2023-10-30 18:12:00
Two years after the release of Disgaea 6 on Nintendo Switch, and its export to PC, PS4 and PS5 a year later, Nippon Ichi Software gives us a new opus of its flagship series. This time, we go to the Underworld of Hinomoto, renowned for its Bushidos and their code of honor, all with a good dose of humor that NIS has the secret of! You will have already seen it by looking at the rating, this latest part of the franchise that is Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless is simply excellent! Let’s see together why, while avoiding spoilers as much as possible, as usual.
If you already follow us, you have known for a long time, we greatly appreciate the work of NIS (Nippon Ichi Software) for their offerings that are both offbeat but also very sophisticated, some of these games are even part of unmissable cults! For Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless, an SRPG/TRPG, the developers take the formula of the sixth part – and old opuses – and enrich it again in a beautiful way, offering once again, a lifespan colossal! All with an obviously new and well-written story.
For honor!
Accessible in our beautiful language of Molière, this adventure takes us to the heart of new Underworlds including that of Hinomoto -Feudal Japan sauce-. At the time, this place was recognized for its Bushidos, and obviously their code of honor -following the path of the warrior-, the demons themselves going so far as to adopt this lifestyle, and therefore this particular code. Unfortunately, the arrival of Admiral Expandor has turned everything upside down, and as a result, the Bushidos are struggling to survive in these new imposed conditions…
It is in this Underworld that we meet Fuji, “Bushido” by name, but not by honor since he does not respect the code, he is “unhealthy”, without a sense of honor, and seeks above all to make money. But also Pirilika, a very, very rich entrepreneur, the latter having a great weakness for the Bushidos, and everything she knows about them on the subject, understand by this a “devouring” passion. When she learns that everything has changed following the appearance of Admiral Expandor, the young lady is in turmoil, she would like to restore the Bushidos’ way of life. Fuji then offers to help him in exchange for very large financial compensation. The two young people then join forces for a “great adventure”.
For this last part, Nippon Ichi Software draws as usual on a humorous and offbeat tone, this time with Feudal Japan and the Bushidos in the spotlight. Without going into all the details, the studio’s writing is once again very pleasant, whether for the development of the characters, their delicious interactions, moreover the duo Fuji and Pirilika, with “opposite personalities” works really well, or even just each person’s story. In short, a narration of high quality that is a pleasure to see, especially since we still benefit from a French text version, again very careful in its translation, with a whole host of puns and other joys. Let us note in passing that the dialogues are dubbed in English or Japanese.
Some new features for gameplay that is still as complete as ever
For its gameplay, Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless does not do things by halves since we find all the usual recipe of the franchise, both through the combat and the improvements from the HUB. Regulars will therefore not be in any way disoriented and will discover some “major” new features, and that’s fair to say.
As a reminder, before engaging in a confrontation by selecting an Underworld and a stage, we find ourselves within a HUB, here a ship, governing all the functionalities specific to the preparation of the characters. Once again, we greatly appreciate refining our favorite warriors, customization logically taking a prominent and central place in the software, even in the series for that matter, and is intended to be as complete and unimaginable as possible.
Without re-explaining everything – don’t hesitate to reread old reviews for more information – we can take advantage of the services of a good forty classes (with some new ones) having their own specificities according to their name (archer , mage, warrior, some favoring melee, others distance, etc.), their affinities with weapons and elementals.
We can obviously equip them with new protections, other weapons to acquire, or even subsequently manage their IM: Maleficent Intelligence. Yes, this functionality introduced in Disgaea 6 serving – like FFXII Gambits – to record and modify action commands – to perform automatic combos – is back! Just like reincarnation. Among the other “shops” and installations located at the heart of this HUB, we have the Hospital to treat its minions and protagonists, while obtaining another type of currency, the side missions, the various shopping shops, the ” world of objects” for farming, the Cheat Counter can modify the allocation of experience, and so on, as we said earlier, this part always turns out to be as complete and rich .
Once the preparation is complete, it’s time for battles in a multitude of varied areas even with a good dose of verticality. Like a classic TRPG, but also the integration of dedicated mechanics from Disgaea, it is a question of properly placing your units on a gridded terrain then annihilating our different adversaries whether according to classes, skills, throws (a specificity specific to Disgaea) increasing the movement range. You can even chain combos together, counter-attack, exploit weaknesses, or even use color blocks (Geocases) corresponding to bonuses and penalties. In short, the foundations that made the saga famous are there, to our greatest happiness.
In addition to all this, the title from Nippon Ichi Software has several new elements such as the transformation into giant characters. Both valid for allies and enemies, the transformation into Megamax brings added value in the sense that we can very quickly overcome a group of annoying adversaries. By combining this Megamax trait with Megabricks, this means interesting bonuses (increase in damage, etc.) transmitted to the different units; tactics go up a notch when our opponents have damaging bonuses. In these cases, the elimination of the Megabrick associated with the enemy Megamax becomes the priority target to take down! In addition, speaking of surprises, we also have Luciferian mode, the latter – accessible for the protagonists of the main adventure and linked to a gauge – allows access to devastating special skills.
Great atmosphere
Let’s now continue with the technical, sound and visual aspects of this latest Disgaea opus. As for D6, two graphics modes are available: “Quality and Performance”. The software benefits from a 2D/3D mix that is still pleasant for the retina with the very famous identity of the saga. That is to say excellent character design, many types of environments and diversity of zones, details, color, very well drawn artworks and here a Japanese association (Feudal Japan) that is simply at the top. In short, if you like the AD of the franchise, and Feudal Japan, you will definitely love it! The same goes for the soundtrack which corresponds really well to the adventure experienced. Note that the texts are in French, while the voices are available in Japanese or English.
Tested on PS5
Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless should delight longtime fans, as was our case. Between its well-written narrative adventure, its Japanese Feudal Japan atmosphere, its characters and their personality, a translation always at the top, or its rich content, without forgetting some great new features and the pleasure of playing, Disgaea 7 will be able to make a great place under the tree and during next year’s MaXoE Festival.
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