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Author Topic: The NIS/NISA thread: CLADUN on PC!?!  (Read 14703 times)

freeformschooler

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The NIS/NISA thread: CLADUN on PC!?!
« on: April 03, 2012, 01:18:45 pm »

Alright, I did a search on the forum and there was a Disgaea thread, but it was from 2009. So I think it's time to start a thread to discuss Nippon Ichi games, which are far and beyond my favorite video games of all time (more than Final Fantasy, Zelda, etc.) I think it's only appropriate to start with a little FAQ.

What's Nippon Ichi?

Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) is a Japanese video game company that makes a lot of video games. These video games usually feature:

-Some amount of customization (ranging from building characters to combining characters with items)
-Strategy and/or RPG gameplay
-Lots and lots of grinding (9000+ level cap optional)
-Some variation of "optional randomly generated dungeon"
-Graphics that, with some exceptions (Disgaea 4?), are visually pleasing but nowhere near the capabilities of the system most of the games run on
-Exploding demon penguins

They're most famous for their Disgaea series which features grid-based tactical RPG gameplay and really silly stories/characters. The characters from the first Disgaea game have appeared in some way in just about every NIS RPG since then (NIS is legendary for the sheer cameo density in some of their games).

Where do I start if I want to play a good NIS game?

There is no excuse now to not play or have played the first Disgaea game. It's been released on three consoles (PS2, PSP, DS) and can provide unlimited hours of entertainment. It's also a little easier to get into than its successors (less mind-boggling features and options).

Can you share a little info on the NIS games you've played?

Sure! I haven't played them all and I do not have a PS3, but I can review them here for you.

Disgaea: Hour/Afternoon of Darkness, Disgaea DS (PS2, PSP, DS):

Where it all started. This one has my favorite story of all. It features Laharl, son of the previous Overlord (a reigning world-conquering villain), who has been woken up from a hundreds-years sleep by his loli demon liege(?) Etna. His father has been killed, so now every demon in existence is vying for the spot. Laharl decides he's most fit to be Overlord and starts questing to defeat other potential overlords. Things get more complicated when an Flonne, an angel from Heaven, is introduced.

There's a wide variety of classes to choose from when creating characters, and you can make just about every character/enemy type in the game into a playable unit. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, but there's nothing really stopping you from working towards a sword-wielding, Ice-casting Archer unit.

When you're not going through the story mode levels you can enter an "Item World": a randomly generated dungeon created from one of your items. Every time you complete 10 item world levels, the item levels up and gains bonuses. There's also a "specialist" system for further customization but blah blah that's too much to get into here.

As for the ports, the PSP version has multilayer, a first for the series, along with a few other additions. The DS version built off the PSP version and added a little more content (but at the cost of reduced graphics quality).

Makai Kingdom (PS2/PSP):

Released a bit after the first Disgaea (I think), Makai Kingdom stars Zetta, the biggest badass in all of NIS, questing to free himself from a book. Since Zetta can't actually fight in book form, ALL of your characters until the post game are generic characters.

The character/skill-building wasn't quite as robust as a lot of the Disgaea games, but there are plenty of other changed or new mechanics: the removal of the grid system (you move freely within a certain radius), vehicles, base-building, even giving characters stat boosts based on what item you built them with. There's too much to cover here.

Personally, I think the characters here were some of the most entertaining. A wimpy final-boss-looking demon lord named Micky, the arrogant yet hilarious Zetta, Pram the psychic (or something), Zetta's previous student/lover (who makes things more complicated when she's introduced)... the writing was still top notch. I haven't beaten this game yet so I may update this post if I ever get around to doing that.

Phantom Brave (PS2, PSP, Wii?)

Story-wise, Phantom Brave was much more serious in tone than most NIS games. It featured Marona, a girl who was treated as an outcast due to her ability to see and interact with ghosts like Ash (the other main character who died in a battle).

It's actually a little closer to the Disgaea series gameplay-wise compared to Makai Kingdom, but it still features radius-based movement in battle. It's notable for being absolute, positively ridiculous with the amount of customization possible. You can combine characters with characters, items with characters, items with items... it's entirely possible to have a sword that can cast spells that could only be found on a starfish or pumpkin. Yes, "starfish" and "pumpkin" are viable weapon types.

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories/Dark Hero Days (PS2/PSP):

The sequel to the original Disgaea. You play a human hero (!?) who quests to defeat the Demon Overlord Xenon. Things get complicated (see a trend?) when Rozalin, the overlord's daughter, is introduced.

Honestly, I didn't think this one was quite as interesting. The story was comparatively boring (though the endings were great, especially the infamous worst ending which is notable for being absolutely horrific) and made trekking through the story levels feel a little more like a slog. The new content was somewhat interesting, though: new classes, new items, and new gameplay mechanics like a backwards crime punishment system. The gameplay was still rock solid, and the item world was made less monotonous by the introduction of new things like portal types, item pirates and places to rest every 10 levels.

