#he also does that in i think like. the second trial? shuichi tells a shitty lie

[dysaniadisorder]

genuinely my favorite moment in all of danganronpa is v3 fourth trial where everyone tells kokichi he's acting like monokuma and then he sadly laughs like monokuma for a moment before bursting into the most gut-busting laugh i've ever heard

[spookyc]

I sure do!!

Well then, I shall divulge.

So, in my talentswap Kiyo is the protagonist as he is the ultimate detective. Originally this was just because I thought it fit but I definitely have more of a definite reason as to why I chose him for the ultimate detective. So a big thing I wanna do with this au, is to give more of the unpopular characters a spotlight, this can be seen with the main central group of the game, Kiyo as the ultimate detective, Tenko as the ultimate astronaut, and Angie as the ultimate child caretaker/assassin. (Which, yeah, It's kinda funny how these three ended up being the main trio considering what happened with them in canon) And when I played v3 I always thought Kiyo was super interesting, not only his talent but also his entire personality. It was so unlike what you would expect from the typical dr cast, I mean the creepy guy of the cast isn't the main antagonist? It was so different and it drew me towards his character, and I even indulged in a few of his free times which were always super fun just because I learned something new with each one.

And then, well, chapter 3 happened. I don't believe I have to explain what happened with that. I remember being kinda bummed out, I mean, the creepy weirdo just ended up being a creepy weirdo, a creepy weirdo who was abused by his shitty sister, but a creepy weirdo nonetheless. Didn't help that I have a brother that I'm decently close with; the entire thing just made me very uncomfortable. So I figured it would be super interesting to go through a story with Kiyo's lenses, to understand why he believes the things that he does and to give him a second chance, in a way.

Also when I really sat down and thought about it, it made a lot of sense to me. Like, in this au I want to keep their backstories intact, (for the most part) and I also wanna keep the fact that they were originally pursuing their canon talents until an event happens that changes their mind. So originally Kiyo was still gonna go for the anthropolgy route, but on one of his vacations, he happened upon a murder case. In the beginning he planned to just observe how the scene would play out, but because he's so attuned with people, he ends up finding out the killer and has him arrested. After this he becomes fascinated with criminals, about their ideologies, their psychology, the history behind past criminals. And so he then redirects his path towards that of a detective, perhaps partially out of a sense of justice, but mainly out of a morbid curiosity to see, "how far the depths of humanity can go."

I also noticed how in the canon story Kiyo often likes to observe others and sorta likes to stay neutral on most topics and I feel this would really benefit him as a detective. But yeah! That's essentially the reason I decided to make him the ultimate detective but let's dive into more of his background and how he grows throughout the story.

So, let's just go ahead and get this out the way. The sister issue. Now, as I stated before, I have a brother I'm close with myself so the entire incestuous relationship with Kiyo and his sister makes me deeply uncomfortable. So I'm sorta divided on two options. 1. I could eradicate sister from Kiyo's story completely and pretend she never existed. Or 2. I keep sister but simply change the form of abuse she inflicts on Kiyo. I'm leaning more towards the second option as this way I'm not just neglecting the abuse Kiyo went through, but I also don't have to make myself uncomfortable by acknowledging the incest stuff.

Anyway! Moving on to the more exciting stuff. So, I still want to have Kiyo involved with the occult, or at least he used to be. See, possibly a year or two ago, (and possibly in regards to sister's death but I'm undecided on that) Kiyo performs a ritual that goes horribly wrong. And the result of this ritual enables Kiyo to see and hear the spirits of the departed. And while at first it was intriguing, it soon became annoying at best and mentally draining at worst. It's simply a fact of life he has to deal with, and due to this power he can see and hear the ghosts of his dead classmates throughout the story. Which is both a blessing and a curse.

Now, as for his development throughout the story, here's what I'm thinking. Now, Kiyo doesn't really have many confidence issues, he's proud in his line of work and he's unapologetic about his beliefs and such. And I wouldn't really wanna repeat Shuichi's storyline anyway. So, for this au, I think Kiyo's arc throughout the game will be learning to trust and gain acceptance amongst people he loves. Rather than the twisted perception of love that Kiyo gives off in canon, I'd want Kiyo's result from sister's abuse to be that no one loves him and no one ever will.

He then begins to believe that love doesn't exist, and not just romantic love, but any kind of love. But rather than grow depressed by this fact, Kiyo uses it as a way to uplift himself. Telling himself that he doesn't need love and that he's perfectly fine being alone. To put it bluntly he's basically just coping from the abuse, trying to use it as shield to protect himself when in reality it's just a sword pointed at himself. But then again, what reason would he have for not believing this? This very concept is what's made him such a great detective.

He doesn't take sides because he can't understand the reasoning behind either side, not in an emotional way anyway. And even though he's incredibly successful in his work, there's a part of him deep down that is terribly lonely. A part of him that longs for company, a part of him that wishes he knew why hatred always burns in the eyes of those he arrests. And it isn't until he's kidnapped and taken to the Ultimate Academy that he finally has to acknowledge this part of himself. This starts with his relationship with Tenko.

