Disgaea 6 and the future of NIS - My thoughts

Just a quick video to get out a few thoughts I had about Disgaea 6 and the progression of the Disgaea series.
More Disgaea videos very soon!
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[@g.n.s.153]

As long as the story has it's funny moments and stays entertaining I'm satisfied, I don't need a very deep one. Gameplay is what keeps me going back.

[@PhantomBlackStar]

the Funny as hell , Dark as hell , seroius as hell story along good gameplay lol.

[@ch-pd7kl]

@@PhantomBlackStar indeed

[@brendangoodell6233]

I hope they continue with 5's systems and expand, loved Revenge mode and overloads, made Overlords feel like Overlords for once and not just something to ignore for the generic characters.

[@philw4839]

Disgaea is one of the few game franchise you can get completely lost in and spen hrs and hrs just trying to wrap your head around all the different things you can do also thank you very much voxel for all the tips on how to play you've helped me a lot

[@jahipalmer8782]

Dear NIS, please make Disgaea 6 as ridiculous as possible. Thank you. Your fan, me.

[@imafgc]

This might not mean much to some fans but one thing I want to see in a Disgaea 6 is having all the classes back from the older games AND even more unique ones.

[@juanurdaneta5362]

I think what disgaea 5 needed the most was a story driven quest board instead of the quest system in it.

[@mikkelturtvig]

if they feel like they need remakes then they could always go for Makai Kingdom: Cronicles of the sacred tome

[@anexplosion5436]

"Why don't you walk me through your new graphics Zetta? *Page* by *page* "

[@xwun]

Or Soul Cradle

[@XlunacyinblackX]

Or phantom brave.

[@powwowken2760]

I'd be sad if NIS goes belly up, having played both Fire Emblem 3 houses as well as Disgaea 5 complete back to back I can safely say that Disgaea 5 was better in almost every single aspect and considering the love people poured on Fire Emblem it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if NIS went out of business.

[@g.n.s.153]

But does Disgaea 5 have Leonie in it? I think not. Real talk though, I give equal praise to both games when I talk about them to my friends. They're both pretty great.

[@gravysamich]

i think the two games are for vastly differing players though so it is unfair to compare the two. on the surface they are both srpgs, but they focus on very different things. fire emblem focuses on the story and making you grow attached to each character. you aren't meant to grind and you are meant to feel the struggle as you hope to keep your people alive. disgaea focuses heavily on the grind. while you can struggle if you are underleveled, it is really encouraging the player to be overpowered to the point of absurdity. while some of the main cast of each game might endear you, you don't really form a connection to them in the same way as fire emblem.

[@powwowken2760]

Personally I was pretty let down by Fire Emblem, but maybe that's the fault of hype more than the game itself. Especially it's god awful class system which personally offended me, do you want to be a master level swordsman? doesn't exist, god tier mage? are you a girl? no? then doesn't exist... so what if Dark Mage is male only, why should they get a mater level class. It's just straight badly designed, and if you don't start out following a guide then only 1 or 2 members of your class will ever reach a master class, and they aren't even very good stat wise anyway, as an RPG nut that kind of stuff urks me.

[@g.n.s.153]

@@powwowken2760 Imo it's okay that master classes aren't automatically better except for the fliers. Advanced classes pull their weight easily and in a lot of cases are better than master classes in Maddening Mode. (Though sometimes it depends if your unit is fast or not, someone like Felix can afford to go for War Master's extra crits since Fierce Iron Fist is not usually that useful on him or Leonie that can double as a Bow Knight and doesn't need Hunter's Volley for example.) Lore-wise I like the idea of gender-locked classes but from a gameplay perpesctive the balance in 3H is pretty bad. It's sad but can you do? There's a huge variety of characters, really good writing and every map that's not a final map has some good design. 3H has a lot of problems but at that in of the day, I'm still having a blast with it like I didn't have since Awakening.

[@evalynehicks343]

There's a reason why one is going strong and getting that praise and the other isn't. YOUR opinion doesn't mean jack shit. If you want Fire Emblem fans to check out a fellow TRPG, telling them it outdoes yours in each and every way and that love is undeserved isn't doing you any favours. 😂 Had Genealogy of the Holy War released in the west, it would have been genre-defining in the same way as Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Trigger. Which Disgaea title can claim the same, lmao.

