Disgaea is a series of tactical role-playing games introduced by Nippon Ichi, which later branched off into both manga and anime. It takes place mostly in the parallel universe of the Netherworld filled with demons where their moral are the opposite of humans. The series has gone so much popularity to this day that NIS America has now released Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention, which is a Vita port from the Playstation 3 version with an additional few goodies included.  Filled with cute characters, colorful animations, and an intuitive battle system, Vita owners not already familiar with the series’ antics get the honor to enjoy this for the very first time.
Right from the get-go, the controls will require some time to get used to. Because of the view’s angled orientation, pressing left will have you moving diagonally and this can cause some confusion. Zooming the camera also gets complicated as you would have to press on the upper left screen to scroll amongst the available three views. Since Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention allows you to use the rear pad to perform other functions, it can actually get in the way and cause menus to pop up or views to be altered without warning. If you played this for the very first time, such a situation can catch you by surprise. This is one of the major criticisms I have for this game. But for players who understand and are already acquainted with the Disgaea series, the controls should be easy to get started with.
On the other hand, the graphics on the Vita look pretty good with the anime style appearance. During the game, you’ll see low-res characters that are still able to impress its audience with its crazy attack animations. There is never a moment where the visuals appear to be dull because of how much color, variety, and details that’s shown on screen.
As soon as you begin, you take control of Mao as he explores around the Evil Academy. Here, you can do various activities such as conversing with the other characters, using your acquired mana to upgrade your characters’ skills or travel into dungeons for you to power up your weapons and armor. But once you get into battles, you’ll have a team of characters to guide.
The voice acting does seem pretty lame in English; however you can always change to Japanese since you can always read the subtitles. If you’re really involved with the story, then the dialogue can be comical. Otherwise, you have the option to skip it most of the time and get straight into the action.
The tutorial gets you through the basics of the combat system and allows even beginners to acquaint themselves the tactical role-playing dynamics. For every turn, you will have to move and arrange your characters within the battlefield and decide on various aspects including which enemies to attack and performing spells. The damage you leave will rely on the direction of attack you’re executing. An ideal strategy would be to have your characters gang up on a single enemy and wipe them out one by one. By continuously engaging in battles, you allow your characters to potentially upgrade with 9999 being the maximum level.
One thing to consider during battles that adds an added layer of challenge is the geo objects, which can work in favor of your characters or your enemies. Destroying them will cause all the associated field spaces to create damage to the characters on them. While determining the method isn’t easy, doing so will lead to rewarding results.
An interesting aspect to consider with Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention is the homeroom where you mainly help to increase the effectiveness of their team attacks. Such activities you can perform here include getting characters involved with certain clubs, replacing your equipment with more top-notch ones, and even bribing class reps to vote in your favor. While these are optional, they can also affect how your characters combat skills will develop. Therefore, you’re not just incorporating strategies to your battles but also to your growth and interaction.
Since 2003, the Disgaea series has always delighted fans with its delivery of impressive game titles. And this particular one for the Vita is no exception. The battle system remains as straightforward as anticipated of a tactical role-playing game like this. Unfortunately, the controls can be cumbersome to those who are just thrown into this series. But looking past this particular fault, Disagea 3: Absence of Detention still has all the qualities of a good Vita game that doesn’t deserve the absence of its fans.
