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[AlfredX1990]

You can read Danganronpa Zero here.

For anyone who uses E-readers and doesn't like .pdfs here's an epub/mobi version

 

[Permanently A]

I have to say the worst part of this game is the pacing. The trials are really fun, the investigations are okay, and everything else is just a slog where you're waiting for someone to get killed. I get that the characterization would suffer if people were just getting knocked off left and right without any breathing time, but at the same time I feel like there's just too much padding, especially with stuff like free time.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I have to say the worst part of this game is the pacing. The trials are really fun, the investigations are okay, and everything else is just a slog where you're waiting for someone to get killed. I get that the characterization would suffer if people were just getting knocked off left and right without any breathing time, but at the same time I feel like there's just too much padding, especially with stuff like free time.

Part of what makes Nagito Komaeda amazing. His presence alone makes things more tense and anticipatory than they would be otherwise. The characters in DR1 were much more "passive" in that sense, without someone having the kind of active presence that Nagito had.

"Free Time" needs an overhaul. Persona 3 and Persona 4 are much better about making use of "non-crucial time" (as in non-dungeon time) in a way that it becomes a crucial part of the experience. It's almost throwaway in Danganronpa, with the only real redeeming factor that players get to know more about a character before they might die or kill someone else in a way that informs more of what might come next. Basically, there needs to either be more for the players to do during this period of time, or there has to be way more story events inserted into them to lead into the murders.

 

[GoldStarz]

I have to say the worst part of this game is the pacing. The trials are really fun, the investigations are okay, and everything else is just a slog where you're waiting for someone to get killed. I get that the characterization would suffer if people were just getting knocked off left and right without any breathing time, but at the same time I feel like there's just too much padding, especially with stuff like free time.

I honestly don't have any problem with the 'lulls' between the murders and I actually enjoy them a lot. Then again, one of the reasons I actually play the games is for the characters and plot, so I mean might be a disconnect there.

Part of what makes Nagito Komaeda amazing. His presence alone makes things more tense and anticipatory than they would be otherwise. The characters in DR1 were much more "passive" in that sense, without someone having the kind of active presence that Nagito had.

*eyes roll so hard they roll out of his head*

"Free Time" needs an overhaul. Persona 3 and Persona 4 are much better about making use of "non-crucial time" (as in non-dungeon time) in a way that it becomes a crucial part of the experience. It's almost throwaway in Danganronpa, with the only real redeeming factor that players get to know more about a character before they might die or kill someone else in a way that informs more of what might come next. Basically, there needs to either be more for the players to do during this period of time, or there has to be way more story events inserted into them to lead into the murders.

I wouldn't mind if they added alternative activities so you have to actually choose whether or not to do FTEs or have FTEs affect the main story in some way.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Part of what makes Nagito Komaeda amazing. His presence alone makes things more tense and anticipatory than they would be otherwise. The characters in DR1 were much more "passive" in that sense, without someone having the kind of active presence that Nagito had.

"Free Time" needs an overhaul. Persona 3 and Persona 4 are much better about making use of "non-crucial time" (as in non-dungeon time) in a way that it becomes a crucial part of the experience. It's almost throwaway in Danganronpa, with the only real redeeming factor that players get to know more about a character before they might die or kill someone else in a way that informs more of what might come next. Basically, there needs to either be more for the players to do during this period of time, or there has to be way more story events inserted into them to lead into the murders.

Agreed. I just want to influence the ending or who lives and dies in some way.

Spoiler

Or at least let the protagonist be the killer for once

 

[PK Gaming]

*eyes roll so hard they roll out of his head*

He's completely right though.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I found this perspective fascinating, from one of the Paradise Hotel 51 site admins: (they're the GHM site that's also going to cover DR soon):

Spoilers, yo.
(Mithra, KunLan, Yayoi, and Kamui Uehara are all characters from Suda51's Kill The Past series, which has a ton of DR parallels, least of all having the same composer.)

Spoiler

I played DR2 first, which spoils the shit out of some of the major plot twists from DR1 but I'm glad that I played DR2 first because that one slowly eased me to the crazy world of Dangan Ronpa. The world of DanganRonpa lis so insane that I doubt I'd be able to handle its craziness had DR2 not slowly ease me into the kind of game that it is. DR2's first case felt exactly like Ace Attorney even down to character split personalities when the murderer is on the verge of being proved guilty. DR2's second case felt more like a typical murder mystery game with a few twists such as a Twilight Syndrome video game being used as motive.
It's interesting because it leads into the events of Case 3 which finally feels like DR1, the rest of the game gets crazier & crazier until the final case which brings back the main protagonists & antagonists from DR1. The DR2 cast are then treated as side characters & even Junko constantly taunts them and calls them chumps.

I've only played through the first case of DR1 so far, and that case alone would've had me quit by the end of it because it's so surprisingly dark & depressing. DR games are about ultimate despair and DR1 does this straight out of the gate with the first case.
The following were my impressions. Spoilers ahead but I'll black out the names. The only spoiler I leave intact is of course Junko because you really can't talk about the DR games without revealing who she is, because she's the one who taunts & manipulates you through the entire game.

So far I prefer the gameplay of & cast of Dr2, but DR has more of a Twin Peaks & old school Persona vibe thus it is crazy as hell even from the first case. The first few hours will seem normal until the murder actually occurs. Play this song while I'm explaining this shit to you.
It's to get you into the whimsically dark atmosphere of the game. You should also listen to the "New World Order" song that I linked to in the previous post to also get a feel of the overarching mystery of the game.

