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Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls |OT| Monokuma and Co.

S

somotodsyo

Member
BTA said:
Just finished it. I made the big mistake of trying to do so late last night only to hit that incredibly long scene
about the controller
when I was struggling to keep my eyes open. That made what was already a sorta tedious scene unbearable, since I was just trying to get through it and save.
Seriously, was there a point to having that choice so many times? Like, it would have been one thing if the bad end changed over time to reveal more information or something, or if Komaru had just forced you out of it until one of the later ones when she'd be under enough pressure to follow through with it, but instead... no, it was explicitly clear from the first time that it was the wrong choice. And I kept picking it each new time hoping it might change. Nah. I guess it'd have made that last time more impactful if they hadn't run it into the ground first. I'm also pretty annoyed that they didn't even give you a save point before the final boss battle; I had to suspend my Vita and sleep.

I did like the atmosphere of the ending with Komaru and Fukawa a lot, but I already expected to like the ending based on the last two, I guess. And it was a little sloppily translated at one point in the last few lines- "Remnants of Hope" is a pretty big slip to include when that could actually mean something here, so good thing that line was voiced in Japanese (...did they say the wrong thing in the dubbed version?). Though... that twist with Monaca was kinda blindingly obvious. To be fair I expected her to be Haiji's daughter, not sister, but like... did they think they were being subtle with the fact that everyone except her has a listed last name? I called it in chapter 4 as soon as I looked through the character profiles again and realized that. I didn't realize the thing about her not being disabled based on the ladder, though, so I guess that was decently done.

Overall, it was ok. I've already made my opinion on the kids' clear, and I was already a fan of Fukawa so
I enjoyed seeing her and Komaru bond, with their friendship near the end being a high point of the game's writing
. Though I think I enjoyed the gameplay more than most, I found myself questioning why things like the Bling Bullets were even part of it. I'd be ok with another Another Episode game if they dropped the super edgy kids angle. Like the other 2 games, I'd consider going back to Platinum it since I would like to read any files I missed at least. But I still haven't gone back to those 2. So maybe not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the last part was really long. I personally thought it was pretty humorous, though I didn't play it late at night.

Ch.5 / Epilogue spoilers:
I generally play these games without putting too much thought into it, so many twists actually manage to surprise me, including Monaca being Haiji's sister. It's a really good plot point though, and a good explanation for why there are so many Monokumas in the first place. Kurokuma and Shirokuma both being AI Junko surprised me as well, though I have no idea why I never thought a friendly Monokuma was suspicious. I guess because he was so nice to everyone and really reminded me of Monomi.
 
S

Sky Interloper

Member
At last I got some free time and finished this game. Even though the story is not as good or twisty as the courtroom games, it makes a great job at developing the world outside the Mutual Killing games. Some of the notes left behind by the victims of the Tragedy are chilling, to say the least.

The gameplay is serviceable, but the game has some annoying bugs that probably won't get fixed. Probably a second game in this line would need some pointers, but seeing that the development of V3 is on course, something like that may or may not happen. But the brightest part of the game are the interactions between Toko and Komaru. Especially in the first, they made Fukawa a grown character from the one we saw last time in Hope's Peak, even if she still has her obsession with Byakuya. Komaru is a lesser one compared to her, but that doesn't mean she was annoying or anything. At least she has more of a personality compared to her brother.

As for the Warriors of Hope, let me be the first to say that if
Masaru and Jataro didn't survive it wouldn't have affected me in the least. Even if both of them - as the rest of the kids - had some screwed up scenes, their influence in the story was minimal. About the other kids, I didn't think Kodaka would get to such touchy subjects. Contrary to some people, I think they were handled okay. But of course the lowest point of the story was of course that minigame. The point would have gotten across even without it. And a special shoutout to Monaca. They managed to get another symbol of despair, although one whose forcefulness is a good contrast to Junko's charisma.

Concerning the novel, I think we may see Kanon in V3. An obsessed girl may be a good contrast to the last two main characters (if that teaser is really her). Hagakure is still at the bottom of my character tier list, though.
 
