So I've been through the prologue & Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
That first case was a HELL of a lot more complex (And longer) then I was expecting. The new mechanic was interesting with the truth blades, the bullet time battles changing name and look was surprising (And was really tough!) and the hangman's gambit being vastly improved as well was rather neat.
And I'll be bringing back what I did for Trigger Happy Havoc!
Hajime Hinata: He certainly isn't like the dewey eyed Makoto. I like the little bit of snippiness he has. Very curious to find out what his ultimate ability actually is or if he even has one. Being voiced By Johnny Yong Bosch is pretty neat too.
Nagito Komaeda: Well I wasn't expecting him to be a complete nutter butter! I'm pretty sure that he's voiced by the guy that voiced Makoto in the first and the fact he talks about hope & despair so much... I do hope he isn't actually Makoto, having lost his marbles after leaving hope's peak with a name change and stuff.
Kazuichi Soda: He's alright. I like the design. Not too much to say. Reminds me a little of Yasuhiro with how clueless he is at the start.
Gundham Tanaka: He's so hammy with everything he says I love him! Cool design as well. The Devas are cute as well popping out his scarf and everything. I spent some time with him during this chapter.
Mikan Tsumiki: How do you end up tripping like that?! There's being a klutz and then there's Mikan. She's cute though and I like her so far. I am a little concerned though. I spent some time with her in this chapter.
Ibuki Mioda: She's pretty cool too. Rather eccentric. Love the punky design of her. I spent some tine with her this chapter.
Akane Owari: I haven't really seen much of her besides her love of food and her not exactly being the brightest. Reminds me of Aoi a bit. I'll spend some time with her in the next chapter I think.
Hiyoko Saijoni: She's a such a b¥$ch! I love it 😂. Poor Mikan though seems to be the main bearer of her taunts/ire.
Nekomaru Nidai: Man he really likes to talk about s&1t a lot doesn't he? He seems cool though, again a really neat design.
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: He's interesting. Haven't spent any time with him yet but I am curious to see what'll happen with him. He seems to be a little misunderstood from what I've seen so far.
Mahiru Koizumi: She's ok. Probably my least favourite of the girl's at the moment tied with Sonia but we'll see what happens. Nothing bad about her though just hasn't quite grabbed me yet.
Chihaki Nanami: She's adorable. Not too much to say yet but she's likeable. I do hope she makes it.
Peko Pekoyama: She's giving me some Kiyoko vibes with the grey hair and being quite calm and levelheaded. She's cool. I like her.
Teruteru Hanamura: Ya know I wasn't too fond of Hifumi from the last game... And Teruteru didn't get off on the right foot with me from the get go... So I was a bit surprised to see how sympathetic he became by the end of the trial.
Sonia Nevermind: Wasn't there a joke in Danganronpa with Monokuma not remembering Celestia's second name and calling her Nevermind (or something along the lines?) She seems ok so far. Not much else I can say about her at the moment as I said in Mahiru's section I don't think much of her just yet.
Byakuya Togami: Damn. Wasn't expecting Byakuya to go this early. I did spend time with him and he seemed to eased up a little on his personality since becoming... plush. Damn, he was actually likeable this time around.
Usami: I have no idea what to make of Usami/Monomi in the slightest. She's hiding something at the very least. Whether it's good ot bad I dunno. I unlocked the Usami Magical Girl game which is... interesting. Is it worthwhile to play? I probably will go through it regardless but should I wait for more to be unlocked or do it as they get unlocked?
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I think the first trial in DR2 is almost as long as the final trial in the original game. The rather dramatic improvement to the trial writing and gameplay is one of the elements I appreciated most in this game.
Magical Girl Miracle ★ Monomi is only worth playing if you're chasing the platinum. It doesn't add anything narratively to the game like the dating sim mode.
Great thoughts so far! I do like the character updates, especially remembering how my own feelings about the cast shifted over the course of the game.
I only remember bits and pieces of the second game so I’m definitely going to boot it up in the near future! I just have too many games at the moment to be honest.
