Board 8 > Rate the VG Story Day 32: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

(+) Yeah! (+)

Today we have the third Danganronpa game, Danganronpa V3. How would you rate the story on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest?
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Previous Results:
Outer Wilds - 9.82 (19 votes)
Omori - 9.6 (5 votes)
Nier Automata - 9.25 (31 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 8.76 (28 votes)
Metal Gear Solid - 8.73 (24 votes)
Disco Elysium - 8.58 (12 votes)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective 8.35 (18 votes)
Final Fantasy X - 8.28 (50 votes)
The Last of Us - 8.24 (32 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 8.13 (37 votes)
Life is Strange - 7.91 (29 votes)
Doki Doki Literature Club - 7.8 (21 votes)
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - 7.68 (25 votes)
Bioshock - 7.6 (22 votes)
Celeste - 7.5 (23 votes)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 7.38 (28 votes)
*Mass Effect - 7.34 (27 votes)*
Tales of the Abyss - 7.34 (27 votes)
Super Paper Mario - 7.14 (18 votes)
Hollow Knight - 6.98 (20 votes)
Dark Souls - 6.86 (19 votes)
Chrono Cross - 6.77 (15 votes)
Death Stranding - 6.73 (13 votes)
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - 6.62 (25 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All - 6.43 (26 votes)
DOOM (2016) - 6.25 (12 votes)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - 6.1 (13 votes)
Final Fantasy IV - 5.62 (27 votes)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - 5.41 (26 votes)
Final Fantasy XIII - 4.77 (24 votes)
Fallout 4 - 4.39 (14 votes)

You can still rate previous days games if you missed them, just write <game name> <rating>. If you want to change your rating you can just specify that you are changing your rating. Nominations for future days are also welcome, nominate as many games as you like and I will get to all of them.

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6.5

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Gotta avoid this topic since I haven't played it yet and I still intend to so time for a quick nom and bail

Nominate Chrono Trigger

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3

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9.5

the ending is good, actually

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2/10

If it was just based on the first chapter it would be much higher, but this was easily the worst story of the DR trilogy. The writing for the characters was almost entirely terrible and every chapter was basically worse than the one before it with the ending being downright terrible. Im almost convinced it was intentional as a way to finally never have to make more of the series.

9

it was almost perfect, just a couple of tweaks and it would have been there

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc 5
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 7
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All 9

while I'm here. PRETTY sure I didn't rate these? if I did, my bad

9.5

The ending is one of my favorites of all-time.

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Another one I haven't played. I'm at the final class trial for Danganronpa 2, so DV3 is in my near future.

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9.5

This is what the other Danganronpa games should aspire toward. Docking half a point for the stupidity of the third case. Everything else about 3 was great.

swordz9 posted...

If it was just based on the first chapter it would be much higher, but this was easily the worst story of the DR trilogy. The writing for the characters was almost entirely terrible and every chapter was basically worse than the one before it with the ending being downright terrible.

Funny, this is pretty close to how I feel about 2, except replace first with fifth.

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9

Only good Danganronpa game

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8.9
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7

lukewarm take: the ending is not good

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5

Case 1 great, case 6 great, rest of the game not so good. Shuichi and Kokichi are real bad. Kokichi's the worst character in the series. The game would've been so much better with Kaede as the protagonist.
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7

I really like the ending! I think my main issue is really just the lead characters and their overall role in the story.

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8

I'm not a big fan of the ending, but it seems like a good direction to go over DR2 and DR1. I do really appreciate the characters in this game.

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10

DR1 is good, but it's very normal.

DR2 is completely chaotic to the point of nonsense.

DRV3 takes the character relationships of DR1 and makes them a bit more exciting.

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Outer Wilds 6

Played this game over the past week. Overall a pretty good game but the story is nothing noteworthy. Similar to Hollow Knight, the story isn't really the main focus of the game, but it does serve to motivate exploration (which is the main point here) by getting the player to slowly piece together what happened and how things came to be how they are, and it does do quite a good job at this. Unlike Hollow Knight though, there's ultimately several pieces of the puzzle that--while thematically consistent--are also profoundly unsatisfying. The ending is also such a non-ending while also leaving several unanswered questions in a game that's supposed to be about finding answers to questions.

