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Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls |OT| Monokuma and Co.
- Thread starter Labrys
- Start date
This sums up pretty perfectly how I'm feeling about this game so far. I assumed it was a story-light shooter and had no interest. Later I read people saying it had a lot of story so I decided it was worth it. Only at chapter 4 but the boring dialogue is actually making the shooter parts desirable to me.
I'd really like DR3 to just ignore all of the previous games and be an unencumbered murder mystery game in the same style.
Hours Left
Member
I don't think we're suddenly gonna see DanganRonpa switch from being a majorly interconnected series to something stand alone.
I'm glad they're strengthening the canon and mythos of the series. Most of the big twists in the series so far would of fallen totally flat if they weren't part of a bigger picture.
I'm glad they're strengthening the canon and mythos of the series. Most of the big twists in the series so far would of fallen totally flat if they weren't part of a bigger picture.
I finished the game tonight.
Current impressions? I'm glad I bought physical. But I definitely wouldn't say I regret playing. Cheesy as the game could be (and how often it was), I still liked the character interactions between Komaru and Toko.
As many others have expressed, I'm truly surprised at how much I like Toko now. Perhaps it's because we get a more in-depth time with her than a large cast allows, but nonetheless, she went from plain annoying to a pretty cool character.
The story seemed to grind to a halt midway through Chapter 4. After the shrine, everything was kind of just... there. It feels like the writers just wanted the game to end there, as everything else that came up didn't carry a weight anymore. I don't know how to describe it, the game just felt like it was trying hard up until peaking at that whole scene. It would then take a break until the end of the game.
The ending of Chapter 5 was okay. Persona 4 Golden trained me well for the multi-choice questions. :X
It's the Credits and Epilogue that got my attention.
On the touchy subjects they tried to take on, I still find it a poor idea. They weren't executed well at all. Chapter 1 leads off okay with a hard-to-watch scene, but 2 was just all over the place. And 3 was, well... 3. 4 just felt like jumping the shark in all honesty.
Chapter 5 was about what you expected.
Also, I actually chuckled at a number of Kurokuma lines. It's a shame he had such little screen time.
It's 4AM as I type this, so like I said. These are just first impressions on the game as a whole. But I think I can say: this game is made only for DR fans who want to explore a bit more of the world and flesh out two characters. Because other than that, you only have middling gameplay (admittedly, I did find it fun for the short game this was), rough takes on touchy subjects, and little else in the supporting cast. Would I recommend it to DR fans? Definitely, but it would come along with telling them what to (maybe what NOT to) expect and a suggestion to buy physical.
Current impressions? I'm glad I bought physical. But I definitely wouldn't say I regret playing. Cheesy as the game could be (and how often it was), I still liked the character interactions between Komaru and Toko.
As many others have expressed, I'm truly surprised at how much I like Toko now. Perhaps it's because we get a more in-depth time with her than a large cast allows, but nonetheless, she went from plain annoying to a pretty cool character.
The story seemed to grind to a halt midway through Chapter 4. After the shrine, everything was kind of just... there. It feels like the writers just wanted the game to end there, as everything else that came up didn't carry a weight anymore. I don't know how to describe it, the game just felt like it was trying hard up until peaking at that whole scene. It would then take a break until the end of the game.
The ending of Chapter 5 was okay. Persona 4 Golden trained me well for the multi-choice questions. :X
It's the Credits and Epilogue that got my attention.
I love that... Well shoot, I can't actually remember the name, but it's the Ultimate Despair. I thought it really cool how they're ensuring everything stays interconnected.
The Monaca Junko is a somewhat frightening thing. Especially if Nagito actually did manage to get behind her enough. I don't think that guy will be content with anything but mass genocidal world war. Only then will his "Ultimate Hope" shine through, because then everyone will be dead. Gotta be hope if there's nobody to despair...?
The Monaca Junko is a somewhat frightening thing. Especially if Nagito actually did manage to get behind her enough. I don't think that guy will be content with anything but mass genocidal world war. Only then will his "Ultimate Hope" shine through, because then everyone will be dead. Gotta be hope if there's nobody to despair...?
