Disgaea 7 Complete Review – Everything You Need

Disgaea 7 Complete Review

Disgaea games are utterly enormous. Each entry is a bottomless pit of content, so long as you’re a specific kind of psychopath about strategy RPGs. Disgaea 7 is no exception. So in theory, a complete edition should be an absolute boon, right? A heaping helping of extra characters, battles, and modes, all perfect for turning a huge game gigantic, yes? Correct! The only problem is that Disgaea 7 Complete costs a king’s ransom to acquire. So while I loved the base game, and I’m thrilled about having all this extra content in one package, I have a hard time recommending it.

For the uninitiated, Disgaea games are turn-based strategy RPGs with all of the limiters slowly removed. Every item hides a bonus dungeon, cheating is totally fine, and your max stats can get to about a billion or so. This most recent game takes place in a warped bushido underworld full of scummy demons and other cruel beasts. While the main campaign has its perks, the real Disgaea experience doesn’t start until you get to the postgame. This is also where Disgaea 7 Complete properly shines.

First off, you’ve got immediate access to seven bonus chapters, each of which unlocks extra characters. There’s also a bunch of rare equipment and some extra outfits. The characters are great because they’ve got stats and abilities you can’t find in the main game. Once you finish the campaign, you can start working towards the increased stat cap (999,999,999!), and the final post-game boss, Rakshasa Baal.

The Final(est) Boss

If all of this sounds like insane nonsense, that’s okay! A lot of the postgame content is strictly for the absolute psychos. You know, people who are happily willing to dump over a hundred hours into this game. It’s not like you even mean to do it, either. Eventually, your playthrough is just, consumed by this need for efficiency. Once you have Baal in your sights -any version of him- you simply can’t get stronger fast enough. Worse, you never feel like you’re strong enough at all. That drive towards power becomes an addict’s fixation. All of that is to say that Disgaea games get extremely compelling in the postgame.

It doesn’t take long for you to start learning every trick you can to level up faster. To that end, since the DLC characters scale up with you, it’s a great way to get a party of bruisers very quickly. Another advantage comes from those little bonuses found in certain extra characters and weapons. Tiny things that no one but the true diehards will ever even use. Like the Puppy Paw Stick, which has a chance to clone the equipment of whoever you hit with it. Sounds silly at first, but you can use it to scoop up some extremely powerful gear – if you’re diligent enough.

For Sickos Only

The big downside to all this awesome DLC content is the cost. The Complete edition is technically cheaper than buying the game and all the DLC separately, but not by much. I don’t have to tell you ‘buy it’ or ‘don’t buy it.’ Only absolute diehards and serious collectors will even give Disgaea 7 Complete a second glance. At least here in Canada, this version of the game is 150 bucks. Gah! But there’s no denying how much content is here for high-level fans of the franchise.

Disgaea games are huge. 7 was already enormous, and the Complete edition makes it bigger still. You could drop hundreds of hours into this game in pursuit of total completion, the well is practically bottomless. The extra characters, the raised stat cap, and the new final boss could have you playing forever, more or less. And yet the price point is pretty painful. Between that and the Switch 2 exclusivity (which may be temporary), I’m not quite sure who this is for, beyond the most serious of players and collectors. But for those people, for that exclusive club, Disgaea 7 Complete is a fantastic game. For everyone else, I totally understand if you pass this one up. As a hopeless Disgaea addict, I may never escape the gravity well this game created in my living room. Remember me fondly, my friends.

***A Nintendo Switch 2 code was provided by the publisher***