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New Danganronpa V3 Spoiler Thread

We've only had 2 :/

The Shuichi before getting his mind wiped mentions in his audition tape that he wants to be a detective because throughout the previous 52 seasons, there have been multiple Ultimate Detectives, but none of them were ever a killer at some point. He wanted to change that.

Considering the whole in game DR reality show follows a script, for them to still not have the Ultimate Detective turn out to be a killer was strange.
 
To be fair I imagine nearly all of them in their audition videos said they would want to kill people like Shuichi and Kaito did.
 
To be fair I imagine nearly all of them in their audition videos said they would want to kill people like Shuichi and Kaito did.

I'm pretty sure Kaede only said she joined because she had no faith in humanity and was misanthropic. It's possible she joined because she was suicidal and expected she'd die. Shuichi joined because of the thrill while Kaito joined because of the fame.

I still don't feel Shuichi's tape was particularly mindblowing enough of a revelation for him because it's never really established that him being a thrillseeking detective is the antithesis of what he believes in - mainly because his only struggle is learning to be more assertive (which he still has a seeming problem being in the audition tapes). Kaito's tape is a big deal because it goes against his massive character arc where he truly affected several lives throughout the course of the game and had a tearful climax in the preceding chapter. Shuichi is just too much of a wet blanket for his tape to carry weight.
 
Really loved the twist personally! was really pissed that they again bring back junko, so i'm really glad it was just fiction at the end!

Had a smile during the whole reveal, like a lot of people, i guessed easily that all the memories were false, but i didn't except the game to go this far! All the danganronpa seasons, rejecting the audience and both hope and despair, and so on!

Would have been even better if everyone really died at the end! It wouldn't have been a bad ending even like that
 
The Shuichi before getting his mind wiped mentions in his audition tape that he wants to be a detective because throughout the previous 52 seasons, there have been multiple Ultimate Detectives, but none of them were ever a killer at some point. He wanted to change that.

Considering the whole in game DR reality show follows a script, for them to still not have the Ultimate Detective turn out to be a killer was strange.

I think it's part of the whole meta commentary and the twist. There is a message that people like to experience the same thing again and again which is why it was season 53 of the show. They even explain that they need to always see hope wins in the end because the audience like this ending.

So throughout the whole game what happens is similar to the previous 2 games with
-A sealed room murder mystery
-A psychopath killer hiding in the team
-The gold katana with the flimsy leaf painting being a murder weapon again
-A Chapter 3 with multiple victims
-The detective that makes it to the end
-The mastermind cheating in a case (blowing up the dead body and framing Makoto/Kirigiri in 1)
-Motive videos

The game strings you along all the way and at the end tries to troll you with Junk and we will have yet another battle between hope and despair like the last times! But it's at this point that everything really changes.
 
I said it feels like it, and the answer to that is beyond obvious.


i don't see how it cheapen the previous games... V3 was advertised as a separate thing! And it is, in this new world, previous danganronpa are just fiction! That's doesn't take anything to their story at all
 
DR1's twist cheapens itself the more I think about it personally, honestly. I've said it before but that game's story did not age well. DR2 I think has a fantastic story.

It's hard to sympathize with the notion that DRV3's twist cheapens the series because even if the game is a grand critique on it's own set up, if anything it just kind of proves it's own point that despite being "fiction", that doesn't make the experiences the characters have gone through or the feelings we as the audience experience any less "real". Rather than thinking of it as devaluing the games, I see it as uplifting them more than anything, especially when you consider the fact that V3's story is told in a world where the preceding Danganronpa media franchise exists the same way we experienced. The previous DR games weren't a reality TV show; they were literally the very video games we'd played, and the feelings we experience from them translate to the world in V3.

I mean, I bitch a lot about the Kaede twist here which I still hate the more I think about it - and even I felt the V3 end twist was actually fairly well done, not doing itself a disservice. It just examines the effect of the Danganronpa series as a whole, which I'm perfectly fine with because after the game has already done a "post-apocalypse world" twist, as well as "virtual world and you are the bad guys" twist, I'm not really sure where the franchise can feasibly go from here.

