Since the days of the PlayStation 2, the Disgaea series has happily launched some of the most fun and unusual tactical role-playing games (tactical RPGs) you can imagine, and in our opinion, it does not get enough attention or credit for that.
Despite that, Disgaea 6 was a bit of a roadblock when it came out, with serious technical issues on the Switch platform and a lack of classes compared to previous titles.
Now the Disgaea train is back on track, thanks to Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless!
What Are Tactical RPGs?
Games like Fallout and Final Fantasy Tactics changed the RPG genre beyond dungeon crawling with your companions. Here we do not talk about first-person shooters (FPSs) with intense tactical play, such as CS: GO (currently CS2) and Dota 2, which are the most popular video games worldwide and highly sought-after on Irish bookmakers and other top-rated bookies offering these titles’ competitive tournaments.
In tactical role-playing games, such as the one we focused on in the article, players must combine strategy, tactical fighting (often tactical turn-based combat), and brainpower to win fights.
Disgaea Has Two Main Characters
Being placed in a particular Netherworld with samurai setting, Disgaea 7 combats the pointlessness of dealing with various Netherworlds coming out with each entry.
There are two main characters – the dishonorable samurai Fuji and Piririka, an obsessed fangirl of Bushido. Sensing that Piririka has enough money to help him pay off his debts, Fuji decides to help her in her search for the seven legendary weapons and this unusual duo embarks on a journey through the Netherworld and fights all who stand in their way.
It’s a Standard Tactical Game
You have a team of different warriors, wizards, and demons that you control on your turn. As your characters progress, they will learn new skills to aid you in combat, from long-range AoE (area of effect) attacks to massive party-wide heals.
An important aspect is picking up and throwing, and Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless is no exception. At the start of a level, you may want to move your most powerful unit deep into enemy territory by moving them along the unit line, or you may want to move the enemy away from their healing allies by throwing them across the map. New are monster throws, where monsters automatically throw when something is thrown at them.
No element of the Disgaea series requires more thought than Geo Panels. Geo Crystals placed on Geo Panels apply their effect to all panels of the same color, which can be something useful like boosting the defense of all allies. Fortunately, you can pick up, throw, or even destroy Geo Crystals to get rid of their effects or change them to your advantage. The puzzle elements that these panels apply to the game are still really interesting after more than two decades, and destroying multiple crystals to cause a chain reaction that destroys an entire screen of enemies just never gets boring.
In Disgaea 7, Not Everything Is the Same as Before
The star of the show in terms of new mechanics is Jumbification, an ability that allows one of your characters to grow larger than the entire level and generally wreak a lot of havoc. It is not something that is particularly easy to activate, which is fair considering the damage it can do.
One aspect of Vows of the Virtueless that we really appreciate is how much the returned features from the previous games have been improved to make them a little better. Whether it is a cool thematic change to feature Dark Assembly or reducing the power of the Demonic Intelligence, every aspect of the game that felt a little off last time has been vastly improved.
The Technical Problems Are Now Much Less Serious on Switch
The framerate is still not ideal, and certain special moves cause significant lag, but it is never been bad enough to put me off fights. It also allowed us to really appreciate the new 3D art style, which we definitely liked after the surprise of Disgaea 6.
With over 40 different classes this time around, Disgaea 7 feels like the most well-developed game in the series so far. All your favorite characters return from the previous games, and new additions like Bandido (our favorite), and Big Eye make a really strong impression.
The New Favorite Game in the Series, but with a Few Issues
The game which was launched on October 3 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. is generally quite demanding for new players, with increased healing costs between battles and many mechanics to learn. The technical issues, while better, are still not ideal, and the visuals are slightly blurry to compensate.
All in all, Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless is the return of the tactical game series!
