Codes & Secrets for Disgaea DS

As far as tactical roleplaying games goes, the Disgaea series has always been known as one of the deepest content-wise, and the Nintendo DS version of the first title, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, is no exception. With the Dark Assembly, the Item World, all of the alternate endings and even the special Etna Mode, there's so much to do in this game it can be hard to keep track of it all. Fortunately, dear readers, we're here to help with a list of codes and secrets for Disgaea DS.

First up, we'll guide you through the process of unlocking Etna Mode, a special alternate version of the game featuring Laharl's top vassal and the Commander-in-Chief of the Prinny brigade. The first step in the process is to unlock Etna's chamber. To do that, you need to hit two switches, one behind the throne in Laharl's throne room, and the by a skeleton next to the armor shop. After that's done, you need to go back to the room with the talking spear, and talk to the Prinny there. He'll mention feeling a draft. If you check the left-hand corner of the room near him, Etna will excuse yourself, and you'll control her in here private room.

With that done, the next part of the equation is to read the book in the room, which happens to be Etna's diary. You need to read every entry in her journal before the final chapter. Then beat the game normally and save afterwards. When you restart, you will have the option to begin with either Laharl or Etna as your main character. Alternatively, if you don't want to mess around with playing through the regular game and want to jump right in to Etna Mode, you can input a code to unlock it right from the start. Simply start up the game, and when you get to the title screen, highlight New Game and hit the X, Y, B,X, Y, B, A buttons in that order. If you do it right, Etna will say something and you'll find yourself treated to an alternate version of the game's opening sequence.

There are several different endings to Disgaea, each with its own unique criteria that need to be met in order to experience it. If you proceed through the game normally without killing a single ally, you will earn the happiest ending. Killing at least one ally during battle, but not slaying too many of your own team members, will net you the standard ending. Killing allies 50 times before the final stage in Chapter 3, then opting to slay Hoggmeister, will unlock what is known as the "Flonne Tragedy Ending" while murdering 100 teammates before the end of the fifth chapter and choosing to kill Maderas will earn you the "Etna Heroine Ending".

Other endings require more effort and probably won't be possible on the first or second playthrough. Meeting certain requirements, such as using force to push through 50 proposals in the Dark Assembly or successfully defeating a specific opponent in the Item World, will result in alternate conclusions to the game. Surprisingly, losing to Mid-Boss at any point will also end the game, or successfully passing the Human World proposal through the congress and completing the stages that are unlocked. Finally, there are a pair of special endings that are only attainable by playing through the game in Etna Mode, one of which features cameo appearances by characters from Rhapsody and other NIS games.

Oh, and one last thing -- earn any of the above endings, and then restart your game. On the top screen, you'll find a rather entertaining unlockable in the form of Prinny Commentary. With Prinny Commentary on, during story sequences, one of the lovable exploding penguins will appear on the top screen and offer Mystery Science Theater 3000 like commentary on the plot. It isn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it certainly is an amusing addition to the game.

For the hardest of the hardcore, there are also several former Nippon Ichi heroes and heroines that can be unlocked, but not all of them are easy to obtain. To get Pleinair, the Dark Assembly receptionist and an NIS regular, to join your party, simply beat the game, talk to her and choose the invisible third option. To acquire Adell and Rozalin from Disgaea 2, you need to unlock the Cave of Ordeal first, then enter Demonhall Mirror several times, defeating Adell first to unlock him and then both characters together to add Rozalin to your team.

Furthermore, if you keep using the Dark Assembly to pass legislation to strengthen enemies and you'll unlock the Stellar Graveyard, where you can fight and recruit Lord Zetta from Makai Kingdom. Likewise, using the Dark Assembly to pass the Alternate Netherworld and Mysterious Seal bills will give you a crack at battling and unlocking Prier (La Pucelle) and Marjoly (Rhapsody), respectively. Hat's off to anyone who's successfully added all of these Nippon Ichi legends to their teams, as it is by no means a small feat to overcome all of these epic challenges.