Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)

I both forgot how punchable so many of these characters are and how godawful some of Monokuma's dialogue is.

The pacing before the first investigation is also really annoying. I do like the free time stuff where you basically push out people's backstory, but that itself is really slow and forced, sometimes it goes right into the archetype that already exists. Getting a plat will... not be fun.

"Ahh... it's about to come out... It's gonna come out! My pristine, pure white, stuffing!" -- Monokuma

Kill me

Vita Memories from the 10s

Part 1: Bullet Proof

I'll be sharing some of my favorite Vita memories of this past decade. I'll start with the game that convinced me to buy a Vita in the first place: Danganronpa.

The story begins in 2011 Tumblr of all places, back when I was really into weird indie pixel horror games from Japan (usually made in RPG Maker) -- stuff like Yume Nikki, Ib, The Witch's House, Ao Oni, etc. I liked seeing everyone's fan art, and reading everyone's theories on the plotlines. But one day in early 2012, everyone started posting content for a very strange-looking franchise called Dangan Ronpa. It was apparently something like Ace Attorney -- a visual novel type game that had you solving murder mysteries -- but with a strong horror element to it all. And a large dose of sheer absurdity, as I would eventually find out.

The game was released in Japan for the PSP in late 2010, and about a year later a fan posted an English translation of it (accompanied by lots of screenshots) on a message board called... Something Awful. (Remember message boards?) I've tried to think of a succinct way to explain what this particular message board was like, but words fail me. Suffice to say it is the strangest message board I've ever come across in all my internet-surfing years. But perhaps that was the most fitting place to expose me to the full story of the madness that is Dangan Ronpa. And hot damn, what a wild ride that was. Rarely have I ever been so glued to a story. This was absolutely, 100%, my jam.

The story was relayed bit by bit, so in between each translated segment were plenty of comments from readers on this Something Awful message board. Everyone was trying to guess who the killer was for each chapter, and who would die in the next. And all the while, everyone was cooking up theories for the overarching storyline. Who is the mastermind? Who is the traitor? What secret is this character hiding? Why are these kids locked up in a school and forced into a death game? What is the purpose of the trials? And so on. Everyone was having a ball -- and when anything was revealed, there were cheers, groans, laughs, and sighs. It felt like being in a packed stadium for the biggest sport event of the year -- but the sport was just some guy reading a book, and the fans were a bunch of nerds.

Along with the story itself (and all its many ridiculous plot twists along the way), I found myself liking other aspects of this quirky game that I wondered if I was ever going to be able to actually play myself. The character art was definitely striking, capturing my attention from the very onset. It's an anime/manga style, but there's something unique about it. The characters are over-the-top, outlandish, odd, and outrageous. This is on purpose though -- these are child prodigies, experts in their respective fields. They are not your typical high schoolers at all, save of course for the protagonist you play as -- a fish out of water named Makoto. He just wants everyone to get along, you know? He's easy to root for, and it's entertaining to watch him try to navigate this school environment that would be wild even if it didn't have the robot bear showing up and instigating a Battle Royale Whodunnit.

Oh yes, Monokuma. (Or as he was called in the message board let's play: Monobear.) Easily the most memorable character of the entire franchise. He is basically what happens if you take the Joker from Batman and turn him into an anime mascot character. He happily executes kids in cruel and unusual ways, all while rattling off stupid jokes. Danganronpa as a whole ends up juggling a dozen or so bowling pins -- half of them dark comedy, and half of them horrific tragedy -- and somehow manages to never lose its rhythm, never dropping a pin. Part of the fun for this character is how the Japanese VA also voiced Doraemon, a beloved children's cartoon character that everyone in Japan would immediately recognize the voice of. Instead of attempting (poorly) to mimic that maliciously squeaky and smarmy voice, I feel the English VA (in the eventual NISA Vita release) should have gone for a Winnie the Pooh impersonation, to get across the same sort of effect on English players. "Remember kids, if you don't all vote for a killer, you get to die, hoo-hoo! Wouldn't that be a bother."

Anyways. In July 2012, NISA announced that they would be releasing an English port of the game for the Playstation Vita. I knew then and there that I would have to get a Vita, so that I would be able to play through this game for myself. I picked up a Vita that Christmas, and then got Danganronpa (actually titled "Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa") when it released in February 2013.

And yeah, it was a blast. Though I already knew the story, I still enjoyed exploring the school at my own pace, and getting to know the characters better (you have "free time" segments that let you choose who to hang out and converse with). And that music. Danganronpa definitely deserves credit for its excellent soundtrack. Gotta love those funky fresh beats.

Opinions are split on how enjoyable the various gameplay segments are in the game's class trials, but I personally had a good time with them. The core game mechanic of selecting counter-arguments and then "shooting" your proof at the words of your classmate with an on-screen reticle in real-time is extremely clever IMO, and effectively manages to capture the excitement of a heated courtroom debate in video game form. Some of the other mini-games are ultimately unnecessary diversions, but I'll always have a soft spot for the rhythm game that has you shouting a final piece of evidence, overpowering a furious classmate who doesn't want to listen to reason.

And that's Danganronpa. A couple sequels and a spinoff would follow, and of course I'd get each one of them on Day One. The games would eventually get ports to PC and PS4 a few years later, but I will always feel the Vita is the franchise's true home (for English fans, at least). I'll always argue that handheld is the most comfortable way to read through visual novels -- and, I don't know. What console could befit the niche and unpredictable Danganronpa, and its eternal struggle between hope and despair, better than the Vita?

I think I have a hard time with games that are supposed to be very character and story-driven when they're goofy anime stereotypes with poorly written (or maybe just poorly translated?) dialogue. I'm having the same "ugh get on with it, I don't care" kind of feelings as I did with Persona. At least with this one, I have the consolation of knowing some of these annoying chars might be dead soon.

(Also WHAT IS WITH these guys' terrible, TERRIBLE hairstyles???)