A mythical land has been invaded by demons, your father slain and your throne usurped by nasty otherworldly creatures. What can you do? Well, if you happen to be Laharl, Prince of the Netherworld, son of the late King Krichevskoy, you'd probably be asleep. Upon waking however, you'd probably set about reviving one of the most overlooked genres in videogame history - the strategy role playing game - whilst storming your way through the numerous wannabe kings, on your way to your rightful place on the throne. Probably.

Having been woken by a faithful vassal, our plucky, if slightly arrogant star of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Prince Laharl, finds himself in his castle with no knowledge of the netherworld's goings on during the last couple of years of his slumber. After a brief tour of the castle, detailing the item shop, the hospital, the item world and the dark assembly, a training mission ensues, showing you the basics of combat followed by entry into the game proper. Essentially, the storyline jumps from one would-be usurper to another, giving you a few easier battles followed by a face off with the boss. There are a number of endings though and the narrative is delivered with quality and a fair degree of clarity, drawing you in well but not to the extent where storyline overtakes gameplay.

Within the castle, Laharl and his crew move freely in real time. Buying weapons, armour and items from the shop and visiting the hospital to heal the wounded are fairly straightforward affairs (although sometimes when being healed, the lovely nurse doles out prizes to help in your next adventure). The dark assembly and item world are where the character development really happens though and rather than simply buying a new member of your squad, the netherworld's version of the House of Lords must be called to order. For the less powerful team members no vote is needed but anything else, from promotion to requesting cash, requires a parliamentary vote. To start with, all the demon politicians dislike you, but as you progress both bribery and intimidation play their part, allowing Laharl to dominate the senate and get his own way with almost every vote. It can even come down to an all out brawl between your army and the demon congress - just like real politics. Battles simply can't be won without the support of the assembly and investing time in the winning of votes plays a large part of the forty-plus hours of playtime.

The item world performs a similar function with the weapons, armour and items gathered in the course of your travels. In order to upgrade any item you have in your inventory, your squad must be transported to the object's soul. Defeating ten levels of baddies gives you access to that item's strengths, which can then be transferred to other items if need be. It's a crazy and at times arduous system that, much like the dark assembly, can't be done without, but prolongs the longevity for the RPG enthusiast.

The turn-based battle system is much like chess - easy to learn and difficult to master - maintaining an excellent level of competition throughout. Although there are complexities such as the throwing mechanic, which oddly allows one member of your team to chuck another into combat or lift them away from danger, the principles are simple and subtle enough to create one of the finest turn-based systems ever. For each situation a huge range of possibilities erupt into your mind, enriching the battle segments no end. A rather strange geostone dynamic has been thrown in that creates areas on the battle board that offer favourable, or indeed unfavourable, conditions. Playing around with these geostones, either destroying them or putting them in a different place, can change the whole battlefield and adds another layer of depth to the battle sections.

The visuals stick to the RPG standard of cutesy anime sprites and vibrant explosions, but have a surprising quality and character to them. The pre-battle trash talking relies more on the slightly ropey comedy than snazzy graphics but for what it is, Disgaea gives you everything you need on the visuals front and remains true to its roots throughout. The only semblance of sound comes from a few bits of speech and a suitably paced score, which does the job in all the right places and it's an altogether well suited presentation package that takes nothing away from the title as a whole.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is for those who like their single-player turn-based strategy games. With an involved and engaging RPG element, it sticks out above titles like Final Fantasy Tactics as being the best around. Without even the merest hint of a multiplayer mode however, Disgaea is a loner's paradise with almost unlimited play and endless routes to success. The strategy role playing game has found its feet again with this title and with any luck developers will realise the potential in a multiplayer take on the genre. However, although there's a lot in Disgaea for the enthusiast, the casual gamer will probably find little more than an hour of boredom and confusion.

Reviewed by Tom LeClerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).