ShinRPGamer
Member

So when I bought myself a Vita a while back, one of the games that was on my radar was the Dangan Ronpa franchise. I didn't plan on getting it until later on but I decided to get it after finishing Persona 4 Golden.
Needless to say, I didn't look back. The game was a fun ride. While I was spoiled by some stuff before I even got a Vita,
notably case 1 and who the mastermind was (sort of),
Character wise, The students are pretty well-rounded. The free time events really help give most of the students more depth and complexity beyond their ultimate title. Individually, there were quite a few characters I grew to really like. Kyoko, Kiyotaka, and Sakura I'd say are my top 3 favourite characters personally. Monokuma also makes for a good villain. A utter asshole yet he's such an enjoyable character to watch.
And then there's the mastermind. I won't go into detail but suffice to say, she isn't forgettable.
On the other hand there were characters I didn't really care for even after seeing their free time events like Sayaka or Toko. The former for
repaying your kindness with her trying to frame you for murder and the latter for being largely useless in investigations and trials. Even when she's genocide Jack I didn't find her to be endearing. It figures she survives to the end while Taka and Sakura don't.
Gameplay is pretty damn good, simply put. The investigations are similar to that of Ace Attorney but it's during the trial's where it really shines. Nonstop Debates, Epiphany Anagram, Machinegun Talk Battle, and Climax Logic all provide unique and different situations that make it stand out from it's contemporaries. My favourite case would be the final case (those who have played it will know why) while my least would be case 3
Taka is unceremoniously killed while it's easy to determine that Celeste is the killer.
Free-time however is a mixed bag. While yes they do give most of the students more depth and complexity, giving presents are a crapshoot if you don't have a guide and there isn't enough Free time in the game proper to complete more then 4 characters in my play through. Thank god for school mode allowing more free time.
The music is amazing. Standouts for me include the MTB themes, Box 16, and Mr Monakuma's tutoring.
And of course there's the executions. They are over the top, memorable and often ironic. Nothing more to it.
So I quite enjoyed Dangan Ronpa overall. The first and second games are on sale on PSN this week so if you haven't already give them a shot. The second game is already on my Vita ready to go.