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[SPOILERS] Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoiler Thread | Aloha, Despair!
- Thread starter Nachos
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dakkumauji
Member
The first game's group has to have been lucky that Kirigiri was among them otherwise they would probably have been all dead by the first trial.
I think what you say applies to Byakuya pre-case 4, but after he bows out of the game (which I'm not convinced he was actually ever really intending to participate in) he has very different motivations and although his persona is still that of unrepentant arrogance, its seams start to reveal themselves and it's apparent that he actually starts to take into account the situation and feelings of those around him. At least, that's what I recall, but I'd have to go back and check for specific examples.
X
Xpike
Unconfirmed Member
byakuya is just another guy in a game full of extreme stereotypes, it's just that he's the "angry, spoiled brat" guy
Yeah, I suppose you're right.
I actually did end up liking Byakuya's development post-case 4, though there were a times a few times where his shortsighted arrogance caused him to lose sight of the greater picture, such as when he fell for Junko's picture trick at the beginning of Chapter 6. Granted, Hina, Toko and Yasuhiro fall for that very same trick, but when you're in the same boat as those 3...
It's interesting that you mention this because I've felt this way as well. I never got the sense that he actually had to guts to kill someone, unless he was absolutely pushed into doing it.
Twogami never came off as an asshole to me. Just very strict and doesn't play around. I would totally hang out with a guy like him, unlike Togami.
Yeah, I really think it's partially Byakuya's facade, as a way to stand above everyone else and try to make them fear and respect him as the "Ultimate Affluent Progeny." Comparing this to Fuyuhiko, I think Fuyuhiko was actually leaning towards taking someone out before the Peko incident, if only to prove himself as a "tough guy" before he grew as a character from his servant's death.
Not that Byakuya's a big softy inside, but I also don't think he's like he projects himself all the time. To this point...
I think how Togami acts in DR2 is closer to who he actually is, and is closer to how Twogami was acting, too. Less—if at all—standoffish, but still with the appearance that he knows what he's doing and that arrogance.
Edit: Rewatching some clips, Genocide Jill's presence actually makes Byakuya worse. So annoying.
UberTag
Member
There was a lot about the game that I enjoyed... but a lot of missed opportunities as well.
The pacing of D2 didn't sit right with me. I didn't care for how the majority of the overriding secrets that linked the two games together were tidily bracketed into Chapter 6 with a trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow as they conveniently dropped into your lap. Would have preferred to have those parsed out over the rest of the game proper - as a result I was kind of numb to all of the end game reveals.
There were subtle teases to things that ultimately should have clued people in to this group of kids being "not all right" before they hit the island. Chapter 2's case being built around multiple murders that took place pre-Monokuma. Chapter 3's Despair Disease prompting Mikan to regain her memories and immediately start executing people. Fraudkuya being an imposter (the fact that they just left it as "that guy liked to impersonate people" was kind of a cheap out). And all of the "this is actually VR" hints were overly transparent.
Everything involving Nagito was first-rate. As blatant as his name was, I can't believe I missed that Chiaki shared Chihiro's birthday and that her name was effectively a hybrid of his name. Her sacrifice didn't hit as hard as a similar one from Virtue's Last Reward - but her role in the game felt strangely similar.
In fact, there were a lot of parallels between the two titles that I didn't much care for.
If I was ranking games, I'd give 999 a 9.0, VLR an 8.5, Danganronpa an 8 and Danganronpa 2 a 7.5... with Chapters 3 & 5 easily being my favorites. Loved a couple of actual Byakuya's comedic scenes in DR2... namely his deadpan acknowledgement of Sonia's embarrassing acts in front of the cameras and Kyoko teasing him about Toko (and his subsequent reaction) as they were about to leave the island.
I had a hard time connecting with Hajime all the way through the game as he came off as somewhat of an idiot. I think it helped a lot to have the first victim in DR1 be Sayaka as it immediately gave Makoto a personal stake with it being someone he knew outside of the game. In fact, that personal stake felt missing with a lot of these characters this time around apart from fleeting references to their parents in their Free Time interactions. Only Fuyuhiko was really developed in that area. It was certainly easy to buy into this crew of social outcasts being part of Ultimate Despair when that twist was revealed because of their backgrounds but it made it difficult to relate to most of them beyond their surface level tendencies.
I've still got some of the Island modes to clear through for trophy cleanup so I'll be at that for another couple weeks still. Don't have the same rush of adrenaline that I felt with VLR or my exposure to Corpse Party: Blood Drive over the summer now that it's over but it was fun revisiting Danganronpa again and I hope to see Another Episode get localized.
The Bankslammer
Member
Not to be rude, but if you're going to make comparisons between VLR and DR2, could you please spoiler tag them and label them as VLR spoilers, especially if you're going to talk about
a shared big twist? Even just the nature of it doesn't leave much to the imagination.
dakkumauji
Member
That pretty much sounds like what Ultimate Despair Twogami would have done and ahhhhhhh, it would have been brilliant~
That was amazing
dakkumauji
Member
Yes please.
This is like now my 2nd most wanted spinoff after Danganronpa fighting game.
The Bankslammer
Member
i'm glad the true hero of hope, fish, has not gone ignored
That was fantastic. I don't even know what a Persona X Danganronpa would entail, but it seems like a compelling idea for some reason.
Hina's expression when Junko pops out is great.
dakkumauji
Member
How can anyone forget about fish-chan?
I don't even remember when that was from the anime, lol.
dakkumauji
Member
You weren't paying attention to the love story of Monokuma and Fish-chan.
It ends badly.
