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Opinions on Danganronpa V3 Killing Harmony? *Spoilers*


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Danganronpa is a series of Visual Novels by Spike Chunsoft about high schoolers that are forced to participate in a killing game. 

V3 is the third entry in the series. Not to be confused with the Danganpona 3 anime. 

After reading the VN I can safely say it was pointless. I’m not trashing on the VN but, this VN was pointless. The ending of the game was just, ‘You guys are fictional characters and none of this matters.’ The twist at the end was pretty stupid, revealing Tsumugi as yet AGAIN, Junko. 

But the overall VN was great. I really liked the characters, (not angie) especially Himiko uwu. The class trials were cool and interesting. And the music was FUCKING AMAZING (as always). The executions were over the top and cool to watch. The character designs were pretty good too.

What is your opinion on the VN?

 

I personally, give it a 7/10. I enjoyed it but, the end kinda messed it up.

 

 

 

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I have many complex feelings on V3, but mostly it boils down to "everything but parts of Chapters 4 & 5 and all of Chapter 6 were fantastic, so I just ignore Chapter 6 and substitute my own ending." Some specific notes:

  • Chapter 5 was both great and terrible. Great, because the writing and the planning for the trial were so great that even going into it with full spoilers I still managed to feel like I was wrong about the whole thing at some points. Terrible because Maki, who I had previously liked a lot, fully descended into Nagito levels of "trying to kill her fellow spotless for a terrible reason" and Kaito spends most of the chapter being a whiny baby over being proved wrong in Chapter 4's trial even though Shuichi saved all their lives by exposing Gonta and, much like Maki, Kaito endangered all the spotless for a terrible reason. It really doesn't help that neither of them, especially Maki (who would have had all her supposed friends killed and, as far as she knew, doomed the human race to extinction in the process just to kill one person had she gotten her way), are called out for their actions or show any regret for what they've done, something that happened to Aoi from the first game, who attempted a similar plan (for far more sympathetic reasons).
  • The cast is mostly great; though I have to completely ignore her role in the story to do so I still like Maki, I find Shuichi to be a good protagonist in his own right and mostly just disagree with his implementation, and outside of Kaito, Shinguji, Angie and Tsumugi my feelings range from "like a lot" to "meh" for all the characters.
  • Having Monokuma back as the primary antagonist was great, he was sorely missed. The Monokubs, however, were garbage even as the meta commentary they were probably supposed to be (since they felt to me like they were supposed to be parodies of characters added later in a series to keep things fresh).
1 hour ago, Hopeofdespair said:

After reading the VN I can safely say it was pointless. I’m not trashing on the VN but, this VN was pointless. The ending of the game was just, ‘You guys are fictional characters and none of this matters.’ The twist at the end was pretty stupid, revealing Tsumugi as yet AGAIN, Junko. 

That was the complete opposite of what the final message was, though? Shuichi even says that just because they're fictional characters that doesn't mean their pain isn't real to them, and given that he's able to sway a good deal of Danganronpa's viewers away from the series with it once he's confronted them in an Armament Argument. In general the whole message was "lies/fiction always have some truth in them and in fact can become truth and change the world."

Granted, I have problems with the message for different reasons, namely that trying to shame your audience for being obsessed with fiction to a life-destroying degree (which Kodaka and co. were definitely trying to do, given how the fictionalized audience is portrayed) while simultaneously elevating fiction to the status of "legitimate world-changer" kinda undercuts the whole point.

Edited by Azure Sen
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26 minutes ago, Azure Sen said:

 

That was the complete opposite of what the final message was, though? Shuichi even says that just because they're fictional characters that doesn't mean their pain isn't real to them, and given that he's able to sway a good deal of Danganronpa's viewers away from the series with it once he's confronted them in an Armament Argument. In general the whole message was "lies/fiction always have some truth in them and in fact can become truth and change the world."

Granted, I have problems with the message for different reasons, namely that trying to shame your audience for being obsessed with fiction to a life-destroying degree (which Kodaka and co. were definitely trying to do, given how the fictionalized audience is portrayed) while simultaneously elevating fiction to the status of "legitimate world-changer" kinda undercuts the whole point.

