Is This Real Life, Or Is It Danganronpa V3?

Of course this was going to happen. Of course. Considering my history with the Danganronpa franchise — and how much I’ve talked about it on this blog — it should come as no surprise that I am here, yet again, to blab on and on about the latest entry in the series: Danganronpa V3.

Having finished the game some weeks ago, I’ve allowed myself to bask in the V3 afterglow and to simply let That Ending™ simmer as I slowly processed it all. I have a LOT to say about V3 (then again, when do I not have so much to say when it comes to Danganronpa?), but I’ll keep more spoiler-y sections of my fangirling separate with a warning.

Characters

V3 is marketed as a game separate from the rest of the Danganronpa franchise thus far. With the conclusion of the Hope’s Peak Academy saga, c/o of the Danganronpa 3 anime, we are given a fresh batch of faces who become unfortunate victims in Monokuma’s Killing Game yet again.

I wasn’t really sure how to feel about the character designs this time around, as I kept on drawing comparisons to other characters in previous Danganronpa games. Nevertheless, we do get some interesting designs for V3, such as with Korekiyo (Ultimate Anthropologist) and Miu (Ultimate Inventor). Let’s not forget resident bae Rantaro (Ultimate ???), who caught my eye during the game’s early promotions prior to its release.

Out of all the Danganronpa games thus far, it’s Danganronpa 2 that still holds my highest preference in terms of character design. The kids we got back then were the least static in terms of looks, and their designs were all the more accented by the bright and colorful setting of Jabberwock Island.

Soundtrack

Kudos to V3 for giving us such b o p s to jam to. The game boasts of some rehashes of tracks from older Danganronpa titles, but it also holds its own with some fresh music in the background during gameplay. I especially enjoyed the theme for Debate Scrum, though I’m probably biased because I enjoyed Debate Scrum SO MUCH.

New minigames

As was the case with other games in the franchise, V3 also features some new minigames during Class Trials. Debate Scrum, as I mentioned, was a favorite of mine. It basically involves splitting the class into two teams to debate against one another whenever the class disagrees on certain arguments in trials. It might be a little odd for me to say that this gave me a sense of camaraderie with the other characters, considering it actually places a divide within the class. 

Though there are new features, other minigames from previous titles manifest in V3. Non-Stop Debate takes the form of Mass Panic Debate, Bullet Time Battle is translated as Argument Armament, and so on.

Logic Dive is replaced by Psyche Taxi, which involves players driving a vehicle and collecting letters  of the alphabet to form a question before promptly picking the correct answer to said inquiry. My preference for Logic Dive aside, Psyche Taxi often felt a little too dragged on — especially for a minigame — to the point that it sometimes took away from the rhythm of the Class Trials.

There’s also Mind Mine, which is a puzzle-style minigame that requires players to match colored blocks in order to clear them and reveal images (that pertain to answers in Class Trials) underneath. I didn’t care for this so much during Class Trials, but ohhh boy did its Casino counterpart (called Treasure Hunter) take over my life.

On that note, V3 also features a Casino that allows players to access minigames and win coins in exchange for special prizes. The only game I truly bothered with was Treasure Hunter — simply because it was the easiest for me to amass a substantial amount of coins — to the point that I lost so much sleep over playing Treasure Hunter over and over again.

Pro tip: don’t get sucked into the Casino like I did.

Fandom references

One aspect of V3 that I thoroughly enjoyed was its Easter Eggs for various other fandoms. I picked up references to Yu-Gi-Oh, which was such a delight because I’ve been a fan of YGO for years now. (Though, granted, I’ve only ever bothered with the OG series.) There was also a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog, and even one shout out to Psycho-Pass (be still, my fangirl heart!)

Monokubs

We get some new iterations of the Monokuma figure in the form of his “children,” the Monokubs. They have blatant similarities to Ultra Despair Girls’ Warriors of Hope, what with the color scheme and number of characters. Ultimately, the Monokubs provided some comic relief from time to time, though I have to wonder just what their purpose really was in V3. I feel like the game could have easily done without them, to be honest. Back when the game was still being promoted, I somehow hoped that the Monokubs would play a more significant role in the story. They just seemed like a bonus more than anything.

