I really wanted to like Disgaea Mayhem — I really did. Sadly, despite some moments of promise, Nippon Ichi’s latest venture into the realm of the action genre falls flat.
I remember playing through the very first Disgaea game back on the PlayStation 2 and falling in love with a genre I typically ignore, thanks in part to the quirky story and over-the-top levelling system. The irreverent humour of the series proper has lived on through each instalment, with Disgaea Mayhem taking the cake, or in this case the flan, with its entire narrative crux revolving around the popular egg-based dessert.
Technically speaking, Disgaea Mayhem is a spinoff title in the Disgaea series, while in Japan and some other regions, the game is called Makaism: Frenzy, referencing the Netherworld Battle Chronicle (Makai Senki) subtitle of Disgaea. NIS America has wisely decided to stick with the Disgaea name for its western release for brand recognition, and, in truth, Disgaea Mayhem is pretty much a Disgaea game in every way except its genre.
“Disgaea Mayhem is pretty much a Disgaea game in every way except its genre.”
Unfortunately, Disgaea Mayhem is a shallow experience, lacking the depth of the series, making it hard to recommend even to fans of the source material. With only 7 chapters, an endgame level and an epilogue sequence, Disgaea Mayhem ends just before things start to get good. Making matters worse, Disgaea Mayhem features only around 5 distinct biomes, with later endgame areas reduced to a single map per chapter. Despite being only around 7 chapters long, the game will bring you back to the starting areas before the credits roll.
The worst part of Disgaea Mayhem is that by the game’s end, the potential for a fun game becomes clear: like the series proper, Disgaea Mayhem eventually opens up and allows for some truly crazy builds, rare weapons and over-the-top special attacks that feel distinctly Disgaea. The problem, however, is that there isn’t a compelling enough reason or enough post-game content to justify the grind, making it all feel kind of pointless.
On paper, all the elements that make a Disgaea game are present in Disgaea Mayhem, including the Item World, passing bills, the magichange system, item rarities, reincarnation, innocent farming, etc, but missing are the amount of levels and story content that makes any of it worth investing in, made worse with a shallow gameplay loop and braindead AI.
Disgaea Mayhem is an action game in the same vein as something like Dynasty Warriors or the Musou spinoff titles, which feature hordes of enemies that players can mow through ad nauseam. But even those games generally offer multiple playable characters and robust extras that make it worthwhile to play. Disgaea Mayhem, on the other hand, despite featuring every weapon style found in the series proper, lacks the challenge or level variety to make any of the varying playstyles worthwhile to change up or experiment with.
Combat does get better during the late game in Disgaea Mayhem, which takes the form of ultra-powerful finishers and Magichange abilities that evoke classic Disgaea attacks, but even these get repetitive after a while, and the lack of diversity in end-game arenas can make them feel unnecessary.
Graphically, Disgaea Mayhem has rather nice-looking character models, fully bringing to life iconic enemy types from the series’ past, as well as brand-new ones representing the unique cast of characters exclusive to the story. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the environments and level detail, which look rather plain and flat, featuring very little in the way of interesting locations or set dressing, ultimately giving the game a very budget feel.
“Disgaea Mayhem has all the makings of a good spinoff, minus some much-needed time in the bain-marie, making it feel undercooked.”
Outside of the action stages, Disgaea Mayhem features the Chara World. In this board game-style minigame, players send out recruitable monsters and Princess Tichelle, who can jump into N.A’s body (the player character) in order to level up some of his stats. Although a nice addition, this mode adds very little in terms of engaging or interesting gameplay, making it feel more like another throwaway mode meant to inflate the grind.
In terms of the overall story, as much as I love the humour and its ability to mix lighthearted elements with genuinely cool sequences like the series proper, Disgaea Mayhem will keep you waiting for that shoe to drop in terms of conflict and narrative weight, making the overall story feel a bit flat.
I do hope Nippon Ichi continues the Mayhem series, as Disgaea Mayhem has all the makings of a good spinoff, minus some much-needed time in the bain-marie, making it feel undercooked. For hardcore Disgaea fans, Disgaea Mayhem can still be worth checking out, as long as you’re comfortable with the grind for a game that rarely pays off, despite some of its cool late-game content.