My impressions:

I finished DR1's case 1. Shit it's a darker & depressing game. LOL! Both of my waifus die in the first case. One of them was using you & tried to frame you & the other got impaled by multiple spears & you have to walk past her dead, mangled, gory body. If I knew nothing about DR, I'd be really disappointed at how Junko was killed so unceremoniously .
I've read DR0 which was unlocked through DR2 so I know who that really is. I'm just saying if DR1 was my first DR experience, I'd probably wouldn't bother with it after killing off my faves in the first chapter. Nah I still would coz I like the darker, more jazzy atmosphere. I just wouldn't bother getting attached to any of the character especially since they just randomly killed sexy Junko (Mukuro) when she seemed so damn interesting.

I wonder how much I would've loved it after finding out that Junko is actually the main bad guy.
It would sure redeem it for me, but I played DR2 first so all of those details were already spoiled for me, but in DR2 I'm like who the fuck are these people?

Thankfully I started with DR2, & out of muh waifus (Akane, Sonia, Chiaki.) only Chiaki died in that game. I was saddened when she died, but it didn't really matter coz she comes back anyway since she's just an AI. That's the hilarity of it all. The girl with the best personality was also the one who wasn't even human. LOL!

Chiaki also had a "cute" death unlike Sayaka & "Junko" who were both brutally murdered. In DR1, when Sayaka died, I was like DAMN. That just pierces my heart but I must find the truth! Then Junko gets obliterated. I was like shit. I don't really want to play anymore. They killed her too. No, I must find the truth! For their sake. Then the more I studied Sayaka's murder scene, I was like no, don't tell me she was trying to frame me. Dat bitch! That's the type a shit that a man would commit suicide over.

I prolly wouldn't have made it through Dangan Ronpa 1 because it's so damn dark.
I was expecting it to be more like DR2 where the first case is exactly like an Ace Attorney case where it's mostly comedy with some dark twist in between, not complete darkness with some comedy like DR1 is.

Overall it's much darker than DR2. DR2 started off with an Ace Attorney style case, even the killer had Ace Attorney style characterization. DR2 is much better to ease you into the world of DR because it doesn't truly get dark until Case 3
In DR1, it's fucking crazy by the first case. Too bad I played DR2 first coz it completely spoils the serial killer case from DR1 for me.

I prefer the writing from the actual mysteries, because they're hidden so well. I already knew the events of what would occur during Case 1 of DR1, but I was still shocked at how the murders unfolded. Although a lot of people compare this series to Ace Attorney, the main difference imo is that DR mysteries are resolved through cold hard logic. There are some exceptional occurrences within the mysteries but they make sense since all of the suspects are exceptional people, who are the other survivors/classmates. Dr1's case 1 could've happened the same exact way in real life. DR2's case 1 could've as well, but it feels more like Ace Attorney to me because DR2 is funnier & far less depressing than DR1. Dr1 makes lose hope from the very beginning because none of the first three deaths were stereotypical.

Contrast that to DR2 where it was obvious who the first death was going to be simply because he's the most capable leader. In horror, the most capable person always dies first because you wouldn't have a horror story without the despair that's gained from the most capable character's death.

Although Dr1 had the "same" guy, he was just a straight up elitist asshole in DR1. DR1 didn't really have a leader character. The main characters from DR1 who played a leaderish role were either aloof or taciturn assholes. One of the survivors of DR2 is an asshole, but he becomes humbled when his woman sacrifices herself to keep him alive. I find DR2's cast to be much more likable, but the few survivors of DR1's cast are much more likely to pull the story forward since most of them are paranoid assholes who suspect everybody & everything, lol. Dr2's surviving cast may include a mobster, but he's nowhere near as cold & calculating as DR1's surviving cast. After playing DR1's first cast, I can definitely see why some of DR1's surviving cast are much more cunning. You had to be considering how it was much easier to die in DR1.

Even this has it's own plot point. The reason why DR2's setting isn't as dark is because there's a traitor in the game who's actually trying to keep everyone alive. That and there's also Usami/Monomi who tries to work as a foil to Monokuma although it's not certain whether she's just playing along with Monokuma & is actually an accomplice or if she actually is trying to help. You won't know which side she's on until the end of the game.


Here's an interesting read, discussing the bigger overall plot of DR.
http://gamingtrend.com/2014/09/08/danganronpa-anatomy-ultimate-despair/
I personally think this part of the DR game is (purposely) stupid and nowhere near as interesting as the murder mysteries, but this author does a great job of explaining why the main overall plot is so intriguing. The greatest point they make is


While the final chapters of both games are pretty much meant to act as an info dump, practically marking out various unresolved plot points as it goes, they still leave a lot up to the player’s interpretation and imagination. It’s the gaps I’m constantly filling in myself that makes the core of Danganronpa’s world more fascinating than the gut-wrenching murders and mind-boggling class trials. While on the surface Danganronpa sounds like a murder mystery with social sim elements, that is merely a cover for just how huge the scale of this misleadingly small setup is.


The huge scale plot is yet another secret society Illuminati styled bullshit, but what makes it so interesting is

If you ask what Ultimate Despair is, it probably doesn’t seem like as loaded of a question as it actually is. Nefarious organizations in video games can often be boiled down in pretty simple terms. Pokémon’s Team Rocket simply wishes to exploit Pokemon for profit, Kingdom Hearts’ Organization XIII is just concerned with the power of its leader, but Ultimate Despair’s singular purpose is meatier because of the people who make it up.


More music to set up the mood. (DR's music sounds so much like The Silver Case, go figure it's the same composer.)

Junko being the head mastermind is what really sells it for me. It's one of those ideas that so ridiculous that it just works. It also helps that the writing does a good at displaying just how deceptively high her intellect is. It doesn't feel forced at all even though she comes off as a pessimistic airhead.

I found that page, because I wanted to know why or how Junko Enoshima became the ultimate despair, but no one seems to have an answer. She just is, which also works for me. You have to think of her more as a GOD rather than as a person. She even has her own cult.