Don't let this dissuade you from playing it because I did have quite a bit of fun with the game. Again the story just isn't the point.
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5
Wasn't a fan, sorry
Most characters are annoying. The truly best one died in the first "case"
The lead role was ok and Kokichi is a poor's man Nagito
It was still decent mostly but then the ending shat the bed

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1

This is a prime example of how to not only ruin the game but the entire series and hopes of future games with such a legendarily bad final act and ending. Mass Effect 3 has absolutely nothing on this one. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time's hilarious plot twist cannot hold a candle. The ending literally makes you question why you even got invested in any of the story and characters till now. Top that off with a laughably bad mastermind and such face palm moments in the end sequence, this is the most disappointing end to a series in any media for me personally without any dispute.

The sad thing is that until the final act it was the best Danganronpa game for me. I was fully invested in the characters and the mystery element of these games that I so loved but then the absolute worst bed shitting moment that I never would have even imagined in my wildest of imaginations came on to completely unravel not just the game but the entire series of games before it. It was a giant fuck you from the developers and so it gets a giant fuck you score here from me. This game does not exist. Goodbye Despair is where the series ends for me.

colliding posted...

lukewarm take: the ending is not good

How the fuck is it even a dispute over whether the ending is good or bad?

It's like saying a fly buzzing around your ear at night is pleasant or like saying I love having my milk a bit aged.

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

1

This is a prime example of how to not only ruin the game but the entire series and hopes of future games with such a legendarily bad final act and ending. Mass Effect 3 has absolutely nothing on this one. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time's hilarious plot twist cannot hold a candle. The ending literally makes you question why you even got invested in any of the story and characters till now. Top that off with a laughably bad mastermind and such face palm moments in the end sequence, this is the most disappointing end to a series in any media for me personally without any dispute.

The sad thing is that until the final act it was the best Danganronpa game for me. I was fully invested in the characters and the mystery element of these games that I so loved but then the absolute worst bed shitting moment that I never would have even imagined in my wildest of imaginations came on to completely unravel not just the game but the entire series of games before it. It was a giant fuck you from the developers and so it gets a giant fuck you score here from me. This game does not exist. Goodbye Despair is where the series ends for me.

there's only response to this that I can feel is appropriate.

hoes mad

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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

The sad thing is that until the final act it was the best Danganronpa game for me. I was fully invested in the characters and the mystery element of these games that I so loved but then the absolute worst bed shitting moment that I never would have even imagined in my wildest of imaginations came on to completely unravel not just the game but the entire series of games before it. It was a giant fuck you from the developers and so it gets a giant fuck you score here from me. This game does not exist. Goodbye Despair is where the series ends for me.

The ending has no effect on the previous games, unless you totally misinterpreted it.

Which wouldn't be surprising. Your comments in these topics are generally pretty clueless.
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i mean axl is the person who thought celeste didnt have a story so

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I wish there was something to misinterpret about everything in the world going to shit and consumerism taking over to the point where selfish people willingly take part in an inhumane video game as an escape. And those are the characters we are supposed to like and be empathetic about?

Anyways why I am I trying to justify something to someone actively taking cheap shots with no context.

Hey I don't hold grudges about people who thought Dark Souls had no story. Celeste was simply Madeline climbing up the mountain and I didn't go beyond just reading the text in the game so that was what the plot was from my perception. There's a lot of scores thrown around in the topic with no explanation but I'm at least trying to give something even on days when I don't necessarily have the energy to type. These are games I have beaten so I think I am entitled to my opinion from my experience with the game.

Sorry me being not able to articulate why I didn't give a rat's ass about why Madeline wants to climb mountain and that the gameplay is what it's all about got under your skin.

9.5
The absolute peak of dangan ronpa.

7.5/10

The characters aren't as memorable (save one or two that stand out). Kokichi alone makes this cast almost insufferable in the same way Nagito (almost) did. I've seen worse endings, and actually side on the developer if they did it as a "Fuck off, we're done here." sort of thing. There's only so much you can do with this setup that is Phoenix Wright but way more murderhobo comedy escape room. I can appreciate the dev saying, "We want this over and done with. Let's make it literally impossible to do so."

