[Thinking While Gaming] Disgaea's Laharl & Etna as Protagonists
"Does being a noble or a commoner,
or even a demon or an angel really matter?"
In my Disgaea Review & Love in Disgaea posts I stated how Laharl while claiming he's an evil overlord, he does have a kindness in his heart. Recently after playing Etna mode I realized how powerful the story was in the subtle ways it showcased that.
Etna, The Heartless Queen
Etna mode starts the same way "Main Game" starts with Etna waking the prince up, except that she accidentally kills him this time, and that changes the story route.
"Can't believe they only see the antennas of Laharl"
Like in Laharl's story, Etna's goal is still getting her memories back. Unlike when she was with him though, this time she's willing to do anything for that goal, including setting up a fake Laharl, crushing her enemies, becoming a space detective, making an angel stand still for days and overwork her prinnies (well, she always did the last one.)
Lahral's Hidden Kindness, Etna's Lack of Empathy
Laharl always seemed concerned on appearing Evil to those around him, Etna only seemed concerned on having fun and she didn't care about how she was seen.
"Especially the late overlord's portrait!!"
In the main story, Laharl was going to kill one of his enemies but he stopped when he saw that said enemy have a son and spared them. Etna when she encountered the same guy, she mercilessly made him and his son her slaves. I loved to compare what they both said when ordering their prinnies to steal his money.
Laharl:
"All right start taking the good stuff!! but make sure to leave some behind for them."
Etna:
"I really don't care whether you starve to death or not."
Flonne who witnessed both, was glad about Laharl kindness in the main game and that was the reason she stayed in the netherworld. In Etna's mode she became an enemy character just after this scene.
Lahral & Etna's Respect For Krichevskoy
While he doesn't admit it, Laharl really loved his father. Etna's loyalty to him remained intact even after her memories was stolen. In the whole netherworld there's no character that won't tell you how great the late overlord was.
To unlock Etna's mode you have to see Etna's dairy from the main game, the early entries of the dairy were about her stolen memories. But after she regains her memories, and finally she starts to remember a promise she made with the king.
King Krichevskoy was a kind man, and some of Etna's interactions with Laharl prove that she wants him to be like his father. Even though she doesn't care about kindness herself. In her mode, she didn't have Laharl and that makes her much more cruel and scheming.
is different between Main mode & Etna's mode.
Just because Laharl isn't there.
Conclusion
Laharl and Etna are both different types of ant-villains, with Laharl being closer to a hero and Etna is a true neutral character. And while Etna's story is more cruel, both stories have positive themes overall.
Disgaea does have interesting characters to make you care!!
Finally~
...I planned this post more than a week ago...
It seems I really like to write about Disgaea series,
Tell me if you want more!!
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I like the comparison you made. It really brings up some nice points to talk about and observe how a game can be so... Flexible?
I tried downloading the first disgaea on my pc but sadly it didn't support it. I hope I can enjoy it when I have a better rig!
Weird, I thought it can work even on terrible PCs, my computer isn't really good (Intel graphics, and 4 GB RAM) and it still worked on the highest settings.
Wish you get a better rig soon~
IM REALLY COUNTING ON GETTING THAT RIG! But I downloaded Windows 10 on this piece of crap and it screwed up some drivers and that resulted in me not being able to play what I was playing before when it had Windows Vista installed o:
Ah, sorry didn't imagine that... Windows 10 can ruin drivers? I know you thought of it but wouldn't downgrading to Vista again fix that? Do you have other reasons to stick with Win10?
Not ruining but more like dissapearing the drivers that should come fitted into your pc. And for staying with WIN10, It's one of the most simple operating systems out there and my parents use the pc as well so I'm kindof stuck with it (?)
Well, if it's for your parents I'd say it's a pretty noble reasons.
I love and hate Disgaea. I love the story and the mechanics, but I do get sick of the grid. However, you have persuaded me to get back to the Switch version!
Yup, I take long breaks after I grind too much, Etna mode was very hard the first time through~
Ah ha, thanks for understanding my autocorrected sentence!