[@shapeshifterk]

I have thoughts going both ways on this video I personally think to some degree yes the remakes are cash grabs but I'm kind of okay with that because in the process of them remaking I got to experience d1 for the first time on switch on and off through the year and because of a friend dragging me into the fandom I learned what disgaea is and was and I love it and want to play more and the remakes seem to be the only way I'll be able to play the other games on a console I use not just pirating or emulating them which I don't like doing so seeing the remakes as ports I want more.

[@shapeshifterk]

Dang didn't expect recognition.

[@VoxelStar]

I agree. The remakes are great by the fact that their original versions are great. I'm glad that they allowed new people to try out the series. Most of what I said was to just point out that they were in fact made cheaply and I was just a little disappointed that only the bare minimum was done to update them. There was even new bugs in D1 Complete. They'll always be great games and I hope I didn't come off as too negative in the video. Thanks for watching!

[@mikedegroot6159]

I hesitated getting Disgaea 5 because I knew I'd get addicted to it and play it nonstop, but I finally picked it up last year. I just checked out my Playstation 2019 wrap up and D5 was easily my number one game with over 250+ hours.

[@Nofriendszero]

I would be the first to help kickstart a Disgaea 6. Love the series and I've own and play Disgaea series on all platforms just to show support. Wishing NIS well and look forward to D6. Dood!

[@rauchentoken]

I got disgaea 5 complete as I’ve always wanted to play a disgaea game but never pulled the trigger. Finally did and while I’m completely lost, I’m completely in love. I’m thankful for people like you who put out guides to help noobs like me, and while it feels daunting I know that when I “get it” (all the mechanics) that I’m going to love it even more. That being said, it’s the gameplay that I love. I honestly expected a anime fan-service game so I’m not upset about what I got haha

[@diogomontesso6970]

Hello, here's from the future. D6 looks cool.

[@RarelyMichael]

Disgaea 1 hit me in the feels, but as the series went on and my game time went up. Investment in stories and character dropped like a boulder. You put into words what I couldn't.

[@Hydro_Hell]

Ive loved every disgaea but 5 gave me the least laphs and the comady of the games is part of the draw for me wasnt find of disgaea 2 adell but he had his quirks also think we need a main who uses a different wepon (yes i know you can swap it up but in cut scenes its either sword or fists for them i mean whats wrong with an axe or staff mc) all in all i despretly want a 6 full of humour and a lack of multiple netherworlds till post game

[@NoblesseOblige-17]

I've played just D5 so far and loved it. I looked into the previous ones, but one of the things I loved about D5 was that the characters and the story took itself seriously - while D1, for example, seemed more joke-y at the first glance. I also liked the specific character dynamics. And the visuals/game mechanics being the most recent also made it very enjoyable but at the same time discourages me from trying the predecessors.

[@VoxelStar]

Disgaea 1 begins by not taking itself seriously, and for a lot of the game it doesn't. But it does effortlessly tell a very charming story with actual themes and subtext behind its twists later on. The later you go in the series, the sloppier it feels. Disgaea 5 has the appearance of taking itself seriously, but I find it so bland. There's nothing interesting about the story and the way it's written lacks the same nuance. But that's just my opinion and I'm glad for people who differ from it and enjoyed D5s story. Thanks for watching!

[@Javetts]

@@VoxelStar "The later you go in the series, the sloppier it feels" Have to disagree. 2 and 3 had very bland stories, but 4 was fantastic in every way. 5 isn't as good as 1 or 4 story-wise, but it's far from bad. And honestly? I feel you might of missed that 5 was making fun of shonen anime, just as 3 made fun of schools and 4 made fun of politics. You might have taken part seriously that are not meant to be.

[@dango2917]

There isn't a game out there like Disgaea and it really shows, now I don't agree with NIS on their Localization team and I am currently learning Japanese to avoid any script changes. I want Disgaea 6 badly and to experience that joy I did get from the first game. (3 also being my least favorite.) have you done a video on your favorite Disgaea games? including spinoffs maybe? Do you think they should focus on sticking to one cast or continue down the line of new thing each time.

[@christopherserino2569]

I agree Mao is just too horny.

