Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny Reviews
As Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was the first game I ever reviewed nearly two decades ago, I have had a long and beloved history with Nippon Ichi's franchise, so it breaks my heart to play Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. The story is bland with few jokes that actually hit, and the cast of characters do not help the cause with uninspired backstories and personalities.
If you weren't allured by the distinctive style and crazy in-depth gameplay of previous entries in the franchise, Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny certainly isn't the game to change your mind. Like its predecessors, Disgaea 6 is still a goofy and staggeringly intricate SRPG that will take hundreds of hours to see through to completion. However, this is easily the most streamlined and enjoyable entry in the series yet, as the developers have doubled down on everything that makes these games great and made some improvements, too. It can be intimidating to get into as a newcomer, and the performance is frequently disappointing, but we would still absolutely recommend that you add Disgaea 6 to your library.
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny may not be the best game in the series, but the strategy gameplay is still amazing if you can handle the technical issues.
Disgaea 6 is full of fun characters and addictive grinding, but as a package it feels like a stepping stone entry in the series - a not-quite-complete game that will hopefully pave the way for bigger and better things in the next sequel.
When one of the main new features of a game is its ability to play itself, it's a hint that a franchise is beginning to run out of steam – especially given Disgaea 6's limp script and 3D graphics.
While there is some semblance of enjoyment to be had here for those who like to see numbers go up, to see a series I’ve adored and followed for nearly two decades take inspiration from garbage mobile games in the spirit of greed and becoming bastardized as a shell of former self, breaks my heart.
If you already love Disgaea, you’ll probably love Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. You’ll definitely get the most out of this game if you’re already familiar with other SRPGs, but this is a fine place to enter the series–or the genre, for that matter. In the end, all that Disgaea 6 truly demands of a player is the willingness to learn its mechanics, an appreciation for its zany sense of humor, and a fondness for cute anime demons causing problems on purpose. As long as you can give it that, you’ll have a good time with this game.
This may please fans of the series but other than the overhaul in graphics I feel it plays too much like its predecessors. That being said, this is still a great starting point for those wanting to experience the Disgaea franchise or those looking for a solid tactical JRPG.
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny follows closely in the steps of the excellent Disgaea 5 – perhaps too closely, considering it shows a distinct lack of interest into innovating its formula. The new stylistic approach also fails to convince.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ultimately, Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is a surprisingly accessible entry into a franchise known for its complexity and tactical prowess. It achieves this accessibility without sacrificing its depth, too, which is a major boon for veterans of the series. In spite of this, an overall lack of innovation in the user-controlled battles and some dated graphics and dialogue make for an uneven, though at times great, experience. Even with its more inviting approach to newcomers, Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny will likely be most enjoyed by those who already love the franchise, and anyone who has a low tolerance for anime tropes or standard tactical fare will likely want to give this one a pass.
Disgaea 6 is a very good vintage for lovers of fun and completely offbeat tactical RPGs. Fans of the license will be delighted and will find here an excellent sequel, particularly funny. Excessive statistics, wacky remarks, funny situations and strategic fights, everything is there.
Review in French | Read full review
Still mindful of the surprising narrative, playful and artistic qualities of Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance, which in 2015 managed to win a place of honor among the best strategic role-playing games of the past generation, we had high hopes for the new episode. Not only did Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny not prove to be as explosive, but the product seemed to us to be a listless more than the same, moreover suffering from technical deficiencies that were nothing short of unjustifiable.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is the latest entry in the long-lived strategy RPG series and there have been quite a few changes and not just the leap from 2D sprites to 3D models. Using the Super Reincarnation spell, Zed reincarnates into different worlds taking the most optimal path to success until he achieves his wish of defeating the God of Destruction.
Disgaea 6 isn't the total misfire fans were afraid it would be, and in spite of several stumbles, still comes out as a solid, compelling game that will hopefully serve as a foundation to better, more fleshed out games in the future.
Disgaea 6 is the weakest entry in the series thanks to poor performance, bland combat, and a forgettable story.
It’s unmistakable that Disgaea continues to be genuinely unique – there really isn’t anything else like it. Nothing really comes close with such a zany story, beyond ridiculous levelling, and an extreme amount of systems within the game. Every entry tries to change enough to warrant its existence, making improvements but creating new flaws. The 3D modelled characters will be hit or miss, and the current level balancing issues and lack of classes will certainly annoy fans. Yet the chaotic isometric tactical gameplay will always reign supreme over these issues, providing hours upon hours of complex mechanics and charming characters to tinker with. Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is a delightfully addictive game packed with personality and content.
As a huge fan of Disgaea, I’m simply disappointed in the direction Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny took. It went from a charming RPG that had larger than life bosses with equally impressive stats to numbers so inflated it’s legitimately hard to know what exactly your stats are. Add in auto play that will literally grind while you sleep, various mechanics that make the mechanics irrelevant and it’s literally just a pointless grind until the next pointless grind. For some that might be fun, but that simply isn’t what Disgaea is for me.
NIS America played it safe with Disgaea 6 Defiance of Destiny, with the only real change being the transition from 2D models to fully 3D ones. This is astill a solid 60 hour turn based JRPG, but maybe what the series needs is a twist for the near future.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It’s easy to recommend Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny to series fans, especially if they plan on playing in handheld mode which alleviates most of the performance issues. Thanks to some efforts to streamline certain aspects of the game, and the new auto-battle mode, however, it also serves as a great entry point for those keen to find out what the fuss is all about. It may not have the best story in the series, and some gameplay changes might not seem so favourable, but overall Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny continues the series’ legacy of providing enjoyable strategy gameplay alongside plenty of laughs.
Disgaea 6 isn't a massive change for the long-running series, but the substantial improvements it brings means it doesn't have to be either.