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[jaundicejuice]

My introduction to the world of Nippon Ichi games began in a rather assbackwards way, with Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, I totally slept on Disgaea. When I picked up Atelier Iris I also pre-ordered Makai Kingdom and then got it into my head that I should acquire all of Nippon Ichi's strat Rpgs and play through them in their proper order. Like I said, I'm going about getting these games in an ass backwards fashion.

Anyhow, nearly two months later I'm the proud owner of LaPucelle: Tactics, Disgaea, Phantom Brave, and Makai Kingdom, as my copies Disgaea and La Pucelle finally arrived in the mail today. Now I can begin the joyous task of slogging my way through all four games, in the order they were meant to be played in.

Maybe it's a good thing I intially passed on Disgaea when it first came out because almost everyone I've spoken to about N1's Srpg's has ragged on La Pucelle, and I'm having a total blast with it in the hour I've sunk into the game thus far. I love the visual style, the characters, the story, it's cutesy irrerent and amusing fluff, but it's just icing on the cake compared to the gameplay. I don't think I've played a strategy game I've enjoyed this much since Final Fantasy Tactics, I love the odd fusion of a traditional turn based Jrpg battle system (like screen transitions, being able to mass multiple units against a single foe) with typical strat Rpg mechanics (grid based movement, and enemies visible on the map).

If La Pucelle Tactics is the 'worst' Strat Rpg Nippon Ichi has put out, then I'm gonna be happier than a pig in shit for the next year or so as I play my way through all four games.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I heard it wasnt like absolute shit, just such a drop compared to disgaea.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Glad you liked it jaundicejuice, I feel the same way, it was the first NI game I dived into and considering the way people seem to consider it the 'worst' in relation to the rest, that's not really a bad thing. It just means the copy of Disgaea and Phantom Brave I have would just be better. Besides I feel like playing them "in order" anyway.

Though I never did dive into the nitty-gritty of the game much, just pretty much beat each episode with the best rankings possible to get the better rewards, but didn't get into things like monster, or item leveling/combing stuff, or even try the extra areas with more powerful beast. I just don't have much time anymore for RPG/SRPG, so having time for one in the first place has been a rarity for me.

 

[Ironclad]

I heard it wasnt like absolute shit, just such a drop compared to disgaea.

MAF is right. I liked La Pucelle but Disgaea is better. It's good that you're playing La Pucelle before Disgaea though because La Pucelle actually came out before Disgaea in Japan. It was flipped for the U.S. release. We got Disgaea first here. Either way, it's a good game but considered to be the lesser of N1's strat games.

 

[jaundicejuice]

I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't just that everyone who had played Disgaea disliked La Pucelle cos it's battle system was a bit slower in comparison and the story and characters weren't as good. Either way, it looks like all aces to me from here on in.

 

[Whimsical Phil]

My introduction to the world of Nippon Ichi games began in a rather assbackwards way, with Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, I totally slept on Disgaea. When I picked up Atelier Iris I also pre-ordered Makai Kingdom and then got it into my head that I should acquire all of Nippon Ichi's strat Rpgs and play through them in their proper order. Like I said, I'm going about getting these games in an ass backwards fashion.

How strange. I did the exact same thing. I picked up Atelier and then got into the whole "must get all of Nippon Ichi's U.S. releases." Luckily, my local Fry's had ample copies of Atelier and even a few stray La Pucelles sitting around. They then got in a whole mess o' Makais, so I was set there, too.

I found Phantom at Best Buy of all places, so the only one I had to go to eBay for was Disgaea, but I did get a copy that's in darn good shape.

I even went nuts and picked up as many of the strategy guides as I could. I found Makai's at EB and I just ordered Phantom's off Amazon. It seems as though Pucelle's guide is slowly going up in price, but I found a brand new one on Half.com for about $15. It looks like the only one I need now is Disgaea, but I'll be damned if I pay the price that they eBayers are asking.

The only thing left to do now is decide what order to play them in. I was originally going to play them in the order of U.S. release, but after reading this thread, I think I may start with Pucelle. Although I'm very tempted to start with Atelier since I'm a bigger fan of traditional RPGs than of strategy RPGs.

 

[acidviper]

If La Pucelle Tactics is the 'worst' Strat Rpg Nippon Ichi has put out, then I'm gonna be happier than a pig in shit for the next year or so as I play my way through all four games.

La Pucelle is not necessarily the worst. It was made first so it makes sense that it has the least depth. Its a lot easier and a lot shorter, but I really like the combos you can make from the tiles. I forget but some guy just used that first really long dungeon and 500x the damage/experience over and over and over without playing the game. Using that trick to level up is super fun. After that gets dull and you've finished the game LPT is not really worth playing again.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

I didn't think it was a horrid game...it's just terribly boring and lacking charm. Their other games that I've tried don't suffer as much from those defects.

 

[Jumpman Jr.]

It looks like the only one I need now is Disgaea, but I'll be damned if I pay the price that they eBayers are asking.

