Topic: Danganronpa

Like I said, I think this has been the weakest so far. I enjoyed the chapter, but I think it could have been more than this.

• First off: in both cases the killer was the one you'd immediately associate with the murder. The golden sword from Kiyo's lab for the first murder, then Kiyo's ritual for the second murder. There was no secret twist to all of this, it was exactly what it looked like from the start.
• Two murders is cool, but it's only cool if they are both full fledged. Now it felt like two half baked murder instead of one good one.
• The reason why Kiyo killed two people could have never been discovered, but only after he said so himself. "Why? Because I'm crazy", so that felt really lame.
• Didn't we already have a serial killer with a split personality in the first game? There's probably going to be some sort of twist like "well, it's the same as the first game on purpose", but for now this was... cheap.
• A lot of plot holes in this one. The biggest one for me being the reason why Kiyo was the murderer in the second case. Everybody knew about the ritual, so it actually could have been anyone in the room, who knew which bar to saw through, et cetera. Yes, the salt is closing evidence, but this evidence is only presented after you pick Kiyo as the murderer in the game. Which is lame, because at the moment I thought: it could be anyone, but I probably have to pick Kiyo because it makes sense. That felt super lame. Not even lame, just bad.
• Why, if Kiyo was the killer who wanted to get as many murders in as possible, did he wait over a week... Just feels weird that the compulsive murderer would sit in a corner and wait. It feels very forced this way.
• I didn't like the lie about the suicide either. It just wasn't nessecar here, and felt forced as well. I think the case would have been way more exciting if I were left to doubt whether it was suicide or not. But now it was like this: yea, it's not a suicide, because else they wouldn't have me lie about the whole thing.
• That being said, I enjoyed the chapter. I enjoyed all the Atua stuff and class representative stuff. I like a double murder, and I like the closed room problem that was created twice here. Also, I really liked the seesaw approach to the murder. Just as I like the developing bonds between the characters; good stuff. Just sad that they failed to stick the landing on this one!

Characters

Shuichi - probably the last time I'll say something about him, because I'm gonna sound like a broken record. I think the character is great, but not having Kaede being the protagonist will remain a missed opportunity to me.

K1-B0 - I think there's two sides about this character. The group is making jokes at his expense, which he calls out as robophobia, which makes him an outsider even more. I think that's a nice allegory and a wink wink nudge nudge to how we as humans approach the dialog surrounding discrimination - in any form. I don't think there's any judgment in it either, it's just there to make you laugh, but also think about it.

That being said... it's strange to have a robot character in there, to reflect on the topic of discrimination, but not have a single non-white character in your game (I really don't count Angie). I dunno. It's nothing against the character of K1-B0, just that he kind of makes me awkward playing the game.

Maki - My favorite from the start, and boy, does she develop as a character. She's smart, strong, unique, and is a great way to balance both Shuichi and Kaito. Surely she'll make it to the end of the game now, right?

Himiko - I hope this chapter, and the death of both of her two friends, will lead this character to finally becoming somone on her own. Her introduction made me interested in her: is magic real, does she even believe her own claims? But so far she's only been a plot device so far.

Angie - I am actually going to miss her. I think the Atua stuff was really good and sensible writing. At first I found her to be a one-trick pony, but it turned out she was way more. I loved the religion angle in combination with the series' overarching theme of hope. And I think it has been one of the strongest ideas the series has presented so far. That being said, I think there wasn's so much left they could do with the Atua storyline, so perhaps it's for the best they killed Angie off.

Tenko - The lesbian-who-hates-man trope wasn't really compelling for a character, especially not in the context of Danganronpa. Like every time a character dies that wasn't really meaningful to the plot, I hope there will be some revelation later on. For now she is just a bit of undeveloped, and was a plot device in pretty much the same way as Himiko.

Korekiyo - The plot twist that he was a psychopath? Yea, a bit too on the nose or something for me. Felt a bit like ruining a character that was at first actually really cool.

Miu - So, apparently the creators are fully aware that by now everyone should hate her, as they are referencing it already. So hopefully that means they have some plan for Miu... but who even knows by now?

Kaito - Kaito is cool. Somewhere I expect him to completely double-cross me at some point. This game has often followed the concept that ruined hope will only lead to more despair; and right now this guy is 100% hope. So, if he turns out to be bad or something or betray me, that would be Monokuma's dream...

