[Kazerei]

(NEW!) Everything you need to know about item/character maximization



Basic Info

Official website

Release: April 17, 2012 (US) | April 20, 2012 (EU)

Price: $39.99 (USD) | €39.99 (EUR) | £29.99 (GBP)

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Nippon Ichi Software

Genre: Strategy RPG

Size: 2.04GB, plus 96MB to save

Official strategy guide

What's Disgaea?

Disgaea is a strategy RPG series known for its cute character design, its unique sense of humour, its deep gameplay system, and its absurdly high level/stat caps.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice was released for the PS3 in 2008. The game takes place in the Netherworld, at a school for demons called the Evil Academy. At this school, kids who don't attend class and don't do homework are considered honor students, and kids who obey the rules are considered delinquents.

The main character, Mao, is the school's #1 honor student. His goal is to defeat his father, the Overlord and Dean of Evil Academy. But one day, after reading a comic book in which a superhero defeats an evil overlord, Mao resolves to instead become a hero. To do that, he must come to understand the true source of a hero's power: love and justice!

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention is a port with new content.

What's New?

* Includes all DLC released for PS3 (20 characters, 3 battle modes, 40+ BGM tracks, 4 chapters featuring Raspberyl)

* Plus 2 new characters, 4 new story scenarios, 2 new bosses, some new skills, new weapons, and Tera-level magic

* Data Shop: statistical records everything you do in the game; compare with other player's stats over PSN

* Honor Quotient: a measure of how good a player you are; higher quotient gives you various advantages

* New battle animations and character animations during cutscenes

* Optional touch screen and rear touch pad controls, for navigating menus and changing camera angle

* A Game Over screen takes you back to the Infirmary, not to the Title screen.

* Battle animations will be played the first time they are executed (by the player or enemies) regardless of being turned OFF in the options

Reviews

Digital Trends: 8/10

GameSpot: 7/10

GamesRadar: 6/10

IGN: 8.5/10

Just Push Start: 9.5/10

PSNStores: 4/5

PSX Extreme: 7.7/10

Push Square: 8/10

RPGamer: 3.5/5

RPGFan: 84%

Media

Trailer

[BruceLeeRoy]

I didn't know this was coming out this month. Very nice.

[Averon]

This will be my first Disgaea game. What should I expect?

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Nolan North's finest role yet. BOOM!

[frequency]

I have this pre-ordered right now, but I'm not sure I'll keep it.
I've already put so much money into these NIS ports... I haven't really put any time into the PSP or DS ports even though I bought them day one. I think I always go in with the idea that it's going to be great to have these on handheld, but then I never actually feel like playing them because I already have so much time invested on the home console version.

If only there was a way to transfer save files.
I need some NIS transfarring!

[Dissonance]

I've been thinking of getting this. I've played only a bit of Disgaea DS and didn't really enjoy it. Is this one different enough to warrant a purchase or should I wait for a price-drop?

[The Grim Heaper]

Holy hell, this is already out next week? Time sure does fly by...

[Volcynika]

This will be my first Disgaea game. What should I expect?

Lots of grinding to do massive damage!

[GaimeGuy]

This will be my first Disgaea game. What should I expect?

big numbers

[Hasemo]

Got it around a week after the Japanese PSN launch but haven't really put much time into it yet.
Never played Disgaea 3 on the PS3, so I can't really say how big the changes are compared to the original.

[Kazerei]

This will be my first Disgaea game. What should I expect?

Lots of grinding until you figure out how to grind efficiently. A first-time playthrough of just the main story is maybe around 40 hours? For Disgaea veterans it's probably closer to 20 hours. But there is a ridiculous amount of content beyond the main story, especially with all the DLC.

I've been thinking of getting this. I've played only a bit of Disgaea DS and didn't really enjoy it. Is this one different enough to warrant a purchase or should I wait for a price-drop?

Disgaea DS is kind of a shoddy version of the game :\
The core mechanics are the same throughout the series though. Each iteration has some new gameplay features to tinker around with. If you're willing to give Disgaea another shot, the PSP games are great and fairly cheap on PSN.

[raven777]

Has there been any confirmation that japanese voice will be included?

[frequency]

Has there been any confirmation that japanese voice will be included?

When was the last time NIS released something that didn't have the Japanese VO track?

Maybe the DS ports? I could check but my copy is still sealed and I kind of want to leave it that way.

[Hispanicguy]

Dear Super Stardust Delta, you will no longer be my most played vita game after April 17th.

So ready for this.

[Ken]

Have this pre-ordered awhile ago. Hopefully it will tide me over until something else interesting comes out on the Vita.

[raven777]

When was the last time NIS released something that didn't have the Japanese VO track?

So I guess that means yes. I have never tried Disgaea series, so i might as well try it with this.

