When it comes to strategy RPGs, there’s just something about playing them on handheld that appeals to me, and since I missed out on the 2014 PS Vita port of Disgaea 4, the new release of Disgaea 4 Complete+ for Switch was a perfect opportunity to get into the game.
When Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited released as a PS Vita port of the original 2011 PS3 SRPG, it added quite a bit of new features including all DLC, new scenario, playable characters, character promotion, and a whole lot more. Now if you’re wondering what the plus in Disgaea 4 Complete+ adds to the port, well unfortunately it really isn’t that much so if you recently played the PS Vita game then you won’t be getting much of anything new for the Switch port.
While there’s no new content for Disgaea 4 Complete+, it features all added content from Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited on PS Vita. The rest of the new stuff is mostly on the QoL side, such as automatic saves after each battle, skill speed options that can be adjusted between from x2, x3, x4 speeds. In battle you can now reposition characters while viewing skill target areas or when using skills with non-fixed target zones. You can also preview the Magichange weapon that your monster class becomes through the Status screen. And that’s about all that’s to it.
One big upgrade is the resolution update. After having played on the Nintendo 3DS’ 800 x 240 res (top screen) and the PS Vita’s 960 x 240 for many years, I’ve become accustomed to the lower specs and not really noticing it or letting it affect my handheld gameplay experience. Personally speaking, this is especially true for any kind of “anime” game or games that are heavier on character sprites instead of 3D models. I’m sure if I were to play the PS Vita version first it would have looked completely fine, but Disgaea 4 Complete+ has certainly spoiled me in the visual department.
The Nintendo Switch version can run at 1080p (720p handheld) with what feels like a steady 60fps. While I don’t have the tools know how consistently it runs at 60fps, I never saw any hiccups or obvious moments of struggle as I did during my play of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition on Switch. Disgaea games always feature everything from colorful characters to flashy moves, and the upgraded visuals make it look more stunning than ever.
As far as sound quality goes, I really can’t say how much of an improvement I’ve noticed from the previous releases, but one thing I can say is that the game has great voicing, in both Japanese and English. Best of all, you have the option to go with either language options for the dub.
Those who know me know that I’m an absolute snob when it comes to voicing, especially with English dubs. That said, I accidentally started the game with English voicing, and I admit that at first I thought to myself “Oh no, not this shit” but that quickly changed to “Huh, this is actually awesome!” Something about it reminds me of American cartoons I grew up with, so it feels a bit more unique and fitting for a hell of a silly game like Disgaea. Seriously, props to the voice actors for this one. Having played the games in Japanese, I know that it’s not an easy one to localize with everything from obscure references to all the nuances, so extra kudos to the localization team for putting together the amusing dialogue as well. That said, I’ll continue playing the rest of the game in English.
Disgaea 4 Complete+ is now available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, dood!