I think it was AniHawk who said it in one of the V3 threads and I kind of wholeheartedly agree - V3's ultimate end point about the "darkness of humanity" is way, way more believable here than in any previous games, because in the previous games, the idea of Junko/Izuru and what they do are such nonsense that we only accept through willing suspension of disbelief. Here it's a much more palpable point that can partially be boiled down to "fanaticism taken to perverse levels", of which there's a much better frame of reference in our real world. Sure, we still need to suspend our disbelief about the Danganronpa set up being pulled off, but the idea that it's only done on account of obsession for it's concept is something that we see a lot in the sphere of current media.
 
i don't see how it cheapen the previous games... V3 was advertised as a separate thing! And it is, in this new world, previous danganronpa are just fiction! That's doesn't take anything to their story at all

Pretty much what im thinking. I still have to give that trial another run in case I misunderstood something when they were just dropping bombs on me. The way I understood it is the latest game takes place in our real world and was inspired by the super successful Danganronpa franchise. Which is what we've been playing up to now.

Danganronpa 1 and 2 are fiction and we've always known this. V3 changes nothing
 
DR1's twist cheapens itself the more I think about it personally, honestly. I've said it before but that game's story did not age well. DR2 I think has a fantastic story.

It's hard to sympathize with the notion that DRV3's twist cheapens the series because even if the game is a grand critique on it's own set up, if anything it just kind of proves it's own point that despite being "fiction", that doesn't make the experiences the characters have gone through or the feelings we as the audience experience any less "real". Rather than thinking of it as devaluing the games, I see it as uplifting them more than anything, especially when you consider the fact that V3's story is told in a world where the preceding Danganronpa media franchise exists the same way we experienced. The previous DR games weren't a reality TV show; they were literally the very video games we'd played, and the feelings we experience from them translate to the world in V3.

I mean, I bitch a lot about the Kaede twist here which I still hate the more I think about it - and even I felt the V3 end twist was actually fairly well done, not doing itself a disservice. It just examines the effect of the Danganronpa series as a whole, which I'm perfectly fine with because after the game has already done a "post-apocalypse world" twist, as well as "virtual world and you are the bad guys" twist, I'm not really sure where the franchise can feasibly go from here.

I think it was AniHawk who said it in one of the V3 threads and I kind of wholeheartedly agree - V3's ultimate end point about the "darkness of humanity" is way, way more believable here than in any previous games, because in the previous games, the idea of Junko/Izuru and what they do are such nonsense that we only accept through willing suspension of disbelief. Here it's a much more palpable point that can partially be boiled down to "fanaticism taken to perverse levels", of which there's a much better frame of reference in our real world. Sure, we still need to suspend our disbelief about the Danganronpa set up being pulled off, but the idea that it's only done on account of obsession for it's concept is something that we see a lot in the sphere of current media.

pretty much this
 
Finished. The whole thing felt like an apology for ever trying to turn Danganronpa into a series instead of leaving it a standalone game.

I had been expecting the twist since Chapter 1 because of the Ultra Despair Girls cover, the brief appearance of which had implied that previous Danganronpa games exist as games in V3's universe, although I started to have serious doubts about my theory in Chapter 5. The difference is that I expected the game to go full meta, reveal the mastermind to be Kodaka himself and have him appear as a character. I'm glad that it didn't go quite that far and managed to preserve some semblance of a fourth wall (Spike Chunsoft are never mentioned in in-game conversations, and the credits don't mention Team Danganronpa, indicating that it's a completely fictional company instead of an actual division within Spike Chunsoft).

I don't think the story is an attack on fans. Tsumugi and Monokuma act as stand-ins for the writer and the director and are portrayed as creatively bankrupt and worried only about keeping their jobs. It's an attack on unnecessary sequels, IMO. Both fans and developers get called out for their inability to step out of their comfort zones that can only lead to endless recycling of ideas.

The montage of fake game logos with terrible subtitles was my favorite part. Wish it didn't stop at 10 and went all the way to 53.
 
I liked the twist in 1. It was ridiculous but it was there to show them that escape was pointless all along. Considering what is currently happening in the world I don't think it's that unlikely anymore that someone can lead a mob of people towards total destruction.

Hated the twist in 2. This one combined with 3 made the game pointless since in the end it was all virtual and no one died and they are all ok in 3. It even override the despair in them somehow.
 
I liked the twist in 1. It was ridiculous but it was there to show them that escape was pointless all along. Considering what is currently happening in the world I don't think it's that unlikely anymore that someone can lead a mob of people towards total destruction.

Hated the twist in 2. This one combined with 3 made the game pointless since in the end it was all virtual and no one died and they are all ok in 3. It even override the despair in them somehow.

