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.

Akiba's Trip (Vita) Review

Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed follows the story of your protagonist and his friends as they fight to rid their beloved Akibahara from Synthesters, which are effectively man-made vampires.  The hero is turned into one at the outset of the story, and must use his new strength to stop the rest.  How do you stop a vampire?  Get sunlight on its skin.  So, you and a partner will fight enemies and ultimately strip off their clothes to expose them... to the sun.

Before the story starts, you will name and clothe your character.  At first, you don't really have many clothing options, but you will get plenty throughout the game.  Because of this, you will mostly be playing as a silent protagonist.  You do get to make numerous dialogue choices during the game, which affects who partners with you, the affection level of the others toward you, and even the ending you receive at the end of the game.  The ending you get will offer different unlocks, including player models that can be changed when starting a new game +.

Akiba's Trip is mission-based.  The story has you run to various areas of the map, usually fight some bad guys, then return for more dialog.  The areas can be pretty small, and there is loading as you travel between each one.  Thankfully, the map can be used to quick travel, saving you a lot of time.  The only real complaint I have about moving around everywhere is that you have to be careful not to run into others.  If you do, you bump into the person, making them yelp and both of you stumble for a bit.  It doesn't really hinder gameplay, but it is annoying, especially in the more cramped areas.

The fighting in the game is pretty unique, but has some resemblance to Clan of Champions.  There are three attacks, one for low, mid, and high, and each will damage clothing on the corresponding place.  You will only do damage to clothes, so there isn't much reason to keep hitting an exposed body part.  Once the durability of the clothing item is down, you can hold the button to attempt to rip it off.  If multiple articles of clothing are able to be ripped, you can chain strip with correct button presses and timing.  Chain strip enough and you can even activate a super move that will remove their underwear (don't worry, they will be covered in light)!  It's actually pretty fun and amusing to do so, plus it nets you underwear that you can equip.  As a nice touch, there is even a piece of equipment that changes what animations you do when tearing off clothes.

While combat is fun, it can get frustrating when fighting many enemies.  One on one fights are easy.  Two or three enemies is fairly manageable too, especially if you have a partner to even things out.  There are a few fights against four or more, which can get hard.  Enemies like to dodge a lot, and they can easily take advantage of you not targeting them, or when their friends get a hit in.  Targeting an enemy is automatic, which leads to its own frustrations.  Using counter attacks helps some, but it's no real substitute for having some kind of area of effect special attack.  Finding the weapon type that works the best for you will also help, as they each have strengths and weaknesses.  There are four kinds of weapons- fist, sword, heavy and long- and many variants within.  Weapons and clothes can all be maxed out at the damage/defense cap, so you can pick your favorites and not have to worry about it needing to be replaced.

The main quest of the game takes a few hours to complete, but there are a lot of side quests to help pad that out.  Usually, they are an excuse to beat up some more Synthesters, but there are occasional fetch quests or ones that involve the character's cellphone camera.  There are also several endings, at least 2 per girl, and multiple difficulties, so there are good excuses to run through the game a few times.  Plus, getting a girl's ending allows you to use their model for your main character when you start a new run through the story.  On the normal setting, the game isn't too hard, but can get frustrating at a few parts.  Usually it's when you get chain hit by a surrounding group, or when you are doing the sidequest to fight 48 enemies (there are two of these).

The trophies are pretty standard, with making your way through the game, doing side quests and collecting various pieces of equipment making the bulk of the list.  Of course there are some for beating the game on the different difficulties, too.  There's even one for collecting the flyers that some NPCs hand out.  It's neat that they put real stores in the game, and they even have ads for them on the loading screens.  You can turn them off if you want, but I liked seeing them.  For some reason, the ads didn't bother me, but it could be because they aren't ads I would ever see, since I don't live in Japan.  It was actually pretty cool to see them!

Akiba's Trip is a lot of fun.  Fights are silly and rewarding, even with the occasional frustration.  At first, I thought it was going to be more fan-service oriented, and that all the enemies were going to be women.  That isn't the case, as the game is very fair in its treatment of the different sexes.  There's also dual language support, so hopefully everyone can be happy.  If you like quirky games, fun action games, or even just a fresh take on hunting vampires, I would strongly suggest playing Akiba's Trip.

New Video Content on my Youtube Channel

I'm glad to finally get some more video content for my YouTube Channel.  I still have a lot of unused Monster Hunter Tri videos that I could make, but those might be too old for people to care.  I also had a ton of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate videos, with audio... but the stupid laptop had a bad hard drive and I ended up losing all of it.  I'm still a little bitter/sad/angry about it, since there's nothing I can do to get it back.  I guess it's just another thing to file against Sony.