!!! S P O I L E R S  S P O I L E R S  S P O I L E R S !!!

And here’s where we dive into so many spoilers. 

Kaede

Okay, let’s get this straight: V3 marketed Kaede as its protagonist. Being a girl myself, this was such good news for me because, “Yay, a female main character in Danganronpa!” This is different from UDG, as that featured an entirely different approach to the Danganronpa universe with new gameplay. Having Kaede as the protagonist in a Danganronpa game that follows the classic “formula” of the franchise (i.e. Killing Game and Class Trials) was such a breath of fresh air for me.

Unfortunately, it only lasted for so long.

The plot twist with Kaede is that she wasn’t actually the main character that players take control of for most of the game after all. This was such a disappointment for me as I was so excited to have a female character in the protagonist seat. It didn’t help that she had the signature ahoge (basically a visual cue that features a strand of “antenna” hair, so to speak) that previous Danganronpa protagonists (Makoto, Hajime, and even Komaru) have sported. Her ahoge only added to the believability of her being marketed as V3’s protagonist.

Disappointment out of the way, the even bigger plot twist was that she was was the culprit of the very first Class Trial. As such, our “protagonist” is terminated after the game’s first chapter. Granted, Kaede being the culprit behind this first case is later debunked in the game’s final chapter, but just imagine the shock that such a revelation left me when I first played the game.

There were actually little clues peppered across Chapter 1 that should have hinted at Kaede being the initial culprit. As I was adamant to get the story rolling, the hints just went over my head. There were points such as the lack of mentions regarding whether or not Kaede returned the shot put in the warehouse, or how “I dropped everything” (when Kaede rushed to the basement) also pertained to her dropping the shot put — a.k.a. the murder weapon — as well, thus getting the ball rolling (literally) for the first murder.

These notable hints were things that I barely took notice of. In fact, I was so sure that Ryoma was going to be the first culprit. It all made sense to me in my brain, so much that I was blindsided by the revelation of Kaede being the character responsible for the game’s first kill.

I was in denial of her being the culprit — and, more significantly, in denial of her death — until the beginning of Chapter 2. All throughout her execution, I was hoping it was just a fake out and that Kaede would actually survive. Having a tragedy so early on in the game pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the story.

The “true” protagonist of V3

With Kaede (sadly) out of the way, who, then, is the actual protagonist of V3? As it turns out, it’s none other than the game’s Ultimate Detective: Shuichi. With the ahoge feature becoming a trope amongst Danganronpa protagonists, having Shuichi as our “hero” this time around seems like something that comes out of nowhere. The surprise further unfolds when it is revealed that Shuichi’s own ahoge was hidden underneath his hat all along. 

Shuichi

Now, don’t get me wrong — as much as I would have LOVED for the game to continue on with Kaede as the main character, I really did enjoy following the story through Shuichi’s perspective. In comparison to Makoto and Hajime, Shuichi seems like the most timid and unsure protagonist we’ve had thus far. In that sense, he shares some similarities to Komaru in UDG, as Komaru struggles with being a “regular” girls amidst The Tragedy and having to live under her older brother’s shadow.

In any case, due to Shuicihi’s history, he is incredibly reluctant to make use of his skills as the game’s Ultimate Detective. It’s a stark contrast to our previous Ultimate Detective with Kyoko, who was much more assertive all throughout the series.

However, it’s Shuichi’s unassuming — and sometimes self-deprecating — personality that gives him so much room to grow for the remainder of the game. He later begins to embrace his status as the Ultimate Detective, leading his classmates closer and closer to the truth during each Class Trial. This darling cinnamon roll really grows into himself, and a major catalyst for this is Kaede’s death.

As much as I longed for Kaede to be V3’s protagonist, the fact of the matter is, her personality was much too big to fit into the mold of a Danganronpa main character. This is especially when the histories of Makoto and Hajime are taken into account as well. That said, having Shuichi take over seemed much more fitting in the long run, no matter how disappointing and devastating it was to lose Kaede so early on in the game.