Which, as you might expect, doesn't start too well. Tenko of course still has her "degenerate male philosophy" (though after chapter 1 this part of her becomes severely toned down and we get to see what her actual character is like sorta like what canon should have done before chapter 3) but Tsumugi, (ultimate pianist) accompanies Kiyo for a lot of chapter 1 and this sort of slowly warms Tenko up to Kiyo. After chapter 1 tho, when Kiyo flawlessly solves the first case, Tenko sees how useful Kiyo is and grows a sort of begrudging respect for him. After the trial she congratulates him on a job well done and Kiyo appreciates the gesture, obviously being able to tell that it wasn't something she was particularly ecstatic to do. Chapter 2 comes around and if you read my ask about Maki (ultimate artist) , you know this is when she starts spreading the "rumor" that Angie is an assassin.

Kiyo initially doesn't buy this at all, because even though he's exceptionally good at reading people, Angie is a total blank for him, so he can't really confirm or deny the rumors. What he does notice, though, is that Tenko seems to he strangely angry at these rumors, growing visibily distressed whenever Maki brings them up. He doesn't really get it, seeing as though he's only seen the two talking a handful of times, but he brushes it off but he doesn't get involved with people's personal bis. Until Tenko comes to him. He's surprised to see her and even more surprised to see the angry expression on her face.

She tells him that they can't keep letting this go on. He asks what and she responds with the rumors. He agrees that the rumors have gotten out of hand but he asks her what she wants him to do about it. She tells him that he is the only one that the others will believe. And he's like, fair enough, but why do you care so much. And she responds saying, "Because I have her motive video." Kiyo is shocked by this info and asks why she can't just tell them herself. And she says that, "Well, because the rumors are true, she is the ultimate assassin."

Kiyo is again flabbergasted and asks Tenko if she intends on him lying and she says yes. He asks her why, in the most sincerest tone, truly not understanding why anyone would go this far to lie about someone they hardly know, Tenko responds. "Because something isn't right, Monokuma has to be playing some trick, there's no way Angie is capable of murder." Kiyo still doesn't understand, but seeing the fierce determination in her eyes, he knows he won't be able to refuse her offer. And so he agrees that tomorrow he will do his best to dispel the rumors about Angie and convince everyone that she isn't an assassin. And then, the very next day, another body is discovered.

Immediately the opportunity to clear the air is gone in the mass confusion. And it's not long after that everyone begins to pin their blame on Angie. So, Tenko approaches Kiyo again asking if she can accompany Kiyo on his investigation, but only on the basis of defending Angie. Kiyo, who isn't used to working with others, hesitantly agrees and the two form a reluctant partnership. Kiyo initially plans to work on his own but after Tenko finds a few vital pieces of evidence he grows more accustomed to her presence and the two actually bond quite a bit, although they don't admit it.

Eventually the investigation ends and the two head to the trial together, convinced that Angie isn't the killer. Of course the main lie of this trial is that Angie is not the ultimate assassin, the only real thing that was pinning her to this case. After that is cleared up, Kiyo, along with some help from Tenko, solve the case. All is well and good with the world it seems, until Maki speaks up. She asks Monokuma to show Angie's motive video, just to be 100% sure that she isn't the ultimate assassin.

Immediately Tenko retorts, saying that they already cleared up that she wasn't but Maki replies.

"Well, if you're so sure that Angie isn't an assassin, then you should have no problem with me showing this right?"

"Unless, you know something we don't?"

The others agree with Maki and demand that the motive video be shown. Tenko looks to Kiyo, demanding he do something but Kiyo shakes his head. "They're too far gone now." Tenko clenches her fists, but doesn't say another word. With a grin of pure malice, Maki tells Monokuma to show the video and he complies, if a bit reluctantly due to Maki's tone. The video plays and the truth is revealed, Angie is the ultimate assassin.

After the video the students erupt into an uproar, angrily turning towards Tenko and Kiyo and demanding why they lied. Tenko responds that if they hadn't lied, the rest of the students would have gotten them killed. They also turn on Kiyo, asking why a detective would lie. He responds saying it was the only way to get to the truth. He also adds that Angie being an assassin had nothing to with this case, they already determined the true killer.

But despite their statements many of the students are still outraged as they mount the elevator. They also notice Angie is not with them, as she seems to have disappeared during the chaos. Two individuals however observe the scene with twisted glee, Maki and Kiibo (ultimate supreme leader). After everyone gets off the elevator, Tenko approaches Kiyo. She thanks him for standing up for Angie, and this time she actually sounds genuine. She then admits that maybe he's different than the other degenerate males and that he's not so bad. Kiyo accepts the sort of compliment and Tenko walks off.

And for the first time Kiyo feels happy. Now he's felt satisfaction after a solved case and even sometimes felt contentment but, he can't remember the last time he felt happy. The last he felt like he belonged. And after this the two from a solid friendship, one that will carry them throughout the entire game and Angie joins the squad too and as much as I'd love to get into their relationship this post is far too long already and I wouldn't wanna waste anymore of your time. But! I hope this was enjoyable at the very least.

I really enjoy getting these asks because they always help me to flesh out the story and the characters and they're always super fun to write so if you ever wanna know about any of the other characters, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for the ask!

[commentaryvorg]

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 6.1

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time…

…Kaito went to space. That’s all. He was in space, and he was happy.

Now to start chapter 6, which I am not quite as excited to get into – can’t possibly imagine why. There’s still definitely a lot I want to talk about, though.

We open the chapter with… Makoto. Not the Makoto we knew (he doesn’t exist), but a kid who’s called Makoto nonetheless. That’s almost certainly the most popular thing to name your kid in this universe, even probably for cultures that aren’t Japanese.

