It was hard to articulate my exact feelings on the first game. I came out of it liking it well enough, largely from the game's amazing vibes, but its flaws remain glaring, accentuating themselves the farther out from the ending I've gotten. Beyond the whole Chihiro Issue™️, most of it stems from the cast... kind of sucking. It's so damning when you get to the end of a gauntlet of cool reveals and world building, with a strong thematic ending of the Hope's Peak doors opening into an unknown future... And then Hina and Hiro are still talking about eating donuts and reading fortunes: a harsh undercutting of the game really hitting its mark to go back to wallowing in a really shallow stupidity.

It's important to discuss the character issues of the first game, because that's where 2 understands the issues lie too. A lot of basic stuff about the first game is relative unchanged in regard to gameplay and aesthetics (honestly that's where I have a few small issues with 2, with the clusterfuck that is its take on the letter shooting minigame and generally not caring for the faux-retro aesthetics until they bring it home with the ending twist). But still, underneath all of that is an exceptionally strong base that could be build off of a lot more smartly. As such, Danganronpa 2 decides to make the bold decision to, gasp, be a smartly written game this time around!

Its funnier, has more interesting mysteries, better pacIng, and plays off its "dumb" moments a lot better, but most importantly, it knows so perfectly what it wants to be. If the focus of the first game was primarily on the atmosphere of the overtaken Hope's Peak, this game focuses so much more on its characters. The cast is the heart and soul of this game, given so much opportunity to grow and interact and just be human in a way the first game never was. Little stuff like the completely optional remembrance concert Hiyoko sets up in Mahiru's memory add so much and really build up a sense of these characters legitimately caring for each other. This shift in focus permeates through the entire rest of the game, improving basically everything that the first game faltered at.

Most of the murders end up being focused around personal issues versus the fairly shallow motivations of the first game, leaving me so much more emotionally invested in them. The second trial feels like the first time in the series where an emotional moment really lands, and it just kickstarts Fuyuhiko's arc into becoming one of the best characters in the entire game. By the time that case is over, every single character remaining was one I cared about to some extent, making each death feel more gutting than the last. The part where you need to choose the killer becomes so much more impactful when it's bearing the load of "fuck, I don't want any of them to have done it". The game obviously realizes how strong these bonds have become too, with how its final two motivations for murder are basically taken out of the character's hands. When combined with how much more every character is an active part of the trials, filled with moments where they're all actively working together to draw a conclusion, it all just works so well.

My love runs most deeply for the main trio though. It's hard to describe why I love Nagito so much, that freak who made me feel ill (positive) with every other line of dialogue. For being such a chaotic character, it's so interesting to unravel the logic behind him, even after he's died. And Chiaki, who besides just being literally me, managed to make me teary-eyed twice. The one-two punch of Nagito's trap and Chiaki's melancholic confession was such an incredible roller coaster, one of the best ones I've had in a videogame (facing head on with the best Ace Attorney ending cases).

Then there's Hajime Hinata, the protagonist I wasn't sure I was feeling at first impression, but god damn was I wrong. Already he's leaps and bounds above Makoto by virtue of being more of a sentient being than the mouthpiece that works through Kyoko's vagueries. His perpetual skepticism makes a good foil to the rest of the cast. He's just a pretty good character the whole way through, but things really hit home with him during the ending, finding out about his past as Izuru and being pincered between the impossible choice of sacrifice forced upon him.

It clicked with me a few days ago that a lot of the stories that have really clicked with me over the past few months in a way that's really special—Final Fantasy VII, Nier Automata—have been stories about characters where I desperately want to see them take control of themselves and live in the world they deserve, which I think is something more nuanced than just "I like stories with good characters" (wow? really???) even if it is hard to articulate. This game is no different. Hajime choosing to make the impossible choice on his own terms, forging out into the endless sea, having the incredible hope that they'll be able to save themselves from the ultimate despair through their bonds even after they've been erased. Writing it out like this makes it sound kinda like goofy anime bullshit (probably because it is) but damn, it works! I nearly cried! I want to see all these characters I've grown to love find the happiness they so desperately deserve, of their own will!

In the days since I beat it, the game's really kept weighing on my mind day in and day out, a warm yet melancholic nostalgia for an event just passed, but one you know you'll never get to repeat quite the same way again. Like I miss the characters already. It's probably the strongest I've felt this feeling with a game since beating Omori. It's an experience I want to cherish, and characters I want to cherish, forever. Honestly, it's almost scary to think about the idea of V3 being an even better game than this according to some of my friends, but I'll trust the vision for when I get there.

