do until the 2000s of course. New Game+ is a common feature among RPGs these days, since the days of Chrono Trigger. Disgaea 2 features New Game+ just like its predecessor, allowing you to play the game all over again with the ability to carry over the hel (currency in game), characters, their stats and equips. This also allows you to unlock stages you may of not unlocked in the previous play through or to allow you to level up again throughout the storyline to confront harder secret bosses that you were not able to defeat before. Disgaea 2 contains several endings depending on how you played throughout the storyline, the decisions you made in many of the options which were given to you. In the PSP version of Disgaea 2, the game allows you to upon completion to play a extra game mode called the "Axel Mode" or in this case "Dark Hero" Mode which extends the storyline further featuring a recurring mid boss throughout the game. When it comes to Replay value, the Disgaea series truly shines their greatness upon this aspect of the Strategy RPG genre.
• Player Value: 9/10
o Overall, Disgaea 2 is a very fun game regardless if you're a hardcore or easy going RPG player. The game contains a colorful cast of characters, brings a crude humor to the dark atmosphere of the storyline of the game, cutting edge animation and gameplay, and crisp clean sound and OST. Highly recommended for fans of Strategy RPGs such as the first Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics.