Disgaea DS

I'd already heard a fair bit about Disgaea DS before I picked up the game. It has been praised for being a witty excellent take on the SRPG genre, with various gameplay features cited as defining factors that separate it from the crowd. So my expectations were put a bit high when I slipped the game card into the DS and turned the power on. My conclusion? It's good but not as great as I had hoped, as the game does have problems holding it back.

Graphically, the game makes extensive use of 2D sprites in 3D environments. Despite the small size the characters show a fair amount of detail that makes each one easily recognisable. With the wealth of classes comes as wealth of different appearances and wonderful designs, although it's worth noting that created characters always take up the same appearance based on their chosen class. More...

THE GOOD:
Includes the extra content from the PSP version and then some.
Extra grid map display comes in handy.
Still the same addictive game originally released on the PS2, only you can take it with you.

THE BAD:
Graphics are a step down from the PSP version
Is missing even more cutscene voice overs than the PSP version (and has lower audio quality in general).
Doesn't play as smoothly as the PS2/PSP versions (somewhat jumpy).

SUMMARY:
Introduction and History lesson:

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on the PS2 was a niche title developed by NIS (Nippon Ichi Software), and cult fans rejoiced upon finding the the characters and story amusing, and the gameplay engaging and addictive.

Fast forward several years and news of a PSP version reaches their ears, and they rejoice once again upon hearing of extra content and additional modes. People who had never gotten the PS2...