It was hard to articulate my exact feelings on the first game. I came out of it liking it well enough, largely from the game's amazing vibes, but its flaws remain glaring, accentuating themselves the farther out from the ending I've gotten. Beyond the whole Chihiro Issue™️, most of it stems from the cast... kind of sucking. It's so damning when you get to the end of a gauntlet of cool reveals and world building, with a strong thematic ending of the Hope's Peak doors opening into an unknown future... And then Hina and Hiro are still talking about eating donuts and reading fortunes: a harsh undercutting of the game really hitting its mark to go back to wallowing in a really shallow stupidity.

It's important to discuss the character issues of the first game, because that's where 2 understands the issues lie too. A lot of basic stuff about the first game is relative unchanged in regard to gameplay and aesthetics (honestly that's where I have a few small issues with 2, with the clusterfuck that is its take on the letter shooting minigame and generally not caring for the faux-retro aesthetics until they bring it home with the ending twist). But still, underneath all of that is an exceptionally strong base that could be build off of a lot more smartly. As such, Danganronpa 2 decides to make the bold decision to, gasp, be a smartly written game this time around!

Its funnier, has more interesting mysteries, better pacIng, and plays off its "dumb" moments a lot better, but most importantly, it knows so perfectly what it wants to be. If the focus of the first game was primarily on the atmosphere of the overtaken Hope's Peak, this game focuses so much more on its characters. The cast is the heart and soul of this game, given so much opportunity to grow and interact and just be human in a way the first game never was. Little stuff like the completely optional remembrance concert Hiyoko sets up in Mahiru's memory add so much and really build up a sense of these characters legitimately caring for each other. This shift in focus permeates through the entire rest of the game, improving basically everything that the first game faltered at.

Most of the murders end up being focused around personal issues versus the fairly shallow motivations of the first game, leaving me so much more emotionally invested in them. The second trial feels like the first time in the series where an emotional moment really lands, and it just kickstarts Fuyuhiko's arc into becoming one of the best characters in the entire game. By the time that case is over, every single character remaining was one I cared about to some extent, making each death feel more gutting than the last. The part where you need to choose the killer becomes so much more impactful when it's bearing the load of "fuck, I don't want any of them to have done it". The game obviously realizes how strong these bonds have become too, with how its final two motivations for murder are basically taken out of the character's hands. When combined with how much more every character is an active part of the trials, filled with moments where they're all actively working together to draw a conclusion, it all just works so well.

My love runs most deeply for the main trio though. It's hard to describe why I love Nagito so much, that freak who made me feel ill (positive) with every other line of dialogue. For being such a chaotic character, it's so interesting to unravel the logic behind him, even after he's died. And Chiaki, who besides just being literally me, managed to make me teary-eyed twice. The one-two punch of Nagito's trap and Chiaki's melancholic confession was such an incredible roller coaster, one of the best ones I've had in a videogame (facing head on with the best Ace Attorney ending cases).

Then there's Hajime Hinata, the protagonist I wasn't sure I was feeling at first impression, but god damn was I wrong. Already he's leaps and bounds above Makoto by virtue of being more of a sentient being than the mouthpiece that works through Kyoko's vagueries. His perpetual skepticism makes a good foil to the rest of the cast. He's just a pretty good character the whole way through, but things really hit home with him during the ending, finding out about his past as Izuru and being pincered between the impossible choice of sacrifice forced upon him.

It clicked with me a few days ago that a lot of the stories that have really clicked with me over the past few months in a way that's really special—Final Fantasy VII, Nier Automata—have been stories about characters where I desperately want to see them take control of themselves and live in the world they deserve, which I think is something more nuanced than just "I like stories with good characters" (wow? really???) even if it is hard to articulate. This game is no different. Hajime choosing to make the impossible choice on his own terms, forging out into the endless sea, having the incredible hope that they'll be able to save themselves from the ultimate despair through their bonds even after they've been erased. Writing it out like this makes it sound kinda like goofy anime bullshit (probably because it is) but damn, it works! I nearly cried! I want to see all these characters I've grown to love find the happiness they so desperately deserve, of their own will!

In the days since I beat it, the game's really kept weighing on my mind day in and day out, a warm yet melancholic nostalgia for an event just passed, but one you know you'll never get to repeat quite the same way again. Like I miss the characters already. It's probably the strongest I've felt this feeling with a game since beating Omori. It's an experience I want to cherish, and characters I want to cherish, forever. Honestly, it's almost scary to think about the idea of V3 being an even better game than this according to some of my friends, but I'll trust the vision for when I get there.