The Danganronpa series is from a genre of video games called visual novels. Despite the name, this is more than a novel.
These games are like normal books, except that they are interactive. So, they allow you to interact with the story as if you were a part of the novel.
They are Japanese in origin usually, and often have elements of anime art. This style of the video game is extremely popular in Japan and often makes up more than half the games there.
The Danganronpa series in particular is extremely popular in Japan and worldwide. The series is known for being very dark, especially in the beginning. The name translates to “Refuting the Bullet,” or something similar.
Below we have collected all the Danganronpa games in order of release and we describe and discuss each one, so let’s get started:
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)
This game is available for PSP, Android, IOS, PlayStation Vita, Windows, OS X, Linux, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
This game is arranged around a murder mystery. Players take on the character of Makoto Naegi, who is a student at Hope’s Peak Academy.
He gets sucked into a circle of murders. The gameplay is focused on investigation and finding lies through contradictions to proceed in the story.
You have “truth bullets” that you shoot at weak dialogue that has contradictions in it. You can gain more power from bullets that have evidence.
Some debates at the school have other minigames involved, like trying to put together a comic strip made of pieces that show what actually happened. Your goal is to convince other students of the truth.
Danganronpa: Zero (2011)
Zero is a light novel by Kodaka. It is part of the Danganronpa world which includes games, novels, manga, and even other media which work together to create an immersive world.
In this story, the plot is a prequel to the first Trigger Happy game, and it focuses on the character Ryoko Otonashi. She has memory loss and the inability to make new memories.
The events here lead up to what happens in many stories to come, including in games, so it helps to read it to fully understand the games.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (2012)
This game came out for all of the systems the first game had, including PSP, Windows, PS4, and many more.
The game was inspired by the prequel novel he wrote, Zero. Gameplay is similar to the first game, where you have the ability to explore Daily life by wandering around the grounds, but then you have Deadly Life parts. You can use Free Time sections to earn items you need like Hope Fragments.
These will make you better at a Class Trial through better debate skills. When you find a crime scene, this is the Deadly Life part, and you have to find clues to help you figure out who the culprit is.
The main difference is that you now have to spell out a phrase at the end instead of doing the Bullet Time minigame.
Danganronpa: The Animation (2013)
As part of the Danganronpa world, an anime came out for the series. Again, it could be important to watch this in order to fully understand the game world, including future games.
This world is highly inclusive and has a lot of moving elements. It’s similar to the events from the first game, but there could be some additions as players fight a bear named Monokuma who makes it so that players must kill someone and get away with it in the following trial in order to survive.
Danganronpa Kirigiri (2013)
Another light novel important to the future gaming plot, Kirigiri follows Kyoko Kirigiri as she rises up through the ranks of a detective agency. The plot here was used in more than one game in the series so it’s useful to pick up.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (2014)
This game was quite popular among critics, getting scores like 4.7 out of 5. One of the most interesting things about it is that it’s not in the visual novel style.
Instead, Despair Girls is more of an action-adventure game in the third person. It has a horror element as you play as the character Komaru Naegi. The game came out for PS Vita, PS4, and Windows.
The game involves trying to survive the threat from Monokuma robots. These are bots that look like bears. You use various weapons and abilities to make your way through the game.
This includes using characters from all media including Genocide Jill, for example. The plot is set in between the first and second games.
Danganronpa: Unlimited Battle (2015)
Unlimited Battle is a game on an app, so it was playable for Android or IoS. In terms of gameplay, it’s a cooperative game with one player up to four players. You can choose from different characters in the chibi style of anime.
There’s no plot, but the goal is to finish missions and then fight a boss. Gameplay involves shooting your players at enemies as if they were pool balls.
After a certain number of turns, you could activate a special attack from one of your players. The game lost service a few years ago in terms of updates, but may still be playable.
Despite its simplicity, it was praised for preserving the twisted sense of humor of the series at large by many critics.
Genocider Mode (2015)
This title is a series of Manga that spins off from the Ultra Despair Girls model. It goes back through the series and tells the story all the way through, but adding more details between characters like Komaru Naegi, Byakuya Togami, and the character of the Servant.