Gonta - I like that he is less dumb now the story is progressing a bit, and he made actual smart remarks during the trial. I hope it's like Kokichi says: this naive and pure Gonta is slowly adapting to this murder game. That could become real good.

Kokichi - Talking about Kokichi. He's climbing the ranks for sure, what a great character. Only love. They'll probably kill him at some point soon, but I hope at least not in this next chapter.

Tsumugi - Oh, is she still alive?

Also, with Atua kind of out of the picture right now, I have a really hard time to predict where the game is going next. More bonding with Maki seems like a logical next step, and perhaps some redemption for Himiko too?

I expect K1B0 or Gonta to be the next killer; just a gut feeling.

I fully expect the secret of the outside world to be that they are all in a simulation right now. Let's see if I'm right

Nooooooo!!!!!!! Kirumi! Gone!
Do I even want to keep playing?! 😭
And I will say, that with the death of Kaede, Kirumi, and Ryoma — most of my favorite characters are gone.
Ryoma was the most interesting of the boys, with the dark and tragic past, his sadness and feelings of guilt and want for restitution. Then to find out his motive video was empty because he cared for no one... it’s just too much. 😢 I wanted to see more of his arc.
And Kirumi, the ever servile and gracious maid, who could do anything. A real superwoman. RIP Kirumi. RIP.
So now we’re stuck with an bunch of whiney spares and treacherous imbeciles. 😜 (Can you tell I’m a little bitter?)
I’ll admit that Kaito has grown on me with his forceful big-brother persona. And Maki has become even more interesting with the twist at the end! Very much looking forward to getting to know her and what this is all about.
Gonta, the epitome of “Why use many word when few word do trick?”- is charming in a simpleton sort of way. And Himiko is cute the way she acts like a 5 year-old playing “make-believe”. The others, are just quirky and odd so we’ll see if I warm up to them.

I'll admit I was kinda waiting in anticipation to hear what you'd make of that next chapter due to you vocalising your love of Ryoma in your thoughts on the last chapter amd Kiriumi from the very beginning. Kirumi being the killer surprised the hell out of me too sol!

I'm glad I never got attached to Kirumi. Her 'perfect maid' schtick definitely made her suspicious to me, so I figured she'd end up as the killer in one of the trials.

I thought Angie was a bit annoying at first, but thematically she just fits within the game world so well.

In dire times, or when faced with inexplicable despair, people will cling to religion for explanation, but most of all for hope.

Yes, it's annoying for an outsider, to hear people constantly repeating their fairy tales instead of acknowledging what is the truth, according to to the outsider. I think it's kind of the point in this game.

I like to hear your opinion on this, especially as you progress more in the game

By now I read some impressions online about how most players disliked this chapter the most. I actually thought if was a step up from the previous one.

I liked the idea of someone who set up a kill becoming the victim, but then having their plan of leaving no trace, being hijacked by the actual killer.

Again, like the previous case, I have trouble finding the culprit Gonta believable. And of course the switched up cables were a dead giveaway to me (and I imagine most) that the killer wouldnt remember their own work. So that gimmick I didn't really like and felt forced a bit.

As this case unfolded, it actually convinced me that it was the last case in the game. This one was really well done. Loved every second of it.

This is what I wanted! Revisiting an old case, that turned out to be wrong? So brilliant. And then completely breaking the fourth wall for the conclusion was so strong. And then, as a final nail in the coffin, the game convinces you that giving up on hope is actually the only right thing to do? Dang, this will stay with me for a while.

And they completely retconned the entire series. That's quite sick.

Thematically, however, they did very much light the entire property on fire. It's controversial, but it's actually a really cool approach: rather than just let the series die randomly, or especially leave it in a place where it can persist endlessly, Kodaka wanted to do something radical with his baby. So he brutally deconstructed his own series, and used the opportunity to have a dialogue with fans: about the nature of fiction, about the corrosive effects of unrestrained market forces on art, how an endless case of sequelitis saturates and destroys properties, and, more broadly, the nature of human life itself. DRV3 ditches the absurd hope/despair dichotomy of previous games and hones in on a deeply existentialistic message about freedom and meaning in an absurd universe.

