Topic: Danganronpa

@Ralizah I knew a guy in school eerily similar to Hifumi. They actually nail the stereotype, he’s insufferable.

@nessisonett I know it's not in fashion right now, but I'm usually pretty willing to be lenient on younger boys. There are many paths to manhood, and some are less... graceful than others.

The 40-year-olds who lord themselves over small children in Yu-Gi-Oh matches, watch pornographic anime stuff in full view of the public, and talk imperiously about the ways in which 2D women are better than 3D women get less sympathy from me.

@Ralizah This guy was something else hahaha. If he was just into 2D girls it would be somewhat ok but seeing as I was essentially raised by teenage girls, he used to talk to me and ask about my female friends’ love lives, like a different girl every week. Fair enough if he was just into one of them or whatever but when the criteria is essentially any girl, it gets a bit murkier. Plus he liked Dragon Age 2 more than Origins which is a crime in and of itself. I think I prefer Hifumi.

I decided to actually go back to Danganronpa after all this talk and now I feel like I’m really getting into it! I’ve just got to the Chapter 2 murder but I’m kinda glad I know who makes it beforehand because I have a real hate of games/movies/tv where your favourite characters always cark it and it bums me out.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I’ve decided to spend my free time with the people I know don’t make it past that chapter, so that I can understand their character a bit more. Obviously you won’t know how each part plays out but I do think it’s interesting to understand certain students’ motivations, how they subtly manipulate you and some that are just plain cool such as Mondo, what a dude.

I polished off chapter 3 last night. By all accounts, the fan base consider it the weakest case in the series and tbh, I can see why. It’s no ‘Turnabout Big Top’ but a lot of it was a bit obvious and other bits were just ludicrous.

With Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, I'm in the middle of Chapter 5, and I'm as bad as always at guessing whodunnit. I was suspicious of the killer in Chapter 3 just because they had the greatest opportunity, but otherwise I've been fairly clueless. Even now I'm suspicious of that character, since their dead body wasn't really shown at the end of the execution, so perhaps there's some trickery there. Chapters 2 and 4 were tough on me, since my two favourite characters ended up being the killers for them, and they seemed to get especially emotional execution sequences.

Anyway, I am loving this game. The trials seem to have plenty more twists and turns than the first game. I'm eager to see what happens next, and who the "traitor" is and what their goals are. It could be anyone, even the main character if they've forgotten about it.

The three core Danganronpa games are each an improvement on each-other. With that said, DR2 is a BIG improvement over DR1. It's one of the best iterative sequels I've ever played. Everything is better.

@Ralizah From what I’d seen of my brothers playing 2, I’d have to agree. The atmosphere is actually really good in 1 and I might prefer the cast but the gameplay’s definitely improved. It’s just kinda funny because Ace Attorney: Justice for All is so much worse than the first game so at least it didn’t go down that route!

@nessisonett

Of the adventure game trilogies I've played...

Improves with each entry: Danganronpa

Good first game, mediocre second game, amazing third game: Ace Attorney; Professor Layton

Good first game, amazing second game, mediocre third game: Zero Escape

The cast in DR2 is easily my favorite, though. They're the core group of people that come to mind when I think of the series. It's the only core cast where I feel like I'd actually want to spend time getting to know most of them.

DRV3 is mainly tops for me because of the added post-game content, and the fact that it has some of the best trials in the series. DR2 is my overall favorite core story campaign, though.

@Ralizah I absolutely agree with all the others. I actually haven’t seen anything of DRV3 because we own it on the Vita and by all accounts it’s better that way.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy The trial music in these games is great. It sounds like the music I'd hear in a dance club located in the bowels of Hell.

I forgot just how good Chapter 4 was. After the 3rd one was a bit of a letdown, the 4th chapter totally ramped up the twists, turns and the overarching mystery. Strangely, despite voicing my massive dislike for Turnabout Big Top, the absolute bottom of the AA cases, the ending of this chapter felt decidedly similar to that one, in a good way. Both leave you feeling strangely empty, even if you now know who committed the murder. Also worth mentioning that AA has the death penalty so the outcomes aren’t too different from DR, albeit delayed with the whole Death Row thing. I will say however, Sakura’s suicide is actually the first sign of true hope in the game, due to the real note and her noble intentions. For once, you feel like you have a slight jump on the mastermind. I do remember Chapter 5’s basic premise but I don’t remember the details as much as the others so this one will be fun!

I loved Ultra Despair Girls - I hear they are doing a second one, let’s hope so. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

So, I had a quick glance at the "Novels" section in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and well, that turned into a long read. The novel they had there was Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: IF, which is well worth reading for anyone that's played the first game.

The novel is basically an alternate "What If?" version of the first game's storyline, where a minor difference causes a drastic change in what happens.

As I've beaten the second game, it was great revisiting the first game's storyline, and seeing the old gang again. Plus it was wonderful to see more of Mukuro, who we didn't really get to know in the first game.

@crimsontadpoles Wow is this in the Vita version? I somehow missed it...

@belmont I don't know whether it is in the Vita version or not (I'm playing it on PC), but it does require beating the main story before it appears in the menu.

@crimsontadpoles To answer my own question in my Vita version clear file the novel is just there in the main menu. I don't know how I missed it. I guess I found what to do this evening

@crimsontadpoles @belmont There's a short story you can unlock after beating Ultra Despair Girls as well.

@Kidfried It's going to be better to not to wait for me. I've only finished 2 fairly recently, so I'd like a long break before thinking about UDG, and then a break after that before V3.

Plus, it's arguably a game that I'd prefer not to play with others. I tend to do one chapter per week, which is probably a much slower pace than everyone else. And I'd like to avoid other people's thoughts and speculations until after I've completed the game, in case someone accidentally reveals something major that I hadn't figured out yet.

Anyway, don't let me being a downer stop you guys from coordinating a playthrough together if you guys want to.