Danganronpa Series Review

Danganronpa Series Review

    By Colin Marquis

Over the quarantine, I was bored out of my mind sitting at home playing the same games over and over again, going through the same routines, wanting to find a new series to start. I just got a new PC, so I was looking for new games to buy when my friend recommended the series Danganronpa. I had heard of the game—specifically that the fanbase was pretty toxic. So I was hesitant to try it. But once I did, I fell in love with it. This series is a great example of how to write video games, as it makes compelling, real characters combined with a story that captivates you all the way until the end. It instantly became a favorite series of mine, and I played all of the games very quickly from February through June. While there were speed bumps, I never stopped liking the series. If anyone out there wants to try it, you really should. While there are spoilers below, they are only slight; you should really just go into it blind like I did. Without further ado, let’s begin reviewing all of the entries.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)

For a first entry in a new series, this is higher than most other series’ first outings. This game hasn’t worsened with age in the slightest. Although you can tell—graphically at least—that the game was made in 2010, nothing is cheapened. The characters are still really interesting and unique. This game still has some of my favorite characters in the series: from Kiyotaka Ishimaru’s vibrant personality, to Kyoko Kirigiri with her great backstory and companionship with the main character, to Chihiro Fujisaki’s amazing character development and impact on the story. This entry has possibly my favorite setting and plot in the series. While the premise will continue to be the same throughout the games, the setting is easily my favorite, as the school is a great hub world to roam around in and explore. The premise of the game (16 high schoolers are trapped somewhere and are forced to kill each other) remains consistent; but because this is the first time it happens, it definitely feels the most unique. Also, discovering more secrets and information about where you are and why you’re trapped in the school is really well-paced, fun, and very interesting to try to piece together throughout the game. Trying to figure out who the mastermind behind it all is fun, too; and the game will throw a lot of twists at you to make you second-guess whether the information that you’re receiving is even correct. Beyond that, the class trials (a series staple where someone is killed and you have to hold a trial to find who’s guilty) are really good in this entry. They’re a lot easier than the ones in future games; but once again, it’s the first time that you’re experiencing the gameplay, so it makes sense to keep things more simple for the first entry. This game is not afraid to make the player feel sad or confused either; it revels in its sad moments, hanging onto them long enough to make a player remember a death weeks after it happens. The main theme of the game is hope; and by making the player feel despair for the majority of the game, it will make the eventual hope that much sweeter. If you care about the characters, the game can even make you cry at some points, as it is written so well and builds up to sad moments for so long. The game does this especially well with the ending, which just leaves you in a bittersweet mood and makes you think back on the journey—which is exactly what I did, thinking about how I loved it every step of the way. It’s hard to top a game as good as this, but videogame sequels are famous for improving on their predecessors and being even better in most ways. So does this series do that? Let’s find out when we get to Danganronpa 2.   9/10

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (2012)

This entry seems to be the most popular in the entire series from what I can tell, and I can definitely see why. This series is more of the original, while improving on some parts of it that were lacking in the first game. To start, the setting is completely different: Jabberwock Island instead of inside of Hope’s Peak Academy. The setting is really unique and gives the game a nice feeling of being on a tropical island and going on vacation. Of course, it’s too good to be true because Monokuma, the series antagonist, comes back to ruin everything. The basic premise is the same, but there are more layers on top of just having to solve mysteries again, and the plot is much more complicated. Throughout the game, you aren’t sure why you’re on the island or who put you there because your memories were erased, but the game slowly reveals more information about your situation. The overarching plot isn’t as interesting as the first game, in my opinion; but what it lacks in an overall story, it makes up for with character interactions and trials. The trials are much better than the first game, with more emotion, suspense, and mystery in them. This game works to make every killer redeemable in some way, which makes it much more sad when a victim gets killed off. The game also makes sure to give every character a proper send-off. With the exception of a few, this game is really great at knowing the right time to kill off a character while not disrespecting them; the deaths are treated with great care. My favorite characters in this game have to be Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (a mafia member who’s a lot more down to earth than he seems), Chiaki Nanami (the moral compass and heart of the game), and Nagito Komaeda, (a mysterious character whose personality and philosophies are some of the most interesting in the series). The characters are honestly the best part of this game, for many reasons. They all work together greatly; they have fun interactions; and when the game does get emotional, it really gets to you. It is my opinion that in terms of characters, the first game has the most realistic ones, the second game the most fun, and the third game the most interesting. The fun factor really sells this game. Of course, the characters are great, but that would mean nothing if the gameplay wasn’t interesting; and luckily, the game is even more fun to play than the original. The difficulty has been cranked up a lot, but in a satisfying way; when you figure out a complex problem, it makes you proud of figuring it out. I reveal much about the trials in the first game because they were very simple in nature; but here’s how they work: all you have to do is refute character’s statements in order to figure out a clue and eventually figure out who the killer is. In the first game, you could shoot statements, save other statements for later, and that was it. Besides the mechanic of Hangman’s Gambit, where you have to figure out, say, the murder weapon, that was pretty much it in turns of mechanics in the first game. The second game actually adds new game modes during the trials, such as having to slice open opponents’ statements in order to reveal the truth, or having new options, such as being able to agree with a testimony instead of just refuting it This makes the trials more varied in general. This game also wraps up really nicely, tying in with the first game and leaving off on a hopeful note, but still leaving room for another sequel. Overall, this game is on equal footing with the original for me, and these two games are definitely the peak of the series.   9/10

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (2014)