On the touchy subjects they tried to take on, I still find it a poor idea. They weren't executed well at all. Chapter 1 leads off okay with a hard-to-watch scene, but 2 was just all over the place. And 3 was, well... 3. 4 just felt like jumping the shark in all honesty.
He had to work hard and had never ending expectations to live up to; yeah that was a form of abuse. But it felt very unreal, whereas Masaru's felt so cruel because it is a real problem.
Also, I actually chuckled at a number of Kurokuma lines. It's a shame he had such little screen time.
It's 4AM as I type this, so like I said. These are just first impressions on the game as a whole. But I think I can say: this game is made only for DR fans who want to explore a bit more of the world and flesh out two characters. Because other than that, you only have middling gameplay (admittedly, I did find it fun for the short game this was), rough takes on touchy subjects, and little else in the supporting cast. Would I recommend it to DR fans? Definitely, but it would come along with telling them what to (maybe what NOT to) expect and a suggestion to buy physical.
Hours Left
Member
RE: Chapter 4
Parents abusing their kids to force them to perform scholastically is a real problem. I think it just felt a bit odd because it came right after a very disturbing chapter.
Yeah, maybe if they didn't info dump it on you when and how they did.
I mean, I can't be the only one who saw the RPG comparison as horribly thought out, right? Another case of poor execution, furthered by being played at chapter's start.
I agree with the above, Haiji was annoying as * throughout the game.
Was this game made by the same team as the other 2? Every scene in it is about 40 minutes long even though the message has been put across within the first two. I cannot stay focused on it. A scene from chapter 4 is playing our even as I write this.
I'm really worried for the third one if it's likely to be as badly written as this, surely it won't be right? The first two games are two of my absolute favourites of the last few years, if not all time.
That scene is still playing and they're still labouring the same unimportant point. I despair.
I'm really worried for the third one if it's likely to be as badly written as this, surely it won't be right? The first two games are two of my absolute favourites of the last few years, if not all time.
That scene is still playing and they're still labouring the same unimportant point. I despair.
Yes. The team even has an official name now: Team Danganronpa.
And I would say that the pacing is bad rather than the writing is bad.
I concede that that probably is more the point I'm making. I'm determined to see it through for my love of the others. The occasional cameos and
family member
Interesting. Literally everyone I've seen until now who said they disliked Toko in DR1 said it was impressive that DR:AE made them like her. Toko was one of my least favorite characters in the series, and DR:AE made me appreciate her way more.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
Toko has always been awesome.
Gotta say I'm honestly surprised at the negative impressions here. I felt the game favored the dialogue but the character interactions were really enjoyable and the shooting sections while a bit difficult control had no experience ruining flaws. I enjoyed the deus ex machina ending and really come to love both Komaru and Toko.
Every villian but the controversial one was forgettable to me that was the only one that I could actually feel sorry for.
Every villian but the controversial one was forgettable to me that was the only one that I could actually feel sorry for.
chrominance
Member
More Chapter 4:
sure, it wasn't as disturbing as 3, but did everyone miss the part where he was constantly drugged and turned into a research experiment for his parents? It wasn't just "boo hoo I had to study a lot."
I finished the game a couple of days ago and I have to say that I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the interactions between Komaru and Toko, they interactions with each other were great. Toko especially was a great character considering that I didn't really like her that much in the original.
The actual villains themselves were a mixed bag. Kotoko was probably my favourite
and Monaca was fun too. The other Warriors of Hope didn't really do much for me.
I guess my only real complaint is that this didn't really have a lasting impact on me. I finished it and haven't touched since, unlike the other DR games where I went back for a 2nd play-through and messed around with the other modes. Oh, and the gameplay was kinda clunky.
Besides that, I really did have fun with this and I can't wait for DR3.
I really enjoyed the interactions between Komaru and Toko, they interactions with each other were great. Toko especially was a great character considering that I didn't really like her that much in the original.
The actual villains themselves were a mixed bag. Kotoko was probably my favourite
though I agree they could of handled her backstory a lot better
I guess my only real complaint is that this didn't really have a lasting impact on me. I finished it and haven't touched since, unlike the other DR games where I went back for a 2nd play-through and messed around with the other modes. Oh, and the gameplay was kinda clunky.
Besides that, I really did have fun with this and I can't wait for DR3.
