Board 8 > Danganronpa Spoiler Topic for All Games (SPOILERS)

(+) Yeah! (+)

At least I'm with you!

DR > Zero Escape > AA

But they are all A+ series so it's negligible.

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I'm with you there. AA has more sustained quality, but my top 3 of them combined are DRV3, AA3, and DR2, and I tend to remember high points way more than low points.

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Zero Escape edges DR for me. Will get to AA at some point but I feel like I may have missed the boat by playing it last. We'll see.

AA is the better series but DR2-4 might be better than all AA cases.

Which is interesting since the comparison I'd have to make would be with AA2-4.

I think what it largely comes down to, for me, is that I like Danganronpa's premise a lot, and it has a more cohesive story, but every game has many portions that drag, whereas AA doesn't have as many, and the parts that do drag aren't as long.

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I mean, it depends on the game.

AA2 is kind of all bad except for the last case. AA4 has the great first case and the rest is whatever to bad. I have heard nothing good about Great Ace Attorney.

Giving a blanket statement for a franchise doesn't really work most of the time!

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Official waifu ranking. This ignores any factor of them being murderers, but otherwise counts their personalities as normal.
Kaede > Chiaki > Sonia > Kyoko > Aoi > Tenko > Maki > Peko > Toko > Miu > Ibuki > Kirumi > Mahiru > Akane > Sakura > Sayaka > Hiyoko > Himiko > Mikan > Celeste > Angie > Junko

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Reflect for the high Tenko rating.

Fun fact: Kodaka designed Miu believing she would be the most disliked character in the entire Danganronpa franchise. Didn't quite turn out that way, I would say!

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

Reflect for the high Tenko rating.

Fun fact: Kodaka designed Miu believing she would be the most disliked character in the entire Danganronpa franchise. Didn't quite turn out that way, I would say!

I didn't like Miu as much as many people seem to, but she was one of the highlights of the game for sure.

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Most people don't dislike Miu. She is consistently in the V3 top 5 in most fan rankings.

Edit: Oh that was a typo.


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I ranked Miu 14th in V3. It was kinda fun to laugh at her, but I didnt really like her. Thats counting the bears. For the non-bears that basically just means I ranked her above Tsumugi who was offensively boring and part of a dumb twist which just makes her worse, DEGENERATE MALE on infinite repeat and The Ultimate Nothing (Rantaro). I have a lot of negative DR opinions though. Honestly I dunno why I even played all 3 games. Gundham is awesome at least so 2 wasnt a total waste

Great Ace Attorney decided to do that thing that AAI did where the first game is mediocre and the second game is amazing.

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Mewtwo59 posted...

Great Ace Attorney decided to do that thing that AAI did where the first game is mediocre and the second game is amazing.

Now if only they finish translating it.. >_>

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The final two cases of Great Ace Attorney 2 are among the worst cases in the series. The first game was much better.
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I just started reading that fanfic someone posted. In V3, isn't the rule that you have to vote correctly or you'll be killed, even if everyone else votes right? Because that's not the case in the fic, it seems.

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No. You could've voted for whoever you wanted and it wouldn't change anything.
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Could've sworn they said that, but okay. Thanks.

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Yeah I think I voted wrong in every case (intentionally)
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I think there was an issue with NOT voting, IIRC.

Gonna have to reread this myself, lol.

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Not voting at all would get you killed. That was a rule.

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ZeldaTPLink posted...

AA is the better series but DR2-4 might be better than all AA cases.

4?? Did I miss something? Are we counting the VR game?

He means DR2 case 4.

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After keeping up with this topic and then recognizing I still haven't started a project for nanowrimo, I have this impulse to write a Danganronpa story. It's probably a horrible idea because characterization is the worst part of my writing, and I pants rather than plan, which will make creating compelling murders extremely unlikely, but maybe I'll give it a go. If anyone has anything they'd like me to try to incorporate (characters, ultimate talents, particular plot wrinkles, etc.) let me know. I make no promise I'll actually follow through on this idea, but this also might be just what I need to get out of my writing rut.

edit: On second thought, this is a terrible idea. Danganronpa is about the worst possible story concept to try to make up on the spot rather than doing some serious planning.

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If you died if you voted for the wrong culprit, Kaito would've died at the end of 3-4 for voting for Kokichi.

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azuarc posted...

After keeping up with this topic and then recognizing I still haven't started a project for nanowrimo, I have this impulse to write a Danganronpa story. It's probably a horrible idea because characterization is the worst part of my writing, and I pants rather than plan, which will make creating compelling murders extremely unlikely, but maybe I'll give it a go. If anyone has anything they'd like me to try to incorporate (characters, ultimate talents, particular plot wrinkles, etc.) let me know. I make no promise I'll actually follow through on this idea, but this also might be just what I need to get out of my writing rut.

