History VideoGame / DisgaeaD2ABrighterDarkness

''Franchise/{{Disgaea}} D(imension)2: A Brighter Darkness'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3[[note]]And ''only'' the Playstation 3, even nine years later and several games in the series seeing re-releases on PC[[/note]] developed by Creator/NipponIchi. It is the third game in Nippon's Ichi [[MilestoneCelebration Anniversary Project]] and a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''.

-->''The Netherworld-- darker than a pitch-black cave, deeper than the depths of the seas, a land where ominous demons run rampant.''\\

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: [[spoiler:In the Overlord Sicily Ending, Sicily, who is said to be as charismatic as Krichevskoy, manages to easily get the approval of all the demons in the Netherworld and relations with Celestia improve, cementing her reign as Overlord.]]

* BrotherChuck: Captain Gordon and his crew are nowhere to be found, mentioned only in Etna's diary entries that recap the first game.

''Franchise/{{Disgaea}} D(imension)2: A Brighter Darkness'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 developed by Creator/NipponIchi. It is the third game in Nippon's Ichi [[MilestoneCelebration Anniversary Project]] and a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''.

GameFavoredGender: Girls get a huge leg up over guys in the Item World due to Succubus having an Evility which reflects a portion of damage dealt by male units. The problems here are that there is no way to shut this down and no Evility which has the same effect except against female units exists, so if you happen to like any of the male units better than their female counterparts, tough luck.

* DifficultySpike: Two are present. From Chapter 8 onwards, the game starts to pit the strongest enemy classes against you and some really nasty Geo layouts. Post-Game wise, it's all smooth sailing until you meet [[VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject Darkdeath Evilman]], where the game will start to show the most overpowered boss-only evilities. Evilman himself has stats much higer than his Lv. 2000 would let out, enough to threaten a character four times his level, extremely powerful skills, and his Evility gives him a 100% reduction in damage taken that is reduced by 10% for each attack landed (so the first hit to him does no damage, the second does 10%, the third does 20%, and so on).

* PlayableEpilogue: As with many ''Disgaea'' games, there is a huge amount of post-game content, and the main story is arguably only the beginning. Several new areas and characters can only be unlocked after clearing the main story with the True Ending. Land of Carnage mode is unlocked, and after certain other conditions are fulfilled, the UpToEleven Rasetsu mode is unlocked. Save files will be marked as "Post Game".

* SameClothesDifferentYear: While Laharl trading his shorts for pants is the most notable change, said pants plus his scarf are still his style of choice [[spoiler:with just a red bra added when he [[GenderBender becomes a girl]]]]. Etna and Flonne haven't changed much either, with Etna trading her small skirt for [[WhoWearsShortShorts short shorts]] and Flonne retaining her shawl from her [[VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten Archangel outfit]] and added white ribbon on her thigh.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Just before the first battle, Flonne says they should try and talk to the demons challenging Laharl after putting up a statue of himself in their territory. Etna replies that she knows sign language so her fists will do the talking. Flonne remarks that was "kinda clever".

* AloofBigBrother: Laharl to Sicily.
** [[spoiler:Xenolith to Etna.]]

* ArcWelding: [[spoiler:If you have Etna's likability with Laharl or Flonne at the highest level, Etna will mention that she feels she has to leave them in order to better handle her regained magic, explaining why she was really in Veldime in ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories''.]]

* BrotherChuck: Captain Gordon and his crew are nowhere to be found.

** The ShowWithinAShow mentioned Chapter 4 is named after one of the members of the [[VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice Diez Gentlemen]], specifically Gorillian.

* HisStoryRepeatsItself: [[spoiler:In one of the bad endings, Sicily decides to sacrifice her life to protect Laharl. Having watched his mother and Flonne do the same thing, [[TearJerker his reaction should come as no surprise.]]]]

* MarathonBoss: At the time of writing, no one has beaten Baal in under ''30 minutes'' thanks to a combination of the removal of the damage formula changes from ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'', his insane stats, and the fact that he goes through six forms before finally being defeated.

* DifficultySpike: Two are present. From Chapter 8 onwards, the game starts to pit the strongest enemy classes against you and some really nasty Geo layouts. Post-Game wise, it's all smooth sailing until you meet [[VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject Darkdeath Evilman]], where the game will start to show the most overpowered boss-only evilities. Evilman himself has stats much higer than his Lv. 2000 would let out, extremely powerful skills, and his evility negates the first 10 attacks he takes during the battle.
* DiskOneNuke: As with most other entries in the series, all you have to do is find the right stage, stack 10 people in a tower, and grind the same enemies a few times. Then up the enemy levels and do the same thing. You'll be able to blow through a lot of the content really easily.

