How’s the Danganronpa series? (No spoilers please)

jokkir · Nov 2, 2020

It looks like the first two games are on sale for iOS and Android for over 50% off so I was thinking of getting them since I've never played any of them. I haven't really played a lot of these games but I liked games like Phoenix Wright and 999 (haven't played the sequels to them though).

Also, how's the mobile versions? Thinking of either using my Play Store credits to get this or play on my iPad with the bigger screen.

Oh, and do you need to play both games or is 1 enough (not sure if I'll like the game so idk if I wanted to buy both at the same time)

And for anyone that wants it:

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Hav
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/danganronpa-trigger-happy-hav/id1502232038
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.spike_chunsoft.DR1

Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/danganronpa-2-goodbye-despair/id1526121506
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.spike_chunsoft.DR2

Patitoloco · Nov 2, 2020

Fantastic, super fun, really good stories.

One of my favorite series.

The mobile port is good!

Start with 1, of course, release order or bust.

Weiss · Nov 2, 2020

Imagine a murder mystery/comedy series that is neither suspenseful or funny.

But yeah they need to be played in release order, so if you want to dive in start with Danganronpa 1.

KtotheRoc · Nov 2, 2020

If you liked the Ace Attorney series and other such games in the genre, odds are you might enjoy this series.

Also, play them in release order.

qatak · Nov 2, 2020

it's underplayed (I've never played it, either) but I know people that really swear by it. People who really like it often call it one of their favorite series of all time. I'll get around to it someday.

stefanomusilli96 · Nov 2, 2020

If you liked Ace Attorney and Zero Escape it should be right up your alley. Danganronpa introduced me to both franchises.

The games are not that connected, they each feature a different cast of characters, but you should definitely play them in release order.

sredgrin · Nov 2, 2020

It's one of the few VNs I'd say even most non VN players should at least try. The music and presentation and general gimmick really carries it in ways only a few others games do (some of which were already mentioned in this thread)

purseowner · Nov 2, 2020

The writing in 1 isn't great, but the atmosphere and OST makes up for it. The sequel is far superior, but play 1 first. I haven't played V3 yet.

(And please play Virtue's Last Reward, OP - it's a masterpiece)

Patitoloco · Nov 2, 2020

stefanomusilli96 said:
The games are not that connected

That is completely false.

Zaimokuza · Nov 2, 2020

I don't know how the mobile versions are, but the games are really good.

Some people dislike them because of their over the top atmosphere and events, but if you like those charatcteristics and like Ace Attorney it's incredible.

kurahador · Nov 2, 2020

This is funny, but it's also the truth.

Chackan · Nov 2, 2020

They are fucking amazing and you should REALLY play them!

Homura · Nov 2, 2020

It's an amazing series.
Don't look up anything Danganronpa until you finish all games in the series.

Apollo · Nov 2, 2020

They're fun. Def worth trying if you like AA and 999. I think 2 is much better than 1, but if you don't like 1 you probably won't like 2 so just start with 1 probably

oh and play the sequels to those games especially Phoenix Wright when you can. They're deeply worth it

Deleted member 17388 · Nov 2, 2020

It's detective 101 in terms of mystery (So after playing something like 999, you're gonna guess every twist).
And it gets full anime really soon, and too much.

If you are going to try it, start with Danganronpa 1. If you like it, I'd say go to V3 directly and skip the rest. (Because any buildup goes nowhere interesting.)

The best recommendation though, is to finish the Phoenix Wright trilogy (Since it hits some of the highest highs in gaming) and then play this:

Ghost Trick.

Alder · Nov 2, 2020

The first game is great but I felt the second didn't quite have the same magic. V3 has, in my opinion, one of the best endings ever in videogames.

Deleted member 29682 · Nov 2, 2020

Fairly OTT and tropey, so suspend your disbelief. Goes to some pretty crazy places though, and the OST is great.

Jonathan Lanza · Nov 2, 2020

If you like Ace Attorney there is something in there for you gameplay wise.

Plot wise though it is extremely over the top and anime. It often doesn't take itself very seriously and likes to do things for the sake of fulfilling tropes both in a self aware and straight laced way.

Try it out but don't feel to peeved if you don't end up liking it.

_zoipi · Nov 2, 2020

Overrated as fuck.