I think the first trial in DR2 is almost as long as the final trial in the original game. The rather dramatic improvement to the trial writing and gameplay is one of the elements I appreciated most in this game.
I was expecting a bit of a bump up from the first based from your previous comments @Ralizah but that still was quite a surprise how improved the trials are right from the get go! I'm really looking forward to the rest of it.
Magical Girl Miracle ★ Monomi is only worth playing if you're chasing the platinum. It doesn't add anything narratively to the game like the dating sim mode.
Ahh I see. I'll leave it til the end then. I might actually go for the platinum for 1.2 Reload. Pretty sure I only have the school mode and white trophies to get from the first so it shouldn't take too long once I finish up the second.
Great thoughts so far! I do like the character updates, especially remembering how my own feelings about the cast shifted over the course of the game.
Cheers Ral. I'll do these updates a bit more frequently this time around... Seeing as I start work in earnest tomorrow I won't have the chance to binge it like I did with the first 😅
Ha ha No worries @nessisonett. Good luck with Hollow Knight in game club and what else you have going on!
I'd started writing up some thoughts about chapter 2 from Daganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair but I finished chapter 3 last night so I'll put those in too and seperate my thoughts on the characters by the chapters!
I'll put a little "☆" symbol next to the chapter to designate I spent free time with them during said chapter.
Hajime Hinata
Chapter 2: Nothing really new to say about our main protagonist here. I do like he's not as niave as Makoto was.
Chapter 3: Hmmm. Is Hajime another Ultimate Lucky Student? Or is he something else? I'm really not sure what to make of him.
Nagito Komaeda
Chapter 2: He's getting on my pip. A LOT.
Chapter 3: He still won't shut up and he's driving me up the walls!!!
Kazuichi Soda
Chapter 2☆: I like him? I guess I can see him murdering someone if Sonia spurns his affections. I hope not cus he's been pretty nice so far.
Chapter 3: He's still fine. I like he's actually had chance to display his talent a little here with the cameras and monitors. That new facial expression after hearing Ibuki's song was priceless.
Gundham Tanaka
Chapter 2: ... It was a little funny to find out that despite Kaz's logic being fairly sound in only clueing Hajime in to crash the girls swimming plan (As the other guys are a little weird) Gundham did seem interested in joining? Still find the "demonic" gothic thing amusing though
Chapter 3☆: Really not much to say about him this chapter despite spending time with him. He'll have more time to shine in the next hopefully?
Mikan Tsumiki
Chapter 2: Not much to say really. I do hope she doesn't snap from one of Hiyoko's remarks though. She's endearing.
Chapter 3☆: ... Goddammit! I was really liking her too/feeling immensely sorry for her despite her being incredibly useful. Then she had to be the killer & spout all that Ultimate Despair gobbledegook at the end too. That reveal in the first game was a bit of a letdown. Mikan wasn't as annoying at least. I guess she didn't snap at least from a Hiyoko remark like I thought. Still the one who killed her though...
Ibuki Mioda
Chapter 2: Not too much to say about Ibuki here but I like her eccentricity.
Chapter 3: Her songs were hlarious. I listened to the entirity of that song she played "From me to you too". Disappointed I never got to hear the second song ... "I squeezed out the baby, but have no clue who the father is" (Or whatever it was). Truly the mozart of her time 😂 Really bummed out she's one whom went this chapter.
Akane Owari
Chapter 2☆: She's like Yasuhiro and Sakura rolled into one! Her friendship with Nekomaru is pretty fun. What a weird childhood too.
Chapter 3: When Hiyoko said that Akane had her uses as they were exploring the motel at the start of the chapter... I was concerned that someone might try to scapegoat a murder or something along the lines onto Akane. Still will be as she's not the brightest bulb in the socket.
Hiyoko Saijoni
Chapter 2: You toilet clogging skank? I hope Hiyoko never changes... Her comebacks are hilarious as they are cruel 😅. A shame that her budding friendship with Mahiru was unfortunately cut short.
