I like Disgaea and the new title Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless. It’s a unique series, to say the least; mixing tactical SRPG elements with a comedic storyline and some arguably ridiculous mechanics. In what other SRPG can you throw your allies across the battlefield or slap your enemies with a pile of your friends? Unfortunately, the series has had a tough time of it recently with the most recent entry, Disgaea 6, prioritising 3D visuals but losing some of the unique sense of style and variety the series is known for. The initial release on Switch had a bevvy of performance issues to boot, and whilst the releases on other consoles mitigated this somewhat, the game as a whole never truly felt finished.
With Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless, Nippon Ichi seems to have gone back to its roots and recognised what made the series so beloved in the first place.
Like every previous entry, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless takes place in the Netherworlds; essentially a multiversal representation of parallel hells populated by a variety of demons, devils and souls. In previous games, they were shown to all have their own equivalent of the devil; an Overlord, but 7 seems to streamline the lore a little for the benefit of new players. In this game, you’re presented (at least initially) with a single demonic realm – Hinomoto – with a greater emphasis on Eastern theology and themes than what we’ve seen thus far.
Rather than having simply an Overlord, Hinomoto is ruled by a group of demonic magistrates who are suppressing the cluster’s previously honourable “Bushido” reputation. The plot follows Fuji; a lone warrior with a mysterious past, and his benefactor Pirika; a lover of all things Hinomoto and a successful businesswoman – as they search for the power to overthrow the oppressive magistrates and restore the Bushido code.
After the ridiculousness of D6’s super reincarnation storyline, it’s nice to have a more grounded-feeling plot which follows the series’ traditions. Fuji, Pirika and the rest of the supporting cast feel completely at home in this new world, and the Eastern inspirations refresh the Netherworlds just enough that it feels like a breath of fresh air. Whilst I’d argue that D5’s plot was better overall, it’s a fun romp which underlays the meat of the experience – the satisfying SRPG combat – with panache.
The game plays as a series of turn-based battles in an isometric world, with players able to use up to ten units per battle. Whilst D6 simplified these battles, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless takes the quality of life updates; autobattle included, whilst bringing back the deep level of character customisation and ability usage the series is known for. It flows so much better in Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless, with enemy variety much improved over the previous entry and environments feeling more varied and interesting than ever before. As always, you take turns moving your units, engaging attacks and using a mixture of single-target and AoE skills, but there feels to be less wasted time and busywork here and that’s always appreciated.
Once again, you have a number of unique and recruitable units to encounter which can be levelled and improved almost infinitely. A widely-held criticism of D6 was the lack of character classes which then translated to a lesser level of customisation for your squad. Thankfully many missing character types are back, as is the split between monster and humanoid units. Whilst you could argue that many of them are simply gender-swaps of other classes, it’s nice to have a bunch of customisation back and with it the ability to truly choose the paths of your units. Adding to this is the return of weapon skills, which again adds to the potential versatility on offer.
Another issue with D6 was the over-inflation of the game’s stats. Disgaea is beloved by many for the simple fact you can level your units almost infinitely, maxing stats through reincarnation and turning your squad into your own personal powerhouse army. Unfortunately, D6 took the ridiculous heights of D5 – max level of 9999 and stats in the millions – and escalated things over that in the first few hours.
Taking the level cap to 99,999,999 and stat values to the billions was a step too far and made progression feel less satisfying as a result. Items almost felt worthless in comparison to a unit’s base stats, as a single level-up dwarfed any item benefit. Thankfully, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless has returned to a reasonable level of silliness. You can still end up with stats in the millions, but the same is true for items and they’ve rebalanced these elements for a more satisfying progression curve.
Some of the features you’d hope for have also returned. The Item World has been rejigged and now has a smaller number of levels per run, but in doing so they’ve opened up the doors for item reincarnation and item evolution feels more meaningful thanks to it. They’ve also brought in the ability to send Prinny squads into the item world to grind for you and a brand new mechanic – Jumbification. It’s clearly a bit of a gimmick, but I like the ability to unleash a kaiju-sized aoe attack every now and again.
There’s also hell mode, which is essentially a temporary boost state for certain characters; which again is a nice change. I also like the dimension sightseeing feature, which gives you access to each Netherworld after you’ve finished the chapter and presents secret items, optional battles and minigames to enjoy. Missing still are Magichange, chara world and tower skills, but Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless feels like such an improvement from the previous game that I can forgive these omissions. I just hope they return in the inevitable sequel.
Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless Trailer
Finally, we have the visuals and audio to consider. Like D6, Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless is in 3D, but they’ve finally found the perfect midpoint between the high-quality pixel visuals of the earlier series and the 3D style they clearly wanted to implement. Thankfully, the charm is back in spades and it feels like a visual return to form on so many levels. Performance is also much improved on Switch, though there is the occasional dip in FPS during certain skill animations. The music and VA is solid though, with some wonderfully composed eastern-inspired tracks to complement the variety of worlds you’ll visit.
Overall, I have very few complaints about Disgaea 7 Vows of the Virtueless. It truly feels like a return to form after the disappointing D6, bringing back a large number of character classes, beefing up the combat complexity and restoring balance to the overall gameplay. Whilst the plot isn’t as revolutionary nor the experience quite as complete as that seen in Disgaea 5, this is a solidly enjoyable entry in the long-running series and one I can easily recommend to newcomers and veterans alike.
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