Layman's Synopsis and Review of Danganronpa: Hope's Peak Arc
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 6:13 amHey. So I know I'm probably literally the only person who did Dangan things past the DR1 anime (Since I own a Vita and love the pain of watching loved ones die, apparently) but I can't sleep and feel like writing something really long winded about a series that I, honestly, feel pretty passionate about.
What I cover will contain spoilers and synopsis for (In Chronological Order):
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Despair Side-
Danganronpa: Zero
(Complete)Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Danganronpa: Killer Killer
(Complete)Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Future Side-
(Pending) Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Hope Side-
Bonus mentions:
Danganronpa IF
-------------------Breakdown-------------------
So, I listed things in chronological order, but I'm going to discuss and review them in an order that maintains the air of mystery and surprise you're SUPPOSED to get. That's more a reference for the timeline.
-------------------Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc--------------------
I'm aaaalmost positive we've all seen the anime, so I'll keep this brief.
There are some very neat and noticable changes between the anime and the game, mostly due to time constraints, and all entirely due to the personal one on one events you can seek out with the other characters. You get a lot more fleshed outfeelings for characters, especially the ones who die off earler (Notably Sayaka, Leon and BY FAR 'Junko').
'Junko's events are the ones I wanna point out quickly for the sake of a point I intend to make later on. Obvious we all know that 'Junko' is actually Mukuro in disguise. We also know Mukuro didn't have her memories erased like the others. This makes the 'Junko' Free Time Events much more...Interesting.
For instance, there are quite a few implications that the Ultimate Fashionista is not quite what she appears to be. We also get a truly heartbreaking moment in the very first Free-Time Event, at least in my opinion. You see, we learn in Danganronpa IF that Mukuro has always had a crush on Naegi. This is also pretty heavily hinted at the first time you speak with her in a Free Time Event.
You only get 3 Free-Time Events before Mukuro gets the Gungnir Treatment, and the final one is the kicker. She prefaces it by saying she's about to tell Naegi something that has to stay between the two of them, no matter what. She wants to tell him her true feelings. She laments that she's only ever chased one thing her entire life, one dream ever since she was a kid. Everyone told her she was good at it, so she believed it was the only thing she could do. Obviously, Naegi believes that she's talking about her Fashionista Career, but we know the truth behind the Child Soldier that is Mukuro. It even appears as if she regrets this plan with Junko, as she reiterates that she wants to leave the school and find a new life for herself.
I often point out the 'Junko' Free-Time Events as one of the main reasons the anime is actually a failure in comparison to the game. The anime is fine and good for the core story, but you miss out on so much of these characters by dodging the game. I BELIEVE DR1 is also the first mention of Kanon, Leon's baseball manager and cousin, a girl who becomes a little more important later.
These events are also the first instance of an issue tackled a little more in Danganronpa 2, and to a degree in Danganronpa Despair Arc. The idea that having a Talent might be seen as a wonderful thing, but to the Talented, it sometimes feels more like a restriction. To quickly quote Chiaki in Despair Arc: "It doesn't make a difference whether you have a Talent or not. I mean, that isn't the end goal. You have greater freedom than we do. All I have are Games. But you can go anywhere and become anything."
So, all in all, what do I have to say about DR1? It's great. Go play it. It's available on Steam. This is the single greatest image of Asahina that's ever existed. If you don't play, you'll miss out on butts. Kirigiri is Prime Waifu, Fukawa is Creepily Adorable Waifu. Just accept it. Hangman's Gambit is the worst minigame anyone has ever thought of, all because no one considered that the Japanese and English alphabets would be WILDLY different.
-------------------Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair-------------------
The hotly anticipated sequel~
I want to get this out right now. If you're reading this review merely out of curiosity and you think you might play Danganronpa 2 at some point, close this window right the fuck now and go buy it on Steam. Danganronpa 2 takes absolutely everything great and wonderful about Danganronpa 1 and multiples it. Seriously, THIS is how you do a sequel right. I cannot overstate how enjoyable this experience is. The characters, the story, the setting, the mystery, the murders...Leaps and bounds better than the first.
Elephants in the room:
IBUKI IS BEST GIRL, SONIA IS CLOSE RUNNER UP. PEKO PEKOYAMA IS ALSO ACCEPTABLE AND NOT JUST CAUSE OF HER NAME. Akane's also cute as fuck. See? See what I mean? Fucking twice as many top fucking tier waifus. Also the internet loves Chiaki.
Onto the synopsis! This is all from memory so bear with me.
---Plot---
You play as Hajime Hinata. He's a pretty cool dude, has an ahoge and doesn't afraid of anything.
After having a strange dream about a door in the darkness, you awaken to find yourself in a classroom, with a whole bunch of LOVELY AND COLORFUL CLASSMATES (Wait, doesn't at least one of those faces look oddly familiar? Hmmm...)
A strange situation indeed, no one can remember how they got here. Seems like something out of a fucking video game, amirite? Then, you teacher appears! Usami, the wonderful bunny rabbit teacher of hope!
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She's here to explain it's time for your school trip!! School trip, tho...It's only the first day of school right?
WELP BUCKLE YOUR PANTS AND GET READY FOR A PARTY CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO JABBERWOCK ISLAND, BABY!!
Er...Islands? They always refer to it singular, even tho it's 6 different islands in a cluster.
The walls of your classroom fall away to reveal a gorgeous beach! Hinata passes out from the shock...
It's ok, his very good friend and totally awesome bro Nagito Komaeda is here to help!
WELCOME TO DANGAN ISLAND~!! Huge Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip?!
"Hey man, you ok?"
Of course you're ok, you're the main character. Although...All of you went to Hope's Peak, so therefore have a Talent, but...What's your Talent again? Agh, you can't remember. So you get up and get a chance to introduce yourself to all your new friends. Usami informs you that you'll all here for a very important mission! Your goal is to mingle with your fellow classmates, converse, and get to know each other better so your bonds will grow closer! Each time your bond grows closer, you gain what's called a Hope Fragment! Collect all of these and your wonderful island vacation comes to a fulfilling conclusion!
Seems simple enough, right? There's a hotel on the center island and bridges to each of the surrounding islands, labelled 1-5. The local shop is fucking PACKED with goodies, and it seems like everything's free. There's an airport, but no planes, and even a farm. Wonderful~
So, obviously this all seems strange, but what's the harm? You're literally being given a free island vacation and all your have to do is be friendly with your classmates. Eventually everyone meets back on the beach...
Everyone's having a lovely time. That TeruTeru chap seems like a bit of a pervert with no boundaries, happy to oil up the sexy girls OR guys like that monster of muscle Nekomaru Nidai. Ibuki Mioda is a bundle of energy, and Peko seems to be enjoying a swim. Gundham Tanaka is making a sand castle for his Four Dark Devas of Destruction. The shy Mikan Tsumiki still manages to be showing off that plump rear end.
Whoa, ok, sky suddenly got dark. That's fuckin' weird. Usami seems really concerned. She tells everyone to meet back on the center island, in Jabberwock Park. Once they arrive, they discover the giant statue has been turned into a big ball with a timer on it! Not only that, but there's someone else on the Island...Someone who Usami seems to know...
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"Monokuma! I won't let you have your way! All long as I have my magic wand, you have no power here!!"
"...Uh oh..."
"USAMI HAS BECOME...MONOMI!! UPUPUPUPUUU!"
The rules have changed...Monokuma gains control of the island, and you're not longer seeking Hope Fragments to escape...Now you must seek blood.
Welcome...To Dangan Island. Upupupupu~
And that's just the prologue. Monokuma immediately reveals that all you wonderful Ultimates have had your memories STOLEN.
