Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS4) Review

Danganronpa is back, and I was excited to play it!  The first was a great game with a immensely interesting story.  The second was good too, but the trial mini-games lowered enjoyment.  So, let's dive in and see what's good and bad about Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

The game is still split into chapters, each consisting of three components: Daily Life, where you talk to your fellow students until someone is killed; Deadly Life, when you investigate the crime; and the Class Trial, where you use your evidence and prove who the killer is...so only they will be punished.  By being murdered, of course.  This flow is the same as the first two games, and it still works well.  The only Daily Life additions are new gift items that can give an extra scene, and the items that unlock new areas of the school.  The first is a nice addition, but always made me afraid I was going to miss these scenes (I did miss one of them).  The second was a clever way to lock off parts of the school, which has been in all three games.  Honestly, they aren't necessary, but I liked them.

The biggest game changes are of course in the trial sections.  Just like last time, some are okay, others are terrible, and a few are pretty good.  I'll start with the debate-like things, and then transition to the dreaded mini-games.  Non-stop Debates are still the basic trial aspect, and remain largely unchanged.  You cycle to whichever Truth Bullet you need, aim, and shoot it at the offending part of someone's statement.  Newly added are the Panic Debates.  These are basically Non-stop Debates with three people talking over each other.  Sometimes one yells, and you have to shoot their words down.  This is actually a logical addition to the trials, but it's not necessarily fun, especially the last one of the game.

If you played the first two games, and you should, you may remember capturing an opponents statement to use as a temporary truth bullet.  It never quite clicked with me.  Now it has been replaced with lying.  No, really.  Now when you hold the firing button on a truth bullet, it changes it into a lie bullet.  It's still only used once a trial, and feels strange.  I like the idea behind it, but it just seems weird that in an effort to find out the truth, you lie.

Another new addition is the Scrum, where you break into two sides, and have to match the opposing side's argument with your facts.  Like most of the changes, it doesn't feel necessary.  However, since it's not hard at all, I like it.  The last new debate mechanic is the back route.  This allows you to skip some parts, or...uh...actually, I don't know.  I never figured out where to do these, or even how, so I have no idea what happens.  I'm pretty sure they exist, though!

Now for the mini-games.  Remember the out-of-place snowboarding one in Danganronpa 2?  Well, that's gone and replaced with Psyche Taxi.  It's a little better, but takes longer.  So I guess that's a lateral move- not really better or worse overall.  Hangman's Gambit is back, because of course it is.  Thankfully no longer "improved", this one is just V3.  It's also bad.  This time letters float across the screen, but you can't see them.  Every few seconds a light quickly passes by to illuminate the letters.  You can hold the X Button to slowly expand a light in the center, but it costs concentration.  While you think this cost might be the bad part, I think it's worse that it's stuck in the center.  Either way, it's not fun to try and remember what each letter is while figuring out what word(s) they want.

So are there any new mini-games I do like?  Surprisingly, yes.  Imagination Excavation hides objects under a layer of colored tiles.  Hitting a group of tiles that are the same color makes them disappear.  Any tile touching them changes to the next color in the line (3 or 4 total depending on difficulty level).  The idea is to keep up that cycle until you uncover the item you want.  I actually like this game and play it in the casino to get medals for unlocks.  Unfortunately there, you can't sacrifice time to get rid of non-linked blocks like you can during the trial.

The strange rhythm mini-games near the end of the trials is also present.  Called Argument Armament, these have unfortunately taken after the Hatsune Miku games, and has the key buttons all over the screen, making it harder.  There's a new 'hold' type that wasn't explained, and took me many misses to get the timing down on them.  These are more annoying than previous times, but I really like the artwork of who you are arguing with in the background.  It even changes as you 'damage' them.

The closing argument comic panels are also back, and they are near perfect.  Placing the cursor over the missing panel gives a clue, and placing it over the possibilities tells you what it's about.  That second part is needed because the panels you have to place are tiny.  You also know instantly if something is wrong, and it waits until the whole thing is correct before going through it.  I really like these, and am glad to see them done so well.