Chapter 3☆: I'm really gonna miss her comebacks to everyone. They were amazingly bi%&hy and I loved them. At least there's still the shrine to Maihiru in the restuarant from this bratty shortpint. Who'd have thought her inability to tie her kimono would be her downfall?
Nekomaru Nidai
Chapter 2: I still haven't spent time with him despite meaning to. I'll be sure to do it next chapter in fact before hopefully anything bad happens.
Chapter 3☆: WHAT?!?!😲
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu
Chapter 2: ... This really threw me for a loop! He loved Peko?!
Chapter 3: Whilst I am sad about Peko being gone... The fact he's opening up and actually being part of the group is an acceptable tradeoff. I like that he tried to make up for it with Hiyoko and seems genuinely remorseful for his part in Maihiru's death.
Mahiru Koizumi
Chapter 2: I'm very meh about her character (Though admittedly I never spent any time with her) so I'm not too bothered she's the one who left this chapter.
Chapter 3: ... Nope I got nothing. Like Sayaka or Leon from the first I really couldn't care less at the moment.
Chihaki Nanami
Chapter 2☆: Chiaki's pretty likable and the fact she's seemed to have taken up the mantle of helping the investigations and wanting to stop the deaths from happening is fine with me.
Chapter 3: Not much else to really say here about my favourite gamer girl. She's still taking an active part of the investigations and I like she needed for Mikan's final debate to shatter the lies.
Peko Pekoyama:
Chapter 2☆: Man this got me in the heartstrings and then some. That "Reveal" of her being Sparkling Justice, the actual reveal of her being Fuyuhiko's assigned hitman and bodyguard. Her... pretty cool execution. Her love of fluffy animals that I found out by spending time with her. Damn.
Chapter 3: I'm missing Peko quite a bit unfortunately. She was an interesting character in many regards. If there's an equivalent to Trigger Happy Havoc's school mode I'll be getting her ending first!
Teruteru Hanamura
Chapter 2: Weirdly I kinda miss him more then Mahiru despite not really liking his character all that much from what was shown. That backstory and the more sympathetic accidental murder really did wonders for me apparently.
Chapter 3: Can't really say anything else though unfortunately about the Ultimate Cook.
Sonia Nevermind
Chapter 2☆: Sparkling Justice!!! She's actually getting a little more interesting thanks to her fangirl-ish interest in serial killers and getting a little more wacky (Or rather it being shown now) like with her wearing the wet suit. I did think that might've somehow come into play in the class trial!
Chapter 3: And she likes cop dramas too? Though she's kinda the reason why Hiyoko died...
Byakuya Togami
Chapter 2: Why was he all plush?!
Chapter 3: And what exactly was he doing here?! Hopefully that'll be revealed soon... Gosh darnit this is driving me up the wall not knowing!!!
I don't have a whole lot to say otherwise about what's happened so far.
I loved The Wizard Of Monomi film and did chuckle at it a few times (Like Monokuma hassling the old folks for change and then stealing their pensions at the end)
... No guesses or anything of what might happen as I'm really unsure of what's to come next with this one compared to the first game!
Peko and Fuyuhiko's story, and Fuyuhiko's post-trial character development, are better than anything in the first game, IMO. I also happen to particularly like despair-form Mikan and hated Hiyoko, so Ch. 3 was a good time for me all-around.
@Ralizah@Foxy-Goddess-ScotchyI love Nagito's character, although I do remember being frustrated with him in one of the chapters. Though looking back at the game I enjoyed his strangeness and the way he's making everything... uncomfortable.
@KidfriedYeah, he was a brilliant addition to the game. In DR1, people were weird, but they mostly seemed stable. Nagito is a flat out maniac from very early on, so being stuck in an already tense environment with this unstable bomb-thrower just makes everything that much scarier and more uncertain for the player and the characters.
Thanks @Ralizah glad you've enjoyed reading them! I finished the 4th chapter last night. Noooooo not Mechamaru!!!!! 😂
I'm really liking Fuyuhiko. I spent some time with him this chapter finally and his development in the story too has been very well done I think. I can definitely see why you like the cast for this one especially as I'm feeling much more invested in them too compared to my thoughts on the cast for Trigger Happy Havoc.
