New Details on Disgaea 4

Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) recently held a small press conference where they announced details and gameplay systems in Disgaea 4. NIS CEO Souhei Niikawa mentioned new features included in the fan favorite strategy RPG.

Unlike Disgaea 3, Disgaea 4 has players managing their own government instead of a school. Disgaea 4 will also include new elements that lengthen gameplay. Such elements include collecting items, score boards, and character creation. A major addition to the Disgaea series is the inclusion of online play. Players will be able to attack other players while connected online. Gamers will not have to worry about high level players attacking because NIS is considering allowing player to determine the range of players that can attack. They are also considering the possibility of allowing gamers to assist others in cooperative play.

Takehito Harada's character designs make a return in Disgaea 4. In previous Disgaea games, players control sprite forms of Harada's characters. In Disgaea 4, players can use Harada's designs as originally drawn rather than converted sprites, resulting in smoother character animations. Players will also have the option to change between sprite and original forms.

Disgaea games are known for the amount of time it can eat away from a person's life. Players can level up any character as high as level 9999. Disgaea is also known for the vast array of features fans can utilize to improve their army. Such features include item worlds, which allow players to dive into the world of an item and level up that particular item.

With the inclusion of online to the Disgaea series, it appears fans will be able to play a Disgaea game even longer into the night. It is good to see Disgaea 4 avoid cancellation. The game is set to release on February 24 in Japan. North American fans will able to get their hands on it summer 2011.