I can not get into Disgaea and I do not understand why

[ryushe]

So, a little history before I delve into the topic at hand.

I adore Tactical/Strategy RPGs. Like, a-d-o-r-e them. They are amongst my favorite genres in all of gaming, if not my favorite, and I've pretty much played them all; ranging from the most popular games in the genre, to titles so obscure, I barely even remembered I played them (Hello Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics).

However, what I adore even more than T/SRPGs, is my ability to absolutely bust them wide open, all so I can break whatever game I'm playing in half. Galeforce swordsman? Dual wielding Paladins?? Assassins with an Archers concentration ability!? Yes, please!

I am also a fan of Anime. While I am not as huge a fan anymore because I don't particularly care for most of the newer series today, I'm still enough of a fan where I'm that guy who will at least think about buying a game with an Anime look before ultimately deciding it most likely isn't worth it.

I also like my games not to take themselves too seriously. Don't get me wrong, I can and have enjoyed games that are as serious as a heart attack, but I usually gravitate towards games that can poke a little fun at itself.

With all that said, I can not ever seem get into the Disgaea series.

It all started back on the Playstation 2. Because of its low print, the first Disgaea became something of a rarity and pretty difficult to find
It just so happened I was able to snag a copy for a decent price. I enjoyed the tone and the characters and thought this was a game made specifically for me. Then I played it for about 20 hours and... just quit. I didn't dislike the game, I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would've.

Enter Disgaea 2. Despite not exactly loving the previous Disgaea, I picked this one up day one and then I dropped it even faster.

At this point, I decided this series wasn't for me. That was until they announced the Vita version of Disgaea 3. Seeing how I preferred playing RPGs on a handheld, I figured this was my time to finally get into this series. And I actually did. Despite not particularly enjoy the story or characters, it was the furthest I ever got in a Disgaea game and that was solely because I was playing it on a portable device. Still never beat it because I kind of got tired of playing it, but from that point on, the Disgaea series was a handheld series to me first and foremost.

I played Disgaea 4 for a bit and literally remember nothing about it, so, yeah...

So, we're finally at Disgaea 5. Got it on the Switch because it was the best of both worlds with it being able to be a portable game and a console game and again, I quit a few hours in and D5 is the game that made me realize that, despite this series literally embodying EVERY SINGLE THING I love in gaming and then some, I just couldn't care less about it. And... I don't understand why.

Anyone else feel the same way about Disgaea or another series that is perfect for you on paper but you couldn't care less about?

 

[Dolce]

Disgaea, as a series, are interactive clicker games. A lot of enjoyment stems from that.

 

[Damaniel]

I have the opposite problem. I hate SRPGs, but I find the 'infinitely-increasing numbers/levels' component of the game really compelling, so I want to like Disgaea. I just can't get past the SPRG part.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

I love SRPG's too and Disgaea never did it for me either. The main part I like about SRPG's are the battles which are typically made to feel like something that might play out on a battlefield similar to FFT or Tactics Ogre. Disgaea often places more importance on power levelling (using a lot of math) and placing/matching gems on a color coded field that isn't realistic. Also it sucks trying to build character towers manually when it could so easily be simplified by a few menu settings.

 

[sir_crocodile]

I don't really like any of the SRPG's where so much of the time is built creating your own custom characters. I prefer stuff like Shining Force 3 & Vandal Hearts.

Dialogue is often fun in Disgaea though (especially 4), so I sometimes bear with it for that though. But grinding for extra game stuff is so dull. ESPECIALLY getting Specialists/Innocents or whatever in item worlds, that's just the worst

 

[Deleted member 14377]

Characters, stories and writing are terrible.

 

[badcrumble]

I think a lot of it is that Disgaea (and the other NIS SRPGs) is something you break purely by making the numbers go up (rather than by mixing and matching abilities that have great synergy together), which kinda kills the illusion that you're doing anything *clever* to overpower the game.

 

[Razorrin]

It just sounds like ypu dropped them for extrinsic reasons outside of actually disliking them, then picked up the next one hopung to nail it and dropped it again.

