Disgaea: A Familiar Dimension

Nippon
Ichi Software held a 20th Anniversary event back in July, where they showed
off a bunch of upcoming games to commemorate their existence. Though details
about many of them remained shrouded in mystery — we
just found out what Kamipara was
about a couple of weeks ago — some were such a big secret that they didn’t
have names yet. The one that stood out most was “Project D,” which
coincidentally shared its first initial with NIS’ biggest franchise: Disgaea. The easy assumption was that
it was for Disgaea 5, since NISA’s
CEO said it was coming. They decided to reveal it at a surprise press
conference.

 

It turns out
“Project D” is indeed for a Disgaea game (to the surprise of….a few people,
maybe). However, it’s not Disgaea 5 — as in, producer Shogo Kozakai
specifically said it wasn’t — but Disgaea
Dimension 2 (or D2, for short) for PS3. NIS presented the game by showing
artwork featuring the main characters from the first game: Laharl, Etna, and
Flonne, who are still the most popular characters in the franchise. Some
initially suspected that it was for a remake of the first game, and noticed
some classes seen in the background didn’t appear in the original. Then they
noticed that one character was in a form they didn’t take until later in the
game.

 

It’s
actually much more than a reimagining. Details took their time leaking out, but
we know that it’s a direct sequel to the first Disgaea game for PS3. The “D” in
the “D2” stands for “Dimension,” Kozakai explained. But it can also mean
“Destiny” and “Dramatic,” whose purpose will presumably be revealed in the game.

 

(Yes, this
means it has nothing to do with that D2. In case you
were wondering.)

 

Disgaea D2
is being made for another good reason: Disgaea:
Hour of Darkness will be ten years old next year, and is still remembered
fondly by fans. Many of them still think the first is the best in terms of
characterization, so the team felt now was the best time to revisit that world.
The main three with have modified version of their HD sprites from their
appearance in Disgaea 4. Laharl is
sporting longer pants (slightly mind-blowing after seeing him in shorts in
various other appearances), Etna’s wearing longer boots, and Flonne is wearing
a bow on her leg. Sprites with the old outfits will be available as a pre-order
bonus in Japan.

 

As great of
an announcement this is, you can’t help but be skeptical of how the game will
turn out. Kamipara is releasing on January 24th (delayed
from December 20th for reasons),
and Disgaea D2 is releasing a mere two months after it. The problem? Kamipara
is being developed by the Disgaea team, so…who’s working on this!? The best
case scenario is that they hired another team, with some veterans in charge of
the most important aspects of the game. If it’s been given to an entirely new
team, hopefully they understand what made the original tick.

 

And
hopefully we find out soon, because the game isn’t that far off. The full
website goes up on November 1st. NIS is already betting on this being a
success, so they’ve
already announced plans to make this a sub-franchise. They didn’t clarify
whether that meant they plan on making more sequels to this particular game, or
if they intend to make follow-ups to Disgaea
2, 3 and 4 — the latter would allow for far more diversity. They also
confirmed that Disgaea 5 is indeed currently in development. Yes, they
definitely know which franchise is their most popular.

 

Given how
Disgaea is also NIS America’s biggest franchise, it’s only a matter of time
before the game is confirmed for an American release. Disgaea D2 hits Japan on
March 20th, and the official website goes live
in five days.