The first Danganronpa set up a story so good, there really wasn't much room to expand.  The second installment did its best, but didn't quite live up to its predecessor, despite having stronger characters.  V3 doesn't do any better.  Half of the twists I like, but the other half are just bad.  Either they don't make sense, are unexplained, or have characters act completely out of character.  Speaking of characters, this game has an even higher number of characters that I can't stand.  I thought it would be hard to beat Hiyoko, but they proved me wrong with Kokichi.  Yes, a prominently featured know-it-all troll is a great idea (sarcasm).  It's easily one of the most annoying and horrible character types.

Past that, the bad twists make it harder to actually figure out the trials.  In the first two games, I had reasonable ideas about what happened, and who had done it.  I got all of them right (except the one I fully disagree with) well before the actual reveals.  Personally, I loved that.  It makes you feel smart, and having enough clues beforehand makes it seem like the story and game were well crafted.  The sheer randomness of some of the twists takes that away, and replaces it with the urge to bash your head into a wall.  I should have seen this coming, when the first trial went a new direction that just felt there to swerve players.  I thought that soured me on it, but we still had not reached the bottom.  That honor belongs to the final twist, which I will not spoil.  I really want to, because I don't like it and I don't think it's any good, but I'm a nice guy.

There are of course unlockable things once you get through the story, but they are different from previous offerings.  First is a wannabe dating sim, which is pretty much there to get you the rest of the friendship events, and the associated skills.  This used to be half of the collecting resource/time management sim games in previous entries.  Now, that half is just by itself, but the other part (which I enjoyed) is gone.  Replacing it is two separate, but heavily linked, games.

First is a board game (chara world?), where you pick a character card and take them through three 'years' of school to raise their stats and teach them skills.  A lot of this is up to random chance.  If you know me, that's a huge minus in my book.  The game is also pretty mean.  If you don't get to the goal within 12 turns or so, you can't take the final exam.  Then, you get sent to the despair route, which is filled with despair panels that drop your stats.  Sounds fun, huh?  You pretty much have to blaze through as fast as you can to ensure you hit the goal first.  Oh, and the final exam is way too hard.

Second, those built up characters are then used in a dungeon crawling RPG called Monokuma's Test.  It looks like the original Dragon Quest games.  It's also pretty fun.  However, you won't gain experience in this mode because they need to force you to do the Talent Plan board game.  You do gain enemy drops and money.  Enemy drops help you make equipment for your characters, and the money is used to buy new character cards from the vending machine.  Sadly, it's random, but at least I quickly got the two characters I most wanted.  Hello nurse and Peko Peko!  Then you take the new characters through the board game, and repeat the cycle anew.  I haven't put a lot of time into these yet (only a few hours), but I can easily see myself coming back to them.  Even if half of it is mean, it's kind of fun, and I want to get the rare versions of my favorite characters.

Even after sinking so much time into Danganronpa V3, I'm on the fence if I like it or not.  The flow of the game is still intact, and there are aspects that I enjoy.  Many new additions felt either unnecessary or outright bad, and the twists felt too random to enjoy.  The new post-game stuff is pretty enjoyable, though.  I'm sure fans of the first two games will play V3, but I get the suspicion that a large portion won't enjoy it.


The Good:
Flow is still the same from the first two games, some good new characters, and a few of the trial aspects have been refined.

The Bad:
The story, the rest of the characters, and of course, most of the trial mini-games.

The SaHD:
Keep the machine gun skill on for the final chapter!

(Review code for Danganronpa V3 was provided by the publisher)

Danganronpa 1&2 Reload (PS4) Review

The first Danganronpa was easily one of the best games I played when it was localized in 2014.  Crazy to think that was three years ago!  The story was a great murder-mystery filled with twists and turns that lead to a satisfying conclusion.  The sequel wasn't quite as good, with better characters but a slightly weaker story.  That's of course up to my personal tastes, but most people agree the trial mini-games weren't as good either.  Even though I know the story, I was very eager to try out the PS4 release of Danganronpa 1&2 Reload, and maybe even get my wife into the story this time as well.

The basic premise for both games is similar: you are one of a group of students at Hope's Peak Academy, a school filled with people that are the best in their field.  However, you quickly become trapped and forced to play a game where the only way to escape is to kill another student...and get away with it.  Once the deed is done, you must gather evidence and figure out who the murderer is, so that the rest may survive.  Maybe you can even uncover who or what is behind this sick game, and put a stop to it.

