Topic: Danganronpa

@nessisonett Well the thing is that I'm not only looking at NL comments. I remember when V3 came out in 2017 and I was discussing the game's ending with people here on PS and most agreed that the ending was good. So to now read the complete opposite a couple of years later is a good way of gaining a different perspective on the matter.

But I do also agree that NL probably doesn't offer the most well-reasoned opinions, lol.

@LtSarge A large chunk of the Danganronpa fan community has hated V3's ending since day one. You're going to get that with pretty much any franchise that actually bothers to interrogate or challenge the preferences and preconceptions of the fanbase, especially when it involves deconstructing the conceptual foundations of the property in the first place. It's very much The End of Evangelion of the Danganronpa series in that respect, complete with the sense one gets from both that the creator has mixed feelings about the legacy of his creation.

Although, reading people's comments, I do also think there are still misconceptions about its implications. Namely, people still think it's retroactively "ruining" the games that came before it by stating that the events of the Hope's Peak Academy arc never happened. The important context is, of course, that V3's universe is a different one entirely, so the revelation that V3 has no actual connection to the rest of the series is no more to the point than Danganronpa being fiction in our own reality as well. V3's ending does nothing to alter the established lore of the broader property, even if, on a meta-textual level, it still ends up being pretty devastating to what came before it.

@Ralizah Yeah, it’s a pretty clear and obvious line being drawn between the audience in V3 and the fandom’s thirst for more games/more dead children. I didn’t think it was possible for that to go over players’ heads tbh

@nessisonett ...to some extent, sure. And that's probably also part of the reason a large chunk of the fandom hates it. But it's important to remember that, in V3's universe, Danganronpa has become a decades-old media institution that has taken to involving real actors (there's a bit of a fun dystopian flavor to it, since the outside world is directly stated to be perfectly peaceful, thus motivating the move toward incorporating actual actors to sate the boredom of the public). IMO, the audience is less what the developer thinks of his own fanbase, and more a satire of what he's afraid it'll become if Danganronpa keeps going on. Especially considering the strong send-up of capitalistic media excess in this game, which is reflected in elements of V3's own design, which intentionally included elements associated with long-running media franchises that are running out of ideas and past their prime. Thus the title itself, the absurd list of sequels, the ridiculous monocubs (they're sort of like the child characters often included in dying tv shows that are intended to reignite interest in the audience), and the sense that every 'season' runs on an unchanging formula.

@Ralizah @nessisonett Yeah I mean, I don't know if those people over at NL realise this but video games aren't actually real, lol. Just because the game itself is telling you that it's fiction doesn't make it any less fictional. Like when I got to the part where the old Danganronpa characters started showing up, it didn't ruin my experiences of the previous games at all because they still happened in the fictional world. V3 also happened. That doesn't change just because the game tells me it's fictional because I already know that. At that point you might as well just say that no story-based games that have ever existed actually happened.

@LtSarge Admittedly, I also initially thought it was retroactively nullifying the lore of the older games. It's easy to misread the ending as saying: "Hey, Danganronpa fan, the stuff you thought happened in this fictional universe? It was bogus all along. Also, you're a monster for wanting to play games where children are murdered!" Especially if others prime you to expect the worst.

It’s a great twist, actually. All three games are very shocking, why would v3 be any different?

@PSVR_lover ?

I'm discussing the context of the twist, so I'm not really sure what you're getting at, tbh.

It's been a long while but I'm back to playing Danganronpa V3.

Instead of starting where I left off after bowing out of playing alongside it with Sol & Kid last year (being partially into chapter 4) I've completely restarted the game instead.

Already on chapter 2 and I'm enjoying it.

... Chapter 1's trial hit me even harder then it did the first time round.

This trial is easily my favourite in the entire series (Well... so far. I know I haven't seen trial 4, 5 or 6 yet in V3)

Chapter 2. Yeah it's pretty good. Just about to start the trial. Whilst it won't top the first trial emotionally I do remember thinking it was pretty good follow up.

Oh and I blitzed through a relationship with Tenko (seeing as I know she pops her clogs in chapter 3) and... Well I'm not quite sure what the point of it or their character was if I'm honest.

I am SO glad u are enjoying it. I just loved v3, got it day one purchase. I loved all the trials, I liked the 5th the best by far.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Trial 4 is really creative, and Trial 5 is probably my favorite one in the entire series. With that said, none of them hit with the emotional force of a nuke like Trial 1 did. Literally stopped playing the game for a few days when that first happened.

Second and third chapters are easily the low points of the game for me, and that goes for their respective trials as well. They're still better than anything in the first game, though.

So since my last post I've done chapter 2's trial of Danganronpa v3 alongside all of Chapter 3 and 4 as well.