[@Sneedboy]

Script changes? Like what? What did I miss?

[@ch-pd7kl]

Great video about disgaea and by the way the thumbnail for this video is really adorable!

[@AnimeSageyoutubemomentsanime]

Bro I’m hype for disgaea 6 that’s coming to 2020

[@Joe_334]

The lead would probably get along with Fuka since she thinks she is in some dream...

[@AnimeSageyoutubemomentsanime]

Aoi wait who would get along with Fuka

[@yokaiwatcher8500]

Not announced yet, but teased into the stratosphere

[@lapsedilationdrive3943]

A disgaea 6 would be okay but i really want them to revisit Phantom Brave which i found the gameplay mechanics to be overall unique and more polished compared to the disgaea games. I also like how you can roam 360 degree freely in the environments rather than the grid based system in disgaea which i found to be less enjoyable. I really hope that they will consider to make a new phantom brave game. It doesnt have to be a sequel or whatnot.

[@sf8xx269]

Literally this! Phantom brave is so slept on and forgotten about but it was one of my faves back in the day. I'm actually surprised they haven't made a follow-up. Or at least adopted some of its mechanics into disgaea

[@juanurdaneta5362]

im more than happy with disgaea 5 on switch

[@s69-5]

Fan since the first game. (Actually, from before then, with LaPucelle). Extremely disappointed with the lack of a PS4 release in NA. So this will be the first Disgaea I don't own, unless that mistake is corrected.

[@user-ze7hp2jf5x]

why wont they also add manga to it, oddly enough I really liked the stories but mostly for the characters and not the stories themselves, for example I still think Mao from disgaea 3 is the funniest one in all the series and the greatest goofball to ever be conceived on paper plus it has an amazing soundtrack

[@CoolKidCroc]

I agree with a lot you said in the video and hope Disgaea 6 is announced. If not though, I'd love to see them port makai kingdom or la pucelle, it's unlikely as I can't see those games selling a lot once ported but hopefully the company can turn around. They just need to focus on Disgaea and keeping that universe going.

[@QueenMelodyAngel13]

Disgaea hour of darkness will always have a special place in my heart. I would hands down love to see a 6th game!

[@eschw2444]

The super-weeb characters and stories are honestly a turnoff for me. I can usually enjoy some good cheesy anime but Disgaea games lean so hard on the cliches that it doesn't feel like there's anything underneath. I ended up enjoying 4 the most, and liked most of the characters except for Fuka and really enjoyed the villain. But mostly the story feels rather braindead which prevents me from recommending it to people who might otherwise like the gameplay. I hope we get a Disgaea 6 and I hope Nippon-Ichi can sort itself out.

[@etherraichu]

Still no announcement, but since making this video NIS has had a significant rebound financially, thanks in no small part to their Western fans. Wouldn't it be great if they decided to thank us by releasing Disgaea 6 in Japan and the US at the same time? XD Oh, but if they also did both a physical and digital release at the same time, it could show up in multiple Western countries! A simultaneous physical distribution would be unrealistic for their finances outside of Japan and the US though.

[@Sin606]

Disgaea 6 most likely is make or break for Nippon Ichi Software. NIS being a smaller company relies on the fans and at the same time it feels around D4 they started to slow down and run into issues. I hope they pull out of the rutt and have a super successful year. I don't like D1 Complete but I have it. It's sorta a step back from Afternoon of Darkness.

[@Asher89leo]

The problem is easy to solve. Make s two series. One for beginner and one is for veteran. Like disgea 6A and disgea 6X

[@xbon1]

Not just announced, already out and playing and level 50000 characters.

[@domino6490]

I actually beat D5 complete as my first Disgaea game. I went back to my 110+ hour save after a year during the demo on switch and... hoo boy I knew what these things did once? What is all this??

[@slimeblood-]

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, forever my favorite And I actually did love Disgaea 5, it was very polished game play wise, and story was cliche but I enjoyed it for what it was

[@bruhbruh4329]

I think we should all step back and be realistic: for every hour of story the average Disgaea game has, there's about 100 post game/no story hours of gameplay, and as long as the story is paced competently and introduces the mechanics in enough detail, most people will know enough about the game and how it works to make their own fun literal weeks.