TheSlySoul
Member
Yeah, I think they are going to keep Another Episode games separate from the main series. However, I will come out and say that I liked it. Sure it was missing a few things that made the series great, but it still felt like a game that fits in it compared to say Sticker Star.
Hours Left
Member
Yeah, it's more the difference in the way either backstory was revealed. The latter was just a dry info dump so it didn't have the same visceral impact.
I think that more indicative of general retailer attitudes towards Vita. This is the biggest Vita IP NISA has and I'm sure it still sold within their expectations even if it doesn't meet the same level of the main entries. (And I don't think they'd expect it to either.)
I liked it to. It was a nice change of pace and definitely offered some good insight into some of the characters. I really liked the puzzle rooms too. (Wish there were more of them.)
Sticker Star should be universally forgotten IMO. I was so crushed by it.
the gameplay was rubbish aside from the puzzle rooms. I hated it. hate hate hated it. Slow move speed, slow aim speed, generally feeling like a hard to control sloth box. 'stealth' segments, shoot-miss, slight bullet lag (upgradable I guess).
puzzle rooms were okay except for penalising you for resets
puzzle rooms were okay except for penalising you for resets
Basileus777
Member
The puzzle rooms were boring and easy for the most part too. This game is a poor shooter, a poor puzzle game, and the writing isn't good either. It's just a real disappointment. Other than a couple of highlights it was a chore to play. It's not something I'd recommend to anyone but those fiending for more Danganronpa.
CoolBatteryCharge
Member
Just finished the game. They certainly wrote a Metal Gear story all right.
Started Chapter 5, can't bring myself to finish the game for a few days. Feels like a waste of time. Strange, considering I've beaten both the previous ones in a couple of days, unable to tear myself away from the Vita screen. Pacing isn't good at all
I'm at the end of chapter 4, it's torture. I really hate this game, would've quit a long time ago if it wasn't for how much I like the others.
It's not just the pacing for me though. I've completed three puzzles this chapter exactly as asked without getting the little success screen, it's frustrating as hell. Retried one and did it the exact same way and got the pass screen, didn't bother with the other two though.
The problem isn't that
it was somehow just that he had to study a lot, or that it wasn't disturbing/abusive.
The problem is that
it's unrealistic as fuck compared to the very real, and also very badly handled, backstory in chapter 3. It's a complete whiplash in seriousness and the fact that it comes at the start of chapter 4 makes it even worse. It really paints an even worse light on whatever they were intending to go for in chapter 3 because it becomes abundantly clear that they reaaally were just trying to make their backstories as edgy as they could possibly make them. Like, given chapters 1 and 2, they could have still fit this kind of abuse into this if they actually wanted to try to treat it somewhat seriously. It just couldn't be "THEY GAVE ME IVS SO I COULD STUDY FOR DAYS STRAIGHT" or whatever they were going for there.
Just beat chapter 4, in any case. Not really digging how this is going right now, since I feel like
given how things have gone so far, Komaru and Toko (especially Toko!) probably wouldn't just accept this terrible "UH... we were making them as... maids? I mean there's the weapons and claws and explosives but... they were maids!" explanation, even if only for the time being, without questioning it more. And what kind of person calls that Big Bang Monokuma instead of Monokuma-Oh or Monokuma King? It's just bad taste in naming, you know?
The Hit List stuff is also bothering me because
after how surprisingly well they handled telling Komaru about Hope's Peak earlier (I expected that call with Makoto to get cut off like a minute in!), it's really really weird that Toko's still (badly) acting like she doesn't know about Hagakure or any of the people on the cards. Like, ok, I get that these are like the free time conversations in the first two games and can technically take place at any time, so they're unable to actually mention anything that's revealed later, but at the same time like... if you have to find the cards in later chapters anyway, is it really that immersion breaking to act like they take place at that point? It's just completely weird for Komaru not to wonder more about Toko's time at Hope's Peak with her brother, or for them not to be telling Hiroko more about the situation that's happening. Or like, y'know "By the way, your son's doing fine!" or something like that, like any normal person would say? Misinformation/lack of communication always bugs me so maybe this is just me, but it's just so grating every time.
