REVIEW: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

While playing this glorious story you are afforded 2.5D visuals. I absolutely adored the way these 2D characters were thrown into a 3D world. I feel like it really worked with this slightly crazy game where everything is a contradiction. The bear is so cute, yet evil-looking; the characters are … just, wow; and the world isn’t too bad looking- you know, for what is essentially a prison. Each room has it’s own look and offers plenty of neat things to explore.

There is a bit of voice acting found throughout the game. The deranged bear speaks quite a lot and each character has a few lines that they speak from time to time. They say pretty much same things each time they speak but it’s fun to hear. Note: They cuss a lot! I’d like to think that would be my reaction to the chaos going on, so it didn’t bother me one bit. The music throughout the game definitely fits with whatever is going on. There is a groovy little tune that can be heard while you are wandering around and if nothing is going on it’s light and upbeat. The tempo changes depending on what is going on around you.

Free time while murder hangs in the air might sound weird, but the game makes it work. You can learn special skills to use during trials by spending time with your classmates during your free time, in addition to getting to know them better. Some of the characters might come off as a bit cliche when you first meet them. Give them a chance! As the game progresses and you learn a bit more about them, you will be glad you didn’t write them off as a stereotype.

There are goodies that can be enjoyed after you have beaten the game in the form of stat-based simulations where you are mining things for Monokuma. You can also enjoy a bit of time with other classmates without any pesky murders putting a damper on things.

The story is something you truly have to experience for yourself. If you enjoy intense, interesting characters with well-kept secrets and a psychotic bear running wild, look no further! I certainly won’t spoil anything for those of you who wish to play the game, but I will say this: the story will keep your interest piqued to the point where you will be playing with your Vita plugged in. I couldn’t get enough during my 25-30 hours of playing! What horrifying act would we be subjected to next?

It has been quite a while since a game has made me change my opinion of it so many times while playing. Most of the time I would be thinking things like: “Oh! Wow! I am loving this! It’s so well put together.” The story is great, the characters are fun (especially as you get to know them), it looks great and the controls are pretty simple. Soon enough though, someone would say something that threw me for a loop and I would be annoyed. That good kind of annoyed, where it’s clear that you care about what is going on a bit too much and are disappointed in something one of the characters have said or done. Do yourself a favor: don’t look at the $39.99 price tag and write this off as “not worth it.” Given the depth of the story and the intrigue of the characters, this is definitely on my list of “must have Vita games.”