DISTRUST (ダンガンロンパ DISTRUST), was a prototype murder mystery visual novel developed by Spike for the PlayStation Portable. The game was scrapped and never released because it was too gruesome,2 but many elements of the project were redeveloped intoDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. 1 Development 2 Characters 2.1 Early Names 2.2 Monokuma 3 Gameplay 4 Video 5 Trivia 6 References 7.
Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Platforms
Content of the article: 'Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. a non spoiler, mild spoiler, and very spoiler review, separated.'
Forgive me if this doesn't flow as well as we'd both like. Extracting and pooling spoilers makes it difficult for to word good.
*** Spoiler Free ***
I grew up on Phoenix Wright. There's a good chance those late evenings spent stealing my sisters DS trying to crack the second case for hours on end is responsible for my current weebdom. Suddenly, Danganronpa appeared in my steam picks, those memories came flooding back, and I was ready to test my brain against the ultimate tragedy again.
Let me tell you, I was not disappointed.
Most importantly, every case holds together properly. I'm a lot smarter now than I was in the fifth grade, and between my wife and I we were able to solve most major elements of all but one of the cases before stepping foot in the courtroom. Not only was that extremely gratifying, I find it a testament to how well the cases actually hold up. They're almost air tight. Very few details are off or could lead you to an improper conclusion, unless you aren't considering all the facts. I especially appreciated that some pieces of evidence didn't make it into the 'truth bullets', and were there only for my extremely discerning spouse. It's like the game handed us bonus points, which was as I said already, extremely gratifying. We loved every case. And I absolutely *loved* the closing argument interface. Having the player run through the case again in comic form is a wonderful way to sum up events and allow any player still not clear on some detail closure.
That said, the game frequently failed mechanically. There were more than a handful of times we knew the correct answer, but couldn't figure out what the game wanted us to do to arrive there despite being right. For example, in one segment we were applying statement a to contradict statement b instead of the other way around, and the game rejected us. The whole mini gamed up shtick for the trials wasn't fun either, most of the time. We were there for the mystery, not to forget to press 'a' before 'y'. Nothing breaks a game like having to google how to progress when you already know how to progress. I haven't gotten angry at a video game in a very long time, but Danganronpa had me near shouting at the screen. It's a major black mark on the game, actually. I find it difficult to heap praise on a game whose effort/reward system entirely broke down more than once.
… I'm going to anyways. Danganronpa was a memorable experience. From top to bottom it was entirely delightful. I would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in mystery stories and a tolerance for Japanese oddity. We frankly couldn't put it down, and pumped in 35 whole hours in since purchasing it six days ago. Grab your opium pipe, the game is afoot.
***Mild Spoilers*** ***Major Spoiler Marked***
I'll be revealing at least one character who makes it through a significant number of cases, so if you want to know nothing, your journey ends here. Here I go!
Pretty much all the characters are delightful. We enjoyed all the many gags we were subjected to during free time conversations, and even during the cases. I don't intend to detail most of the cast, however two characters stand out.
Kyoko and Makoto are excellent as gameplay elements. Makoto in trail is kind of slow, taking baby steps. Kyoko has it all figured out. Usually, the player finds themselves somewhere between the two. Definitely ahead of Makoto, but somewhere behind Kyoko. I think this is the driving force of the game. Kyoko's arguments and hints stand as a beacon that the case is solveable, that there is a solution. Makoto's lines help you when you're stuck, and serve as a reminder that, well, at least you're ahead of that guy. I often felt like Kyoko was the main character of the story, and we were supporting cast. I actually liked that dynamic throughout the game.
I'm pretty sure we're getting into unpopular opinion territory here, but I really enjoyed Kyoko's character development. She slowly opens up to Makoto, uses him as a pawn a couple times, but ultimately comes to his rescue. Theirs is a great relationship, and I found a lot of subtlety in their dialogue that I frankly was not expecting. As each case progresses the pair get more and more in sync, culminating in a delightful setup/spike back and forth in the fourth case. The characters aren't amazing, but I can say I was pleasantly surprised with details like this several times.
***So You've Played The Game***
My favorite part of the Kyoko/Makoto relationship was learning to trust her. Deciding long before the game forced us to that she was a friend, someone we could follow. I'm not sure I've ever had a moment in a video game where I had to decide to trust an NPC like that. Every decision you make in Danganronpa is based on some piece of evidence, some logical pathway. But there's a moment when you have to choose evidence or choose to trust Kyoko, who appears to have framed you for murder. It's a neat moment. A good culmination of the arcs.
Now, as for the cheesy overarching plot of devastation, despair and dystopia… I liked it. It succeeds as a mystery. The game starts cluing everything out as early as the third case, and by the fifth we were already asking each other about memory wipes and the state of the world outside. Sure, it feels a little silly how everything comes together, but it couldn't have come together any other way. That works for a mystery, and that's all it needs to do.
I didn't expect to purchase the sequels to this game, but I absolutely will be even if the mechanical elements aren't solved. Heck, the game inspired me to get my old Vita working again for the sequels.
Source: reddit.com
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