DoubleJump Books has a free color Disgaea strategy guide as a download:

http://www.doublejumpbooks.com/disgaea/

 

[gvandale]

I hang my head in shame as I say this, but I still haven't bought Disgaea (sp?). I got La Pucelle and Phantom Brave with my PS2 a while back and I slogged through about 90 hours of La Pucelle. I fell in love with the game, the monster training system, etc. Now due to the end of 2004 push of gaming excellence (re4, mgs3, etc) I never actually finished La Pucelle, touch Phantom Brave, or buy Disgaea (sp?).

Either way, since everyone said that LP:T is the worst of the main 3, I can't wait to get into PB and Disgaea.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

I was going to pick up Star Ocean 3 or Phantom Brave yesterday, but my store had a pretty cheap copy of La Pucellle. I remember hearing about it being the first game one should play if wanting to get into Nippon's worlds, so I snagged it.

Enjoying it a ton. If it only gets better from here, I'm in for a world of joy!

 

[TheMissingLink]

Just wanted to chime in and comment on La Pucelle...it has a great story, wonderful character and I think it's full of charm. It's the only NI srpg I've been able to absolutely lose myself in...

And get a bear, because those bears pwn.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Well, to its credit, La Pucelle probably has the best plot and characters -- for anime-derived pap -- of the 4 NI PS2 titles. Other than that, though, it's pretty damn tedious and shallow compared to the later three titles. Getting an uberleveled character for the hidden maps is a pain in the fucking butt.

Personally, I still like Phantom Brave the best by a healthy margin. It's like a big ol' stat sandbox.

 

[Whimsical Phil]

DoubleJump Books has a free color Disgaea strategy guide as a download:

http://www.doublejumpbooks.com/disgaea/

Hot-diggity-damn! Thanks for the tip.

I see that Double Jump has also reprinted the guide and is selling it for $40. That's almost tempting. Almost.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

DoubleJump Books has a free color Disgaea strategy guide as a download:

http://www.doublejumpbooks.com/disgaea/

SWEET!!

$40 for a strategy guide?!! That's insane!

 

[Shouta]

The love for Disgaea is a bit mind boggling to me because it probably is least favorite of the first 3 N1 games. Phantom Brave's customization is deeper, La Pucelle's story and characters are more interesting, and both LP and PB are better in combat than Disgaea is. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that Disgaea was the first of the games to make it over here and it got the "first game" treatment from a lot of folks.

 

[BobbyRobby]

La Pucelle was the first N1 game I beat too, besides Rhapsody. Its good, but the story gets a little too sappy for my tastes. Its weird since I bought Disgaea close to release, and never started playing it until a few days ago.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

La Pucelle was the first N1 game I beat too, besides Rhapsody. Its good, but the story gets a little too sappy for my tastes. Its weird since I bought Disgaea close to release, and never started playing it until a few days ago.

I liked it for the most part, but I found it too contrived for some parts regarding the "relationships" that "bloom" in the game, so damn abrupt like they are only together because there happen to be 2 girls and 2 guys so it's like "Let's put them conviently together, hell let's make one guy some type of prince too!!" Meh....

 

[acidviper]

Well, to its credit, La Pucelle probably has the best plot and characters -- for anime-derived pap -- of the 4 NI PS2 titles. Other than that, though, it's pretty damn tedious and shallow compared to the later three titles. Getting an uberleveled character for the hidden maps is a pain in the fucking butt.

This could have been a really dark game. With all the murders and sacrafices, but the manimals were too cutesy and the enemies were never that scary. Oh well.

 

[madara]

La Pucelle was done before the Big D. Its a great game, I rank it behind Disgaea. Its hard to beat all charm, atmosphere and extras of the big D. I surely liked it 100 times better then PB, that was huge step down for me, story, characters and battles.

 

[G-Fex]

i'm so busy with rpgs like SMT: Nocturne, La Pucelle and now disgaea. But yeah La Pucelle was well worth my money, I'd never thought i'd like another tactic game after I sucked a lot on FF Tactics. But I love La Pucelle and when I got to the forrest, those bears tore me up. Mean bastards.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Looking at the Disgaea artbook, there is a female demon that looks like a lot like Prier from La Pucelle...huh?

Can anyone explain to me this, are they linked?

 

[Mejilan]

All I can say is of the N1 SRPGs (I own all 4), La Pucelle was the one I got the furthest in before stopping!

 

[MetatronM]

Looking at the Disgaea artbook, there is a female demon that looks like a lot like Prier from La Pucelle...huh?

Can anyone explain to me this, are they linked?

All the N1 PS2 SRPGs take place in the same vague multiverse, and characters from the various games make cameos in some of the many uber bonus stages and stuff. Prier appears in Disgaea, Laharl and company appear in Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom, and so on.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

All the N1 PS2 SRPGs take place in the same vague multiverse, and characters from the various games make cameos in some of the many uber bonus stages and stuff. Prier appears in Disgaea, Laharl and company appear in Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom, and so on.

For those who beat La Pucelle, does that mean Prier's ending was really the special ending in which

Spoiler

she gains the rank of demon overload for beating enough darkworld monsters.

If it is, that's put's La Pucelle's "real" ending into perspective, seems kind of a funny ending if I think about it.