The puzzle rooms kinda annoy me but that's because I keep inexplicably messing them up somehow. I'm... not very good at this, I think.
And I've always liked Toko and she's gotten even better in this game.
Finally getting back to this after being distracted by so many other games.
I think I'm about around the halfway point of Chapter 4 &.......uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh......
....Honestly, kind of more creeped out by what's happening now than "that" moment in Ch. 3. & I continue to love the design of the eyes and their expressions.
I think I'm about around the halfway point of Chapter 4 &.......uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh......
....Honestly, kind of more creeped out by what's happening now than "that" moment in Ch. 3. & I continue to love the design of the eyes and their expressions.
R_thanatos
Member
i'm in the middle of the chpater 4 right now and the only reason i'm taking a break is because my vita needs a break in order to charge the batteries + some nasty game crashing bugs at the start of chapter 3 that forced me to rebuild my database.
This game is flawed , but very good. Just when it was starting to became boring chapter 3 happenned.
This game's good. loving it so far.
Touko / Genocider moments are priceless
This game is flawed , but very good. Just when it was starting to became boring chapter 3 happenned.
This game's good. loving it so far.
Touko / Genocider moments are priceless
UUUUUUGGGHHHHHHH, that feeling when you're following a collectable guide but STILL manage to miss something & you're too far into the chapter/game to go back.
I'm pretty much gonna have to replay the entire game at this point for the collectibles, hidden children, & A-ranks. Please tell me things are easier when replaying.
Edit: OMG, screw this last Monoku-Man challenge, so many of these are starting to rely on the damn AI despite knowing what it is you need to do, which then results in restarting & possibly affecting your grade. Why should I be punished because the AI didn't do what it was suppose to do.
Edit 2: WTF, so I discovered
near the end of Ch. 4 &....
I'm pretty much gonna have to replay the entire game at this point for the collectibles, hidden children, & A-ranks. Please tell me things are easier when replaying.
Edit: OMG, screw this last Monoku-Man challenge, so many of these are starting to rely on the damn AI despite knowing what it is you need to do, which then results in restarting & possibly affecting your grade. Why should I be punished because the AI didn't do what it was suppose to do.
Edit 2: WTF, so I discovered
"that" room
it was weird enough I saw a Toro icon, but to find the location where they "live" is even weirder. What a random crossover. Even more so when I came out & found both Toro & Kuro on the conveyor belt.
I wouldn't call it a torture, but it's not very good either. Has some redeemable qualities (such as Fukawa character building, Komaru/Fukawa interactions, interesting visual design, puzzles were fun at first), but they're not enough to make the game less boring.
The catch is Monokumas shouldn't see you. Even if they don't manage to attack before you kill them all, you're still not getting the "Congratulations" screen. And sometimes it's hard to say if they've seen you or not. Sometimes they see you across all the room, sometimes they don't notice you standing just couple steps away:/ Retry penalty makes it even more frustrating.
Hours Left
Member
Most puzzles have a preferred solution that if followed pretty much guarantee you won't be seen. I had maybe one or two times I was spotted, but that's because I was being careless.
More annoying is when you activate a hologram/Siren Monokuma and the others run in the opposite direction. That's a legitimate design flaw because you have no control over it.
Finished Ch. 4 & OH GOD THAT
.
Freakin' hell, ELEVEN RETRIES & only one missing Hidden Kid, despite finding all the reports, & just a C rank. & of course, you only get the helpful skills that'd make getting A-ranks easier if you GET A-RANKS.
Whatever, on the final chapter, hopefully can get myself to finish it this week so I can focus on replaying & collecting everything I missed.
sprite of Monaca smiling with THOSE EYES. She seriously has the creepiest facial expressions in this game
Freakin' hell, ELEVEN RETRIES & only one missing Hidden Kid, despite finding all the reports, & just a C rank. & of course, you only get the helpful skills that'd make getting A-ranks easier if you GET A-RANKS.
Whatever, on the final chapter, hopefully can get myself to finish it this week so I can focus on replaying & collecting everything I missed.
crabhammer
Member
I just finished this today. I'm pretty mixed on it. I think a lot of the ideas are handled fairly well. Seeing DR's world realized in a full 3D hand like this was really cool. Komaru and Toko's interactions were great as well. The gun mechanics were cute and I dug the different effects. Dance, in particular, was very funny.
