Disgaea 5 Complete was one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games to play back when the console first launched in 2017, and flashing forward eight years later, a similar scenario is playing out with Disgaea 7 Complete on Nintendo Switch 2. Simply put, Disgaea 7 Complete is a very fun strategy RPG that kept me up for many hours during the night since it’s very hard to put down. Disgaea has always felt right at home on a portable device, but getting the most definitive version of what this franchise is all about makes it even more engaging that I could have imagined. That’s not to say that Disgaea 7 Complete is a perfect RPG, as it mostly meets and settles around the expectations I have for the series in 2025. Coming back to Disgaea with Disgaea 7 Complete is a real treat, however, as it offers some of the most fun strategy RPG mechanics in gaming right now.
Disgaea 7 Complete includes Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless with all of its DLC and content in one convenient package, along with brand-new content and features. The story of the original Disgaea 7 is maintained, and it begins with a demon named Fuji, a rogue samurai who rejects the bushido tenets of the Hinomoto Netherworld Cluster. While up to no good, Fuji encounters Pirilika, a rich demon who is accompanied by a Prinny companion named Pii-chan. Pirilika wants to indulge in Hinomoto culture and seek out the Infernal Treasure weapons, but as Fuji quickly reveals, this Japanese-inspired world has fallen from grace under the rule of a mysterious villain named “Demmodore Opener.” In typical Disgaea fashion, the story and premise of the game is very whimsical, anime-inspired, and tropey, but this is to its strength. Like other Disgaea games, the comedy and audacity of it all is a fun layer over a rich story with serious undertones that develops as you progress the episodes.
Disgaea 7 Complete Sticks to the Formula
Disgaea‘s strategy RPG combat system is really straightforward—you take turns moving or removing allies on the grid while trying to take out all the enemies on the map. It’s no different in Disgaea 7 Complete. Characters have access to several skills, Special Moves and Evilities, which are special bonus effects and modifiers that can be learned through scrolls and toggled on characters of your choosing. Disgaea is also a stat-heavy game that can be played for hundreds of hours if you want outrageously overleveled and powerful allies, since there are many equipment pieces, Evilities, skills, character classes, and other ranking attributes to consider. You’ll have main characters like Fuji, Pirilika, Ceefore, and Yeyasu in your ranks as well, but also have the ability to recruit new allies with a desired class in mind and name them anything you want, for the most part.
Disgaea is a big numbers game in a way. You can get a lot of damage later on in the game by setting up attacks from your party and allowing them to string together in a combo. On top of this, you can lift and throw allies to get them out of danger or closer to an enemy, and enemies can also be thrown. If you throw a Prinny, they’ll explode, but you can always make more of them for a rather low cost. As you might surmise, Disgaea 7 Complete carries a lot of the core components of past Disgaea games, and there’s also a very low barrier to entry. The game’s hub, the Nethership, gives you all the resources to quickly get you up to speed on what makes Disgaea tick, if you need it. You also get tutorials as you play through the main story, all of which introduces mechanics that are explained quite well.
This is not to say that Disgaea 7 Complete doesn’t stand on its own, however. The game has its own unique elements that really set it apart from the series, such as Jumbification and Hell Mode. In battle, you can build up the Rage Meter and unleash the Jumbify action to make your desired character massive and deal major damage across the map. In short, your character becomes a Kaiju-level threat, and they can also deal more damage against other Jumbified enemies vs what normal-sized units can dish out. On the other hand, Hell Mode can be used to unleash one of your Infernal Treasures after fulfilling certain conditions to fill the Hell Gauge. Your selected unit will gain notable power-ups by doing so, and in Disgaea 7 Complete, any unit can use Hell Mode after you meet certain conditions in the game. These elements make Disgaea feel even more outlandish and crazy than ever before, and I really enjoy using these mechanics when trying to see how fast I can finish a map for extra rewards by the end.