We also have some bizarrely cheerful music. Originally my feelings about this was just that it gave a very weird mood whiplash from everything else that had been going on. But now all it makes me think of is this game’s bonus board game/RPG mode that this music is actually taken from, which I may have got rather addicted to played an inordinate amount of one point. Hearing this now just makes me want to roll some dice and optimise my characters’ stat spreads, dammit! (And by “my characters”, obviously I mean Kaede, Shuichi, Kaito and Maki, who else.)

Makoto:  “I don’t have any talents or anything. I’m just a regular teenager…”

…

Makoto:  “Getting into an elite school like this was just the start of my bad luck.”

The writers (entirely out-universe here, of course) really just wanted to drop all these similarities to Makoto Naegi here just to mess with us and make us wonder if this kid really is him despite looking different, didn’t they.

Makoto:  “I want to run away from my daily life… I want to run away and just forget all this…”

This is considerably less like Makoto Naegi, though. He may have been ordinary, and a little daunted at getting into an elite school, but he was ultimately pretty chill with it and didn’t really want anything to change.

Makoto:  “But I’m okay! I have a reason to live!”

Remember the Monokuma Theater last chapter where Monokuma said he’d be thrilled if Danganronpa was people’s reason to live? Apparently it really is, for probably way more people than just Makoto here.

Makoto:  “I’ve got something to look forward to! That’s why I’m gonna be okay! Thanks for the courage! Thanks for giving me something to get totally obsessed with! Thanks for the strength to keep going!”

This is extremely relatable to me! This is what genuinely loving and caring about a work of fiction looks like! I can’t tell you how many times in my own life I’ve felt like things are going great for me almost entirely because there’s a work of fiction that I absolutely love that makes me happy just to think about.

Makoto:  “I’ll keep on rooting for you, so please keep trying your best!”

And look, he cares about the characters! Obviously, somewhere inside him he is hoping to see bad things happen to them, but that’s because he wants to see them overcome those trials! On the level on which he is actually engaging with the characters as if they’re people, by cheering them on like this, he just wants them to succeed.

It’s kind of like the way I’ve been doing this commentary. On the one hand I’ve been very unabashedly appreciating all the horrible suffering everyone’s gone through and the ways in which it’s been emphasised because that’s what makes this fiction so enjoyable. But when I talk about that, I take the more detached, third-person-pronouns approach, like they’re elements in a well-crafted work of art. Whenever I use second-person pronouns as if I’m engaging with the characters myself, imaging that they’re real people I could talk to, I almost never say anything about how I appreciate their suffering. I’m not engaging with them because I want them to suffer. I want them to suffer so that I’ll end up caring about them even more and therefore will want to engage with them more. Which would all still be thoroughly fucked-up if they really were real, but this is how engaging with fiction works.

(I am making a big point to stress all of this about Makoto here because, oh boy, the next time we see the in-universe audience, things are not going to be remotely this way and that is my biggest issue with this chapter.)

Makoto:  “And—! One day, I’ll also—!”

…audition for Danganronpa and hopefully probably get myself killed in one, is what he’s about to say.

No, Makoto. You were doing great at being a healthy, wholesome appreciater of fiction (aside from the part where it’s not really fiction and you’re watching real people die) until now. Genuinely wanting to be a part of your favourite works of fiction is usually quite an understandable sentiment… but not when it’s Danganronpa, what the actual hell.

We have suddenly jumped from Makoto being a reasonable example of someone enjoying a work of “fiction”, into him being an example of how utterly fucked-up this outside world actually is. People – specifically, teenagers – will apparently willingly throw their lives away to be on Danganronpa if they don’t think their life has much else going for them. That’s why this Makoto hates his life, to make him someone who’d want to do this. If Danganronpa really is his only reason to live, then it does make some kind of twisted sense that it’d also give him a reason to die.

Something important to note about this scene is simply the fact that we’re seeing it. This is in a context entirely removed from anything happening right now in the Academy and is for our eyes, the out-universe audience, only. So there is no reason to doubt that what we’re seeing here is the truth. This Makoto kid really is watching “Danganronpa V3” unfold like it’s basically a work of fiction and having a great time.

I’ve seen some people propose the idea that sure, the killing game was put on as a “fiction” for people’s entertainment, but only for a shady illegal underground audience of people who should know they’re being shitty, probably hidden away somewhere in the deepest darkest corners of the internet. On some level, I might like to believe that, because it’s nicer and easier to buy than thinking the entire world is this obliviously twisted. But Makoto here is a completely ordinary teenager who would be very unlikely to have any idea how to access something like that, and he doesn’t seem to have any conception of the fact that what he’s watching and enjoying so much is illegal and frowned upon and he needs to keep it secret. So I don’t think that can reasonably be the truth here.

Anyway, back at the Academy, Keebo is busy destroying everything. He’d better leave the training spot alone, though – that place contains precious memories of Kaito and deserves to remain undamaged.

Also bear in mind that this is still the same evening after Kaito’s trial. They are not getting any time to rest here.

Keebo:  “Did you call for me? Please keep it brief. I have other matters I must attend to.”

Geez, Keebo. “Keep it brief, because I’m busy getting all of us killed”? Yeah, maybe that’s why they won’t want to keep this brief.

Maki:  “What’s with that weapon and the jet pack?”

Keebo:  “I obtained this equipment from my lab.”