[kerrak]

Any idea on the size of the file?
If i have to play for 1 million hours, probably it's a good idea to have it digital.

[ReaperXL07]

Damn with this coming next week, then Mortal Kombat 2 weeks later Vit'a going to get some great milage. Hoping by the time MK is release that we get a solid date for Sound Shapes, and Retro City Rampage.

Can't wait to put another couple hundred hours into this. I do wish it was 4, but I enjoyed alot about 3 so this will do nicely for now.

[RyougaSaotome]

Got assigned this for review. Looking forward to putting some time into the English version. Played a decent chunk of the JP version back in December, but I'll post if there's anything crazy new/any random problems. =)

[TomcatTheLion]

Definitely picking this up next week. Never got around to finishing the PS3 version so this is the perfect opportunity to begin again and with all the DLC already included PLUS new content. Too good to pass up.

[RomanticHeroX]

Hey, an excuse to dust off my Vita. If nothing else i just found out it's impressive in sleep mode. Seeing this thread made me wake it up for the first time since about a week after launch and it's still in the green.

[Perkel]

I wonder if they will change his line about psp and save :)

[Eusis]

I was originally planning to get this ASAP, but with Disgaea 2 unfinished (not that it really means much) and SRPGs being a RPG genre I usually have trouble really digging into I'm having serious second thoughts. Especially with Kickstarter, I mway pitch in for Banner Saga and Wasteland 2 and already pledged $15 to Shadowrun.

[Yjynx]

I've only played Disgaea 1 and 2 so I'll pick this up. Grinding on the go could be awesome.

[KaYotiX]

10 MILLION HoURS!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Can't wait!!!

[Ravage]

And there goes my life ;(

[GopherD]

Did NIS update to HD sprites like D4 or are they the same as the original ps3 version?

[kerrak]

Did NIS update to HD sprites like D4 or are they the same as the original ps3 version?

I think they aren't updated, but because the resolution and screen size are different, probably the low-res effect will be less noticeable.

[Hasemo]

Did NIS update to HD sprites like D4 or are they the same as the original ps3 version?

Same as the original.

[boingball]

This is the first game which makes me consider buying a Vita. Disgaea on portable rules, I have played about 200h of Disgaea 1 on the PSP. Disgaea 2 though became a victim of my PSP backlog, have played only 50h or so, same as on the PS2. Still far away from 10 million hours...

[V_Arnold]

Hm, is there an item world equivalent in this? Have put 600+ hours into D2 just because that...

[guggnichso]

Has there been any confirmation that japanese voice will be included?

Japanese voice is included in the european version, which I have here since saturday :D

I'm 10 hours in so far and until now, it's absolutely great if you love Disgaea games and quirky japanese humor.

However, the controls on the rear touchpad are absolut trash (or i haven't managed to figure them out yet), so I switched them off after about 10 hours into the game.

[guggnichso]

Hm, is there an item world equivalent in this? Have put 600+ hours into D2 just because that...

Yes, there's an item world inside with various secrets and myteries and pirates.

[kerrak]

have played only 50h or so

lol this is Disgaea.

I'm 10 hours in so far and until now, it's absolutely great if you love Disgaea games and quirky japanese humor.

Just curious about the "low-res" sprites. How do they look?

[GillaTheGorilla]

Is the Innocent warehouse what I think it is, where residents you capture in the item world can be stored rather than holding them on the item?

[toddhunter]

This will be my first Disgaea game. What should I expect?

Remember that the 'game' part is only the beginning.

The real disgaea starts after that.

[Khrno]

What's New?

* A Game Over screen takes you back to the Infirmary, not to the Title screen.

* Battle animations will be played the first time they are executed (by the player or enemies) regardless of being turned OFF in the options. - This is something I thought it was quite neat since I usually miss most if not all of them from turning them off right from the beginning.

^ That should be added to the op.

[guggnichso]

lol this is Disgaea. Just curious about the "low-res" sprites. How do they look?

Due to the smaller screen, they look less bad than on the PS3, but apart from that, they really don't look that well. Quite blurry actually, because they are filtered in a weird way.

You can turn off the filter, then they will look quite pixelated. I actually like this option more than the default one.

I'll try and make some screenshots when I come home this evening.

Some additional information: Every single trophy in this game is a "secret trophy" :) Apart from that, they're different than the ones in the PS3 version For example you get one for starting the game the first time and seeing the game over screen the first time.

[Khrno]

Due to the smaller screen, they look less bad than on the PS3, but apart from that, they really don't look that well. Quite blurry actually, because they are filtered in a weird way. You can turn off the filter, then they will look quite pixelated. I actually like this option more than the default one. I'll try and make some screenshots when I come home this evening.

I actually thing the default sprites look really good, and when I started playing it, I thought they were actually D4/hi-res sprites, but it's just the small screen making them look good.