It was lacking so much polish though. The actual shooting mechanics didn't feel great, genocider gameplay felt lacking, and some of those Monoku-man rooms were painful (fuck the "find the singing kid" ones in particular). The pacing felt kind of off as well, especially near the end.
I don't regret picking up the collector's edition, as a pretty big fan of the series not having it next to the other two CEs would have felt weird, but it definetly didn't really scratch the Dangan Ronpa itch as well as I was hoping it would.
It was lacking so much polish though. The actual shooting mechanics didn't feel great, genocider gameplay felt lacking, and some of those Monoku-man rooms were painful (fuck the "find the singing kid" ones in particular). The pacing felt kind of off as well, especially near the end.
I don't regret picking up the collector's edition, as a pretty big fan of the series not having it next to the other two CEs would have felt weird, but it definetly didn't really scratch the Dangan Ronpa itch as well as I was hoping it would.
Yes, times when they don't react to hologram correctly are very annoying indeed :/ Game obviously lacks polish.
Are singing kid rooms that bad? You're just supposed to figure out the timing in most of them. Some retries involved, yeah.
Oh god yes, the ones where you had to find the singing kids were easily the most annoying. I don't look forward to having to redo the one in Ch. 4.
I also feel like they tried to shove waaaaaaay too many collectibles into each chapter. Doesn't help you can't replay any of the chapters until you fully complete the game, which is a bit of a pain. I would've liked to have gone back, get some stuff, & maybe get some A-ranks while I was at it before tackling the next chapter since once you get A-ranks, the skills won't feel as helpful since you might not need them as much compared to before, though I actually have to unlock them to see if this statement holds any truth.
I GUESS I wouldn't mind an AE2 (if they wanted to have a story between DR2 & DR3), but they'd REALLY need to iron out some of the problems this game has, especially the AI and the challenge rooms. It seems like whenever I started getting back into the game & enjoying it, it does something to remind me of its flaws.
I also feel like they tried to shove waaaaaaay too many collectibles into each chapter. Doesn't help you can't replay any of the chapters until you fully complete the game, which is a bit of a pain. I would've liked to have gone back, get some stuff, & maybe get some A-ranks while I was at it before tackling the next chapter since once you get A-ranks, the skills won't feel as helpful since you might not need them as much compared to before, though I actually have to unlock them to see if this statement holds any truth.
I GUESS I wouldn't mind an AE2 (if they wanted to have a story between DR2 & DR3), but they'd REALLY need to iron out some of the problems this game has, especially the AI and the challenge rooms. It seems like whenever I started getting back into the game & enjoying it, it does something to remind me of its flaws.
Hours Left
Member
I think the concept of the puzzle rooms has a lot of potential, but it does indeed need polish. I still think it's a pretty good effort. This isn't really what Spike Chunsoft is known for, so it's interesting to see them branch out.
I don't know if I'd necessarily want another game in this exact style, even though I enjoyed it, but I would love to see future DR side games try to utilize different genres because I think that's really intriguing. The rumored DR RPG is something I'd very much be interested in.
R_thanatos
Member
Singing rooms are like , the only bad rooms in the game for me so far
The puzzle rooms are an interesting concept & I'd say they're more hit than miss, aside from a few annoying ones, but yes, they seriously do need more polish, ESPECIALLY with the damn AI. It's seriously frustrating when it feels as though it's not your fault that you failed a mission, but rather when the AI doesn't want to cooperate with the game's "rules" or it does things like getting stuck or not wanting to go to a specific location despite setting off the requirements to do so (see certain hologram challenges). Even worse when the game PUNISHES you when you know it wasn't your fault.
So when I go back to replay chapters, I'm guessing I get to keep/use all of the stuff I've gotten from later chapters? & assuming I already got an A-rank in a chapter but are missing some stuff, I can collect them, save, then exit the chapter, correct? I don't have to beat it again?
Edit: HUGE CH. 5 SPOILERS QUESTION:
Edit 2: HUGE EPILOGUE SPOILERS:
So when I go back to replay chapters, I'm guessing I get to keep/use all of the stuff I've gotten from later chapters? & assuming I already got an A-rank in a chapter but are missing some stuff, I can collect them, save, then exit the chapter, correct? I don't have to beat it again?
