Trigger Happy Havoc Danganronpa - First impression

So if Teddy from persona 4 and K III from virtue's last reward had a baby and let Kyubei from Madoka magica babysit that creation would probably be something close to Monokuma.

Interesting.


Not to compare it too much to the Zero escape series but i have a feeling if you like those games you'll probably enjoy this one.

a large cast of characters is trapped in a situation where they will either live out their days or become a murderer to secure their own freedom.

an over the top concept? yes but hey it's a interesting stage to set this story on.

Now i am lucky, despite tumblr's best attempts i know very little about this game.... just that it's got visual novel elements with a hint of phoenix wright thrown in.

still first impressions

• Controls are fairly easy and compared to other Vis Novels you actually can do quite a bit.
• Voice acting is good though a little limited... i know it's not cheap but now a days anytime a game isn't fully voice acted i do sigh a little. i dunno i feel like it adds to the characters. 
• the music....... so far is kinda terrible... i got the special edition so i'll probably listen to some of the songs outside of the game but yeah... i don't think it's going to be my cup of tea. 
• The art is lovely... i can see that it's probably not to everyone's taste but i think it's really interesting and adds to the entire feel of the game. 

so as you go on eventually (and this isn't really a spoiler) someone gets murdered.

• Investigations are fine although there were a few points where i wasn't familiar with the controls and i needed to go to a certain location and i just didn't know where that was.  still it's in a first person view as you walk the halls looking for clues and it feels a little more interactive then other games like Phoenix wright. 
• it does suffer from "you really shouldn't leave this room till you check EVERYTHING" but pretty much any game with point and click elements does
• you can tap things with your finger since the vita does have a touch screen but i dunno... it just doesn't feel natural right now. 

so after you have gathered all the clues (or truth bullets as the game calls them) you go to the trial where 16 podiums stand facing each other in a circle and everyone presents the evidence to get closer to the truth.

If the one who's guilty doesn't get found out everyone else gets 'punished' while the guilty one walks away....
if the guilty one is caught then they are punished.

• i wish this game was purely court scenes... wow that was really really fun. 
• it's like phoenix wright on crack and with a time limit.
• there are multiple elements each with their own little tutorial (though i didn't understand the BTB tutorial till i had already lost a bit a health... i got it by the end but it did bring down my rank a little) 
• the tutorials don't overwhelm and as long as you are on the right path the entire court session is fully voice acted. 
• the only element i wasn't thrilled with was the closing statement game mechanic... the mechanic works fine but it has you working from right to left... yes almost all manga is published that way but it's still tricky to wrap my brain around something that is flat unlike a book... it's just harder for me to pick up right away
• the music is a lot more fitting for this part of the game... though still not really my cup of tea and i had to turn it down so i could hear the voice acting. 
• the english voice acting is fine though some are better then others and some i wish would shut up moreso cause the characters are annoying.

But then we have the ending of the trial and this is where i can't tell if the game is absolutely brilliant or completely nuts.

when you find the culprit and deem them as guilty you then see their punishment (and see everyones reaction to the punishment).
you have won, you should be happy that you cleared your name and avenged your friend, right?
but there was no joy in 'winning' only shock and horror.
i dunno i think it takes a lot of guts to make the player feel like shit for accomplishing the goal.
i have a feeling it'll build up to beating monokuma at his own game (cause thats how these stories HAVE TO go)  but still right now i'm just left very pensive and wondering how this will all play out.

Is the game good?
yes, or more so it's very interesting but wow is it dark. if you cannot handle death, swearing, violence or anything like that then may be best to avoid
was the special edition worth it?
*thinks hard about it* not really. I do not regret buying the special edition but i thought it would be in a nicer box... and i ended up not liking the music so.... but still only cost me a little more so i don't mind.
but in the end the Limited edition was just that... limited and only from NISA's store as well as selling out pretty fast.

i look forward to playing the rest and hopefully Danganronpa 2 is also good and helps streamline some stuff... but for now... i think i need to go rest.