If you haven’t heard of Disgaea until now, perhaps you’ve seen the otome Kamigami no Asobi and Uta no Prince-sama in anime or video game form instead. The company’s most well-known property is action/adventure and fantasy RPG series Disgaea, their mascot even being a penguin-like demon, a Prinny, from said series.
Nippon Ichi Software was founded in 1991 under the name Prism Kikaku and took on its new name in 1993. The five video games I’ll be discussing are either considered official spiritual successors to each other or successors in terms of combining cute girls and unique horror. With minimal dialogue and mechanics at that!Īnd by minimal, I don’t mean lazy. To game developer and publisher Nippon Ichi Software’s credit, their “horror” games manage to masterfully balance art, writing, and puzzle-heavy gameplay.
I’d much rather interact with, read, or watch a story lacking in style than something pretty of zero substance. When it comes to media of any kind, not just video games, I think stories can carry quite a bit in addition to their own weight. However, when I’m looking for a new playthrough or two to watch, an intriguing premise and solid execution of a story become priority number one. I’ve always been a character-driven and resource-grinding, role-playing kind of person, so games like Animal Crossing (here’s to Isle Pandora!), Fire Emblem, and Pokemon tend to tickle my fancy more often than not.