Disgaea: Afternoon Of Darkness- Worth getting again?

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Not caring doesn’t circumvent it being worse.

But I concede, I’m surprised they’ve fit all the voice-acting on there, as the EU PS2 version had half of it cut for storage restraints previously.

No, but my entire point is that the people who don't have a PSP aren't looking for a comparison between the two. They just want to know if the DS version is a good game. Everything I've read suggests that it's still a good game on the DS.

Contra 3 the Alien Wars is still a good game on the GB but I'd much rather play it on the SNES. And that's the point. Why play it on the DS when there's a much superior version on the PS2 and PSP. BTW, they're re-releasing the PS2 version for a mere $20 bones, so you'll be getting more better for less. Can't really beat that 1-2 punch, plus there's a lot of better games tailor made for the DS. But hey, it's your money.

[Elixir]

He's giving unreasonable answers to good questions. Disgaea DS is a fine way to spend $30 if you want a portable strategy rpg. Telling people to buy a PSP and writing long-winded posts full of praise/disgust for the PSP/DS game is interesting and all, but completely fails to answer the question.

What the hell are you talking about? Writing "long-winded posts full of praise/disgust for the PSP/DS game" is the only way to properly answer a question. Do you walk around with the attitude of, "oh, I like this car, despite all the other cars out there which are better and more enjoyable, even if it's more expensive"?, ignoring the better version won't make it go away.

And I don't see how throwing up a PSP/DS comparison (I know I've played this game more than you, and I know the issues present) "fails to answer the question." unless you're also going to ignore this:

I was thinking about snagging this(i'm in the process of getting a PSP and working on a little library), but I have the PS2 one.

I get the impression you haven't even played the DS version. You could always try mentioning the:

- Touchscreen menus
- Option in the options to switch Kana to English for the touchscreen menus
- Map, top touchscreen
- Zetta joins you (after beating him)
- Worse graphics
- Lacks voice acting in a large majority of areas
- Healthy array of options
- Lag after attacks, comparable to what FFT was for the PSP
- Non-original music, feels "watered down"
- Introduction is by Norio Wakamoto
- Strangely, 4 levels of brightness of its own
- Identical button configuration from the PS2 and PSP versions
- Displays the real time in the top screen
- Three levels of zoom, "up close", "far away" and "in the middle"
- Lacks widescreen
- Pleinair is playable

And that's just off the top of my head. I understand that yeah, it has Pleinair, and that's great and all. But there's only a few minor changes in the character department and a whole bunch of unnecessary features added. N1 forced this game on the DS to cash in on the Japanese DS popularity, and it's blaringly obvious. If people want the DS version, that's fine. I mean I'll probably check it out as well. But I've already thrashed the PS2 and PSP versions, so I'm sure as hell not going to bother with a game that has slowdown present.

Obviously people aren't going to buy a PSP just for this, but I don't recommend the DS version over it. Is this response too long-winded and unreasonable for you?

[Taylor]

It can hold 2 gigabits of data which is only 256 megabytes.
space.

What are you talking about? 2 Gigs = 1024 x 2 or 2048 megs...

Megabit (Mb) and Megabyte (MB) are two different ways of measuring data.

You're right, the article is rather badly worded and "2048 Mb or 256 MB" doesn't read well when you're half asleep. Cunning. Well, I don't want to speculate any further about it. DS version good, PSP version better.

[MR_Soren]

(Quotes paraphrased to save space.)

Disgaea for DS is like Contra III for GBA

Contra for GBA is not even the same as the snes game. No dual-wielding, no bomb, stages removed. Disgaea DS doesn't have any changes to the core functionality. (Yes, reduced character slots, but still more than most people ever use.)

Guesses stated as fact

NIS has managed to retain all of the voice acting despite the move to away from discs

That's the third and final time I'm writing this: The US version is supposed to have full voice acting!

lame car analogy

If the other cars don't work on the roads in your town, their existence doesn't matter. (aka lame road analogy)

tl;dr

I will be getting the DS version for sure.

I've looked at videos and the DS version looks fine.

All those words and not one swayed opinion. This is the internet, we're all wasting our time.

[Lordstar]

All those words and not one swayed opinion. This is the internet, we're all wasting our time.

all the bits I said and you chose to quote me on this?

I will be getting the DS version for sure.

If your out and about and dont plan to buy a PSP but have a DS get the DS version hands down.

[Elixir]

(Quotes paraphrased to save space.)

And yet you didn't end up saving any space at all. Just a long winded post with no content.

If the other cars don't work on the roads in your town, their existence doesn't matter. (aka lame road analogy)

Yeah, this is great logic. "If I can't see it, it's not there."

All those words and not one swayed opinion. This is the internet, we're all wasting our time.