Maki:  “You had equipment like that… in your lab?”

Implicit in Maki’s words here is the sentiment of: then why the fuck didn’t you use it *sooner*? Which, yes. Very much.

Keebo:  “I made some modifications to drastically improve their power output and functionality.”

Tsumugi:  “Since when have you been able to do that? You didn’t level up or anything, right? Did… something happen?”

The fact that it’s Tsumugi asking him this suggests that he really wasn’t supposed to be able to do that at all. It would be pretty stupid of Team Danganronpa to have someone that potentially dangerous here. Obviously they figured he’d never do anything drastic because his inner voice had him on a leash, but the suggestion from Tsumugi’s words here is that he shouldn’t even have been able to make those modifications, inner voice or not, and he just figured it out himself somehow by being a smarter person than she’d written him to be. Maybe he learned a thing or two from his time with Miu?

Keebo:  “I wanted to be treated like a real human. A creature of flesh and blood like you all. But I no longer have the luxury of clinging to that wish anymore!”

You never had that luxury, not while abandoning that wish (and only temporarily, mind you) would have saved your friends’ lives!

The writing is trying to present this like it’s some kind of character development, but there’s been absolutely no build-up to Keebo realising something like this. And there’s no reason that the seven people who’d died before his lab opened up wouldn’t have been enough, such that he somehow needed to see four more deaths before finally making this decision. The only actual change now is the lack of his inner voice – but that never had anything to do with the part of his character that felt awkward about not being human and shouldn’t be making a difference to this supposed character development.

Tsumugi:  “If you do something like that… we’ll all die too, y’know!? There’s no oxygen in the outside world… There are no living things…”

Tsumugi would like to remind us all that there is definitely 100% not anyone alive out there, even though Kaito's efforts just proved that there almost certainly somehow is.

Shuichi:  “Our hope is… everyone here. Our friends who are still alive.”

Shuichi is good. He’s not going to forget the last thing Kaito said to him!

Keebo:  “We simply do not have the power to change the outside world on our own.”

Well that’s very foreshadowy of you, Keebo. He’s only talking about making it less uninhabitable, but.

Keebo:  “All we can do now is refuse to submit to despair!”

Shuichi:  “And you would be willing to let all of us die to accomplish that?”

Yeah, doesn’t sound very not-despairing, does it, Shuichi? Keebo’s just gunning for a different type of despair right now.

Keebo:  “Kaito and Kokichi gave their lives to end this killing game… We should follow their example! We should be willing to give our lives to end this killing game!”

Okay, so to be fair, this might sort of count as following Kokichi’s example, since he wanted to ruin the audience’s experience (even though he went about it in literally the worst way possible by giving them two incredibly entertaining trials). Killing ourselves to give them a boring ending is actually along the lines of what Kokichi at least should have been trying to do, and is in fact what everyone will attempt in the end once they realise what’s going on.

But fuck off with your implication that Kaito would have wanted this, Keebo. Kaito gave his life so that everyone else could survive and escape, not so that they’d all do the same as him! Kaito’s sacrifice was only ever about “ending” the killing game so long as doing so would save everyone!

Maki:  “…Is that what your inner voice is telling you to do?”

It’s interesting that Maki considers this possibility. I wonder what she thinks his inner voice is, since she’s pragmatic enough to not believe in hearing voices, especially not for a robot.

Keebo:  “We can never submit to despair! Because we are students of Hope’s Peak Academy!”

Keebo may have lost his inner voice, but he’s clearly still very much a thrall to the other kind of brainwashing that’s been going on here.

Shuichi:  “Because there might still be hope. There might still be a place to call home.”

Keebo:  “And what are you basing that claim on?”

Shuichi:  “…Nothing. I just have a feeling.”

Shuichi just has a hunch! He’s doing a Kaito and he knows it and it’s so lovely that he’s able to say that with a smile!

Maki:  “Just a feeling…? You sound like that idiot right now.”

Maki knows it just as well, of course. She’s smiling, too! I love how her calling him an idiot has become a thing of affection now. They really are his sidekicks.

(I am going to bring up and be delighted by every single moment in this chapter of them fondly remembering Kaito like this and you can’t stop me.)

Shuichi:  “…Kaito said so. […] There can be no killing game without an audience.”

…So actually, Shuichi was basing his claim on something after all and just wanted to act very Kaito about it anyway, and that is adorable. Well, maybe he felt like it was appropriate because this still isn’t very concrete evidence, but.

Look at him being really sure of this argument, though! Kaito gave everything to prove that and he succeeded, and Shuichi is not going to let his efforts go to waste.

Shuichi:  “There’s still a possibility!”

Keebo:  “True, we cannot say there is absolutely no possibility. But even a mere possibility—”

Shuichi:  “That possibility is our hope!”

Finally, someone gets it! The actual meaning of the damn word! They don’t know for sure that it’s true, but so long as they can keep believing that it’s possible there’s a home for them out there, that is hope.

Monokuma finally shows up with his Exisals in tow. (I wonder what Monotaro makes of the small mountain of screwed-up bloodstained toilet paper in the recesses of his cockpit.)

Monokuma:  “Huh? Is the robot malfunctioning? He must be – why else would he try to defy me?”

Haha, yeah, Keebo is very much meant to be part of the workings of this killing game and not someone who should try and fight against that, isn’t he?