[@JChaosMaster]

Ti me part of the problem is the computer ports. Disgaea 5 for example had a game breaking bug with monitor settings. If not for skyrim molding experience I couldn't even play it. The dungeons crawler game they released hardly worked and you could tell it was using psp resolution The second is they I myself only play pc games. Ins made alot of great games. Me would love to play unloading ranger vs dark death evil man o. PC but who know how gold it would sale or the port. I think that's a big problem even with the cash grabs.

[@ninstar8165]

Voxel Star I heard Disgaea 6 will be an early PS5 release. Until then, I've done my part and bought Langrisser 1 & 2 remastered. It has some Soul Nomad vibes. Hope to hear more of your thoughts on Disgaea 6. What system would you like to see return? Cheers!

[@jetthatguy9980]

with your talk about disgaea games and how digaea 3 is trying to be like disgaea 1, tbh your right about it with how disgaea 3 is a bit of a mess but i still think that disgaea 3 could have been great if the plot to me has great parts with how the boss at the end is a more personally matter and this is also with 4 and i would say 4 is my fav but i just think 3 could have been great. I just hope disgaea 6 will be a thing and has mao in the post game

[@Slycoper737]

Disgaea 6 is coming out

[@Hambs23]

Saying the Disgaea 1 characters were complex compared to the other games kinda is cheating. The main trio and perhaps Kurtis did have a lot of depth and interesting character development, but the rest of the cast were honestly very simplistic. Being simple is not bad for the game by any means, but compared to that, the main cast of Disgaea 5 goes through very complete character arcs and DO change because of it and they also go through lots of different events that further deepens their connection to each other to be more than just "rebels with the same cause". Yes, I agree the D1 trio is a lot more interesting than the D5 cast in general, but I feel there was a lot more effort put into D5's story than in D1's. Not that I care much though, as long as Disgaea has a shonen-esque story, keeps the great customization it has and have a lot of post-game content with absurdly high-level challenges I'm all in. I only played 1, 2 and 5, though multiple times each, and 2 is my favorite. Like D1, there's a lot of mystery involved in finding all of it's extra content and the said content is super rewarding. The Dark World is by far my favorite thing in the series, specially if you're undergrinded or in-level like I was when I first found it. It throws the "have only 1 super strong character and you're fine" mentality out of the window and focus on team strategy, time management and map positioning. There are a couple of maps of just "kill a bunch of strong enemies", but a lot of them are proper strategy puzzles. The story is fine too.

[@augustomorfin3886]

As time goes by and expectations continue to rise it's sad to say that Disgaea 6 will most likely dissapoint. I see greater potential on a Disgaea maker.

[@jonathangoodwin5609]

There's no guarantee that a disgaea 6 will ever come out. But if it does, it probably won't be for a while.

[@Eksoni]

hehehe

[@duskyer2391]

Disgaea 5 gameplay is amazing. Story was kinda stale for me though. Also the VAs coulda been more... enthusiastic? Killia especially. Also the bits of character development as you went to the main cast's worlds were nice except for Seraphina. The whole "My friends won't like me because I'm poor" wasn't even funny as a small gag. And that was the last one you had to do, like cmon.

[@antihype6976]

I hated seraphina

[@zlipus]

Indeed disgaea is going to be niche. Tactics RPGs in general are not "hugely popular". Which is a shame because as someone who loves the genre, it means we rarely get a good title. I had heard absolutely nothing about disgaea until i was in gamestop and the guy asked me what i was looking for "Something like FFT". I was HIGHLY skeptical of disgaea 1 because i see the title and see anime and I assume shitty jrpg gacha game. Fell in love almost immediately. Disgaea 2 comes out and its nearly as funny and while cringy at a few parts, very solid story that improves the gameplay by leaps and bounds. I agree that seems to be the trend, building on the gameplay and letting the story fall to the wayside. I didn't ever think monsters were gonna be useful, but here we are in D5 and they're just as good if not flat out stronger than most chars. But there lies the walrus in the room. If they keep pushing this generic anime emo sob story telling, its going to solidify itself as another "just play it and ignore every Voiceover/cutscene type of game that only lasts for one or two releases" type of game. D5 did so much right... but MAN was that story horrible. I can't even remember any of the "jokes" aside from red magnus being a meat head. At least D4 had some funny gay werewolf/vampire jokes. I'm hoping they can get back to their roots and just tell a contained story that doesn't rely on anime tropes while keeping the humor of the first 2.

