Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]


Welcome to the PGRF gaming community! Everyone here is very friendly, so don't hesitate to say hi and engage in some video game discussion with all of us! From retro to modern, there's no discrimination here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the moderators and administrators! Have fun.

Registration is simple, fast, and completely free!
Join our community!




Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Rockmandash Reviews - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc [PSP/VITA]; Quirky Visual Novel similar to Phoenix Wright but darker
Topic Started: Jun 25 2013, 01:52 AM (912 Views)
RockmanDash12
Member Avatar
Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生 [PSP/VITA] Review

Welcome to Rockmandash Reviews! Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a PSP/Vita murder mystery visual novel made by Spike (well, now Spike-Chunsoft). The series got really popular, with an anime done by Studio Lerche, a psp fan translation, and an official western release thanks to NIS America. The easiest way to describe this game is by thinking a mixture of Zero Escape: VLR with Phoenix Wright, which looked up my alley so I got the game and tried it out. Is this game any good? Let’s find out in the review! (Note: Most of my experience of this game comes from the PSP fan translation, so if you play the vita version it might differ)

Story: I’m going to do a very brief plot summary because it’s hard to talk about the plot of the game without spoiling it. In Danganronpa, you are Makoto Naegi, an average student who got selected to a special, and elite high school by complete luck. Everybody in the school has something they are really good at, except Naegi. He comes to the school, but he falls unconscious when he enters. When he wakes up, he meets up with the rest of the students at the school and they learn that they are trapped in the school for the rest of their life, and the only way to get out is by “graduation” aka murdering somebody without the rest of the students figuring out that you did it. It’s written great, with great themes and it’s a very enjoyable plot. The characters were interesting, but not fleshed out.
Spoiler: click to toggle


9/10


Pacing: I downloaded and patched the game on 6/23, and I wrote the original version of this review on 6/24, with pretty much the whole game done. The game is about 20 hours, and I think it should be like 40 if they wanted to make something amazing, but they didn’t. Danganronpa’s really fast pace prevents it from being a fantastic game. It was an enjoyable story, it’s a good plot, but it feels way too short. The idea is great, and the themes were good, but I feel like I’ve been conned out of half of a game, especially because the game has a cliffhanger ending.

6/10


Gameplay: For a visual novel, you don’t really expect much out gameplay, and this is an area where most people will be surprised, but this game has pretty great gameplay. It’s similar to Ace attorney in that you have to figure out who was the murderer, but Danganronpa has an interesting spin to it, and because of the differences, it’s a lot better. There are 3 modes of gameplay: exploration. Investigation, and school trial. Exploration is where you walk around and learn stuff. You also build relationships during this time, and it’s similar to persona, but it’s nowhere as deep. The controls, are interesting and nice, its 3d first person, and it works great. You can jump to parts of the map, which really saves time. The investigation part, is where you investigate the crime scene… it’s very simple. The trial, is awesome. The main part is with a crosshair, and you have to shoot at words that contradict with your evidence, it’s pretty cool. The trial has a bunch of mini games, and it’s a lot of fun. I like the gameplay, but I think it’s a tad bit too easy, and I was playing this on normal. There’s very little penalty if you lose all your hearts, you have to be a moron to not get an A rank, and the investigation parts are very simple. It’s a lot of fun, especially for a visual novel, but it’s not perfect.

9/10


Graphics/Art Style: THIS GAME LOOKS FANTASTIC. Its art style, the popup book look of the game is just amazing. The art is very well done, and all the characters look very good. I LOVE HOW IT LOOKS. It’s modern and nice, and everything is stylish and awesome. Its 2.5D technique is very interesting, and the bright colors just are ridiculous and amazing. The pink blood, is disturbing but ridiculous at the same time. The videos, are even better. I just love how this looks. The art style is superb, it’s one of the nicest VN’s artistically.

10/10


Sound:The music is very unique, but it’s superb. I doubt you will find a single song in this you will dislike, all of it works extremely well. Very atmospheric, and it always fits the mood. One if the best soundtracks I’ve heard, and it will be one of the first things you will notice when you play the game. This game also has voice acting, and it's superb.

10/10


Anime

Ok... you have a short game that's ran on its gameplay, amazing art style and uniqueness. What happens when you take that and condense it into a bland 12 episode anime called Dangan Ronpa: The Animation? THEY MAKE RUBBISH. This is a piss poor anime with even worse pacing, and it mocks the game. It’s also really boring because they skip most of the character building and they don’t explain anything. It’s like watching a sped up LP for a plot… it’s not fun. One upside is that it got a lot of people into the series by being really popular... but they should really play the game to get a not rubbish experience.

5/10


Personal Enjoyment

I was expecting something along the lines of 999 with all the excitement this game got, I was really hyped up. It’s fantastic, but it feels very fast paced. I enjoyed it a lot, but that ending… it left a sour taste in my mouth. It’s an enjoyable experience. I enjoyed it, and I think you will too.

9/10


Conclusion: Danganronpa, is a quirky Japanese visual novel that most people should enjoy but probably won’t. It’s an interesting game, and would be flawless, if it was longer and harder. It’s a great experience but it’s not for everyone, and it does have its flaws.

8.5/10

Edited by RockmanDash12, Dec 15 2013, 05:23 PM.
Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RockmanDash12
Member Avatar
Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
If your interested in playing it, all the information is on Project Zetsubou's site: http://danganronpa.wordpress.com/
Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RockmanDash12
Member Avatar
Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I updated my review to fit my writing style and to update the info about this game. Will update and do a video review after i play the PSVITA version.
Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
TNT
Member Avatar
Totally Not Thanous
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I am really exited about this game, cannot wait for February!!
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
ZetaBoards gives you all the tools to create a successful discussion community.
« Previous Topic · Modern Gaming · Next Topic »
Add Reply