History YMMV / DisgaeaHourOfDarkness

* GoodBadBugs: There is a GameBreaker glitch in the PSP release of the game concerning the items Foresight and Tainted Staff. Their Item Worlds are ridiculously glitched, full of Laharl clones starting at levels in the several hundreds and climbing even higher. However, the items also come with support specialists, including Brokers, Armsmasters, Statisticians, and Managers, with levels in the five-digit range ''and'' they're already tamed, so you can buy one of these items and swap the specialist to another item instantly. The normal stat-increasing specialists also have levels in the hundreds, which double when tamed as usual. While even a party capable of defeating [[BonusBoss Baal]] will be promptly crushed by the armies of Laharl clones, if you can get in, manage to subdue one of these specialists, and get out safely, you can get stat boosting specialists with levels in the thousands and make your party very overpowered. Additionally, the Laharl clones equip end-game items with Ranks in the high 30s. Sure, your Thief might only have a 1% chance to steal them, but when that one in a hundred chance pays off, it's gonna be worth it to nab that Legendary Accelerator, Cosmic Blade, etc.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: If you want to get a chuckle out of Laharl's fear of well-endowed women at all, don't ever, ''ever'' read about the novels. [[spoiler:100 years of physical and emotional abuse is not exactly laughing material.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2ABrighterDarkness'' would reveal that [[spoiler: when Laharl's mother made that sacrifice to save him, she was pregnant with Sicily. Meaning that she has to make a sadistic choice between her son or her daughter.]]

* TierInducedScrappy:
** Thieves, on account of sucking hard in pretty much every way. Even the highest rank of Thief, the Space Pirate, has only a C-rank with Guns, 60% and 70% aptitude with all stats except Speed and Hit, and has lower base stats than even first-tier jobs in other classes. However, Thieves are the only class that can throw with a range of 6, they're the only ones that can steal reliably, and are needed to unlock the Majin, so you pretty much ''have'' to use them if you want to get the most out of post-main quest gameplay.
** Despite being a beloved class due to its cute design, it's hard to justify using the Archer class. They have rather pathetic stats and their highest ranked weapon is the bow, which is unfortunately the game's ScrappyWeapon, with no other weapon reaching beyond rank D. The only reason to have an Archer is to unlock the much better Celestial Host class.
** Hoggmeiser and Maderas, two monster characters that join during the story, are actually weaker than their generic monster counterparts (Nether Noble and Vampire respectively). They're decently strong when they're acquired, but are quickly outclassed by custom characters.
** Monster classes, in general. The inability to lift and throw, lack of a Weapon Mastery to increase their damage potential, and general lack of versatility make them a hard choice when compared to the humanoid classes. Luckily, later Disgaea games introduce various mechanics that allow the monster classes to be just as useful as the humanoids. [[EquippableAlly Magi-change]] being the most notable example.

* MagnificentBastard: [[spoiler:Seraph Lamington, the leader of [[FluffyCloudHeaven Celestia]], initially seems to be [[ObfuscatingStupidity a spacey airhead with little understanding of his surroundings]], but in truth, he is the mastermind behind the events of the game. A wise, friendly angel seeking to improve relations between angels and demons, Lamington aims to test Prince Laharl's heart and make him prove himself as Overlord of the Netherworld. To this end, Lamington sends Flonne to assassinate the long-dead King Krichevskoy, knowing that she would fail and become friends with Laharl instead, teaching him love and compassion in the process. Keeping a steady hand over events through his partner Vyers, Lamington knowingly enables his treacherous right-hand Vulcanus, flawlessly working his scheming into his own plans and turning the tables once his treason stops being useful. Lamington's final gambit involves gambling Flonne's life and provoking Laharl's wrath to test his willingness to show mercy, fully willing to accept his own demise as a potential penance for his manipulations. [[CuttingOffTheBranches Lamington ultimately ends the game fully victorious]], coming to an arrangement with the now-mature Overlord and opening the way for peace between both worlds.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Seraph Lamington, the leader of [[FluffyCloudHeaven Celestia]], initially seems to be [[ObfuscatingStupidity a spacey airhead with little understanding of his surroundings]], but in truth, he is the mastermind behind the events of the game. A wise, friendly angel seeking to improve relations between angels and demons, Lamington aims to test Prince Laharl's heart and make him prove himself as Overlord of the Netherworld. To this end, Lamington sends Flonne to assassinate the long-dead King Krichevskoy, knowing that she would fail and become friends with Laharl instead, teaching him love and compassion in the process. Keeping a steady hand over events through his partner Vyers, Lamington knowingly enables his treacherous right-hand Vulcanus, flawlessly working his scheming into his own plans and turning the tables once his treason stops being useful. Lamington's final gambit involves gambling Flonne's life and provoking Laharl's wrath to test his willingness to show mercy, fully willing to accept his own demise as a potential penance for his manipulations. [[CuttingOffTheBranches Lamington ultimately ends the game fully victorious]], coming to an arrangement with the now-mature Overlord and opening the way for peace between both worlds.

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: '''Captain Gordon''' is a parody of 50's and 60's-style American sci-fi action heroes. He is also hugely popular in America, much more so than Japan.

** Monster classes, in general. The inability to lift and throw, lack of a Weapon Mastery to increase their damage potential, and general lack of versatility make them a hard choice when compared to the humanoid classes. Luckily, later Disgaea games introduce various mechanics that allow the monster classes to be just as useful as the humanoids.

* ReWatchBonus: Start the game over after [[spoiler:learning that Mid-Boss was working with Lamington, re-watching the scenes where Lamington is speaking with his unseen collaborator, one can see {{Foreshadowing}} to it being Mid-Boss.]]

* BestLevelEver: Episode 6: Laharl's Challenge is often seen as the most fun episode of the game thanks to its varied and creative stages, all of which are introduced with funny and memorable introductory cut scenes. Most notable stages include Calamity Forest, a stage so jam-packed with enemies that the game gives the player only one space to move, and Witches' Den, a baseball themed stage with the Prinnies, all of which can be defeated by throwing them.