I haven't played Disgaea 3 or 4 yet as those right now are still PS3 exclusive. I do not have a PS3, so I'm going to move on to a couple other NIS games I've played.

Cladun: This is an RPG/Cladun X2 (PSP) (Published by NISA, subsidiary dev)

I hope you like nostalgia. Cladun, or Classic Dungeon, is NIS' throwback to the old days of dungeon crawling and features, among other things:

-An incredibly elaborate "magic circle" system for powering up characters
-A degree of customizing stuff not possible in a lot of games (think Animal Crossing's design editor but with both characters and equipment)
-Fairly typical yet extremely fun action RPG gameplay
-Vaguely Diablo-style loot drops
-Punch you in the face, remove your kidney and steal your girlfriend level difficulty (at later levels and bosses)

If you like either of those last two things and have a PSP then these games are worth checking out. Cladun X2 is not inherently "better" than Cladun: the sequel features extended gameplay mechanics at the cost of story elements and interesting characters. X2 is more for purists who just want to steamroll through a dungeon for loot and fun.

Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman (PSP)

Warning: this game is so ridiculous in every aspect that it may cause you to question your personal values. When playing, make sure to remember this was made in Japan. I cannot do it judgement through a text description of the story and basic mechanics so I will link you to the brutally honest American trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wn6NYU7QeU

When you've watched that, I'm just going to list some highlights that will probably interest this community.

-The game has roguelike gameplay. Yes, a single character ventures through random dungeons of various themes. You collect items, defeat monsters and figure out how to manipulate the grid-based movement system to give you an advantage over your enemies.
-There's a lot of customization here. Items can be combined, your character can be modified, you can even set up your home base.
-The writing is positively hilarious. To give you an idea: when you beat the tutorial dungeons you unlock a wife and daughter. The wife is a penguin who desires brand name handbags and will deliver lunch to you during a dungeon.

A few other tidbits

-The games listed above do not encompass all NIS games. They're just the ones I have extensively played. If you like them then there's more out there for you like Disgaea 3/4, La Pucelle, Class of Heroes, Soul Nomad, etc.
-NIS has a partnership with Atlus who translates a lot of their games. The translations are consistently good, and a lot of the English voice acting is well done (though sometimes overdone).
-Nippon Ichi is gearing up to release three new games for the PS3 soon. Actually, I think all (or at least 2) are already released in Japan, but these releases are the American version. I predict at least one of them will hit other systems.
-Almost all of the main games have been ported to PSP with new content (and usually alternate storylines).

Now that you've written all these words, what are we suppose to discuss?

Anything NIS is up for discussion. Strategies, what you think of the games, which ones you're considering getting, etc.

However, I have a question of my own. Disgaea 3 is being released in the US as a super-duper port for PSP called Absence of Detention soon. What I want to know is if it's worth it considering I haven't played D3 yet. What's the best feature? The worst? I want honest pros and cons from the (likely few) people here who've played it.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 07:14:55 pm by freeformschooler »
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Levi

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2012, 01:41:50 pm »

I've slowly soured on Disgaea over the years, as my threshold for grinding has gone down.  A few of those more actiony new ones that are coming out are pretty tempting though.  :D

However, I have a question of my own. Disgaea 3 is being released in the US as a super-duper port for PSP called Absence of Detention soon. What I want to know is if it's worth it considering I haven't played D3 yet. What's the best feature? The worst? I want honest pros and cons from the (likely few) people here who've played it.

I enjoyed the characters of Disgaea 3 the most I think.  It had an all around better feel than D2.
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Aklyon

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2012, 01:44:05 pm »

That has to be the most ridiculous trailer ever. But I still want to find where my psp went to try it because of that.
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freeformschooler

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2012, 01:46:49 pm »

I enjoyed the characters of Disgaea 3 the most I think.  It had an all around better feel than D2.

Yes! That is exactly what I wanted to know. I've heard good things about it from online reviews but wanted to hear something from a regular forum member here. I'll definitely be picking it up (and grinding for hours).
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Bluerobin

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2012, 01:53:51 pm »

Yeah, I think typically I've seen people like Disgaea 3 more than the others in the series (my friends as well). I haven't gotten past the halfway point myself, but it wasn't for a lack of an interesting story/characters/systems. I'm not really fond of evilities, but eh.
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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2012, 01:55:05 pm »

ZHP ranger was brilliant :P
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fenrif

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2012, 01:56:31 pm »

If anyone hasn't played ZHP Unloosing Ranger then you're doing PSP wrong. All the best PSP games are Nippon Ichi, and ZHP is the best of them.

I think the only one of these I havent played is Makai Kingdom. How does it stack up against the others? I'm kind of curious as to how vehicles work in the game. Is it a case of just equipping it like an item and then it gives you special abilities/movement speed?
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Malt_Hitman

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2012, 02:02:39 pm »

I’ve been a fan of Nippon Ichi Software since the first Disgaea game for the PS2.  It’s good to see this company receive some acknowledgement on these forums aside from just the Disgaea games.
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freeformschooler

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2012, 02:04:04 pm »

I think the only one of these I havent played is Makai Kingdom. How does it stack up against the others? I'm kind of curious as to how vehicles work in the game. Is it a case of just equipping it like an item and then it gives you special abilities/movement speed?

