As I mentioned in an earlier post, NIS America was nice enough to entrust me with an advanced copy of this year’s holy grail of video game software: Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice. I think I had been looking forward to playing the game for a full agonizing year (further accentuated by 5 months in Japan) when I finally slipped it into my PS3.

For a review of this magnitude, I’ll try and organize it by important elements.

Battle System:

When it comes to the battle system in Disgaea 3, it’s all about customization. The clever stage where the player may customize their army is Maritsu Evil Academy. Here you can do all the typical Disgaea preparations for war such as buying and equipping weapons and armor, healing the party and accessing portals to story maps, item world etc.

Abilities can also be purchased and upgraded with mana earned from battle and equipped to the player’s liking. This is especially important to note for players who like magic users: increasing the effect area and strength of magic requires active upgrading. As you can probably tell, mana is extremely important in strengthening an army. In the game’s early stages, you won’t be able to get enough of the stuff.

Homeroom is another very important element of customization at Maritsu Evil Academy. Homeroom is where characters can create other characters or pass bills by paying mana. Characters can then be assembled into clubs and have their seats arranged.

Clubs and seating both grant bonuses to characters in different ways. A Warrior and an Archer in a club would gain an increase in their combo attack percentage. If the two units sit next to one another, the percentage is further increased. Members of certain clubs also get bonuses like additional mana or exp gain. These bonuses may also be dependent on seating (sitting in a corner grants the character 25% more EXP, etc.)

The leader of a club is granted stat bonuses if his or her subordinates have higher stats. I love this system, because it brought my Thief and Mages up to speed with the rest of my team. Also, a leader may learn abilities (Ice, Heal, Braveheart, etc.) from subordinates if he or she stands next to them in battle.

Another new feature I love is the ability to link special abilities. By having 2 characters perform special attacks against an enemy in succession, a new fusion ability will trigger. These abilities deal much more damage than the two units attacking independent of one another.

In addition to linking special attacks is Magichange, which is when a monster unit will turn into a weapon temporarily for a human class character. It is important to note that both characters must be in the same club and the monsterclass character needs to have learned the magichange ability.

Doing so allows for some cool skills to be used and also grants the wielder both characters’ Evilities. My Sabercat and Fight Mistress pal it up frequently. The only drawback is that if she gets killed, so does my poor Sabercat.

My only complaint with the battle system stems from the new ability system, which no longer involves weapon mastery. Since characters don’t become more proficient at wielding their weapons–only performing skills–you will hardly ever want to perform normal physical attacks. Physical attacks cause very little damage compared to damage from a skill.

In the early stages of the game, you will be spamming the same 1 or 2 skills ad nauseum. Being able to combine skills and using monsterclass characters helps shake things up a bit though.

Presentation:

A lot of people were surprised at first when they heard that Disgaea 3–a 2D game–would be for the Playstation 3. It is my belief that a lot more can go into a game besides the addition of a third dimension, and Disgaea 3 maxes out that second dimension.

The character designs of artist Takehito Harada, the music of Tenpei Sato and the story are all elements that make for a great game on any system.

One awesome advantage of the massiveness of Blu-Ray discs is that both English and Japanese voice overs are included on the game. This includes voice acting for the story sequences and now in battle sounds as well. For the previous versions it really bothered me that the two didn’t always match up, especially when Japanese was selected.

The biggest advantage to having Disgaea 3 on the PS3 is the option of downloadable content. Right now in Japan it is possible to download the following familiar (and not so familiar) faces:

Adell Rozalin Taro Hanako Kogure Souichirou (From Hayarigami, huh?) Nekomata Monsterclass

There will be more downloadable content in the future, so if the characters in Disgaea 2 don’t do anything for you, be patient. Personally I wouldn’t mind some characters from Phantom Brave (I know my girlfriend is hoping for Putty), but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Extras:

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice is like 3 games disguised as one. The main story is the first game, complete with 8 different endings. The Dark World is another game, and then there is still the Land of Carnage, House of Ordeals and a load of other sidequests both challenging and rewarding. I won’t reveal the others for spoilers sake.

Your playtime is pretty much limited by your attention span, but don’t be surprised if your hours break into the triple digits (as it is, I have logged over 300 hours with that last two games.)

Story:

The absurdity of the demon world is part of what made the Disgaea series so popular. What’s bad is good and what’s good is revolting. Maritsu Evil Academy is no exception. Here honor students are encouraged by faculty to battle one another for supremacy. Anything to keep them from going to class!

Classes are seemingly non-existent, or are a wholly consuming trial of one’s endurance. The later being the case for a mysterious home-economics course…

The game’s main character, Mao, is a typical demon with some otaku undertones. His goal is to defeat his father, the Overlord, who accidentally stepped on his Slavestation Portable, causing his 14 million hours of playtime to be lost.

