Danganronpa is the weirdest and most stylish VN game I've ever played. A cliche heavy narrative filled with cool plot twists, plenty of mystery and unusual choices.
Danganronpa is a unique game. At least from the perspective of someone who didn't play a whole lot of visual novels. But out of the ones I did play, this is the most stylish and best good looking one. Character design, artstyle, the school atmosphere and the creepy little cutscenes you get as you progress through the story. It's not only cool to experience but just fun to look at.
The soundtrack helps a lot with the overall tone and mood of the story. It's amazing! Plenty of unique memorable songs that are still in my head even after I put the game down. It's a shame that they are repeated to INFINITY due to how few of them there are.
This is the type of game that embraces its cliches and quirks, wears them on its sleeves and parodies itself throughout the story. Sometimes it just really doesn't work at all, but the game can be really fun when it does. Those "cliches" are directly tied to the story and if you're cool with it, you're going to have a good time.
The story has its highs and lows. It's engaging, mysterious, keeps you on your toes by constantly making the player question EVERYTHING and manages to build its "murders and trials" very well. Not all of them, but most, at least. The writing can be a bit off sometimes, especially during class trials, but nothing that will ruin the whole thing.
Characters are a bit of a hit or miss. There were very good and well developed ones that kept me interested from beginning to end, like Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka. While others like Hiro, Toko and Hifumi were extremely obnoxious. I liked the "free time" moments, because you could get an insight on their personalities a bit more, but they're not all worth it. The deaths and uncovering their murderers were cool surprises, though. Above all, the deaths of the ones I didn't like.
And then there's Monokuma... he's the best! He's annoying, funny, cute, creepy, part of a cool major plot twist and A FUCKING BEAR! I love him. The ending, for example, is cool on its own, but he just makes it even better.
The gameplay loop (the little that you actually get to play) gets a bit stale after a while, starting off really strong, but becoming inconsistent. It's not all bad, don't get me wrong! It's all basically split into Narrative/Investigation/Trial. I like the engaging narrative parts that drive the plot forward, I LOVE the investigation and build up to the chapter's climax, but I just didn't enjoy the trials at all. I know they might be the meat of the game, but I found the mini games irritating, random, confusing and the tutorial was awful.
In the end, Danganronpa is a game that actually grabbed me. After finishing it, I kinda wanted to get back to it, because I miss the whole cast (even the weird ones) and the quirky drama. It's not great, but it's a good experience, original enough to make you want to try it.
Danganronpa is a unique game. At least from the perspective of someone who didn't play a whole lot of visual novels. But out of the ones I did play, this is the most stylish and best good looking one. Character design, artstyle, the school atmosphere and the creepy little cutscenes you get as you progress through the story. It's not only cool to experience but just fun to look at.
The soundtrack helps a lot with the overall tone and mood of the story. It's amazing! Plenty of unique memorable songs that are still in my head even after I put the game down. It's a shame that they are repeated to INFINITY due to how few of them there are.
This is the type of game that embraces its cliches and quirks, wears them on its sleeves and parodies itself throughout the story. Sometimes it just really doesn't work at all, but the game can be really fun when it does. Those "cliches" are directly tied to the story and if you're cool with it, you're going to have a good time.
The story has its highs and lows. It's engaging, mysterious, keeps you on your toes by constantly making the player question EVERYTHING and manages to build its "murders and trials" very well. Not all of them, but most, at least. The writing can be a bit off sometimes, especially during class trials, but nothing that will ruin the whole thing.
Characters are a bit of a hit or miss. There were very good and well developed ones that kept me interested from beginning to end, like Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka. While others like Hiro, Toko and Hifumi were extremely obnoxious. I liked the "free time" moments, because you could get an insight on their personalities a bit more, but they're not all worth it. The deaths and uncovering their murderers were cool surprises, though. Above all, the deaths of the ones I didn't like.
And then there's Monokuma... he's the best! He's annoying, funny, cute, creepy, part of a cool major plot twist and A FUCKING BEAR! I love him. The ending, for example, is cool on its own, but he just makes it even better.
The gameplay loop (the little that you actually get to play) gets a bit stale after a while, starting off really strong, but becoming inconsistent. It's not all bad, don't get me wrong! It's all basically split into Narrative/Investigation/Trial. I like the engaging narrative parts that drive the plot forward, I LOVE the investigation and build up to the chapter's climax, but I just didn't enjoy the trials at all. I know they might be the meat of the game, but I found the mini games irritating, random, confusing and the tutorial was awful.
In the end, Danganronpa is a game that actually grabbed me. After finishing it, I kinda wanted to get back to it, because I miss the whole cast (even the weird ones) and the quirky drama. It's not great, but it's a good experience, original enough to make you want to try it.