Simply put, it's better than the first where it counts most.
Story - 9/10
The story this time around is the only pure human left on earth, Adell, after Overlord Zenon's curse must venture out to defeat the conjurer of the curse and put an end to it. The curse happened when he was a baby, but somehow of everyone living in the world of Veldime, he was not affected. Veldime's humanity literally hangs in Adell's now nearly adult hands.
Adell, now 17 and full of morals and high spirits, is ready to defeat Zenon as his now part-demon mother (who is revealed to merely be his stepmother of sorts) readies a summoning spell to bring the overlord to them for Adell to fight. However, it goes wrong and his daughter, Rozalin, is summoned instead. Rozalin is a spoiled rotten princess whom loves her father (whom she never actually met in person since she has her own mansion and has since lived there with servants) and down-talks everyone else.
Rozalin agrees under the condition of the summoning to stay with Adell, and Adell agrees to escort her back to her father, so he may fight him. It is through this the two grow as characters, Rozalin more so than Adell, and the two eventually become very close friends (and even through implications, more than that). But the ride to Overlord Zenon is bumpy and many twists come into the fold, and the unlikely heroes meet many other characters, from Tink, Rozalin's servant turned into a frog, to Axel the Dark Hero, a washed-up star whom barely gets by on his new travelling show and eventually hits rock bottom and aims to retake the pop culture of Veldime by storm, to two surviving siblings of a ninja clan that was wiped out by Zenon, to many others.
The story even has some characters returning from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, with one of them being a major part of the story (Etna), another making a cameo late in the story (Laharl), and most of the loveable cast cameoing as playable characters or as extra bosses in the post-game. The cast is all-around a Disgaea fan's dream: a top-notch variety of great new characters (coupled with good voice-acting) and for the hardcore, a chance to dig deep and find many old characters back for another go.
The only thing to fault the story for is it just doesn't have that absorbing magic Disgaea 1 had. Laharl's quest was touching and at times even heart-wrenching. Meanwhile, Disgaea 2's story, while very memorable and definitely a driving factor in progressing through the game the first time, just doesn't have the lasting power to be enjoyed after the first playthrough or so, and the many forced fourth-wall-breaking jokes involving power levels kills the experience somewhat. But when that's put aside, there's many satisfying moments in the plot that make the journey just as epic as the first. Without spoiling much, I will say I went from finding Axel pathetic to admiring him a good deal as a character, and the surprising conclusion to the game might cause an excited shout out of the players that are more sucked into the plot.
Gameplay - 8/10
Just like the first game, the game is a strategy/RPG for the hardcore. If you're not into the genre, this game probably won't change your mind. However, for anyone looking for a great SRPG that gives you the opportunity to build an army as freely as you want, Disgaea 2 does it so much better than most of its competition does, and it has enough fresh content to give even veterans of the original Disgaea a nice surprise surge of gameplay.
The core gameplay is an almost complete cut-and-paste from Hour of Darkness, but it works even more smoothly than it. The presentation is cleaner this time around and there's even more job classes and such to unlock. The Dark Assembly is a bit more simple and all the while a deeper and more engaging experience. Gone are the honestly obnoxious ranks for separate characters that plagued making Reincarnation a chore, and now everything is for the most part more easily accessed. In addition, your units can now collect "Felonies", giving them a much-needed boost that gives them extra experience and can even give you better deals with the shops (which are now split into three proper stores rather than two). There are also new Geo Symbol effects such as Level Up and [Element] +50%. These changes and additions will help even the most frequent of SRPG players get a nice challenge.
In addition to the great yet small changes and additions to the Dark Assembly and other hubworld-accessible features (including the newly overhauled Item World), there's a completely new feature called "Dark World" and ANOTHER even more hidden feature than that called the "Land of Carnage". Land of Carnage is a place only the really hardcore players will probably access, and I will admit I myself have yet to unlock it after almost 60 hours of play. The Dark World stages are easier to get to, and one will probably even tackle a few of the first levels even before beating the game the first time, but they can stretch into that serious post-game that many veterans of the Disgaea series will aim to reach. There's a Dark World stage for every stage of the game, and these provide a great challenge for anyone willing to take them. If you want the most of Disgaea 2, the Dark World stages and eventually the Land of Carnage are a must.
