The Disgaea series has long been a bastion of excellence in the realm of strategy role-playing games, and though Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice is no exception, it’s beginning to show its age. Despite a great deal of minor gameplay tweaks, the series as a whole seems adamant in staying the exact same as it always has, which is immediately evident by its PlayStation 2-era (or worse) sprite graphics. That said, Disgaea 3 delivers what is undoubtedly the best combination of zany story and strategic gameplay seen yet in the series, and it’s a fun and entertaining game that will keep fans hooked for dozens of hours.

Mao (not THAT one) is not your average scholar. As the number-one honor student in the Netherworld Evil Academy, his day is spent ditching classes, experimenting on other students, and being lazy. In the twisted world of a demon school, honor students like Mao do everything but earn good grades, whereas delinquents like his rival Raspberyl enjoy donating blood, striving for a perfect attendance record, and performing acts of charity. Mao’s latest obsession is Super Hero Aurum, a legendary warrior of love and justice who traveled from one netherworld to the next to defeat their overlords before mysteriously vanishing 200 years ago. After "researching" all of the anime and manga he could get about Aurum, Mao becomes convinced that he must become a hero himself to gain the power necessary to overthrow his father, the overlord of his netherworld. All of this happens because his father accidentally stepped on his SlayStation Portable video game system and caused Mao to lose four million hours’ worth of progress.

Monster units can now magichange into powerful weapons for other characters to wield.

Of course, being a demon with an evil quotient of 1.8 million, he intends to become a hero as dishonestly as possible. With the help of his creepy butler Geoffery, Mao tracks down Almaz von Almadine Adamant, a self-proclaimed hero who has infiltrated the academy to defeat the overlord himself, and promptly kidnaps him to steal his title. Of course, things don’t work out quite as expected, and so Mao sets off on a quest that involves an insane home-economics teacher, a gentlewoman fond of giving ridiculous orders to friend and foe alike, a rookery of explosive demonic penguins, and the true meaning of opening one’s heart. In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, Absence of Justice is truly out there even for the Disgaea series, which is well known for being absolutely absurd. Be prepared for self-referential in-jokes and fourth-wall breaking like none other, and keep an eye out for parodies of everything from Super Sentai to American Idol. Disgaea 3 is in many ways pure fan service, and if you count yourself as one of developer Nippon Ichi Software’s faithful, you will be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining game. If on the other hand this is your first entry into the world of Disgaea, or you simply aren’t a follower of anime, you may find yourself treading in unfamiliar waters.

This time around, the Netherworld Evil Academy serves as your base of operations, and within its ever-changing halls you will seek medical attention at the nurse’s office, buy new weapons and armor at the school store, and even enter the world of your heart at select points to consult or do battle with your various subconsiousnesses. One major new addition is the Evility instructor, who for a price will teach you weapon skills, magic spells, and powerful passive abilities called Evilities with which to customize your units, greatly streamlining the character growth process.

Homeroom replaces the dark senate, and it’s just as absurd as ever.

The dark senate makes its return as the homeroom, and by attending--if only for a few moments before ditching--you can change assigned seating and enroll units in clubs, both of which affect battle performance. You can also recruit transfer students, request the formation of new clubs, ask for better items to appear in the school store, and more, though most major actions have to be approved by the school board, which can prove troublesome because demons are an understandably fickle bunch. Luckily, Mao’s not above handing out bribes, taking over the school PA system to trick board members into thinking they’re voting for something entirely different, or even beating his detractors into submission.