As a cultural phenomenon? This was a very fun one to watch bloom. I wasn't at ground zero or anything, but I was made aware of the orenronen LP around the end of Chapter 2, and I casually monitored it until around the end of Chapter 3, when I decided I'd want to go through it on my own someday. It was cool to see it bloom from a popular otaku hit unknown outside of Japan to an international phenomenon, seemingly based entirely around the SomethingAwful thread. I know that the official localization team did not cross-reference the thread for the first game, but I saw that "gently caress" hat tip in DR2.
As a visual novel? It's pretty accessible! Danganronpa is fast for a visual novel, constantly piling plot threads and character interactions one on top of the next. Characters are all super memorable and distinct, with lots of potential for favorites. Even the trials, when the dumb know-nothing high schoolers limp their way through solving a mystery and repeat the same facts over and over again, come across as speedy. The variety of the mini-games go a long way toward keeping the gameplay dynamic, something very few visual novels can boast. I especially love the summation at the end of each trial; yeah, it's just hashing out the facts again, but the comic book style, the narration, and the music make it super super hype.
As a mystery novel? ...well, did you fall for 11037?
The closest the first game comes to a decent mystery is probably Chapter 3 (fun gambit). Chapter 6 is an interesting setup, too, but it definitely breaks Knox's Decalogue (something the game itself acknowledges). I don't need the mysteries to be strong mysteries; clearly Danganronpa is happiest as a character and spectacle piece, and it does well enough at that. But if you do want some decent mysteries, you're better off with Ace Attorney.
Later entries in this series kinda run into the issue of characters looking pretty samey. To an extent, I know this is a deliberate choice, but I do miss more unique character designs like this game had with Yamada and especially Sakura.
As a visual novel? It's pretty accessible! Danganronpa is fast for a visual novel, constantly piling plot threads and character interactions one on top of the next. Characters are all super memorable and distinct, with lots of potential for favorites. Even the trials, when the dumb know-nothing high schoolers limp their way through solving a mystery and repeat the same facts over and over again, come across as speedy. The variety of the mini-games go a long way toward keeping the gameplay dynamic, something very few visual novels can boast. I especially love the summation at the end of each trial; yeah, it's just hashing out the facts again, but the comic book style, the narration, and the music make it super super hype.
As a mystery novel? ...well, did you fall for 11037?
The closest the first game comes to a decent mystery is probably Chapter 3 (fun gambit). Chapter 6 is an interesting setup, too, but it definitely breaks Knox's Decalogue (something the game itself acknowledges). I don't need the mysteries to be strong mysteries; clearly Danganronpa is happiest as a character and spectacle piece, and it does well enough at that. But if you do want some decent mysteries, you're better off with Ace Attorney.
Later entries in this series kinda run into the issue of characters looking pretty samey. To an extent, I know this is a deliberate choice, but I do miss more unique character designs like this game had with Yamada and especially Sakura.