As things pic up, your classmates begin dropping like...Well, classmates in a Danganronpa game. You quickly learn that Nagito is a bit of a FUCKING PSYCHOPATH who loves Hope even more than our old friend Junko loves Despair. He believes that to give rise to the greatest Hope, we must first welcome the greatest Despair and thus fully supports the killing game. However, not in the way you'd think.
Byakuya Togami quickly takes a leadership role. He confesses with Hinata in private that he fully intends to make sure that none of you die. We'll find a way out of here. He has Hope. He also appears to...Know something? However he can't tell you.
While everyone is having a banquet (prepared by TeruTeru, the Ultimate Chef), the lights suddenly go out! Yells, a cry! The lights come back on...
Togami's corpse lays under a nearby table.
RIP Fat Prodigy.
After going through your first investigation, you come to the conclusion that the killer was TeruTeru himself...But by accident! You see, he overheard that Nagito was planning to kill...Someone to get the killing game started. He intended to die after being found out and become a 'stepping stone for hope'. In order to protect everyone, Teruteru shut off all the lights, hide under the floorboards, and when he saw the glowing knife under the table get grabbed, he stabbed with the skewer hidden in the (now infamous) Meat on the Bone.
Unfortunitely, he didn't know that Togami had spotted someone going for the knife too with his NIGHT VISION GOGGLES, and when Togami when to stop Nagito, he was stabbed instead.
Noble intentions aside, you still killed someone Teruteru, and now you gotta fry.
Everyone is noticeably distraught...Except one very sick individual.
I wanna take an aside here to talk about Nagito Komaeda.
He is a character you are ment to hate. He's designed to be hated. I hate him too.
And that's why I fucking love him. This character is one of the more interesting and entertaining characters in the entire series. His Despair-Leads-To-Hope philosophy combined with his incredibly executed Ultimate Luck Talent make for some of the most jaw-dropping and shocking moments in the entire series. If you don't know, his Good Luck is actually disguised as Very Bad Luck. It's brilliant. When you see the way fate twists and turns around him...It's a masterpiece. I truly believe that as far as Pseudo-Antagonists go, Nagito is WAY up there.
Back to our regularly scheduled murders.
To keep things brief, everyone moves on. Monokuma introduces an arcade game on the island to be the new Motivation. Chiaki, the Ultimate Gamer, is immediately interested.
Thus begins about the only blemish on this game imo. The Twilight Syndrome stuff in INTERESTING, sure, but in practice it's...Kind of boring. The game deals with Girls A-...F I think? and a Boy A. This is how they're labelled. Part of the upcoming trial is figuring out who is who based on personality quirks. It's tiresome.
The Twilight Syndrome video game is a longish sequence that involves you playing through this story about one of the girls being murdered. The game seems incomplete cause it's missing days. Later, Chiaki tells you the meaning of the final message is a cheat code to access the rest of the days. The full story is that one of the girls murdered another and they're not trying to cover it up. And then at the end, the brother of the girl murdered, Boy A, appears to murder one of the two girls covering it up with a baseball bat to the skull.
The first person to win supposedly got the prize, but you weren't the first. (Tho you saw Fuyuhiko walking back to his room with an envelope under his arm...)
Kazuichi, who has a serious crush on Sonia, invites you to come bomb the girl's secret beach party in the hopes of guilting the girls into letting them join. Kazuichi means well, he really does, I promise ; 3;
Anyway, the girls seem to be late. Then they see Hiyoko running away from the place they're supposed to meet in tears. After a while Akane shows up and she's COVERED IN BLOOD. It's ok tho, she just ran into Nekomaru and decided to spar with him. Things got a little rough. Also Chiaki shows up, then Peko Pekoyama who's fresh from a lap around the island.
The guys are busted, but the girls are more concerned that neither Hiyoko or Mahiru are here yet. Let's go check out the beach house! Uh oh, the front door won't open, like there's something heavy against it...Let's go around the back.
We walk inside and-Oh, god damnit.
And just after we got that cute shower scene with her and Hiyoko e ve
Killed the same way and same pose as both girls in the game too...Huh.
Sooo after some 'examination' of our surroundings e ve We gather enough clues to pin it on the real killer.
PEKO PEKOYAMA. She claims to be the Masked Serial Killer known as SPARKLING JUSTICE, a serial killer who killers other killers!! And whom Sonia is a huge fan of. Thanks to the game, Peko learned that Mahiru was one of the two girls involved in the murder. Specifically, the one who helped cover it up!
This seems like a close and shut case. Peko seems oddly calm. She's even smiling. Everyone puts in their votes for Peko...But something feels strange? Fuyuhiko is really upset. He claims he's the killer! It seems the Ultimate Yakuza and the Ultimate Swordswoman have a history!
Peko Pekoyama reveals her intention...As Fuyuhiko's bodyguard, she was ordered to kill Mahiru when he went to confront her about the murder of his sister. Thus, this makes Peko a tool, not a killer! She was a weapon Fuyuhiko used to murder Mahiru!
Can I just say, this case blew my mind. It was such an incredible concept for me.
Now, Peko wanted to be voted the killer so that everyone would die, and Fuyuhiko would be freed. Monokuma seems to agree with this tool idea. If Fuyuhiko truly ORDERED his servant, Peko, to kill, then he is the true killer!
If Peko did it purely based on orders...
Not on personal feelings...
If...
The truth comes out. Peko did it for him, because she cares for him. She wants him to be freed even if it costs her life. Fuyuhiko, the tough gangster, bursts into tears.
"Peko, I told you! Now that we're in Hope's Peak, you're not my Bodyguard! We can be..."
With a truly dispairful air, Monokuma hammers his gavel.
Honestly, one of the more heartbreaking Executions for me.
Despite his intervention, Fuyuhiko survives, albeit barely. He's not going to make it...
But Monomi speaks up! "If Fuyuhiko dies, you're breaking your own rules!!" She points out the rule in the handbook that claims ONLY the blackened will be executed. Admittedly he was going to do it anyway, but dragging his feat, Monokuma calls for an ambulance to carry Fuyuhiko to the hospital.
Fuyuhiko returns later with a sick new eyepatch and a whole new attitude. From this point forward, Fuyuhiko becomes Fucking Awesome.
It doesn't take long for trouble to rear it's ugly head again, tho.
Akane is furious. Acting without thinking, she attacks Monokuma alone at night! However, she's no match for the wretched bear, and he whips out a bazooka! We arrive just in time to watch him fire!! The blast shrieks toward Akane, when suddenly-!
Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager, leaps in front of Akane, taking the Bazooka straight to the chest!!
Akane is shocked...Nekomaru scolds her for acting so irrationally...
Once again, the rules are pointed out. Nekomaru wasn't the aggressor, he CANNOT be punished!! The ambulence takes him away...
Some time after the 3rd Island opens, we wake up one morning to find...Akane, bawling her eyes out. She blames herself for what happened to Nekomaru. Guilt is one thing, but the way she crying is just out of contr-
Whoa, Ibuki. She's acting really strange too. And she seems willing to obey any order given to her, no matter how dangerous or extreme! (e ve)
And uh...Nagito seems only capable of telling lies. What the hell is going on here?!
The answer is, OBVIOUSLY, the Despair Disease! A disease that all three of them have caught and is making them all...Wonky. Mikan, the Ultimate Nurse, will take them to the 3rd Island's hospital to treat them. Eventually, they all come down with a high fever too and lose consciousness.