[guggnichso]

I thought they were actually D4/hi-res sprites, but it's just the small screen making them look good.

Only if you zoom out really far. I usually use the nearest zoom level, and there you definitely see that the sprites are not high res at all.

But actually that doesn't matter at all in my opinion. The animated characters in the story sequences look gorgeous, and the game is a pure mind bending pack of possibilities, easy to learn, reasonably easy to play thorugh the story, hard and great and fun to do all the optional stuff that the game piles on you to no end.

Also, I love the crazy Disgaea storylines. Finally no "save the world from whatever" stuff.

[Tailzo]

I played and completed the story of Disgaea 3 on ps3. Also, I've played and completed the story of Disgaea 1 psp, Disgaea 2 psp and Disgaea 4.

I am thinking that a srpg would be great to have on the go, but I'm unsure if this will feel fresh enough.

[yankeehater]

I think I am going to wait until my school year is over to get this. These games are such huge time sinks for me. I loved the PS3 version of this game so I have no doubt that I will love the vita version.

[Sera O]

Awesome. I will be picking this up. I bought this game for PS3 and barely put 5 hours on it. I did the same for the home console versions of 1 and 2, and ended up finally completing the story and doing item-world stuff when I got the psp ports. I need to stop buying the non-portable Disgaea. This series just works better for me when I can clear a few levels during breaks.

[Gintoki]

Any idea on the size of the file? If i have to play for 1 million hours, probably it's a good idea to have it digital.

A bit over 2 gigs, according to this post on PS blog. (See response #12)

[Koren]

Hm, is there an item world equivalent in this? Have put 600+ hours into D2 just because that...

There's indeed an item world. There's also a class world (think something similar to item world, but to upgrade characters instead of items). Skill inheritance is handled through class world. There's also reverse pirating which is 5 additionnal floors for item world with special rules.

I doubt you'll need so much time in 3, though. I'm probably at 150-200h in 3 and have all r40 weapons upgraded to the max but one, six variations of the r40 equipment (one for spped, for attack, for intelligence, etc.) and currently seven maxed-out characters*.

The main difference is the Puppy Paw Stick, which is an item that allow you to duplicate your items, including innocents, quite easily (for example, you'll get your 32x19998 statisticians in probably around 5h, and once you have a perfect r40 weapon, it's easy to get one for all your characters) Granted they've kept the 20% success rate and the dummy appearance rate in class world (they've changed those in 4, making it more difficult to duplicate items)

I'd say that there's truly no reason to play "10 million hours" in this one, you'll probably max-out absolutely everything in less than 200-1000h (depending on how "perfect characters" you want)...


* Thus I would buy it on Vita only if I can transfer the save ^_^

[scy]

Mechanically speaking, for those who never played D3/D4, it's a pretty big departure from D1/D2. Weapon and Armor Mastery systems were dropped entirely and replaced with Innocents to more-or-less do the same (well, that and just upping the stats on equipment). Skill learning is tied to Mana now instead of Weapon Mastery as well so you buy your skills.

The damage formula was adjusted for more multipliers to act on Offense which results in Defensive stats being practically useless. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your take on things.

I don't know yet if there's been any actual mechanics changes with Disgaea 3 Vita :/ I'm going to go with "no" as there weren't in previous ports.

Edit: That said, the new Unique skills for Generics seem interesting. Though, looking over the few mentioned already, there's already quite a few that look to be pretty much useless in the end :(

[Zulithe]

I wish I could want this... I so badly want a new Vita game to play :( But this game is so not my thing, despite trying to convince myself through countless youtube videos. And that trailer in the OP... is the most annoying thing I have seen recently. Usually if I hear both "japanese" and "strategy" and/or "rpg" i come running, but not for this series.

Waiting for Gravity Rush still, I guess :(

[darkside31337]

Looking forward to this a ton.

I put hundreds of hours into Disgaea games on the PSP. I think I've spent like 10 hours total playing Disgaea games on PS2/PS3.

For some reason I find the franchise to be absolutely perfect on a handheld and an absolute chore to play on a console.

Looks like it's a pretty good version too which is nice.

[michaelius]

I never had time to finish this on PS3 - hopefully on Vita it will be easier to stay dedicated :)

[Kazerei]

What's New? * A Game Over screen takes you back to the Infirmary, not to the Title screen. * Battle animations will be played the first time they are executed (by the player or enemies) regardless of being turned OFF in the options. - This is something I thought it was quite neat since I usually miss most if not all of them from turning them off right from the beginning. ^ That should be added to the op.

A bit over 2 gigs, according to this post on PS blog. (See response #12)

Thanks guys, I added some info to the OP. I know there's a bunch of other minor tweaks to D3 Vita, but I haven't played it yet.