Besides, after V2, you seriously think anything was off the table by that point? They went apeshit long before this. V2's ending let the cat out of the bag. V3 just fucking shot it.

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pyresword posted...

The ending is also such a non-ending while also leaving several unanswered questions in a game that's supposed to be about finding answers to questions.

Sorry to turn this topic into a bunch of black bars, but I have to respond to this one, because there's a big misunderstanding here.

@pyresword The entire moral of the story is that there aren't magical answers to everything. The game centered entirely around death. It's supposed to teach you that the end is ultimately inevitable and all you can do is your best with the time you are given and make the universe a better place for others who are able to see the results.

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DRV3's ending is my favorite one in the series. Certainly better than the bullshit they tried to peddle in DR2's climax.

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I don't think it's wrong to say that:

1. What you described is the philosophical message of the game
2. What I described is the appeal of the game from a mechanics standpoint.
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I'm a little amazed that so many people are holding the ending against DRV3 this strongly. Were the games ever really about the ending? Was it anything more than a framing device?

The first game has Junko pushing the world into the madness of total despair with the most horrible, unspeakable tragedy ever, and then sneaking into Light's Hope anyway and hijacking the game, making everyone think she was dead, and then pulling the strings from behind. Part of that's a cool plot twist, but otherwise it's incredibly dumb.

The second game has "but it was all a dream" in the form of a VR simulation. Oh, and every one of the characters was secretly a terrible person before they had their minds wiped and were dragged here.

Compared to that, was 3 really so terrible? Was there ever any hope for an ending based on anything else? Can you think of a way to frame a Danganronpa game with any other endings that don't sound equally loony and bad? If you're angry, it's only because this one's actually semi-plausible. In our current zeitgeist, I could absolutely see a reality TV show where the actors have to give up their past and then consequently their lives, just because it makes for good TV drama. But again, I have to maintain that the ending's not the point of the games. Or if it is, then I'm seriously missing the boat.

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8

nominate:
Bioshock Infinite
The Sexy Brutale
Return of the Obra Dinn (can't remember if I already nominated it)

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The ending to every DR game is bad imo, but V3s was a special kind of bad. DR as a series is basically some interesting cases, but loaded with some of the worst mini-games ever, awful and/or pointless characters and just some of the dumbest plot out there. The real despair is playing through them lol

I'm used to zany endings, but I'm not used to zany endings that actively undercut the entire franchise.

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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Hey I don't hold grudges about people who thought Dark Souls had no story. Celeste was simply Madeline climbing up the mountain and I didn't go beyond just reading the text in the game so that was what the plot was from my perception. There's a lot of scores thrown around in the topic with no explanation but I'm at least trying to give something even on days when I don't necessarily have the energy to type. These are games I have beaten so I think I am entitled to my opinion from my experience with the game.

Sorry me being not able to articulate why I didn't give a rat's ass about why Madeline wants to climb mountain and that the gameplay is what it's all about got under your skin.

if you skip every cutscene, no, I dont think youre qualified to give a fair ranking in a topic series about video game stories

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azuarc posted...

I'm a little amazed that so many people are holding the ending against DRV3 this strongly. Were the games ever really about the ending? Was it anything more than a framing device?

I didn't play Danganronpa 3 but I do think that things like this would have more of an effect on my rating in a topic like this than it would even when just talking about the game in general. Like to me it feels like this topic is about "evaluate the story as a whole on its own merits" in which case things like this can easily matter, but when talking about the game in general the relevant question might be "is playing the game enjoyable on a moment-to-moment to basis and does the story succeed or fail in facilitating that?" In which case maybe the details of the ending to a 30-40 hour long game don't necessarily impact much.

Edit: I think really I'm rating as a mixture of both aspects, but I think in general this is still a factor.
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Regardless if someone hates a certain part of the story with passion (and even if it's the finale which is the most important part)
I feel like giving it 1 while also claiming "it was the best Danganronpa game before that ending" is in poor taste

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azuarc posted...

I'm a little amazed that so many people are holding the ending against DRV3 this strongly. Were the games ever really about the ending? Was it anything more than a framing device?

