by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Angels combine physical damage and healing. Amazing at level 1.

You know what the worst thing about buying a game more than once is? Other than spending money on a game twice (or in some games, five, six, seven times)?  The DLC. Having to spend money, or choosing to spend money on that again is absolutely infuriating. Well, when I saw that Disgaea 5 was coming to the Switch, I was leery. Not because the game is bad, far from it. It’s actually my favorite game in the franchise so far. But the fact that it comes with all, and I mean all of the DLC that the original game came with, that matters. To give you an idea, I bought the Season Pass for Disgaea 5 on PS4, and it was 34.99. What did it come with?

Scenario: Disgaea D2: Laharl Episode
Scenario: Disgaea 4: Valvatorez Episode
Scenario: Disgaea 4: Fuka Episode
Scenario: Disgaea 3: Mao Episode
Scenario: Disgaea 3: Almaz Episode
Scenario: Disgaea 2: Adell Episode
Scenario: Makai Kingdom: Zetta Episode
Scenario: La Pucelle: Priere Episode
Character: Celestial Hostess
Character: Girl Laharl
Character: Nisa
Character: Kunoichi
Character: Sorcerer
Character: Metallia
Complete DLC Bonus: Pleinair

Don’t call her flat!

That is a lot of content. The Scenarios, when completed, unlock even more powerful characters. Laharl unlocks Laharl, Etna, Flonne, for example. All of the main characters from past Disgaea games can be unlocked, and then also Priere (La Pucelle Tactics) and Zetta (Makai Kingdom). The bonus characters including Nisa (Nippon Ichi Mascot), Metallia (Disgaea 2: A Brighter Darkness), Girl Laharl (Jiggly Fanservice Laharl), some of the other unlockable class types. Having Angel at the start of the game makes things so much better. Oh, and it also comes with a Squad of Prinnies (including Pringer, who can’t explode) if you want to do an all-Prinny run. Oh did I forget to mention, there’s a 1,000,000 HL DLC? Yes, you can start the game with tons of HL, so you can hold off, and once you’ve done some power-leveling, you can create the characters you want. Or you can just run an all-star team of named, important NPCs and just smash your way through the main story. I feel like a lot of people who don’t own PS4s, would love to dig their teeth right into this turn-based RPG.

Disgaea is way more deep than it appears.

And the Nintendo Switch has something that the Playstation 4 does not (quite) have: Portability. Sure you can play stuff on your Vita, but that requires you to also have a Vita, and still be fairly close by. Not to mention this game runs flawlessly on the Switch, portable mode or otherwise. There are a lot of Nintendo fans, loyalists, diehards, marks, call them what you will, that didn’t play Disgaea and might worry about missing out on some of the story (except the Nintendo DS port of Disgaea). You don’t need to have played the other games. It helps to understand the land you’re playing in, but these Netherworlds aren’t featured in other games. Trust me when I say: You do not need to have played the other games first. It helps but it’s nowhere near required. Plus you can bring those characters on board in the DLC, and then maybe you’ll decide you want to play the other games.I hope they come over too, to be honest. I was worried it might slow down a bit with some of the combat effects, but as of now, it certainly has not. How did this game not get a Vita port? That just doesn’t make any sense to me. To give you an idea, I drive my grandmother to physical therapy for her knee. So when I’m waiting, I just undock my Switch, slap Disgaea in it, and level while I wait.

The Red Scarf is a Symbol of Justice: 4.5/5

This is a real attack.

Disgaea 5 plays amazing on the go, and it’s really nice for travel to have some mindless level-grinding. You might not want to sit in front of the TV. Maybe you want to get a few levels while you’re laying in bed, or in the passenger seat of a car trip. And as this game’s level cap is 9999 (and you’ll likely hit it repeatedly, with the Reincarnation System), it’s not like you’re going to run out of in-game content to do anytime soon. Is it a grind-fest? Of course! It’s a Nippon Ichi game. That’s what they do. It’s what we’ve come to know, love, and expect. Do you need to hit that daunting level to beat the game? Just like I said in the original review, of course not. You don’t need to go much beyond level 100 to just “beat” the game. But the post-game is where Disgaea really shines, and really begins. There are ways to expedite the process, or at least make it a little faster, with special stages, the Cheat Shop, Tower Stacking for damage. There are so many clever things you can do in Disgaea to change how you play. You can power-up your weapons in the Item World. You can bribe Senators in the Senate to get what you want. If that fails, you can beat them up!

