D4 vs D5

[False Savior]

Guys , what do you think is best in term of story and gameplay mechanics?

[HEHEHeheh.he.h]

My oppinion is D5 haves best gameplay and D4 haves better story. In D5 there is weapon mastery so you can graind skills for your self but in D4 skills have gotten by class ranks. D4 skills for that reason it is easyer to get when you unlock that class rank. Very easely you can give everyone Big Bang if you want.

[Richard]

In general, mechanics have improved with each game, while story has become worse with each game. Main exception being the story of 4 being above 2 & 3.

[H]

Disgaea 4 has a "better" story but Disgaea stories aren't really anything to write home about ever.

Disgaea 5 is superior in every aspect to 4. There is no comparison. Disgaea 3 and 4 are complete setbacks to Disgaea 2 and Disgaea D2 picked back up w/ D2 and then 5 continued to improve upon what worked w/ DD2.

[Misaow]

Personally I prefer D4 over D5.
And its not just the characters or the story
D4 had more interesting options and the similar mechanics from D5, D4 did better.

[Pickleton]

Originally posted by Misaow:

Personally I prefer D4 over D5.
And its not just the characters or the story
D4 had more interesting options and the similar mechanics from D5, D4 did better.

Agreed. The characters and story in D4 were better, but the real reason why I like it the most is because of the mechanics. D5 had so many mechanics that you could take advantage of that the enemy couldn't, which made the entire game a stomp.
The way I judge a Disgaea game is "if I don't repeat any story maps and limit myself to 10 item world floors per chapter, how easy can I clear it?"
Disgaea 5 was probably tied with Disgaea 1, which was "very easy". Between cheat shop, curry, squads, overloads, subweapons with unique innocents, netherworld exploration and good use of evilities, you can blast through the game with very little challenge.
My only real critique of D4 is that the Character World rewards are so trivial per run, and there's a cap on how many times you could run it per reincarnation, which made the whole process more of a hassle than it needed to be.

[fnorgby]

2 > D2 > 5 > 1 > 4 > 3 in my opinion. As long as 2's cutschenes are skippable, otherwise d2 > 5 > 2

[lPaladinl]

I love both but D4 might be my favorite overall so far. I still haven't played D3 or DD2.

I like the story in D4 the most, Valvatorez is probably my favorite Disgaea character. D4 feels much more grindy than the other games but I don't mind it.

[Eydis]

I thought D4 had better endgame but D5 takes the cake for overall improvements.

That said, I can't pick a favorite. Love them all! ^.^

[Worcanna]

D4 by a mile for me. I get D5 is fun, but D4 just...everything is so good. The cast is lovable and not totally awful people you have to look past stuff to see the good. The skills are great (And a million Kamen Rider references continue). The map system honestly makes me happy. HEART CANNON

[LeaveMyName]

Originally posted by Kaz:

Disgaea 4 has a "better" story but Disgaea stories aren't really anything to write home about ever.

I agree that usually the stories aren't super in depth, although I think the later chapters in D1-D3 are usually pretty good, but the characters are usually better than the story, because while the story takes a backseat to the actual gameplay, the characters are always interacting and developing. Chapter 8 of D1 is still my favorite chapter of the entire series.

Originally posted by Kaz:

Disgaea 5 is superior in every aspect to 4. There is no comparison.

In D5, the story is still mediocre, but the characters are actively horrible. The gameplay is somewhat better than D4, even ignoring how some of the added mechanics can trivialize the difficulty of the game, but it nowhere near makes up for how annoying the characters are to listen to when you're not in combat. And if you're only playing a Disgaea game for the combat, and just skipping the scenes, why bother comparing it to older ones? They're all basically the same, just with QoL updates, and slight changes with how Mana and skills work.

Originally posted by Kaz:

Disgaea 3 and 4 are complete setbacks to Disgaea 2

I mostly agree with you there. I hated 3, 4 had it's fair share of problems, but aside from the fact that Subpoenas will always be one of the most interesting mechanics in a Disgaea game, and taking them out will always make the game worse, 4 wasn't too far away in terms quality from 2.

[CaoLex]

Disgaea 5 is better. Disgaea 4 have sillier story, funnier "in the next chapter" scenes most of the time and one of the best non-mao characters in the series, but damn how all chars are full of bull...

Disgaea 5 is at times serious, at times fine and character can change their ways, instead of staying static.

Also, Disgaea 5 just gaves you way more options with Evilities.

[iHaku]

2 > 4/DD2 > 1 > rest is garbage for me for one reason or another.

I dont like 5's endgame which is the biggest reason why i'd buy a disgaea game in the first place: to have some fun grinding and building up a party, none of which happens in D5.

i really dislike the homogenisation of characters that the series seems to be pushing more and more with every release, having some characters just be better at certain things was something that i liked. everyone being at 300% in every stat just takes away from the decissions i can make and without the character world and a better item world 4 whould easily be #1 for me.

[Dret]

Gameplay wise D5 is easier to grind than the rest of the series, while D4 on PS3 had the most horrible abusive amount of RNG I have ever seen on a game, luckily seems the Vita and Complete versions fixed a bit of that RNG.
Story wise, I prefer 2 and 4 over 5. Heck, after +100 hours on 5, I can't even remember most of the main characters names, while on the other ones specially 2 and 4, i can remember them perfectly.
All in all, though, the changes in all the Disgaea games show that a series can evolve and have gameplay changes while keeping the essence that makes them great.

[Doc Clarke]

Over 1000 hours in D5.
950 of which are "Post Campaign" - So long ago the story is largely irrelevant.
If you love gameplay D5 is the one. D4 at this price is pretty good though. Not knocking it, but in all Disgaea games I spend the vast majority of my time in post game.

[WarWeeny]

From best to worst:

Disgaea 2 dark heroes days
Disgaea 4 (any version)
Disgaea 3
disgea 1
Disgaea 5

So, yes, disgaea 4 is better, by a landslide.