Most Danganronpa reviews on here are memey so I thought I’d jot down some legit thoughts I have on the game here. I haven’t been so hooked on a game to this degree in forever. Within the span of 4 days, I had completed the whole storyline, I just could not put it down, I was so engaged as to what would happen in the story next. This’ll overall be a spoiler free review except the excerpt I will mark as such so watch out for that.
Presentation
This game visually slaps. The almost eerie visual style of 2D characters combined with 3D environments contributes to the heavy atmosphere. Sprite quality is overall great as well, and although they aren’t animated, each character can be seen with a distinct personality and look from how their sprites are drawn. The almost Tim Burton-esque look to the Execution FMVs look amazing as well, I love how uncannily they are animated. Other elements, such as the UI, are flashy and unique, and you can’t forget the ever famous “NO, THAT’S WRONG” cut-in animation (well I guess “Sore Wa Chigau Yo” since I was playing the PSP translation). Also, the music is banging. Love the techno sound to it, and the variety of tracks on display. "Beautiful Death" is one of the most boppin' and atmospheric tracks I've heard in a video game in recent memory.
Characters
Overall solid cast here. Some characters such as Fuwaka I absolutely could not stand (I’m assuming intentionally so??), but I ended up enjoying most of the characters. Makoto is a very vanilla protagonist but seeing him grow throughout the journey was satisfying for me. I also liked the mysterious Kirigiri, the swimmer donut girl Asahina, the strong and honorable Sakura, and my bro (but also borderline con artist) Hagakure. Byakuya is also a pretty decent rival character throughout. Seeing the number of the 15 characters slowly dwindle, along with the fact you can potentially make strong bonds with these folks makes their losses go harder if that ever happens. My friend TonySADX mentioned that the more of the school you unlock, the more desolate the population becomes, and I can't stress enough how smart that subtle dynamic goes the further you dive into this large mystery.
Gameplay
Danganronpa is compared to Ace Attorney alot, and structurally they are very similar. But I’ll be damned if the trials in these games are WAY more stressful then any of the Ace Attorney ones. Time limits, complex mechanics, a ranking system, it makes these trials quite a havoc (NOW LAUGH). I played on the easiest difficulty because I’m a slow thinker, but I’d imagine that they are more rewarding on normal and above. I liked most of the minigames, but SCREW the comic books, I hate doing those so much.
CHAPTER 6 SPOILERS BELOW
Sorta mixed on the final villain. I’m not the biggest fan of bonkers antagonists, but this one has such a great sprite set showing their insanity and I love that. A bit anticlimactic that we only get to see them face to face at the latter half of the final trial, but they were a joy to see and eventually take down. One of the most satisfying final villain takedowns I’ve seen in these detective style visual novels. Also I think they have a really solid character design so that’s a plus.
SPOILERS END HERE
Final Thoughts
In summary, I really enjoyed this game. Kept me engaged the entire way throughout, and I’ve been informed that it only gets better from here. However, it’s definitely a very flawed game in some aspects, and I can COMPLETELY understand both the fan and hater sides of the spectrum, both are justified in my opinion. I’m already thoroughly impressed by this first attempt in the series, and I hope that I enjoy 2 and V3 just as much.