It was mostly during Monokuma's let's meet at the gym and I'll give you the motive of the episode.
dakkumauji
Member
We have a summary of Danganronpa The Stage!
The biggest points are:
The play is about 3 hours long, lol
I like these changes. It does help shorten the overall plot, saves time and looks like it was nicely done play. I'll definitely be interested in getting the DVDs of this now.
And more fuel for all that Mondo x Ishimaru shipping
The biggest points are:
There's a new rule, anyone who voted for the wrong person in a class trial gets executed too.
As such Ishimaru ends up dying with Mondo in Trial 2
Chapter 3 doesn't happen and Celeste and Yamada move on to Chapter 4 with Sakura's murder. As such we get stuff about Celeste attempting to kill Sakura. AND Celeste and Yamada both get executed in at the end of chapter 4's trail
Junko doesn't face an execution in the end, but her fate isn't mentioned
Everyone who gets executed gets executed by the SPEAR OF GUNGNIR
The play is about 3 hours long, lol
I like these changes. It does help shorten the overall plot, saves time and looks like it was nicely done play. I'll definitely be interested in getting the DVDs of this now.
I don't understand it myself, I think I've awakened to some sort of new talent...
Ultimate Clairvoyant, eh?
All you need is to grow out dreads.
The Bankslammer
Member
Somehow Celeste is an even worse gambler here.
Not really a fan of them making the Ch 3 characters feel even more expendable, and of course it would've been neat to see how the hell they managed to do the game's executions in a stage show. But it's interesting to hear about the changes made to allow it to work.
Not really a fan of them making the Ch 3 characters feel even more expendable, and of course it would've been neat to see how the hell they managed to do the game's executions in a stage show. But it's interesting to hear about the changes made to allow it to work.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
the reverse was the ultimate turning point for Kyoko's character. Shes my favorite in the series after that moment
SolarKnight
Member
I like those changes within the context of having to fit in everything in 3 hours, except for the executions. Sure it would be impossible to actually recreate them, but they could've done something like having the Monokuma dancers drag the characters off stage and then play a video of the execution on the screen.
The Bankslammer
Member
I think the issue comes from
the lack of executions for Taka and Hifumi.
Unless they were to steal the excellent fanmade Taka execution and just put up pictures of the manga with Hifumi's execution lol
Unless they were to steal the excellent fanmade Taka execution and just put up pictures of the manga with Hifumi's execution lol
dakkumauji
Member
They would have been the best Danganronpa adaptation ever if they did Ishimaru's fanmade execution.
Cannon_Fodder
Member
Just finished DR2, and it was amazing. It managed to walk that perfect line of entertaining in the moment and thought provoking looking back that so few pieces of media (not just games) seem to manage. Reading through this thread has given me a lot more insight, so thanks to you guys for that.
My favourite character was easily Mahiru, I really appreciated how relatively normal she was and how much heart she had. The writers really hit a home run with her
The slow realization during the fifth trial of how Nagito had set you up was just horrific. I really felt the despair on that one, more so than anything else in the rest of the game. And there was quite a bit of despair.
Just a question though, did anyone else prefer the other minigames to the Nonstop Debates? I'm not sure if I'm just an idiot, but there were a couple of times I knew what the right answer was, but I found it difficult to figure out which truth bullet I needed to use and where.
My favourite character was easily Mahiru, I really appreciated how relatively normal she was and how much heart she had. The writers really hit a home run with her
The slow realization during the fifth trial of how Nagito had set you up was just horrific. I really felt the despair on that one, more so than anything else in the rest of the game. And there was quite a bit of despair.
Just a question though, did anyone else prefer the other minigames to the Nonstop Debates? I'm not sure if I'm just an idiot, but there were a couple of times I knew what the right answer was, but I found it difficult to figure out which truth bullet I needed to use and where.
When I played DR1, I wished the voting segment at the end of the trials was similar to VLR's Ambidex Game, where Monokuma revealed who everyone voted for. Maybe it would be unnecessary, but I feel that there's something missing to the voting in DR1 and DR2; feels that it could be more involved than just "roulettes into jackpot."
MudoSkills
Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
I hadn't spent any time with Mahiru before her death, but as I was playing through the game I thought she might have been gay, which could have been interesting.
It wasn't really anything other than the fact she was really dismissive/disinterested in the male characters in the story scenes, and I wondered if it might be why she was being bullied by Fuyuhiko's sister.
Ended up being way off base with that one.
It wasn't really anything other than the fact she was really dismissive/disinterested in the male characters in the story scenes, and I wondered if it might be why she was being bullied by Fuyuhiko's sister.
Ended up being way off base with that one.
It would be unnecessary. Most of the time, the killer has a nervous breakdown Ace Attorney style which makes it completely obvious they did it. Only someone in complete denial (like Ishimaru) would vote for someone other than the person Makoto/Hinata pointed out.
Maybe in the next game if they have it so there's 2 people at the end of the trial who are just as suspicious as the other (DR1 Case 5), then it would be interesting revealing the votes.
She falls for Hajime during school mode, so she would be bisexual at the very least.
In any case, I don't think being dismissive towards the opposite sex necessarily makes you gay. If anything, I got the sense that Mahiru just had incredibly high standards for men. Saoinji on the other hand...
Crash Station
Member
Dual executions based around voting (or being an accomplice) could be pretty cool. Lot of ways to extract maximum amounts of despair out of situations like that. Would definitely be something to think about for DR3.
Hiyoko is Mahirusexual. She hates everyone except her.
dakkumauji
Member
Please, Persona 4 wished they gave you their underwear only after hanging out with them 5 or more times.
ironically, Peko is the one girl he actually wants