Goodbye Danganronpa

Wow, geez, that was late for a title card. I forgot we hadn’t even had that yet. Of course, this title is pretty straightforward, yet a lot more literal than anyone would be expecting it to be on their first time through.

Maki:  “But why did Monokuma leave a weapon like that in the research lab? He’s… pretty careless, isn’t he?”

Good question! The way Maki’s actively asking this suggests it’s something that actually has an answer, but I’m still not convinced it’s anything but lazy writing.

Maki:  “If the outside world is destroyed, then the mastermind must be in this school, right?”

Makiii, Kaito proved to you guys that the outside world probably isn’t as destroyed as it seems! Don’t you believe that too? (I mean, yes, the mastermind is in fact in this school, but there’s no reason to necessarily think that right now.)

…Actually, Maki still buying the lie about the outside world despite Kaito’s efforts to discredit it might be down to her in particular being very subsceptible to the Flashback Light’s manipulation. There’ll be some more indications of that in this chapter.

Tsumugi:  “Someone… You mean a Remnant of Despair, right?”

Tsumugi is very quick to keep things on-script and remind everyone that this is definitely about Remnants of Despair.

Maki:  “If we can find them and kill them, then this killing game should end.”

Shuichi:  “Ah, I don’t know about *killing* them…”

Yes, Maki, listen to Shuichi! Remember that the last time you tried to kill the “mastermind”, you nearly got Kaito killed instead! Kaito risked his life because he didn’t want you to kill anyone else, even if it was the mastermind!

Maki:  “…Hope?”

Shuichi:  “Our home. Where we’re going to live after this killing game ends. I know there is hope out there. We have to find it before we leave.”

This is what Kaito was talking about when he said Shuichi could find “something beyond the truth” – something beyond that destroyed world they saw at the end of the tunnel. Kaito sacrificed everything for the plan to give them this hope!

(And again since I must nitpick: they wouldn’t be finding the “hope”. The fact that they’re even looking means they already have hope, thanks to Kaito.)

Himiko:  “This isn’t some fictional story, so I don’t think things’ll work out that well…”

Hoo boy. We’re in chapter 6 now, all gloves are off, hints are being dropped left and right and they do not care about being subtle.

Shuichi:  “But if we look for it, we just might find it. If we don’t try… we’ll never find anything.”

This is also quite Kaito of him! Kaito never specifically said anything with this wording, but he was always advocating the idea that you’ve got to put in the effort to be able to get anywhere.

Maki:  “No matter how impossible it seems, we’ll accomplish it.”

Speaking of Kaito! This… is awkward localisation. Maki’s phrasing here is a close match to the Japanese phrasing of Kaito’s “The impossible is possible, all you gotta do is make it so” catchphrase. Evidently, Maki’s localiser is a different one to Kaito’s, and they never got the memo about what Kaito’s catchphrase was changed to in English and just translated this directly.

This is still clearly reminiscent enough of Kaito to get across the point that she’s thinking of him anyway, but Maki is meant to have straight-up said that the impossible is possible, and, awwww! That’s adorable.

Shuichi:  (Maki…) “…Yes… that’s right!”

Shuichi agrees! He’s happy for the reminder! They are such good sidekicks.

Hope Searching time, again! This is still an appropriate title, because, like Shuichi just said, they are searching for proof that they have somewhere to return to, and that is hope.

A sudden tremor causes part of the entrance hall’s floor to collapse and reveal a staircase downwards that leads to Kokichi’s lab. Shuichi guesses that this was meant to open with a mysterious item, presumably if things had been proceeding as normal and Monokuma had happily given them their “presents” like at the beginning of any other chapter. But, awkwardly, there was never any mysterious object around here that looked like something that could have opened this. Yet again, anything which is not directly meant for the player to interact with simply doesn’t exist in the game world, even if it’s something that should exist as part of the story.

“Now it is time to test your bonds with your friends!”

DID YOU KNOW THIS DANGANRONPA GAME IS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP.

…Okay, this whole Friendship Power mechanic for this investigation is actually a very thinly-veiled way to force you to investigate places in a completely linear order by restricting where you have access to until you’ve reached a certain point in the story. But since they were going to have to do that one way or another, I love that they flavoured it to be about this.

“So work hard to end this killing game before dawn breaks!”

Oh, boy, this, though. This whole time limit mechanic is really badly-implemented.

The first thing is that it’s not a real-time time limit at all. I’m leaving my game running as I type this and it’s not going to make a difference. The timer just ticks forwards a small amount every time you examine something or talk to someone, as is appropriate for what is after all a visual novel and not an action game. I’ve seen several blind LPers assume it was a real-time time limit (because the game is very vague about it) and get instilled with a sense of urgency because of that, so I guess that was meant to be the point.

What the real, ahem, “challenge” of this time limit is is that you’re supposed to try not to examine anything nonessential. Which is really not an okay way for a mystery visual novel to be! Half the fun of these sorts of games is seeing what kind of silly bonus dialogue you get for checking things that don’t matter, to the point that many people’s approach when investigating a room is to figure out what object will progress the plot when they examine it and then examine that one last. But here, the developers are telling us we’re “failing” at playing the game properly… when we’re trying to play the game as much as possible. That’s quite frankly rude. They went to the trouble of writing a bunch of bonus dialogue for this investigation, and yet they apparently don’t want anyone to see it.