Not criticizing you, I've had this happen to me too, but maybe the best thing for you to do is either go back to one of the prior ones and continue with renewed motivation, ans try to pace out your play sessions so you can maintain it until you at least beat it, or if you are really stuck on beating 5, try to figure out what you want out of it outside of a general sense of maybe enjoying it becauee of your love of other games.

Like, there has to either BE a reason why this happens to disgaea and not others, it happens to all your games but disgaea sticks out in your mind, or you burn out on a game and decide to push forward rather then give it a second shot after playing something else.

Personally, I think this kicks ass that you asked about this, because it can be healthy to understand why we play games a certain way. I myself tend to chew theough a game almost (definitely obsessively for like two weeks at moat before something in my brain kicks in and destroys my ability to motivate picking it back up, and it literally becomes a mental fight to follow that desire to it's conclusion.

For what it's worth, if you do get and olay Disgaea 5, I hope you have a great time and don't get caught up in trying to conquer all of your equipment's item worlds, because I can certainly see that being a factor in dropping a game since it can fluctuate wildly in difficulty to take those on early and be a bit frustrating. Maybe just the best weapons you have, and only for a little bit at a time.

Outside of that and maybe retrying easier stages and beating them with your main characters to level them up for later fights more and unlock all their good character-specific attacks and good weapon attacks, I dunno, been a while and I never played 5. Probably also don't increase the levels of all the enemies at the Dark Assembly for level grinding without putting it back down after.

 

[Dust]

Disgaea is a series way too complicated for its own sake and the poster child for endless grinding. I only liked the first game.

Disgaea is grinding enthusiast's wet dream.

 

[Lumination]

You like playing good games and grokking the systems to exploit them.

Disgaea is... not a good game and its systems are meant to be exploited, so there's less fun in grokking it in the first place.

 

[dred]

Disgaea is one of my least favorite gaming series of all time. It takes a genre I adore and approaches it from an angle I loathe. Instead of balance and challenge it embraces grinding and big numbers. There are very few gaming series I can legitimately say that I hate, but Disgaea is one of them.

 

[SabinFigaro]

This is absolutely me.

SRPGs are perhaps my favorite genre overall - absolutely adore them. I also enjoy anime, although would not say I'm a hardcore fan or connoisseur. Finally, I greatly enjoy games that can poke fun at themselves.

I remember pre-ordering Disgaea back in the day and being super-hyped for it. It was... fine. I did beat it, but never went in-depth regarding the insanity that is attempting completion. I only dabbled in the sequel but no further entries thereafter.

I think it really boils down to the game play. I can overlook a lot of things if the core game is addictive, but Disgaea does not do it for me. It felt like "Numbers: The Game", which is ironic because a big part of why I love SRPGs is min-maxing and making perfect characters. Disgaea does this, but to the nth degree and seems to suck the joy out of doing so. Grind grind grind, get those levels, fill those bars, big numbers baby. There is no balance - there is just the grind.

 

[ErichWK]

Too much grinding. I really wanted to like the first one.

 

[Igor]

I think there's a video called "Disgaea 5 is the best game of all time" or something like this and it delves into what makes it tick, and I think Game Maker's Toolkit also did mention the game in a video about where the actual game lies in video games. The thing is Disgaea is not really a strategy game, it's a game about menus and breaking systems that run those menus, it seems it's about customisation, grinding and messing with that. Like you are given really early on balance breaking characters because the fun is not in the strategy, it's in getting these crazy numbers, flashy combos and bending the game to do whatever you want with it systems wise.

So yeah I can't get into it either and sRPGs are some of my fave games ever (give me Tactics Ogre LUCT on Switch pwease). Although recently when the game was on trials I spent about 7 hours with it once I approached it as this monstrum to fuck around with - it was the first time I had fun with it. So I am waiting till 5 goes on sale for 10 bucks.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

This is absolutely me.

SRPGs are perhaps my favorite genre overall - absolutely adore them. I also enjoy anime, although would not say I'm a hardcore fan or connoisseur. Finally, I greatly enjoy games that can poke fun at themselves.

