Disgaea Hour of Darkness (PS2)

For starters, characters can rise to level 9999, should you have the determination to take them there. That's right, I said Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine. There are approximately 150 playable classes, with some 80 or so being humanoid, and the rest being mythical creatures. There are literally hundreds of types of weapon, and you can customise each to suit your needs. There simply is not enough room in a review to describe one tenth part of what makes disgaea a sublime pleasure to play.

Put simply, if you don't have a huge grin plastered all over your face by the time you finish the first chapter, then you are not a fan of SRPGs. This genre of games has reached it's ultimate evolution.

It is a strategy RPG similar in execution to Vandal hearts on the PS1 or Ring of Red on PS2. You move your eclectic bunch of Anti-Hero's (more on that later) around a 3D landscape taking turns to bash your opponents (a bit like chess on acid). Each character has a range of movement and specific abilities depending on their class. Spell casters, healers, archers, gunmen and warriors are among the more generic classes available but each enemy you defeat becomes a useable character, a nice twist.
The story (such as it is) surrounds the attempts of Prince Laharl (a loudmouthed pre pubescent demon) to become ruler of the netherworld following the death of his father. That is as complicated as it gets, but the story is told with an irreverent style that is bawdy, funny and sometimes downright rude. The characters are voiced very well in the main and some interactions are fall about funny.
If you are a graphics junky and need your eyes to blistered with superb FMV and in game beauty to fully enjoy a game do not buy Disgaea. The graphics are not really far beyond a PS1 game. The sprites are well drawn with a Manga feel and the story sections are told with hand drawn still images. These capture the personalities of the characters very well but are far from revolutionary. And that is the only criticism I can level at this game.
Earlier I mentioned Anti-Hero's. The central cast are demons bent on totalitarian rule over the netherworld and are not too concerned about how they achieve it; this is a refreshing approach and the source of much of the humour.
Game play is slick and the menus, though copious, are easy to navigate. The strategy elements are satisfying and the number of different classes available (150 apparently) keeps the game play fresh as you try new things with new characters. Some levels have coloured Geo-Panels that have status effect linked to them (-50% defence, double money etc) they can be destroyed and can cause chain reactions across the whole map wiping out your enemies and you if you don't plan enough. Team attacks mean that up to 4 characters (if they are compatible enough) will attack one opponent for a devastating attack and consecutive attacks gain bonus damage as long as the chain isn't interrupted. Damage bonuses for attacking from above, beside or behind your opponent add to the strategic element. Finally Throwing!!? You can pick up and throw allies and enemies alike and throw them across the map allowing you to reach Islands, high areas or just lob a bad guy closer to an ally who can do more damage. You can stack players on top of each other and as each player at the bottom of the pile throws you can quickly traverse the level. Prinnies (undead stuffed penguins! I told you it was bonkers) explode if you throw them causing damage to all around.
In the castle that acts as your central hub you have a number of other pursuits. First the item world, every item has 100 levels inside it and you can enter each and every item and battle through it to increase its power and capture specialists that can be transferred into other items. This is a great idea and a great place to try out and power up your team.
The Dark assembly is a senate of powerful netherworld inhabitants who you have to win over to get the best goodies available. You can get approval for new items, new worlds and increases stats. You can change your character into other classes and retain some of their original powers and if you want to create a very powerful character you will also need their approval. As with all politicians they can be bribed or bullied into giving you what you want and if the answer is still no then you can fight them and bludgeon them into submission.
There is a hospital that gives you presents depending on how much damage you receive, a shop than gets better the more you buy and 8 different ending you can achieve. Once you have completed the game you can start again with all your characters and special abilities intact.
I love this game, despite its graphical shortcomings it has a freshness about it that is very welcome in a sea of generic copies and sequels, it doesn't attempt to take itself seriously at all and concentrated its efforts on compelling, slick and enjoyable gameplay. It is well worth your effort even if you have never played an RPG before. You will be enchanted by a slice of pure gaming heaven (or hell as the setting would have it). Any game with exploding penguins has to be worth your attention. Buy it NOW.