It's quite different from the rest of them while still being an SRPG. I would say it's closest to Phantom Brave, so if you liked that you'll probably like Makai Kingdom (it has more stuff in general with less customization).

The vehicles work as independent entities with their own stats, levels, items, etc. Your characters can ride them during battle.
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Vherid

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2012, 02:14:22 pm »

Disgaea, ZHP are amazing. Never heard of Makai Kingdom. I haven't touched Disgaea 2, Phantom Brave and Cladius much yet.

Neonivek

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2012, 03:14:07 pm »

Disgaea, ZHP are amazing. Never heard of Makai Kingdom. I haven't touched Disgaea 2, Phantom Brave and Cladius much yet.

Makai Kingdom is alright... but between Disgaea, ZHP, and Phantom Brave... it is by far the weakest of the bunch.

Mind you I want them to make another one.
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majikero

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2012, 03:14:46 pm »

You didn't mention the Atelier series, they're part of GUST though. ZHP is made of pure epic win. It has hero cliches, a complete throwback to the good old days of hero shows, complete with life lessons.
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Haschel

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2012, 03:30:17 pm »

I really wish I had taken the time to finish Makai Kingdom. The overall battle mechanics were difficult to grasp at first so I didn't get too far, but the characters were definitely some of my favorites. Zeta was absolutely hilarious. I don't see any mention of Soul Nomad which should really be rectified. The evil side-route alone makes that game worth playing.

By the way, here's NISA's three recently announced upcoming titles. The websites just launched so there isn't much on them yet.
The Witch and the Hundred Knights
Mugen Souls
Legasista

Legasista looks like it'll be similar to Cladun's gameplay, Hundred Knights is supposed to be an Action RPG (And artwork is by Takehito Harada who I love), and Mugen Souls... Not sure what to say about that. It's another one in the line of new-age J-RPGs with their 3D art style, which I personally haven't been a fan of so far.
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freeformschooler

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2012, 03:38:01 pm »

You didn't mention the Atelier series, they're part of GUST though. ZHP is made of pure epic win. It has hero cliches, a complete throwback to the good old days of hero shows, complete with life lessons.
I don't see any mention of Soul Nomad which should really be rectified. The evil side-route alone makes that game worth playing.

Please read the post:

-The games listed above do not encompass all NIS games. They're just the ones I have extensively played. If you like them then there's more out there for you like Disgaea 3/4, La Pucelle, Class of Heroes, etc.

But yeah, I sadly have never played an Atelier game, nor have I tried Soul Nomad  :'( I should get on that sometime. I hear they're very good.

It's worth noting that just as Haschel said, no matter how they doll it up, Legasista is basically Cladun III. Importers who've played it can attest to this. Mugen Souls looks great. I hope both of them get ported to another system I have (though porting of Mugen to, say, PSP seems less likely given the graphics).
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majikero

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Re: The Nippon Ichi thread: new games incoming
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2012, 04:19:09 pm »

A trip down memory lane(and their website). Here's a list of games I have/played with the NIS logo in it.

Atelier Iris 2 - never finished it. When I got it, it was already considered old.

Atelier Iris 3 - Never finished it because I had a huge backlog of games at the time.

Mana Khemia - Finished this. Dialog is funny, cool special attacks Pretty standard for a game with the NIS logo.

Mana Khemia 2 - never finished it. We sold the PS2 when we moved.

Atelier Rorona - still in progress. Gameplay is pretty simple. Too simple for a mind tainted by DF. I plan to get all Totori and Meruru.

Phantom Brave(PSP) - still in progress. I had the PS2 version but never finished that. The new story in the PSP is hard. Can't get past the 1st mission.

Disgaea 2 - we have this but never played it much.

Disgaea 3 - we have this but never played it much.

Disgaea 4 - Played it but bogged down by the grind. My favorite main character in all Disgaea games.

Ar Tonelico - Finished it. Awesome music, look it up in youtube. It has it's own made up language called Hymmnos. It even has different dialects. Its a turn based game, though I'm reluctant to call it strategy. Battle basically boils down protect the Reyvateil(female magic singer) until the spell(song) is charged up enough to kill the enemy.

Ar Tonelico 2 - never finished it before we moved. Has better songs than 1 and different battle system. I plan to get 3 when I finish this one.

Trinity Universe - we have this but haven't played it much.

Zettai Hero Project - Finished the story line which is made of pure epic win. Got bogged down on post game grinds. Tried to get alternate endings by defeating Darkdeath Evilman made it to chapter 2 I think.

Soul Nomad - never finished this. The CD broke and was unplayable.


I have plenty of games I want to go back to in the PS2.
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