I remember pre-ordering Disgaea back in the day and being super-hyped for it. It was... fine. I did beat it, but never went in-depth regarding the insanity that is attempting completion. I only dabbled in the sequel but no further entries thereafter.

I think it really boils down to the game play. I can overlook a lot of things if the core game is addictive, but Disgaea does not do it for me. It felt like "Numbers: The Game", which is ironic because a big part of why I love SRPGs is min-maxing and making perfect characters. Disgaea does this, but to the nth degree and seems to suck the joy out of doing so. Grind grind grind, get those levels, fill those bars, big numbers baby. There is no balance - there is just the grind.

Click to shrink...

This also. The characters don't mean much if they are just vessels for grinding and have no real defining characteristics. I normally would have fell in love with characters like Flonne, Jennifer, and Thursday, but they just ended up being another part of the game that requires levelling up.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Disgaea can be pretty overwhelming in terms of mechanics and their depth. I tell everyone that plays them that the story mode is essentially the tutorial and the bulk of the game really starts with the post game maps and carnage world. Also it's a fair point that typically the story quest usually lasts about 25 to 30 hours, and everything else can easily reach into the 100 to 200 hour mark.

That being said, I understand the game isn't for everyone. Despite being a Strategy RPG, most of the maps can be brute forced. It's sort of like DBZ in a sense in which no amount of planning will prepare you against an enemy with a massively higher power level. Although there is X-Dimension / Dark World maps in Disgaea 2, 3, and 4 which are basically puzzle style maps which do require a degree of critical thinking, but these are so far into the post game most folks barely scratch the surface if they simply play the short story mode and move on without touching the extensive post-game content.

Although there is a massive gulf from Disgaea 1 to Disgaea 5 in terms of quality of life and ease into getting into the game. The game never takes itself seriously and it knows it which why the wacky and over the top mechanics kind of distinguishes it from rest of the genre.

If the barrier of mechanics seems a bit much to some, I've tried to make a palatable breakdown of how most of the systems work. It can be found in the first two posts of the Disgaea 5 OT on the old forum. I'd like to repurpose that information here just for the sake of usefulness for others who play the games, but I'd understand if the game isn't to some folks taste.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I think a lot of it is that Disgaea (and the other NIS SRPGs) is something you break purely by making the numbers go up (rather than by mixing and matching abilities that have great synergy together), which kinda kills the illusion that you're doing anything *clever* to overpower the game.

Click to shrink...

Yup. Like you can absolutely break Disgaea, but it's not a mechanically ENTERTAINING kind of "break the game". You're just overpowering it with sheer numbers, and it gets old pretty fast.

 

[ara]

I have the opposite problem. I hate SRPGs, but I find the 'infinitely-increasing numbers/levels' component of the game really compelling, so I want to like Disgaea. I just can't get past the SPRG part.

Click to shrink...

Good news, the next one has autobattle! Not sure how it works exactly, but I'm genuinely looking forward to approaching it like one of those idle/clicker type games, where numbers go up and it makes The Brain Feel Good. I do love SRPGs generally, but Disgaea is definitely a completely different beast ss far as I'm concerned.

 

[Takohiko]

I really enjoyed the first one, and the Story pushed me to finish it when the tiredness of the grind hit me from time to time. I was unemployed and in between jobs back then, so I sinked 288hrs in it, min maxing and unlocking things. I loved Phantom Brave too.

I cannot get into the series anymore though. I know how much grind is needed, how many subsystems have been added, how much more complicated levelling your party and items is now in the latest installments, and basically, I think that the reason of grind vs the few story drops are not enough anymore to keep me entertained.
Too many menus and things to do, I would rather spend time on other games that I can actually finish (even if it's games like the Witcher 3 where I did 100% of all quests and DLC and put a lot of hours into, time is not necessarily the issue but more the time spent in menu and repeating the same actions in them over and over).

 

[panda-zebra]

Weird OP, "beating" the game you mean just getting through the story mode? That's not even the beginning of a Disgaea game and after the first one it's never really been something I've looked forward to. I suppose if you did that in isolation I can see why it wouldn't work for some people.

