Nippon Ichi Software announces Disgaea D2 for the PlayStation 3

Nippon Ichi Software revealed today that a “Project:D” title they were teasing at back in July is actually a new Disgaea game for the PlayStation 3 called Disgaea Dimension 2 (or Disgaea D2 for short).

It’s slated for release in Japan 20 March 2013.  The announcement came out at a stage event over at Dengeki’s 20th Anniversary Festival (電撃20年祭), held this weekend at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba.

Why Disgaea D2, and not Disgaea 5? Producer Shogo Kosakai explained that since this game is one of five special projects developed as part of NIS’s 20th anniversary celebration (Tokushu Houdoubu was another of the five; it’s currently available on the PlayStation Store in Asia, by the way), the team felt that rather than create the next  numbered sequel with a different protagonist, that it would be more appropriate to make the new title a return to the series’ roots.

As such, Disgaea D2 will star Laharl (the protagonist of the first game) and is in general a continuation of his story. Etna and Flonne are key characters in the story as well.

Producer Kosakai also talked about the meaning behind the new title’s odd naming convention. First, he explained that the “Dimension” in the game’s title can be thought to mean “a wall”. Specifically, “it’s a wall that we would like to break in order to bring a new sort of fun to the series”.

He then talked about what values and meanings the D in the title embodied, apart from the obvious connotations like “Disgaea” and “Dimension”. “It also means stands for Destiny,” Kosakai said, before adding that “on top of everything, you could say that the D stands for Dramatic too.”

Not too much has been unveiled about the game thus far (there may be more details coming later today, check back later), but for now we also know that sprites in Disgaea D2 will receive a graphical upgrade, that Chihara Minori will perform the game’s opening theme Cradle Over, prices for the game’s regular and limited editions in Japan (7,140 yen and 11,340 yen respectively, tax included), and that fans who pre-order will receive an exclusive DLC code for “legacy” costumes.

Source: Famitsu.com