M

Mauricio_Magus

Banned
I forced myself to finish this game, and I gotta say that even if I'm not the biggest fan of the gameplay side(mostly because of the enemies, it got boring to fight the same Monokumas again and again) I still think it's a great title.


It sure helps that the ending was fantastic imo and Komaru/Toko are great protagonists.


I was also expecting the Chapter 3 stuff that everyone talks about to be WAY worse, it was pretty tame compared to other stuff in the game.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Finished the game last night too. for some reason i spend 3 week off this game after i reached chapter 5.

NOw i read the spoilers and i disagree with with plenty of things

-(chap5 spoilers )
The break the controller scene was awesome. i knew something was wrong because i smelled a trap so i haven't seen what happens if you do break it
BUt i thought that section was well done

-The highlight of the game is without a doubt chapter 3 & 4

-The shooter mecanics are ..not that great..i understand why things are this way but genocider is just way more fun to play as.

-genocider super attacks are much welcome.

-The 2 heroines are just the highlight..they carry the story by themselves ..their blanter was seriously well written and fun to accept as it is.

-The boss fights were a total joke , waste of time material

-The children were fine for what they were , but their role is set from the start of the game and never really changes. when i saw how the 3rd boss battle ended i could guess the rest. i expected to be wrong ..but no i was right.

Overall , it's a flawed experience that managed to explain plenty of things for the danganronpa setting so it's a welcome addition in my lbrary.

Ps: collectibles and grinding sucks
 
R

Reset

Member
Funyarinpa said:
I'd dare hope so, but the first two are still $30 on Amazon so I do not have much hope.
Click to expand...

I was talking about the digital copies on PSN, dunno about physical copies. Danganronpa 1 and 2 were both put on sales around $20-$25 after like 4/5 months. So I'd be surprised if AE isn't.
 
P

psynergylover

Member
Always planned to bring this thread back up or make an lttp thread but this game blew my expectations sky high out of the water!!! The games does start off really slow but by the 2nd chapter I was hooked!!!

Actually felt sorry for the warriors of hope; seems like all went through some tough shit, especially Masaru, Kotoko, and Nagisa. It's a shame
Junko
got to them and warped their minds. And
Nagito
was fuckin brilliant! Shame
He dies in DR2 would've made a better antagonist than Monaca

Toko was simply outstanding as well, I can't see anyone else from DR1 doing better job than her...Well maybe
Sakura but then Komaru wouldn't have been needed because would've wrecked any monokumas that came her way...and she's dead

What was really interesting was the hit list and
how all had a connection to the cast of DR1
is it even possible to meet them?

My only complaint were the boss battles were ridiculously easy; almost kind of an insult easy.

The ending had so many truth bombs I didn't know what to think:

Was that Junko talking in one of those Bears?
Is Monaca the presumed main antagonist for DR3
Was Haji lying about his arm? Was that him who smashed the monokumas heads?

This just made me want DR3 even more!!!!
 
S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
psynergylover said:
Always planned to bring this thread back up or make an lttp thread but this game blew my expectations sky high out of the water!!! The games does start off really slow but by the 2nd chapter I was hooked!!!

Actually felt sorry for the warriors of hope; seems like all went through some tough shit, especially Masaru, Kotoko, and Nagisa. It's a shame
Junko
got to them and warped their minds. And
Nagito
was fuckin brilliant! Shame
He dies in DR2 would've made a better antagonist than Monaca

Toko was simply outstanding as well, I can't see anyone else from DR1 doing better job than her...Well maybe
Sakura but then Komaru wouldn't have been needed because would've wrecked any monokumas that came her way...and she's dead

What was really interesting was the hit list and
how all had a connection to the cast of DR1
is it even possible to meet them?

My only complaint were the boss battles were ridiculously easy; almost kind of an insult easy.

The ending had so many truth bombs I didn't know what to think:

Was that Junko talking in one of those Bears?
Is Monaca the presumed main antagonist for DR3
Was Haji lying about his arm? Was that him who smashed the monokumas heads?

This just made me want DR3 even more!!!!
Click to expand...
answers to your spoilers
The bears were part of AI Junko. The person that smashes them was Izuru Kamikura (from DR2 fame) he was taking the AI's core with him. I assume Monaca will at least have a role in DR3.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
psynergylover said:
Always planned to bring this thread back up or make an lttp thread but this game blew my expectations sky high out of the water!!! The games does start off really slow but by the 2nd chapter I was hooked!!!