Is NIS making fun of us? Probably, but it’s all in good fun.

How can Mao get the strength to defeat an Overlord? By emulating the Heroes in his comics and games of course! Mao’s loyal butler Geoffery attains a herodar (hero radar) and tracks down Almaz, the game’s bumbling would-be hero. Convinced that Almaz is a true hero, Mao forcibly switches titles with Almaz only to discover that his Hero abilities are somewhat… lacking.

Switching titles back proves more difficult, and requires Mao and his subordinates to go on a quest to open his heart–a feat rarely accomplished by demons.

Like all true Disgaea titles, the story is bittersweet. While it is filled with laughs, you will also find yourself feeling… emotions. How undemon-like! Don’t be afraid. That is just the side effect of a quality story, not one of Mao’s experiments.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice will be officially released tomorrow and should appear in stores on the 27th by the latest. It’s retail price is set at $49.99, but you can find it at Play-Asia for $49.90 here.

Lastly, I again wish to thank NIS America for kindly giving me an advanced copy of the game. I have loved every minute of playing the it, writing the review, and working on this blog. Here’s hoping that this is only the beginning!

Related Entries:
Disgaea 3 Doublejump Book Guide Review
Three Disgaea 3 Pre-Order Options
All other Kotowari posts relating to Makai Senki Disgaea 3 can be found here.

Kanji Tatsumi (? ??) has been added to the characters section of Persona 4’s official website. Apparently Kanji has had the reputation of being a bad-ass since middle school. And, like the other members who enter Mayonaka TV, his heart holds a strange darkness.

When Kanji appears on a news broadcast the protagonist’s P.I uncle Ryoutarou recognizes Kanji from some of his past run in’s with the law as a b?s?zoku.  Seems like Kanji is up to his old tricks again, but since it’s on TV, can we be sure it’s the “real” Kanji?

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

Job class: Archer (??????)
Evility: Accelerated Shot (????)
Evility Effect: Every square that an arrow flies increases its damage by 5%.
Prerequisite: Cleric and Valkyrie Lvl 15
*NOTE* Must also pass bill entitled “???????????”, or “I want to make a female Archer” for 150 mana in homeroom.
Suggested weapons: Spear, Bow
Move: 4
Jump: 25
Counter: 1
Throw: 4

Stats

* Bolded stats are the only stats that difer between the Archer and Ranger jobclasses.

Evilities

Job class: Male Archer (??????) NA = Ranger
Evility: Potential Energy (???????)
Evility Effect: If the enemy’s location is lower than a Ranger’s location, his offensive power increases 30%.
Prerequisite: Clergy and Warrior Lvl 15
*NOTE* Must also pass bill entitled “???????????”, or “I want to make a male Archer” for 150 mana in homeroom.
Suggested weapons: Sword, Bow
Move: 4
Jump: 25
Counter: 1
Throw: 4

Stats

* Bolded stats are the only stats that difer between the Archer and Ranger jobclasses.

Evilities

I translated all of this info from a Japanese Disgaea wiki, which is very informative. Both of the archer jobs seem pretty evenly matched. The only reason that I feel the female archer excels over the male is because I plan on having Asagi on my team. Since Asagi has an evility which allows her to fly, that would increase the female Archers damage dramatically. If you throw a Ranger into the mix, they would each be boosting another’s stats causing some awesome long range damage.

Since the female Archer does more damage when she fires from further away, her rank 6 evility will combo nicely with her inherent evility. The Ranger has his positive qualities as well, especially “The Hunter’s Space” which is an almost guaranteed 30% HIT bonus.

Check back for more info as I am always on the lookout for news on Disgaea 3.

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari posts relating to Makai Senki Disgaea 3 can be found here.

Job class: Female Warrior (???) NA = Valkrie
Evility: Assault Attack (????????)
Evility Effect: Every panel that a Valkyrie moves increases her offensive power by 10% (that turn only).
Prerequisite: Available from the start.
Suggested weapons: Sword, Spear, Bow
Move: 4
Jump: 20
Counter: 2
Throw: 5

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Valkyrie and Warrior jobclasses.

Evilities

Job class: Warrior (???)
Evility: Wild Cry (???????)
Evility Effect: When an enemy unit is next to a Warrior, his stats increase 20%.
Prerequisite: Available from the start.
Suggested weapons: Sword, Spear, Axe
Move: 4
Jump: 20
Counter: 2
Throw: 5

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Valkyrie and Warrior jobclasses.