What I love about Disgaea on the Switch is that I can play anytime, anywhere. It’s not a trash mobile phone port, it’s not a PC port with insane, unbelievable issues that have to be patched to make it playable. It’s playable, it’s perfect, it’s beautiful. It’s the same game you had on the Playstation 4, with the same hundreds of hours of content. But it’s absolutely worth playing again, even if you already played it on the Playstation. There are so many technical things to get into about this game for mastering it. One review would not do it justice. The right stages to level on, the right team comps, what Innocents you need on weapons/armor to be really efficient. Teaming up and how to get the most of it. It’s a whole exciting world that will leave people enthralled who love a good strategy game. The story is ludicrous and there is a wonderful blend of comedy, drama, and despair. The Netherworlds are losing hope, and Emperor Void Dark is consuming them all for his empire. What exactly does this rogue Demon have to do with it? Why is he fighting Emperor Void Dark? What’s at stake? You’ll just have to play it and see.

by Andrew Skelton (Outfoxed)

In addition to Dynasty Warriors 9, KOEI Tecmo was also showcasing two additional series sequels at its event last week.  Attack on Titan 2 updates the original with more story, more action, and more ways to be chomped into oblivion by the eponymous Titans.  Atelier Lydie & Suelle offers a much more traditional RPG experience, with colorful visuals, adorable characters, and a rich crafting experience tied directly into the story itself.

If you played the original Attack on Titan game, you’ll know what to expect out of its sequel.  That’s a good thing, in this case, as the first of the series was intense, relying heavily on your skills to take down opponents 10 times larger than you are who want nothing more than to make a snack out of you.  The team had two different experiences on hand.  They showcased the single-player experience on the Playstation 4 console, but the real star for me was the impressive multiplayer showing for the Nintendo Switch.  Since talking about the single player experience would contain way too many spoilers, let’s focus on that multiplayer aspect, shall we?

First of all, when it comes to the Switch, ad hoc multiplayer is a thing.  Sure, you can also play online, but the addition of being able to play games with friends nearby who have the console is a huge selling point (the console itself was built around this idea after all).  We played 2v2 on an open battleground map, and the sheer joy of zipping around the map on the 3D Maneuver Gear and chopping into Titans while others are doing the same is an incredible experience.  You get bonuses for helping each other take down your opponents, too, so teamwork is incredibly vital in order to win these matches.  In fact, one that I participated in was won by the opponents despite our side having more takedowns, simply because the two of them worked together on multiple targets.  It’s uncommon, at least in my opinion, to reward players for support so much, so it was quite refreshing to see.

It will be quite curious to see how different created characters will function in this game versus the original.  I didn’t get much of a chance to play on the campaign, but it does feel like the player created character is finally different enough from the main cast that it doesn’t feel like you’re playing a reskinned character.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any information on how playing as an actual Titan would work, so hopefully that aspect of gameplay will be enhanced as well.

As I mentioned before, Atelier Lydie & Suelle offers a very traditional RPG experience.  You follow Lydie and Suelle as they embark on their quest to become the greatest alchemists in the land, as they promised to their mother.  The only problem?  They don’t exactly know much about the art.  Right away, I was drawn in by the delightfully colorful and cheerful graphics, and easily got a feel for the main characters and their personalities right away.  That’s especially important in any RPG anymore, so I’m glad to see upfront character development like this.

Alchemists are nothing without their ingredients, and the game features a trove of items to collect in the fields and forests, all of which are used in crafting … well, everything.  Weapons, armor, items, treasures; alchemy is the key to making them all.  You’re rewarded for crafting by increasing your alchemy level, which will allow much more difficult crafts to be completed.  Along the way, the main characters will make new friends, and encounter plenty of hardship.

As a fan of traditional turn-based combat, Atelier Lydie & Suelle had me covered.  Battles were simple at first, but expect to unlock combination skills and more as the game progresses.  I’m thankful for combat systems in RPGs like this that have plenty of depth.

If you’re a fan of intense action in both single and multiplayer, Attack on Titan 2 may be right up your alley.  If you prefer a more traditional RPG, Atelier Lydie & Suelle has you covered.  Look for both coming soon on Playstation 4, XBox 1, Nintendo Switch, and PC.