Actually felt sorry for the warriors of hope; seems like all went through some tough shit, especially Masaru, Kotoko, and Nagisa. It's a shame
Junko
got to them and warped their minds. And
Nagito
was fuckin brilliant! Shame
He dies in DR2 would've made a better antagonist than Monaca

Toko was simply outstanding as well, I can't see anyone else from DR1 doing better job than her...Well maybe
Sakura but then Komaru wouldn't have been needed because would've wrecked any monokumas that came her way...and she's dead

What was really interesting was the hit list and
how all had a connection to the cast of DR1
is it even possible to meet them?

My only complaint were the boss battles were ridiculously easy; almost kind of an insult easy.

The ending had so many truth bombs I didn't know what to think:

Was that Junko talking in one of those Bears?
Is Monaca the presumed main antagonist for DR3
Was Haji lying about his arm? Was that him who smashed the monokumas heads?

This just made me want DR3 even more!!!!
Click to expand...

On top of what ShadowSoldier said
Monaca does seem to be set up as the next main villain, but I imagine that would be too predictable, so she'll just have a role but won't be the mastermind.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
cosmicblizzard said:
On top of what ShadowSoldier said
Monaca does seem to be set up as the next main villain, but I imagine that would be too predictable, so she'll just have a role but won't be the mastermind.
Click to expand...

Watch her
being set up as the next vilain right from the start only to be the first to die
/twist

The kind of thing that messes up with our expectations is certainly what i'll want from DR3
 
L

Lowlander2

Banned
Hey everyone, I made a review of this game.

Though, a word of warning; the content of this game makes it near impossible to even talk about without spoiling a little of the first game, and I also intentionally reveal some plot points in this very game to make a point of how weak I think they are. Nothing really big, and certainly nothing within the vicinity of the ending.
 
X

XxSlasherMcGirkxX

Member
I just finished the game. I'm really surprised by the amount of dislikes this game has in this thread. I thought it was great from start to finish. It's not perfect. Stupid arcade game rooms are so dumb and unfun. I'm glad it was story focused with light action. I thought the pacing was pretty good as well. I came in for the quirkyness, Danganronpaness and world building and got just that. I liked the villains too. I liked the children psychopath angle. I'm surprised with some of the stuff the game got away with in regards to children. This game is definitely not for newcomers thats for sure. Great game and a good side step until DR3.

Two questions though:

1)
Did the game ever say who imprisoned Komaru? I assume it was the kids and Monaca cause she wanted revenge against Mokoto right? But I thought she was imprisoned before the incident.

2)
Why doesn't Monaca fuck up the events of DR2. It seems convenient that she wouldn't be involved the way the game ended.
 
G

GoldStarz

Member
XxSlasherMcGirkxX said:
1)
Did the game ever say who imprisoned Komaru? I assume it was the kids and Monaca cause she wanted revenge against Mokoto right? But I thought she was imprisoned before the incident.
Click to expand...
Chapter 3:
Junko/Ultimate Despair did it. It's said that it was meant to be a motive if the game lasted longer, but given what we know, it's more likely that it was to set about the events of this particular incident.

2)
Why doesn't Monaca fuck up the events of DR2. It seems convenient that she wouldn't be involved the way the game ended.
Click to expand...
Because she doesn't know about Jabberwock Island or the Hope Restoration Program? There's nothing saying she's not active at that time, she's more that likely plotting or enacting some sort of scheme, but there's no reason for us to assume she even knows what's going on with SDR2 stuff outside of knowing of Komaeda, and even then she doesn't know his actual name.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Picked this up during the sale. Still at the start but I was really surprised when
they decided to introduce Aoi's brother only to have him killed within ten minutes, lol.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
Halfway through chapter 2 and I'm not crazy about it so far. Plus the game is still extremely story driven like a VN. As such, the game has tons of cutscenes that interrupt gameplay almost constantly. Here's a cutscene, take 5 steps, another cutscene. Doesn't really fit a third person... I don't know what to even call it. I guess a hybrid between action and shooting.
 