Evilities

I translated all of this info from a Japanese Disgaea wiki, which is very informative. The Warrior class is one of the initial classes of Disgaea 3, but that doesn’t take anything away from its value. A solidly equipped Valkyrie or Warrior created early in the game will serve you well right up into the post-game.

When deciding whether to go with the Valkyrie or Warrior, the main question to consider is what weapon you are more interested in incorporating into your party. Judging by their rank 6 Evilities, it’s clear that the male Warrior is best equipped with an Axe, and the Valkyrie is best equipped with a Spear. Axes can be tricky, since they miss often, and have few special attacks which hit multiple targets. Spears are more accurate, offer a range increase, and have more area-affecting skills. Axes can do more damage than Spears to a single target (assuming the Axe doesn’t miss), making them great for cutting down bosses, but hard for fast leveling.

It is interesting to note that in my Disgaea 3 guide, performing the maximum damage is not possible without a Valkyrie and an Orc. The Orc (which has max stats) performs a Magichange allowing the Valkyrie to wield it. The Valkyrie has max stats, including maximum possible movement. She takes 10 steps increasing her attack by 100%.

Check back for more info as I am always on the lookout for news on Disgaea 3.

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari posts relating to Makai Senki Disgaea 3 can be found here.

Some new info has developed concerning Furai No Shiren 3:Sleeping Beauty of the Trick Mansion. It appears that early in the story Asuka, a female warrior wielding a naginata, and Sensé, Shiren’s fencing instructor, will join up with Shiren. From there the team decides to test their talent by attempting to take on the fabled Trick Mansion.

On the way the team’s path is blocked by a group of 4 demons. The leader (that big red guy) is a Tengu named Owashi. It appears that Shiren and Co. aren’t the only ones after the legendary treasure waiting within the mansion walls. Owashi and his gang of demons are one of many obstacle the party must overcome on their way to the mansion

There will be a world map system in Furai No Shiren 3, unlike its predecessors. The map looks like an ancient ink brush painting, and reminds me of the world map used in the upcoming Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. The player starts at the base of Horai mountain, and from there can branch out to different dungeons and towns.

One new type of dungeon is the Where-ever Dungeon. The player can bring items, money, and allies in. Likewise, all items and money the player finds within the dungeon can be retained afterwards. The only catch is that when Shiren (or anyone else) enters, his level becomes one. It isn’t permanent however, after completing the dungeon the player’s level will be restored.

I still am not sure what benefit this type of dungeon provides. If dying in the Where-ever Dungeon has no effect on the players level or items, than it is without a doubt a great addition, but that seems unlikely. My guess is that if the player dies within the Where-ever Dungeon, he/she loses all acquired items and money, but receives no level punishment–a fair trade off I believe.

If you have never heard of the series and would like to give it a try, you can purchase Furai no Shiren 2 for $29.99 for the Nintendo DS here.

Related Entries:
Furai No Shiren 3: The Sleeping Beauty of the Trick Mansion preview

Job class: Gunner female (????? ) NA = Gunslinger
Evility: Big Chance (???????)
Evility Effect: When Gunslinger participates in a Combo attack, the Bonus Gauge goes up an additional 50%.
Prerequisite: Thief and Witch level 15
Suggested weapons: Gun, Bow
*NOTE* Must also pass bill entitled “??????????”, or “I want to make a female Gunner” for 150 mana in home room.
Move: 5
Jump: 25
Counter: 1
Throw: 4

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Gunslinger and Gunner jobclasses.

Evilities

Job class: Gunner (????? )
Evility: Marking (?????)
Evility Effect: The character who attacks after a Gunner in a Combo attack has a critical hit rate of 100%
Prerequisite: Thief and Magician level 15
Suggested weapons: Gun, Fist
*NOTE* Must also pass bill entitled “??????????”, or “I want to make a male Gunner” for 150 mana in home room.
Move: 5
Jump: 25
Counter: 1
Throw: 4

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Gunslinger and Gunner jobclasses.

Evilities

I translated all of this info from a Japanese Disgaea wiki, which is very informative. The Gunner class is much more evenly built between sexes than the Mage jobclasses. The real question the player should consider when deciding which to make, is what they want out of their Gunner. Ultimately both help the party in different ways.

The male Gunner increases damage, accuracy, and critical hit rate of Combo attacks, increasing the party’s efficiency. The Gunslinger on the other hand increases earned HL and helps get items from the Bonus list as well as causing monsters to drop items. Their rank 6 evilites are also pretty even; the male Gunner gets a great speed boost, raising his evasion, and the Gunslinger gets a range increase.

In the long run the male Gunner may be the better choice for the post-game when HL and items are second to conquering tough bosses. Check back for more info as I am always on the lookout for news on Disgaea 3.

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari posts relating to Makai Senki Disgaea 3 can be found here.

