been a week, wrote a bunch of shit and wasn’t happy with it. had to sit on this one for a bit. danganronpa is a love it or hate it kinda game but i’m still on the fence. whatever ideas that were presented (which i almost got interested in) are handled with the elegance of an elephant in a china shop. bordering on straight up offensive with chihiro’s gender identity or just laughably boring with “hope and despair.” there is a textbook, childlike understanding of the potential of these words. doesn’t help that they’re said about what i’d believe to be over a hundred times. hope and despair here is like some weird tongue twister whose words become jumbled and meaningless just after a few verses. i’ve gone on record many, many times to say that this isn’t for me. danganronpa’s story isn’t for me and there’s no other way for me to elaborate. stereotyping, lack of connection with its player, lackluster character writing. idk, maybe i was just spoiled by playing better games in the genre. didn’t care for any of the characters. don’t blame anyone for being a fan, though. game’s just not in my taste at all and i kinda figured it wouldn’t be even before i started playing. i’m sorry to have such loaded claims without much backing but that’s just how i feel. genuinely had to force myself to finish the game. constantly checking my phone every few minutes during play sessions i think is a clear indicator of my disinterest.

looping it back, before i had said danganronpa’s story wasn’t for me. the presentation and shit like that is what i truly liked. gonna try and highlight what i liked most about it as best i can.

school. a common-ground to tread on for games geared towards teenage audiences. i think the distorted presentation of school here is pretty unique compared to its contemporaries with even a bit of subtext to pick up on about the school system itself. in the walls of hope’s peak academy, a sterilized yet chaotic viewpoint is placed upon rooms we’ve familiarized ourselves with before. further sinking in the despair anxiety felt towards this alienated “academy” enveloped since our questionable arrival. wandering the dark and gloomy gradient covered hallways does almost hit me with a similar feel to a horror game. murder, confusion, and betrayal hang in the air while anticipation builds up with each step towards the next room. what awaits us beyond the next door, the next trial? masafumi takada understood this and his compositions accurately reflect the school’s atmosphere wonderfully. unironically the visuals and music do a much better job at emotionally investing me than anything else. i found this to be comparable to killer7, as far fetched as it may sound. in the final chapter you’re tasked with exploring every classroom and walking down every hallway in a completely abandoned school with a tragic political past that i won’t spoil. both k7 and dr1 give this very raw, unhinged outlook on school. something hits different with these emptied hallways and classrooms, your thoughts being the only thing that echo throughout.
now enter the wacky, exaggerated 2D character art. juxtaposed against the sharp modeled environments, it fits very well. i don’t particularly like the artstyle of the character art but i cant deny its place in the game and how well it works. aesthetically, everything is put together super tightly where it feels comfy and looks cool at the same time. the sprites popping up like cardboard standees, crisp UI elements getting shattered and battered during trials; arguably the most recognizable aspect of the series.

there is a whole lot more i had written about previously, but as mentioned before, i wasn’t content. i found myself lazily listing each part of the game one by one and saying shit along the lines of either i liked it or i didnt like it. lame. i do feel like i want to clarify my thoughts on more parts of the game but frankly im lazy as fuck and not the best at being completely constructive. im noticeably very bad at concluding these sort of things lol. as a whole, i don’t really care for about 90% of this package and thats about it. i dont like dividing stuff into chapters cuz i like looking at shit together as one experience rather than these smaller ones that make up a whole. danganronpa is one of the most influential games in the current state of the genre, or something. when the credits rolled an immense dissatisfaction came over me to a surprising degree. did not give a shit at all. to everyone who genuinely likes this game, i give you my respect. really wanted to enjoy this but it just was not happening. admittedly fell asleep a few times while playing. also no, i will not be playing dr2. at least not for a very, very long time.