The Nethership is Your Nexus
Like the original game, the Nethership serves as your nexus into all the content that Disgaea 7 Complete has to offer. This includes Disgaea 7’s 25+ hour main game and Item World, which lets you select any item in your inventory and enter a randomly generated dungeon with tons of rewards and XP boosting opportunities. This is in addition to the Nethership’s Special Content Shop with all previously released DLC, alongside a slew of item and service shops that typically benefit you in RPGs, including the Juice Bar and Dark Assembly.
Juice Bar and Dark Assembly are quite notable since the former lets you distribute the XP you earn throughout your playtime to whichever units you see fit, while the latter is a voting mini-game where you use the Mana Points you earn in battle to propose an idea to a gathering of NPCs. By ideas, I mean temporary bonuses, gameplay modifiers, and even unlockables like a shop full of cheats and the Reincarnation system, which lets characters restart from level 1 to get increased base stats and retain useful skills. There’s more to Reincarnation, but for the sake of brevity, the game does a good job explaining it more in detail once you unlock it. The NPCs will vote Aye or Nay depending on their standing with you, so its up to you to get the best result possible.
Character recruitment, Ranked Battles, quests, and much more can also be found in the Nethership, so you’ll be spending a considerable amount of time checking out what’s new as you progress the game. I think Disgaea 7 Complete offers a satisfying gameplay loop for strategy RPG fans, as there’s both intricacy in the amount of gameplay-related features you have and the rewards you get as you play through story content and Item World. This is also true for the previous Disgaea games, but there’s just even more on top of that since there are DLC bonus stories and content tied to other Disgaea games. What’s more, the new content that’s available in Disgaea 7 Complete is somewhat substantial for new and returning players.
Going Further Beyond
The aforementioned Hell Mode being accessible to all characters is one of a few notable additions that are exclusive to Disgaea 7 Complete. Firstly, the story of Disgaea 7 continues in a new bonus story called “The Nethertime Support Force,” which picks up directly with Fuji and Pirilika after the events of the original game. In this story, the party heads to Netherworlds from previous entries in the series to search for answers behind the Infernal Treasures. I found this content to be really fascinating and fun, serving as a great epilogue while giving some more world-building for the Disgaea series. Completing this chapter unlocks Asagi, the game-hopping and recurring character throughout many of Nippon Ichi Software’s games.
After defeating the superboss Carnage Baal, you have the opportunity to face off against Rakshasa Baal, an insanely powerful new superboss that you must absolutely be prepared for. Fortunately, beating Carnage Baal unlocks a Dark Assembly bill that will grant uncapped stats for all your characters. Of course, you will need to be smart with how you level up and build out your strongest possible team, but those uncapped stats do help give you a fighting chance.
Disgaea 7 Complete marks the series’ debut on Nintendo Switch 2, and I think this version stuck its landing. The game offers Graphics and Performance modes, which is thankfully becoming a standard option in new Nintendo Switch 2 games. Typically, I don’t mind playing turn-based RPGs at 30 FPS since the games don’t necessarily require the utmost precision or timing, but I appreciate that Performance mode gives you 60 FPS that makes gameplay even more pleasing to the eye. I really couldn’t tell much of a visual difference between the Graphics and Performance modes, as both look really great in handheld and docked mode. All those performance issues from the original release of Disgaea 7 on Switch are just non-existent here.
Disgaea 7 Complete is a Compelling Strategy RPG Package for New and Returning Fans
As a Disgaea fan that took a break from the series after hundreds of hours spent in Disgaea 5 Complete, I’m so glad to be back with Disgaea 7 Complete, even if the game didn’t do anything really groundbreaking or innovative. The fun main story, addictive and easy gameplay, soundtrack full of bangers and guitar riffs, and great content value of Disgaea 7 Complete make it one of my favorite games on Nintendo Switch 2 right now. If I had to pick on something for a gripe, the $69.99 MSRP is a little too steep, especially when there are a lot of big games coming out on Switch 2 soon. Regardless, Disgaea 7 Complete is great, and I definitely think it can be worth it if you were holding out like I was when Disgaea 7 was first announced.
Disgaea 7 Complete launches on October 10 for Nintendo Switch 2.
Disclaimer: NIS America provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Disgaea 7 Complete for review purposes.