Deaths

No Danganronpa game is without its fair share of deaths. It’s worth noting that V3 has, in my opinion, one of the saddest deaths in the franchise thus far thanks to Kaede’s demise. Besides the tragic beginning to V3, another death that made me sob my life away was the end of Gonta.

Lemme tell you, having to admit that Gonta was the one responsible for the murder in Chapter 4 (despite Kokichi being the one who orchestrated it all) was just as tough as pointing the finger at Kaede in Chapter 1. It was all the more heartbreaking when Shuichi speaks to Gonta in such a gentle manner just before delving into the trial’s Closing Argument. Good job to the English voice actors for that one.

Gonta is just a gENTLE GIANT WHO MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS OK!!!!!!

Another noteworthy death was Kaito’s. It was a little saddening having him killed off, but the silver lining around Kaito’s death was that he managed to die on his own terms somehow. Succumbing to his illness before Monokuma’s execution could be fulfilled to the end was a bit of a victory for Shuichi’s gang in a twisted sort of way.

Me being the simpleton that I am, I was unable to foresee the deaths and plot twists before they unfolded. The only one that I was relatively close to predicting was Korekiyo’s, and only because it was fairly obvious. It was a shame, though. I found Korekiyo to be a pretty fascinating character (as sick as he is), and his passion for anthropology really drew me in, especially with his Free Time Events.

Let’s just… not get into the whole seesaw thing again…

Kokichi

Kokichi was one interesting bugger. For the entirety of his duration in the game, he comes off as being capable of spouting nothing but lies. It carries over even in his death. I had a hard time genuinely believing him when he revealed himself to be the mastermind of V3’s Killing Game, because it seemed way too easy. It just felt like there had to be more to the plot than this.

While the story hints at Kokichi being another Remnant of Despair and following in Junko’s footsteps, it is later revealed that his life pre-V3 was a lot more… innocent than what you might expect. Though he is known as the game’s Ultimate Supreme Leader, we later find out that the gang he takes charge of only pursues petty crimes — if you can even call them crimes.

Such a revelation inevitably negates the proposition of Kokichi being another mindless Junko worshipper. It is further invalidated when the game reveals Kokichi had no recollection of the whole Hope’s Peak saga, unlike the rest of his still surviving classmates.

(But wait — why would Kokichi even know of the whole Hope’s Peak commotion from the previous games if V3 is supposed to be separate from that arc? I’ll get to that in a bit.)

Another point about Kokichi that I’d like to discuss is how he’s being compared to Danganronpa 2’s Nagito. This is particularly due to how Kokichi died in the first place. Similar to Nagito, Kokichi planned his own death in order to progress the Killing Game. While I find Nagito to be a much, much more twisted character, going through the different facets of Kokichi was quite the whirlwind experience.

V3 in relation to other Danganronpa titles

Note how I said V3 was marketed as a game separate from the other Danganronpa games. Interestingly, as was the case with Kaede, we were only duped into thinking such. This would thus explain why V3’s opening sequence had a recap of the story thus far. I thought this was an odd tidbit because, well, if it’s unrelated to the Hope’s Peak saga, then there would be no need for a recap in the first place.

Additionally, the recap pretty much spoils new fans regarding the events that take place in the Danganronpa universe prior to V3. Upon stumbling into this realization mid-playing, I took note that V3 isn’t something that I can particularly recommend to new fans of the franchise. 

Now that we’ve established that V3 shows some links to previous Danganronpa titles, let’s talk about the game’s initial mastermind: Junko. That’s right, Danganronpa’s Ultimate Despair, ya girl, ya kween, JUNKO ENOSHIMA returns.

Having Junko as the mastermind yet again felt like a cheap cop-out to me. I mean, I love Junko and all, but really? She’s the one behind it all again? Kinda disappointing, if you ask me.

But wait! The plot thickens! Junko isn’t the only Danganronpa character to return. EVERYONE ELSE DOES, TOO! Even the dead ones. You read right. Here’s where it gets really messed up.

“It’s a lie!”

Kokichi may have been a lying lil’ brat all throughout the game, but he called it like it is. The Killing Game was all a lie. The biggest plot twist of them all is that the entirety of V3 (and, subsequently, the Danganronpa franchise) turned out to be a work of fiction. That may be the case for us, as the Danganronpa series is fictional, after all, but the game spins it such that all prior events in the Danganronpa universe (the entire Hope’s Peak Academy saga, from the first game to the anime) were simply made up.