* GameBreakingBug: The English release of the game randomly froze during special attack animations or even if animations were switched off, though the issue did not seem to affect all players. Not fun when you're getting towards the end of an item world run. Fortunately, it has since been patched.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The FinalBoss fight when [[spoiler:Xenolith is possessed by the Artifact of Absolute Death, meaning he's not holding back and is using all the power he drained, Etna commenting that it's like fighting the Netherworld itself. And, the protagonists still win]].

** VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Apart from the "throwing the prinnies" thing, you can also decrease the likeability of other units bu attacking them or team killing. And there is a special innocent called the "Heart's Shadow" that increases your stats by 1% per unit with zero likability with that person. There is also a Dark Assembly bill for this and it notably has a higher success rate.
*** VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: [[spoiler: One of the bad ending requires a certain character to have 0 likability with other certain characters. Of course it gives you a choice to go the the normal ending instead.]]

* ThemeNaming: Continues the volcanic ThemeNaming of the first game. Rainier, Garungun, and Virunga are both based on names of volcanoes while Sicily and Barbara are based on sites on which volcanoes are found.

** Also, while still feminine, [[spoiler: Girl Laharl]] has a deeper voice than Laharl does.

* SelfImposedChallenge: The Cheat Shop facilitates these by having options available from the beginning of the game to gain no EXP, weapon mastery, or skill EXP, or crank up the enemy levels. There is also an option to disallow the player from cancelling assigned commands, which disables some common tricks Disgaea veterans may use.

* DifficultySpike: Two are present. From Chapter 8 onwards, the game starts to pit the strongest enemy classes against you and some really nasty Geo layouts. Post-Game wise, it's all smooth sailing until you meet Darkdeath Evilman, where the game will start to show the most overpowered boss-only evilities. Evilman himself has stats much higer than his Lv. 2000 would let out, extremely powerful skills, and his evility negates the first 10 attacks he takes during the battle.

* ExactWords: The Krichevskoy Group asks for Laharl to forgive them and make them vassals again, saying its what a true overlord would do. Laharl makes them vassals, [[FateWorseThanDeath of Etna]], then tells them not complain.

* ForgettableCharacter: The Krichevskoy Group is made up of former vassals to Krichevskoy, but neither Laharl nor Etna remembers them. According to Etna, Krichevskoy had a lot of demons working for him so it was very easy to lose track of names.
* GaiasVengeance: [[spoiler: Xenolith is subject to this with the Netherworld itself dragging him off after the Artifact of Absolute Death is destroyed, in response for draining the magic from it.]]

* GenderBender: Laharl gets turned in a girl in Episode 4, thanks to the same phenomenon that turns Etna into her Player 2 colors([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and turned Flonne from an early riser into a late one]]).
** AttractiveBentGender: Obviously, Laharl is considered incredibly sexy as a woman(much to [[UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}} Etna and Flonne's]] [[ACupAngst never-ending chagrin]]). [[spoiler: Hoggmeiser certainly doesn't mind this fact and is quite openly perverse towards Laharl, asking him to act seductively.]] In addition, [[spoiler: the episode's Bad Ending(obtained by losing to Hoggmeiser) results in Laharl becoming an IdolSinger, whom swiftly ascends to being the Top Idol of the Netherworld.]]
** FirstLawOfGenderbending: Played around with; it's explicitly stated the effects are temporary, and indeed Laharl regains his masculinity after Episode 4 ends. [[spoiler: If, however, you get the aforementioned Bad Ending, Laharl remains a girl longer than expected; probably forever, in keeping with the Trope, but several months at the very least.]] And during the postgame, Laharl gets access to a bill essentially called "I want to be popular again!", turning him into a girl again; the bill to turn her back into a him is ''way'' harder to pass, being much more expensive and being met with complete and total opposition. This is justified by Laharl truly being that much more popular as a woman, so [[AllMenArePerverts no one wants to see him]] [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer become a guy again.]]

* IdolSinger: Lanzarote, [[spoiler:who using her music to control the Netherworld so she can take the position of Overlord away from Laharl.]] Asagi is a self-proclaimed idol who had not debuted or even auditioned. [[spoiler:Laharl briefly becomes one at the end of episode 4 and is forced to become one in a NonStandardGameOver.]]

* LamarckWasRight: One Sicily's attacks involves her rising into the air and then come crashing down with a fist charged with [[HolyHandGrenade holy energy]] that explodes into an energy pillar on contact much like Laharl's Blazing Knuckles and Krichevskoy's Freezing Knuckles, though it remains to be seen if her claim about her being Laharl's sister is true. [[spoiler:It is.]]