This is what worries me about DanganRonpa 3. Apparently only Monokuma is coming back although if you beaten games then you would know that Junko is the person controlling the Monokuma plushie robot from behind the scenes. Monokuma's personality is just Junko toying around with everybody & manipulating them into killing each other. I have a hard time imagining if Junko could ever be topped as the main antagonist because she's so unusual.

I mean sure, Batman's The Joker may be somewhat similar in terms of insanity but the difference is that Junko's arguments actually make a lot of sense. She doesn't come off as insane, she could even be the only one who's telling you the truth. She actually never lies, even when she's Monokuma. She just tells you convenient half-truths. I even found myself agreeing with her a lot during the final case of DR2. She would've convinced me to side with her, because the DR1 cast who showed up during the final case all came off like pretentious unlikable assholes to me whereas Junko is much more likable or at least she has the charisma to pull me towards her way of thinking.
In actuality, she's not likable at all. She's detestable, and an awful human being, but her charisma is so off the charts that you can easily see why she was able to manipulate others into despair.

The final case made me want to play through DR1 just to see if the DR1 surviving cast are still unlikable assholes. So far, they still are. LOL! Even in the first case, Junko comes off as one of the more interesting characters which is why it's disappointing that she's just randomly murdered on a whim for breaking the rules. The two survivors from DR1 (not including the main character.) weren't even fazed by Junko's murder & Togami even laughs at you for wasting time to check her pulse since it's obvious that she's dead. (She's a mangled corpse with spears sticking out through her entire mid section, including her tits. LOL!
Although this leads up to the plot twist of that game.

The following are spoilers from the url that I linked to, but as I said you really can't talk about DR's overall plot without mentioning Junko. This passage does a great job of explaining why DR's plot stands out & just works even though it's using a stereotypical secret society omnipotent organization plot. They're not actually an organization. It's more like a movement.

Junko Enoshima is the central character of the entire series. Once known as the Ultimate Fashionista within Hope’s Peak Academy, Junko slowly influenced the student body within the prestigious school. She’s the mastermind behind all the events of the first game.
What makes Junko such a spectacular villain is both her selfish motivations and her uncanny ability to manipulate those around her. Junko is like the extreme of a popular “queen bee” high school student. She’s charismatic, narcissistic and manages to pull others into her point of view so easily it’s as if it’s the symptom of a disease.

Why is she like this? Despair. It’s all that matters to her. She thrives on it. Craves it. Whether it’s hers or was brought upon others by her.

In layman’s terms, Junko values nothing. She says she’s bored of life, the world and even herself. She carries no hope within her and believes the world should feel the same way. Because she doesn’t want to feel anything else, it’s completely legitimate to call Junko’s love of despair a fetish. She even vocalizes it herself when she talks about murdering her sister Mukuro, who was disguised as her in the game’s first chapter.

“I knew you couldn’t be just some ordinary person. You’re some kind of…abnormality.” – Byakuya Togami

“Turning your own despair into some kind of fetish… Abnormality doesn’t even begin to describe it.” – Kyoko Kirigiri


Junko’s identity and role is kept a secret up until the game’s final hours, as she is the ultimate culprit behind the game’s murder mystery. As such, there’s not a lot of time to see just who she is, or just what a strong influence she was capable of, mainly by design. Junko’s goal at the point of her unmasking is not to exposition the reality of the cast’s situation, or even really interact with them in any substantial capacity at all. Junko doesn’t show up in the end to argue with the kids she put through Hell, she does it to talk to the audience who watched them slaughter each other. It’s here that Junko makes her last declaration of the power of Despair, not the movement she leads, but the idea behind everything she does.

What makes Junko’s appearance in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc so retroactively interesting is how she doesn’t really put too much importance on herself despite being the central figurehead of the entire movement. Junko presents herself as just another cog in the wheel. She isn’t interested in bringing attention to herself or taking credit for the destruction she’s caused, she wants to remind the world of the mindset behind the organization that leveled the world.

This is the last portion that I'll quote from that page. The rest of it spoils way too much.

Junko is a sociopath, but when she’s not pitching the idea of Despair, she’s funny, quick-witted and obviously intelligent. The way she talks around everyone with her silver tongue is bordering on captivating, and shows how powerful of an influence she can be through manipulating others, humiliating them or just lying to their face.

Because the cast is Ultimate Despair, we get the greatest glimpse as to what its members were like as we get to hear about it from the source’s mouth. Ultimate Despair’s most interesting aspect is that despite anyone considering themselves in allegiance with it, not everyone shares the same goals, motives or viewpoints.

As the truth of their existence is laid before them, members of Ultimate Despair are told of the various atrocities they committed, many of which do lead back to an idolizing of Junko, but sometimes it’s just a matter of feeling the same way about forcing their own misery onto the world.

Even with some characters having their own prerogative, Junko is present in the majority of their actions. After her death in the first game, members of Ultimate Despair began mass slaughtering of people, forcing them to commit suicide in her honor. Horrifyingly, some took Junko’s dead body and hacked it to pieces in order to transplant parts of her onto themselves, one even trying to use what was left of Junko to try and conceive her children.

I believe that's enough to set up the intrigue in motion.

Dangan Ronpa is fucking nuts but it's actually not that random. Everything makes sense. Monokuma reminds me of Mithra & Yayoi's relationship from Moonlight Syndrome/Killer7 but Junko is a far more captivating character. The only reason why Yayoi is able to get away with everything is because she's able to hide her motives from everybody and kills off anyone who may know her motives such as her older sister who is one of the main characters from the original Twilight Syndrome trilogy. Junko contains elements of Uehara Kamui, Itsushima/Hanayama Yayoi, Kun Lan, & Mithra but she's much more interesting than they are,

Unlike Yayoi, Junko is out in the open. She doesn't hide. Yayoi & Junko both have a talent for manipulation, but Yayoi lacks Junko's ability to influence. Yayoi is only a thread because you have no idea that she's a threat, and she even goes out of her way to manipulate people into killing or destroying anyone who may have evidence that she's a treat. Junko is also an unknown threat for the most part, but she does not hide when she's finally revealed. Junko is actually more threatening when she's outright opposing you, because she uses these moments to charm & manipulate you under her fold. Junko's personality is so infectious that she does have a good chance of winning you over. Contrast that to Yayoi, who's personality is rather bland. Yayoi is just a pretty face who manipulates through feminine wiles.

