Nippon Ichi Software has released some new information regarding the characters, story and systems of its upcoming PlayStation 3 title Disgaea 3.

The game's protagonist Mao aims to become a hero in order to overthrow the Demon King. The problem is that Mao happens to be the son of said Demon King. The young lad uses games and manga as inspiration for his plans to overthrow his old man. While he does not understand the terms "love" and "justice", he believes he has to become a hero to achieve his ambitious aim. With some help, he also manages to locate the residence of a local hero. As he arrives at the place, he learns that the hero has already made his way to the Demon King's castle. Trying to catch him, Mao rushed towards the castle. Mao's childhood friend Rasberil is watching all these events unfold. If Mao manages to turn himself into a hero, he will become the demon school's No.1 delinquent. Fearing for her own status as "bad girl No.1", Rasberil together with her two female followers decides to stop her friend. Back at the castle Rasberil and her two friends try to convince Mao to do evil like an elite student, instead of becoming a hero. Watching from the distance is Almars, a wanna-be hero. He has come to the demon world to defeat the Demon King for the sake of a princess he adores. This enterprise is complicated by the fact that he only possesses the knowledge of what makes a hero, but no real power. Misjudging the situation, he tries to save Mao and Rasberil, whom he thinks are in danger. Mao is overjoyed to have finally found a hero. He immediately takes Almars prisoner in an attempt to claim the title "hero" for himself.

Disgaea 3's story is seperated into various chapters. After event scenes, the player is asked to prepare his party for battle. The turn-based strategy RPG battles will be similar to their counterparts in previous series installments. Only this time, players will not only be able to throw human-type characters, but also objects placed on the map. Furthermore, players will be able to stack characters and then throw all of them at one opponent, by unleashing a so-called Tower Attack. In order to overcome differences in altitude, a character positioned in the middle of such a tower can throw the characters above him.

Geo Symbols have now gone 3D and are referred to as Geo Objects. Some Geo Objects will also offer special effects, such as "attack power +50%", "lifting prohibited", "experience up". If the player manages to lift a Geo Panel on top of a Geo Object, the Geo Object's added effect will spread to all Geo Objects of the same color. Last but not least, two special attacks can be combined to create a more powerful combination attack.

Disgaea 3 will be available in Japan on January 31st. The standard version will go on sale for 6,800 yen ($59.59 US), while the limited edition will retail for 8,880 yen ($77.11 US). The latter will ship with an artbook and a two-disc soundtrack album.

• GameWatch