 

Kodaka has gone on to say on interviews that he was never trying to mock the fanbase and that they don't represent us as a whole nor was this twist a way to tell us of for wanting more of the series. Sure, it MAY resonate with some members of the fanbase, but it wasn't the intention, which is why even in-game they make the distinction of the audience being separate from the player by allowing US to choose to not play the game anymore, despite the audience very much trying keep the show going to the point they overwrite Keebo's agency, and by allowing us take control of Maki and Himiko and Keebo and controlling Saihara through the whole game, something the audience couldn't do, as they were only answering surveys, not controlling the characters. Add to that that we were seeing everything through Saihara's eyes, not through Keebo's eyes despite Tsumugi revealing that Keebo was being used to allow the audience to see the game through his eyes, and its clear that we, the player, are separate from the fictional audience.

I mean, I get why it can be confusing, but really, the fact that the audience of V3 exists in a peaceful world without wars where Danganronpa is worldwide famous and has 52 installments should tip us off to the fact that this was not referring to our reality :p

With that out of the way....

I liked the game a lot overall. My opinion has flipflopped a lot compared from my initial playthrough, after mulling it over, reading interviews and developer's notes, and watching other people's reactions. 

  • The Prologue and Chapter 1 still remain solid and in a favorable light for me. I loved the characters, the mood, and the twists introduced after the conclusion of the first trial. That twist, killer and execution left me so numb and teary-eyed.
  • In my initial playthrough, I was very numb and drained, so chapter 2 and 3 were kind of a blur for me, feeling very unremarkable. Looking back, they were very good chapters, more so Chapter 2 than 3, even though the latter was very predictable, but the fun villain made it worth it.
  • Chapter 4 killed me again. It was a very simple case, but the victim was one of my favorites, and the culprit completely blindsided me. Also, fuck Kokichi, though he was stellar here. Still hated his guts.
  • Chapter 5 was a doozy, and very very unique. Also, it made me love Kokichi. Kind of bleh on Maki's character development but eh.
  • Chapter 6, I went into it spoiled a little. I was a fool and I got spoiled on the twist, but not the mastermind. Even with the spoilers, I didn't expect how far they would go with it, and I absolutely loved the Mastermind and the themes discussed on it, far more than Hope Vs. Despair. I especially liked the ending and the epilogue, that's how you make an open-ended ending! Maybe because I went into it spoiled, but I absolutely loved the ending, though its execution was again sorely done wrong. Too much exposition, but that's Danganronpa for you.

As for the characters...

  • I loved Kaede, she was different for sure, and it was cruel to have her gone that way. Her fate made the mastermind even better and more detestable.
  • Shuichi is the best boy, and it was nice to be the Ultimate Detective. I liked his development, denounment and design.
  • Rantaro deserved better, and he's also my boyfriend. He's such an interesting character and the post-game made me super invested in him.
  • I used to love Kaito a lot, but after thinking about it, I don't like him anymore. I don't hate him, but I hate how sexist, mysognistic and apparently homophobic he was in the Japanese version, and he overstayed his welcome. I know what his character was for, but he lived too long, and he got annoying and wore his schtick out and his views put the cast at risk. Not a fan.
  • Tenko was annoying too but I liked her in Chapter 3. We all know how that went.
  • Not a fan of Angie. Too one note, and her humor is not my cup of tea, I'll give her that she wanted to do the right thing at least.
  • Kokichi. I stan him, but he's a piece of shit, but he's a nice dude, but he's evil and a liar, but he's also funny and smart and has a lot of valid points but I love to hate him and viceversa.
  • Maki was OK, but her feelings for Kaito were not really well developed but I guess that was the point. Still like her well enough.
  • Gonta did nothing wrong and he's the second best boy.
  • Miu was surprisingly one of my favs, despite her humor being predictable. I dunno, I just liked her delivery of lines and her reactions and bearing.
  • K1-B0 was there. I didn't hate him but he was there. Disappointing because I was super hyped for him.
  • Himiko's character arc started slow but I warmed up to her well enough to the end. I related to her a bit and I was genuinely sad for her at some moments. 
  • Kiyo was creepy to the very end but his voice actor, design and philosophies worked well enough for me to like him as a villain.
  • Kirumi was the best mom. It's hilarious that despite being so good at her talent that she became prime minister, she can't cut konjac
  • Ryoma deserved better. Will Danganronpa let me have a weird looking character make it to the end? He was so good and not creepy too... coolest bro. He should have been my bro instead of Kaito so I could help him with his depression :c
  • Tsumugi is the best mastermind and before that, I actually liked her a lot??? I dont know, I guess her being an otaku resonated with me.

