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rlttp · 7 years

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Dangan Rompa

Due to a error either on my part or PSN (which given reputations I can’t be overly confident in either) I have had to walk through the narrative of Dangan Ronpa a second time in a new found lust for Platinum trophies. Easy ones at least. In doing so, my mind is of course returned to the game and its story which has lead me back here in order to motivate myself to get the post count above one.

It helps that the game is really good.

Dangan Rompa (Bullet Rebuttal) is a visual novel published by Spike Chunsoft from the mind of one Kazutaka Kodaka. It has visual novel leanings with gameplay that can be similarly compared to Phoenix Wright. What sets it exceptionally apart from the Ace Attorney series and most visual novels is the style that this game oozes at every pore. The game is highly stylized in what the director calls ‘Psychopop’ (if this is a real movement forgive me, I am far from an expert on modern art, mmk?). There is very little in the game that couldn’t be described as exaggerated in some way, characters always presented as 2D cut outs in 3D space, a color pallette that relies on heavy contrast of bright colors, and a reliance on pixel art that creates a strong identity for itself rather than assist a central theme. A comparative game would be Person 4 which has a heavy root in modern Japanese culture that grabs those interested right from the start.

Where the game shines the brightest however is in the characters. While they have a tendency to lean on tropes at times and have literally explicitly stated talents as base lines, they avoid falling too deep into the tropes they represent and manage some roundness and charm that can have you very much mourning the losses as they come. There are very few actions (save for one or two characters) that feel unmotivated in at the very least a way that makes sense in the logic of the game which can keep them sympathetic with very few coming off as not relate-able in at least some way. Even a character who seems like a one shot joke from the start ends up being very lovable and charming. It refrains from distracting itself with a romantic subplot which is quite refreshing in many ways and keeps the game on focus

And it’s very good that the characters as so well written too, as it helps excuse just how stupid it can be at times. If you can’t tell already, I love the game; I think it’s great. However trying to explain certain elements of the plot can be difficult to some who want things a bit more serious than this can really offer. I mean, the main antagonist is a cartoon, robotic teddy bear. The game is fast and loose with what kind of setting it wants, seeming to be mostly based in a realistic-ish world but will occasionally throw some sci-fi or mystical device at you with no proper explanation of how it works in the world or where it comes from. This can be very distracting to the experience and, I feel, smells of moments of lazy writing that need a bit more establishment if they are going to be accepted well.

One of the main facets of the game is the mystery of all that is going on, which I fell the game handles well for the most part. I was interested in the progression of the plot as well as more and more curious as to what was going on as the game progressed, which shows good pacing of the story and mixing of reveals to keep you interested in what’s happening. That said, I feel that it did not give enough glimpses or foreshadowing to either dissuade a bit of frustration at how little I knew as the game kept going or to keep some elements from needing some bracing to keep it from seeming to come from left field. For example, take another game that I love: Bioshock. Throughout the game you get tidbits about the mind altering applications of Adam as well as some talk about a test subject who is being brainwashed to obey some commanders blindly. This keeps the player interested in the mystery and makes the reveal of you having this done to you down to being the subject being discussed in the tapes more believable. The player is ready to accept this because they are aware of a majority of the mystery save for the critical bit of information that makes everything click together. I feel like this game would have benefited quite a bit from give more hints as to what was going on, though can understand a reluctance to do so. I would imagine that, in writing a mystery, you want to make it difficult to keep it from being guessed too easily. Especially in this type of investigative game, it can be very frustrating when the player has figured out informatiojn that the game won’t let you use yet as the character is not.aware of it in the game universe.

The final conflict in the game though. Without spoiling, it does a few things that I am completely work for and really nailed cementing the experience in my mind. Most importantly, it completely justified itself as being a game. Many people look down on games such as this that are honestly quite light on gameplay: visual novels, walking simulators and the like. However, the final scene of this game alone is something that, if you were not controlling and interacting with the situation yourself, would not be able to deliver nearly the level of impact to the player as it could if it could a watcher of, say, a show or a movie. These are the kind of experiences that I remember the most and one of the reasons that I think Undertale succeeded so brilliantly. It shows why it should exist not only as an art form but as the specific form it is in. It takes aspects of the gaming medium and exploits them to their fullest to bring an experience that couldn’t exist otherwise. To me, this stands testament that this is not only a game, but one that has just as much right to exist as the shooters, RPGs, and simulators that are more prototypical of the idea of a game.

All in all, I’d say the game is brilliant if you are able to handle some of the hurdles involved with the setting/world. If you can deal with some anime-only logic or tropey ideas, it is certainly worth the experience. If it is too distracting for you? I honestly think you could still find the writing enjoyable, but I know it’s something that’d be a deal breaker for some.

Also play it for the Vita. Someone has to love it, because Sony sure as shit doesn’t.

#game reviews #danganronpa

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