The first part of each chapter is a lot of dialogue as the students interact with each other, and try to find any escape.  Eventually, someone will be killed, and then you enter the next portion where you have to investigate the crime scene and talk to other students.  Third is the trial, where you must figure out "whodunnit", and also prove it.  When all is said and done, someone else will die, and it is your job to make sure it is only the guilty party.  Then, the story moves to the next chapter until you finally confront the mastermind behind each incident.  I don't want to spoil any more than that, but I did enjoy the stories.  More so the first game, as there were a few plot points in the second that I didn't agree with.

To make the game seem less like a visual novel and more like a game, each trial contains several minigames.  For starters, you don't just refute statements, you use your evidence as "truth bullets" and fire them at the incorrect dialogue.  The possibilities are highlighted, so even if you aren't sure, it is less guesswork than, say, Phoenix Wright can be.  As you go through the game, there are more truth bullets loaded, and you have to figure out which to use.  Plus, sometimes you have to 'capture' a statement and use it as a truth bullet.  It takes some getting used to, but there is a difficulty setting to try and help you out if it's too much.  My wife wasn't very keen on this system, but I was fine with it.

Another of the trial minigames is Hangman's Gambit, where you have to hit letters to spell out a word.  This works ok, but like most of the minigames, feels unnecessary.  The second game has Improved Hangman's Gambit, which is anything but.  You have to make matching letters touch and combine, which then allows you to use them in the word.  Order matters!  If they touch another letter, or sit around too long, they explode and damage you.  It spawns them randomly, making it possibly longer and much harder to not take damage.  I'm fine taking damage if it's my fault and not because of poor design.

Danganronpa 2 also adds Logic Dive, where you must slide down tubes to figure out a chain of thought.  Again, unnecessary.  It also adds the "rebuttal showdown" where instead of shooting, you must cut down your opponent's arguments by using the left stick to slash the statements.  This is a bit of a headache, since you have to do it quickly and if you mess up and hit the wrong statement, you have to do that section over.

The last of the trial minigames are the finales of each one, where you place scenes of the murder together in a comic/manga format.  It's a really cool idea, but sadly isn't perfect.  In the first game, the scenes you insert aren't always obvious, which can lead to errors.  In the second game, it was actually improved.  There are hints to the missing scenes, and you get a brief description of your pieces when you highlight them.  Plus, it tells you instantly if it's correct or not.  You also have less possible pieces at a time, which should make it easier.

Since you could control much of the game with the Vita's touch screen, I wasn't sure how those parts would translate to the PS4.  Then I remembered that the first ones were PSP titles, so the touch screen functionality had to be added, and should be just as easily removed.  Then I also remembered that most parts controlled better with the sticks and buttons, so I figured I wouldn't even notice.  Happily, the game controls just fine on the PS4, and looks a lot better to boot.

Each game's main plot and extra post-game stuff ran me over 40 hours.  In that respect, having both in one package easily makes it worth the price of admission.  As previously mentioned, there are unlockable modes once you complete the main story.  They are a fun diversion, but mostly add up to being able to clean up trophies, unlock skills for use in the trials, and to befriend the other inhabitants of Hope's Peak Academy.  The second game also has another unlockable game featuring Usami.  It's...ok, but make sure to read the controls so you can figure out how to actually plat it.  Other than that, there's not much replay value to the main games, but it is worth playing them through the first time.

So, should you buy this edition?  If you don't have the games on the Vita, and enjoy a good story, then I would recommend it.  You get two games and they look and play great on the PS4.  If you already own them on the Vita, it's a little harder to recommend.  Sure the story is great, but there isn't really much replay other than experiencing the story again.  Plus, the minigames can be hit or miss, and largely feel unnecessary.  At least there is a different, remixed trophy list if that appeals to you.  Even so, I would recommend Danganronpa 1&2 Reload for anybody interested.


The Good:
Some great murder mysteries and characters spanning both games, now in one package.

The Bad:
The Trial minigames can be make or break for some players.

The SaHD:
For the parts my wife played, it was really hard not to yell out spoilers, but thankfully I'm not that much of a jerk.

(Review code for Danganronpa 1&2 Reload was provided by the publisher)

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PS Vita) Review

It's safe to say I like the Danganronpa universe.  Over the previous two games, I've gotten sucked into the world and characters.  So when a new game in the series is coming out, I want to check it out.  Unlike the first two, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a third-person shooter (TPS for short) instead of the usual SAW meets Phoenix Wright story-driven awesomeness.

