Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (2017)

Holy crap. Been watching these Game Grumps playthrough since Danganronpa 1 and been following this insanity since then. And what an absolute shitshow it has been. I'm very happy with it all ending here with 3, as I've been watching these and enjoying these solely for seeing the reactions to the insane writing. It's even more insane to me to make all these games and the writing is still the same. It's a 70h game that easily could be cut to a 10h game that deserves to be around 2h. Mark my words when I say that I would NEVER play this personally, I would lose my mind after the first chapter.

However I must say that the statement put forth here in the final game is a bold one and something I respect a lot. And what a bold way to make your exit, I salute this!

Thank god that this is over however, albeit dumb and stupid, I will probably cherish and look back at these memories for the rest of my life. I guess that's exactly why people love these games (and for some different.... reasons)!

At first I was relieved, after the narrative revelations of Danganronpa 2 proved to be a little too wacky for me, that the "third" game in the franchise had seemingly little to do with either of its predecessors. Of course I assumed some connection would eventually be made, but I just sort of put it out of mind for a while.

I would say this is inarguably the most fleshed out and expansive of the three games, taking all the previous mechanics and just adding more layers to the intrigue, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't bored with it at times. The narrative developments towards the end kind of made me feel better about it. I just wish they had left more breadcrumbs for those of us who had played through the previous games to feel like we were seeing a deepening story rather than a kind of retread.

Played digital version on PS Vita (yes, in 2022).

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is the most enjoyable in terms of gameplay. The trials are more intense and the music is incredible. However, it has the weakest story compared to the other main games. It's characters aren't as interesting as Danganronpa 2 but they are all very enjoyable.

This game is the most separated in terms of the story. It takes place in the same world but it doesn't reference the others until the end.

In this one, you play as Kaede Akamatsu, the "Ultimate Pianist". The first female protagonist in the main games. You start off waking up in a locker. You meet with the other students and you find out that you are in the "Ultimate Academy For Gifted Juveniles". You meet Monokuma and his Monokubs. And the killing game begins one last time.

The gameplay is mostly the same, but the class trials now let you lie. They introduce scrum debate as well. Which is when the class is divided on a certain argument.

This is the most bizarre and a must-play spoiler-free

4/5

This might end up being my favorite game in the Danganronpa series. The first one comes close--it's always hard to dethrone a solid series start--but V3 has several things that give it an edge:

1. A wide slate of cool characters. This is close, but ultimately I really loved V3's selection of students. This almost becomes problematic early when I was trying to figure out who to hang out with during the free times. I wanted to gather my little hope fragments from them all.

2. The actual in-trial mini-games tend to work a lot better here. Hangman's Gambit is still a bit too reliant on luck, but it does feel weighted a bit more fairly than in prior iterations. The final rhythm game makes a whole lot more sense, abandoning the need to replenish bullets and allowing a greater range of mistakes without feeling like everything is falling apart. Most importantly, the sword-based debate no longer has the strike counter and highly improved controls, making it feel like a much more fair game.

Not all of the mini-game tweaks were for the best; the non-stop debate is still the most common mini-game, forming the backbone of each trial's flow. However, several different things were added to V3's non-stop debates that really muddy the waters. Target text bounces around in a hard-to-hit manner (there are times where I had to replay the same debate over and over, even though I knew the target statement to hit and which bullet to use, just because the amount of precise aiming required to clear the "noise" blocking the target statement AND remembering to aim where the statement would end up as it flopped up and down on the screen), target statements sometimes get chained off, and sometimes you even need to long-press the "shoot" button to activate the opposite argument of your truth bullet (a lie, aka "perjury"). It's a lot to keep track of. (And just from a game logic standpoint I really hate the fact certain parts of the trials require your character to lie to everyone. It always makes me uncomfortable.)

The improvements outweigh the negatives, though, making these trials some of the best experiences in the Danganronpa series.

On a story front, V3 is a clear improvement over the second game. I think it might even be better than the first. It's just satisfying to see unfold. It's not entirely consistent with the lore of prior games (or even itself), so players who are bothered by little narrative inconsistencies will likely be less satisfied by the way V3's plot comes together and ends, but I didn't really mind them.

Also worth noting: Once you finish the game, a special feature unlocks that lets you play a board game version of attending Hope Academy. I played a quick round before writing this up, but I could see sinking a lot of time into that. I'm a sucker for little board games, and this one lets you plays as Danganronpa characters, level characters up, have interactions with other character (even from prior Danganronpa games)... it's a bit like a single player Mario Party, except replacing the mini-games with some RPG elements and school simulations.

(x-posted from my blog)

In anticipation of the release of Danganronpa V3, I played through the prior two mainline games which resulted in my appreciation for the games to fully blossom. It turns out that this was the perfect way to lead into V3, which is the franchise-level examination piece. Again we have the mild-mannered protagonist, stoic female sidekick with the past, and the two-faced cunning wild card who acts as much against the other participants as he does to help them. To evoke our memories of the prior games, familiar case beats come up again — the double murder case, the case with an intended killer ending up as the victim, the case where during the course of the trial it is revealed that the killer and victim actually conspired. As the memories are fresh in the player’s mind, comparing and contrasting the scenarios of this game with their counterparts in the prior two games, then the big reveal comes with a punch to bring you back to your couch.

It is very difficult to talk about why this game works without spoiling the big payoff of the final case. Saying that the payoff is “divisive” would be putting it mildly. I have seen fans who hate it say that they felt that it cheapened everything about the DR franchise, and some even going so far as to suspect that the creators must hate the fans. I don’t think there is evidence for this given that it examines Danganronpa fans and comes to a positive conclusion. Series writer Kazutaka Kodaka has made comments stating that it was intended to elevate the players from bystanders to being an active part of the game, and to play with our relationship to fiction as “lies”. The reveal is a punch, but it is followed by a pat on the back. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen a work say “calm down dude, it’s just a game” and then allow you to reestablish an affection for it without contempt.

Naturally, the big problem with having a game reference its previous entries so heavily and having the emotional reaction tied to the player’s personal connection to them is that it lessens the experience for those who are new to the series. I suspect they will dislike the ending and consider it a cheap shot, though everything prior to the final chapter is still enjoyable on their own merits.

The soundtrack is excellent as is always expected from Masafumi Takada, and the graphics are gorgeous — the game benefits from a larger budget and being primarily developed for the PS4/PC instead of a handheld this time. The execution scenes are also more grandiose, over-the-top, and brutal than before, which even took my jaded self by surprise at times. The Class Trials now have Lie Bullets and Scrum Debates to add more variety to the flow. The awful Logic Drives from 2 were replaced with Psyche Taxis, which never get as tediously long as the Logic Drives did and play like a simplified version of OutRun.

I am glad that the ending took the risk it did, especially after the end of the Danganronpa 3 anime was so toothless and pandering. Now that Hope’s Peak has well and truly ended, hopefully the staff will be able to go to new ridiculous heights with a new game.

This is the worst Danganronpa game ever made. I loved the first two games, but this game had a retcon ending that ruined the entire series.

For anyone who loves the world of Danganronpa do not play this game.

It starts off well enough, in fact I would have said that up until the ending it was perhaps second only to the first game. But the ending made me feel like I'd wasted hours of my time getting invested and working through all the trials. This is a game where the developers clearly have decided that laughing in the face of your fans is a way to make an 'edgy' and 'interesting' moves.

Perhaps some people will enjoy this ending. But for those who don't it will ruin the game series for you.