A sort of two way communication system is set up so that they can quarantine the sick. One night, Hajime sees a very strange video play on his. A figure in a hospital gown with a bag on their head walks up a stepladder, puts a noose around their neck...And the video cuts! In a panic, he runs to where the video HAD to be transmitted from, the Music Hall, and he breaks down the locked door to find...
Jason's Despair.
Hajime runs to the others to get them and when he returns HOLY FUCK THERE'S ANOTHER BODY
In case you haven't guess, the woman with the bag over her head is my precious angel Ibuki Mioda. After some thorough investigation, we learn that Hiyoko's body WAS there the first time, it was just hidden. The killer could only be someone with access to Ibuki and an indepth knowledge of how time of death stamps work since they adjusted the temperature to fuck with that and access to a room in the hospital with black out curtains where they could fake the-
It was the Rotten Orange herself, Mikan Tsumiki.
However, as she's found out, her attitude begins to shift. She starts screaming and yelling. She also starts passionately talking about "her". A woman that she loves dearly and who she's dedicated EVERYTHING too! This was all for "HER"!! All this despair is for her beloved~
Monokuma reveals a sick truth. Mikan has the Despair Disease as well. But while Nagito had the Liar Disease and Akane had the Crying Disease...Mikan had the Remembering Disease. She regained her memories.
Content in her impending death because she knows she'll meet her beloved in the afterlife, Monokuma executes Mikan Tsumiki (in a trippy sequence most think is a metaphor for lethal injection).
Reach for the Stars~ Reach so hiiigh~
Everybody is shaken by Mikan's behavior, understandably. (Well, except Nagito, but whatever.)
Through all this, I briefly run through some info we learned. There's a traitor among us! Whoever they are, they work for the group that STOLE OUR MEMORIES. They're keeping us TRAPPED here. The organization is called the FUTURE FOUNDATION. They are the baddies, seeking to destroy the world and reshape it in their image.
Also, Nekomaru Nidai returns...But he's, uh. Well he took a bazooka to the chest, you see. His body was...Irrepairable and uh...
HE'S A ROBOT NOW, NO QUESTIONS
He takes another bazooka to the chest, proving he's much sturdier now.
As they go one, they recieve a book with info on Hope's Peak Academy. Specifically, the killing game that happened there, and the survivors.
They discover Monomi's house on the 4th island, and some interesting things that won't make sense til later. They also learn that for some reason, Monokuma and Monomi are afraid of mice. They claim it's cause they chew their ears.
The surviving group winds up getting tricked into going on an amusement park ride that knocks them all out. They wake up in a weird place.
This entire next part is so fucking difficult to describe, I'm just gonna briefly summarize, then skip to the murder and the VERY IMPORTANT THING.
The group is in two buildings connected by one room (Grape House and Strawberry House). They split into two groups, one for each House, when Monokuma tells them they can't leave until SOMEONE dies. The group lasts for a few days, though it occurs to them they have NO food or drinks. Plus, Monokuma makes them do exercises every morning. It's pure torture.
They are also told that there's a place called the Final Dead Room. Going in there and completing the DEADLY TRIAL will reward you with a folder containing information on everyone here, including all of their lost memories, as well as what Monokuma refers to as 'The Ultimate Weapon'. Hajime almost goes inside out of desperation, thinking there might be a secret exit, but Chiaki shows up to stop him in the nick of time.
One day, however, everyone wakes up to an alarm ringing. The next morning, they find-
RIP Mechamaru.
During a very long investigation, you take control of Nagito as he actually enters the Final Dead Room. It's a typical Locked Room Escape minigame with a twist at the end. The final challenge is to play Russian Roulette. The twist is, Nagito has to choose the difficulty. Nagito runs through the odds...One bullet in the chamber is just too easy. Nagito has the Ultimate Luck. If it fails him now, then he was never talented at all! He loads 5 bullets, the hardest difficulty, and spins.
Click.
Nagito wins the prize. A book that contains all of their lost memories and information. He also gets access to a secret room. There's loads of weapons inside, but nothing he'd consider 'Ultimate'. Then he notices a small window and looks out of it...
He begins to laugh maniacally. Now THAT is an Ultimate Weapon! He hasn't forgotten the book either...
He slowly opens it, alone in the secret room.
So, to quickly summarize the trial: The ultimate weapon was knowing the actual design of the building (The two houses are on top of each other, not across from one another). I won't get into why this was important.
The killer is Gundham Tanaka, who fought Nekomaru because both wanted to get everyone outside to safety. Nekomaru used one of his Dark Devas of Destruction to hit Nekomaru's one switch, then set up the murder.
Sadly, another one bites the dust.
The group is heartbroken...But something was off with Nagito this trial. He was strangely rude to Hajime, often looking down on him.
Since I actually can't remember when exactly this fact is learned, I'll state it here:
Hajime Hinata has no talent. He was a Reserve Course Student at Hope's Peak Academy. Reserve Course Students were students who's parents payed massive sums of money to let their kids take courses at Hope's Peak, since the School's name guaranteed success.
Hajime never had talent, so Nagito doesn't even see him as a stepping stone for hope anymore. He's just worthless garbage.
In addition, Nagito, with all his newfound knowledge, goes RIGHT OFF THE DEEP END blowing shit up and generally luring the group to the 5th island. They find a lot of messed up things there, such as a Monokuma manufacturing line. Eventually, this all leads to the 5th murder...
The 5th Murder and subsequent Trial in Danganronpa 2 seriously blew my fucking brains out all over the wall.
The group gets a message from Nagito, once again declaring his intention to out the traitor and kill them, telling the group to meet in a side building. As they go to open the door, they find the room is dark. Something got knocked over, and suddenly FWOOSH!! The entire room is aflame. Panicking, Hajime sends Chiaki to get the Fire Extinguisher Grenades they found earlier. She returns, hands them out, and all of them throw the grenades, putting out the fire!
The smoke clears and they enter...But what they find inside is beyond description...
This is the sort of case ONLY Danganronpa could pull off. As the Trial goes on, we prove that absolutely everything about Nagito's death appears to be self-inflicted. But Monokuma is insistent on a murderer. There wouldn't be a Trial without one. They learn that one of the Fire Grenades was actually filled with a poison that activates in heat and is heavier than air so it sinks to the ground.
But then...The murderer is impossible to discover? They all threw the grenades at the same time and had no way of knowing...!
But...Nagito had a target. And Nagito had a talent. Ultimate Luck. His target was the traitor, and making them murder him would mean they die if the other could figure it out. Hajime has gathered evidence and has finally come to his own conclusion about who the traitor is. It's with a very, very heavy heart that he puts the pieces together.
The Future Foundation member who stole all their memories...Chiaki Nanami. Our partner through most of these trials, our dear friend, the one supporting us start to finish. Monomi won't have it. She denies Chiaki's involvement with a level of defiance as of yet unseen. Even when the votes are in, she challenges Monokuma! She has ten whole bodies left, she can take him on! Destroy him and save Chiaki and the others!
But Monokuma also has a few spare bodies...10 million or so?
Monomi is utterly trumped. Chiaki's farewell is one of the hardest things out characters have had to endure.
Goodbye, Chiaki Nanami.
(I will never look at Tetris the same way again)
Chiaki's execution has broken our spirits. Utterly emotionally wrecked, we go to bed...