I like Chapter 2. Not much I can really other then whilst it obviously doesn't top chapter 1 at all I do think it's a good mystery and the killer isn't exceedingly obvious like the upcoming trials...

I never actually wrote my thoughts down on chapter 3 when I was previously playing it (beyond saying I didn't really enjoy it much) so I unfortunately can't compare... Whilst I don't agree with your thoughts on Chapter 2 @Ralizah. I wholeheartedly agree with you for Chapter 3.

I figured I'd tag @Th3solution and @Kidfried too cus of that seeing as I'm finally joining them and picking up properly from where I left off last year in our miniature game club 😄

Chapter 3 Spoilers

Figuring out who the culprit is and why they did so is probably my favourite part of these games and... that falls apart for me in this chapter all too easily.

The "intended" murder was quite creative enough at least with the seance. But it's PAINFULLY obvious Kiyo killed Tenko from the get go and I never once thought anyone else killed Angie either if I'm being completely honest. Plus once he confirms he did kill Tenko then there's no doubt he killed Angie too thanks to the dried blood and his seesaw.

I'm... a bit negative about Chapter 4 as well.

Chapter 4 Spoilers

General thoughts and predictiony potential spoilers?

At this point I'm not quite sure where I'd rank this game if I'm being totally honest. I don't like the cast quite as much as D1 or D2 and whilst I think the trial mechanics/Minigames are the best (Except for Psyche Taxi which is exceedingly boring) I do think the trials aren't quite as good as the second's for me personally either.

Does K1-B0 seriously do anything in this damn game? He's the lamest character for me by a country mile. He's just... He has the personality of wallpaper paste and in a way is less interesting then Tsumugi who's quite clearly the mastermind. No way she blends in with the background for absolutely no reason. Though Sonia from D2 didn't do much either and made it to the end...

Oh and... I think I figured out the twist? Or at least some of it 😅

I dunno... Just a random thought I had. Still got chapters 5 & 6 to go so I could end up proven wrong. But you wouldn't use that much TV lingo for no reason either...

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Interesting thoughts and I enjoy reviving my memories of the game through your eyes. I remember quite liking the sharp turn of setting in Ch. 4. The series definitely has no shortages of creative ideas. 😄

Seems like you’re making good progress now and I look forward to hearing your impressions of the upcoming chapters and events.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I pretty much agree with every point you made about the cases. Danganronpa V3 is a special game, a great closer for the series and has some great cases, but I wouldn't name it my favorite of the series. Like you, the fact that I figured out who the culprit was very early in quite a few of these cases, I think some of the game's cases are duds, and the same goes for the characters.

That being said, V3 has some of my favorite cases (your next case being among them) and also some of my favorite characters (like Kokichi). So it definitely hits some highs!

I beat Dangranopa V3 @Kidfried, @Th3solution & @Ralizah.

Well actually I beat it Wednesday night last week but I've been busy getting ready to go back to work and I've been at my in laws the past 4 days as well.

Honestly despite having a good 4 days to mull it over and allow the ending to digest I'm still not sure what exactly I make of it.

I think I might have to go through chapter 6's trial again to fully take it all in as that was one hell of a ride!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy

V3 is a bit of a marmite game, and that wild final chapter is a big part of it. Especially since it's so easy for some people to read it in a less than charitable manner that, IMO, doesn't reflect the actual intent of the developer toward his audience.

Thematically, I've grown to appreciate it a lot over time, especially in comparison to earlier games in the series. DR2 is the funnest game in the series (and has the best cast), but V3 works the best for me as an actual piece of art that's being used a medium to communicate themes to an audience.

Are you going to work through the absolutely massive suite of optional post-game content in the meantime? This game takes WAY longer to platinum than the older ones.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Congrats, Foxy! I agree with @Ralizah in that the game is probably not quite as fun as 1 or 2 but has the most ambitious narrative. There are several levels you can interpret from the ending and it really did blow me away.

I hear V3 took much longer to write than the first 2, they said it was difficult to come up with new ideas for the series.

All three are the best games, I’m replaying Dangaronpa 1 on my iPad and it’s still an amazing game.

I've been playing Danganronpa V3, and finished the first trial. The trials certainly have come a long way from that first trial in the original Danganronpa, in regards to depth and plot twists. The various mini-games in the trial are all pretty fun as well.

In terms of the crew, I do really like most of the characters. The only two I've disliked so far are Kokichi and Tenko.

@crimsontadpoles The trials in V3 are (mostly) awesome. If I had to make a "top five Danganronpa trials" list, it would be heavily dominated by ones from V3. The opening trial here just blows ones from previous games out of the water in terms of its twistiness and emotional impact.

For my part, I never got on with Tenko and Miu, but others made up for them.