There’s also the fact that, from my experiments, there is extremely little leeway. You can examine at most two or three nonessential things while still remaining within the time limit, and anything more than that causes you to run out of time before the end. Even if someone is actually trying to examine only the essential objects, on a first run through they’re not going to know exactly what’s important, because sometimes the relevant thing is not that intuitive, and they’re almost certainly going to make more than just a few “mistakes”!

And the punishment for “failing”? I’m sure literally everybody has already seen this themselves, but all you get is Shuichi briefly going “Oh no, I took too long!”, a brief cutscene of the Academy exploding… and then it puts you back at the beginning of whatever room you were in with the timer wound back far enough that you can hypothetically finish from here. It’s the most petty of slaps on the wrist, but of course it shouldn’t be any more than that, because having to replay the entire chapter for the crime of not knowing exactly what was important, or, gasp, wanting to see more dialogue, would be incredibly obnoxious. So what’s the point in even having it be possible to fail in the first place?

What they should really do is have the timer tick forward only when you examine something plot-relevant. That way you’d get the illusion of being in a hurry to anyone who’s on a first time and hasn’t realised how it works, but none of the annoyance of meaninglessly “failing” or of it being incredibly inconvenient to actively go looking for bonus dialogue.

…Also. Uh. Turns out I was partially wrong about it not being a real time limit. I assumed that because the timer doesn’t seem to visibly move when you’re standing around, yet you can notice it tick forwards a small chunk whenever you finish examining something. Buuuut, as I left it running while typing this, with Shuichi just standing in the hallway, the timer has progressed a bunch. Some quick science, namely staring at the screen for a while, confirms that it does actually move in incredibly small pixel-by-pixel increments that are hard to notice unless you’re looking for it. So I guess also don’t go leaving your game running during this part either! Geez. …And, turns out it also ticks forward outside of dialogue if you’ve had the Monopad open for a while. It doesn’t even let you pause the game to pause the timer! Rude.

The timer does however completely vanish during actual dialogue, meaning that it is presumably actually paused then. …Yes; I did some more science to confirm this, this time sitting on a dialogue box for probably something like half an hour and seeing the timer still only tick forwards a little bit once I finally clicked through the dialogue. Talking (or thinking) is a free action, apparently, even though standing around without talking or thinking isn’t.

Anyway, here’s the method I used last time I played this chapter to be able to see all optional dialogue anyway while still technically not “failing” because fuck you too, game: Save as soon as you enter a new place. Go nuts examining everything you want to, while noting which ones seem to be necessary to progress and which ones aren’t. Before leaving for the next place, reset back to your save and this time go through the room while only examining the correct things (fastforwarding the dialogue if you want, not that it matters), so that the game thinks you did so in the minimum amount of “time”. Then head to the next place (as quickly as you can, apparently), save as soon as you enter it, and repeat. Doing this last time I played was how I learned that there was so ridiculously little leeway for “mistakes”, because even then I only just barely made it.

And of course I’m going to be doing that again on this playthrough to get all the optional dialogue, because that’s what this commentary is here for, dammit.

---

[Next post]

[sanctferum]

Time for chapter 2

Well then. Now that Player 1 has gotten a game over, it’s time for player 2 to take the spotlight.

A memorial to Kaede?

...With 15 blank spots for the other Ultimates...

Wait, shouldn’t Rantaro be in one of those spots?

Wait who the hell is talking...

That group? Is there a group behind Monokuma?

“They should have lived...They had to. For this world...”

Is it true, then? Has the world ended, and the Ultimates were the only hope of restoring it...?

Chapter 2: A Thin Line Divides Heaven And Hell

And we begin the actual chapter with Gonta searching for bugs, and not finding any. No bugs...which is weird. There’s all the right conditions for bugs. Why are there no bugs?

What Gonta does find is a strange thing written on a piece of pavement...”horse a”

Someone’s ringing the doorbell to Shuichi’s room, but he isn’t answering. Also, as I thought, the hidden Monokumas are displayed in his room.

Kaito?

First let’s check out the shelf...we missed Monokumas 1 and 5 last chapter.

Ah, we slept in and Kaito didn’t want to eat breakfast without everyone.

Huh? There’s something Shuichi doesn’t need anymore...his hat, perhaps?

Checking his profile, he has no friendship fragments...

Inside the dining hall, people are discussing the weird writing Gonta found.

Yup, no hat. And he’s got the protagonist ahoge.

Tsumugi says that if she takes off her glasses, her true form will be revealed and anyone who sees it will pay a terrible price. Is this another reference to something?

As a maid, Kirumi is experienced in making delicious food.

Keebo can’t eat. Robot and all. Too bad.

Shuichi also can’t bring himself to eat...everything seems so normal, but it’s just a way to distract themselves from Rantaro and Kaede’s deaths...but then Kaito tries stealing his food and Shuichi grabs it back and eats it.

Talk turns back to the graffiti. “horse a”. I’ve heard of the game horse, but there’s no letter A involved.

Huh? Gonta saw a tiny bug and it lead him to the graffiti. But then he didn’t see the bug anymore, no matter how much he searched.

Kokichi starts being a little shit again...and then things turn serious when he suggests that gullible people will be killed first.

Yeah, the killing game is still in effect...

Monokuma played us like a damn fiddle! Well, Kaede, at least.

I get the sense Kokichi is thinking about becoming the next blackened...

speak of the devil! Monokuma arrives, talking about how bullying is bad and that it’s the fault of the bully’s parents for bringing them up wrong. And he bears a gift for surviving the class trial...lemme guess, the Second Memory?