Job class: Martial Artist (???-female) NA = Fight Mistress
Evility: Feint (?????)
Evility Effect: Enemy units cannot perform counter attacks against Fight Mistress.
Prerequisite: Available from the start
Suggested weapons: Fist, Sword
Move: 5
Jump: 25
Counter: 3
Throw: 5

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Fight Mistress and Martial Artist jobclasses.

Evilities

Job class: Martial Artist (???-male)
Evility: Fury (?????)
Evility Effect: Every time a Martial Artist performs a counterattack, his damage increases 25% (that turn only)
Prerequisite: Available from the start
Suggested weapons: Fist, Spear
Move: 5
Jump: 25
Counter: 3
Throw: 5

Stats*

*Bolded stats are the only stats that differ between the Fight Mistress and Martial Artist jobclasses.

Evilities

I translated all of this info from a Japanese Disgaea wiki, which is very informative. The Martial Artist and Fight Mistress are available from the start, and are one of the players best lines of offense. In case it wasn’t immediately clear to you, the class exist to counter. The only other human-class character with 3 counters is Champloo Sensei. This combined with their healthy HP stat means that a Martial Artist or Fight Mistress will continue to fight hard for you, even when your turn has ended. At the very least they should be trained (to level 30) in order to get the Ninja and Kunoichi jobclasses.

In Disgaea 3, the class can use either a fist, sword (female only), or spear (male only) but I recommend equipping them with a fist and attaching the “snipe mastery skill” for an added damage bonus. At higher ranks when this evility is obsolete then it should be OK to switch to a sword or spear if one desires.

Which sex is better is a difficult question. The Martial Artist is much more aggressive with more counters and overall higher counter damage. The Fight Mistress is more consistent in that she cannot be countered, and her counters never miss with a chance of hitting critically. Ultimately it depends on the player’s tactics. Check back for more info as I am always on the lookout for news on Disgaea 3.

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari posts relating to Makai Senki Disgaea 3 can be found here.

I recently made a post concerning the rarity of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, which has become available on Play-Asia. Some people were happy to hear the game was easier to find, and they didn’t need to spend close to $70 on eBay for it. Other people began asking me about Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (Part 1). Apparently the second installment is infinitely easier to find in stores, and the first is nearly impossible. I decided to do some digging for the sake of my loyal readers (haha).

Who would have guessed, but it appears that Gamestop (as of April 22, 2008) has used copies available for $39.99 here. These copies are in stock and available to be shipped in 24 hours. I have checked Amazon.com, eBay, and Play-Asia among others. All of them are either overpriced or out of stock. I recommend acting fast if you want the game.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 at Gamestop ($39.99) here.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 at Amazon ($39.99) here.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne at Play-Asia ($44.90) here.

A story synopsis and explanation of gameplay elements can be found at the game’s official website.

This bizarre looking Persona is actually Kuma’s, and it’s called Kintokidouji (???????). As I had suspected, Kuma (through his Persona’s abilities) is able to sense the presence and movement of shadows. There has been proof that he does engage in battles as well, so I don’t think he will be unplayable like Fuuka from Persona 3.

More story information has surfaced concerning the main characters’ reasoning for entering Mayonaka television. A senpai (upper classman) of theirs at Yasogami High School by the name of Konishi vanishes, and is later discovered to be a victim of the bizarre murders that have been occurring in town.

Suddenly the main characters’ friend Amagi Yukiko (????) vanishes as well. They (especially Satonaka Chie) worry that she will meet the same gruesome fate as their senpai. Their plan is to watch Mayonaka television to attempt to rescue their missing friend. As the video showed, the three enter the mysterious television world where they  acquire their Persona abilities.

Deeper into the television world, they stumble across a production studio (left-most image):

The floor of the studio is covered with chalk-outlines of bodies. It is my belief that this “production studio” is the hub from which the characters will proceed to the various dungeons they must ascend/descend.

Unlike Persona 3, there is not one dungeon, but several. They seem to form based on the latest victim, or would-be-victim of the bizarre murders. The middle image for instance is of a dungeon entitled Princess Yukiko’s Castle. This dungeon appears after the party witnesses a bizarre clone of the missing Yukiko on TV:

Depending on the outcome of the dungeon, I would guess that the party can rescue individuals from meeting their grisly end. This dungeon pattern sounds much more interesting and involved than that of Persona 3. I will be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Related Articles:
All other Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

In Japan, FES was released as a reward to folks that picked up the original Persona 3, and we brought it here for exactly the same reason.
Thank you for supporting us!

Enjoy it guys, it’s been a long wait.

I found the game at Amazon.com for $29.99 here.  It’s a little more expensive at Play-Asia, although they do offer free shipping to those who live in Japan.