T

Trace

Banned
Bladenic said:
Halfway through chapter 2 and I'm not crazy about it so far. Plus the game is still extremely story driven like a VN. As such, the game has tons of cutscenes that interrupt gameplay almost constantly. Here's a cutscene, take 5 steps, another cutscene. Doesn't really fit a third person... I don't know what to even call it. I guess a hybrid between action and shooting.
Click to expand...

It's still definitely a VN first at heart, which I appreciate. It's extremely story heavy, and the shooting only exists to get you from one point to another pretty much.

I do enjoy some of the later puzzles though.
 
F

Funyarinpa

Member
Trace said:
It's still definitely a VN first at heart, which I appreciate. It's extremely story heavy, and the shooting only exists to get you from one point to another pretty much.

I do enjoy some of the later puzzles though.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the story-heavy perspective but I do wish there was more gameplay to it, as I'm enjoying it, clunky as it is.
 
D

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Member
NEO0MJ said:
Picked this up during the sale. Still at the start but I was really surprised when
they decided to introduce Aoi's brother only to have him killed within ten minutes, lol.
Click to expand...

Yeah that cracked me up as well. Definitely understand why this game is so polarizing as the controls are just barely serviceable (that slow, slow, slooooowwww X axis turning. Ugh) Toko is definitely the star of the show which surprises me since she was far from my favorite in DR1, but here, she's been pretty entertaining. I definitely miss the trials, and the Warriors of Hope are kinda annoying so far, but I'll see how the rest of it shapes up as I go along.
 
P

Pyros_Eien

Member
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
Yeah that cracked me up as well. Definitely understand why this game is so polarizing as the controls are just barely serviceable (that slow, slow, slooooowwww X axis turning. Ugh) Toko is definitely the star of the show which surprises me since she was far from my favorite in DR1, but here, she's been pretty entertaining. I definitely miss the trials, and the Warriors of Hope are kinda annoying so far, but I'll see how the rest of it shapes up as I go along.
Click to expand...

There's some upgrades to improve aiming speed, or slow it down. I thought it was slow too but mostly you just stop aiming, turn in the right direction the aim again to switch fast. Or depending on what you're trying to do, you can equip the upgrade that aims automatically at the nearest enemy.

As someone who doesn't play FPS on consoles and suck at precise aiming stuff, I found the game to be easy on Ultra Despair regardless. Enemy AI is simplistic so aiming is never really an issue even if it's clunky at times.

Game's strength is definitely not the shooting aspect, it feels like it's a filler minigame like during the trials in the other games with the hangman and logic dive and so on. The bullet upgrades system was mostly pointless. The challenges were all very simple too, the only times I failed one was because of weird aiming or physics issues so stuff wouldn't go the way it was supposed to.

I really liked the story and characters though, so had a good time regardless.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Pyros_Eien said:
There's some upgrades to improve aiming speed, or slow it down. I thought it was slow too but mostly you just stop aiming, turn in the right direction the aim again to switch fast. Or depending on what you're trying to do, you can equip the upgrade that aims automatically at the nearest enemy.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the aiming still feels off. Auto aim also does more harm than good for me.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Almost finished with chapter 4.
The scene where Monaka started mentally torturing Nagisa and forcibly kissing him was so disturbing to me.
 
F

Funyarinpa

Member
CH3, there were no subs in one cutscene, is that normal
the one after you descend the emergency ladder in Towa Tower and activate a power panel in a room
 
N

Nightbird

Member
NEO0MJ said:
Almost finished with chapter 4.
The scene where Monaka started mentally torturing Nagisa and forcibly kissing him was so disturbing to me.
Click to expand...

It made me feel really uncomfortable.

The game really exceeds at making you feel uneasy while playing
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Rainbowgun said:
It made me feel really uncomfortable.

The game really exceeds at making you feel uneasy while playing
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that scene especially was messed up for me.
Sexual assault against a minor by a minor is so wrong. It was made even more horrifying when Nagisa tried to defend himself by slapping her and she still came at him and gave him an even more forceful kiss. She was in control of him and dominating so bad.