When we wake up, we go outside. We greet Gundham Tanaka, out with his hamsters. Teruteru is chasing skirts while Mahiru tells him off. Ibuki is full of energy again today! Another b͡ea̡ut̕i̴fu͠l̷ ̶day o͟n th͏è isla̴ńd҉.̨..͜
Ḥ̙͚͕͖̕͢͡m̵̫͙?̛͟ͅ ̢̢̰̺ ͍̟S̜̱̞͔͇̪̭̩̣͟o̵̱̮̳͓̬̲̜m̨̬͚͖͉̹̻̙e̷̬̪̰͕͜͠ͅt̢͖̘̭̩ḫ̘̬i̡̖͖͡n̷̛̦g͏̰͔͍̫̙̜̞̝̘̀͞'̶̨͓̩͍͚̮́s͇̖ ̜̖̬͙͞ẃ̴̴̟̟̗̗ŗ̼̘̤̺͕̬ǫ̳̱̳̩͔̀̕n̮͙̤͟͠g̵̮̹̱͍͕͕͠ ̢̛͖̹̟̟͘ý̸̨̱̙̝̥̩o̷̠͕̻̕͟u̸̵̥̙̮̩ ̠̠͙̯̦̭̥̞̘͠͝s͈͘a̕͏͚̪y̰̟̱͓͉ͅ?̯̯͉͠
Ţ̠̥̥͚͙͍̩ͅh̸͉͕̙á͏̺̗̞͎t͏̪̞̝̱͉'̶͖̣̩͔͝͡s̖͙̙̟̬̰̖ ҉̞̱̘͖̣̙͙̗̜r̨̹͔͈̱̘͈͓̹̕͢ḭ̴͍͇͔̳ḍ͉̣͓i̤̲c҉̙͎͎͈̘u̡͈͓̺̰̺̲͜l̢̝̳͔̺̻̮͇ͅo̶̦̤̭̹̠̘̺̪͜u͖̺̥̬͇͝s͏͙͙͓͞.̷̮̜̜̩̖̱͔͔͖͘
The screen glitchs. Words overlap. Something is very wrong. How can these people be a̴live҉?
We found the code in the secret castle on Island 4.
11037
It lets us into the building that looks like an overgrown Hope's Peak. We step inside and everything goes black.
Back to that dream again...A black hallway, a door at the end. This time we enter the door. What we find on the other side is a monolith. A black monolith with the image of a mysterious girl on it. She speaks to us.
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"I am Alter Ego."
She explains that she's an AI. She has been secretly acting under the nose of the virus that's infiltrated the program. He boss sent her and wants to speak with us, but she needs time.
We set about to explore a very glitchy recreation of Hopes Peak Academy. Throughout it, we're left clues in the form of manga about the Tragedy. The Tragedy itself was when the Student Council of Hope's Peak was killed in the very first Killing Game and Hope's Peak tried to cover it up. The Reserve Course students RIOTED, killing the main course students and eventually committing mass suicide. This event rippled, effecting the entire world, as Hope's Peak was the very symbol of humanity's future.
Eventually, Alter Ego's boss is able to contact us. He's trying to get some people inside the program to help us, but the virus is making things difficult. He tells us not to give up on Hope. He WILL help us.
As we leave, we also learn about the Izuru Kamukura project. Hope's Peak was trying to create an individual who possessed every Talent they had ever studied to become the Ultimate Hope. The project was named after Hope's Peak's founder. We also find a picture of what appears to be a much older Hiyoko...We also discover that we are, indeed, inside of a computer program. Have been the entire time. It's called the New World Program, and we WERE put here by Future Foundation, but they're not the bad guys. They want to destroy the world created by Despair and save everyone. (Obviously)
After gathering all our evidence, we're ready for our final face off with Monokuma. The final Trial is nigh. It's time to learn all truths...Starting with the identity of the mastermind.
Quick aside, a very vocal group on the internet apparently hated AI Junko. I thought this was incredible, especially the presentation. So, take it as you will.
A quick rundown of the facts without Junko's rhetoric and running around in circles. Technically we've never been lied to. Future Foundation (Well, Naegi specifically) captured us, and used this program to revert our memories to before the Incident. Why, you ask? Well, because of what Nagito learned. The reason Nagito was actually trying to SAVE Chiaki and kill the rest of us.
Hajime and the rest are the Remnants of Despair who aided Junko in her conquest and then rose up to replace her when she died. They each took a piece of Junko's corpse and replaced a part of their body with it (Nagito, specifically, is shown to have taken her arm, and it's suspected that Fuyuhiko is the one taking her eye.).
Hajime, as it turns out, is Izuru Kamukura. He is the reserve course student who was given every Talent imaginable. However, this made life boring. Junko claimed he was her right hand man, because he found Despair unpredictable, and thus not boring. In fact, he was the one that brought AI Junko in and installed her in secret.
Hajime now has to deal with this bombshell, while the others similarly waver. They learn their friends aren't actually dead. Their minds were uploaded into the program and erased when they were murdered, but the bodies are still alive...Just hollow husks. However, they can save them...Sort of. The program does keep a inaccessable backup of them. They can choose to cut their bodies off and reset the program, letting all of them live together happily in this island paradise. The control room they found gives that power if the majority of students wish to reset the program. Unfortunately...There aren't enough of them still alive. But wait!
A familiar voice interrupts. Naegi Makoto appears at a stand, intent on ending this. With him are Kirigiri and Byakuya. Naegi confirms what Junko said. They were Remnants of Despair. However, this was because Junko brainwashed them (A fact MANY fans 'conveniently' forgot, but I'll get to that later)! The Remnants were ment to be executed, but Naegi stole them away to put them in this machine. He hoped that if he could revert them back to how they were before the brainwashing and fill them with good memories that they would be 'cured' of Despair.
Naegi gets Junko to reveal her true plan. By getting them all to cut off connection to their bodies, she can download her AI into their minds instead of the new memories. With 15 Junkos, she can truly make the world into Junkoland! A despairful world indeed. (This also reveals that Nagito's luck worked one final time. If he had succeeded (now that we know he was actually trying to kill all the Despairs), Junko would've had her 15 bodies immediately).
Naegi reveals another option. Shut down the machine. Their friends' minds will be lost, but Junko will also be destroyed. He also doesn't know if they'll actually keep their memories or return to being Despairs. In the end, it's a risky move...
Hajime faces his inner demons (Izurus) and in the end, Chiaki appears to give him one final peptalk. Hajime takes her words to heart and AWAAAKEEENSSS!!
(Hajime's Awakening is so fucking hype to me)
Anyway, we blast our friends and Junko's shitty words with PURE CONCENTRATED HOPE BULLETS and opt to say yo fuck despair and forget hope, we'll pick a future that's neither cause we're hip and wanna make our own future!
Everyone opts to shut down the New World Program.
RIP AI Junko.
We wake up. Naegi, Togami, and Kirigiri are ready to leave. They discuss the punishment Naegi is going to have to face. They still have yet to see what'll happen with us, but Izuru/Hajime and the rest want to stay on the island and care for their comatose friends, then decide where they stand in the world.
-------------------End, Basically-------------------
So what do I think of DR2? It's FANFUCKINGTASTIC. I always highly recommend this game to basically everyone who has even the slightest interest in these kinds of games.
Some Best Girls died, but the journey is so fucking good that it's fine, it's fine. I also realize now I forgot to mention somewhere that they discovered that Togami Byakuya (The fat one) was actually the Ultimate Imposter. Shit, also that Chiaki was an AI the whole time. ARGH I DID A TERRIBLE JOB, THE GAME IS WAY BETTER AT THIS.
Hangman's Gambit is still the worst, but holy fuck the other minigames are great. DR2 did everything a good sequel needs to do. Improve on the original in every way AND add new stuff. I loved the twists and turns, and the character were all likeable. o vo/
Not much to add...We haven't gotten into the nitty gritty of things yet...