I was recently playing Disgaea 4 Compete+ on ps4 as something to pass time until the ps5 arrived, no intention of "completing" it or even a passing thought of obtaining the platinum, but just to rinse a bit of the good stuff I really like out of it. And I really do love these games, have done since I bought the first one day 1 on ps2 they're right up there in my top 3 games of all time (I lump all Disgaea together), but the story mode was not something I ever really cared for after the first game.

In that current playthrough I'm well over 100 hours in yet I think I'm on level 8 or 9 in the story maybe, because it's just not interesting or why I play these games, yet I've reincarnated my Valvatorez from 9999 many times over, have some other nicely powerful characters, tons of pirate ship parts and had been taking on the weekly online challenges to get some really nice rarity 0 high level gear that I'd need to unlock another game area to obtain normally.

I think just playing them for the story is missing the point or rather missing what's really fun about them, but even then it works for some people (my mate only does this and drops the game every time, he can't comprehend level 9999 even being a thing never mind getting there, wanting to get there or having any idea how to do it even semi-efficiently) but that's fine, there'sa number off ways to get some fun out of them.

Personally I've just always loved the item world and how it's progressed over the iterations of the game. If you can embrace that, hit it hard and fast as soon as the game lets you, you can cheekily get away with stuff you really shouldn't quite quickly and become pretty strong over anything you'd meet int the story in no time.

 

[EmmaDansTonU]

So, a little history before I delve into the topic at hand.

I adore Tactical/Strategy RPGs. Like, a-d-o-r-e them. They are amongst my favorite genres in all of gaming, if not my favorite, and I've pretty much played them all; ranging from the most popular games in the genre, to titles so obscure, I barely even remembered I played them (Hello Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics).

However, what I adore even more than T/SRPGs, is my ability to absolutely bust them wide open, all so I can break whatever game I'm playing in half. Galeforce swordsman? Dual wielding Paladins?? Assassins with an Archers concentration ability!? Yes, please!

I am also a fan of Anime. While I am not as huge a fan anymore because I don't particularly care for most of the newer series today, I'm still enough of a fan where I'm that guy who will at least think about buying a game with an Anime look before ultimately deciding it most likely isn't worth it.

I also like my games not to take themselves too seriously. Don't get me wrong, I can and have enjoyed games that are as serious as a heart attack, but I usually gravitate towards games that can poke a little fun at itself.

With all that said, I can not ever seem get into the Disgaea series.

It all started back on the Playstation 2. Because of its low print, the first Disgaea became something of a rarity and pretty difficult to find
It just so happened I was able to snag a copy for a decent price. I enjoyed the tone and the characters and thought this was a game made specifically for me. Then I played it for about 20 hours and... just quit. I didn't dislike the game, I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would've.

Enter Disgaea 2. Despite not exactly loving the previous Disgaea, I picked this one up day one and then I dropped it even faster.

At this point, I decided this series wasn't for me. That was until they announced the Vita version of Disgaea 3. Seeing how I preferred playing RPGs on a handheld, I figured this was my time to finally get into this series. And I actually did. Despite not particularly enjoy the story or characters, it was the furthest I ever got in a Disgaea game and that was solely because I was playing it on a portable device. Still never beat it because I kind of got tired of playing it, but from that point on, the Disgaea series was a handheld series to me first and foremost.

I played Disgaea 4 for a bit and literally remember nothing about it, so, yeah...

So, we're finally at Disgaea 5. Got it on the Switch because it was the best of both worlds with it being able to be a portable game and a console game and again, I quit a few hours in and D5 is the game that made me realize that, despite this series literally embodying EVERY SINGLE THING I love in gaming and then some, I just couldn't care less about it. And... I don't understand why.

Anyone else feel the same way about Disgaea or another series that is perfect for you on paper but you couldn't care less about?

Click to shrink...