Funyarinpa said:
I'm uaing the JP dub DLC, other such scenes do have subs as a result.
Click to expand...

Aha, I see.
 
P

Pyros_Eien

Member
Funyarinpa said:
CH3, there were no subs in one cutscene, is that normal
the one after you descend the emergency ladder in Towa Tower and activate a power panel in a room
Click to expand...

Don't remember a scene without subs and I played with the JP audio also. Might be a bug? Did you try it again and have the same issue twice?
 
J

jonjonaug

Member
Funyarinpa said:
CH3, there were no subs in one cutscene, is that normal
the one after you descend the emergency ladder in Towa Tower and activate a power panel in a room
Click to expand...

Yes, that's a known bug. It's also the only occurrence of that in the entire game, so no need to worry.
 
R

Reset

Member
Just beat this game and it's easily the weakest one out of the three. The game dragged on in some of the chapters, and the game's gameplay was boring. They should never make another 3rd person shooter again, and stick to DR's and DR2's format.

DR 2 > DR > DR:AE
 
F

Funyarinpa

Member
CH4, whoa man, whoa

Komaeda made the fourth wall his fucking BITCH, holy shit lmao

Easily the best scene in the game so far, up with CH3's boss battle

I have to say I enjoyed CH3 and CH4 but the first two chapters were one hell of a slog, I'd give them around 6.5/10 at best. Not really feeling the dynamic between the two protagonists but I loved the moments when the games tie to the first two games such as contacting Makoto or Komaeda saying he would become despair for the sake of hope. Or finding a Hit List card showing Yamada's sister draws yaoi, heh.

CH3 was impressive with just how fucking dark it is ("Gentle" will never be the same again O_O), glad to see the series exploring some dark themes. Liked how Yuta and Chihiro's dad were mercilessly killed off, really drives the heartlessness of the situation home.

Wall textures and whatnot are pretty shitty but otherwise I think the Danganronpa-esque graphics transitioned well to 3D.

BTW didn't try the scene again since it didn't seem important storywise.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
Why is Toko's outfit so grungy in this game? And I don't appreciate the more sexual nature of her outfit either. The leg show, really? And is that a tattoo or self inflicted cuts on her thigh? Either way I'm not a fan. But I do like her far more than how awful she was in DR1. Of course Jill is still hilarious.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
Bladenic said:
Why is Toko's outfit so grungy in this game? And I don't appreciate the more sexual nature of her outfit either. The leg show, really? And is that a tattoo or self inflicted cuts on her thigh? Either way I'm not a fan. But I do like her far more than how awful she was in DR1. Of course Jill is still hilarious.
Click to expand...

The cuts on her thigh are a kill tally.
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
Bladenic said:
Why is Toko's outfit so grungy in this game? And I don't appreciate the more sexual nature of her outfit either. The leg show, really? And is that a tattoo or self inflicted cuts on her thigh? Either way I'm not a fan. But I do like her far more than how awful she was in DR1. Of course Jill is still hilarious.
Click to expand...

She hasn't bathed in a while and has gone through a lot. Her outfit looks great the way it is.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
Finished it. I... really didn't care much for it. I read that the original concept was having remnants of despair as the villains, that would've been tremendously more interesting. Also
like nobody dying was lame as fuck too.
Game also got a little too "power of friendship" at the end. Still don't like Byakuya or his VA.

What happened to Haiji?

All in all a meh and half assed effort. The only Danganronpa product I didn't love so far, I suppose it was inevitable. Still super excited for V3 and 3 of course.
 
K

kewlmyc

Member
Bladenic said:
Finished it. I... really didn't care much for it. I read that the original concept was having remnants of despair as the villains, that would've been tremendously more interesting. Also
like nobody dying was lame as fuck too.
Game also got a little too "power of friendship" at the end. Still don't like Byakuya or his VA.

What happened to Haiji?

All in all a meh and half assed effort. The only Danganronpa product I didn't love so far, I suppose it was inevitable. Still super excited for V3 and 3 of course.
Click to expand...

Depression.
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
Wow, I did not expect the game's production values to be this high. Pretty sure by Episode 1, it's had more cutscenes than DR1 & 2 combined.
 
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