What? Nobody is ok in 3, you understood it all wrong it seems... It's fiction yes, but they're real people that died in a real game! They all voluntered to be in the game and kill each other, for real and for the world to see, the fiction part is their character and memories
 
What? Nobody is ok in 3, you understood it all wrong it seems... It's fiction yes, but they're real people that died in a real game! They all voluntered to be in the game and kill each other, for real and for the world to see, the fiction part is their character and memories

Think they are referring to the anime.
 
What? Nobody is ok in 3, you understood it all wrong it seems... It's fiction yes, but they're real people that died in a real game! They all voluntered to be in the game and kill each other, for real and for the world to see, the fiction part is their character and memories

They're talking about DR3, not DR53. :P
 
What? Nobody is ok in 3, you understood it all wrong it seems... It's fiction yes, but they're real people that died in a real game! They all voluntered to be in the game and kill each other, for real and for the world to see, the fiction part is their character and memories

I'm talking about 3 not V3. At the end of 3 all of the characters from 2 are alive and ok and in their pre despair form so the killing game in 2 was pointless.
 
Yup, awful ending that really feels like it cheapens the previous games as well. Won't be playing another one if they actually make it.

Guess that I should clarify that I like the ending. I don't want another one since I think this is a good way to end the series.

That and DR3 already ruined that universe anyway.
 
3 spoilers
I'm a sap who likes happy endings so I liked that the cast of 2 was ok in the end.

As much stuff that bugs me in this game the final twist doesn't. It doesn't cheapen DR 1+2 anymore then Digimon Tamers cheapens adventure.

That being said I HATE being unoriginal on purpose so repeating story beats for the sake of some sort of meta commentary really doesn't work for me. Not to keep beating this horse but killing Kaede for the sake of a twist really pisses me off.

Despite everything I'm willing to bet we'll still get Danganronoa 4 Turbo Arcade edition at some point and I hope they get more creative if they do.
 
I like the Kaede twist the more I think about it, mostly due to "the protag is the culprit or mastermind" being a twist that I've wanted in one of these games since the beginning. Though the version I wanted wouldn't have done it in the first case, but wait for it to be a chapter 5 or 6 reveal. That and Shuichi is the best protag in the series.

I do think however that having the game start with Shuichi being the protag, and then switching to Kaede being the protag would have jelled with more people. I would require you to switch their personalities however, by having Shuichi be your typical confident detective, and for Kaede to look up to and rely on them. Then she would have to take over once it's revealed that Shuichi is actually the culprit and use what she learned from him to be a detective rather than just a pianist.
 
3 spoilers
I'm a sap who likes happy endings so I liked that the cast of 2 was ok in the end.

As much stuff that bugs me in this game the final twist doesn't. It doesn't cheapen DR 1+2 anymore then Digimon Tamers cheapens adventure.

That being said I HATE being unoriginal on purpose so repeating story beats for the sake of some sort of meta commentary really doesn't work for me. Not to keep beating this horse but killing Kaede for the sake of a twist really pisses me off.

Despite everything I'm willing to bet we'll still get Danganronoa 4 Turbo Arcade edition at some point and I hope they get more creative if they do.

I'm not making fun of you or anything but you are exactly like the audience members complaining at the end of the game. " I want an happy ending", "Shuichi should have died instead of Kaede", "I'm a long time fans but I'm not liking what is happening". Guess the writers predicted this one accurately too :P

You are not happy stuff is repeating or that it follows the same pattern than the other games for the sake of his meta comment? That's mighty fine but it was also because people want this and you are the very proof of this. One of message of the game is that sequels keep being more of the same and people enjoy and find comfort in this which is why it's the 53th killing game. You keep reminding us he killed Kaede and that she was a fake protagonist but complain about part of the game's structure and events being unoriginal. I doubt you would have complained if the main characters of the first chapter was the protagonist and survived through the very end like 1 and 2. I mean characters were always expendable in Danganronpa. The whole friendship mechanic is proof of this as you can waste time with people dying quickly. Moreover in this one the 16 were in fact awful people that enrolled in the game willingly and openly said they were fine with killing people during their interviews. So they got what they wanted

I don't think the issue is with the plot twist and more with people having some intense fascination and dedication to a fictional character from a game they never even played.
 
3 spoilers
I'm a sap who likes happy endings so I liked that the cast of 2 was ok in the end.

As much stuff that bugs me in this game the final twist doesn't. It doesn't cheapen DR 1+2 anymore then Digimon Tamers cheapens adventure.