The game overall plays better than the first, even without the removal of a few things like the Angel class from the original (the Magic Knight has hence been made stronger to balance the missing class), but the new ways to help boost your characters make that powerleveling process not only more fun, but also more manageable and less daunting a task than it is in the original. Unlike the original Disgaea, getting a LV9999 doesn't feel completely out of reach once your characters have been boosted through felonies and reincarnations.
The stages have a great mix of power struggles and strategy. One level might just beat a simple bout of getting the most damage done fast, but other levels might be epic strategic manuevers lasting about a half hour or more from the puzzling Geo Symbol effects. There's even some Geo Puzzles which are so highly complex and overwhelming in the later Dark World stages even the most diehard SRPG player might feel pressure as to whether than can overcome it. This game will test your brain in ways you may not expect, and I have to say I have immense respect for a game that can artfully put together well-thought-out puzzles in a strategy/RPG setting.
As stated before, the gameplay is more of the same as the original, but better in pretty much every way. If you enjoyed the first game's gameplay this game will woo you over and not let go. It's well polished and impressive for the genre at its least and is a step in the direction other SRPGs need to take.
Graphics - 6/10
Like the last game, Disgaea 2 might be great as a game, but as eye candy, it simply falls flat. Spritework is, while nice, still pretty much PS1 quality, and the models for structures like buildings and enviroments are just barely able to scratch into PS2-level graphical power. The attack effects are nice and retain a good amount of elegance that Hour of Darkness had, but overall the graphics just barely get by and aren't very impressive. If you can put up with the poor visual power of Disgaea (like most SRPG fans are able to since most games in this genre are in a similar boat visually), then the experience shouldn't be hampered much. The backdrops and character art for cutscenes is still as gorgeous as ever, and truth be told while the visuals aren't of high quality they still aren't too bad to look at.
Sound - 9/10
The sounds of Disgaea 2 improve upon Disgaea 1's foundation. There feels like less of a variety in a way, but at the same time the music is overall more enjoyable. There's some very well-done music in this game and even some tracks considerable to be put under that "epic" category (I would nominate "White Tiger" for that! Listen to it!). The music will move the moments of the game along nicely, from level to level, plot point to plot point. If you are enjoying Disgaea 2, the music is there lending a helping hand to the entertainmet value. Even the few vocal songs (which vocal songs tend to be a no-no in most games) are quite impressive.
The sound effects also sound better this time around and have better balance between sound effects and music. While with all values for sound set to max on the settings screen will most likely still cause the sound effects to overpower the music, switching these settings around can definitely help find you a near-perfect or perfect balance. Some of the sound effects and a good number of musical tracks are recycled outright from the original, and most of these are the good stuff from the original, and there are some remixes of old tunes. The mix of old and new music and sound effects helps create a good blend in Disgaea 2. While the soundtrack isn't top-of-the-line, it's still undoubtedly great.
Replay Value - 7/10
Fun Factor - 9/10
Disgaea 2 loses some of the magic of the original, but it's still a really fun game to play. However if you're not an absolute fanatic of that LV9999 goal, consider your session with Disgaea 2 done once you've saved the game after completing it the first time. While many players of Disgaea 2 will likely dive into the post-game, there is a large possibility you many not want to play Disgaea 2 again after you've beaten it, which sadly defeats the purpose of this particular game. Thankfully even just playing the story out is a blast and will be more than enough for anyone that plays it.
Overall - 8.5/10
As good as the first. In some aspects it's better, and these are thankfully, for the most part, the aspects that count most. However Adell's journey just doesn't have the emotional impact Laharl's tale had, and while Rozalin and Adell's other allies are fun, many of them don't go through the great evolution in character that others like Flonne, Etna or even Captain Gordon did. However, content-wise Disgaea 2 completely blows the original and pretty much any other SRPG out of the water. If you love SRPGs, this is a perfect fit for you, but if you don't, this probably will be a game too deeply routed in its genre to convince you to enjoy it, but the Geo Puzzles will darn sure try to say otherwise.
At its heart Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories is best played by SPRG enthusiasts, especially those that liked the first Disgaea. Some of the humor may be a turn-off, and the plot isn't up to par with Hour of Darkness, but Cursed Memories can hold its head high knowing it's a more accessible and player-friendly experience than its predecessor ever could be.