Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
AKA: What happens when you’re stuck in a place with a Melodramatic Bear
Playstation Vita. Developed by Spike Chunsoft. Published by NIS America
By: Jason Anderson
Edited by: Greg Dinkelman
Edited by: Greg Dinkelman
Not that type of bear guys….
Welcome, folks, to another issue of MileHighGaymer, where we try and show you some games that you should be playing and sometimes shouldn’t be. This week we bring you Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc for the PS VIta.
Danganronpa is a murder mystery visual novel that takes places at Hope’s Peak Academy. Sealed inside of the academy, it’s your job as the protagonist to solve the multiple cases put in front of you correctly, or you and your classmates will die instead.
The game itself is an interesting blend of Persona 4, the Ace Attorney Series, and Battle Royale or Hunger Games. The students themselves each have their own agenda for going to the school and fleeing it after Monokuma, the principle, makes his appearance.
Story
You start out as the “Ultimate Lucky Student” Makota Naegi, an average student, winning a raffle to attend the elite high school, Hope’s Peak Academy. The school only accepts students who are the best or “Ultimate” in their fields. Students who graduate, leave the school to be successful in their future careers.
However as Makoto enters the gates of the academy, he loses consciousness, waking up locked inside the school with fourteen other Ultimate Students. The doors and windows are barred with steel plates, and soon after a quick look around the students are ushered into the gym for the opening ceremony. There, a sadistic, remote-controlled bear named Monokuma appears before them, telling them they will be imprisoned in the academy for the rest of their lives. He offers only one way for students to graduate from the academy: murder another student and not be identified as the culprit.
Gameplay
Similar to the Ace Attorney series, Danganronpa involves investigation and character interaction to find clues for the end of chapter trials. Luckily the game gives you a few pointers that can help you in the investigation such as a clickable search option. This allows the player to meticulously search the areas for the clues that they need.
Wow my room is both cool and depressing at the same time…
After the investigation phase players are taken into the class trial, where the player will use the evidence that they procured and literally shoot through your classmates incorrect statements and proving who the actual culprit is.
If you are able to deduce the murderer you’ll be presented with his or her execution orchestrated by Monokuma. Between cases players will be able to use free time to interact with their classmates to gain abilities that will help them in future cases. One example is called melodious voice, an ability, which when used in trial, will do more damage to the murderer during his final statement.
Art
The best thing I can say about Danganronpa’s art is that it tries it’s best to examine each of the character’s traits and design a unique character based on it. They do pull in with stereotypes on some characters, as well as give some unique spins on classic archetypes.
My favorite design so far has been Sakura Ogami, the ultimate martial artist. Instead of the big boobed chic you see in most fighting games, Sakura is muscular to the extreme similar to female body builders.
Another aspect that the artists put into the game, is just the general foreboding feeling you have as you explore the school. Cameras are in every room to record everything that happens, windows are covered in metal plates, and guns are pointed at you when you look at the front doors. When you are running around the halls, very little light is provided to you, cutting across the screen in sharp blacks, basically giving you a feeling that anything can be hidden in the dark. 
One of these people will die in the game… Ok more than one…
Also just because a characters look innocent, that doesn’t mean you're safe.
Replayability
One of the interesting draws for replaying the game is the alternate story. Instead of playing through the game deducing murders, you get to go through high school life. Players are still stuck inside of the school, but without the fear of being murdered. They instead are forced to build copies of Monokuma and given a chance to escape.
Final Verdict
I’ve gotta say after finishing my first chapter of the game I was pretty damn disturbed.
Spoiler *Highlight* if you wanna see this comment
“Having the first murderer punished by being pelted with 1000 baseballs by a pitching machine gave me a small nightmare.”
How the murderers are dealt with in this game can easily bring up the issue of capital punishment inside of an initially civilized society, as well as the entertainment value that can be taken from media that shows students killing each other off, like Avengers Arena, Battle Royale, and Hunger Games, just to entertain or demoralize the public. The characters and their interactions with the protagonist can leave players asking a lot of questions with the initial being “Could I really do that if I was put into the situation.”
The game itself is very entertaining if pursued from the murder mystery analog. I myself didn’t really think of it that way. The first case left me feeling cold and horrified about what I just witnessed. I can honestly say that how the game has a more dark slant compared to a Phoenix Wright game, which while dealing with murder as well has a brighter slant, was most likely the cause of my feelings.
The game itself is very entertaining if pursued from the murder mystery analog. I myself didn’t really think of it that way. The first case left me feeling cold and horrified about what I just witnessed. I can honestly say that how the game has a more dark slant compared to a Phoenix Wright game, which while dealing with murder as well has a brighter slant, was most likely the cause of my feelings.
Extras
Monokuma - While he may be a little bastard primarily in charge of all the hardships the characters must face, actually has most of the entertaining lines in the game.
