How do I get into the Disgaea series?

My friend said I'd like it, but it looks like there's a lot of games.

Do I just start with 1 and go through them chronologically, or is this a Kingdom Hearts situation with a bunch of sidegames and stuff I need to guide for?

I'd start with the first one, since 1) it has the best writing, and 2) there's a lot of gameplay changes in the sequels that might make it hard to go back.

Besides Disgeae D2 (Not Disgaea 2) which is a direct sequel to the original, you can do whatever. The story of each game is self contained. There are guest characters from other games as it progresses in the series. So you won't understand who these characters are, but tbh there's not much story there and you get enough of their personality provided to coast through the short amount if dialogue related to them.

I will mention that earlier games don't have as many features. So it might be hard to go back. With that in mind, I woukd recommend playing them chronologically

Jiek_Fafn posted...

There are guest characters from other games as it progresses in the series. So you won't understand who these characters are

Disgaea 3's the worst offender because it has the most guest characters from NIS's whole game catalog.

Psp version of number 1. Just looked it up, damn that has been put on a lot of systems!

Its the only one I've played, enjoyed it, but damn the jrpg grind is pretty epic in that game.

I did love to "tower stacking" of characters and then using it as a weapon. Lots of fun little things in these games

Eh, I started with D5. Absolutely loved it despite not typically liking SRPGs. I only even tried it because I saw the demo on PS4 when I first bought mine in 2015. I confused it with Dissidia and was expecting to see Final Fantasy characters lol.

buddah86 posted...

Psp version of number 1. Just looked it up, damn that has been put on a lot of systems!

The worst part is that the mobile version of Disgaea 1 Complete got additional features that basically make it the best version that the PS4 and Switch versions likely aren't going to get.

D1 and D5 are the logical entry points in the series, IMO. D1 because it's the first entry, and probably has the best story/characters, and D5 for a really polished example of the Disgaea formula.

That formula is worth a comment. Any Disgaea game can be played two ways -- as a relatively normal SRPG (with fairly insane characters and storyline, to be sure), or as the inimitable grindfest the series is known for.

Unless you already know you'll love the grind, I recommend playing through the main story line with minimal/no grinding (the earlier games are tougher to do this way), and then see how the insanity of a Disgaea post-game appeals to you (grinding is the whole point of post game in this franchise).

i tried 1 and it was good but then i can enter items like a dungeon and i've no idea what to do next with all the possibilities

Nukazie posted...

i tried 1 and it was good but then i can enter items like a dungeon and i've no idea what to do next with all the possibilities

I suggest clearing the story line maps as the highest priority, since it's pretty easy to waste lots of time in item world if you're not clear on what's efficient and what's not.

honestly its kinda fun bumbling around trying to superpower yourself the first time you play during the campaign once you know what you are doing you realize how inefficient it is, but that doesnt really matter the first time

also, I second 1 or 5, but I would say that unless you are pretty sure you are going to play the whole series just go with 5 complete