Reviews VisualNovel / Super Dangan Ronpa 2

"since murder methods and even reasons behind the murders being practically identical to the previous game"

No they aren't. Here are the hows and whys of the murders in the first and second game:

First game:

Killed with a knife, either by accident or because of revenge of almost being killed by the victim

Attacked Monokuma and got speared quite a bit

Killed in a fit of rage with a dumbbell

Double murder: Both killed by mallets for money. The second victim killed the first victim, then the second victim was killed by the mastermind of the case

Suicide via poison, to fix the conflict of the remaining students

Second game:

Accidentally killed someone attempting to kill someone else to prevent him from killing another person, with a skewer

Killed to protect her master from (what she thought) killing someone, with a bat.

Double murder. Strangled to death after contracting a disease, then slitting a witnesses throat

Killed someone by dropping him four stories, in an attempt to assist everyone else in escaping where they were trapped, before they all died of starvation

Sort of technically suicide but not really? Died in an attempt to allow the traitor to live and have everyone else die, for reasons of the plot twist at the end of the game.

They're all similar on the most basic level. But that's it! Also, there's apparently going to be a third main series game, so any questions will likely be answered there.

That's what I mean. The murder methods are the same. 1st Murder: The one killed is NOT the one that was meant to be killed, just like in the first game.

2nd Murder: Bashed over the head, in an attempt to avoid a secret being revealed.

3rd Murder: A double murder, silly excuse for it - first game it was greed for money, this game some disease that sounds like it was more a psychosomatic issue.

4th Case: Actually a suicide/death-by-choice to make things better for everyone.

5th Murder: Practically nothing but a carry-over case before the showdown.

• sigh* Like I said, t's similar on the most basic level, but that doesn't make them carbon fucking copies, like you seem to believe. Also, way to COMPLETELY forget about the ACTUAL fourth case! You're clearly a reliable source for a review when you can't even remember that.

My main issue is that it feels like they copied their own game, showing a lack of creativity, the villain is re-used (and brought back in a really stupid way), the characters have not improved, nor has the story telling and I STILL have a ton of questions open that were not answered.

A game, especially sequel, should not leave one with more questions than they entered with. A sequel needs to adress previously unanswered questions from its previous entry.

^There are plenty of games that give more questions than answers, and those are rectified in a sequel, which has been confirmed. So the whole "more questions than answers" argument doesn't really work. Call me biased, because I am, since this is one of my favorite series, but I disagree with all of our complaints :/

DR 2 does not give me decent explanations or answers to questions I had previously. The biggest being WHAT is the world like outside? What is the worst despair event of mankind? How did it happen? Why exactly did it affect the entire world apparently? And exactly HOW bad is it outside? We don't get those answers in DR 2, which is disgusting for a sequel. We needed a spinoff to give us an indication on what life is outside of the Academy. A freaking spinoff!

^There's going to be a THIRD GAME! Did you not understand that?

It doesn't goddamn matter if it's a third game, because THIS POS of a sequel has made me realize that they cannot answer a goddamn question properly in ONE sequel. What should give me hope that they can answer something in a SECOND sequel?

^Because that's the theme of the series. Hope. Besides, so long as they're all answered, it doesn't matter because, even without answers, it's still a good game.

"More Forgettable"? Are you kidding me? Hinata is millions times better than Naegi and has a three dimensional personality.

Chiaki is set up really nicely and is very caring for Hinata guiding him throughout the game which Kirigiri didn't do. She merely assisted Naegi.

Obviously, Komaeda is a much more interesting character than Togami who was too one dimensional while Komaeda was intelligent and had an interesting mindset and personality.

Ibuki, Tsumiki, Gundam, Sonia, how can these guys be forgettable?! Especially compared to the first game. You can't just say "They're forgettable", you need to give some evidence for it.

Komaeda is so overhyped by most people, all I saw was a guy I SHOULD like (I tend to like insane or jerky characters) but I didn't because there was no balance to him. He comes off as helpful and nice at first, then, BOOM! Whacko-Mode!