First off, the world and style is very fitting for the franchise.  The backstory is crazy and violent, as it a lot of the scenery.  Joining the abundant trademark pink blood are the new nondescript colored bodies.  The new characters and situations fit right in with the other games, expand that universe, but are still contained enough to be understood by people that haven't played the other two games.  (If you haven't, you really should.)  The game definitely lives up to its "M" rating.

However, one of the drawbacks to me is how much story there is.  While I do enjoy story-driven games, it feels like there is just too much for this genre (TPS).  It breaks up the action numerous times, and tends to just be a lot of dialogue that feels unnecessary.  I like the amount of dialogue in the other Danganronpas, but it fit there.  It just doesn't mesh well with a more action-driven game, as Ultra Despair Girls is.  It does make it more unique, but I feel the world and characters already do that, and having lengthy dialogue every other screen just feels overbearing.  I'm not complaining that there is a story, just that there seems to be too much unnecessary dialogue for the type of game it is.  This does get a bit better as you get further in the game.

That could be excused if the gameplay itself was great.  To me, it's average at best.  It also feels a bit off to me.  Aiming at an enemy's weakpoint felt more frustrating than just shooting them.  Normally in shooters, the head is the go-to weak spot.  Here, it is the red eye of the Monokuma bots.  It's much smaller and harder to hit, but sometimes it would just work, even if I thought it wouldn't hit it.  The slow and not very smooth aiming make it even harder to take advantage of such a necessary mechanic.  The enemies themselves seem to move in slightly odd and unpredictable patterns, making even basic aiming problematic at times.  Plus, when you stop aiming, there is a second where you can't move very quickly, which gets me hit.  It was the biggest problem on some of the game's bosses, since they can cheaply hit you anyway, which just exacerbates the problem.  I did try the game on the Playstation TV in hopes that the Dualshock 3 would be an improvement, but it was a marginal one at best.

Why do I think it is necessary to take advantage of the eye shot?  Well, the ammo you get tends to be low, and you can very easily run out while fighting large groups, which happens a few times per stage.  Ammo rarely drops in the middle of fights, so you are stuck with what you have when it starts.  There are machines you can shoot to get an item, but the items aren't really tailored to your current situation.  I've gotten hearts and batteries when they were full, but I needed ammo.  Or they give you ammo for the next section, not what you need to fill up.

There is one more main gameplay mechanic, namely your second character.  While you mostly play as Komaru, Toko (from the first game) follows you around and helps out.  During battle, you can press the Triangle button and she will taser herself, unleashing her alter ego, Genocide Jack.  She will use her trademark scissors to cut up the enemies, making the game a hack and slash for a few brief moments.  She's fun to use and really helpful because of her invincibility.  It makes sense from a gameplay stance, so I used her for trouble spots (annoying enemies or bosses).  She also gets some impressive super moves, but I rarely needed them.

There are definitely aspects of the game I enjoy.  Several times during the game you come across a Monoku-man arcade machine, that shows you an overhead view of the next section.  These rooms are more puzzle-based, and have a solution that will eliminate all of the enemies at once.  They aren't hard to figure out, as I didn't run across one that took me more than two tries to get perfect.  There are pretty fun, since you wipe out a bunch of Monokumas and get some drops from them.  Also, the different enemy types tend to have weaknesses to either a certain shot or even used themselves as a weapon.  There are bombing Monokumas that can be used to kill others nearby and Ball Monokumas that can be sent rolling back into their friends.  Once you learn them, they tend to be life (and ammo) savers.

Each chapter is longer than I would have thought.  There are five total, and each takes about 3 to 5 hours.  It's a good length for the main story, especially for a third-person shooter, but doesn't have much replay after that.  Most of the replay will come from trying to get the collectibles or trophy hunting.  I only ran across one bug during my playtime, and it only caused me to have to retry a section.  This does count against you at the end of the stage, but only one retry won't make you miss the highest grade, so it wasn't too bad.  Annoying, though.