I was a little disappointed (or shocked I guess would be more appropriate) at the Mikan reveal as I was rooting for her to make it to the end. I still find that ultimate despair stuff a bit silly... Though I do think Mikan's was better done in my opinion (Really wasn't a fan Erin Fitzgerald's VA of Junko and the multiple ways she spoke got on my nerves)
Even if he can get a little on my nerves I can't deny that Nagito's an interesting character. Especially with how the power of "Hope" that's presented in the first in a very typical postive way is warped into something so unsettling with the pink haired loony. Finishing the funhouse has especially made him slide all the more in the love to hate sorta category for me. Haven't spent any time with the sod though lol
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Chapter 4 is a great chapter. Not sure that I'd call it the best one, but it's up there. It had my favourite character as the killer though, so that was another agonising execution scene.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I didn't mention this before, but all three mainline games have a 'dating sim' mode where you can fully explore each character's interaction chain.
My last set of thoughts on Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
I'll only do chapter 4 in my usual style.
Chapter 5 and 6 will just be standard paragraphs.
Chapter 4
Hajime Hinata: ... Not really anything new I can say about him at this point... Beyond the fact he has no talent whatsoever! A reserve course student? That's what that weird dream must've been about from the previous chapter!
Nagito Komaeda: That was rather weird getting a chance to play ss him for a little bit! Not that he really played any different but ya know. The final dead room was interesting too! ... And now he's gone even weirder too. Fun.
Kazuichi Soda: Even if he's been doubting Hajime you can tell he isn't being malicious about it or anything, just a little easily unnerved. I can see where he's coming from a little. I'd be cautious too probably if I was in the situation.
Gundham Tanaka: ... Nooo! Utterly gutted that my favourite of the boys ended up getting rid of Nekomaru/Mechamaru (Who'd jumped up to joint second with Fuyuhiko thanks to his transformation and focus.) The Sonia and Gundham interactions were cute too. The execution was utterly bizarre.
Mikan Tsumiki: ... Yeah still a little disappointed she got rid of Ibuki and Hiyoko last chapter. I miss all of 'em dammit!
Ibuki Mioda: I'll never get to hear "I squeezed out the baby, but have no idea who the father is"... Hell knowing Ibuki you could've probably slow danced to it! Can't be any less bizarre then "From me to you too" at the very least that I bought in the music extras!
Akane Owari: Of course Akane would find a statue of Sakura and be all pumped up and wanting to fight her! She's always entertaining... Especially with the new Baby Gangsta nickname for Fuyuhiko 😅
Hiyoko Saijoni: I really missed Hiyoko's b!$#hy remarks this time around. She really would've added a bit of spark to this chapter.
Nekomaru Nidai: I kinda guessed he wasn't gonna last that long thanks to his awesome transformation into Mechamaru. The fact he could dispense Tea and fizzy drinks from his eyes thanks to Monokuma is so ridiculous... I loved Nekomaru's reactions to each of his new mechanical abilities.
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: Baby Gangsta! Not much to really say about Fuyuhiko otherwise this chapter. Spent some time with him and he's going from strength to strength in my mind.
Mahiru Koizumi: I looked at her student profile and realised she's born on the 24th of April... Certainly not the same year but same day as me at least! Sorry Maihiru... You're still pretty boring though
Chihaki Nanami: The best gamer girl is still going strong thank goodness. I like the more active roll she's took in proceedings since chapter 2. I'm glad she talked Hajime out of trying the dead room though.
Peko Pekoyama: Not much to say about Peko unfortunately seeing as she's been gone for two chapters now. Still gonna talk to her first hopefully when I get the school mode (Perhaps Island Mode is more apt) when this is all said and done!
Teruteru Hanamura: ... I really got nothing to say about Teruteru!