I'm calling them forgettable because, beyond their way-too-exaggerated appearances, I can't tell you a damn thing about their personalities that I wouldn't immediately succeed with "which I have seen in millions of other medium, done better".

Maybe it's because all the Danganronpa characters are nothing but walking stereotypes with no deeper base to them than their stereotype that I cannot give a damn what happens in the game. If I don't care about the characters, what do I care what happens to them? You could replace with them the same stereotype from any other game and things would not change.

TaylorHyuuga, it doesn't matter. The game does NOT give me hope, nor does it make me think they actually thought the goddamn story through when they added the "World Ended" stuff. Had they not pulled that stunt in the first game, I would probably have some questions, but not as many as I had when I finished Danganronpa. Which only added up to more questions when I finished this game.

That's the point though. All the characters are different takes on stererotypes except they have their own backstories and ideals. But their individual free time events make them unique three dimensional characters... Unless if you didn't do the free time events or focused on the least interesting characters.

Jewell, I did do the Free Time. And I learned nothing from them that made them three dimensional or deep characters. Nothing I learned made me think "Oh, you may look like this, but your personality is so deep and different". Cause they aren't. The only semi-interesting person was Enoshima in the first game and, well, anyone who played the game knows the issue with that character's words in the Free Time events.

How about reserved Peko wanting to be less socially awkward and being interested in love, or jerkass Fuyuhiko being insecure about living up to expectations and wanting friends? Or even gross pervert Teruteru being motivated by his love for his mother and cooking being his way of paying tribute to her? Those sound like three-dimensional characters to me.

Actually, they did answer some questions in DR 2. They actually DID explain the whole end of the world thing, it was caused by a student riot brought upon by the school trying to cover up a mass murder, which was quickly spread across the world thanks to the influence of Junko and the other members of Ultimate Despair, which caused uprising due to feelings of dissatisfaction with the world's government, and which later devolved into all-out war, all to drive the world into despair and to satisfy Junko's f'ed up despair fetish. Yes, the game does end with more questions, but they did that on purpose to keep the player interested, so that they will want to play the third game. If they ended the sequel with all questions answered, then there wouldn't be any reason to make a third game as all the questions had been answered. But the creator has said that there is a story that he wants to tell, so he'll continue making the games until he feels the story has been told properly.

Pikaman, then they need to learn that there are people like me - and I don't think I'm the only one - who loses their patience after two games and the latter feels like it's basically Game 1 again, but on an island. And even with the school shooting being the cause, I still see no reason why that caused THE END OF THE WORLD. Our society has had school shootings and we have yet to devolve into World War III and kill everyone because 12 people died.

Willing Suspension Of Disbelief? If the game was capable of deciding if it wants to be taken seriously or be seen as a joke, I will uphold my WSoD again, but as it is, I have given up after seeing the stupid Monokuma-Headed Monuments in the previous game. The only way this series can end in any way that makes sense with what has been established, if it turns out the Naegi family's dog dreamed up the whole thing because it ate a weird mushroom.

catmuto, please pay attention to what I wrote. It was not the murders themselves that caused the end of the world, it was the riots caused by the students. The Reserve Course was infuriated that the school was covering up the brutal murders of several students to simply protect their on special student, and that, combined with their dissatisfaction at being treated like lesser students, led them to revolt against the school. And then, thanks to the efforts of Junko and Ultimate despair, they spread these feelings of dissatisfaction across the world with their influence. Then people across the world were revolting as they related these feelings of dissatisfaction and being treated as lesser beings to their own governments, and sought to overthrow them. But then, over time and once again thanks to the influence of Ultimate Despair, these revolts devolved into all out war, fought against everyone and everything and fought only for the same of war. This is the end of the world that was described, and this was literally all explained in the game.

