Funyarinpa
Member
I'd only watched an LP before, but finally I got my hands on a copy of Danganronpa 2 last week! It's one of my favorite visual novels (only behind the two Zero Escape VNs), and while CH1-5 were pretty much as great as I remembered, CH6 left a sore taste in my mouth.
Daily/Deadly Life UI And Gameplay
I liked the interface even more this time around, it's smooth and everything feels much more polished. New crosshair and 3D movement is nice too. I liked the full 3D movement of the original more, though (compared to the sequel's sidescrolling movement in islands). Monokuma dolls are much more fun to find rather than random objects and Hope Fragments are more useful too!
Class Trial Gameplay
I honestly liked all of the new minigames. ALL of them, even the new Hangman's Gambit, was amazing. I liked the new Hangman's Gambit more because it's more exciting to play, albeit it's incredibly difficult. Panic Talk Action was harder too, and while I don't prefer it to the first's minigame, I'd have liked it if it had appeared more often. Rebuttal Showdown and Logic Dive were amazing additions, though there's room for improvement. The agreement mechanic was very well done, and I liked the new multiple-hit noise (purple lines). The last chapter put some pretty enjoyable spins on Nonstop Debate.
Story
It's a brilliant game except the last trial, really. The overall cast might not be as iconic as DR1, but at least the idiot (Souda) is kinda likable this time around, would much prefer him to Hagakure. No Togami this time, but Komaeda more than makes up for that. The cast's overall more likable as well. Especially Komaeda makes the game shine, CH5 is a masterpiece and the only chapter in the series where Danganronpa reaches its true potential IMO. Mikan's backstory really stuck with me too.
Complex cases and engaging character development also made the game great. Humor and foreshadowing was great also.
I have three big qualms with it however.
1) The "similar murders" red herring. I'm referring to the repeating trends pointed out in CH3 (first murder: unexpected stabbing, second: impulse murder, third: serial murder, fourth: consent of victim, etc.). Not touching on it doesn't make much sense, doesn't seem coincidental yet it's brushed away as a red herring at best.
2) Motives. The first game had much better motives that were PERSONAL, such as the secrets and the motive video. The sequel practically FORCES the students to kill, with threats such as starvation and the Despair Disease.
3) The fucking "Make the future" nonsense. This bullshit ruined the last trial for me. I thought I just didn't understand it the first time around, but it's one of the worst Deus Ex Machinas I have ever seen. Out of the "Graduate" or "Shutdown" options, both had dire consequences. That was the whole point of it. It was indeed ascertained that the shutdown sequence would actually eradicate whatever was left in the game, but we can't end the game on a sad tone, noooo! The game violates its own established rules to get a happy end. Somehow just because they're pumped up about "creating the future", Hajime and the others magically manage to transport their current selves over to their real bodies (as evidenced by the epilogue where Hajime is himself). I found it to be utterly fucking bullshit to be honest, I'd much rather have the game end on a sad note where the cast sacrifice themselves to kill Junko. I think Danganronpa could benefit from a darker tone overall, and is sometimes too wacky for its own good. The whole "FUTURE" deal was one of those moments (even though the part where you charge up the golden Future bullet was amazing) and I just felt like it was a cop-out, and it's now my least favorite trial in the series. I'm now even less annoyed by DR1's main twist of "School protests engulfed the world in despair, no questions!" since that was detailed somewhat (Despairs affected influenced people, who then spread their own despair, and so on) and the game and its characters do realize this absurdity, but when it comes to this "future" thing somehow only Junko's the one who asks "How the hell is that possible?!" (followed by an inexplicable execution-y thing, Usami seems to have been brought back via the same bullshit logic and no explanation whatsoever towards why exactly AI Junko could be eradicated that way... ) Junko's also a shitty villain, especially in the second game. Junko had the surprise factor the first tine around, but the second time the reveal isn't anywhere as interesting. [Going off on a tangent here but, I'd disagree with the author over him saying that "It's hard to make a villain more dangerous than Ultimate Despair"- just imagine Kamukura himself being the mastermind: Ultimate Hope taking up the legacy of Ultimate Despair, wouldn't that be amazing?] Possibly V3 can save this, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
TL;DR for #3: Game violates its own designated rules to get an unexplained happy ending, soured me on the game.
Graphics & Sound
Gotta love the Danganronpa art style, and it's just as good here. 10/10 graphics IMHO, love every single art design. OST is even better than the first one too! Tropical Despair, Trapped By The Ocean Scent and 8bit Kill Command & Discussion-HEAT UP- are MAGNIFICENT. Hopefully the next Danganronpa also packs some great sad tunes, the current sad tracks are not that memorable.