I'm not trying to sway opinions. Like I said before, it's a watered down, inferior DS version. By all means get the DS version if you dislike the option to use Japanese, dislike good graphics, dislike original audio tracks, and dislike games that don't feature slowdown. Because they're all very much present in this reiteration of the game, and nothing will change that.

[MR_Soren]

Yeah, this is great logic. "If I can't see it, it's not there."

No, it's "if I can't play it, it doesn't matter." I have a PS2 and Disgaea. I'm buying Disgaea DS so I can take it with me and I do not have or want a PSP.

The power-point style bullet list detailing the superiority of the PSP version is interesting, but it doesn't affect people who have no intention of buying a PSP.

if you ... dislike good graphics

If I play one game with downgraded graphics, it means I don't like good graphics. Now that is faulty logic.

a whole bunch of unnecessary features added.

The character sprites are unchanged. That combined with the smaller screen resolution of the DS resulted in the zoomed-in view. Due to this zoomed in view, zoom-out options and a minimap were added. These were not unnecessary changes, they were needed to make the game workable on the smaller screen.

The menus were also reorganized to streamline stylus use.

N1 forced this game on the DS to cash in on the Japanese DS popularity, and it's blaringly obvious.

N1's motivations for making Disgaea DS are irrelevant. Developers usually make games to "cash in".

If people want the DS version, that's fine. I mean I'll probably check it out as well.

Check it out means download and play on a flashcart?

On another forum, somebody complained about the slowdown and lag, while another poster claimed that there is no slowdown or lag on the actual cartridge, only dropped animation frames when the screen gets busy. Are you 100% sure about the lag? Here is the text:

Anyone playing this on something that doesn't load as quickly as a DS card will experience a frame jump every time a new graphic/sound/whatever is temporarily loaded. ... It lags when loading graphics, though it's pretty much unnoticeable on an actual card. ... Also, when there's a lot of particles/enemies on screen at onece, and the menus can sometimes be a bit slow. It doesn't slow down, though. It just skips frames.

Truth be told, input lag is one thing I can not stand. I'll be getting rid of my copy if it's a big problem. I've been hoping the above info was correct. (I pre-ordered the game before this thread started.)

[Elixir]

I deliberately waited until after the release before commenting, so, here we go:

The English version is reported to have full voice acting.

Wrong. There's voice acting in the US version between chapters and for key events, but voice acting for most things as seen in the previous versions and for post-game events (like Baal, for example) isn't present. The music is still watered down but only for certain tracks, so not as much as the Japanese version. The Baal fight was especially uninteresting without the voice acting.

The character sprites are unchanged. That combined with the smaller screen resolution of the DS resulted in the zoomed-in view. Due to this zoomed in view, zoom-out options and a minimap were added. These were not unnecessary changes, they were needed to make the game workable on the smaller screen.

Wrong. The character sprites are definitely changed to fit the DS' requirements. Completely zoomed out is still a mess and up close is still messy. The medium option is pretty much the standard. Having played the US English version of the game now, I can still safely say that the PSP version is still superior. But it isn't really fair to compare DS games to PSP ones in the first place. I don't even like the PSP all that much but I have to be realistic with one of my favourite games.

As for lag, I haven't noticed as much as my Japanese cart. It's okay though. Unless you know the controls well (or if you're bothering with stylus controls, just forget doing anything fast) and you're blazing through attacks, you probably won't notice it. Although large amounts of damage make the game freeze for a sec or two, probably thanks to the damage counter.

Haven't noticed anything else so far. It's mostly just the graphics, sound (voice/music) and a bit of lag. They really did have to sacrifice things in order to squeeze it on the DS, leaving little room to add extra content. Hell, Pleinair's data was in the original PS2 version, she just wasn't playable. Anyway, I've thrashed Disgaea enough times now. I'll wait for the eventual Disgaea 2 PSP port.

[MX7]

Awesome, can't wait to play it

[MR_Soren]

I was repeating what I read in a review. The fact that reviewers cannot properly state facts is not my fault.

I never said the DS version was better than the PSP version. I just said it would be a good portable Disgaea for people with a DS but not a PSP. I believe that is still true.

[Lordstar]

I was repeating what I read in a review. The fact that reviewers cannot properly state facts is not my fault.

I never said the DS version was better than the PSP version. I just said it would be a good portable Disgaea for people with a DS but not a PSP. I believe that is still true.

well its better for me dude. I dont own a PSP :-p

[MR_Soren]

I have nothing to say about the PSP Disgaea which I've never played, but I am enjoying the DS game more than the PS2 version.

Going back to the console, I now dislike playing without the mini-map, and I really prefer this game as a portable. It's nice to do a quick battle when I've got a few minutes to kill.

The stylus controls are useless for any serious combat, so I typically use the d-pad. Stylus controls fail in any SRPG with an isometric perspective because it's far too easy to miss your target. However, I occasionally find it relaxing to use the stylus controls for promotion exams or when equipping characters.