Yesterday NIS America released an official press release regarding a change to Disgaea 4’s western localization scheduled to be released September 6th.  The map editor feature has been altered due to “regulation differences between regions”.  The press statement goes on to explain:

“Regarding Disgaea 4’s map edit system, regulation differences between regions made it very difficult to keep in. However, thanks to all the help from our development team and SCEA, we were able to keep the system by making just some minor design adjustments. Players won’t be able to create a completely detailed map, but this new system is still a great way to expand the Disgaea universe and share your own creations with players around the nation.”

Now let’s get to the specifics of what player can and can’t do:

• Players will not be able to create their own landmasses; rather, they will have to choose from a number of  pre-designed templates
• Players cannot stack multiples of the same item on top of, or next to one another (with the exception of geo blocks and characters)
• Players may not name their maps or give them a description — this feature has been randomized

Here are my gripes:

1. NIS probably shouldn’t have confirmed this feature in the game’s release trailer
2. One thing they fail to mention in this press release is that the map editing system is the same system used for designing your own base, meaning the player will be limited in that area as well
3. They should probably update the official webpage to reflect this new information, notably ”create unique geography!”
4. Taking something away from us?  Sure would be a nice gesture to announce that you are giving us something for free, like oh I don’t know… DLC!

Don’t get me wrong, even if this feature was wholly removed (which I am relieved it hasn’t been) there is still a lot Disgaea 4 has to offer.  We can count on the fact that there will be hundreds of hours of gameplay, a quirky but touching story, and overhauled graphics which is enough for me.  Still, every time a game is altered en route to a localization, it pains me to think of what could have been.

I don’t much feel like composing a standard post today, but rather provide you with a rundown of a few interesting gaming related tidbits.

Monster Hunter Survey

First off, everyone should go to Capcom-Unity and fill out this Monster Hunter survey.  I am not entirely clear on what the purpose is of gathering this data is, but it certainly hints to the fact that Capcom wants to tailor the series to the West.  I can’t say I blame them, they are sitting on a franchise that shakes the foundation of Japan with each release, yet in America a small percentage of uber-dorks (of which I am a member) actually enjoy it.  Thanks to Jon of Araceae for pointing this out to me.

I was fairly blunt in my answers, making it clear that if they release more Monster Hunter titles with ad-hoc party systems I will probably pretend they don’t exist.

Disgaea 4 is Close

Disgaea 4 comes out in Japan in two days, so Nippon Ichi has made a few announcements to keep people interested.  One such announcement concerns new merchandise the company will make available soon:

The prinny cabbie will be available during the later half of February, along with some trading figures (not pictured).  Etna will be available in May and Raspberyl in June.  Odds are good that with the Western release of Disgaea 4, these items will be available in our own Rosenqueen store, but if you’re impatient I am sure you can have them imported.

Also, if you have a Disgaea 3 save file, you can unlock a special Ma-effect panel in Disgaea 4 which allows your members under its influence to loot from members of congress.  I am not sure if this will also be available with the western release, but it’s worth noting.

Catherine is hard

Click here to view the embedded video.

Catherine was released in Japan last week, and gamers there are finding that it’s hard to beat.  So hard in fact, that the game’s director came forward and announced that a patch is being developed to balance things.  By the time the game trickles down to the West it should be fairly well balanced, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences.  Personally, I am a little sad I probably won’t even get to experience this extreme difficulty.

Xenogears will be available on the Playstation Network tomorrow

Tomorrow, ten dollars will buy you one of the most acclaimed RPGs to ever be released by Square Soft.  The modest price tag sharply contrasts the going rate of what a physical copy would cost you, meaning you don’t have to look like this to own it.  I personally have not played Xenogears before, so I am quite excited to have the opportunity to do so.

MegaRan Interview and 3 Years of Kotowari

I asked MegaRan if I could interview him about his recent album, Black Materia: Final Fantasy 7.  Surprisingly enough, he agreed!  I received his answers moments ago and will post them tomorrow, which just so happens to be the site’s three year anniversary!  To celebrate, we will be giving three albums away to commentors, one for each glorious year.

That should just about get you up to speed on things.  I hope to see you all back here tomorrow with your digital party hats and ethereal champagne, ’cause it’s gonna be a celebration!

Disgaea 4 guest art by Yuji Himukai, best known for his work on Etrian Odyssey

I admit to slacking on the Disgaea 4 coverage, and for that I apologize.  In reparations please accept the following facts from posts featured on Dengeki and 4Gamer in the past few weeks.

The last story character has been detailed.  Her name is Desko and she is the odd looking character which appears to be affixed to the belly of a stingray:

Desko has a bit of an unusual goal, but what else would you expect from Disgaea? She is on a quest to become the “last boss”, which requires both eliminating other competition and constant training. The would-be last boss decides to follow Valbatoze and the gang assuming they will someday come across a “true hero” which she can then defeat to gain valuable experience for her future position.