Unlike Mithra, Monokuma does not have a subordinate relationship to Junko because Monokuma is just a series of toys that Junko injects her personality onto. Mithra (who is a god) is a subordinate of Yayoi who is later indirectly betrayed by Yayoi as part of her cover up.

Unlike Kamui Uehara, Junko Enoshima is not a normal person. She's highly charismatic & intelligent. Although Kamui is able to influence copycat murders this is mostly due to his urban myth rather than he himself. Kamui's plot is continued in Ward 25 of which I have never played so I can't expand on him too much other then he's nowhere near as interesting or as conniving as Junko. He's akin to Osama Bin Laden, a government creation used to instill terror.

Unlike KunLan, Junko has no political allegiance. She couldn't care less about the Eastern world or the West. Junko just wants to lead the world to ultimate despair, simply because she's aroused by despair. She's addicted to it, it's like a drug. She has no purpose or motive, she just is. Despair alleviates her boredom.
As for KunLan while he might be a god, he actually cares about the geopolitics of man & even goes out of his way to influence it. KunLan is the most physically imposing & threatening looking of the bunch but he's honestly nowhere near as captivating as Junko. Junko influences you through cold hard logic & charm. KunLan's dialogue mostly consists of vague doublespeak & indirect cryptic messages which don't really make any sense. KunLan speaks in political code. Junko uses straight forward easy to comprehend speech, because she's actually trying to influence you into seeing the world the same way that she does.

 

[GoldStarz]

He's completely right though.

No, no he's not. The game quickly establishes him as one of the deuteragonists of the game and, as someone who has presumably played DR1, the player now knows that while he can fuck with people and events, he won't hurt anyone and no one will hurt him.

Spoiler

This is what makes Chapter 5 such a shocking twist as what the player thought was one of the main structures of the narrative, the fact that Nagito was an 'untouchable', is completely destroyed giving the player a legitimate feeling of confusion.

So yeah, his presence definitely doesn't make anything more tense. Really this is why I think the characters in DR2 serve the story much better than in DR1 since, with the exception of Hiyoko and Fuyuhiko

Spoiler

(until Chapter 3)

, all of the 'regular' cast are at least mildly amicable to one another which doesn't leave any immediately obvious suspects who aren't targeted out and cleared right away.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

I finished DR2 a few days ago.

Didnt like it as much as 1. The minigames were annoying, the investigation part was like... 10-15 minutes. And judging by the investigation you couldnt actually know who the culprit is compared to DR1, where you had a general gist who might be the murderer.
In 2 somehow the writers could write anyone to be the culprit in half of the cases.

Spoiler

Peko was somehow the murderer of that photograph girl because she is a servant of that Yakuza guy. There was no hint for that at all.

Gundham was somehow the murderer of that robot guy, but during the investigation nothing actually hints at him.

It felt more "animey" and random than DR1. I still enjoyed it but thought its the weaker title.

 

[GoldStarz]

Spoiler

Peko was somehow the murderer of that photograph girl because she is a servant of that Yakuza guy. There was no hint for that at all.

There are several hints, actually. Especially if you Free Time with them.

Spoiler

Gundham was somehow the murderer of that robot guy, but during the investigation nothing actually hints at him.

The fact that you can't even recall the names really sounds like perhaps you're just not that good at investigation, like DR, you can more-or-less solve all the mysteries beforehand, even if you don't have 100% concrete evidence, it's all still there. I mean hell, DR practically handed most of the culprits to you on a silver platter.

Spoiler

"11037" what could that mean? Mondo sure hasn't been changing the way he talks at all. And Celeste isn't acting suspicious at ALL, it's obviously Hiro. Sakura was smiling when she died, I'm sure all people who are murdered who do that. It's not like she was upset around the time she died or anything.

 

[Funyarinpa]

There are several hints, actually. Especially if you Free Time with them.


The fact that you can't even recall the names really sounds like perhaps you're just not that good at investigation, like DR, you can more-or-less solve all the mysteries beforehand, even if you don't have 100% concrete evidence, it's all still there. I mean hell, DR practically handed most of the culprits to you on a silver platter.

Spoiler

"11037" what could that mean? Mondo sure hasn't been changing the way he talks at all. And Celeste isn't acting suspicious at ALL, it's obviously Hiro. Sakura was smiling when she died, I'm sure all people who are murdered who do that. It's not like she was upset around the time she died or anything.

Spoiler

wait people actually noticed mondo's speech pattern holy shit

 

[PK Gaming]

No, no he's not. The game quickly establishes him as one of the deuteragonists of the game and, as someone who has presumably played DR1, the player now knows that while he can fuck with people and events, he won't hurt anyone and no one will hurt him.

Spoiler

This is what makes Chapter 5 such a shocking twist as what the player thought was one of the main structures of the narrative, the fact that Nagito was an 'untouchable', is completely destroyed giving the player a legitimate feeling of confusion.

So yeah, his presence definitely doesn't make anything more tense. Really this is why I think the characters in DR2 serve the story much better than in DR1 since, with the exception of Hiyoko and Fuyuhiko

Spoiler

(until Chapter 3)

, all of the 'regular' cast are at least mildly amicable to one another which doesn't leave any immediately obvious suspects who aren't targeted out and cleared right away.

