Customer Reviews

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - The Official Strategy Guide

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Doublejump Books made a name for themselves when they published their first strategy guide: Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. The guide was a success and has gone on the be a rare find indeed. Luckily, since Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness if a port of the original Playstation 2 Cult Classic with a ton of extras, Doublejump specifically made this guide able to cover both versions of the game in one of the most user friendly ways.

The guide begins, like many, with all the game basics. Disgaea is a very complex (and somewhat complicated) game to learn. This guide will help any newcomer get started on Disgaea. Explaining all the basics of combat, the Geo Panels, the Item World and everything else. The guide doesn't just cover these basics, it also gives you tips. The game basics section is not just a rehash of the instruction manual. There are even moments where the guide insists on going over points the game or manual won't tell you.

Once you dwell into the walkthrough, the guide becomes a close friend. As mentioned earlier, the guide covers the PS2 and PSP versions. It may seem confusing on how to tell when they're speaking of the PS2 version or PSP (being that the PSP version has many extras), but Doublejump has made it really easy. The portions of the guide that cover PS2 and PSP are white pages. If the page is black it only covers the PSP version. Very straightforward and gets rid of any confusion the player might be feeling.

The layout of the walkthrough is exactly like the Phantom Brave guide. It tells you the title of each chapter and shows you a screenshot map of the battlefield. The tactics listed are expert tactics that'll help you get through most battles without much hassle at all. There are also some pretty clear screenshots complete with step by step actions to utilize. They also give you the info on enemy units. The guide also covers Etna Mode in the same fashion and it also covers all the extra and hidden stages as well as all the exams. All of them complete with expert strategies.

Afterwards there are all those appendices that list all the items and classes and such. Basic everyday things that most guides don't ever forget. There's also info on all the weapons, skills and magic. The secrets section gives you the lowdown on all the extras in the PS2 and PSP games, again making it easy to tell if something you can do in both games or just the PSP version. The guide also comes with its own brand of humor. In many cases they crack jokes. It makes the guide very easy and refreshing to read.

If there were anything wrong with the guide it would probably be the size. While it's a nit-picky thing, I'm only pointing it out because while the text is no problem to read, many of the screenshots are hard to make out because they're so small. Just the same, the maps of each area are not all that big either, and unlike many other tactical RPG guides, they don't provide a grid based map. This would probably be an even bigger issue if you needed the maps that heavily. Luckily you don't and all the written information is good enough to help you buy.

This is the perfect Disgaea companion. Not only does it cover the PSP version, but also everything the PS2 in a user friendly way. So even if you don't have the PSP, you're better off buying this guide so that you don't have to pay ridiculous prices for the original. Easily one Doublejump Books best guides to date.

I just received this purchase and the pages are coming apart from the binding with no excessive useage or abuse. I am very disappointed in the products quality and I am disappointed in the product's ability to enhance my gaming experience. What options to I have for refund or exchange?