Cornbread78
Member
Nice write-up!
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Danganronpa 1&2 Reload |OT| Monokuma's Happy Despair
- Thread starter Cornbread78
- Start date
Thanks. I thought about posting in the spoiler thread (PSP/Vita) after, but 1) it hasn't seen activity in a years and 2) it's got somewhere around 5000 posts.
I do wish that the iOS touchscreen versions of the games had been localized, as I found the gamepad controls on PS4 pretty clunky. (I suppose I could have gotten a Vita just for this, but I also feel that the iPad Mini is the perfect size for VNs.)
Cornbread78
Member
I'm actually surprised this version didn't more attention even though it was overshadowed by all the larger games launched this spring..
I'm interested in it, having held off on getting the PC versions on Steam in favor of PS4, but it should be a while before I buy anything else. Still busy with Steins;Gate at the moment, and hoping that I would still like Danganronpa by the time I get to it (I already have a much lower opinion of Zero Escape outside of 999 than I did before as a result of S;G, never having thought much of VLR to begin with and having had very low expectations for ZTD going into that, and that write-up doesn't seem to bode well).
It's been a few days, but I've been listening the the DR1/2/UDG soundtracks on Spotify again and again (well, at least the tracks I like, which all happen to be from DR1 or slight remixes). The music and style of DR is just so far beyond any other VN I've played (only Ghost Trick compares in style, and that wasn't really a VN) that I'm constantly tempted to jump right into DR2, despite my reservations about DR1's minigames, story, and characters. (The character designs in DR2 also look less appealing than DR1's, from what I've seen.)
Hopefully I'll have some time later in the month.
Hopefully I'll have some time later in the month.
Chocolate_Thunder
Banned
Great game.
"Later in the month" came a little early.
DR2 is worse in just about every way than DR1. Worse mini-games, worse setting, worse music, worse art, worse UI, worse characters, worse story (!), worse ending, and far worse pacing/padding. To be fair, the actual murder mysteries are about on-par with the first game (largely spelled out long before the trial itself), merely feeling weaker because they don't up the stakes in any way (the exception,
). It's astonishing how bad it is, really, even by the already low standards of DR1. FWIW, I had
theory in mind from the prologue, so the reveal(s) had minimal impact.
I just want to harp on the presentation a little more, since DR1 was uplifted on that. The UI appears to have been changed merely for the sake of change; for example, the names of the speaking characters now appear vertically at the edge of the screen instead of in the normal place right above the dialog box, which makes it difficult to keep track of who's talking (particularly when a third individual interjects a comment without the on-screen art changing accordingly). Text-forwarding also feels much worse; I haven't attempted to go back to DR1 to make certain, but IIRC it was possible to show the full text of a dialog box without advancing it (as quickly?) using either 'X' or 'O'. Here, multiple presses of 'X' are required and 'O' skips forward just a little too quickly for me to fully take it in. Additionally the first person free movement is limited to a couple locations; most movement requires the use of a really ugly side-scrolling mode (and you're encouraged to move slowly to raise your pet tomagotchi). I can see that being required due to the "variety" of ridiculous locations, which are generally one-shot "completionist" visits with no story impact, itself a far worse idea than the fewer but more important (and somewhat more fitting) locations of the first game. In any case, the sense of urgency is much reduced by the new setting/movement mechanics. The pacing of the game is also annoyingly padded, due to huge increase in number of locations, but also by the excessively repetitive dialog, wherein most characters refuse to use one word where a hundred will do. Even the trials seem longer, due to the "improved" hangman (exceedingly slow) and logic dive (misplaced snowboarding) segments (also the Fruit Ninja/Revengeance cutting one). The addition of more [terrible] minigames also dilutes and breaks the musical flow that made the first game endearing. Astonishingly, the music and character art are also a huge step down from the first game, but I've gone on long enough.
I can't recommend DR2 on its own merits to anyone, honestly. DR1, as I mentioned earlier, gets a pass largely based on style, but DR2 sacrifices that for no gain whatsoever. I have to admit that the last chapter did put a smile on my face, but largely by banking hard on DR1 "nostalgia" and anime ridiculousness. Still, it's not nearly as bad as Zero Time Dilemma.
I really don't know if I should consider getting V3 in a few months. I might be done with this series. :/
(Edit: I'm mostly on board with the OP in this LTTP spoiler thread from last year.)