I m in the same boat. I love trpg (shining force 2 and vandal heart are my favorite ones), i like japanime and love dumb stories.

i only player disgaea 5 on switch, i liked the tone and humor, but like 20h later i just quited the game. The gameplay is just bland and confusing, and the unlimited farming loop is depressing

 

[Goddo Hando]

i think i was 6 hours into the Disgaea 5 Complete trial on switch and they were still introducing new systems for the game when i noped out. Game was way too complicated for my simple brain

 

[aett]

I loved the first three Disgaea games (as well as Makai Kingdom, a lot) but the only story I enjoyed was the first game's. However, for whatever reason, I just couldn't get into 4 or 5 at all. I found the stories instantly uninteresting as opposed to just mediocre, and there were just too many game systems going on at once.

 

[Magneto]

Disgaea 5 is so good.

I kinda understand OP, there's some games that i feel like they're made for me and i'm not liking them.

I love everything about Disgaea to be honest, i guess the game isn't for everyone.

 

[DealWithIt]

Characters, stories and writing are terrible.

Click to shrink...

This is very true, but I do enjoy D1 which is very funny.

D5's writing is unbearably bad but the gameplay is very on point.

 

[ryushe]

I loved Phantom Brave too.

Click to shrink...

Wanna hear something wild?

I really enjoy Phantom Brave.

 

[ClearMetal]

I like the characters, I like the lore, I like the classes, I like the aesthetics. But aside from D4 on the Vita I have never been able to get into them either. I think it's a combination of reliance on geo effects and the Item World. The story (""tutorial"") is often fine, but then the game expects you to make sense of shit living inside your gear, and strengthening them through the mess that is the Item World, and my brain can't comprehend it.

Doesn't help that there are so. many. items with the same name yet slightly different strengths or effects. Even basic restoratives aren't exempt!

 

[Hippopuncher12]

I am the same OP, I love SRPG's but I have tried several Disgaea games, and I can't get more than a couple of hours into one before I never play it again. They are just overly boring to me for some reason.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

Wanna hear something wild?

I really enjoy Phantom Brave.

Click to shrink...

Me too actually.

Makai Kingdom > Phantom Brave > Disgaea 1 story chapters ....in my book.

I guess it was the focus on story, music, and new battle systems that captivated me on these vs the newer Disgaea games.

 

[Kunka Kid]

The later games can be pretty overwhelming.

This won't help OP obviously, but I recommend starting with 1 or 2. They hadn't laid on as many systems, etc at that point.

 

[GamerJM]

I'm almost the exact same way OP, except the only game in the series I tried was 4. I love everything the Disgaea games stand for; SRPGs, crazy leveling systems/stats, lots of minmaxing, seeing numbers go up (I unironically LOVE this in other games), goofy throw-everything-at-the-wall humor, and anime in general. Yet I didn't enjoy 4 at all and dropped it after a few hours. It's just so.....slow. Sure, the capacity for having characters with crazy stat growth is there but it seemed like a huge time commitment to get there. The mechanics didn't really click with me either, if I remember correctly it felt like something where there was a big emphasis on terrain positioning and no kind of weakness system.

 

[Razorrin]

I agree with Makai Kingdom being the best, it totally is and it should be remastered someday. It is very fun and the main character is the best. It also has great music and the overall mechanics were very fun and interesting.

 

[ryushe]

Disgaea, as a series, are interactive clicker games. A lot of enjoyment stems from that.

Click to shrink...

You know what, I've never really thought of the Disgaea games that way. I can maybe see that point of view, but I think the draw with clickers is how little effort it takes for the numbers to get really high. Disgaea takes a bunch of work before you can see the silly stuff.

But, I have been known to enjoy clickers from time to time, so maybe if I look at the Disgaea games in that way, I might enjoy them more, because, despite the fact I struck out 5 times with this series in the past, I'm still kind of interested in Disgaea 6..

 

[exodus]

I have the opposite problem. I hate SRPGs, but I find the 'infinitely-increasing numbers/levels' component of the game really compelling, so I want to like Disgaea. I just can't get past the SPRG part.

Click to shrink...

The iOS version of Disgaea 1 has an auto-battle mode that essentially turns the game into a management incremental game.

I really hope that feature makes its way to new releases on consoles.

 

[Doggg]

I tried a demo on Switch and couldn't get into it either.

