The storyline revolves around the battle torn continent of Neverland. It is all about a great war between mankind and demons. Despite hope, the peace process has come to a halt with the pending attacks continuing from the Royal Demon Army. Their forces have turned the war of Neverland by having simultaneous attacks on kingdoms and villages. The advance of the demon armies have shown how ill prepared the humans have been for war. Banding together they have agreed that the demons must be halted at any cost.

Furthering on other developments in the game, there is the ability to equip specific characters. Another feature that is being added more and more to NIS games is item synthesis where you may mix items together to try and create a new one. The equipment can also become customized, giving the items more zing and power. In the end it will be the best way to create the ultimate items. This game may be expected out in October 2006.

Now NIS is trying to bring out more and more games for the PSP, but they have also continued to develop their games for the PS2. Ar Tonelico is being created as we speak, but this does seem to have several characteristics of some of the other released NIS games, like Atelier Iris, where it is a 2D character in a 3D world. This does continue to boast the feeling of old school games in this new school world, so depending on how people like old school, it should be a good game to watch.

Ar Tonelico is set in a unique world, settled down in the world of Sol Shell. This small world consists of a sea of plasma, a floating tower, and a land of clouds. The story surrounds the character Laina Barselt, an eighteen year old that has a father whom rules Platina, which is a town located near the top of that tower. Laina is not one for politics, and instead seeks a future in the army, where she may find adventure.

This game mixes styles, with turn-based battles, while having RPG exploration. It is mixing simulation with general role-playing. The way to win is through singing, and so you will see development through the characters in this manor. Another feature allows you to seep into the brains of the girls, and find out just what they are thinking. Of course along with mind control, you do also have the ability to customize their skills, as well as change their clothing.

The game has quite a few heroines, which will be a unique thing, perhaps a little like Beyond Good and Evil in the vein of a woman lead. The main species is also known as the Ravateel, who use magic to sing songs to describe their world. These performances come at a cost though, as pain will course through their body, so these songs are generally limited to the ones they love. This game certainly seems to have potential to reel in hardcore gamers, and hopefully it will also appeal to the casual fan as well. You may expect this game in October of 2006.

Finally, I have saved the best for last. From the smash hit Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, comes the follow-up Disgaea: Cursed Memories. Now Disgaea has been a cult hit, a game that really put NIS on the map. It has won a awards as well, which just adds fuel to their fire. On a more personal note, it was a game that helped me regain faith in the industry of videogames, because for a while, for me, it seemed everything was going stale.

Before I talk about the game though I will note that the original game has been so insanely popular, that they have released figurines on their website, which not only include some of the Disgaea characters, but also other Overlords from their other games. They have also released plushies of one of their penguin like creatures, which they call Prinnies. They are doing quite well at supporting their community of fans as well, taking suggestions for further released items, perhaps including posters of the game.

The cast will be slightly different from the old one, but there will be plenty of new faces. Some of the new faces will be Adell, the only human left from the world of Veldime. There happens to be a curse on his home that he needs to break, assumably to allow humans to reside there once again. Adell happens to kidnap Rozalin, Overlord Zenon’s only daughter. She will join your team just to prove that even delicate flowers have thorns. Then there is Axel, a dark hero out to regain his floundering popularity. He happens to be a bit of a rock star, and he is willing to do anything for publicity. One of the returning characters is the main vassal from the first game, Etna. She has struck out her own bid to become an Overlord. There are many more characters thought returning, including... Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth.

The Disgaea game previously gave the option of picking up a teammate (or a few if you line them up). When this was done, there was the further option of throwing them across the map, or at least a few spaces. This allowed characters to get across the map quite quickly. Another feature was to pick up your enemies and throw them into each other, so that they would combine in levels, which increases the experience you would obtain when you defeat them.