The Monokubs arrive as well. Monophanie, Monotaro, Monosuke...they seem to be frightened shitless of Monodam, each one worrying they could be next.

Himiko can sense that they’re being bullied, because she was bullied in the past.

If the Monokubs are bullying each other, then by Monokuma’s logic, he is a shitty parent. Get rekt.

The gifts for surviving the trial are...a tag of some sort, an ocarina, a crank handle, and a ball?

Ah, a Dragon Gem, an ocarina, an Ancient Passport, and a Hexagonal Crank from some zombie game. ????

They can be used without knowing how to use them...?

The Monokubs accidentally reveal that their weak point is the nape of their necks.

Oh shit. I forgot about the weird indentations and stuff all over the Academy. Now we can open the castle door, right?

Let’s check out the dragon statue first.

Kirumi will fulfill any request given to her...and that includes Kaede’s. Kaede’s wish lives on.

We gotta put the gem in the dragon’s eye, I think.

Doing that breaks the statue, and the wall it was leaning against, revealing a new area.

Kirumi thinks that no one’s been past the wall in a long time.

There’s an Ultimate research lab. It’s Kirumi’s, looks like.

Shuichi bought up that Jack the Ripper was from the Victorian era. Oddly enough, the phrase “Jack the Ripper” was in yellow, which indicates importance.

I mean, the last two games had a serial killer involved in chapter 2, and one of those games had the serial killer be named after Jack the Ripper. Could be a red herring though.

Kiyo has a tale related to the Victorian era to tell us! A gentleman pledged in service to the queen and a lowly maid fell in love. I’m not sure if this is at all important.

There’s a closet door, concealing laundry machines, vacuums, and pressure washers.

Back in the hall! At the end of the hall is another room, a set of stairs leading up, and a treasure chest.

Inside the chest is a weird flashlight. Could it be the Flashback Light from the prologue?

Angie runs off with it to inspect it, and we turn our attention to the room, which looks like it could be Gonta’s research lab.

Bug specimens everywhere! Are there any live bugs, though?

There are bug eggs and larvae, but there were being refrigerated to preserve them. Gonta thinks he can revive them and hatch the eggs. Shuichi is reminded of the story of Noah’s ark. Humanity was destroyed by a great flood, and humanity and animals began anew. Hmmm. HMMMM.

The insect samples were created by someone using love and care. I wonder...could Gonta have made them, and due to amnesia plot stuff doesn’t remember doing so?

Not much else we can do in here. Up the stairs!

Ryoma’s research lab, looks like.

There’s a weird machine serving tennis balls back and forth...Miu wants to midfy it. Into a sex machine, most likely.

Ryoma doesn’t care for the lab, or tennis. That was in his past. That man is dead.

He thinks if he gets out of here he’ll just go straight to jail anyways.

Despite his harsh words about tennis and his past self, he appears to be looking at the court with longing...

There’s a shower room in the back of the tennis court. We can’t go in right now.

There’s another research lab on this floor. I can’t tell whose...

Ah, it’s Maki’s. But she won’t let us go inside. Kokichi shows up to investigate as well, and Maki threatens Shuichi, should he try to go inside. Hmm. What could be in there...?

Next area-unlocking item! Let’s try the othello-themed door. There doesn’t appear to be anything nearby to help unlock it, though...Tsumugi and Himiko are also here, being suspicious of it.

Wait, there’s grooves on the wall, three of them. And two of them have passports inside. Well, OK. Putting the Ancient Passport into the middle groove collapses the wall. Behind it is exactly one room. An Ultimate Research lab. It’s door is covered in strange sigils. Good thing Himiko is right there, cause I suspect this lab is hers.

Himiko is none too happy about a lab with magic trick items and no authentically magic items.

A sword-stabbing box? If those are real swords, they could be used by a potential blackened...

Himiko’s familiar is a tiger cub. That’s a bit harder to take out of a hat than a dove...

A body-sawing box. Hmmm. The things in here could definitely be of use to someone determined to become the blackened...

A guillotine...see above.

A saw...Tsumugi is fearful of the same thing I am...

A water tank. For a Houdini-type trick, I imagine.

Tsumugi wonders why some of the labs were hidden and others were open from the start...the conversation gets derailed by the awkwardness of bringing up Kaede, but the question still stands. Semi-related, I wonder what Rantaro’s lab will reveal about his talent?

Shuichi can’t help but wonder what is up with this Academy...

A cauldron. A pot collecting mana, according to Himiko.

Now for the castle gate and the plant-covered door, both of which are outside.

There’s less plants outside, and the Exisals are still renovating the area.

The ninja cat statue in the courtyard didn’t have anything that we could use a crank or ocarina on, so...castle door next?

Let’s crank this up...

I’m still not sure what the writing on the door means...

“Courtyard - Nightspot” what

Why is it night in this area when it’s day outside?

There’s a “hotel Kumasutra” and a casino...

The casino has a rockin’ remix of the Danganronpa main theme playing inside.

OH. According to Monodam, this casino can be used to get prizes...which must be why the Monomono Machine only had about half the gifts in the game.

Oh my god the music is called “DANGANVEGAS”

You can buy presents and skills with the casino coins.

Kaito is downstairs winning big. But he pushes his luck and loses it all while Monokuma mocks him.

