Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited Review – Powered by Sardines! (Vita)

Like clockwork, NIS is dropping the portable version of 2011’s Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten for PS3 on us, in the form of Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited for the PlayStation Vita. For a more in-depth review of the gameplay, you should read our review of the original PS3 version. For the readers that haven’t played the original, or any Disgaea game for that matter, give Cameron’s review a read. His words are like butter. As an enhanced re-release of the PS3 version of the game, the big question for those who have already played the game is whether it is worth picking up again for Vita. 

For those of you that ignored my commands and didn’t read Cameron’s review (shame on you!), you must start over as a Level 1 Prinny! Alright, alright — I’ll give you a brief recap. Don’t let it happen again! Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited “revisits” (they’re so clever!) the original game. With the series’ grid-based SRPG (that’s Strategy, dood!) combat, crazy characters, hilarious dialog and humor, any gamer that loves old school RPGs will love this game. You will play out the story of Valvatorez, a former tyrant turned Prinny Instructor, through his quest to both fulfill his promises and bring order to the Underworld. Along the way you’ll also learn an awful lot about sardines too…

D4: APR holds up marvelously, and feels right at home on the Vita. It’s little surprise, since both the PSP and the Vita are home to some of the best RPGs of all time, especially of the Japanese variety. The Vita’s ability to immediately suspend and resume at will without interruption is great if someone dares to interrupt you mid-cut scene. Who do they think they are, anyways?!? To sweeten the deal, all of the DLC from the PS3 version is included in D4: APR. 

Speaking of new content, if you’ve already played D4: APU on the PS3, there is a ton of new content that just might make you want to revisit the game.There is some new story content, a new type of magic, new items, a ton of balancing changes, and a whole slew of features that were introduced in Disgaea D2. There is a weapon customizer that allows you to change the appearance of your weapons. The Cheat Shop from Disgaea D2 is also included, which allows you to tweak various game rules. Disgaea D2’s character promotions system was brought back, the Innocent Warehouse, and so much more. 

My only complaint about D4: APR is that the game is just so enormous. It will literally take you hundreds of hours to experience everything there is to experience in the game. For most people that is probably not a bad thing. On the Vita it might be an issue for some people. I know I’m not going to be finished exploring everything the game has to offer for quite awhile. Ok, maybe that’s really not a bad thing. It just means my gaming backlog is going to continue to grow. Curses!

In the slew of remasters and re-releases being released lately, Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited does it right. This isn’t just a simple port, it is a great new way to enjoy a game on a new platform for gamers that may have missed it on PS3, and it is full of new fun to be had for those that have already played it. I know I’m not done. I may never be done. Please, send help. Thanks.

Review copy was provided by the publisher. For information on scoring, please read our Review Policy here.