I am gonna take a break for now tho to sort my thoughts for the next part...And to sleep for a few hours, I gotta do work today...
What I cover will contain spoilers and synopsis for (In Chronological Order):
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Despair Side-
Danganronpa: Zero
(Complete)Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Danganronpa: Killer Killer
(Complete)Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Future Side-
(Pending) Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy -Hope Side-
Bonus mentions:
Danganronpa IF
-------------------Breakdown-------------------
So, I listed things in chronological order, but I'm going to discuss and review them in an order that maintains the air of mystery and surprise you're SUPPOSED to get. That's more a reference for the timeline.
-------------------Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc--------------------
I'm aaaalmost positive we've all seen the anime, so I'll keep this brief.
There are some very neat and noticable changes between the anime and the game, mostly due to time constraints, and all entirely due to the personal one on one events you can seek out with the other characters. You get a lot more fleshed outfeelings for characters, especially the ones who die off earler (Notably Sayaka, Leon and BY FAR 'Junko').
'Junko's events are the ones I wanna point out quickly for the sake of a point I intend to make later on. Obvious we all know that 'Junko' is actually Mukuro in disguise. We also know Mukuro didn't have her memories erased like the others. This makes the 'Junko' Free Time Events much more...Interesting.
For instance, there are quite a few implications that the Ultimate Fashionista is not quite what she appears to be. We also get a truly heartbreaking moment in the very first Free-Time Event, at least in my opinion. You see, we learn in Danganronpa IF that Mukuro has always had a crush on Naegi. This is also pretty heavily hinted at the first time you speak with her in a Free Time Event.
You only get 3 Free-Time Events before Mukuro gets the Gungnir Treatment, and the final one is the kicker. She prefaces it by saying she's about to tell Naegi something that has to stay between the two of them, no matter what. She wants to tell him her true feelings. She laments that she's only ever chased one thing her entire life, one dream ever since she was a kid. Everyone told her she was good at it, so she believed it was the only thing she could do. Obviously, Naegi believes that she's talking about her Fashionista Career, but we know the truth behind the Child Soldier that is Mukuro. It even appears as if she regrets this plan with Junko, as she reiterates that she wants to leave the school and find a new life for herself.
I often point out the 'Junko' Free-Time Events as one of the main reasons the anime is actually a failure in comparison to the game. The anime is fine and good for the core story, but you miss out on so much of these characters by dodging the game. I BELIEVE DR1 is also the first mention of Kanon, Leon's baseball manager and cousin, a girl who becomes a little more important later.
These events are also the first instance of an issue tackled a little more in Danganronpa 2, and to a degree in Danganronpa Despair Arc. The idea that having a Talent might be seen as a wonderful thing, but to the Talented, it sometimes feels more like a restriction. To quickly quote Chiaki in Despair Arc: "It doesn't make a difference whether you have a Talent or not. I mean, that isn't the end goal. You have greater freedom than we do. All I have are Games. But you can go anywhere and become anything."
So, all in all, what do I have to say about DR1? It's great. Go play it. It's available on Steam. This is the single greatest image of Asahina that's ever existed. If you don't play, you'll miss out on butts. Kirigiri is Prime Waifu, Fukawa is Creepily Adorable Waifu. Just accept it. Hangman's Gambit is the worst minigame anyone has ever thought of, all because no one considered that the Japanese and English alphabets would be WILDLY different.
-------------------Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair-------------------
The hotly anticipated sequel~
I want to get this out right now. If you're reading this review merely out of curiosity and you think you might play Danganronpa 2 at some point, close this window right the fuck now and go buy it on Steam. Danganronpa 2 takes absolutely everything great and wonderful about Danganronpa 1 and multiples it. Seriously, THIS is how you do a sequel right. I cannot overstate how enjoyable this experience is. The characters, the story, the setting, the mystery, the murders...Leaps and bounds better than the first.
Elephants in the room:
IBUKI IS BEST GIRL, SONIA IS CLOSE RUNNER UP. PEKO PEKOYAMA IS ALSO ACCEPTABLE AND NOT JUST CAUSE OF HER NAME. Akane's also cute as fuck. See? See what I mean? Fucking twice as many top fucking tier waifus. Also the internet loves Chiaki.
Onto the synopsis! This is all from memory so bear with me.
---Plot---
You play as Hajime Hinata. He's a pretty cool dude, has an ahoge and doesn't afraid of anything.
After having a strange dream about a door in the darkness, you awaken to find yourself in a classroom, with a whole bunch of LOVELY AND COLORFUL CLASSMATES (Wait, doesn't at least one of those faces look oddly familiar? Hmmm...)
A strange situation indeed, no one can remember how they got here. Seems like something out of a fucking video game, amirite? Then, you teacher appears! Usami, the wonderful bunny rabbit teacher of hope!
She's here to explain it's time for your school trip!! School trip, tho...It's only the first day of school right?
WELP BUCKLE YOUR PANTS AND GET READY FOR A PARTY CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO JABBERWOCK ISLAND, BABY!!
Er...Islands? They always refer to it singular, even tho it's 6 different islands in a cluster.
The walls of your classroom fall away to reveal a gorgeous beach! Hinata passes out from the shock...
It's ok, his very good friend and totally awesome bro Nagito Komaeda is here to help!
WELCOME TO DANGAN ISLAND~!! Huge Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip?!
"Hey man, you ok?"
Of course you're ok, you're the main character. Although...All of you went to Hope's Peak, so therefore have a Talent, but...What's your Talent again? Agh, you can't remember. So you get up and get a chance to introduce yourself to all your new friends. Usami informs you that you'll all here for a very important mission! Your goal is to mingle with your fellow classmates, converse, and get to know each other better so your bonds will grow closer! Each time your bond grows closer, you gain what's called a Hope Fragment! Collect all of these and your wonderful island vacation comes to a fulfilling conclusion!
Seems simple enough, right? There's a hotel on the center island and bridges to each of the surrounding islands, labelled 1-5. The local shop is fucking PACKED with goodies, and it seems like everything's free. There's an airport, but no planes, and even a farm. Wonderful~
So, obviously this all seems strange, but what's the harm? You're literally being given a free island vacation and all your have to do is be friendly with your classmates. Eventually everyone meets back on the beach...
Everyone's having a lovely time. That TeruTeru chap seems like a bit of a pervert with no boundaries, happy to oil up the sexy girls OR guys like that monster of muscle Nekomaru Nidai. Ibuki Mioda is a bundle of energy, and Peko seems to be enjoying a swim. Gundham Tanaka is making a sand castle for his Four Dark Devas of Destruction. The shy Mikan Tsumiki still manages to be showing off that plump rear end.
Whoa, ok, sky suddenly got dark. That's fuckin' weird. Usami seems really concerned. She tells everyone to meet back on the center island, in Jabberwock Park. Once they arrive, they discover the giant statue has been turned into a big ball with a timer on it! Not only that, but there's someone else on the Island...Someone who Usami seems to know...
"Monokuma! I won't let you have your way! All long as I have my magic wand, you have no power here!!"
"...Uh oh..."
"USAMI HAS BECOME...MONOMI!! UPUPUPUPUUU!"
The rules have changed...Monokuma gains control of the island, and you're not longer seeking Hope Fragments to escape...Now you must seek blood.
Welcome...To Dangan Island. Upupupupu~
And that's just the prologue. Monokuma immediately reveals that all you wonderful Ultimates have had your memories STOLEN.