It includes a lot of characters including the Warriors of Hope who are abused children trying to create a paradise through twisted means. The Servant is one of the main characters involved in the Warriors of Hope.
Danganronpa Togami (2015)
This is a light novel that doesn’t quite have a complete connection to canon material.
It focuses on a character named Byakuya Togami and his adventures in the Czech Republic with Ultimate Despair, which is a kind of manifestation of emotion.
This is actually a series of three manga books that relate to the character from the Danganronpa series, so it could be helpful for understanding the series as a whole.
Killer Killer (2016)
This is another manga book that was released prior to the third Danganronpa game. It’s a manga that was released only in Japanese, so unless you speak Japanese, you will have to find a way to read it translated or wait until it gets an official translation.
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School (2013)
This title is an anime series in the mystery horror genre that’s directly related to the gaming franchise. It finishes off the arc started in the previous games. The series is in three parts, with the first part focusing on the character Makoto Naegi.
This part is called Future Arc. It’s caught up with the Killing Game from the Future Foundation.
After that, you have the Despair Arc, about Hajime Hinata and her twisted experiments.
The last arc, the Hope Arc wraps up both previous arcs through its episodes. It was well-received in Japan, and people like how the three bits of media with this series and the previous two games all connected together.
Cyber Danganronpa VR: The Class Trial (2016)
The Class Trial game is a free-to-play VR game based on Unreal Engine 4 and it was available for PS4.
It was only a demo and not a full game. The premise of the game is essentially going back to the first game and trying to figure out who was behind murders in the class trial arc. People loved the VR feel of the game and the visuals you experience through the art.
The game uses full 3D models instead of the 2D cutouts that had been used previously.
Just like in the first game, when words appear that seem like they might be off, you fire “truth bullets” at the words by turning your head with the VR helmet on towards the person you suspect, and then shooting the word with a DualShock controller.
Since it’s a demo, the game only runs for about 10 minutes. It ends rather darkly.
The name never got a full release, but critics have said that they hope that this game leads to more development within the field to eventually get full games like this one.
Kirigiri Sou (2016)
The Kirigiri Sou game came out for Windows and Mac. It’s a visual novel type game again. It came with the purchase of the End of Hope’s Peak anime set.
Critics thought the game was great and loved both the storyline and the visuals. In this game, you play Kyoto Kirigiri, who is a character from the original game. The plot is based on checking out a mansion that has been abandoned in the woods.
Instead of cutouts, the game uses background slides. You have decisions you can make, and you make them by selecting the arrows associated with them.
It’s possible, through your choices, to end up with totally different stories and completely different endings. Each play-through will take a couple of hours. You get three distinctly different narratives, with a possibility of eight different endings.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (2017)
The V3 game came out on platforms like PS4, Vita, Windows, and Switch. There were also mobile versions for iOS and Android. Again, the game is in the visual novel style.
It is technically the third game for the Danganronpa series since the others were in different media.
The main character here is Kaede Akamatsu. It follows the killing game plot again where you have to convince your fellow high schoolers that you are innocent or you’ll face execution.
The game has everyday life events just like the other game, as well as Class Trials with puzzles and shooting games. The game was well-received, but people argued about the ending.
Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp (2021)
This game is an RPG board game that expands on the Killing Harmony game. You can also get it as a video game in the form of a download from the Nintendo E-shop. So, it’s playable on the Nintendo Switch. The digital version was slated for December 2021.
In specific, the game is connected to a minigame called Ultimate Talent Development Plan from the Killing Harmony game.
The plot is set in a different universe where the players compete against each other in a more peaceful environment that doesn’t involve killing. The game has a gacha element, which is a Japanese game type about collecting things.
You can unlock characters by playing the digital version that you can then use with the physical version. You can also purchase these things directly if you want.
Image Credits
By https://www.spike-chunsoft.com/games/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41070094
By https://twitter.com/NISAinEurope/status/805426440527196160, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51682458
By https://www.spike-chunsoft.com/games/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40728073