catmuto, please pay attention to what I wrote. It was not the murders themselves that caused the end of the world, it was the riots caused by the students. The Reserve Course was infuriated that the school was covering up the brutal murders of several students to simply protect their on special student, and that, combined with their dissatisfaction at being treated like lesser students, led them to revolt against the school. And then, thanks to the efforts of Junko and Ultimate despair, they spread these feelings of dissatisfaction across the world with their influence. Then people across the world were revolting as they related these feelings of dissatisfaction and being treated as lesser beings to their own governments, and sought to overthrow them. But then, over time and once again thanks to the influence of Ultimate Despair, these revolts devolved into all out war, fought against everyone and everything and fought only for the same of war. This is the end of the world that was described, and this was literally all explained in the game.

Sorry, didn't mean to post that twice, technical difficulties.

Ibuki turning out not to be energetic, but secretly lonely and is actually so loud and happy because she wants to keep everyone's spirits up? Tsumiki being sensitive due to be unloved and then actually being loved sends her off the edge? Chiaki*spoiler alert*learning to do more natural human things thanks to Hinata's support and then mentioning gaming quotes with a double meaning to them? Komaeda's past and ideals explaining all of his actions? Souda trying to get accepted despite how he usually acts big shot and whiny? Hinata learning something from every character with his amnesia subplot?

And then JUNKO is the character that comes off as three-dimensional? When her complexity is: "I have a motivation and a fun personality"

Wow, you really shouldn't be reviewing if that's the logic you follow 0__0

By the way, you mentioned that the game feels like it's just like the first game, but on an island. What exactly did you mean by that? And if you could, would you kindly explain how it could be improved, because I do want to understand where you are coming from, it's just not clear to me.

Comment includes late-game spoilers!

The premise is basically the same. Suddenly found in an isolated place, no real memory how we got here or who the people in front of us are, and then we're told to kill each other, if we want to get off the island.

The revelation is extremely similar to the previous game. First Murder: someone intended to kill a certain character and frame someone else for it, but failed. Third Murder: a double murder. Fourth Murder: turns out to be a well-meant Heroic Sacrifice assisted-suicide. You have a traitor in your mist. And the big revelation: all the characters know each other, but our memories have been messed with, so we don't remember.

I think one aspect why this game didn't work for me, other than it feeling like a rehash, is that... there is no claustrophobic atmosphere. The first game had it, because you were in a school, all doors and windows were boarded up with steel, you couldn't see any sky, or anything that really was 'the outside'. Here, we are on an island. Sure, we are separated from society, but we are still out in the open, we can breathe fresh air whenever we want to and can see the sky and watch clouds go by.

Ways to improve this game, in my eyes, would be to not make the character appearances that exaggerated. It doesn't make them memorable, it makes them look like caricatures that I cannot take seriously. Try to make the characters more real during the game itself, not force me to see their real depth through Free Time events - especially for characters who die before I have a chance to get to know them. I just can't care if I don't know them.

Also, make the mysteries more difficult, please. I figured out everything in the first game really early onward (one I was visually spoilered on, but it became obvious pretty fast, so I don't count that one) and hated how the trials just prolonged over and over and over, when I could've had ended things much earlier and faster and cleaner, with less stupid high school drama, had I been allowed to present what I wanted and said what I wanted.

Also, a minor thing, but put in an option to make the blood be red, please. I know it was made pink to avoid Japanese ratings to shoot up even higher, but neon pink blood takes the seriousness away. (Which these games have a huge problem with: are the games taking themselves seriously or do they want to be seen as parodies? They keep switching around, which leaves me confused as to what I'm supposed to feel. Am I supposed to feel sad that the characters are dying or am I supposed to not care and just laugh? I can't take a murder-mystery game seriously and feel the tragedy of lives being snuffed out, if the game isn't treating it serously.

@ Jewell TH: Of course I wasn't talking about Enoshima! I was talking about MUKURO! You know, the one who PRETENDS to be Enoshima in Chapter 1? Jeez, why would I like Enoshima herself? She is a horrible person and a horrible villain, who never should've been made a villain to begin with! I think Ganondorf is a better villain than Enoshima - and I HATE Ganondorf.