Two new non-story units were revealed as well, both new to the series:

Meet the Android (left) and the Battle Suit (right).  Other classes since confirmed for the game include the male ninja and female magician.  There are no screens or info on these characters’ special skills at all, but I am sure they are earthshaking as always.

When it comes to mechanics, as you may already be aware, politics are huge.  The player will be interacting with the council more than ever and a new level of depth has been added to make the council easier to manipulate.  Different characters, when placed on the council exhibit different personalities:

• Hot-blooded type (Fuuka)
• Idol type (Burkano)
• Alliance Type (Desko)

When voting time comes, the different characters effect the surrounding members of the council differently.  For instance, Fuuka is “hot-blooded” meaning she will quickly… quell any non-supporters:

This means placement of your supporting characters can be very important when voting time comes.

You may recall the fact that you can now edit your own maps allowing other players to download them and play them online. It has also recently been revealed the same editing system can be employed for your home base. This means you can go from this:

The game’s starting home base

To this:

You can add ornaments, move NPCs, and change the terrain of your base as you like.  How awesome is that?  Very awesome.  I wonder if this is something else that can be shown off online?  Seems like a good possibility, but even if I am doing it for myself I am still excited.

Finally, I have one cool new example of “evil symbols” and their effects.  If you’re unfamiliar with this system re-read my write-up in the aforementioned link or the following won’t make much sense:

The Heart Cannon: Allies sharing the the effects of this symbol will attack an enemy together if in range.  This mean the characters do not need to be standing next to each other, they just have to be close enough to the same enemy:

Disgaea 4 is doing a great job finding small ways to add depth of strategy and customization, which are definitely two of my favorite features a game can have.  Look forward to much more in the next month leading up to the game’s Japanese release.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The most recent Disgaea 4 trailer was made available on the game’s official website recently.  It begins on a rather serious note, showing all of the main characters and describing them in a simple poetic phrase.

• Valbatoze: A promise hidden in a heart
• Fenrich: An irreplaceable friend
• Fuuka: Unforgettable memories
• Emezel: A trial that must be overcome
• Desko: A dream which can not be given up
• Burkano: Bonds which cannot be cut
• Axel: A fate which cannot be fought

The narrator continues, “This is the story of heroes who shook up the whole universe…JOKING!”  Just as I was reaching for my box of tissues, too.  The remainder of the video is a collection of 10 “Ma-nifest declarations” concerning Disgaea 4.  For the most part, many of the topics covered are already common knowledge.  This includes lifting-throwing, Monster transformation (into both weapons and the larger monsters), and multiplayer.

You may notice one scene where a mega-Prinny jumps into a group of units and moves them all back a panel.  It doesn’t seem to do any damage but what’s with that?  It seems like it could be an interesting new strategic element:

According to the video, one aspect of Disgaea 4’s multiplayer mode includes a map editor, allowing you to place your own units and geo effects as well as design the map.  After creation you can name your map and have others try it out online.

There is even a ranking system so you can see how you stack up to the competition:

Prior to the announcement of the map editor, I was pretty indifferent about the multiplayer mode.  Fighting someone’s team driven by computer AI just sounds a bit dull.  Being able to try out unique maps created by users however pumps some life into the game, making it last well beyond the first 100 hours I am likely to spend with it.  I hope to learn more about this system soon, but in the meantime I have this image of Nightmare sheep to keep me warm:

I have been meaning to write another in-depth article on Disgaea 4 but have been really busy lately, please excuse the delay. Two big updates on the game appeared on Dengeki and 4Gamer revealing more on the game’s characters and new features.

Our dashing protagonist Valbatouz has one goal: to get out of his crap job as prinny instructor.  Doing so also requires dealing with the corrupt government that put him there.  So now, more than any other Disgaea title, politics are a part of the game’s system.

The above screenshot shows a mini map of the underworld as a whole.  As you see Valbatouz is in the center on top of the volcano-looking thing.  Around him are four units which show the spread of Valbatouz’s political influence.  As you conquer territory you can make more units and arrange them on the map.  Adjoining units enjoy an increased percentage of participating in combination attacks in battle.

The player can also construct certain objects on the map which effect units standing on top of said structures:

Here an archer and a scientist are standing on a “Tower of Babel”, which allows them to throw even from the top of a tower of people.  There are a number of items you can construct which include a tree of legend, an aura pyramid, and even a Rosenqueen.  These items are called “evil symbols”, and the effect they produce is called a “devil area”.