While it's not a bad game, I was a bit disappointed in Danganronpa Another Episode.  The shooter elements don't feel right and the large chunks of story break up the action too frequently.  I appreciate that they tried something different with the universe, but they should have taken the genre into account and played to its strengths.  While I don't think making a generic third person shooter and slapping a Danganronpa skin over it would be a masterful game, it would be an improvement here.  Overall the game is ok, and fans of the Danganronpa universe will likely play it, but those are the only people I would recommend trying out Ultra Despair Girls.  If you want to get into the series to see what it is all about, I would heartily recommend starting at the beginning with the first game.

Best of 2014!

Since we are into the new year, I figured I would take a look back to some of the good games I played last year.  Some I reviewed on the site, others I did not.  I limited it to games that came out in 2014.

Bravely Default
This is old school RPG goodness.  It has a robust class system, even bordering on too many classes.  The story isn't too bad, but like others have said, it gets too lazy and repetitive in the last third of the game.  Still a solid choice for RPG fans with a 3DS, as you can still get 50+ hours until it takes a dive.

Fairy Fencer F
While not the best game I've played, it was certainly very fun.  The combat is based off the Hyperdimension Neptunia games.  I started off not liking the characters, but they grew on me.  I found myself wanting to play it more and more.  It will be coming to PCs later in 2015, and I'm hoping the PS4 sequel comes to the states.

South Park: The Stick of Truth
There's a reason two out of three XGR people choose it as their RPG of the year.  It's a great turn based RPG with a lot of humor.  There are references to just about everything from the show, so even if you haven't seen them all, there is stuff you will get.  It's a fun game, but short, and all RPG fans owe it to themselves to try the game out.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Easily the best plot in a game from 2014.  I got sucked into the story quickly and completely.  The game is a fun mix of Phoenix Wright and SAW.  The game may be bleak, but it should keep you engaged for the whole ride.  Even if the sequel took some missteps, the first Danganronpa is a great game, and easily one of the best I played last year.

Toukiden: Age of Demons
Tecmo Koei's foray into the monster hunting genre is a really solid action game.  It has enough similarities to the famous Capcom series, while adding new and welcome additions.  I played it for 50 or so hours for my review, and continued to play for 25 more.  I'm still not done and I'd love to play more.  Japan is getting an enhanced version with more content in the future, and that may come to the US as well.  So even though the game is good, and worth your money, you might be better off waiting for the "G" version... or whatever they call it.

Shovel Knight
Probably the zenith of an original game that is obviously inspired by the NES era of games.  It's difficult, but fair, and fun to play.  It's a great mix of Mario, Ducktales and Castlevania.  If you played games on the NES back in the day, make sure to try out Shovel Knight.

There's still more reviews to come in the next year.  While my current class will take a lot of time away, I will still be putting up reviews.  Coming soon is Funk of Titans, Citizens of Earth and Neptunia ReBirth 2!

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita) Review

The first Danganronpa was a pleasant surprise.  It had a unique premise and I got sucked into the story.  Since I loved the first game, I was excited to see the sequel was also coming to the US, and sooner than I thought it would.  I was very eager to check it out and see if it could top the first game.

Although in a different setting, Danganronpa 2 has a flow and look very similar to the first.  You start in Daily Life until a murder is discovered.  Then the game enters Deadly Life, where you must investigate the scene(s) of the crime and collect evidence and testimony.  Afterwards, all survivors make their way to the Class Trial where you have to figure out who committed the crime and how.  Once the culprit has been found out and voted on, they will be brutally punished.  The concept of the game is still great.  As you go along and get to know the characters more, it can be painful to watch them drop one after another until the conclusion of the game.  Another nice touch is the UI colors (for dialogue boxes and such) will change color depending on the section of game you are in (Daily Life, investigation or trial).

First, I'll start with the positive changes.  The map is better and easier to navigate and understand.  While you can use it to fast travel, you actually get rewarded for walking to your destinations.  Taking steps, investigating things and talking to people will help you level up.  Your level will determine the maximum number of skills you can equip, so there's no reason not to get some.

Some of the other changes are just average, although that might sound scarier when you realize there was only one real positive change.  Anyway, you now have a Tamagatchi-like pet in your student handbook that you can give presents to and clean up after it.  After a certain number of steps, it will grow up into a different animal.  Once you take even more steps (and prevent it from dying) it will leave and give you some Monokuma coins and presents.  It's not really a bad thing, but it doesn't feel necessary, so it ends up being average.

