Note that this guide assumes the player is starting from a New Game. While these strategies will also work for subsequent cycles, the viewer must take level discrepancies into account. This also assumes you have read the "Controls" and "Battle Basics" sections. Of course, should you be unable to, the in-game "Help" menu does a decent job of explaining basic mechanics.
Once Axel is in your control, head to the brown Golem near Axel's starting position (A hammer symbol is floating above his head). Press 
to talk to him and enter the Assembly. Axel is the only soldier you have right now, so select him, and choose the "Create a Character" command. The basic classes will available to create. Using Axel's 20 Mana, make two "Incompetent" characters, one of which is preferably, a Healer.
Note: If the player has "Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness" save data on their Memory Stick, the Female Samurai class will be ready for use. It costs slightly more Mana to create her, but she can be quite the heavy-hitter for a player just starting out.
Note: Many of this Episode's enemies take no damage to certain elements. You may want to save Mages and Skulls for later.
Before you head out, run around the area and talk to the local demons, and find the three Treasure Chests scattered about. Finally, talk to one of the Nekomatas standing near the Director (Specifically, the one with a Sword symbol on her head).
The player will get a brief tutorial about Weapon Mastery. Mastery boils down to how good a character is with one of the six Weapon types. For example, Axel's "A" grade with Fists means that he'll garner Fist weapon Mastery quick as long as he keeps using them. In contrast, his "D" grade with Guns makes them a poor choice. He can still use Guns and earn the skills, but learning Mastery will be slow. The higher your Mastery grade, the quicker new skills will be learned. The higher a character's Weapon Mastery level is, the greater the stat bonus weapons of that type will grant. It's best to use one weapon per character, to maximize efficiency. Monsters can't use Mastery or the six types, but weapon bonus strength is determined by the Monster's level.
Once equipment has been brought....or not, talk to the Director to bring up the Stage Select screen.
Stage 1-1: Rehearsal
| Red: Evil Ranger | Black: Evil Ranger | Yellow: Evil Ranger | Pink: Evil Ranger | Blue: Evil Ranger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Lv1 | Lv1 | Lv1 | Lv1 | Lv1 |
| Weapon | Paw Glove | Paw Glove | Paw Glove | Paw Glove | Paw Glove |
| Armor | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Special 1 | Electrifying Shock | N/A | N/A | N/A | Tie Down |
| Special 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Axel Mode's first battle is so-so, difficulty-wise. Rangers Red and Blue will be the ones to watch out for, the rest are pretty straightforward. Axel will be your clutch in this battle.
The key to this battle is relying on Axel for most of your offense, as the generic characters the player may or may not have with them will probably be overwhelmed if Red or Blue get a Special attack in.
Red and Blue's Special attacks both inflict Paralysis. Paralysis disables the Move command temporarily and reduces the afflicted's SPD to 1. This makes it impossible to evade attacks. Paralysis is catastrophic for Fist-users, as it cuts their power by half since SPD is calculated for some of their damage.
A good strategy here is to have Axel act as a scout, and start the first round on his own, rushing right towards the enemies. The Rangers will converge upon him en masse with regular attacks (Red and Blue may use their Specials). Axel's high Counter lets him retaliate, and perhaps take a Ranger or two out if he's strong enough. Any generics the player may have are best used to take potshots, or enter into Team Attacks with Axel if they can.
This map is best for going all out, as enemy set-ups further down the line will punish approaches like that in the future.
Upon completing this map, Evil Ranger Pink will join the party.
1-1: Rehearsal: Revisit
Entering this map the second time replaces the Evil Rangers with generic versions of the Ranger classes. These enemies are weaker than the ones you fought previously. Aside from that, the map plays exactly like the previous. This is best used as a grinding map for Mana-gathering. Once a character reaches 10 Mana, its best to create a new generic.
Stage 1-2: Meeting the Fans
| Ghost (x4) | Red Skull (x2) | Blue Mage (x2) | Green Skull (x2) | Star Mage (x2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Lv1 | Lv2 | Lv2 | Lv2 | Lv2 |
| Weapon | N/A | Training Staff | Training Staff | Training Staff | Training Staff |
| Armor | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Special 1 | N/A | Fire | Ice | Wind | Star |
| Special 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Geo Symbols - Red, Green, Blue Yellow
- Disperse Damage
This map is much better for grinding than the last one. Four Geo Symbols add the Disperse Damage effect to eight hapless Magic-casters. (And the Ghosts) Disperse Damage divides damage inflicted on an enemy (or ally) among others of the same side standing on same-colored panels. This works for Healing magic, too.
Luckily, the Symbols are positioned right next to the Base Panel. You only need to pop one to initiate a massive Geo Chain that will destroy all of the Mages and the Ghosts in a single turn. However, having multiple characters destroy more than one of the four Symbols in a Combo will greatly increase the Bonus Gauge. This is especially useful for leveling new troops, as EXP prizes frequently find themselves at the top of the Bonus list.
The player can also opt to simply charge in and attack. This strategy requires use of the Healer, as her high RES and her ability to heal herself makes great for defense here. It's best to engage a single group of two at a time, as standing in the middle of the fray will provoke all four groups to attack whoever is there. The Ghosts shouldn't be any trouble for units with weapons, though Team Attacks work just fine otherwise.
This map functions the same way upon revisit.