It all becomes very meta as the game points out to the remaining survivors that they are nothing but characters to feed the hearts of us Danganronpa fans. This would also explain the “Team Danganronpa” logo at the beginning sequence of the game. I didn’t think anything of it right off the bat because I assumed Spike Chunsoft just made a separate team exclusive to Danganronpa projects. But, this all adds up to the revelation that all the stories in the franchise were simply works of fiction that make up the entirety of the Danganronpa brand.

There were several other moments in the game that alluded to the Danganronpa world being fictional, but I disregarded all of them because I simply thought the game was poking fun at itself. I thought it was just part of the game. And it was, though I misinterpreted just how everything would work out.

It’s at this point in V3 did I begin to feel slightly guilty for being a Danganronpa fan because, as the game points out, I take pleasure in watching how the Killing Game unfolds per Danganronpa title. The Killing Game provides entertainment to fans despite it bringing death to its characters. How heartless can we be, right?

Well, it’s also at this point in V3 do I feel my concern for the remaining survivors begin to wane as well. I think this was due to the fact that the entire Hope’s Peak arc was being written off as nonexistent thanks to V3. It was like a punch to the gut because I was so emotionally invested in the Hope’s Peak story and its characters, so for V3 to claim that it was pretty much nonexistent and irrelevant was a bit of a blow for me.

The Ending

So, okay, we’ve established that the game is so heckin’ meta at this point and that V3 is actually the 53rd season in a series of Killing Games. We’ve also established that Shuichi and the gang are losing their minds at this point thanks to this mind-blowing revelation. BUT — and this is a big but — some fans argue that Tsumugi (a.k.a. the mastermind who reveals the truth of Danganronpa) might have been lying about the fictional aspect of the Danganronpa world.  

Right before Kiibo puts an end to everything, Tsumugi mentions how her plan being foiled pretty much made for a “flawless copy” of whatever it was she was trying to imitate. This could allude to her attempting to copy Junko’s plan in the first Danganronpa game, which sees Junko herself being terminated in her own game.

Some fans have pointed out that the Hope’s Peak Academy saga is seen as a work of fiction in the V3 universe, but it does not necessarily make all the other Danganronpa games nullified in terms of their own stories. Simply put, the Hope’s Peak storyline exists in a universe that is entirely separate from that of V3’s. This would also, in a way, support the initial marketing of V3 being a title that is detached from previous Danganronpa games.

As Kiibo so eloquently puts it, “If fiction has the power to touch people’s hearts, then that power should change the world.” This is why all the other Danganronpa games shouldn’t be invalidated despite the claims made in V3. The whole Hope’s Peak saga left such a lasting impression (at least for me it did), so that should be more than enough to value what has already been established in Danganronpa’s world-building.

While V3’s ending still makes me feel things — so much that I’m still in a bit of a gray area regarding how I feel about how the game wrapped up — it’s admittedly one of the most interesting video game endings I’ve seen so far. It’s undeniable controversial, and that alone will get so many people talking about it.

The future of Danganronpa

What, then, is the future of Danganronpa after V3? Seeing as V3 acts as the ultimate conclusion to the trilogy — especially for fans who never bothered with the Danganronpa 3 anime — there are now many doors left open for Spike Chunsoft to explore.

Personally, what I’d like to see is a hard reboot on the franchise. By that, I mean for Spike Chunsoft to uphold what they promised with V3 in the first place: a game that starts anew and is independent from previous titles. This would mean no relation AT ALL to all the other Danganronpa materials. No Hope’s Peak Academy. No more of this hope vs. despair concept. Do something fresh. Take another approach to the game. Sure, diverging from the tried and tested formula may potentially bomb, but let’s be real here: we can only take so much of the hope-despair dynamic before it gets incredibly stale.

New characters, new world, new everything. Except maybe Monokuma. They can keep Monokuma, especially since he’s so synonymous to the franchise. He’s pretty much the face of Danganronpa, after all.

Just, please — give us an independent story next time.