They have also added hidden Monokumas around each chapter that you have to find.  Some are really well hidden, and each gives 10 Monokuma coins when you find them.  There's no real reason for them, except to give you something else to do/ miss as you make your way through the game, and a trophy or two.  One of the new games in the Trial section is okay as well.  Called "Logic Dive", you will race down a cylindrical field while gathering your thoughts.  At three separate parts, there will be a question that you choose an answer for by going to that side.  If you choose correctly, you will continue on.  If not, you fall off and are set back before the question so you can do it right.  It's not terrible, but it doesn't feel like it needs to be there.  It certainly makes Danganronpa 2 feel more "video game-y" than it did previously, if that's what you wanted from the series.

Now on to the changes or additions that I didn't like, and I'll start near the top of the list.  One of the new mini-games during the trial is called "Rebuttal Showdown".  It's a one on one argument, where you will cut down your opponent's statements.  Truth Bullets become Truth Blades and are still used for the same purpose.  A nice idea, since you will literally cut down their argument, but not good in execution.  Since you spend your time swiping or using the stick to cut their statements, you aren't paying attention to what they are saying.  Most comments take multiple swipes, so you might accidentally hit a key statement while trying to make headway.  Hitting a key statement basically sets you back the whole section, and is really annoying.  You need to use the correct Truth Blade on a key statement to end it.  If you remember the previous statement that it's hard to listen to what they are saying and you see the folly of this addition.  You'll have to figure out before they start which evidence you will likely need because you won't have time while it's going.  Ugh.

Hangman's Gambit returns with a new twist and is ironically named "Improved Hangman's Gambit".  instead of just picking the correct letters to spell out a word or phrase, you have to play a matching game.  Different letters will float across the screen and you have to match two of the same to make it bigger.  The bigger letters can be exploded (if you don't need them) or taken (if they are).  Big letters don't stick around very long, and will hurt you if they explode on their own.  If a letter touches a letter that isn't the same will also result in damage.  The word or phrase must also be spelled sequentially.  The whole order is random, so you can easily get screwed out of health if it wants to put a mismatch close together, or maybe not give you the first letter you need for a minute or so.  Not only does it make the no damage trophy way to difficult to get, it's also really annoying in general.  It's another change that I feel was to make the game feel more like a video game, and wasn't necessary since the first game was so good.  So despite the name, Hangman's Gambit was not improved at all.

The story for Danganronpa 2 takes longer than the first.  Thankfully, it didn't drag on, and the pacing was pretty good.  The game is also harder.  The trials seem more strict and it was more difficult for me to figure out what evidence they wanted presented where.  Some of the added difficulty comes from the new and updated mini-games mentioned above.  Overall, the story was pretty good, although not as good as the first, and it was harder to figure out "whodunnit" until close to the end.  Personally, I liked figuring it out sooner, as then I had an actual sense of accomplishment instead of just waiting for a twist.  While I can't go into specifics on the story, it did have some annoying parts and characters, but I cared about more of the characters than I did in the first game.

Like School mode in the previous game, there is an Island mode here.  It mostly allows you to clean up the trophies and skills while interacting with the characters and squeezing more playtime out of the game.  It's still fun, but the core game annoyed me enough that I didn't want to spend much extra time with it, which is the opposite of the first Danganronpa.  There's also a game where you play as Monomi and fight the Monobeasts, which is hinted at in the story.  The game is okay, but make sure you read the controls first.  There's no tutorial, and the game was pretty weird so it took me awhile to figure out what to do.  Like half of the stuff in the game, it's not bad, but doesn't feel like it needed to be added.

So, would I recommend the game?  If you really liked the first, and want more of the story, it is worth playing.  You might want to put the "action" difficulty down to make the newer mini-games less horrible.  The story isn't quite as good as the first, but I think the characters are better.  The additions feel like they wanted to make the game more video game-like than its predecessor, which I think was very unnecessary.  I really wanted to like it, but Danganronpa 2 was disappointing.  People looking to get into the series should stick with the first and enjoy that.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita) Review

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a Vita port of a PSP game with some enhanced controls (mainly you can use the touch screen).  Since the PSP version didn't make it to the US shores, this will be most people's first exposure to the series.  The premise is fifteen high school students enter into a prestigious school, Hope's Peak Academy, which only accepts students that are the best at what they do.  Soon, they become trapped in the school and must enter a deadly game: kill another and get away with it or be trapped forever in the school.