As things pic up, your classmates begin dropping like...Well, classmates in a Danganronpa game. You quickly learn that Nagito is a bit of a FUCKING PSYCHOPATH who loves Hope even more than our old friend Junko loves Despair. He believes that to give rise to the greatest Hope, we must first welcome the greatest Despair and thus fully supports the killing game. However, not in the way you'd think.
Byakuya Togami quickly takes a leadership role. He confesses with Hinata in private that he fully intends to make sure that none of you die. We'll find a way out of here. He has Hope. He also appears to...Know something? However he can't tell you.
While everyone is having a banquet (prepared by TeruTeru, the Ultimate Chef), the lights suddenly go out! Yells, a cry! The lights come back on...
Togami's corpse lays under a nearby table.
RIP Fat Prodigy.
After going through your first investigation, you come to the conclusion that the killer was TeruTeru himself...But by accident! You see, he overheard that Nagito was planning to kill...Someone to get the killing game started. He intended to die after being found out and become a 'stepping stone for hope'. In order to protect everyone, Teruteru shut off all the lights, hide under the floorboards, and when he saw the glowing knife under the table get grabbed, he stabbed with the skewer hidden in the (now infamous) Meat on the Bone.
Unfortunitely, he didn't know that Togami had spotted someone going for the knife too with his NIGHT VISION GOGGLES, and when Togami when to stop Nagito, he was stabbed instead.
Noble intentions aside, you still killed someone Teruteru, and now you gotta fry.
Everyone is noticeably distraught...Except one very sick individual.
I wanna take an aside here to talk about Nagito Komaeda.
He is a character you are ment to hate. He's designed to be hated. I hate him too.
And that's why I fucking love him. This character is one of the more interesting and entertaining characters in the entire series. His Despair-Leads-To-Hope philosophy combined with his incredibly executed Ultimate Luck Talent make for some of the most jaw-dropping and shocking moments in the entire series. If you don't know, his Good Luck is actually disguised as Very Bad Luck. It's brilliant. When you see the way fate twists and turns around him...It's a masterpiece. I truly believe that as far as Pseudo-Antagonists go, Nagito is WAY up there.
Back to our regularly scheduled murders.
To keep things brief, everyone moves on. Monokuma introduces an arcade game on the island to be the new Motivation. Chiaki, the Ultimate Gamer, is immediately interested.
Thus begins about the only blemish on this game imo. The Twilight Syndrome stuff in INTERESTING, sure, but in practice it's...Kind of boring. The game deals with Girls A-...F I think? and a Boy A. This is how they're labelled. Part of the upcoming trial is figuring out who is who based on personality quirks. It's tiresome.
The Twilight Syndrome video game is a longish sequence that involves you playing through this story about one of the girls being murdered. The game seems incomplete cause it's missing days. Later, Chiaki tells you the meaning of the final message is a cheat code to access the rest of the days. The full story is that one of the girls murdered another and they're not trying to cover it up. And then at the end, the brother of the girl murdered, Boy A, appears to murder one of the two girls covering it up with a baseball bat to the skull.
The first person to win supposedly got the prize, but you weren't the first. (Tho you saw Fuyuhiko walking back to his room with an envelope under his arm...)
Kazuichi, who has a serious crush on Sonia, invites you to come bomb the girl's secret beach party in the hopes of guilting the girls into letting them join. Kazuichi means well, he really does, I promise ; 3;
Anyway, the girls seem to be late. Then they see Hiyoko running away from the place they're supposed to meet in tears. After a while Akane shows up and she's COVERED IN BLOOD. It's ok tho, she just ran into Nekomaru and decided to spar with him. Things got a little rough. Also Chiaki shows up, then Peko Pekoyama who's fresh from a lap around the island.
The guys are busted, but the girls are more concerned that neither Hiyoko or Mahiru are here yet. Let's go check out the beach house! Uh oh, the front door won't open, like there's something heavy against it...Let's go around the back.
We walk inside and-Oh, god damnit.
And just after we got that cute shower scene with her and Hiyoko e ve
Killed the same way and same pose as both girls in the game too...Huh.
Sooo after some 'examination' of our surroundings e ve We gather enough clues to pin it on the real killer.
PEKO PEKOYAMA. She claims to be the Masked Serial Killer known as SPARKLING JUSTICE, a serial killer who killers other killers!! And whom Sonia is a huge fan of. Thanks to the game, Peko learned that Mahiru was one of the two girls involved in the murder. Specifically, the one who helped cover it up!
This seems like a close and shut case. Peko seems oddly calm. She's even smiling. Everyone puts in their votes for Peko...But something feels strange? Fuyuhiko is really upset. He claims he's the killer! It seems the Ultimate Yakuza and the Ultimate Swordswoman have a history!
Peko Pekoyama reveals her intention...As Fuyuhiko's bodyguard, she was ordered to kill Mahiru when he went to confront her about the murder of his sister. Thus, this makes Peko a tool, not a killer! She was a weapon Fuyuhiko used to murder Mahiru!
Can I just say, this case blew my mind. It was such an incredible concept for me.
Now, Peko wanted to be voted the killer so that everyone would die, and Fuyuhiko would be freed. Monokuma seems to agree with this tool idea. If Fuyuhiko truly ORDERED his servant, Peko, to kill, then he is the true killer!
If Peko did it purely based on orders...
Not on personal feelings...
If...
The truth comes out. Peko did it for him, because she cares for him. She wants him to be freed even if it costs her life. Fuyuhiko, the tough gangster, bursts into tears.
"Peko, I told you! Now that we're in Hope's Peak, you're not my Bodyguard! We can be..."
With a truly dispairful air, Monokuma hammers his gavel.
Honestly, one of the more heartbreaking Executions for me.
Despite his intervention, Fuyuhiko survives, albeit barely. He's not going to make it...
But Monomi speaks up! "If Fuyuhiko dies, you're breaking your own rules!!" She points out the rule in the handbook that claims ONLY the blackened will be executed. Admittedly he was going to do it anyway, but dragging his feat, Monokuma calls for an ambulance to carry Fuyuhiko to the hospital.
Fuyuhiko returns later with a sick new eyepatch and a whole new attitude. From this point forward, Fuyuhiko becomes Fucking Awesome.
It doesn't take long for trouble to rear it's ugly head again, tho.
Akane is furious. Acting without thinking, she attacks Monokuma alone at night! However, she's no match for the wretched bear, and he whips out a bazooka! We arrive just in time to watch him fire!! The blast shrieks toward Akane, when suddenly-!
Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager, leaps in front of Akane, taking the Bazooka straight to the chest!!
Akane is shocked...Nekomaru scolds her for acting so irrationally...
Once again, the rules are pointed out. Nekomaru wasn't the aggressor, he CANNOT be punished!! The ambulence takes him away...
Some time after the 3rd Island opens, we wake up one morning to find...Akane, bawling her eyes out. She blames herself for what happened to Nekomaru. Guilt is one thing, but the way she crying is just out of contr-
Whoa, Ibuki. She's acting really strange too. And she seems willing to obey any order given to her, no matter how dangerous or extreme! (e ve)
And uh...Nagito seems only capable of telling lies. What the hell is going on here?!
The answer is, OBVIOUSLY, the Despair Disease! A disease that all three of them have caught and is making them all...Wonky. Mikan, the Ultimate Nurse, will take them to the 3rd Island's hospital to treat them. Eventually, they all come down with a high fever too and lose consciousness.
A sort of two way communication system is set up so that they can quarantine the sick. One night, Hajime sees a very strange video play on his. A figure in a hospital gown with a bag on their head walks up a stepladder, puts a noose around their neck...And the video cuts! In a panic, he runs to where the video HAD to be transmitted from, the Music Hall, and he breaks down the locked door to find...