Sonia Nevermind: As I already said up above her interactions with Gundham this chapter were sweet. I'd happily swap her with Ibuki, Peko, Mikan or Hiyoko admittedly though... Pretty much everyone but Maihiru lol 😂
Byakuya Togami: No new info about Byakuya...
Overall it was a pretty good chapter. I can see why it might not be considered as interesting due to the story isn't moved along all that much and the deaths this time around I found were a bit obvious... But the mystery of Strawberry and Grape house and how the murder was actually commited was rather good in my opinion.
Chapter 5
Well this was an interesting chapter that's for sure! To be honest I'm a bit surprised Nagito didn't do something like this earlier seeing as nobody was ever gonna take him up on his offer.
Chiaki being the "traitor" was both a surprise and yet not at the same time. Was absolutely gutting having to go through with it though and all the cast's reactions to it. Hell even Usami/Monomi got a little more interesting too this chaoter in my mind.
But that ending... Well you can see why I just had to carry on last Thursday and finish the game don't ya?
There's not a whole lot else I feel I can say about chapter 5 conpared to the final chapter. The remaining characters in it were enjoyable as they have been and while the mystery was a bit predictable it was still enjoyable... Though what the story is leading into is probably the best aspect of this chapter for me
Chapter 6
So first of all I have to say I really enjoyed Junko this time around. She wasn't as obnoxious as I found her in the first game, the virtual reality elements made it much more of a spectacle and I even found Junko more intimidating and a much bigger threat to our batch of protagonists this time arond. Hell I even liked Usami/Monomi getting her chance to shine and executing digital Junko. Overall a really good step up for me.
The fact the characters are all remnants of the Ultimate Despair was genuinely a really good twist in my eyes. It even makes the Mikan reveal in chapter 3 a bit of a softer impact actually too thanks to all of the characters actually being like that. I can't imagine Akane being evil though... She's too... Well her. I can't imagine Sophia being all that evil either. There was a few things said about the remnants of despair that made me a little uncomfortable and my skin crawl though.
Seeing Alter Ego back (Granted in a completely different form) was nice and having Kyoko, Byakuya & Makoto back was cool. It's a shame Yasuhiro, Toko or Aoi didn't come back too but they would've been spread rather thinly admittedly if they were.
The Chiaki moments with Hajime were quite sweet bringing him from despair (Or Nihilism) about who he actually is. Her being an Ai was a surprise that's for sure. Again it was really well done though.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair overall really was a step up from the first. Solid improvements all around that made it hit harder, more satisfying, more intriguing and more fun.
It's just a really good title.
I can't wait to get my teeth into Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony
@Foxy-Goddess-ScotchyI feel like DR2 is where the writers really nailed the unique and stylish mix of absurd humor and horror. That applies to the game's depiction of Junko as well.
And yeah, what I've really enjoyed about despair-form Mikan and ch. 3 in general on replays is the pretty explicit foreshadowing of the chapter six revelations.
Great thoughts overall! I didn't take to V3 as immediately as I did to DR2, but I do think it ends up being utterly fantastic, and arguably superior to DR2 in certain respects. Get ready to experience some of the best trial mysteries in the entire series.
I appreciate you taking the time to read all these rambling thoughts of mine @Ralizah!
Didn't see your chapter rankings from last week... Not quite sure I could rank the chapters myself. They're all good for very different reasons to me.
Least when V3 rolls around it'll be me, Solution & Kidfried going through it together... Should be fun to have a bit of actual discussion, predictions and the likes!
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Great thoughts on the second game and really useful for me to read because it’s been so long and they are good reminders for me about the plot and characters in preparation for V3.
I’ve been playing the V3 demo today and I’m super excited to give the full game a go. Apparently there’s a monocoin perk to having a demo complete save file when you play the game, otherwise I’d just go straight to the game, but it was really enjoyable anyways. First impressions of the cast is that they are a little less interesting than the first and second games but maybe it’s because I haven’t got to know them well yet. We’ll see. The demo is so funny how it just shatters the 4th wall though 😂. It’s just funny how they keep referring to Kaede as “the protagonist” and referring to the goings-on as “a demo.” 😂
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
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