I gotta go, so we’ll check out the hotel and whatever the ocarina does next time!

[marisexmas]

I’m gonna use this text post to type down first impressions of the new drv3 characters as I meet them? I’m putting these here just so I can see how they change as I watch through the game. under readmore for obvious reasons

(note that I do not have the game, I am watching playthroughs on youtube like a scrub)

akamatsu kaede: cute as heck both design-wise and personality-wise. A+++ protagonist, also very refreshing to have a protag whose talent is not either good luck or ??? or nothing? (finally insert red matsu joke here ehehehe yesss)

shuichi saihara: a really nice sidekick character so far? he’s cute and fairly friendly given the situation which I like. here’s hoping he doesn’t die early or turn into a dick like komaeda

shirogane tsumugi: interesting that they made her someone who designs cosplays for other people and not herself but?? I think that would make her more of a shsl cosplay designer than a shsl cosplayer? cause the word cosplayer implies you... wear the cosplays... I dunno that just kinda bugs me a little for some reason. other than that I don’t have much of an opinion on her yet

amami rantarou: other than his ??? status making him pretty much immune to early death and the fact that he’s the obvious fangirl-magnet character of this game, this dude honestly left zero impression on me? I literally almost forgot to include him in this post because I kind of forgot he existed

chabashira tenko:

no further comment is necessary

(in all seriousness she’s cool and I like her eccentricity but her “hates all men” trait is kind of overbearing)

yumeno himiko: MY CUTIE MY ANGEL MY PRECIOUS BAB SHE IS MY INSTANT FAVE PROTECT HER AT ALL COSTS THENKS HIMIKO 4 MY LIFE. IF SHE DIES BEFORE AT LEAST CHAPTER 3 I AM GONNA VOMIT 10000 ANGRY SUNS

iruma miu: her design was my favorite leading up to the game’s release but literally the first line out of her mouth made me dislike her immediately. which is impressive considering teruteru is my favorite character from this series. her perverseness isn’t amusing like teruteru’s, pitiful like tsumiki’s or even fascinatingly out-there like yamada’s though. it’s just straight-up gross, and unlike those other characters the way she uses her talent just makes her less endearing rather than more. maybe she’ll change for the better later but as of now I don’t have high hopes for her. if she lives longer than himiko I might ragequit this game for a while

kokichi ouma: a little shit but a glorious little shit. his voice is unexpectedly deep but? it fits him well weirdly enough. I’m gonna be nervous around him during the class trials though

kiibo: his mannerisms seem not so much like a robot as they seem like a kid pretending to be a robot?? essentially seems like this game’s version of gundham except robot rather than cursed lord of darkness. I like him though and I hope the game doesn’t take that highly predictable route and instead does something more clever with him

[after this point I have no more english translations to go on, only the raw japanese version, so these following opinions are formed solely based on the characters’ voicework, sprites, and what little I can glean of what they’re saying]

hoshi ryouma: HIS VOICE?? IS SO DEEP?? GOOD GOD WHY IS HIS VOICE SO DEEP?? he seems chill and kind of like the brooding buff guy type... excepT?? he’s a tiny hamster man?? I don’t understand but I like it. he’s a cool cat. please don’t fucking kill him off early like all the other non-standard-designed characters spike I beg you

harukawa maki: she seems kinda shy and a bit standoffish? but not in the rude way, more like the “I’m just not good with people” way. I totally get that. we’re in this together maki. judging from promo art her role is gonna be pretty important so... I wish her good luck in this surreal killing adventure

shinguuji korekiyo: I wish I could understand him right now cause he seems downright intriguing. I can’t really get a good read on what kind of character he is from his voice and mannerisms alone. however the fact that his va voiced iyami makes his “utsukushii yo” significantly more unsettling to listen to

momota kaito: seems like a cool but also kind of dudebro-ey older type? I’m really curious as to how his talent plays into his personality and character quirks. he gives me vibes that are this weird mix between leon and hagakure. so far he seems cool, but I won’t be surprised if he does something dangerous and assholey out of either fear or selfishness later

toujou kirumi: gentle yet confident voice + polite speech pattern = instant like. her design is cool as heck too. she is a character who makes me feel safe and I feel she would have my back if I put my trust in her. her actual dialogue could possibly contradict that but for now, she puts me at ease. if she ends up being a culprit I will be sad, but that would also be quite an interesting twist

gokuhara gonta: hoooooly crap he takes gentle giant to a whole new level. and his passion for insects gives me even more reasons to compare him to sig? ohmygosh. I can tell a lot of people are gonna get attached to this character, myself included. which means I’m prepared to have my heart shattered into pieces later by these sadistic writers ;v;

yonaga angie: I had a feeling I was going to like her a lot and I was right!! her design is Adorable. her expressions are Adorable. and her voice is Adorable!! she seems a fair bit quirky (and semi-religious I guess?) but even without completely understanding her now I can tell she’s gonna be a really fun character. if she lasts long enough. *whispers while clasping hands together* please spike

monokuma: ah sweet monokuma, how I love to hate thee. your voice is somewhat jarring now that ooyama-san has stepped down, but in every other regard thou art the same old shitty monokuma

monokumas: some more eccentric shitty monokumas engaging in some more eccentric unsettling banter. so far monodam is my favorite because he is pretty much me throughout most of these games. monofunny is a close second. I’m neutral on the rest except for monokid who I kind of wish would just shut up sometimes