Bedameister · Nov 2, 2020

The first one was amazing. A rollercoaster of emotions. Especially since I practically knew nothing about these games. Bought all three on sale.
Went right into the second one which was a mistake. Lost interest quite quick. But I will play it one day and enjoy it for sure.

Definitely check out the first one I'd suggest

MisterZimbu · Nov 2, 2020

One of the most stylish series I've ever played. Say what you want about the gameplay/story/whatever but the overall presentation is phenomenal; it's definitely worth just playing through the first trial to see what the game has to offer in that respect. Just go into it expecting the story to be complete nonsense and it'll be fun.

1 and 3 are great. 2 is good too, but that one has some moon logic involved in some of the cases and the atmosphere is a lot lighter, which takes away from the game. 1 and 3 have an atmoshphere of dread, with tinges of wackiness, whereas 2 is just wacky with a tinge of dread. It does have the best case in the series though.

Don't play any of the other games or watch any of the animes.

Failburger · Nov 2, 2020

Love all 3.

DR2 is probably the highlight, but I think the last third of 3 is the strongest of the series.

UDG is..problematic...but you'll suffer through if you love the series as much as I do.

The anime series are alright, skippable honestly.

Marmoka · Nov 2, 2020

I have not played the third game yet, but 1 and 2 are amazing games.

Give them a try!!

You'll want Monokuma in Smash

ffvorax · Nov 2, 2020

Great Visual Novel, with fun characters and "murder" to solve.
Both games are great, with a fantastic cast.
If you like VN you will definetly love these games, so no doubt on buying both while discounted. Or just buy the first and play it a bit to see if its of your taste before the discount expire on the second one.

3 is great too and somehow "ends" the series. I personally one of the few (at least on era) that liked also the anime that ends the story of the characters of the first 2 games.

kamineko · Nov 2, 2020

i like them less than a lot of people

not that i dislike them, i think they are pretty good rather than amazing

i think they are definitely worth it at those sales prices though

LinkStrikesBack · Nov 2, 2020

They're the weakest trilogy of the big normal VNs, with ace attorney and zero escape edging it out, but they're still fine if you can stand anime tropes.

LordHuffnPuff · Nov 2, 2020

I played the first one and I think that the courtroom scenes are a big improvement from Phoenix Wright, but the story was so poorly written even before I got slammed with the regressive transgender stuff that I cannot possibly fathom endorsing it to anybody. [Also I am shocked nobody has brought this up yet in this thread...?] I had it recommended so many times that I was utterly staggered by how poor the plotting was and how cliche the setup could be: within minutes of beginning I had deduced the vast majority of what was going on and then sat through over a dozen hours of the thickest characters on the planet trying to figure it out. It's as if they all warped in from a planet where there had been no books, film, video games or popular media.

maouvin · Nov 2, 2020

Pretty good. Very anime.

Herr Starr · Nov 2, 2020

Danganronpa is like Ace Attorney, only shit. Going from AA to Danganronpa will be rough unless you're extremely numb to tropey anime bullshit.

DarkChronic · Nov 2, 2020

Honestly one of my favorite series. It's wacky, dumb, anime fun. It's a blast. V3 has a great ending.

Scruffy8642 · Nov 2, 2020

Really wacky and interesting attempt at story telling, but they can certainly drag (noticed more in 2 tbh) and the gameplay itself can be quite uninteresting and frustrating, almost to the point where I wish they just cut it (I actually enjoy the first game's story more through the anime despite the breakneck pace).

NioA · Nov 2, 2020

Characters are extremely caricatural and walking tropes all in all, which is somewhat understandable because they need 16 students every time for the killing game, so...
The plot is also very exagerated, but has really a lot of highs, I loved all three for some reason or another. Sometimes they really came up with sick ideas, especially in Goodbye Despair. The ending of the trilogy is also very ingenious, i recommend them, especially at that price.

PsionBolt · Nov 2, 2020

The core gameplay (exploration to find clues and testimony, followed by the Nonstop Debate minigame) is really, really good. I would play a hundred Danganronpa cases with only the bare minimum of story required to make the logic puzzles work, purely on the back on the gameplay mechanics being so darn satisfying, especially in later entries. I really feel like people overlook or underrate the series from a pure gameplay perspective. Gameplay is absolutely its strongest element, in my books.
...Worth noting that I'm talking about Nonstop Debate and its variants almost exclusively, though... There are more than a few bad minigames in there as well. Still, Debates are the bulk of the trials, and they're awesome.

