(Image source: Atlus)
As I mentioned in a previous entry, combat in Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness has layers of complexity.
Positioning and height make a difference in combat. As you might expect, whacking the sides or rear of an enemy unit will deal more damage. Similarly, hitting an enemy who’s on a lower level will inflict more damage.
It gets more complicated.
Geo Symbols are objects found on most battle maps that can affect combat in major ways. Geo Symbols affect Geo Panels (coloured squares, basically) that are the same colour as the Geo Panel the Geo Symbol is on. These effects can either be beneficial or detrimental. One Geo Symbol may provides a boost to every enemy unit standing on a red Geo Panel while another Geo Symbol might provide additional experience for enemies killed on green Geo Panels. It’s important to check for Geo Symbol locations and effects at the start of each battle to see how they might affect the coming battle. (To do this, press the triangle button to bring up the Area Map Commands menu then select Character.)
Geo Symbols can be thrown or destroyed and it’s sometimes of paramount importance to do one of the two as it can drastically change the tide of battle. Those Enemy 3x Boost Geo Symbols, in particular, can be absolutely devastating and it is therefore imperative to neutralise or minimise their effects as soon as possible.
Destroying Geo Symbols will also change the colour of all Geo Panels that have the same colour the Geo Symbol was on. This also results in a Colour Combo Chain Hit. I must confess, however, I haven’t got the hang of that yet.
I’m a little disappointed the AI doesn’t take advantage of advanced tactics like throwing or exploiting Geo Symbols but I suppose the game might get nightmarishly difficult if that were the case.
Oh, the Mid-Boss level was SO HARD because of the Geopanels! In the end, I moved as far as I could, have Etna throw me, and then destroy one of the geopanels, and then have one of my other human characters throw a Prinny at one of the magicians. I ended up, by the end of the level, with just Laharl and Etna, and very small amounts of health, but just defeated him.
Unfortunately, I’m away from my beloved PS2 game for the weekend (probably for the best since I have an essay due in on Monday) so continuing play will have to wait!
I had to replay that Mid-Boss battle thrice. I first tried rushing to the Geo Symbols but got nailed by the 3x-boosted spellcaster and archer.
On my second attempt, I had Laharl move towards the Geo Symbols while staying out of range of foes. Unfortunately, Mid-Boss wiped the rest of the party out with his AoE special attack and Laharl had little chance against the boss on his own.
On my third attempt, I had Laharl (the main tank of the party) to sit right next to the Base Panel and absorb the brunt of Mid-Boss’s special attack before letting the rest of my party join in the battle. Once Mid-Boss was defeated, the rest of the map was easy.