Disagree, 100%. Nagito is an inherently unnerving character. He constantly exudes an aura of instability and dishonesty (despite never actually lying) and has various moments in the game that further confirm this.

Spoiler

After Chapter 1, he puts the player on edge, and even though he has becomes more passive after Chapter 1, it flares up again after his "transformation" in Chapter 4. The entirety of Chapter 5 is tense because of him, not just murder itself.

So yes, Nagito's presence absolutely makes the game more tense.

Nagito is the best thing about Danganronpa 2 and he makes it better then DR1 by existing

Yep

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Nagito is the best thing about Danganronpa 2 and he makes it better then DR1 by existing

 

[GoldStarz]

The DanganRonpa fandom's hard-on for Nagito is why, despite it being one of my favorite game series, I'll never enjoy talking about it with other people.

Honestly people talk about Junko appearing too often in the games, but the Komaeda oversaturation is way worse imo. I really hope NDRv3 is a reboot if for no other reason that the fandom will be forced to get a new pet to dote over.

 

[PK Gaming]

The DanganRonpa fandom's hard-on for Nagito is why, despite it being one of my favorite game series, I'll never enjoy talking about it with other people.

Honestly people talk about Junko appearing too often in the games, but the Komaeda oversaturation is way worse imo. I really hope NDRv3 is a reboot if for no other reason that the fandom will be forced to get a new pet to dote over.

It's not even remotely comparable.

Junko appears in

Spoiler

4 DanganRonpa titles, Nagito appears in 2. Junko is responsible for literally everything to the point of comedy, Nagito is only really responsible for a few things in 2 and AE. Nagito represents the best parts of DR. Junko represents the worst parts.

Nagito's universal adoration is deserved. He isn't my favorite character, but even I can recognize that he's easily the best thing to come out of the franchise.

 

[MiguelMexMIstery]

Nagito definitely made things more interesting than any other character in the series, specially since he has a different goal each trial. The game would feel empty without him.

Spoiler

Abandoned building at the end. Reread the sequence and you'll realize probably see some telling signs

Also, yeah, this is why I think everything up until Chapter 6 of SDR2 more or less went as Junko wanted.

Yeah I was thinking about the elevator when you mentioned it. Thanks for all the help!

the player now knows that while he can fuck with people and events, he won't hurt anyone and no one will hurt him.

Spoiler

This is what makes Chapter 5 such a shocking twist as what the player thought was one of the main structures of the narrative, the fact that Nagito was an 'untouchable', is completely destroyed giving the player a legitimate feeling of confusion.

This did happened to me though.

Spoiler

All the game thinking he and Chiaki were secured survivors along with Hajime (since they're kinda like the counterpart of Makoto/Kyoko/Byakuya), and then BAM Chapter 5 happens and completely breaks my expectations (and heart ;_.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

No, no he's not. The game quickly establishes him as one of the deuteragonists of the game and, as someone who has presumably played DR1, the player now knows that while he can fuck with people and events, he won't hurt anyone and no one will hurt him.

Spoiler

This is what makes Chapter 5 such a shocking twist as what the player thought was one of the main structures of the narrative, the fact that Nagito was an 'untouchable', is completely destroyed giving the player a legitimate feeling of confusion.

So yeah, his presence definitely doesn't make anything more tense. Really this is why I think the characters in DR2 serve the story much better than in DR1 since, with the exception of Hiyoko and Fuyuhiko

Spoiler

(until Chapter 3)

, all of the 'regular' cast are at least mildly amicable to one another which doesn't leave any immediately obvious suspects who aren't targeted out and cleared right away.

The fact that you associate killing intent with the only thing that can bring tension into a closed environment like Danganronpa's makes me wonder what you think of the Zero Escape game characters.

Despite (DR1 spoilers)

Spoiler

Byakuya actively threatening that he would kill someone in a grand way right from the outset, that is in no way the same presence that Nagito had. If anything, what Nagito brought to the atmosphere wasn't necessarily the worry that he would kill someone, but that he would just mess shit up.

Danganronpa's environment shouldn't just be about "Oh, I wonder who will die/kill next" and then those moments being the only ones of true import moving the story along. Despite preferring the dynamic of the DR1 cast more than DR2's, the former was mainly about waiting until the next murder happened. Nagito brought the threat of more oblique happenings that are not simply "Oh, he'll kill someone."

Obviously, you're in the minority when it comes to what he brought to the plot, but he's the favorite character of a significant amount of the players for a reason. That's something we need more of in Danganronpa, and not less of regressing back to DR1's basic flow.

Honestly people talk about

Spoiler

Junko appearing too often in the games

, but the Komaeda oversaturation is way worse imo. I really hope NDRv3 is a reboot if for no other reason that the fandom will be forced to get a new pet to dote over.

This doesn't even make sense.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Nagito is an enjoyable character who elevates most of the scenes he's in during Dangaonronpa 2.

But I find his fandom to be largely insufferable.

 

[Puruzi]

Fuck Nagito, Junko owns.

 

[Arrowgigantic]

I like Nagito because the relationship between him and Makoto is a good mystery.

 

[Funyarinpa]

It's not even remotely comparable.

Junko appears in

Spoiler

4 DanganRonpa titles, Nagito appears in 2. Junko is responsible for literally everything to the point of comedy, Nagito is only really responsible for a few things in 2 and AE. Nagito represents the best parts of DR. Junko represents the worst parts.

Nagito's universal adoration is deserved. He isn't my favorite character, but even I can recognize that he's easily the best thing to come out of the franchise.

Spot. On.

(DR1, DR2, AE spoilers.)

