This was in my to play list, as a long time fan of the series. I have one of the 100% save files on GameFAQs of a prior game, though I won't say which.

After the Switch 2 exclusive content and proper patch content etc. I will never buy a Disgaea game again.

I do actually think this is a solid Disgaea game. The story is fine, the cast is one of the better of the series, and the mechanics are generally good. But it just has so many issues right now that I can't recommend it.

For starters, it cut out a huge amount of QOL and some of the best aspects of Disgaea 5 and 6. The juice bar sucks compared to 6, the economy is a complete mess that only gets worse, and the autobattle is a crippled mess compared to 6's. There are definitely improvements and positive aspects, for example I think they did classes better than 6 and being able to change subclasses on a whim is very nice, but it's a two steps back, one step forward kinda thing.

And while it's not the end of the world, I still don't like the 3d art - the game still looks worse than 5's 2d sprite art, with scenes where characters move less, react less, and just look less vibrant. It does look a little better than 6, at least.

But there's no ignoring the elephant in the room - the price. You're fully expected to pony up 110-120 dollars for the Complete edition (which isn't even the actual Complete edition), when Disgaea 4 and 5 regularly go on sale for 10-12 bucks for their actual Complete edition, and even the much-maligned 6 goes on sale for about 30 bucks pretty often. And I'm gonna be real here, I'd recommend 5 over this game any day even if it was 12 bucks instead of 120. Hell, I actually had more fun with 6 overall.

And all that DLC isn't really optional - they all lock massive benefits and crucial evilities behind a paywall, including the additional paywall of getting the ultimate edition for Pleinair, who makes grinding much faster and easier. Hope you didn't like the character and think she's cute, hand over 110+ bucks to get her, when she's free or cheap in every other Disgaea!

Again, I have to stress, this is not a bad game. If you could get it for 15 bucks on sale I'd be recommending it. But right now, if you want to get into Disgaea, just go for 5 on sale and get a better game for literally 10% of the price.

It's not Disgaea 5, but it still is among one of the best ones for me.