NIS President Talks Disgaea 6 Development and Three Changes to Keep the Series Fresh

Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Niikawa talked about the development and new features of Disgaea 6 in this week’s issue of Famitsu magazine. Notably, he spoke about some of the changes made in the latest installment to keep things fresh for the series. [Thanks, Ryokutya2089.]

In Disgaea 6, we’ll see characters with 3D models for the first time in the series. We’ll also get to see the characters in 2D during the dialogue scenes. The level cap is 99,999,999, and you’ll get to hit opponents with over ten quadrillion damage.

Each time the main character Zed loses against the God of Destruction, he reincarnates in an otherworld. While he goes back to level 1, he carries over more power bits at a time with each Super Reincarnation.

Check out the highlights from the interview with Sohei Niikawa below:

• NIS decided on Disgaea 6‘s production in 2018,  but the actual work started in the second half of 2019.
• When the development of Disgaea 6 was decided, there wasn’t enough info on the PS5, and the hardware’s release date was still unknown, so NIS had to pass on the platform for the time being. The current goal is to release the game on PS4 and Switch simultaneously.
• To prevent the Disgaea from going stale and losing interest from the fans, Nippon Ichi Software aimed to bring three significant changes in Disgaea 6:
  • The first is the 3D visuals for the characters.
  • The second is the change in play value. Whether you’re playing for a short or prolonged period, the developers want players to feel a sense of accomplishment and exhilaration. For that reason, it will be a lot easier to level up, and the level cap has risen. Up until now, the goal was to reach the max level of 9999, but now Lv. 9999 is just the beginning of all the fun.
  • The third is in the ease of play. Since the lifestyle of players has changed, the developers made the extra challenges and such something that fits today’s age. So functions such as double speed mode, auto-battle, auto-play were added.
• The Battle Speed Boost feature from the smartphone version was very well-received.
• AI Edit function added.
• Sohei Niikawa: “We weren’t trying to go with the current trend for the theme, but it is ‘Isekai reincarnation’ [laughs].”
• Your party dies each time it challenges the God of Destruction but becomes more powerful with each reincarnation for the next challenge against the God of Destruction.
• There are other familiar elements from past installments and other new features.
• Development is currently at 90% complete.

Editor’s note: One sentence’s translation was altered on September 24, 2020 to note that you don’t start at level 9999 and that, instead, 9999 is no longer the level cap.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny will release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan on January 28, 2021. The game will arrive for the Switch in the West in Summer 2021. In case you missed it, check out its announcement trailer here.