Jason's Despair.
Hajime runs to the others to get them and when he returns HOLY FUCK THERE'S ANOTHER BODY
In case you haven't guess, the woman with the bag over her head is my precious angel Ibuki Mioda. After some thorough investigation, we learn that Hiyoko's body WAS there the first time, it was just hidden. The killer could only be someone with access to Ibuki and an indepth knowledge of how time of death stamps work since they adjusted the temperature to fuck with that and access to a room in the hospital with black out curtains where they could fake the-
It was the Rotten Orange herself, Mikan Tsumiki.
However, as she's found out, her attitude begins to shift. She starts screaming and yelling. She also starts passionately talking about "her". A woman that she loves dearly and who she's dedicated EVERYTHING too! This was all for "HER"!! All this despair is for her beloved~
Monokuma reveals a sick truth. Mikan has the Despair Disease as well. But while Nagito had the Liar Disease and Akane had the Crying Disease...Mikan had the Remembering Disease. She regained her memories.
Content in her impending death because she knows she'll meet her beloved in the afterlife, Monokuma executes Mikan Tsumiki (in a trippy sequence most think is a metaphor for lethal injection).
Reach for the Stars~ Reach so hiiigh~
Everybody is shaken by Mikan's behavior, understandably. (Well, except Nagito, but whatever.)
Through all this, I briefly run through some info we learned. There's a traitor among us! Whoever they are, they work for the group that STOLE OUR MEMORIES. They're keeping us TRAPPED here. The organization is called the FUTURE FOUNDATION. They are the baddies, seeking to destroy the world and reshape it in their image.
Also, Nekomaru Nidai returns...But he's, uh. Well he took a bazooka to the chest, you see. His body was...Irrepairable and uh...
HE'S A ROBOT NOW, NO QUESTIONS
He takes another bazooka to the chest, proving he's much sturdier now.
As they go one, they recieve a book with info on Hope's Peak Academy. Specifically, the killing game that happened there, and the survivors.
They discover Monomi's house on the 4th island, and some interesting things that won't make sense til later. They also learn that for some reason, Monokuma and Monomi are afraid of mice. They claim it's cause they chew their ears.
The surviving group winds up getting tricked into going on an amusement park ride that knocks them all out. They wake up in a weird place.
This entire next part is so fucking difficult to describe, I'm just gonna briefly summarize, then skip to the murder and the VERY IMPORTANT THING.
The group is in two buildings connected by one room (Grape House and Strawberry House). They split into two groups, one for each House, when Monokuma tells them they can't leave until SOMEONE dies. The group lasts for a few days, though it occurs to them they have NO food or drinks. Plus, Monokuma makes them do exercises every morning. It's pure torture.
They are also told that there's a place called the Final Dead Room. Going in there and completing the DEADLY TRIAL will reward you with a folder containing information on everyone here, including all of their lost memories, as well as what Monokuma refers to as 'The Ultimate Weapon'. Hajime almost goes inside out of desperation, thinking there might be a secret exit, but Chiaki shows up to stop him in the nick of time.
One day, however, everyone wakes up to an alarm ringing. The next morning, they find-
RIP Mechamaru.
During a very long investigation, you take control of Nagito as he actually enters the Final Dead Room. It's a typical Locked Room Escape minigame with a twist at the end. The final challenge is to play Russian Roulette. The twist is, Nagito has to choose the difficulty. Nagito runs through the odds...One bullet in the chamber is just too easy. Nagito has the Ultimate Luck. If it fails him now, then he was never talented at all! He loads 5 bullets, the hardest difficulty, and spins.
Click.
Nagito wins the prize. A book that contains all of their lost memories and information. He also gets access to a secret room. There's loads of weapons inside, but nothing he'd consider 'Ultimate'. Then he notices a small window and looks out of it...
He begins to laugh maniacally. Now THAT is an Ultimate Weapon! He hasn't forgotten the book either...
He slowly opens it, alone in the secret room.
So, to quickly summarize the trial: The ultimate weapon was knowing the actual design of the building (The two houses are on top of each other, not across from one another). I won't get into why this was important.
The killer is Gundham Tanaka, who fought Nekomaru because both wanted to get everyone outside to safety. Nekomaru used one of his Dark Devas of Destruction to hit Nekomaru's one switch, then set up the murder.
Sadly, another one bites the dust.
The group is heartbroken...But something was off with Nagito this trial. He was strangely rude to Hajime, often looking down on him.
Since I actually can't remember when exactly this fact is learned, I'll state it here:
Hajime Hinata has no talent. He was a Reserve Course Student at Hope's Peak Academy. Reserve Course Students were students who's parents payed massive sums of money to let their kids take courses at Hope's Peak, since the School's name guaranteed success.
Hajime never had talent, so Nagito doesn't even see him as a stepping stone for hope anymore. He's just worthless garbage.
In addition, Nagito, with all his newfound knowledge, goes RIGHT OFF THE DEEP END blowing shit up and generally luring the group to the 5th island. They find a lot of messed up things there, such as a Monokuma manufacturing line. Eventually, this all leads to the 5th murder...
The 5th Murder and subsequent Trial in Danganronpa 2 seriously blew my fucking brains out all over the wall.
The group gets a message from Nagito, once again declaring his intention to out the traitor and kill them, telling the group to meet in a side building. As they go to open the door, they find the room is dark. Something got knocked over, and suddenly FWOOSH!! The entire room is aflame. Panicking, Hajime sends Chiaki to get the Fire Extinguisher Grenades they found earlier. She returns, hands them out, and all of them throw the grenades, putting out the fire!
The smoke clears and they enter...But what they find inside is beyond description...
This is the sort of case ONLY Danganronpa could pull off. As the Trial goes on, we prove that absolutely everything about Nagito's death appears to be self-inflicted. But Monokuma is insistent on a murderer. There wouldn't be a Trial without one. They learn that one of the Fire Grenades was actually filled with a poison that activates in heat and is heavier than air so it sinks to the ground.
But then...The murderer is impossible to discover? They all threw the grenades at the same time and had no way of knowing...!
But...Nagito had a target. And Nagito had a talent. Ultimate Luck. His target was the traitor, and making them murder him would mean they die if the other could figure it out. Hajime has gathered evidence and has finally come to his own conclusion about who the traitor is. It's with a very, very heavy heart that he puts the pieces together.
The Future Foundation member who stole all their memories...Chiaki Nanami. Our partner through most of these trials, our dear friend, the one supporting us start to finish. Monomi won't have it. She denies Chiaki's involvement with a level of defiance as of yet unseen. Even when the votes are in, she challenges Monokuma! She has ten whole bodies left, she can take him on! Destroy him and save Chiaki and the others!
But Monokuma also has a few spare bodies...10 million or so?
Monomi is utterly trumped. Chiaki's farewell is one of the hardest things out characters have had to endure.
Goodbye, Chiaki Nanami.
(I will never look at Tetris the same way again)
Chiaki's execution has broken our spirits. Utterly emotionally wrecked, we go to bed...