DR2 is worse in just about every way than DR1. Worse mini-games, worse setting, worse music, worse art, worse UI, worse characters, worse story (!), worse ending, and far worse pacing/padding. To be fair, the actual murder mysteries are about on-par with the first game (largely spelled out long before the trial itself), merely feeling weaker because they don't up the stakes in any way (the exception,
case 5, is only stronger because Chiaki and Nagito are the only major characters, taking the place of Byakuya and Kirigiri in the previous game; in-game, Nagito's suicide was an unnecessary red-herring; out-of-game, the emphasis on the fire grenades early on and the bottle of poison in plain sight gave everything away
my old DR1 matrix/virtual reality theory, along with a new modified/failed cloning (given the cast similarities)
I just want to harp on the presentation a little more, since DR1 was uplifted on that. The UI appears to have been changed merely for the sake of change; for example, the names of the speaking characters now appear vertically at the edge of the screen instead of in the normal place right above the dialog box, which makes it difficult to keep track of who's talking (particularly when a third individual interjects a comment without the on-screen art changing accordingly). Text-forwarding also feels much worse; I haven't attempted to go back to DR1 to make certain, but IIRC it was possible to show the full text of a dialog box without advancing it (as quickly?) using either 'X' or 'O'. Here, multiple presses of 'X' are required and 'O' skips forward just a little too quickly for me to fully take it in. Additionally the first person free movement is limited to a couple locations; most movement requires the use of a really ugly side-scrolling mode (and you're encouraged to move slowly to raise your pet tomagotchi). I can see that being required due to the "variety" of ridiculous locations, which are generally one-shot "completionist" visits with no story impact, itself a far worse idea than the fewer but more important (and somewhat more fitting) locations of the first game. In any case, the sense of urgency is much reduced by the new setting/movement mechanics. The pacing of the game is also annoyingly padded, due to huge increase in number of locations, but also by the excessively repetitive dialog, wherein most characters refuse to use one word where a hundred will do. Even the trials seem longer, due to the "improved" hangman (exceedingly slow) and logic dive (misplaced snowboarding) segments (also the Fruit Ninja/Revengeance cutting one). The addition of more [terrible] minigames also dilutes and breaks the musical flow that made the first game endearing. Astonishingly, the music and character art are also a huge step down from the first game, but I've gone on long enough.
I can't recommend DR2 on its own merits to anyone, honestly. DR1, as I mentioned earlier, gets a pass largely based on style, but DR2 sacrifices that for no gain whatsoever. I have to admit that the last chapter did put a smile on my face, but largely by banking hard on DR1 "nostalgia" and anime ridiculousness. Still, it's not nearly as bad as Zero Time Dilemma.
I really don't know if I should consider getting V3 in a few months. I might be done with this series. :/
(Edit: I'm mostly on board with the OP in this LTTP spoiler thread from last year.)
NoctisVsStar
Member
DR2 is better tho.. it's the mgs2 of the series.
Nah.
yukimeans_snow
Member
I like DR1 wayy more than DR2. Mainly because of the characters. Both games are great tho, of course.
I also discovered very recently that Makoto and Nagito have the same damn VA in english. How did I not realize...
I also discovered very recently that Makoto and Nagito have the same damn VA in english. How did I not realize...
Moreover, the names "Nagito Komaeda" and "Makoto Naegi" are almost anagrams of one another. The characters also have the same Ultimate ability and are dressed very much alike. Along with fat Byakuya, that's why I immediately suspected
cloning, albeit incorrectly,
purseowner
Member
I know this OT is a few months old but I'm playing through the first now and would it have killed you and the subsequent poster to have spoiler tagged that?!
That's presumably a major twist spoiled.
No, it's not.
purseowner
Member
So the two posts above aren't implying something major in terms of the connection between the two characters?
You'll see what the posts mean when you get to the second one, but no plot has been spoiled by you reading them.
I finished playing both games recently. Just need three more trophies for the platinum. I ended up wishing that I had played them on Vita pretty quickly for a couple of reasons, but apart from that I really enjoyed them. Some of my favourite visual novels for sure.
Ghundam and Chiaki are my favourite characters overall, I'd say.
Spoiler:
Ghundam and Chiaki are my favourite characters overall, I'd say.
Spoiler:
I was so sad about both of their deaths, but was satisfied with how their stories concluded.
My spoiler?
brickarts295
Member
While were at it, who's the satan who designed Hangman's Gambit and then somehow got a green light to "Improve" it in the sequel XD
Well, at least you don't know if they're victims or murderers, so there are still a lot of surprises left to these characters.
bobawesome
Member
I mean, I'd still consider it to be a spoiler. I would imagine a lot of people suspected a connection between Makoto and Nagito their first time through the game since they have a lot of things in common. It's an intentional red herring put there by the developers and knowing there's no true connection can change how you approach the game.