That being said I HATE being unoriginal on purpose so repeating story beats for the sake of some sort of meta commentary really doesn't work for me. Not to keep beating this horse but killing Kaede for the sake of a twist really pisses me off.

Despite everything I'm willing to bet we'll still get Danganronoa 4 Turbo Arcade edition at some point and I hope they get more creative if they do.

It probably wouldn't be titled 4 since this game is number 53. Instead they would have to do something like Danganronpa: Infinite. It would be a game where you refute God in a trial at the end.
And God of course would actually be Junko.
 
I'm not making fun of you or anything but you are exactly like the audience members complaining at the end of the game. " I want an happy ending", "Shuichi should have died instead of Kaede", "I'm a long time fans but I'm not liking what is happening". Guess the writers predicted this one accurately too :P

You are not happy stuff is repeating or that it follows the same pattern than the other games for the sake of his meta comment? That's mighty fine but it was also because people want this and you are the very proof of this. One of message of the game is that sequels keep being more of the same and people enjoy and find comfort in this which is why it's the 53th killing game. You keep reminding us he killed Kaede and that she was a fake protagonist but complain about part of the game's structure and events being unoriginal. I doubt you would have complained if the main characters of the first chapter was the protagonist and survived through the very end like 1 and 2. I mean characters were always expendable in Danganronpa. The whole friendship mechanic is proof of this as you can waste time with people dying quickly. Moreover in this one the 16 were in fact awful people that enrolled in the game willingly and openly said they were fine with killing people during their interviews. So they got what they wanted

I don't think the issue is with the plot twist and more with people having some intense fascination and dedication to a fictional character from a game they never even played.

I was just saying why it didn't bug me what they did with the cast of 2. If it remained ambiguous like how the game left it I would have been fine with it as well.

For Kaede it's purely that a female protagonist was killed to hype up a male one. Had it been a male that was the red hearing or another female had taken the lead I wouldn't care. I'm a fan of both Raiden and Nero. I don't mind protagonist switching I just found this instance to be in bad taste.

I also find "they wanted this" to be a lose argument. The moment there memories are altered there more or less entirely different people. It's like Total Recal we still root for Arnold despite his original personality being a horrible person, because they become their own identity.

Finally just because you do something stupid to make a point doesn't change the fact you did something stupid. I get what there going for here. That doesn't mean I have to like it. I'd just rather they actually try something different apposed to doing the same thing and justifying it at the end with some commentary about sequels.

Meh I get why my post probably sound funny given the plot is directly insulting that very part of the fanbase. But it still bugs me.
 
Finally got the Key of Love. Don't tell me I need 15 of these things to see all the bonus scenes...

You're almost guaranteed to need more. The scenes you get are random, and you might get repeat scenes.

I'm not making fun of you or anything but you are exactly like the audience members complaining at the end of the game. " I want an happy ending", "Shuichi should have died instead of Kaede", "I'm a long time fans but I'm not liking what is happening". Guess the writers predicted this one accurately too :P

You are not happy stuff is repeating or that it follows the same pattern than the other games for the sake of his meta comment? That's mighty fine but it was also because people want this and you are the very proof of this. One of message of the game is that sequels keep being more of the same and people enjoy and find comfort in this which is why it's the 53th killing game. You keep reminding us he killed Kaede and that she was a fake protagonist but complain about part of the game's structure and events being unoriginal. I doubt you would have complained if the main characters of the first chapter was the protagonist and survived through the very end like 1 and 2. I mean characters were always expendable in Danganronpa. The whole friendship mechanic is proof of this as you can waste time with people dying quickly. Moreover in this one the 16 were in fact awful people that enrolled in the game willingly and openly said they were fine with killing people during their interviews. So they got what they wanted

I don't think the issue is with the plot twist and more with people having some intense fascination and dedication to a fictional character from a game they never even played.

Let's be real here though - I might defend V3's "meta" ending/commentary, but that doesn't mean it's a flawless execution, nor do I think that absolves it of any criticism people might have in spite of being perfectly aware of it.

When someone says that critiquing the game for something deliberate plays into the point the game is trying to make, I always think back to No More Heroes 2. One of the defenses I've heard about that game to justify the frustrating late-game levels that throw an abysmal amount of high-health enemy sponges your way is because the designers might have tried to make the levels reflect how frustrating, tiresome and fruitless Travis' quest for vengeance has become. While that's a fair point to make and that it may be a justified choice (even if the way the endgame levels are structured are at odds with the story beats), that doesn't mean it's better because of it or any less frustrating. I also think back to Quiet in MGSV, and how she had a "reason" to be used as shameless fan service - but that reason was shoddily written and didn't make the design look any less awkward or creating a disconnect. Something that might have a "point" might still feel pointless, or at worse; completely full of itself.