[@imafgc]

I still can't believe that they never made a Disgaea mobile game, you'd think that'd be a ripe market for the taking and full of micro tranactions and money making schemes

[@paull4079]

Ima paid full price. It’s a full version game. No micro transactions, nothing but the game. No ads

[@Devil-Speed8]

Makes sense. If ur broke then become a mobile game but as a player i will just say this...dont start giving them ideas

[@_-Lx-_]

I know I'm late but they did, and it's actually the main reason they're struggling right now. They invested a lot in a Disgaea gacha that turned out crappy and never took off. It's not been localised so that's probably why you didn't know about it. Hopefully 6 and the Prinny rereleases patch things up for a bit.

[@shawn680]

I don't see how anyone can be offended by saying that Disgaea 5 had a lackluster, cliched story. I just can't imagine anyone would be shocked or offended by that statement.

[@heavencanceler2691]

Having been playing Disgaea 5 until around chapter 6 so far, I started out feeling rather meh about the characters but have warmed up to most of them. Well, Killia is still pretty meh and Seraphina is not much better. Edgy mcedge and the tsundere ohohoho lady don't feel particularly interesting. But the rest of the cast actually feels neat and like they are growing into things steadily... If I had to say what the flaw is, it is not that they are trying to do a serious story... but that they are trying to mix serious with the silly over-the top comedy of Disgaea too hard. I only played Disgaea 1 and two.. so my knowledge is limited but I kinda feelw hile these two also had a lot of sillyness and crazy nonsense going on, the serious scenes were somewhat removed from the comedy part. In D1 for example, the chapter with the Red Moon was mostly bereft of big comedy. The boy with the zombie pets had the serious parts where it is about Laharl's responsibilities as a ruler mostly at the end etc... Having Christo ponder the nature of demons and whether they are truly capable of feeling love or Usalia worrying about how to get revenge for her parents before going back to a curry comedy skit feels a bit off... it also gets pretty repetitive to see Killia have a back-and-forth talk with his evil self. That is already a cliche, don't need to drive it home so much...

[@lick1330]

They did

[@SuperBanzaiBill]

It just dropped...

[@s3studios597]

I started with 3, so I have a soft spot for it, and I thought 4's story was pretty good aside from a bit of lore inconsistency. I think it had something to do with that fear energy stuff. I agree that 5's was just boring. It took itself way too damn seriously and it was just bland. Only characters I kinda likes were Usalia and Christo. Red Magus also had his The Rock stuff, but aside from that, he was lame. The rest were just completely uninteresting. I hope 6 fixes the story because Disgaea's stories and characters are genuinely fun, even if most people like to joke that the story doesn't really matter.

[@sirlezard670]

You don't pronunce it "nippon ikki". You pronunce it "Nippon ichi". As in "eetchee". It's "one" or "first" in japanaese. 一

[@pockystyx4087]

Replaying Disgaea 5 on the Switch right now; and while I love the gameplay and the fun things they added; I can safely say that Killia is the most boring main charactera I have ever had to be forced to play as. He's just played so straight, with barely anything that makes him interesting; and the rest of the cast are just barely better than him, only being lowered by having to constantly talk him up like he's the coolest guy ever. I think I was waiting for that moment where his character got better throughout my initial playthrough and playing again is reminding me how much I even miss Mao. . . freaking MAO lol If there's one area I hope Disgaea 6 (if it happens. . . please let it happen) can fix; its trying to think about what made the adventures original cast of HoD so memorable and lovable, and care less about tropes and filling quotas for horny young teenage boys.

[@VoxelStar]

Agreed!

[@mrenigma6683]

I mean, that quota is what helped the series get where it is... So, I respectfully disagree, I personally got bored with how one dimensional the original cast was. I loved the game though, and tried to get my wife into it. She hated the OG cast so much she STOPPED playing only a few hours in because the characters were "annoying". I didn't like the original cast myself. I thoroughly enjoyed 2's, 3's was okay, 4's was great, and 5 is my personal fav. Playing it again myself on my new Switch and geeking out cause I know the story progression it's going to go in. *shrug* To each their own though, I would LOVE a new Disgaea game to play though!

