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The Nintendo Switch is a platform of many firsts, but it will also be the first time Nippon Ichi Software’s Disgaea series has arrived on one of Nintendo’s home consoles.
The very first title in the strategy RPG franchise, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, arrived on the Nintendo DS back in April 2009 as Disgaea DS, but since then fans have had to look elsewhere (primarily to PlayStation consoles) in order to get their Disgaea fix.
Fortunately, this is about to change with the release of Disgaea 5: Complete, which MCV revealed two weeks ago was launching on May 26th.
The title originally appeared on PlayStation 4 back in October 2015, but now NIS America is bringing the latest entry in the series to Nintendo’s brand-new home console, allowing SRPG fans to play the game both at home and on the move.
“While Disgaea has generally come out on PlayStation platforms, it is a game that can be enjoyed on any hardware,” NIS America’s senior associate producer Alan Costa tells MCV.
Any hardware, it seems, except the PlayStation Vita. “[Nippon Ichi Software president] Souhei Niikawa indicated that due to the game specs, it would be impossible to put [Disgaea 5] on Vita,” says Costa. This might come as a surprise to long-standing Disgaea players, as nearly every mainline Disgaea title has, at some point, been ported to one of Sony’s handhelds, be it the PlayStation Portable or the PlayStation Vita.
A CUNNING DISGAEA
This time, however, NIS America hopes to capture a new audience for Disgaea 5, which it plans to do using its social media channels and by showcasing the game at public events.
“Our approach in both [the UK and US] is to directly interact with fans via social media and event presence as well as to visit media directly to show off our games,” Costa explains.
“Being able to reach out to fans directly is paramount so we are much more proactive on community management and social media. We still have a ways to go, but our community engagement has greatly improved from what it was five years ago.”
As its ‘Complete’ moniker implies, the Switch version of Disgaea 5 will come with all the DLC content that’s already available on the PS4 version.
“Disgaea 5 Complete contains the base game of Disgaea 5 as well as all DLC scenarios of the original release,” says Costa.
“This includes all new scenarios as well as bonus playable characters. This adds many more hours of content and strategy to the base game as well as allowing series’ fans to enjoy their favourites from past games. We will definitely be emphasizing that all DLC can be found on the Switch version.”
NIS America will also be releasing a limited edition (above) that includes the game, an artbook, a two-disc complete soundtrack, a zipper pull, and ten metal lapel pins. This will be distributed by its long-standing partner Reef Entertainment in the UK, alongside the base version of the game. UK pricing has yet to be confirmed for the limited edition, but it will be available to buy exclusively from the NISA Europe online store and the Nintendo UK store.
Costa adds: “We’re confident that fans will be excited to play the complete version of this legendary SRPG series.”