Designers can make something with the hope that there's a deliberate point that something exists the way it does, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing all of a sudden. If you start dipping your feet into the minefield that is "meta/commentary", you better pray to god you have it all figured out, and based on the divisive nature of the game, I'm not sure V3 actually has it all figured out. Something like MGS2 went even wilder than DRV3 did, but that game is considered an all-time classic because everything about itself, it's existence and it's development was deliberately structured to culminate in an insane bang.

So even if the game tries to point out/make fun of people not liking the Kaede twist and that it plays into "this isn't my Danganronpa!" that doesn't mean that the Kaede twist can't be scrutinized for how it handles or how it plays into the game. The reason I don't like the twist is that it's poorly integrated - mainly because it's not well written to convey the disconnect between the player/player avatar when it comes to obfuscating info - and also because I think Kaede is an infinitely more interesting character with the potential for a more satisfying arc. And even if the game is "aware" that people will have those criticisms, that doesn't make it any less valid criticism.
 
I haven't tried the Love Key yet but isn't it possible to save before it, buy the key, watch the scene and then reload your save for a new scene?
 
I haven't tried the Love Key yet but isn't it possible to save before it, buy the key, watch the scene and then reload your save for a new scene?

Unless I'm mistaken, "save slots" only load what point in the game you're at. Things like items/monocoins and I think relationship stuff is kind of universally integrated in a sort of back-end save because you can use those things in separate modes (such as using emblems to buy stuff in the extras menu). This is why I could follow up already started relationships during the post-game mode and use items I had from the main game already.
 
So technically there were 5 playable characters and 3 of them were female *shrug*

I hope the next game is a true reboot with no connection whatsoever and relying less on the big shocking last chapter twist.
More of the "the mastermind is one of us" or "there's a 16th student" or "they weren't dead all along" rather than the end of the world and meta commentary.

I love the games because of the twists and turns and drama but I always fizzle out in the last chapter when there's just a huge injection of stupid anime plot that makes my head hurt and tires me out
 
So technically there were 5 playable characters and 3 of them were female *shrug*

I hope the next game is a true reboot with no connection whatsoever and relying less on the big shocking last chapter twist.
More of the "the mastermind is one of us" or "there's a 16th student" or "they weren't dead all along" rather than the end of the world and meta commentary.

I love the games because of the twists and turns and drama but I always fizzle out in the last chapter when there's just a huge injection of stupid anime plot that makes my head hurt and tires me out

As opposed to to the rest of the game being not a stupid anime plot? Please find some other way to articulate your feelings. Anime this and anime that is my biggest pet peeve.
 
So technically there were 5 playable characters and 3 of them were female *shrug*

I hope the next game is a true reboot with no connection whatsoever and relying less on the big shocking last chapter twist.
More of the "the mastermind is one of us" or "there's a 16th student" or "they weren't dead all along" rather than the end of the world and meta commentary.

I love the games because of the twists and turns and drama but I always fizzle out in the last chapter when there's just a huge injection of stupid anime plot that makes my head hurt and tires me out

implying danganronpa isnt anime?
 
Maybe not the best word to use, but I couldn't think of another word to describe it. I love anime, So it wasn't a criticism per se but the final chapters always get a bit silly and over the top.
 
Maybe not the best word to use, but I couldn't think of another word to describe it. I love anime, So it wasn't a criticism per se but the final chapters always get a bit silly and over the top.

That's better. Maybe under a new writer things can change more. Kodaka stuck to his formula pretty hard and while I like all three of his games I can understand wanting a change a pace.
 
The love keys scenes I've watched so far have been....interesting.

The guy ones are especially interesting. I knew they were homoerotic based on preliminary translations, but I didn't expect them to be that gay. Shuichi x K1-B0 is probably the most wholesome pairing in the game.
 
I just realized Rantaro never did show up on the pre trial character panels. The ones where the dead characters are colored in red.

Weird, I thought it was going to end up being a plot point
 
going through the last hour of the game is such a drag once I'm aware of the meta just keeps on digging deeper, and quickly losing interest in the whole lore. Thanks Team Danganronpa I guess? :p
 
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