You can also assign certain units to various political positions, making them cabinet ministers.  Doing so causes certain effects to surrounding units, such as providing higher stat increases upon leveling up.  Together the cabinet minister and his or her surrounding units make up a cabinet.  Does this remind anyone else of the class system from Disgaea 3?

When it comes to Axel, we learn that he is actually the chief of a certain prison in the game, and is in fact Valbatouz’s boss.  Since you are attempting to overthrow the government that naturally means that Axel will be an obstacle.  Will that be Axel’s only role in the game?

Two new characters were given proper introductions, complete with background:

• Emezel

The Underworld of Disgaea 4 is ruled by a president rather than an overload.  Emezel is that president’s only son.  As his appearance may betray, Emezel is a shinigami, or death god.  He is the leader of a special task force sent to deal with the traitor Valbatouz.

• Burkano

Burkano is nicknamed “The Angle of Karma Avarice” and her appearance in this realm of the underworld has caused somewhat of a commotion.  Seeing the corruption that plagues the area, Burkano descended from the heavens to set things right and… collect some money as well.  As much money as possible, actually.

Those of you who played Disgaea 3 can use your save file to unlock some yet unknown contents in Disgaea 4.  There are literally no details concerning this, but as the game’s release is fairly close (February 24 in Japan) details should emerge soon.

The new details concerning the game’s battle system sound awesome, I appreciate the depth of character/group customization and conversely tactics.  Likewise the story characters are quirky and humorous; I especially enjoy Burkano’s background and character design.  It may be a pain to translate, but I sure am looking forward to the next update on Disgaea 4.

Apparently the mind behind the obviously deep and important Criminal Girls has added their 2 cents when it comes to Disgaea 4.  According to a new screenshot revealed by Dengeki, it is confirmed that the player has the option of “disciplining” their vassals.  The above screen lists the following things you can do to poor Imiru the archer:

• Smack with a roll of bank notes
• Force to sign documents
• Bind hands (the description at the bottom reads “bind hands and tickle armpits”)
• Bind legs
• Talk dirty
• Force to compliment [you]
• Force to massage [you]
• Force to listen to [your] worries

Most of these actions are comical albeit a bit strange.  I should note that this screenshot comes with little to no explanation other than that this is purely “educational” discipline.  The obvious question that came to my mind is: is this restricted to female units?  The options are gender neutral, so perhaps not.  I believe female fans of Disgaea would feel alienated if they were given the option to discipline their female units.

Either way this system leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  It doesn’t feel new and innovative and I can’t imagine a practical application.  The option to “disciple” your character just feels like it is tacked on and is a cheap way to sensationalize the game for the wrong reasons.  Expect a Kotaku article on how awesome this is later today.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yesterday NIS announced Disgaea 4 and launched the game’s official website which contains the above trailer.  The site says that it will open with more information in 20 days, so in the meantime let’s pick apart this trailer!  In the first few seconds when the trailer begins the screen pans over an image of nearly all the characters and jobs in the game.  I noticed two jobclasses that have yet to grace the Disgaea series:

The blond looks a lot like the Professor from Makai Kingdom.  The other reminds me of the Mystic from Phantom Brave, but more evil looking.  I couldn’t pick out any other new jobclasses which is a disappointment.

A little further into the trailer we see a possible new weapon-class, dual blades:

I wonder what kind of awesome moves come along with this weapon?  Hopefully it has some good AOE attacks to keep it relevant.

Next we get a glimpse of the multiplayer:

As you can see the invader appears pirate-style, barging onto your map, or their map I suppose. Obviously I am not sure of the details of this system at this time. It looks like the item world, but the actual physical map appears to be very small and I don’t see an entry panel suggesting it may be its own mode.  It would be cool if pirates were replaced by this multiplayer mode, and acquiring maps required you to defeat other players.  That seems like a likely possibility — if so, you better watch out for my team!

Eventually we are introduced to the game’s protagonists which include…. Axel!?

So far we only knew about the main character, Valbatouz who is pictured in the center.  But the video introduces us to two other characters:

• Fenrihhi (silver-haired guy with the red coat)
• Fuuka (girl with the Prinny costume)

The others are a mystery at this time, but as always their character designs are awesome.

Finally, it appears that the Japanese special edition of the game not only includes a soundtrack, but also a nendoroid-puchi of Fuuka, which wasn’t mentioned in the Biku Kamera leak.  That may be inspiration for an import…

The sprites are definitely improved and the multiplayer feature is finally being incorporated into a console version of Disgaea.  My only complaint was that nearly all of the jobclasses shown are from the last game.  I am hoping for a significant number of new jobs as well as all my favorites, but this trailer is making me think there aren’t many new jobs.  Still, I am excited to get a look at the game and can’t wait for more information.