You gonna set it in another high school, or try a new setting altogether?

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Anagram posted...

You gonna set it in another high school, or try a new setting altogether?

No idea. I'm open to ideas. I'd probably make the characters American, though. It's easier to claim they don't have any idea what Danganronpa is that way. And again, this is an extremely daunting task that doesn't really suit my skillset as a writer.

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MrSmartGuy posted...

If you died if you voted for the wrong culprit, Kaito would've died at the end of 3-4 for voting for Kokichi.

Monokuma basically gets on to everyone's case for someone knowingly voting a wrong culprit (without specifying who did it), but yes there was no penalty for it.
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Honestly, azuarc, you're making me feel like writing a fanfic, and I haven't written one ever.

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I'm a few chapters into this reread of ITMLfY and it's definitely as good as I remember! Might be a little biased knowing what's coming.

Will never disparage anyone wanting to write DR fic, it's a very rich scene.

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I am also reading the fanfic. So far I've enjoyed it. I haven't read a fanfic in many years.

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I just finished the first trial of the fanfic. Not sure how I feel about the logic arriving at the final conclusion, but everything else has been fantastic so far.

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One of my favorite parts of the whole thing is which underutilized characters end up being such prominent players. Not gonna spoil who those are of course.

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Since it might be relevant to Anagram's interests depending on if he wants to follow up.

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1325862499221037058?s=19

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There's a really big sale on Steam right now for the franchise. I'll probably be picking it up.

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Yeah DR is also on a big sale, just didn't think people posting here would need that lol.

Steins;Gate also on a big sale.

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I know basically nothing about Zero Escape. Considering they've come up repeatedly in this thread wrt/ DR and PW, I take it they're the third stop on this tour?

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https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79078989

yup

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Oh, I saw that thread. Not arguing. Just nobody actually talks about Zero Escape. It's simply brought up tangentially.

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It's the least popular for sure, but that's not a quality thing, just reach.

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There's also just less to talk about regarding Zero Escape honestly. DR and to a lesser extent AA are more conducive to character/case rankings and such.

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Lol at me for buying the Danganronpa games just before they went on sale.

May buy Zero Escape, but Im visual novelled out for the near future.

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I'm too stingy to ever get anything not on sale so I just hunt for it.

Seems I can get both franchises for $43.12 before tax.

If you have no DR games, put on the 1/2/3 bundle, then put on the other bundle. You'll save about a dollar if you do it that way. You get an additional discount on the 4th game you otherwise wouldn't get. If you do it the other way, you'll pay about a dollar extra instead.

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guess I'm taking the ZE plunge. Not sure when I'll start. Currently working on The Outer Worlds.

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Anagram posted...

Lol at me for buying the Danganronpa games just before they went on sale.

I mean I did specifically tell you they go on sale all the time before you bought them <_<

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

I mean I did specifically tell you they go on sale all the time before you bought them <_<

Its true! I deserve all of the lols.

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One day I will play The Somnium Files
I know people here liked it, but it never blew up like AA/Danganronpa/Zero Escape did and I have a giganatic backlog so this is not a priority

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KamikazePotato posted...

There's also just less to talk about regarding Zero Escape honestly. DR and to a lesser extent AA are more conducive to character/case rankings and such.

yeah. Zero Escape is a bit of a different structure with its big overarching plot than the case-based structure DR/AA both have.

Imagine a Zero Escape series waifu ranking

1.Luna/Diana

That is all

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Alright, so now that Anagram's done with his topic (actually, I could've said this before, but whatever).

I like the Danganronpa series, but I can fully admit that all three games are fundamentally flawed. As such, I've come up with headcanon ways to improve the games from a story perspective. Note, this only really applies to DR1 and DRV3, because in both of those, the story feels tight enough that you can make minor adjustments to correct errors. DR2's flaws are far more embedded in the game, and therefore more difficult to correct. So here are my thoughts.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

First and foremost, the biggest change I would include: start with SIXTEEN characters. Starting with fifteen, only to reveal that there's a secret, sixteenth student is a massive copout, and it's part of what weighs down the entirety of chapter 1-5, because we're suddenly expected to care about this non-character who we've never met before. So instead, have Mukuro in the game from the beginning. She's intense, she's closed-off, and she still works because it means you have an accomplice to the eventual mastermind, rather than the half-assed "I'm gonna blackmail Sakura" shtick.

With Mukuro in the game, you can slowly have her develop over the course of her five chapters. I'm definitely taking some pages out of the "If" novel, but have her slowly ingratiate herself with Makoto, since his "lucky student" status is deemed so important by the game and the anime. And then, you can have her slowly open up, until the point where she no longer buys into Junko's despair plans, leading to Junko killing her in chapter 5. I feel like this would carry a LOT more emotional weight to have Kyoko accused of killing a friend, as opposed to Kyoko killing some random non-entity.