Well, I can't persuade you to not like the characters, if you don't like them, you don't like them, and that's fine.

But I don't understand why you think it's a bad thing that the second game is also about a bunch of teenagers trapped somewhere forced to kill each other. That's what the series is about, and I question how they could do the game differently. If you have a suggestion, I would love to hear it.

The fact that the murders were similar was on purpose, both story-wise and development wise. Junko was the one pulling the strings, and she purposely manipulated everyone to commit murders that were similar in nature in order to send a message to Makoto and the rest of Future Foundation. And if you wonder how she could do that, she was a super intalligent AI now, who could accurately predict how everyone would act, so she could easily do that.

And the reason the creator did murders that were similar in nature was because when the creator was told to make a second game, they told him to make it, "just like the first one>" So he did that as a sort of *Take That* to them. And the murders are committed differently enough and for different reasons that it wasn't enough that you could guess who would kill who and why early on, although you might feel differently and that's fine.

The above reason is also why it was put on an island, the creator didn't use the same claustrophobic atmosphere that the first game had. But even so, he said that being trapped on an island still feels small, since you are cut off from the rest of the world, which would reasonably make someone kill another just to return to society. And furthermore, in this game it was really more of the motives rather than the desire to escape that convinced people to kill in this game.

I don't agree with you that the mysteries in this game were not more difficult. They were a lot more complex and the trials were a lot longer. For me, I had a hard time predicting who the killer was in this game, especially for the second and fourth cases. But once again, you may feel differently.

Lastly, the make the blood pink for a reason other than the ratings. It's pink to feel unsettling, as pink is a color you would not normally associate with blood. Because of the overuse of blood in media in our world, we have become desensitized to the sight of it. But by making it pink, the color of the blood jumps out at you, and you immediately take in every drop of it, whereas in anything else, you wouldn't pay much attention to the blood because you've grown used the sight of it. By having the blood jump out at you, you become more disturbed by it, and it just adds to the game's pop-art feel.

Also, I know that there are a lot of comedic moments in this game, but that's the point. If it was all doom and gloom, nobody would play it because it would be too boring. And the fact that these murders are going with characters who normally joke around and act silly is a welcome contrast, I feel, as it makes itself seem different from every other murder story out there, and leaves a bit of unpredictability as to who will die or kill next.

Anyway, I'm sorry that this went on for so long, but I just wanted to let my thoughts known. If you don't like this game, that's fine, it's your opinion. It just means that this series probably won't be for you if it continues in a direction you don't like. As for me, I love this game and I await the third game with bated breath.

As said, the reason I don't like 'teens killing each other' is BECAUSE it was already done in the previous game. I expect a sequel to be better and to give me something new, I don't want a sequel that is Game 1, but with a thin layer of paint over it, to make it look differently. After Danganronpa and Battle Royale (which I think did the premise better, including the politice aspects on why it was happening), I wanted something new.

Well, they failed with me, then. Pink is not an unsettling color for me. If it was, like, cotton-candy pink, I might feel unsettled. As it is, it's neon-pink. Which just hurts my eyes and, as said, also takes the drama and tragedy and depth out of the injuries and deaths.

I don't mind jokes, I make jokes myself. But making a joke about the deaths, when I'm clearly supposed to care, backfires. I don't care that a character died, I don't feel an urge to find the killer. I'm just confused about whether I am supposed to care, to begin with.

And I disagree, I found it obvious who would survive in both games. (Though, I admit, it pisses me off that Hagakure survives. He was a waste of space - a comic relief character needs a reason to be there BEYOND comic relief. Hagakure didn't, which made his comic relief points fail. "LOL the Kirigiri here is a ghost"... please...)

I don't remember them ever making jokes about the deaths, could you give me an example please? I really do want to understand where you are coming from.