Spoiler

I hate Junko as a character, she just isn't interesting and greatly strains my suspension of disbelief. She ruins DR1's climax for me (even though I love the amnesia twist, I don't like 1-6 because of Junko). It just glosses over too many things and takes over-the-topness too much and keeps me from feeling engaged in the meta story. I hope NDRV3 has a far better meta-mystery. Her appearance in SDR2 wasn't welcome either. Had her choice of "Sacrifice yourself or the world" been enforced instead of a "FFFFFUUUUTTTTUUUURRRREEEEE" cop-out, though, she could have been redeemed. She's the "bad" kind of insane, to the point where she just isn't interesting or worthwhile.

Komaeda is unpredictable, but he uses his shtick in far more creative ways than just being "I ended the world, ha!". He starts the chain of murders by provoking Teruteru. Moves the case along many times. Then you have the best chapter in the series, which takes the DR brand of crazy, wacky, fucked-up shit and buids on that theme in INTERESTING ways beyond a plot device. In AE, Komaeda provides one of the most exhilarating moments of the game by revealing many things in CH4, to the amazing meta twist of saying that he was the reason Komaru and Toko's path throughout the game was fully linear. Komaeda fully deserves the love he gets, because he is the craziest, wackiest DR character. I wonder if he could ever be topped.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Spot. On.

(DR1, DR2, AE spoilers.)

Did you read DR0? That novel has a much better characterization of that character compared to any of the games. I didn't mind that villain being the big bad of Danganronpa 1 simply because it was accompanied with one of the major twists, but the character isn't nearly strong enough to serve as the backbone of the franchise as they have been trying to make them since DR1.

 

[lazyproblems]

Nagito is definitely one of the highlights of DR. I don't even consider it debatable, he lifts every scene that he's in (more specifically in DR2) and he does add a bunch of tension to the events. I definitely agree that he's also the best villain in the series, although I do like

Spoiler

__Junko__

as well.

I can get that his fandom might be annoying, but he deserves most of the praise he gets.


As far as Free time events, I loved them in both games. I thought it was a highlight of the experience, however finding ways to make them more narratively relevant/impactful would be a win-win.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I definitely agree that he's also the best villain in the series.

Well, for starters, he's not a villain.

What made Nagito work was that he wasn't a villain. He was a twisted piece of shit, but he was ultimately someone who saw himself as being a force for good. He functioned as a dark inversion of Makoto from the first game.

Spoiler

Even in Chapter 5, his actions were all about him trying to kill the Ultimate Despairs and make sure that the person who wasn't an Ultimate Despair survived.

And that's why I find people saying that he's better than

Spoiler

Junko

to be tired out and failing to understand the dramatic roles of the characters. They fill completely different roles in the stories. One is supposed to be a villain, and the other a twisted hero. It's like saying that the Punisher is better than the Green Goblin.

 

[lazyproblems]

If you want to split hairs, technically yes, I suppose he would be more accurately described as an antihero or something similar. However, for the most part he stands in opposition to the characters that you're largely rooting for. He's trying to undermine them and sow seeds of doubt among them so that

Spoiler

they'll kill each other and bring out the "best" hope.

This is all before he learns the truth in Chapter 4.

When people say that he works better than the big bad of the series up until this point, it's because he was able to create some of the most interesting scenarios and do things that tortured the other characters in pretty scary ways. Yes, Monokuma and

Spoiler

Junko

are both entertaining and evil in their own right. They both did memorable and twisted things, but I'd say Nagito was able to bring out more visceral reactions from the players.

In this case, perhaps saying villain is technically a simplification, but he's certainly an antagonist to the other students.

 

[GoldStarz]

It's not even remotely comparable.
This doesn't even make sense.

Spoiler

While Junko appears in all the main DR titles, the time in which she is there (as her own character, that is) is extremely minimal. A single trial for DR1 and DR2 and literally the last few minutes/lines in DanganRonpa /Zero. Nagito however has had a main role in every single piece of main DR media since his creation, in DR2 where his presence is well-utilized and in DRAE where his presence is basically fanservice and could have been filled by basically any other RoD, several of whom could have actually added to the game. Literally the only thing Junko has on him is seniority or else he would've exceeded her sceentime. I imagine by the end of DR3, he actually will have.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I rather like

Spoiler

Junko

as the series' overall villain.

I'm fond of the

Spoiler

extremely dangerous villain who turns out to be more dangerous when dead because of their followers extreme dedication like Dio Brando and The Joker.

 

[GoldStarz]

The fact that you associate killing intent with the only thing that can bring tension into a closed environment like Danganronpa's makes me wonder what you think of the Zero Escape game characters.

Despite (DR1 spoilers)

Spoiler

Byakuya actively threatening that he would kill someone in a grand way right from the outset, that is in no way the same presence that Nagito had. If anything, what Nagito brought to the atmosphere wasn't necessarily the worry that he would kill someone, but that he would just mess shit up.

Danganronpa's environment shouldn't just be about "Oh, I wonder who will die/kill next" and then those moments being the only ones of true import moving the story along. Despite preferring the dynamic of the DR1 cast more than DR2's, the former was mainly about waiting until the next murder happened. Nagito brought the threat of more oblique happenings that are not simply "Oh, he'll kill someone."

Obviously, you're in the minority when it comes to what he brought to the plot, but he's the favorite character of a significant amount of the players for a reason. That's something we need more of in Danganronpa, and not less of regressing back to DR1's basic flow.

Oh, I rather like the Zero Escape games and their characters, but their narratives are structured pretty differently, while they both have drop points, Zero Escape have meet-up points and DR having chapters, the consequences in DanganRonpa are immediate (kill someone, get executed) while they're built up in Zero Escape (Choose Ally, Get Betrayed, Lose 2 points). Because of this there's not much that Komaeda can do while not being out of character that is destructive and has lasting consequences. Honestly Komaeda would've been much more effective if he was a regular cast member in my opinion because then he wouldn't have that pillar or safety and the player could think that he very well could snap and kill someone or force someone to kill him.

