Discussion Disgaea 7 review

[salty_apollyon]

so today i want to do something special, since i finished it i want to give some of my thoughts on disgaea 7.
i will divide this review in 4 posts where i'll talk 4 aspects of the game, these will be:

-techincal
-gameplay
-story/dialogue
-audio visual

 

[salty_apollyon]

alright let's start with the most basic and probably the aspect that i will talk the less about.
the game is stable surprisingly stable at least when it comes to bugs or crashes, something that sadly is a miracle nowadays during my 100+ hours in this game i experienced a maximum of 1 or 2 crashes and im pretty sure those happened after i had left the game open for more than 8 hours without doing anything.

now in regards of performance i will say that i played the switch version so some of the issues i came across are probably related to that, still tho i find it hard that a game this game being much smaller(i suppose) has more performance issues than something like xenoblade 2.

now when you first step into what is the game nexus you'll notice that HOLY SHIT the game struggles with its fps, luckily and for some reason this issue happens only in the beggining, as you play you'll notice that for whatever reason this problem dissapears and you play through the campaign, i don't know how this works but it does,

now in the actual game and how maps and animations play it's quite stable, not quite 60 fps but i'd say around 50 with dips on maps that have many visual effects.

personally i don't mind it much since it's a strategy rpg, but if it's a big deal for you the game comes with an option to choose between graphics or performance, i tried both options and performance mode is somewhat noticeable while still keeping the game decent looking.

 

[salty_apollyon]

now let's talk about one of disgaeas strongest suits gameplay
but before that i will say that i did not play disgaea 6 so my last experience before this game is 5 so if any of the changes mentioned here were implemented in 6 then i ask you to be patient with me for this is out of my realm of knowledge

short version: it's good.
long version: the game still plays like disgaea with some quality of life changes and surprisingly well balanced classes and of course some stupidly high damage numbers that you can achieve through different sorts of grinding.

the first aspect of the gameplay i think it's worth talking about is the types of units you can get in this game.
besides the main cast from the story and some DLCs characters disgaea 7 allows you to create your own units based on 45 different classes each one with its own weaknesses and strenghts along with unique skills and abilities, you have your classic mages, warriors, archers and healers both in male and female forms which do vary in stats and specialties depending on sex(very based) but you also have other usefull classes like thiefs that can steal equipment from enemies, all sorts of supports and of course the monster classes
here are some of the classes you may recruit along the game

as mentioned before disgaea 7 has all sorts of skills, both generic and unique to each class and with all sorts of effects and areas of effect.
if disgaea has something that makes it stand out from other srpgs is the fact that the game allows you to customize and specialize your units however you want via the use of multiple mechanics.

speaking of grinding and such disgaea 7 makes a lot of QoL changes in this regard with things such as the juice bar which lets you freely use stat points that you get as reward throught the game on whatever unit you want and in whatever quantity you want as long as you have said amount of points in your possesion

another thing is the removal of the character world in exchange for all the upgrades that could be obtained there now being obtainable through the dark assembly.
[for those that don't know the dark assembly is a mechanic that allows you to unlock certain upgrades both for general use and specific to a unit im pretty sure you can find more details in any wiki of the series]

there have been changes to other aspects like expeditions which in 5 let you get items and currencies in exchange of the characters sent to them could not be used for an amount of levels, this has been changed you can now send units to these expeditions while still being able to use them in any map you want which surely helps because you no longer have to dela with 100+ units that you need to send to expeditions and some which you personally will use in the actual game.


so far i've only taled about the good aspects about the gameplay sure, but that of course doesn't mean that it's all great i specially don't like two of the changes made in this game and both are related, the first one being the removal of the bonus bar in exchange for stage specific misions.
this is because the two mechanics reward way different playstyles with the bonus gauge being more in line with the essence of disgaea.

the bonus gauge would fill the more damage you did and with how many chained attacks you had during your turns, this would reward you for playing agressively and getting as many hits as you could during your turn you know, kinda like a ruthless and flexible demon army.

however the stage specific missions go against this play style, not only do most of them require you to limit the type or the amount of units you deploy, but also you will lose on rewards for a single unit dying which does discourage that agresive style that i like so much and it even goes against the fact that you get rewarded everytime you go and heal your units at the games nexus.

now for the other change i don't like is that the item world also uses these same missions and it's incredibly restrictive about how you play too.
take that into account plus the fact that you can now level up items through expeditions and the item world becomes extremely useless


but anyways, besides those two stinkers the game itself is pretty well balanced and with there being so many ways to upgrade units you have a good amount of options to make your dream team

 

[salty_apollyon]

okay before i start this post there WILL be spoilers for the main story, kinda.

the story of D7 takes place in hinnomoto a cluster of netherworlds based around traditional japan where apparently a merchant has aquired enough influence to overthrow the shogunate and has put every region of hinnomoto under its control, making the lives of everyone worse and trying to open the borders of the region.

