If you thought this post was long, you should see the original Japanese press release I culled all of this from.

NIS has released a swath of new media for Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance, featuring a little bit of everything from screenshots and videos to new character profiles, class types, and gameplay systems. It’s a lot to digest, but let’s break it down with our abridged summary.

First off, three new character profiles have been released. Top of the list of these is Void Dark (voiced by Shouma Yamamoto), the new big bad of Disgaea 5. As has been previously established, he’s a malevolent fellow bent on taking over all of the Netherworlds for himself using his army known as “The Lost.” So cruel is his heart that even his own minions are little more than tools to be discarded after they’ve outlived their usefulness.

Then there’s Majorita (voiced by Megumi Han), one of the generals among The Lost. With her, where there’s a will to get someone to work under her, there’s a way; if someone won’t play nice, she’s not against killing them and then reviving them as an underling. She does all of this in the hopes of one day establishing a utopia for demons, believing Void Dark’s rule to be a necessary means to that end.

Last up is Bloodis (voiced by Masami Iwasaki). Another one of the generals of The Lost, his strength is so immense that he also serves as Void Dark’s right hand man and is believed to possibly even be next in line to inherit his position down the line. While a strong, silent type on the outside, when he meets a worthy opponent, Bloodis is known to feel real joy and excitement deep down.

In terms of new gameplay systems, the big new one for this information drop is the Squad System. This entails assigning characters as leaders and subordinates into different types of squads of your own choosing, which will bestow members with various perks. In a “Rookie Squad,” for example, subordinates will gain a partial experience boost based on how much the leader accrues in combat. A “Foot Soldier Squad,” will see members’ stats boosted depending on how many characters are part of the squad. And in the “Flat Squad,” female characters that aren’t of the buxom persuasion will see their stats go up.

That’s not all there is to the Squad System, however. Squads can also level up by taking prisoners during battle, which can be accomplished during battle with the right skills and even sometimes after battle as a reward. Captured enemies can then go on to serve as part of a Squad’s backup and bolstering their ranks is what gets a Squad’s overall level up. Captured units, while not useless if left alone, can be persuaded to be more cooperative, making them an even more added boon during the leveling process. Squad level ups unlock myriad benefits of their own, such as partially split experience points between the leader and their subordinates, as well as enable expanded rosters and improved perks.

On the battlefield, Squads can also pull of Squad Skills, which are moves where everybody within a given Squad attacks an enemy Squad together simultaneously. Naturally, this means that all units that are part of an enemy Squad are damaged as a result, rather than having to tackle them individually through standard attacks. Squad Skills also increase in power as they have more captured units in their reserve and the main individual units gets stronger and stronger.

Also new to the game is the Double Magichange system, which essentially allows a character to perform a Magichange twice on monsters to forge especially large weapons, making them more powerful than ever. Not only will the aesthetics of the created weapons differ depending on the base monsters when using Double Magichange, but Magichange skills also become more potent.

Finally, there are five new classes that have been announced for Disgaea 5. Pirates are a gun-toting type that specialize in long-distance attacks, even gaining a 15% damage bonus for every space between them an their target. Then there are the Nine Tails, a type of fox-looking spirit that get stat boosts depending on how they fare with their special Bonus Gauge, with 5% added per bonus stock.

In contrast to them, Phantoms specialize in debuffing enemies’ stats by 5% with their “Evil Eye” ability. Joining them are Teensy Devils, a gang of pranksters that enjoy demeaning those who are weaker than them, earning a 30% damage boost when up against such foes. Rounding out the new classes are Wicked Bears, a masochistic bunch that take attacks from enemies and use them to bolster its own strength to the tune of 5% increased offense per hit taken.

As for the new videos, you can catch them all below. The titles mostly make them self-explanatory, with the first one being a continuation of the gameplay system showcase that started about two weeks back and the others showing off the above profiled antagonists’ special attacks. For this edition of the gameplay system showcase, the focus is squarely on Alliance Attacks, which are the team-up attacks between major characters that are fueled by their bonds and ongoing relationship status, culminating in a demonstration using Killia and Seraphina.

System Introduction #2

Bloodis: Black Rosario

Void Dark: Ruin Burst

Majorita: Necro Wave

Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is poised to come out for PlayStation in Japan on March 26 and Western markets fall 2015. Catch all the new screenshots and artwork at the gallery.