Anyway, first up is my first Transformers video review, the Vehicon from the Transformers Prime line of toys.  After seeing some other people do reviews for the last few months, I got a webcam and decided to try it myself.  I have a few more already filmed but not edited for the next few weeks, too.  As much as I'd like to do more of the recent toys, I can't really get a lot of those, so my reviews will be a mix of older and newer ones.  The first few videos will be a bit rough as I become more comfortable doing them, so bear with me and I hope you enjoy them!

The other content I'm finally putting out is a "Let's Play" that I'm doing with my wife.  We've discussed doing them before, and which titles to do, and decided to start with Legend of Dragoon PS1 Classic.  It was on sale a few months ago, so I purchased the digital copy (I still have my physical copy somewhere) and thought it would be fun to replay it while recording ourselves.  While not quite as unknown as most of the games we enjoy, it's fun to bring some more exposure to an overlooked gem in the Playstation's RPG library.  I'm not sure if we will play through the whole game, but hopefully there's some interest in watching us play and talk about stuff.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Vita) Review

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is a remake of the first Hyperdimension Neptunia game.  Not content with being just a port to the Vita, the game boasts a reworked story, guest appearances by later characters, and the battle system from the later games.  To me, changing the story is a mixed bag, since it was the one aspect that I wanted to experience in the first game.  It's a good thing for those that completed it, since they have something new to experience, but since most people skipped the first, they are the ones missing out.  Like all of the Neptunia games, the story is silly and has some great lines, and it was pretty enjoyable.

Sadly, a few of the characters in the original have not returned for various reasons (real world or otherwise).  To replace them, some of the characters from Victory have been added.  The upside is the DLC tickets I purchased for the first game aren't as much of a waste, since I won't be able to use them here.  The bigger upside is you actually get the other CPUs in your party at various points in the game.  Before, you had to do crazy long quest chains and raise their shares very high to get them.  It feels more natural to get them this way, since they fit better into the story and the overall quest of the game.  There are three characters that are DLC, and thankfully they are cheap.  As of this writing, they are only a dollar each, which is better than the previous games' prices for characters (about $3 each).  They aren't necessary, but fans of the series will probably like to purchase them.

The gameplay is more in-line with the sequels than the original Neptunia.  Battles are started by contacting a creature on the map, and then fought in a small area.  You can move in a circle around your starting location, and your attack area is a little box.  Different weapons and skills have different areas of effect, and it is very possible to hit multiple enemies with a single turn.  EX Finishers and EXE Drives make their return, allowing you damaging combo enders and super moves respectively.  It's a good system, because it encourages some strategy, like where to position your people, and which attacks to use when.  It's an improvement over the original game, simply because you can heal outside of battle.  Well, you can with items, and they are easy enough to afford.

Another addition to the game is the "Remake" system.  You will frequently get plans that, when developed, allow you change dungeons.  They can be added to the world map, have the harvest items change, or even add stronger enemies.  It's a nice system and easy to understand.  There was a similar thing with flags previously in the series, but this is much more fully realized, plus easier to use.  Several of the settings can be toggled off to meet your needs.  The plans can also add new items to the shops plus other bonuses, like having a 100% escape chance from battle.

Although, with this system it is possible to open up extra dungeons before you have a hope of defeating the enemies in them.  My biggest gripe with the game is the balance, and the aforementioned aspect doesn't help.  Bosses tended to be much, much stronger than the enemies in their dungeon.  While this makes sense, it was annoying to be able to easily beat every encounter in a dungeon, but still get wrecked by the boss.  Occasionally, there are even times where there is a back to back boss fight, where the second boss is significantly stronger than the first.  The difficulty balance of this entry into the series isn't quite as good as the previous ones.  The times I encountered something similar in them, it was much later in the game.

Sadly, the best way around this is to grind.  I ended up grinding in pretty much every dungeon, so I would have enough levels to beat the boss, have enough materials for plans, and be able to complete quests.  The grinding itself isn't so bad, but the necessity of it put me off.  When a boss or tough enemy didn't kill me, I kept on playing and enjoying the game.  The random difficulty spikes are bad, but once past them the game was fun.  So you will get a good amount of playtime from the game, but a chunk of that is because of all the grinding you need to do.  Either that, or save some time and use the remix option to make enemies weaker.  It seems to only affect their attack power, not their HP, but every little bit can help.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 does a really good job remaking the first game and fixing the biggest flaw it had (the no healing outside of battle).  While sadly the only way to experience the original story is with the original game, this one fits better into the later continuities, and is just as silly and funny as all the others.  The game is easier and more fun, but requires lots of grinding to make your way through the game.  At times, the difficulty spikes made me want to stop playing.  I'm glad I didn't, since the game is really engaging when I wasn't seeing the game over screen every 20 minutes.  Although you will see each dungeon map reused for other dungeons, the game is fun and fans of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series will enjoy it.  This also makes a great entry into the series, since it is a remake of the first game, and gives a good taste of the series as a whole.