When we wake up, we go outside. We greet Gundham Tanaka, out with his hamsters. Teruteru is chasing skirts while Mahiru tells him off. Ibuki is full of energy again today! Another b͡ea̡ut̕i̴fu͠l̷ ̶day o͟n th͏è isla̴ńd҉.̨..͜
Ḥ̙͚͕͖̕͢͡m̵̫͙?̛͟ͅ ̢̢̰̺ ͍̟S̜̱̞͔͇̪̭̩̣͟o̵̱̮̳͓̬̲̜m̨̬͚͖͉̹̻̙e̷̬̪̰͕͜͠ͅt̢͖̘̭̩ḫ̘̬i̡̖͖͡n̷̛̦g͏̰͔͍̫̙̜̞̝̘̀͞'̶̨͓̩͍͚̮́s͇̖ ̜̖̬͙͞ẃ̴̴̟̟̗̗ŗ̼̘̤̺͕̬ǫ̳̱̳̩͔̀̕n̮͙̤͟͠g̵̮̹̱͍͕͕͠ ̢̛͖̹̟̟͘ý̸̨̱̙̝̥̩o̷̠͕̻̕͟u̸̵̥̙̮̩ ̠̠͙̯̦̭̥̞̘͠͝s͈͘a̕͏͚̪y̰̟̱͓͉ͅ?̯̯͉͠
Ţ̠̥̥͚͙͍̩ͅh̸͉͕̙á͏̺̗̞͎t͏̪̞̝̱͉'̶͖̣̩͔͝͡s̖͙̙̟̬̰̖ ҉̞̱̘͖̣̙͙̗̜r̨̹͔͈̱̘͈͓̹̕͢ḭ̴͍͇͔̳ḍ͉̣͓i̤̲c҉̙͎͎͈̘u̡͈͓̺̰̺̲͜l̢̝̳͔̺̻̮͇ͅo̶̦̤̭̹̠̘̺̪͜u͖̺̥̬͇͝s͏͙͙͓͞.̷̮̜̜̩̖̱͔͔͖͘
The screen glitchs. Words overlap. Something is very wrong. How can these people be a̴live҉?
We found the code in the secret castle on Island 4.
11037
It lets us into the building that looks like an overgrown Hope's Peak. We step inside and everything goes black.
Back to that dream again...A black hallway, a door at the end. This time we enter the door. What we find on the other side is a monolith. A black monolith with the image of a mysterious girl on it. She speaks to us.
"I am Alter Ego."
She explains that she's an AI. She has been secretly acting under the nose of the virus that's infiltrated the program. He boss sent her and wants to speak with us, but she needs time.
We set about to explore a very glitchy recreation of Hopes Peak Academy. Throughout it, we're left clues in the form of manga about the Tragedy. The Tragedy itself was when the Student Council of Hope's Peak was killed in the very first Killing Game and Hope's Peak tried to cover it up. The Reserve Course students RIOTED, killing the main course students and eventually committing mass suicide. This event rippled, effecting the entire world, as Hope's Peak was the very symbol of humanity's future.
Eventually, Alter Ego's boss is able to contact us. He's trying to get some people inside the program to help us, but the virus is making things difficult. He tells us not to give up on Hope. He WILL help us.
As we leave, we also learn about the Izuru Kamukura project. Hope's Peak was trying to create an individual who possessed every Talent they had ever studied to become the Ultimate Hope. The project was named after Hope's Peak's founder. We also find a picture of what appears to be a much older Hiyoko...We also discover that we are, indeed, inside of a computer program. Have been the entire time. It's called the New World Program, and we WERE put here by Future Foundation, but they're not the bad guys. They want to destroy the world created by Despair and save everyone. (Obviously)
After gathering all our evidence, we're ready for our final face off with Monokuma. The final Trial is nigh. It's time to learn all truths...Starting with the identity of the mastermind.
Quick aside, a very vocal group on the internet apparently hated AI Junko. I thought this was incredible, especially the presentation. So, take it as you will.
A quick rundown of the facts without Junko's rhetoric and running around in circles. Technically we've never been lied to. Future Foundation (Well, Naegi specifically) captured us, and used this program to revert our memories to before the Incident. Why, you ask? Well, because of what Nagito learned. The reason Nagito was actually trying to SAVE Chiaki and kill the rest of us.
Hajime and the rest are the Remnants of Despair who aided Junko in her conquest and then rose up to replace her when she died. They each took a piece of Junko's corpse and replaced a part of their body with it (Nagito, specifically, is shown to have taken her arm, and it's suspected that Fuyuhiko is the one taking her eye.).
Hajime, as it turns out, is Izuru Kamukura. He is the reserve course student who was given every Talent imaginable. However, this made life boring. Junko claimed he was her right hand man, because he found Despair unpredictable, and thus not boring. In fact, he was the one that brought AI Junko in and installed her in secret.
Hajime now has to deal with this bombshell, while the others similarly waver. They learn their friends aren't actually dead. Their minds were uploaded into the program and erased when they were murdered, but the bodies are still alive...Just hollow husks. However, they can save them...Sort of. The program does keep a inaccessable backup of them. They can choose to cut their bodies off and reset the program, letting all of them live together happily in this island paradise. The control room they found gives that power if the majority of students wish to reset the program. Unfortunately...There aren't enough of them still alive. But wait!
A familiar voice interrupts. Naegi Makoto appears at a stand, intent on ending this. With him are Kirigiri and Byakuya. Naegi confirms what Junko said. They were Remnants of Despair. However, this was because Junko brainwashed them (A fact MANY fans 'conveniently' forgot, but I'll get to that later)! The Remnants were ment to be executed, but Naegi stole them away to put them in this machine. He hoped that if he could revert them back to how they were before the brainwashing and fill them with good memories that they would be 'cured' of Despair.
Naegi gets Junko to reveal her true plan. By getting them all to cut off connection to their bodies, she can download her AI into their minds instead of the new memories. With 15 Junkos, she can truly make the world into Junkoland! A despairful world indeed. (This also reveals that Nagito's luck worked one final time. If he had succeeded (now that we know he was actually trying to kill all the Despairs), Junko would've had her 15 bodies immediately).
Naegi reveals another option. Shut down the machine. Their friends' minds will be lost, but Junko will also be destroyed. He also doesn't know if they'll actually keep their memories or return to being Despairs. In the end, it's a risky move...
Hajime faces his inner demons (Izurus) and in the end, Chiaki appears to give him one final peptalk. Hajime takes her words to heart and AWAAAKEEENSSS!!
(Hajime's Awakening is so fucking hype to me)
Anyway, we blast our friends and Junko's shitty words with PURE CONCENTRATED HOPE BULLETS and opt to say yo fuck despair and forget hope, we'll pick a future that's neither cause we're hip and wanna make our own future!
Everyone opts to shut down the New World Program.
RIP AI Junko.
We wake up. Naegi, Togami, and Kirigiri are ready to leave. They discuss the punishment Naegi is going to have to face. They still have yet to see what'll happen with us, but Izuru/Hajime and the rest want to stay on the island and care for their comatose friends, then decide where they stand in the world.
-------------------End, Basically-------------------
So what do I think of DR2? It's FANFUCKINGTASTIC. I always highly recommend this game to basically everyone who has even the slightest interest in these kinds of games.
Some Best Girls died, but the journey is so fucking good that it's fine, it's fine. I also realize now I forgot to mention somewhere that they discovered that Togami Byakuya (The fat one) was actually the Ultimate Imposter. Shit, also that Chiaki was an AI the whole time. ARGH I DID A TERRIBLE JOB, THE GAME IS WAY BETTER AT THIS.
Hangman's Gambit is still the worst, but holy fuck the other minigames are great. DR2 did everything a good sequel needs to do. Improve on the original in every way AND add new stuff. I loved the twists and turns, and the character were all likeable. o vo/
Not much to add...We haven't gotten into the nitty gritty of things yet...
I am gonna take a break for now tho to sort my thoughts for the next part...And to sleep for a few hours, I gotta do work today...