Compared to that, was 3 really so terrible? Was there ever any hope for an ending based on anything else? Can you think of a way to frame a Danganronpa game with any other endings that don't sound equally loony and bad? If you're angry, it's only because this one's actually semi-plausible. In our current zeitgeist, I could absolutely see a reality TV show where the actors have to give up their past and then consequently their lives, just because it makes for good TV drama. But again, I have to maintain that the ending's not the point of the games. Or if it is, then I'm seriously missing the boat.

This is a fair point, which is why I gave it a 7 in my earlier post and not something lower. But to answer your rhetorical questions in your last paragraph, yes, I think there are better ways to end this game that aren't "equally loony and bad."

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4

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azuarc posted...

I'm a little amazed that so many people are holding the ending against DRV3 this strongly. Were the games ever really about the ending? Was it anything more than a framing device?

Endings are an important part of a lot of stories. A great ending can make a story and a bad ending can wreck one. Like, MGS3's ending basically is that game's story to me. On top of that, V3's ending explicitly recontextualizes everything that happens in the game, so it's hard for me to imagine someone not caring about it at all.
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9/10

7

The ending is doing most of the work carrying this, and while I think it's a good ending I don't think it's amazing or anything. Kinda follows the DR2 formula of good cases 1, 4, 5, and 6 but I liked DR2 more on those fronts. OTOH, I don't think DRV3 gets as bad as DR2 Chapter 3 so there's that in its favor!

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pyresword posted...

I didn't play Danganronpa 3 but I do think that things like this would have more of an effect on my rating in a topic like this than it would even when just talking about the game in general. Like to me it feels like this topic is about "evaluate the story as a whole on its own merits" in which case things like this can easily matter, but when talking about the game in general the relevant question might be "is playing the game enjoyable on a moment-to-moment to basis and does the story succeed or fail in facilitating that?" In which case maybe the details of the ending to a 30-40 hour long game don't necessarily impact much.

And my reaction is that with as story-heavy as those 30-40 hours are, and going in with the awareness from two previous games that the endings are always a bunch of inane garbage there simply to wrap up the story, one should look at the journey and not the destination.

I would not normally make this argument because, as you (and others) say, endings matter in a discussion about story. I feel like getting upset over the ending in this instance is a bit extreme. I know it's a polarizing ending and I know that some people don't really like Danganronpa anyway, but the volume of numbers below 4 here just boggle my mind since either those people hate themselves enough to play a series they can't stand through three decently long games, or they think this is so phenomenally the worst entry in the series when it surpasses the first two games' strengths in almost every regard.

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10

Best one for DR by far, one of the best out there. Kokichi arguable my favorite character in fiction.

I am sure this topic is full of arguing about it and I don't even want to read that, lol.

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azuarc posted...

Stuff

imo much stranger than the people harping on the ending are those who get super salty over their waifu being taken from them

It was the first time the series ever actually gave people despair

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Against my better judgement I did read the topic.

Just gonna say lol Axl.

That 1/10 Celeste too, ouch. How embarrassing.

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pyresword posted...

Outer Wilds 6

Played this game over the past week. Overall a pretty good game but the story is nothing noteworthy. Similar to Hollow Knight, the story isn't really the main focus of the game, but it does serve to motivate exploration (which is the main point here) by getting the player to slowly piece together what happened and how things came to be how they are, and it does do quite a good job at this. Unlike Hollow Knight though, there's ultimately several pieces of the puzzle that--while thematically consistent--are also profoundly unsatisfying. The ending is also such a non-ending while also leaving several unanswered questions in a game that's supposed to be about finding answers to questions.

Don't let this dissuade you from playing it because I did have quite a bit of fun with the game. Again the story just isn't the point.

I have to say, I super disagree with this one. The story is very much the game, its all about learning how the world works and how to apply that. Also the ending is very straightforward, you use the eye of the universe to start a new universe while the current one ends, then you die along with everyone else. It is all about accepting your death to let something new come after you, which is beautiful. Its not a non-ending its THE ending.

Also, on Danganronpa, I have not played them and might when the remaster comes out, but I just want to say that they all have excellent subtitles.

Next topic up in a little bit.

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azuarc posted...

...so phenomenally the worst entry in the series when it surpasses the first two games' strengths in almost every regard.

nah. a case can easily be made that 2 is better in terms of characters and pacing, even taking endings off the table.

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