our main protagonists are fuji a samurai who has abandoned the path of bushido in favor of becoming a cut throat warrior who only works for money and pirilika a hinnomoto otaku who wants to restore the region to its former glory

along with these you'll also come across:
yeyasu: current shogun of hinnomoto who is a coward, a womanizer and an idiot but still with a good hearth
suisen: a robot looking boy who happens to be yeyasus little brother and usually keeps his brother out of trouble
ao: fujis daughter and galaxy level threat to the world
ceefore: weapon otaku that just kinda blends in with he background
higan:fujis amazonian tomboy master who despite being a tard and having an obsession with sweets and asses manages to be the seccond strongest character in the main rooster

now in regards to the main party id say they are mostly fine, their designs are visually pleasing and their VAs did some good job specially fuji and pirilika and they have some level of chemistry between eachother tho mostly comedic with everyone having some character development along the story
all except for one, that being ceefore who holy shit feels incredibly underdeveloped and remains like that for the entire plot which is crazy since she's one of the first characters to be introduced

in fact a lot of aspects and twists of the story feel rushed or undercooked but ceefore is the biggest victim of this.
which is a shame since everyone else gets some love in the story and even tho they may be a bit 2 dimensional the cast is very lovable

in this regard i think the strongest characters are
1- fuji
2-ao
3-yeyasu
4-pirilika
5-higan
6-suisen
7-ceefore

okay that's enough negativity let's talk about some of the good things the story/dialogue has.
the comedy is still there like with any other games in the series and is specially unhinged during the skits you get after a chapter ends so there's not much i can say about it

TLDR characters are fun even if simplistic(for the most part)
story is a pacing mess
comedy is good

oh right i almost forgot the localization is on the same level as your average NISA game meaning holy shit they love using millenial/zoomer slang which i find extremely cringe

 

[salty_apollyon]

now to finish how does the game look/sound?

i will say that it's pretty good, even if i don't really like thet fact that they use chibis the models themselves are that bad and have some nice atention to detail
and the animations while still lacking that special punch that the 2d sprites had are still pretty good looking and based on what i've been told are also an upgrade on 6s animations

the music itself is also good being a mix of modern and traditional instruments, nothing that special but you may still find yourself vibing along some themes without noticing

 

[salty_apollyon]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

my brain is fried, disgaea 7 is a decent game with a lot of its flaws coming from what feels like rushed development.
but the good things are still worth it.

i'd say get it if you have nothing better to play and probably grab it during a sale

 

[RaptorJesus]

now in regards of performance i will say that i played the switch version so some of the issues i came across are probably related to that, still tho i find it hard that a game this game being much smaller(i suppose) has more performance issues than something like xenoblade 2.

I attribute a lot of that to, quite frankly, good working around the limitations of the Switch for XBC2. For instance, with the more graphically intensive stuff with tons of particles, the special attacks of the Blades for instance, it goes to a VERY close-in camera and deliberate slow motion so they don't hit any slowdowns.

In regards to being rushed, be glad you skipped 6. Disgaea 7 feels like what they wanted to make with 6, but they only had Twenty-Two (22) generic classes, including monsters, with four (Psychic Mecha Girl, Evil Eye, and the crabs being the new classes). Needless to say they all returned for Disgaea 7, plus much more.

 

[PhantomXero1x]

i think im off from nis games honestly now after the 6th disgaea game so im good on the series.

 

[HYppog]

What about the lewdness and sexual innuendo like flat jokes? Did they sanitize it?

Thank you for this writing. Your review seem to put this on positive light except for this one : "the localization is on the same level as your average NISA game" - which would inevitably leave bitter taste in my mouth if I ever get it.

 

[salty_apollyon]

i think im off from nis games honestly now after the 6th disgaea game so im good on the series.

that's understandable, while 7 is still an upgrade on 6 it still needs a bit more cooking.

also im not a shill son don't worry my intention isn't to change someones mind, just kinda talk about a game i played

 

[salty_apollyon]

What about the lewdness and sexual innuendo like flat jokes? Did they sanitize it?

Thank you for this writing. Your review seem to put this on positive light except for this one : "the localization is on the same level as your average NISA game" - which would inevitably leave bitter taste in my mouth if I ever get it.

oh yeah sure, funnily enough the lewdness and sexual inuendos are still there and you can check that by looking at the fact that yeyasu trying to flirt with ao(blue loli) was left intact or the fact that almost every charater with tits has some really nice physics to their melons, there are also plenty of panty shots, asses and lolis too

what i mostly meant with the NISA quality is the fact that a lot of times specially with characters that speak in funny ways or have accents the localizers will use more modern slang, which can be quite annoying

 

[RaptorJesus]

Higan in particular really, really has a thing for inserting spears into rectums.

 

[PhantomXero1x]

that's understandable, while 7 is still an upgrade on 6 it still needs a bit more cooking.

also im not a shill son don't worry my intention isn't to change someones mind, just kinda talk about a game i played

How the fuck is nis still in buisness since all they really do is the same games more or less oh wait, nvm im sure they must be funded by blackrock/dei type companies on the lowkey and i wouldn't be surprised if they start pushing falcom to do that and falcom fans on discord are some huge troonsphobes lol and im one of them lol.

 

[PhantomXero1x]

oh yeah sure, funnily enough the lewdness and sexual inuendos are still there and you can check that by looking at the fact that yeyasu trying to flirt with ao(blue loli) was left intact or the fact that almost every charater with tits has some really nice physics to their melons, there are also plenty of panty shots, asses and lolis too

View attachment 18045

what i mostly meant with the NISA quality is the fact that a lot of times specially with characters that speak in funny ways or have accents the localizers will use more modern slang, which can be quite annoying

NISA games along with AKYS published games have some of the worst lolcowlizations you can ever find and every fucking trails game i played i hate it so much to the point i have yet to give a single falcom game a 5 because of how, fucked up the lolcowlization and tranyslations really are.