Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless is a jumbo-sized SRPG sequel

thesixthaxis.com:

Having run for two decades now, Disgaea is a landmark in the SRPG genre, with a light and characterful tone, big number chasing gameplay (from before that was at the core of so, so many game franchises), and hours upon hours of fun strategic combat. Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless wants to draw you back into the Netherworld for another offbeat, demon-filled tale.

Now, to be up front about it, I’ve never played a Disgaea game before sitting down with this seventh entry in the series, but the little snippet of what this game offered me might just be enough to lure me into exploring one of the older games over the next few months. Then again, as Disgaea 7 is making overtures to newer, more time-starved gamers, I might be better off waiting until October.

So much of this game’s story floats right past my head, as Fuji tries to find a path through the demonic realm of Hinomoto, where it’s less about bushido code and now more about the Hinomoto Code of Destruction. There’s just one hope to bring back the good ol’ days, and that’s the bushido fangirl Pirilika, who manages to rope in demon mercenary Fuji for her quest to collect seven weapons of legend and challenge the Demmodor Opener and their Demonic Magistrates.

It’s all nice and daft, putting some quirky anime trappings to the solid strategic RPG battling that is at the heart of these games – and it’s here that I can immediately see the appeal.

Alongside your hero characters like Fuji and Pirilika, the Disgaea series has you creating generic ally characters. Disgaea 7 has 45 ally character types to choose from while creating your team, with plenty of returning characters and a bunch of new ones. The Maiko is a dancer who hops on the spot, dealing extra damage to male enemies,