Also, what would you prefer them do in the sequel to this series other than doing the teens killing each other thing, as that is basically what the series is about. If you have a suggestion I would honestly love to hear it.

Sorry, I misunderstood that part. Mukuro is pretty interesting herself but she gets the least amount of screentime unfortunately. She only gets attention is IF but her ideals and development are good.

@Jewell: Which just goes to show how bad the characters can be. The only semi-interesting one is one killed off early AND is basically faking her entire personality. (And, I admit, only reason I like Togami is cause he's a jerk and Fukawa because she's such a relateable character, and I like Genocider. Again, I like insane characters - Enoshima did not manage that.)

@Pikaman: Change the premise. Don't just rehash me onto an island and claim it to be as intense as the claustrophobia from the school in the previous game. Battle Royale was on an island.

And that kept the tension up for all the characters because they honestly could not leave (if they attempted to swim, they'd be shot in the water) and, if nobody was killed within 24 hours of the last one, all the collars go boom and everyone dies. That really added the psychological and mental stress on the characters. That was pretty interesting - not to mention, the forbidden zones popping up every 12 hours.

I don't want to say 'rip off Battle Royale entirely' but... well, maybe take some more of that? At least give me a better reason why they're killing each other, other than 'It's the only way back to society'. That's not enough of a reason for me. (At least in the previous game, Monokuma attempted to destroy and humiliate them emotionally, to the point of killing)

I know that there's the whole fever thing, eventually, but... well, I never believed that the fever thing was real. If anything, it was a psychosomatic fever that would not have done anything.

What do you mean? I just said that Mukuro is good. So that makes me explain how the other characters are bad. That makes you sound like a troll or something/

@Jewell: Yes. Mukuro is only 'good' as a character in comparison. As a character on her own, she is bland, uninteresting and flat. It's like... it's comparing two bad things, but one bad things is slightly less bad. Call it the lesser of two evils. Just because something is less bad than another bad thing, doesn't make it any bad in itself.

It's as if I were to say... Naegi is a boring protagonist, but he's a better protagonist than his sister. His sister is emotionally so instable and needs repeated cheering up (which I hate in a protagonist, why would I want such a wet tissue as a protagonist?) and wants to give up repeatedly. Terrible.

Naegi doesn't give up, sure, but aside from that, there's nothing about him that makes him a good character. He's bland and could be interchanged with any protagonist from practically any other RPG, it would not make any noticeable difference. So, in that sense, he is 'better' than his sister for the role of a protagonist, but that doesn't make him GOOD.

On their own, they are both terrible in the role of protagonists. One has no spine and the other is so forgettable as a protagonist, had he not been the protagonist, nobody would remember his name.

That's what I mean when I say, "Mukuro is an okay character, but ultimately makes the others look worse and she's still terrible, in her own regard"

• Any less bad. Unfortunately, I cannot edit my comments.

Well, what about Hajime? What are your thoughts on him as a protagonist, because I felt that he had a very interesting character arc that just helped make the ending even better.

It was okay, but part of it felt... I dunno... unnecessary? Like, Amnesia-on-top-of-Amnesia, it felt a little silly. It's a decent idea, but something about the execution of it just seemed off to me. Not sure how to describe it in words.

Komaru is a good character to me. She starts off whiny but eventually develops into a brave character by the end. Saying that Naegi is better is stupid tbh. For someone who likes to nitpick character based on the fact that they're archetypes, you don't seem to notice that Naegi doesn't develop as a character. The plot just makes it look so. Komaru starts out as a genderbent Shinji Ikari but eventually knows how to fight for her own rights. She's a lot more likable and well written than Naegi.

I never found Mukuro uninteresting on her own. I mean, her motivation is incredibly depressing leading to a lot of ideas that could be made out of it.

Komaru is a good character to me. She starts off whiny but eventually develops into a brave character by the end. Saying that Naegi is better is stupid tbh. For someone who likes to nitpick character based on the fact that they're archetypes, you don't seem to notice that Naegi doesn't develop as a character. The plot just makes it look so. Komaru starts out as a genderbent Shinji Ikari but eventually knows how to fight for her own rights. She's a lot more likable and well written than Naegi.