 

Overall... I liked this game a lot after giving it some thought. The aesthetics, music, presentation and gameplay were phenomenal, the content for the main game and post-game is incredible, and despite some pacing issues, it was a great game and the second favorite overall in the franchise, after Danganronpa 2 but before Ultra Despair Girls. I am excited for the next game as well! That ending certainly hinted to a lot of coming things.

 

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42 minutes ago, Doof said:

Maybe because I went into it spoiled, but I absolutely loved the ending, though its execution was again sorely done wrong. Too much exposition, but that's Danganronpa for you.

I'm in a sort of reverse situation on that front myself; the fact that I went in spoiled was the only reason I gave the game a fair shake at all, and is exactly why I can identify what I liked and disliked about the game now instead of a year from now, because knowing myself I would have absolutely (and irrationally, I'll admit) hated the game for a long while once the plot twist hit.

EDIT: I was in the middle of responding to the rest of your points when I accidentally posted this, so sorry about that! Those'll be edited in later.

Edited by Azure Sen
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I only watched a LP without commentary (I don't have any current Sony consoles or a Steam account), but the ending aside I enjoyed the story.

Chapter 5 in particular was really great and the main reason Kokichi ended up being my favorite character.

Regarding why I didn't like Chapter 6

Spoiler

I really dislike how Chapter 6 just discards everything the game had been building up to.  The original plotline that'd been built up is just... gone, in favor of the whole Reality show thing.  

It also makes it really hard for me to think about the backstories, since the characters effectively have two versions of their lives and characters mentioned in the backstory of the fake lives (like Rantaro's sisters or DICE) effectively don't exist.  

 

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6 hours ago, Glaceon Mage said:

I only watched a LP without commentary (I don't have any current Sony consoles or a Steam account), but the ending aside I enjoyed the story.

Chapter 5 in particular was really great and the main reason Kokichi ended up being my favorite character.

Regarding why I didn't like Chapter 6

  Hide contents

I really dislike how Chapter 6 just discards everything the game had been building up to.  The original plotline that'd been built up is just... gone, in favor of the whole Reality show thing.  

It also makes it really hard for me to think about the backstories, since the characters effectively have two versions of their lives and characters mentioned in the backstory of the fake lives (like Rantaro's sisters or DICE) effectively don't exist.  

 

I actually like that they dropped that plot point because I swear if we had another post-apocalyptic plot twist I was really gonna think they were just gonna go through the motions for the entirety of the game. I will admit I was a bit stumped when the revelations hit on Chapter 5... I was thinking "OK, we got the truth of the outside world... but then, what will the endgame twist be?".

In retrospect, its obvious that original plotline was fake; there are so many inconsistencies between it and the characters' given backstory, I was a bit dumb not too realize it before the end.

 

I will agree with you on the characters' backstories, though. The reason I love Rantaro so much was because of his backstory on Salmon Team, but when I'm remember its fake, I have this weird feeling.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm on team "I loved the ending".

Spoiler

I found the whole "You were actually on a reality show with true killing" thing very intriguing. Even if it got rid of the "apocalytic future" plot, it was still a twist from out of nowhere that you didn't expect, and while sorta 4th wall-breaky, wasn't too 4th wall breaky; after all, we're talking another alternate universe like the original series in another bizarre future where the "audience" is clearly of a changed world, not caring about the characters' feelings about their predicament...at least at first. It's clearly not to represent the current fanbase as unsympathetic killers, but rather a far-off, possible future fanbase that has drastically changed with society into being addicted to killing games. I don't see this as a shot at the fanbase.

I'm not sure how I would judge Tsumugi compared to Junko, but I can at least say that I like that she's different; I also didn't expect her as the mastermind. I thought she was to be that one character that would stay with the team to the end regardless of what development she got; it's not like characters with minimal development haven't survived to the end before, and her consistent role filling the "straight man" trope blocked thoughts of suspicion from filling my head. I also loved her gimmick of switching between past characters. English VA could use some work, though.

Overall, I really liked the game. The visuals improved, some of the plot twists like in chapter 1 struck hard, and while there's some parts that needed polish, I liked what was done, especially with the shift from Hope and Despair (which can sound cheesy at times) to truths and lies. I also really liked Shuichi, even if I did wish Kaede didn't get screwed out of the protagonist roll or that Shuichi was at least female so we have a main series female protagonist; he at least has his unique quirks (having a detective as the protagonist that people acknowledge relying on is a nice touch) and a design that stands out well among the other two male protagonists. Nice to see a change from the brown, spiky hair.

 

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