On the whole, I think it’s a fine game marred by some performance issues on Nintendo Switch during the last chapter. The game ends on a weak note, but v3 also has a couple of my favorite chapters in the series and is a worthwhile time for those that played the first two games.

Some of the mini games during the class trial have had slight updates; in particular, I like the hints they’ve added to the Closing Argument. Unfortunately, many of the new mini games fall a bit flat. In particular, Argument Armament’s rhythm element is frustrating and feels imprecise, while the obstacles in Psyche Taxi can be difficult to see when playing in the Switch’s handheld mode.

Danganronpa v3 has a good music selection, remixing familiar songs we’ve heard in the first two games. I think the visual uplift the game got works well, though this game hits some major frame rate issues on Switch during the last Class Trial. I’d recommend playing on a platform other than the Switch for the best experience.

Danganronpa games live and die by their characters and mysteries, and on the whole I like a lot of what’s in v3. There are some logical inconsistencies with one of the cases near the end (no spoilers), but many of the cases have an interesting twist that make them fun to solve. There are a few standout characters in this game that are among my favorite in the series, and the game does a great job developing some of them throughout each of the 6 chapters. Unfortunately, there are a couple characters that aren’t very interesting at all, and one who I’d consider the most grating of any of the characters in the 3 main games.

Danganronpa v3 isn’t my favorite game in the series, but I think it’s still a worthwhile experience for fans of the first two games. The attempts to make this more interactive than a typical visual novel make this game feel like a bit of a slog during the Class Trials and Daily Life portions, but there are enough surprises and intrigue in these cases to satisfy fans of the series.

Ahhh meu Danganronpa... eu não sei nem por onde começar, mas de início, acho bom apontar que o fator crucial pra gostar da obra é abraçar o absurdo, abraçar as loucuras que o jogo conta e simplesmente aproveitar, já que ele não tem vergonha nenhuma na cara em extrapolar. Como eu costumo gostar dessas obras que não tem medo de serem meganománicas em suas histórias, acabei gostando de tudo, adorei os primeiros jogos e até acho que são ''overhated'' mesmo pela própria fanbase. Danganronpa se propõe a contar uma história maluca desde o ínicio e acho que é válido até pra loucura que foi o final do segundo jogo, que apesar de entender quem não goste, não acho que tenha prejudicado o valor do jogo.

Danganronpa V3 tem um cast fantástico, não teve um personagem mal desenvolvido ou que não se sustentasse no carisma, como sempre, é fácil criar um apego emocional aos personagens, afinal a qualquer momento pode ou não acontecer algo, então o tempo de tela foi muito bem distríbuido pra cada um deles. O protagonista é absolutamente fantástico, bem escrito pra cacete e entrou no meu hall de favoritos.

Os casos são todos excelentes, dessa vez sem um filler, com menção especial aos casos 4 e 5, que mostra toda a criatividade dos caras em elaborar planos malucos e críveis em suas lógicas, sem falar em ser genuinamente emocionante quando quer. E claro, seu mirabolante último caso com seus plot twists absurdos e tendo um dos finais mais insanos que já vi na minha vida, simplesmente foi coisa de gênio e acho que nunca irei me recuperar.

Danganronpa tem uma identidade áudio-visual absurda, então obviamente iria ser o caso aqui. O design dos personagens é sensacional e full anime. A trilha sonora não fica pra trás, tanto nas novas faixas quanto nas remixadas.

Eu recomendo bastante pra quem tem o menor interesse em jogos de investigações ou mistério em geral dar uma chance, e pra quem ama murder mystery, é um prato cheio. Como disse acima, é realmente crucial abraçar o jeito não ortodoxo que a obra tem de contar sua história, então se conseguir abraçar tudo que ela se propõe a contar, pode ser que tenha uma das melhores experiências com jogos ever, porque eu sei que eu tive.

to my suprise, my opinion on the game changed after learning more about the original japanese version of it.

i hated the ending of the game, since it's a disgrace to what the first two games have build up. but after finding out that this game played in an entirely different universe and was not connected to the events of the first two games whatsoever, i really started to enjoy it!

the characters are very hit or miss for me. i adore gonta, kaeda, rantaro or ryoma. but i despise kaito, angie or himiko. all of the monokubs are absolute awful characters as well, even if that was probably a bit intentional.

the executions of this game are by far the best. i especially love the second execution, since i love the character dying that much and they did something new and unique with that execution. the fifth execution was really good as well, being a callback to a famous execution.

the trials were also pretty good! especially the first and second one stood out to me. the third and fourth trial have some moments that i don't really like but are overall fine and the fifth and sixth are decent as well.

i had a few problems with the performance of the game on my switch, as it crashed maybe 3-4 times in total and only during the trials. i had to re-do certain parts of them, adding a few extra hours to my playthrough.

the sprites look good and i enjoy the character designs, even the ones we see a glimpse of in the beginning. that really caught me off guard!

the plot of the game is somehow the weirdest fucking thing out there, while still being very reasonable and even something i had had as an idea myself. of course not everything played out just as i imagined, which i am glad about but still dislike how certain things were handled.

overall, i had a good time with this game. not my favourite danganronpa game, but i also don't hate it as much as i used to. this is the type of game that will grow on you over time.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Developed & Published by: Spike Chunsoft (@SpikeChunsoft_e)

Danganronpa V3 follows the premise of Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair. A new set of students are kidnapped and forced to take part in a killing game. Like the previous games the cast of characters is diverse and the over arching mystery is captivating and engaging. Danganronpa V3 is funny, disturbing, frustrating, inappropriate, insightful and most importantly fun to play. The narrative for me went off the rails during the last three quarters of the game and as a completionist I couldn’t be bothered to 100% this game as some of the requirements are absurd. I enjoyed my time playing Danganronpa V3. I feel like it’s the weakest game of the main trilogy. If you have Xbox Game Pass and have played Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair I would say this game is worth playing. Just be prepared for a wild experience.

Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5

Some of the best films of all time are those whose different strengths all work in concert to create a unified, engrossing whole. The Shining, The Social Network, and Jaws are all excellent examples of films made up of strong individual parts complementing each other to form a fantastic work of art. That is absolutely true of Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition – its musical score elevates story moments, which flow seamlessly into fantastic detective and trial gameplay, which facilitates exploration and puzzles that reward you with a deeper understanding of its characters and its expansive and beautiful world. Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition is a masterful composition of exceptional interlocking parts, deliberate in its design and its foreshadowing, which pays off in unexpected ways in both the gameplay and story.

I expected great detective and class trial game play from Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition, and it delivers that handily. But I didn’t expect it to be a thrilling journey in which every aspect of it complements the others to form what is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s a game in which Monokuma, a previously one-note character, becomes a complex father, warrior, and monster, embattled both on the field and within his own heart about how to treat his MonoKubs; one in which the world opens up and shifts, offering rewards in both gameplay and knowledge of its lore that I treasured with each accomplishment. The obvious care that went into crafting its world, characters, and gameplay delivers by far the most stirring and memorable game in the series.

Keep seething brainlets. This game is a masterpiece and is better than anything you’re currently playing.