I never found Mukuro uninteresting on her own. I mean, her motivation is incredibly depressing leading to a lot of ideas that could be made out of it.

The genderbent Shinji is called Nadia, that's where his design came from, after all. Also, if Komaru has the same screwed up issues as Shinji, I'd hate her even more. Whiny mommy and daddy issues, that Shinji.

From what I recall, Mukuro's reason for going along with things is only mentioned by the mastermind (who is an unreliable person, to begin with), so whether that motivation is actually 100% true is up for debate. And a character shouldn't be interesting, just because of tiny information given in-game and the ret is all based on fanon interpretations, all based and building up that fact.

Komaru doesn't have parent issues. Did you actually get the point on Komaru being much better and more well written than Naegi or did you just spend it on the Shinji Ikari comparison?

Did you read Dangan Ronpa IF? Her motivations are revealed there and she states it. She follows her sister's orders because she constantly rejected her and Mukuro was desperate to be appreciated so she did whatever Junko told her to do out of desperation. When she finally thought her sister loved her again, Junko killed her. So yep, it's 100% true.

No! I did not read IF and it shouldn't damn matter. If supplementary reading material is necessary to understand things in the main game, the writing of the game itself sucks. If it's THAT important, you put that reading material to be sold WITH the game and don't refuse to export it properly.

Also, I overall recall If being a, well, What If scenario. Akin to School Mode.

Reading IF isn't necessary, it just expands on the characters a bit more. And also, IF was included with DR 2, you unlock it after you beat the game. The more I talk with you, the less it sounds like you actually played the game, or at least payed attention to it.

@Camuto Woah, calm the hell down 0__0 I wasn't expecting that reaction. Btw, as Pikaman20008 stated, it's in Dangan Ronpa 2 once you complete it. It isn't needed but Mukuro's characterization is there. The only non-game thing needed to know the franchise more is Dangan Ronpa Zero but that's pretty much explaining more about Junko and the experiments mentioned in Chapter 6.

I agree with Jewell TH, none of the light novels are essential to read to understand the story, they just expand on the details a bit and give some backstory that probably won't be necessary for future installments.

@Pikaman: That's exactly why I do not read If or any supplementary reading material. It can always be separate into two groups.

A) Unnecessary blab that means nothing and expands on nothing of importance, so any game it associates with can be read, without being lost, as the only information given in the reading material is unnecessary.

B) Something actually important is in it, so important that it should have been in the game itself, but was cut for some reason and was not made available for every game release.

The latter should always be added into the game itself, because it is important. Take Final Fantasy X, with its Eternal Calm extra. I imported the Japanese version eventually and found the DVD for the extra in the case. I had already played X-2 at that point and characters telling me, "You remember me, right?" I had no idea, but just said yes. (I figured, you'r an NPC, I tend to ignore them, so you probably were in the last game) But overall, was a bit lost. But it wasn't TOO confusing, as the main reason (why Yuna left with the Gullwings) was answered with the sphere in-game.

The former are unnecessary and should never be held up in any discussion. First of all, not everyone has read that reading material, second of all, if it's not important enough to be in the game, it's not important enough to uphold as "Must Know This" for any discussion. (Look at majority of the Final Fantasy novellas and what not - not a single one of them contains any information I needed to know when playing the games or answered any questions I may have had, after finishing)

@Jewell: Supplementary reading material is a trigger for me... sorry.

I can understand if that's a trigger for you. The novels simply expand on the universe of Dangan ronpa and fill in unexplained things from the main series. They aren't essential but if one was curious about Mukuro's relationship with Junko or the experiments that Hinata went through, they could read them to satisfy them.

There are series that involve reading other media instead of focusing on the main part of said series so Dangan Ronpa is one of the series that handle their light novel spin offs well(imo).