Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PlayStation 2, 2006)

It's hard not to love Disgaea 2 if you love games in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics- or basically any other game with "Tactics" in the title. Or if you love the original Disgaea, for that matter.

Rather than play as a Demon as you did in the original game, you take the role of Adell, the only remaining human in a world transformed by the Demon Overlord Zenon. Intent on defeating the Overlord and restoring his family's humanity, conscience and memories, Adell tries to summon Zenon, only to wind up with his daughter Rozalin instead. Promising to return her to her father unharmed, Adell sets out to find Zenon- not as easy as it sounds...

(If you're wondering about the cast of the original Disgaea, no worries. You'll see them again!)

The game is funny and fun. The story and characters are engaging, and the voice acting is appropriately light in tone- yes, it's a lighthearted Demon World! The Prinnies- demonic penguins who end every sentence in "dood" and explode when thrown!- are as much fun to have around as ever. And the new cast members have every bit as much personality, humor, and depth as the returning favorites.

The gameplay is pretty much as deep as you want to make it, too- there is literally an optional dungeon for every item you ever find or buy! As with other strategy-RPGs your characters gain experience levels as they fight, but unlike most games the upper level limit is 9,999. If that sounds like more work than fun, you can pretty much play through the regular game without worrying about any of this- it's as much or as little challenge as you want. Nice touch!

This is a great game- it's funny, it's involving, and if you explore all the multiple endings and optional areas you'll definitely get your money's worth.