* LegacyBossBattle: [[spoiler: The Krichevskoy Group summon [[VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject Darkdeath Evilman]] to once again take the overlordship. However, they claim it was all to test Laharl's strength when he beats Evilman.]]

* LongLostRelative: Sicily claims to be Krichevskoy's daughter and thus Laharl's sister, though it's unknown if this claim is true. [[spoiler:That is until Lamington tells Laharl that his mother died pregnant and rejected the offer to become an angel so that Sicily may live.]]

*** [[spoiler: This makes Flonne the only main character to not have any siblings, which is the exact opposite in the novels.]]

* MultipleEndings: As with previous games, certain actions will take you to different endings, [[NonStandardGameOver most of which end]] [[DownerEnding horribly for the Laharl...]]

** Bad Ending 2: [[spoiler:AKA Sicily's Sacrifice Ending. With Xenolith proving to be too strong and the power of the kidnapped angels being unable to stop the crumbling Netherworld, Sicily decides to sacrifice her life to stabilize the Netherworld despite Laharl pleading his sister not to. With her power, the Netherworld, though transformed into a Celestia-esque world, was able to avoid destruction. However, Laharl, heartbroken by her sacrifice, did not return to the Overlord's Castle and waited to die at the place of Sicily's sacrifice.]] Requires you to lose to the boss of stage 10-6.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: A Meta one, in that the final boss's stats are boosted by the stats of EVERY unit on the map. Meaning that those players who bring a ringer into the final boss fight with stats way over every other character... [[CurbStompBattle Whoops.]]
* NoAntagonist: [[spoiler:The closest thing there is to a BigBad there is is the mindless Artifact of Absolute Death; Xenolith, the only real mastermind, is trying to save Etna's life and stop the destruction of the Underworld, beyond that he's [[AffablyEvil barely as evil]] as [[NobleDemon most Disgaea demons]].]]

* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: [[spoiler:Sicily. Lamington reveals that during the time Laharl was afflicted with his fatal disease, Laharl's Mom was pregnant with Sicily. She didn't want to lose either child so when she sacrificed herself, she gave her chance to become an angel to Sicily, who then became a "Demon Angel".]]
* OnTheNext[=/=]NeverTrustATrailer: Like the first game, Etna's next episode previews are entirely unrelated to anything that happens. [[spoiler: Except for the one where she says Laharl is a girl. Or the one where Flonne says she's going to become a MagicalGirl. In the preview for the last episode, Etna bids heartfelt goodbyes to the other characters, which makes them wonder if she's going to die. Etna's not serious about it, but it's actually possible for her to die if the player gets a bad ending.]]

** [[spoiler: Xenolith to Etna.]]

** In addition, [[spoiler: The Dark Sun]] from Disgaea 2 shows up as the Spell Keeper for Omega Star.

** [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories Axel]] is auditioning to be an IdolSinger/Dark Hero in his postgame battle.]]

** The ShowWithinAShow mentioned Chapter 4 is named after one of the members of the [[VideoGame/Disgaea3`AbsenceOfJustice Diez Gentlemen]], specifically Gorillian.
** The hidden switches and secret room in the castle are in similar places as they were in the first game. However, this time to enter the secret room, [[spoiler: Etna must ''not'' be in the visible party when examining it.]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The FinalBoss fight when [[spoiler: Xenolith is possessed by the Artifact of Absolute Death, meaning he's not holding back and is using all the power he drained, Etna commenting that's it like fighting the Netherworld itself. And, the protagonists still win.]]
* DifficultySpike: Two are present. From Chapter 8 onwards the game starts to pit the strongest enemy classes against you and some really nasty Geo layouts. Post-Game wise, it's all smooth sailing until you meet Darkdeath Evilman, where the game will start to show the most overpowered boss-only evilities. Evilman himself has stats much higer than his Lv. 2000 would let out, extremely powerful skills and his evility negates the first 10 attacks he takes during the battle.

** The ShowWithinAShow mentioned Chapter 4 is named after one of the members of the [[VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenseOfJustice Diez Gentlemen]] Specifically Gorillian.

* SubmissiveBadass: Barbara can kick lots of ass, but she needs someone to give her orders to do almost anything, including win in battle. Her strict adherence to loyalty ends up becoming a huge liability to both her enemies and her masters [[spoiler:and even herself in one ending as she gets consumed by a dark hole because ''no one ordered her to run away''.]]