Spoiler

Personally, since there was no established pattern to the series at the time of DR1, I honestly think Byakuya feels like a much more threatening figure than Komaeda does.

That said, I don't think that DR's environment is just about "who should die next", as I said, I don't mind the character moments that make up the 'lulls' of the game and I actually think that character building is one of DanganRonpa's strong points, despite most of the fandom generally stripping the characters down to only the stereotypical traits that are immediately presented.


----

Edit: Oh I forgot to mention
SHSL Scans posted up dLs to DanganRonpa Gaiden Chapter 2 and 3 [Ch 2 link] [Ch 3 link]

(SDR2 and DanganRonpa Gaiden spoilers)

Spoiler

It looks like Chapter 3 confirms that Takumi is actually Sparkling Justice/Kira Kira that was mentioned in the second chapter of DanganRonpa 2

 

[PK Gaming]

Well, for starters, he's not a villain.

What made Nagito work was that he wasn't a villain. He was a twisted piece of shit, but he was ultimately someone who saw himself as being a force for good. He functioned as a dark inversion of Makoto from the first game.

Spoiler

Even in Chapter 5, his actions were all about him trying to kill the Ultimate Despairs and make sure that the person who wasn't an Ultimate Despair survived.

And that's why I find people saying that he's better than

Spoiler

Junko

to be tired out and failing to understand the dramatic roles of the characters. They fill completely different roles in the stories. One is supposed to be a villain, and the other a twisted hero. It's like saying that the Punisher is better than the Green Goblin.

You're missing the point. They may be different in execution, but they're both fundamentally antagonists. Hence the reason why preferring him as an antagonist over

Spoiler

Junko

is a completely valid position.

In any case, I don't think

Spoiler

Junko is a good central protagonist beyond the first game. She never really should have come back in the second one and i'm tired of seeing her at this point.

Spoiler

While Junko appears in all the main DR titles, the time in which she is there (as her own character, that is) is extremely minimal. A single trial for DR1 and DR2 and literally the last few minutes/lines in DanganRonpa /Zero. Nagito however has had a main role in every single piece of main DR media since his creation, in DR2 where his presence is well-utilized and in DRAE where his presence is basically fanservice and could have been filled by basically any other RoD, several of whom could have actually added to the game. Literally the only thing Junko has on him is seniority or else he would've exceeded her sceentime. I imagine by the end of DR3, he actually will have.

Spoiler

Her appearance is minimal but her presence literally pervades through every piece of DR media. Junko is responsible for literally everything™ and both of the trials she features in are incredibly long. I don't think its unreasonable to be fatigued by her, and frankly, she's overstayed her welcome in this franchise. I imagine i'd feel the same way about Nagito if he were contrived to play a large role in the DR3 anime, but I doubt it would happen.

 

[GoldStarz]

You're missing the point. They may be different in execution, but they're both fundamentally antagonists. Hence the reason why preferring him as an antagonist over

Spoiler

Junko

is a completely valid position.

In any case, I don't think

Spoiler

Junko is a good central protagonist beyond the first game. She never really should have come back in the second one and i'm tired of seeing her at this point.

While Komaeda is definitely a terrible person with a villainous streak (even if he's not self-aware of this), he's still a deuteragonist (basically a secondary protagonist for those not up on lit speak). But yeah I definitely agree with you, just because you mean well or have goals that are, in-theory, good doesn't mean you can't be a villainous figure.

Spoiler

Her appearance is minimal but her presence literally pervades through every piece of DR media. Junko is responsible for literally everything™ and both of the trials she features in are incredibly long. I don't think its unreasonable to be fatigued by her, and frankly, she's overstayed her welcome in this franchise. I imagine i'll feel the same way about Nagito if he were contrived to play a large role in the DR3 anime, but I doubt it would happen.

Eh, fair enough but I still personally disagree, the final trial of DR1 is still shorter than most of the DR2 trials and I haven't seen many people outside of NeoGaf who are legitimately frustrated by their repeated appearances (although it is a popular topic for jokes and memes). If they appear in NDRv3 though, I'd be inclined to agree with you though.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

You're missing the point. They may be different in execution, but they're both fundamentally antagonists. Hence the reason why preferring him as an antagonist over

Spoiler

Junko

is a completely valid position.

In any case, I don't think

Spoiler

Junko is a good central protagonist beyond the first game. She never really should have come back in the second one and i'm tired of seeing her at this point.

He's still essentially functioning as a secondary protagonist rather than antagonist, just a really twisted one.

Spoiler

Hell, you even play as him at one point in the game

If Nagito was supposed to be an atagonist, then he is the single worst antagonist in history, because he almost never functions as one (

Spoiler

you could argue that he almost did in the first case, but not really

).

He functions as a twisted protagonist. He's an inversion of Makoto, but his role is also sort of an inversion of Byakuya/Kyoko. In DR1, they would frequently hiack the investigations or trials to take over discoveries before handing it back. But Nagito, in addition to being a twisted character, actually takes over the very narrative. He'll hijack the story to make it all about him, even

Spoiler

taking over as the player character at one point

. Not only that,

Spoiler

but his death is the ultimate narrative hijack. What is set up by the characters as being his twisted way of killing himself and fucking with them turns out to be, in his own twisted way, the typical heroic sacrifice to stop the bad guys and let the true hero escape. It's a twisted way he goes about it, but that's what makes it brilliant.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

He's still essentially functioning as a secondary protagonist rather than antagonist, just a really twisted one.

Spoiler

Hell, you even play as him at one point in the game

He's very clearly both. An antagonist means a character who stands in opposition to a protagonist(s), and he outright does so at multiple occasions in the story. Whatever a character's motivations are don't remove their quality of being an antagonist, and he takes that role several times.