I do think that the murder mechanisms were a little more hokey than usual, although I really liked the way that the katana was used to re-lock the room from the outside. The sickle placement and disposal left some doubt in me (no one noticed him placing it and removing it?), not to mention the fact that Angie only bled conveniently under the floor and nowhere else (perhaps Kiyo cleaned up any other splatter on the floor?)

I was really waiting for the reveal that Tenko was actually Angie’s killer. As facts were coming out, I was really hoping for that scenario so we could see how Monokuma was going to handle the fact that the blackened had already been killed by someone else and whether Tenko’s murderer would have been punished or not. I was hoping they would let Kiyo live and be unpunished for Tenko’s murder, being the second one, and how that would have made him (them?) a target for the next murder because people (namely Himiko) would seek revenge for Tenko’s death. But alas, he was the culprit for both murders, so what do I know. He conveniently could be punished in the traditional way.

Definitely not sad to see him go though. He was creeping me out big time and only got worse with the whole “forbidden love” thing going on. If there’s one thing about Danganronpa — it sure knows how to make you feel uncomfortable.

As for the earlier parts of the chapter with the student council and Atua, it was okay I guess. I see where you’re coming from @Kidfried regarding the message being about how people cling to religious faith for hope during times of hardship. I didn’t really deduce that originally from Angie’s fanatical ramblings, but now I can see it based on your bringing it to my attention. Angie was always at least happy in her own tone-deaf world view. Perhaps there’s some value in that. Reminds me of the message in the novel Lord of the Flies.

But she’s gone now. And with what we have left, clearly Maki is the star of the game for me now; really starting to enjoy her. Shuichi and Kaito are good too. I have a love-hate relationship with Kokichi and his antics. He’s such an agitator, egomaniac, and smart-aleck that I can’t stand him. He reminds me of some people I know. But in truth, he plays his role well, like The Joker, he strikes me as one of those sociopaths who “just likes to watch the world burn.” Miu, well what is there to say for her — she’s just a one-trick pony so far and seems to still be there for one-liner shock value. At least this chapter she drifted (at least temporarily) from her usual sexual obsessive remarks to being absurdly disgusting about her bowel movements instead. Ugh 😂. Gunta, Tsumugi, Himiko, Keebo.... they’re all just “meh” still so hopefully some of these get to shine in the upcoming chapters.

I totally agree with your sentiment that I too had hoped there would have been a little more to this case than what we were presented with in the end. It was all a bit too convenient, which in the Danganronpa serie often means it's the wrong answer. And with the two murders I too hoped for something that would totally flip Monokuma's playbook.

And I agree that the bleeding under the floor was a bit too convenient. Especially considering that Kiyo had been under the floor boarding, so it didn't even make sense for him to only clean above the floor; ESPECIALLY now he was planning another murder.

Thing is, the more you think about the whole case - and the whole reason why he murdered two people "because he could" - the more it starts falling apart. Without Kiyo's admission he would have never been caught basically. In my opinion the lowest low the Danganronpa series has ever been, with regards to intricate murders.

The katana thing was nice indeed, though.

What I can tell you, as kind of a boost maybe, is that you've now done the worst chapter in the game. Only gets better from here. Weirder too.

I didn’t think of Gonta until the middle of the trial when Kokichi implicated him. In my mind I was half expecting that Gonta would come out as the culprit and suddenly start talking in an educated and sophisticated tone and reveal that he’d been playing the “stupid” card the whole time as a diversion. I would have liked that. Alas, his motivation for killing was more altruistic.
Kokichi has really antagonized himself from the group at this point and so I’m curious what happens, as I feel like someone will want revenge on him. And what the heck is going on with Kaito? Some kind of infection? Is he going to turn into a zombie? 😂 I guess playing this alongside RE2 has me thinking zombie apocalypse.
As for the actual murder and the whole virtual world setting, I really liked the change of pace of having a virtual murder.
One question though, I seem to recall that in one of the first two games, I think it was the first one, that there was a case where one student was a mastermind that tricked another student into murdering someone but in that case Monokuma held the one who planned it culpable for the murder. Am I remembering that right?
Amyways, I’m not terribly attached to many characters at this point except Maki and Kaito. I sure hope Kokichi gets his due for tricking Gonta into murder though. We shall see.