A new listing on the Japanese PlayStation Store has seemingly all but confirmed the latest title in the PlayStation Plus Classics lineup. Originally spotted by a user on Twitter, the new listing is for Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, the PlayStation Portable tactical RPG from Nippon Ichi Software and published for US audiences by NIS America. The listing is still up at the time of writing, and the title also sports the subtitle “PSP emulation.” Here’s a partial description of the listing (via Google Translate):
"Makai Senki Disgaea PORTABLE Communication Battle," which was once released for PSP (PlayStation Portable), has begun. We've added new features such as up-rendering, rewinding, quick saves, and custom video filters.
Further mentioned in the description is a statement saying that this PSP release was converted for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, basically confirming its addition to the Classics lineup. An option to add it to your wish list is also present, although this may be due to the page still not being properly optimized; a quick glance at the URL mentions that it is a concept as of now.
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness was first released as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on PlayStation 2 in 2003. It is the first game in the long-running Disgaea series, which to date has spawned six numbered mainline entries and numerous other spinoffs, with some having their own standalone sequels. Additionally, Disgaea has anime and manga spin-offs, and a wide variety of merchandise was produced. Prinnies, the series’ penguin-like mascots, have also helped catapult the franchise's success beyond the games.
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, like its successors in the series, features incredibly complex gameplay, with ridiculous endgame stats and often humorous dialogue. The title’s popularity has helped it spawn several other re-releases besides Afternoon of Darkness; Disgaea DS was the second, which was released on Nintendo DS in 2008.
A third re-release came in 2016 called Disgaea PC. Released via Steam, this one also featured four exclusive characters made from crossovers with Team Fortress 2, Valve’s hit first-person shooter. A fourth re-release, called Disgaea 1 Complete, was launched on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2018 and included all of the content from both Disgaea PC and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness.
Check out all of the confirmed games coming to the revamped PlayStation Plus service for July 2022 here.