Story and character-wise... Well, it is what it is. If you have a sufficient level of anime-immunity, it serves its purpose. The mysteries, at least, are decently well-presented and logically solvable. You'll probably solve them well before the characters do, but that isn't a frustrating thing most of the time since the process of nailing down each successive point in the trial is a lot of fun.

virtua_44 · Nov 2, 2020

I only played the first one, and imagine Ace Attorney mixed with Zero Escape, if the developers had no idea of what made those two series fun to begin with.

You need a high tolerance of modern anime tropes (that sometimes edges on pedo + transphobic territory)
Dialogue isnt great and the characters are obnoxious caricatures
The mysteries/payoffs either feel cheap or predictably telegraphed
Courtroom minigames value mastery of esoteric controls instead of... thinking (meaning you may KNOW the answer, but the game wants you to do some weird specific thing to proceed)
IMO the art isnt great but people disagree

All in all, Era loves these games but Ill never understand. Overrated imo. Play Zero Escape, Ace Attorney, or Ghost Trick first id you havent.

I mean a big twist to the first game was that

the "worst event in human history" (which was hyped up for half the game) was just the day everyone decided to go cRaZy ... I was so disappointed. Like THAT was the payoff? Wow

Firima · Nov 2, 2020

Redhead said:
It's an amazing series.
Don't look up anything Danganronpa until you finish all games in the series.

For fuck's sake OP:

Redhead said:
It's an amazing series.
Don't look up anything Danganronpa until you finish all games in the series.

Danganronpa fans are from the weird end of the fanbase spectrum and if they detect that you like the games, or know about the games, or are talking about the games, or anybody is talking about the games, or something reminds them of the games, they will just explode and the explosion will be every spoiler they can fit into one single breath before taking a deep breath and spoiling even more.

Don't look up pictures, music, ANYTHING DGRP related. Don't do it. Don't do it.

Don't do it. Play the games.

Decarbia · Nov 2, 2020

Danganronpa 1 is really good but flawed. UDG is wild and kind of interesting thematically but has awful gameplay.

2 and V3 are both ruined by cringey eye rolling plot twists. Like the endings of 2 and V3 both made me feel like I wasted my time on those games. V3 actually starts with a stupid plot twist and then ended with an even stupider plot twist.

The DGR3 anime is also required viewing if you want the whole story as it is a direct sequel to the first 2 games and especially fills in a lot for part 2.

I can't wholly recommend them tbh.

kodax_shc · Nov 2, 2020

If you are at all intrigued, just grab the first game and go for it.

As others have said don't look up anything while playing. Don't go to any wikis or guides or you will get spoiled, there are some amazing moments that can be easily ruined. Even people in this thread can't help from positing spoilers, even if tagged, after you asked them not to.

Leo · Nov 2, 2020

Is the series enjoyable if you have low tolerance for anime?

I love Ace Attorney, buy Danganronpa always seemed too weeaboo for me

Big Powder · Nov 2, 2020

Really adore this series. I recommend playing 1, 2, and V3, which are all excellent (I'd actually argue they get better as they go in terms of characters and fantastic mysteries). Don't recommend the anime 3 or Ultra Despair Girls. The ultimate payoffs for each game are usually not the best, but I think the journey is what's the most fun.

LycanXIII · Nov 2, 2020

I finished 1 and 2 recently and really enjoyed them.

Also, Feep voices a character in the series.

ScoobsJoestar · Nov 2, 2020

I love murder mysteries so I thought I'd love the series but honesty, it has some pretty weak murder mysteries for the most part, though they get better as the series goes on. The first game in specific has VERY weak murder mysteries in my opinion.

The characters are things the fans rave about but honestly I don't like them much.

The overall plot (the one that builds from case to case) is also really bad in my opinion. The game works really well in what it tries to do(media references, meta commentary on some stuff) but I'm not a fan of it so...eh.

Also gameplay wise most of it feels like "why are you even here" lol

RochHoch · Nov 2, 2020

The series is great, go for it

How’s the Danganronpa series? (No spoilers please)

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