 

[Deleted member 2180]

I think the only Disgaea game I went complete ham with is the 3rd game, for the rest I've only play the story mode. It's so hard to get back into item world, but x dimension is great

 

[maouvin]

I was never a SRPG person, but Disgaea and the other N1 games got me into the genre. Disgaea 1 with its sillyness and absurd numbers was an absolute joy, and I was always day one on the sequels.

But with each new title, the increasing complexness of the system - new stuff, usually nice, but that became too much - added to getting older and with less time for grinding, is slowly killing my appreciation for the series - I always finish the story, but with each entry I do less of the post game. I wonder if I would've played 2 through 5 if the original one wasn't didn't leave such a positive impression on past me.

Disgaea 6, of course, also announced a lot of interesting changes, and is coming straight to a "portable" device, but it's now something I'll only grab during a sale. Also those 3D models bother me.

And I too endorse a remake for Makai Kingdom - even a localized port for the PSP version.

 

[Xavi]

I feel you OP, I love SRPGs too but I just can't get into Disgaea. I like my games strategy games with low level caps and stats in the 100s AT MOST, but with disgaea it's just ridiculous. I also don't like the aesthetic of the game.

 

[werezompire]

I like RPGs that are tightly balanced and Disgaea is the opposite of that.

 

[Kaguya]

Tactics in Disgaea is in min-maxing your leveling up strats, it's not an SRPG you play to figure out how beat things strategically. It's the Serious Sam of SRPGs.

 

[Laser Ramon]

My problem with Disgaea is that I don't play it often enough because I know I'll lose hours of my time

 

[Grimmjow]

The only ones I've actually enjoyed were D1 and D2. The gamplay is still solid but the stories for the later titles do nothing for me.

 

[Metroidvania]

Yeah....Disgaea is less about Srpg 'tactics', and more blunt force grinding/exploits to either get your imaginary stats up high enough, or otherwise use the exploits like geo symbol effects to break the game open.

There's not really anything to 'exploit' in the same way like finding a good build in an sRPG like FF:Tactics does - the scaling is too exponential.

You can find a few 'plateeaus' where you can easily overpower the enemy....right up until you reach the next mountain-esque enemy boss with a massively inflated hitpool for its level.

Then you reincarnate/item world dive, level back up, and repeat.

It's a fun game series (for me, at least), but it's not a 'thinking'-type of sRPG. It's a 'manage the systems/menus' type of SRPG to 'minimize' grind time/maximize exploiting the systems.

I think there's a video called "Disgaea 5 is the best game of all time" or something like this and it delves into what makes it tick, and I think Game Maker's Toolkit also did mention the game in a video about where the actual game lies in video games. The thing is Disgaea is not really a strategy game, it's a game about menus and breaking systems that run those menus, it seems it's about customisation, grinding and messing with that. Like you are given really early on balance breaking characters because the fun is not in the strategy, it's in getting these crazy numbers, flashy combos and bending the game to do whatever you want with it systems wise.

Click to shrink...

Definitely agree with this - it's all about the big numbers and abusing stuff like the level 99 glitch, and less about the actual tactics.

Certain games are better than others at the 'tactics' aspect (3 and 4 are horrendous with the 1-shot kill ability percentage boosts), and 5 is arguably better at the 'tactics' part compared to some of the other entries.

Honestly, I'm super curious as to what D6 tries to go for - if it really embraces the rogue-like aspect as another 'system' to be overcome, or if it's actually a massive change-up.

 

[ryushe]

It's the Serious Sam of SRPGs.

Click to shrink...

I'm definitely going to use this from now on.

 

[Calabi]

I like RPGs that are tightly balanced and Disgaea is the opposite of that.

Click to shrink...

That's what I like about it, not every game has to be perfectly balanced. Developers obsess and optimise, and balance things to much sometimes. Its great when developers just let you have fun and break things sometimes. You can do all kind's of stuff in the Disgaea games and there's no penalty's there's no gimping characters and messing up, and I don't think anyone's mentioned the cool throwing strategies you can do, they even have a cheat shop where you can basically just mess around with options they never let you in other games, the point is to break things. Disgaea games are like the sandbox of SRPG's where you can just do whatever you want.