The art style of the game is unique.  There isn't much motion, but the character designs look good and you can tell all the characters apart.  When moving around, characters and other various objects are flat and placed above the environment, almost like cardboard cut-outs.  While some may not like it, I do, as it is very unique and sets it apart visually from other games.  You can also unlock the various pictures used throughout the game and character concept art.  Also, I should note that the blood is pink... not sure why that is.  Well, the fresh stuff, anyway.  Dried blood is still dark red.

While the game is very text heavy, there are actual voices for the characters.  Most lines are not voiced, but many start with the character saying a phrase or some other thing.  It's enough that gives you the impression they are talking without having every line voiced.  However, the trials are almost all voiced, which is cool.  The characters all have different voices and perform well, which is a bonus considering the range some of the characters have.  The music is also good, as it is unsettling during many parts and fits the mood of each scene.

The game is split into chapters, and each chapter into three parts.  The first part is Daily Life, where you go about your business, making the best of the situation.  When you have Free Time, you can pick another student to spend time with and strengthen your bond with them.  You can also opt to give them a present, which, if they like, will increase their friendship.  When you increase the friendship level, you will get another page of their Report Card and either a skill or an increase in SP.  Both of those are used in the Trials, which I will talk about soon.  It's very worth your while to spend your Kuma Coins on presents to give the others, as the skills help out a lot in the trial sections.  It can be a pain to get good presents out of the machine (since it's random), but you get a fair amount of coins from trials so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

The second part of a chapter is Deadly Life, where you must investigate to find out the who and how of each murder.  The investigations are very interesting, and filled with enough information that you can actually figure out what happened.  This will lead into the third part, Class Trial, where evidence must be presented and refuted quickly in order to reach the truth.  The trials are more fast paced than I would have initially though.  Lines move forward in real time, since they are voiced, and your counter to certain statements must be aimed to actually have an effect.  It sounds strange on paper, but the concept is well executed.  Each new concept is introduced one at a time, so you have some time to get used to each element before you have to combine them all to win.

Besides just refuting claims and presenting evidence, you will sometimes have to enter Bullet Time Battles (yes, they are really called that).  These are basically a showdown between your character and another, where you must shoot down their arguments in a rhythm-based minigame.  They are actually pretty fun.  However, my favorite part is the very end.  At the climax of the trial, you help reconstruct how it played out by placing scenes in a manga that shows the crime.  It looks really neat, even though it was sometimes frustrating to figure out what the small icon was representing.  All of the trial sections are timed, so you really have to pay attention and act fast.  There were several times I passed by the phrase I needed, so I had to wait until it cycled back, since there is no rewind unfortunately.

I'm not going to talk about the plot, since I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it's good.  The mystery of what's going on and who has done what kept me hooked.  During Daily Life, I would anxiously await for the murder to take place and poke around for Kuma Coins.  Once the murder happened, I was absorbed in the game and wanted to play the rest of the chapter until its satisfying conclusion.  The plot as a whole was also really good and I enjoyed it.  Admittedly, I figured out most plot elements before they happened...maybe I'm psychic.  Nah, it's probably just good intuition.  The characters in the game are very different from each other and complex, so it's worth paying attention to all the details and interacting with them.

Unfortunately, the only real reasons to replay the game are to experience the story again, or get the rest of the trophies.  Speaking of trophies, you can't get them all in one run through the story.  Fortunately, after completion you will open up an extra mode that will allow you to clean up the rest of them, which is pretty nice.  You'll get a trophy after each chapter, and one for each character's filled out Report Card.  One other note, when it says "every class trial" in the description, it just means all sections of one trial.  So the gold for taking no damage becomes much easier.  It's not a hard platinum, but will require a bit of time (or luck for the items).

If you enjoy murder mysterious or games with very engaging plots then definitely play Danganronpa.  I very much enjoyed the story and characters, and the trials at the end of each chapter were entertaining, if sometimes frustrating.  It took me maybe 12 or so hours to make it through the game.  The game was hard to put down, and thankfully the extra mode unlocked at the end gives you more time to play if you aren't ready to leave the game world.

Random note:  I was surprised when one character used the phrase "for serious".  There's only one other person I've ever heard use it...me.