This game marks the first time that the series had a spinoff game, and it turned out to be pretty great. This game is a shooter/puzzle game instead of a murder mystery game, and while the gameplay isn’t the most polished, it excels in other areas. The plot of this game stars Komaru Naegi, sister of the first game’s protagonist, (Makoto Naegi). She is rescued from the place she’s been trapped in for many months and goes out to defeat the new threat that is the Warriors of Hope. I can’t say much about this game’s plot without spoiling it. This game is a prequel to the second entry, so it takes place chronologically after the first one. After Makoto was threatened with the killing or kidnapping of his sister, you get to see it from Komaru’s perspective. She gets rescued by one of the survivors of the first game, and teams up with him in order to defeat the new villains. These villains, also known as The Warriors of Hope are a group of 5 children who get a hold of an army of robots capable of murdering humans easily, so the city is under attack for the whole game. The game won’t reveal for some time how they got a hold of such a powerful weapon; but once again, more twists and turns are revealed throughout the game. The main point is, the Warriors of Hope hate all adults and want to kill all of them in order to make what they call paradise. All of the kids have a unique personality, some likeable and some not. They all have concrete and different reasons for hating adults, and it’s interesting to find out their reasons during each chapter, as each chapter is framed around a different kid. Characters from previous games are brought back in this game and expanded on even more, with the standout being the partner to Komaru—I can’t name her without spoiling who survives the first game. She really grows as a character and makes me really like her. Of course, the graphics are nothing special— especially for a modern game—but some of the animation techniques used are really impressive, giving the game a unique visual identity. The music is just as good as the previous games—but no surprise there. This game comes together in a very nice package. You probably won’t have as much fun going through this game as you will the main series, but this is still a great game. 6/10

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy (2016)

This entry marks the first time that another form of media, besides video games, is used to convey the main story of Danganronpa. This entry is a TV show. The anime is really beautiful visually, and the same polish still applies to the art style and setting. The music in this show is nothing special, at least not compared to the great soundtrack of the game, but it fits the mood well. The story definitely is something special, in my opinion. This show is split up into two arcs: the future arc and the despair arc. I can’t go into any of the despair arc without spoilers for the series, but all I’ll say is that it focuses on the cast of the second game. The future arc, however, is great;it takes every idea that the developers have had and brings them all together into this one 13 episode period. This arc takes ideas from 1, 2, Ultra Despair Girls, and despair arc, and combines them into a great viewing experience. Some of the moments in this show are amazing, and it created what would have been a great end to the series. The series’ incredibly sad and dark moments are still present, while never taking itself too seriously. It revels in stupid, funny moments as much as it does in moments that will bring the audience despair. Overall, I think this show captures what the games are all about and wraps up everything in the series, and I’m sad that the series didn’t end here. 7/10

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (2017)

This is the game that I’m the most conflicted about. There are some really, really great things about it, and some really bad things too. To start, the User Interface (UI) is absolutely beautiful—the best in the series. The graphics in general are great; and while the last games don’t look bad, the developers definitely cut corners in some areas, especially in Ultra Despair Girls. In this game, everything looks really nice, while still honoring the style of the original games. Of course, the other games were made for the Playstation Portable; so the graphics make sense, but this is just a great upgrade to them. In terms of the characters, this is probably the most well-rounded group in the series. They all have great interactions with each other; and because you spend so much time with each of them, you care a lot when they’re killed—just like the other games. The characters and the trials are what really shine in this game, as every mystery that you uncover is really well thought out, perplexing, and unique. Some of the deaths of the characters are very shocking, whether it being a body discovery or an execution. They made my jaw drop a few times with how gory they can be. Besides that, the atmosphere of this game is very disheartening, yet hopeful; and it fits the game beautifully, along with the music. This is the best soundtrack in the series, and it can be atmospheric while also being really catchy and fun to listen to even outside of the game. So overall, V3 is a really great game, but there are some huge problems with it that hold it back from being as great as the first two. I didn’t think about it much at the time; but, after playing the game, I just realized that the overall story wasn’t as compelling as the first two. It still holds big secrets, some of which pay off and some of which don’t, but the little teases of what’s going on aren’t as satisfying to uncover as the first two games. Each game decides to obscure what’s going on outside of the killing game, and what the players figure out at the end of the game is just embarrassing for a series with such great plot twists. The end of the series in 2017 has been very controversial in the fanbase, some loving it and some hating it. I’m personally in the camp that hates it for multiple reasons. I’m of the opinion that the worst kind of ending to a series is one that actively makes previous things in the series worse, making previous events unimpactful and useless. In End of Hope’s Peak Academy, they did pull a twist like this, and it did bother me because it was at least sort of explained in the story. While it did feel like a retcon, it made me happy, so I didn’t mind. In V3, the ending is explained, but it’s also a retcon for the series and didn’t make me happy at all. I was very upset during the entire last trial because the ending was so poorly executed and badly written. The element that saves the story is what goes on in the killing game. This killing game is actually one of the best written in the series. All of the characters form great relationships, and new surprises pop up for the whole game. The protagonist forms great friendships with some characters that I really grew attached to by the end. Because the killing game’s story is so great, it saves this game from being severely oblivious to what fans want from a Danganronpa game, like the ending. The story going on outside of the killing game is that it’s very interesting for a little while; but then the ending happens, and it ruins the whole story. While this game has its bad moments, it’s still a really fun game to play; it still manages to pull off all of the despair-inducing and hopeful moments that the series is known for. 7/10

Overall, this series is fantastic. It has a great sense of atmosphere, style, and charm all to its own. Along with a cool premise and a great sense of how to write characters, this series is really great. When a series knows how to genuinely mess with a player’s emotions and have actually scary settings and scenarios, that’s when you know that it’s a great series. I’m glad I experienced this series for myself; and when I go back and replay it, I know that I’ll enjoy it just as much as the first time. To anyone that doesn’t mind an anime tone and likes story-based games, Danganronpa is a must-play and I would wholeheartedly recommend it.