Next change: rework chapter 1's story. Sayaka is great, and it's great to use her to establish the scenario. But because the entire first case is really about HER as the killer, Leon winds up as a complete afterthought of a character. He's already one of the most obvious killers in the franchise, so why not build him up and at least give him motivation. You can KINDA glean things, but it should be more shown. Leon is an aspiring musician, Sayaka is a pop idol (not to mention she's hot). The story writes itself. Have Leon trying to wedge himself into the Makoto/Sayaka relationship to get close to Sayaka, then suddenly it makes sense why she would choose to build her murder plan around killing him/sparing Makoto. It just gives Leon that LITTLE bit of extra characterization so he's not such a waste of space.

Additionally in chapter 1, set up a few long-term stories. Sakura and Hina's friendship, fine. Build up Hifumi's subservience to Celestia a little more. Really emphasize the rivalry between Taka and Mondo (order vs. chaos). Chapter 1 is already pretty short and pretty obvious, so why not pad it a bit with characterization and character development?

Finally, since Mukuro is going to be a character in this version, I don't want to eliminate that Junko "kill", because it establishes the threat posed by Monokuma. So instead, you still do the whole Gungnir thing, but Junko is only FAKE dead. It can later be revealed that the spears perfectly avoided any vital organs, and it was an an excuse to allow her to hide out as the mastermind. This is something you can't really work around too much, but it at least does a better job than killing off a non-character for use in a later story.

The next fix I would make is switching chapters 2 and 3 around. The reason for this is that the chapter 3 motive is stupid when you look at the two previous motives. "Your family are in danger" and "I'll reveal your darkest secret" are far more enticing than "Here's a bunch of money". But the money motive doesn't feel QUITE as stupid if it's BEFORE the blackmail motive. At that point, there's been only one kill to establish the danger of the game (plus Junko), but its only been the one kill, so the money still feels like a reasonable motive.

Now, in this new chapter 2, start it out with Hiro freaking out because he had a vision. He believes that someone is going to kill him, and he accuses Hifumi. People don't really take him seriously, but the seed has been planted. From there, you can pretty much leave the case as it was in 1-3 (it's still dumb, but I don't want to fuck with the cases themselves too much), but swap Hiro's role in the story with Taka's role. Hiro winds up dead, Taka winds up knocked out and stuffed in the Gundam suit. Hifumi also winds up dead.

The story is BASICALLY the same, except now we're giving Hiro a little bit more of a moment and a bit larger of a role in the story, because he's essentially useless in the real game. Plus, Taka is a character who had SO much potential, and then he's just killed as a stupid afterthought, so leaving him alive makes the story more interesting. You can get to the trial and mention Hiro's prediction, but then Hifumi died too. You can accuse Taka, but then he gets defended by Mondo unexpectedly (probably calling him too much of a loser to ever kill anyone, but still coming to Taka's aid). Ultimately, you figure out that Celestia convinced Hifumi to help her by telling him that Hiro was going to get him killed, Celestia gets caught and executed, and it's all good.

Having this chapter earlier works better tonally as well, because as it stands, you have sadness from Sayaka's betrayal, and then a really emotional chapter 1-2, only to follow it up with complete cartoonish nonsense. This way, you get the goofiest chapter out of the way early (when the game is still meant to be "fun" as far as murder goes), and allow the rest of the game to take a properly serious tone.

Then you move onto chapter 3, which was originally 1-2, and you really don't need to change anything at this point. Hiro/Hifumi/Celestia served no purpose in this chapter (and honestly, getting rid of the creepy "Hifumi lusting after a computer screen" subplot is for the best). Taka and Mondo get closer and bond, only for Mondo to get executed and send Taka into despair. That works because we've now had three chapters to develop their relationship instead of just two, in which they spend one sauna session together and are suddenly best bros.

The other benefit to pushing 1-2 further into the game is...1-2 has a LOT of plot details in it. Byakuya decides to fuck around with the body because he's a shit-stirrer, Toko is a secret serial killer, and Chihiro has uploaded a program of themself onto a computer. All of these things happen SO early in the game that they're forced to drag the plot out over the course of four chapters, whereas now it's a more manageable three.

Then you get to chapter 1-4 and as good as the original chapter was, I think it's even better in our current scenario. Instead of Hiro, who is a SHIT character in 1-4, you have Taka. Taka is still reeling from the death of his friend, so he has a reason to be mad at the apparent traitor, Sakura, for forcing them to kill one another. Mukuro is still around and is considered one of the few people who could take Sakura in a fight if need be. Toko the serial killer is always an option. Byakuya being smug and thinking highly of himself is still great. And the plot can still work exactly the same as it did, but I feel like Taka/Mukuro are just better characters to have involved than Hiro.

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