**UPDATE**
NIS America has announced today that we can expect Disgaea 4 next Summer.  I have never seen a game’s foreign and domestic release announcements to close together!  Mind you it’s not an exact date, but still rather surprising.  Does the speed of the announcement have to do with NIS’s financial woes?  That seems likely but it doesn’t turn me off from the game at all!  This is great news and means my Summer will probably be spent mostly indoors.

The website for a major department store in Japan, Biku Kamera, has prematurely listed Disgaea 4 on their website along with a brief description giving us our first details on the game.   Here are the key points worth noting about the next installment for the Playstation 3:

• There has been a huge graphical update since Disgaea 3
• The game features a new and heavily evolved system
• There will be a network component

I am happy to hear that changes are being made to Disgaea’s appearance and battle system.  Hopefully these updates will modernize the game, cutting down on criticism received in the past while keeping the series cohesive.  This is a tough balance, especially with such a beloved series.  The online features are difficult to imagine, but I am hoping they will be more in-depth than they have been in the past; player vs. player and co-op missions come to mind.

In terms of story we know that the player assumes the role of a vampire named “Valbatouz”, who is leading his minions in an attempt to overthrow some regime, presumably to become overlord, which would be keeping with NIS’s tried and true story formula.  (I should note that is my translation of his name; not sure what it will be when it is put into romaji.)

An image found on the Dengeki Playstation blog from Tokyo Game Show seems to suggest that the character shown in the mid-summer greeting card from NIS is in fact the protagonist, Valbatouz:

Both a standard and limited edition of the game were listed on Biku Kamera’s website — the latter includes a soundtrack.  The standard edition will be 6,420 yen and the limited edition 8,970 yen (around $65 and $90 USD respectively).  Lastly, the leaked info states that the game will be out in Japan on February 24th!  Hopefully Tokyo Game Show will bring us something more concrete concerning Disgaea 4 soon, the suspense is killing me!

NIS is known for practicing the Japanese tradition of sending greeting cards for the summer and winter months to different media outlets — how cordial of them!  Recently this image was revealed of this year’s mid-summer greeting card sent to Dengeki.  The obvious question is, are we looking at the first image of Disgaea 4?  It’s easy to jump to that conclusion, especially considering that the game is reportedly scheduled to be released this year in Japan, meaning the game must be nearly complete.

When it comes to NIS greetings cards though, they are known for creating rumors that never come to fruition, either as a joke or because of some major decision changes.  We saw this with Makai Wars, as well as the claim that poor Asagi would finally receive her own game.  For that reason, this post is getting the ‘rumor’ tag to avoid any jump-to-conclusion-mats.

The card shows four characters who are unquestionably drawn by Takehito Harada.  One of which has a prinny outfit on, somewhat similar to the one Asagi wears in the (hopefully?) upcoming Prinny sequel.  The person in the foreground reminds me a bit of Zeta both in dress and posture.  Does anyone else think the girl in green is dressed like a Putty?

Odds are this is simply a catalyst for stirring up excitement about Disgaea 4 among different major publications.  It has certainly succeeded in stirring up excitement for me — if this really is an image of the next Disgaea I am pleased and can’t wait for something concrete from NIS.

The official Nippon Ichi company site posted the above image today to show its fans that they’re planning a new Disgaea title for the PS3.  It’s part of their new strategy to help make up for some serious company losses that were shown by NIS a little while ago.

For those not in the know, Nippon Ichi posted a 97.5% profit drop in the first 9 months of this financial year. The total loss is estimated at nearly 300 million yen (about 3,450,000 USD). If things don’t shape up soon for the fledgling game developer, we could see one of the most cherished groups in the niche gaming community close its doors.

Nippon Ichi is blaming externally developed titles for their losses, so they’re going to focus on a high quality line-up, with a lot of attention being poured into PS3 development. In total, they’ve announced 87 new games for the year, with 6 of them being completely original titles. They are also very much aware of their huge fanbase outside of Japan, so they send an assuring note that they are increasing their efforts for the overseas market.

Part of me can’t help but be worried about Nippon Ichi. They are one of my favorite developers after all, but I feel that they should be treading ground more carefully. Disgaea certainly is their most popular title by far, but will it be enough to help pull them out of this financial slump? Not to mention it’s being developed alongside 7 other titles — seems a bit like overkill for a developer in such dire straits. I think they should spend as much time on their next Disgaea title as possible. Many people complained about the sprite graphics for the third entry in the series, especially since it was a PS3 title. NIS could maybe bring Disgaea into the next generation with new, updated 3D graphics to help bring in more gamers. Although in doing this, they may lose many of their loyal fans who would see the change as a disservice to the people who bought their games in the first place.

Either way, they have a lot more to think about if they don’t want to be shut down. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors and eagerly await news on those other 7 titles that they have up their sleeves.