Makai Kingdom released fairly late in the life of the PS2 and
came after the Disgaea and Phantom Brave games had established themselves on the
system. This version, subtitled “Reclaimed and Rebound”, contains even more
content than before and it is one of the most in-depth games you are ever
likely to find. Even in terms of NIS games this one is detailed with a
seemingly never-ending list of things to do and level up.
The writing and humour live up to the standard we now expect
from the company and the crazy plot will sit well with fans of Disgaea.
Basically, Zetta the “Bad-Ass Freakin’ Overlord” accidentally destroys his own
Netherworld and ends up getting confined within the pages of book and then things
start to get weird. It follows much the same look and pattern of other NIS
games with the mechanics more akin to Phantom Brave than Disgaea. Instead of
the grid system you are given range circles which show how far characters can
move and attack and the elemental aspect of Phantom Brave returns with
characters being created from raw materials such as rocks or trees and imbuing
characteristics of those objects.
Makai Kingdom is arguably NIS’ biggest and most in-depth
game. If you are a fan of this sort of thing and want something that’s fairly
easy to get into but has limitless depth then this might just be the game you
fall in love with.
Z.H.P: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman is something a little
different. It’s much closer to the Rogue template and has players guiding a
single character through dungeons repeatedly dying and levelling up their base
stats. The dungeons are randomly generated each time - aside from the boss
encounters which will require large amounts of grinding to get past. It’s like
if someone took the item world concept from Disgaea and tried to expand it into
its own game. It’s strangely addictive and we found ourselves glued to it for
hours at a time.
The plot of this one is wonderful as well. The real hero of
the piece is on their way to take on Demon General Darkdeath Evilman but is hit
by a car and dies when they step off the pavement without looking. The mantle
is then passed onto an ordinary person who is just passing by who then must begin
training to save the day and rescue Super Baby.
Overall, This collection is another solid release from NIS. A
re-release of Makai Kingdom was long overdue and it’s great it can now join
other classics from the company on the Switch. We hadn’t encountered Z.H.P:
Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman before but it fits perfectly here and is
a real highlight. The amount of grinding may put some off, but the humour and
charm of both games will likely see them find new fans, and they should because
both are genuinely great games.
Overall 8/10
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