Edit: HUGE CH. 5 SPOILERS QUESTION:
So what would've happened if I chose to break the controller? Something about Monaca's "..." made it seem like breaking it would've been a bad idea, like it would've kept the monokumas & kids active and they just destroyed the only way to actually turn it off.
Edit 2: HUGE EPILOGUE SPOILERS:
Oh snap, so Junko was still alive & was Kurokuma & Shirokuma all this time? & the one pushing the cart...that was Hajime, right!?
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
I enjoyed the game for what it was, but it definitely felt lacking to me. The dialogue was hilarious in places, though.
CrimsonFist
Member
You just get a brief scene where it talks about you being celebrated with fireworks which chance into everything exploding, then it loops back to the button choice.
johny_dmonic
Member
I only retried one of the hologram challenges because i shoot the monokuma too early instead of waiting for everyone to stop moving. I was able to complete most challenges without having problems with the AI.
And yes, you get to keep everything you've picked up so far. When you replayed a chapter, just get the item your missing and save before you exit the chapter. As long as you saved and use that file again on the chapter select screen, all the items will be carried over.
Edit: HUGE CH. 5 SPOILERS QUESTION:
So what would've happened if I chose to break the controller? Something about Monaca's "..." made it seem like breaking it would've been a bad idea, like it would've kept the monokumas & kids active and they just destroyed the only way to actually turn it off.
it's more of the adults win and it seems that the war had started and saying that it's her fault that it had started
somotodsyo
Member
Oh boy, just experienced the glitch where a sound effect keeps playing in cutscenes. It stopped during gameplay but just resumed with the next scene.
Does anyone know a way to stop it without exiting the game? There's a pretty long time between save points in Chapter 3...
Does anyone know a way to stop it without exiting the game? There's a pretty long time between save points in Chapter 3...
Also, the Genocide Jack parts are absolutely hilarious. Her insane laugh together with explosions and that bad-ass song, love it.
I had that happen to me in....ch. 2 was it? I think it was the sound of the Ball Monokuma's "rolling" that kept playing for about 10 minutes straight. Either it stopped or I had to save & restart the game.
Wish there was a way to see what I'm missing in which chapters. I KNOW I got everything in Ch. 5 because I made sure to closely follow the map/guide for stuff & I know which Hidden Kid & Socki the Sock to find, but it seems there's a few reports & one more hit list I have to find. Kind of would like to skip Ch. 1 since I got a A-rank & just have to focus on chapters 2, 3, & 4's rankings. & while the guide has been very helpful visual wise, it doesn't help when it says stuff like "scrap note #23". Maybe the chapters won't feel as long being more powerful & skipping all the scenes.
Wish there was a way to see what I'm missing in which chapters. I KNOW I got everything in Ch. 5 because I made sure to closely follow the map/guide for stuff & I know which Hidden Kid & Socki the Sock to find, but it seems there's a few reports & one more hit list I have to find. Kind of would like to skip Ch. 1 since I got a A-rank & just have to focus on chapters 2, 3, & 4's rankings. & while the guide has been very helpful visual wise, it doesn't help when it says stuff like "scrap note #23". Maybe the chapters won't feel as long being more powerful & skipping all the scenes.
johny_dmonic
Member
Oh cool, thank you. Yeah, this will help much more. It says my file gather rate is 97% (so I'm guessing ONE more), 85% ref book, & then I know 3 hidden kids (one in chapters 2, 3, & 4), one more Socki the Sock, & one more hit list. Looks like there might be a few skills I might've missed as well.
Least replaying will count towards getting more coins & leveling Komaru (I was level 78 by the time I finished).
Funyarinpa
Member
OH SHIT, THIS IS GLORIOUS. Just wanted to watch a bit of the game, so I started watching a playthrough. And I realized that SC put a huge Umineko spoiler
Link below. I'm laughing so much right now.
(umineko spoilers)
https://youtu.be/4GaeQIgJYaI?t=36s
right in the MAIN MENU! It's right above the "New Game" selection.
(umineko spoilers)
https://youtu.be/4GaeQIgJYaI?t=36s