[@MetaKnuxXbeats]

I honestly have hope. I honestly think Disgaea 1 and 4 is the best in terms of story but I will agree that Disgaea 3 and 5 are the weakest in terms on story but Disgaea 5 I think is the best in terms of gameplay. I just hope that Disgaea 6 will not just the best story but the best gameplay. Do I think it will surpass Disgaea 1 and 4’s stories? Maybe, maybe not. Though it doesn’t necessarily have to be better then those games’s stories, I just want it to be the best it can. Hopefully this year will be when Disgaea 6 is announced and hope that the Strategy RPGS will get a serious kick in the ass again.

[@AnimeSageyoutubemomentsanime]

January 17 has already passed tho

[@RoseLostinValley]

Everything you're saying is facts Disgaea 5's gameplay is great but I wasn't a fan of the characters

[@AnimeSageyoutubemomentsanime]

Hey voxel star I have an important question, so I have equip marksman physician sentry coach and staticiction to increase my res def int hit just like my attack and speed and by the time I finished floor 200 and left the item world my attack and speed increase but not my res int hit and def what I do wrong here

[@SimpleReally]

they really need to trim the fat from out of combat mechanics. Chara world, ridiculously overpowered curry, 128 character limit 100 of them you will only ever use for expeditions, squads. it's simply too much

[@VoxelStar]

While it's part of what makes it so appealing to me, I do agree. I think there's a happy medium somewhere. Streamline what's already there and maybe add one new mechanic to keep things fresh. Either that or overhaul everything and start new. Thanks for watching!

[@DiabolicCrusher]

Came back to disgaea after playing 5 and yeah, gotta admit, not as good and easy to get into.Still got my ass whooped by first actual boss and got the bad ending, but once i'm finished with 5's post game i'll come back to it, i just want to kill baal.

[@ZekeFreek]

The only narrative I actually dislike is 5's because it's legit badly written in a lot of places. You can disagree with me when I say I like the stories of 2, 3 and especially 4 but I think you have to atleast admit they were competently done. 5's plot and character development outside of a few instances is a mess and they definitely need to put more effort into 6. The complexity of mechanics needs to be reigned in. Particularly the out of battle mechanics. I want a massive overhaul and streamlining of shit like innocents, reincarnation, move learning behind the basic shit, chara world and cut back some of the unnecessary elements. The battle mechanics are simple enough to grasp and can offer myriad complexity but a lot of the real meat of the postgame and how you grow your units to the highest stats is just, so bloated and confusing and needs to be simplified. That stuff isn't the fun part, that's needless complexity that could be redirected to the flow of the actual gameplay. I'm not saying to eliminate macro-management entirely, but goddamn, streamline the process.

[@VoxelStar]

D4 was a partial exception. The characters were actually interesting and likeable and they tried something different. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed parts of all of the games stories, and this video wasn't to put down people who enjoyed them. I think there are good moments throughout the whole series. Thanks for watching!

[@themore-you-know]

Disgaea is quite a mess overall. I liked playing it for childhood memories, but from a game design perspective... I can't escape a factual statement: Disgaea is a messy pile of features that not only distance new players, but also make it harder for existing fans to care. Maybe it's just me, but... I barely go through the campaign because it's the only thing I want to deal with. Everything else: squads, reincarnation, the space explorer thing, curry, assembly, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc... is just a jambled mess that doesn't have a hint of "strategy". It's a factory worth of grinding gears. Compare that with other games with a lot of content, such as Terraria. In Terraria, there is a lot to do, but it's mostly focused on a core few mechanics: dig, fight, craft. You're not spending 50% of your time in your base trying to understand wtf are all these options, and how 1 choice will screw up your character (I'm looking at you, reincarnation). Character-specific leveling system might be a big source of the problem. They should just have experience be free-flown and manually attributed, which would immediately simplify character management, increasing flexibility and diminishing grinding. Small changes like that would allow their systems to become more cohesive and simple.

[@sathrielsatanson666]

Disgaea 6 is likely to be a great game... and it wasn't.