Spoiler

The very fact that his goal with his final show was to kill everyone off cements that fact.

What makes him a compelling character was that duality between his motivations and his antagonistic nature. The conflict of his motivations and his confounding nature that made one second guess what his goals were at any given point in time.

That said, I don't think that DR's environment is just about "who should die next", as I said, I don't mind the character moments that make up the 'lulls' of the game and I actually think that character building is one of DanganRonpa's strong points, despite most of the fandom generally stripping the characters down to only the stereotypical traits that are immediately presented.

I suppose I just fundamentally disagree with you with what made Nagito work, and the nature of Danganronpa's context.

Spoiler

While I liked Byakuya (one of my favorite DR1 characters), I never felt any sort of oppression from him akin to what I felt when I saw Nagito.

It's not simply about character building for me, it's also about how the messed up situation the characters are in isn't simply about "murder or be murdered." The danger that Nagito represented for me wasn't simply that he represented that simplistic element from the killing game, but that he introduced a wild card of unexpected events around it that could seemingly have nothing to do with the motivation of killing or being killed. I want to see more of that in DRV3, especially when it comes to an antagonistic figure.

You argue that DR doesn't have the same sort of build up that Zero Escape has in terms of culmination points, but I disagree. Just like in ZE, the results of what comes next can be psychologically driven and manipulated through the context a characters are placed in. Chapter 4 is all about this. And I think, the whole way through, that was a compulsion that Nagito contributed to in the plot, as well.

 

[PK Gaming]

He's still essentially functioning as a secondary protagonist rather than antagonist, just a really twisted one.

Spoiler

Hell, you even play as him at one point in the game

If Nagito was supposed to be an atagonist, then he is the single worst antagonist in history, because he almost never functions as one (

Spoiler

you could argue that he almost did in the first case, but not really

).

He functions as a twisted protagonist. He's an inversion of Makoto, but his role is also sort of an inversion of Byakuya/Kyoko. In DR1, they would frequently hiack the investigations or trials to take over discoveries before handing it back. But Nagito, in addition to being a twisted character, actually takes over the very narrative. He'll hijack the story to make it all about him, even

Spoiler

taking over as the player character at one point

. Not only that,

Spoiler

but his death is the ultimate narrative hijack. What is set up by the characters as being his twisted way of killing himself and fucking with them turns out to be, in his own twisted way, the typical heroic sacrifice to stop the bad guys and let the true hero escape. It's a twisted way he goes about it, but that's what makes it brilliant.

Why can't he be both? He frequently shifts between being an antagonist

Spoiler

case 1 & 5

and a supporting protagonist

Spoiler

cases 2, 3 and 4

. Part of the reason why he's so appealing is due to his adaptability. I think he's best as an antagonist though.

 

[Permanently A]

Just finished the second case of DR2... kind of lame that

Spoiler

everyone just glosses over the identity of the first murder victim and the picture of her that looks like Sonia never comes up.

I mean come on they meticulously went through every other identity but straight up ignored the most curious one.

 

[Theodoricos]

While I do love Nagito, (DR1 + DR2 spoilers)

Spoiler

I thought Junko was a fantastic villain in DR1. The way she executes herself when she loses is perhaps one of the most memorable moments in the entire franchise. That was a great way for her to be "defeated", so to speak, that completely fits with her being the Ultimate Despair. I think her popularity is deserved too.

That said, I do dislike the more conventional method of beating her in DR2, and all things considered I think that she shouldn't have reappeared as an antagonist even in data form.

 

[GoldStarz]

Spoiler

Her appearance is minimal but her presence literally pervades through every piece of DR media. Junko is responsible for literally everything™ and both of the trials she features in are incredibly long. I don't think its unreasonable to be fatigued by her, and frankly, she's overstayed her welcome in this franchise. I imagine i'd feel the same way about Nagito if he were contrived to play a large role in the DR3 anime, but I doubt it would happen.

Spoiler

DR3's ED is confirmed to be a Komaeda character song. Still don't think he'll end up a major character?

 

[Zonic]

Danganronpa 3: Future Volume premiering July 11, with Despair Volume on July 14

 

[GoldStarz]

I wonder if any details will leak from the preview screening on July 3rd though.

Personally I'm surprised they're not starting up the first week like they did with DR1's anime

 

[PK Gaming]

Spoiler

DR3's ED is confirmed to be a Komaeda character song. Still don't think he'll end up a major character?

You bet your sweet bippy

 

[Funyarinpa]

Spoiler

DR3's ED is confirmed to be a Komaeda character song. Still don't think he'll end up a major character?

Holy shit
Yes
YES

 

[GoldStarz]

Holy shit
Yes
YES

I'm taking this to mean you're a Megumi Ogata fan then?

Spoiler

wish i shared the sentiment but i'd have preferred bringing back the singers of the OP or ED of The Animation to her

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Anyone planning to make a DR3 anime OT


Edit: I guess I'll try my hand at it.

 

[lazyproblems]

Key visuals for Danganronpa 3 released:

 

[Puruzi]

jesus christ @ nekomaru's bulge

 

[GoldStarz]

Apparently Kyosuke has a sword

Spoiler

He is literally Yu

 

[FluxWaveZ]

So he is Yu Narukami.

 

[PK Gaming]

Time to reach out to the truth

 

[daevious]

Given how Peko looks like crossdresser Yu and that Danganronpa V3 takes place in a prison school, this really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

 

[GoldStarz]

Given how Peko looks like crossdresser Yu and that Danganronpa V3 takes place in a prison school, this really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I mean, Peko's final design was templated off of Toko's so that's pretty much coincidence and we really don't know anything about V3 yet, but it's not like a prison school is anything new for the DR franchise tbh.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Is that supposed to be them as ultimate despair

Because they look the same