Overall, 9.5/10 game. Still love it.
Daily/Deadly Life UI And Gameplay
I liked the interface even more this time around, it's smooth and everything feels much more polished. New crosshair and 3D movement is nice too. I liked the full 3D movement of the original more, though (compared to the sequel's sidescrolling movement in islands). Monokuma dolls are much more fun to find rather than random objects and Hope Fragments are more useful too!
Class Trial Gameplay
I honestly liked all of the new minigames. ALL of them, even the new Hangman's Gambit, was amazing. I liked the new Hangman's Gambit more because it's more exciting to play, albeit it's incredibly difficult. Panic Talk Action was harder too, and while I don't prefer it to the first's minigame, I'd have liked it if it had appeared more often. Rebuttal Showdown and Logic Dive were amazing additions, though there's room for improvement. The agreement mechanic was very well done, and I liked the new multiple-hit noise (purple lines). The last chapter put some pretty enjoyable spins on Nonstop Debate.
Story
It's a brilliant game except the last trial, really. The overall cast might not be as iconic as DR1, but at least the idiot (Souda) is kinda likable this time around, would much prefer him to Hagakure. No Togami this time, but Komaeda more than makes up for that. The cast's overall more likable as well. Especially Komaeda makes the game shine, CH5 is a masterpiece and the only chapter in the series where Danganronpa reaches its true potential IMO. Mikan's backstory really stuck with me too.
Complex cases and engaging character development also made the game great. Humor and foreshadowing was great also. I have three big qualms with it however.
1) The "similar murders" red herring. I'm referring to the repeating trends pointed out in CH3 (first murder: unexpected stabbing, second: impulse murder, third: serial murder, fourth: consent of victim, etc.). Not touching on it doesn't make much sense, doesn't seem coincidental yet it's brushed away as a red herring at best.
2) Motives. The first game had much better motives that were PERSONAL, such as the secrets and the motive video. The sequel practically FORCES the students to kill, with threats such as starvation and the Despair Disease.
3) The fucking "Make the future" nonsense. This bullshit ruined the last trial for me. I thought I just didn't understand it the first time around, but it's one of the worst Deus Ex Machinas I have ever seen. Out of the "Graduate" or "Shutdown" options, both had dire consequences. That was the whole point of it. It was indeed ascertained that the shutdown sequence would actually eradicate whatever was left in the game, but we can't end the game on a sad tone, noooo! The game violates its own established rules to get a happy end. Somehow just because they're pumped up about "creating the future", Hajime and the others magically manage to transport their current selves over to their real bodies (as evidenced by the epilogue where Hajime is himself). I found it to be utterly fucking bullshit to be honest, I'd much rather have the game end on a sad note where the cast sacrifice themselves to kill Junko. I think Danganronpa could benefit from a darker tone overall, and is sometimes too wacky for its own good. The whole "FUTURE" deal was one of those moments (even though the part where you charge up the golden Future bullet was amazing) and I just felt like it was a cop-out, and it's now my least favorite trial in the series. I'm now even less annoyed by DR1's main twist of "School protests engulfed the world in despair, no questions!" since that was detailed somewhat (Despairs affected influenced people, who then spread their own despair, and so on) and the game and its characters do realize this absurdity, but when it comes to this "future" thing somehow only Junko's the one who asks "How the hell is that possible?!" (followed by an inexplicable execution-y thing, Usami seems to have been brought back via the same bullshit logic and no explanation whatsoever towards why exactly AI Junko could be eradicated that way... ) Junko's also a shitty villain, especially in the second game. Junko had the surprise factor the first tine around, but the second time the reveal isn't anywhere as interesting. [Going off on a tangent here but, I'd disagree with the author over him saying that "It's hard to make a villain more dangerous than Ultimate Despair"- just imagine Kamukura himself being the mastermind: Ultimate Hope taking up the legacy of Ultimate Despair, wouldn't that be amazing?] Possibly V3 can save this, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
TL;DR for #3: Game violates its own designated rules to get an unexplained happy ending, soured me on the game.
Graphics & Sound
Gotta love the Danganronpa art style, and it's just as good here. 10/10 graphics IMHO, love every single art design. OST is even better than the first one too! Tropical Despair, Trapped By The Ocean Scent and 8bit Kill Command & Discussion-HEAT UP- are MAGNIFICENT. Hopefully the next Danganronpa also packs some great sad tunes, the current sad tracks are not that memorable.
Overall, 9.5/10 game. Still love it.
