Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is the sequel to the popular and awesome, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. One thing I have to say is that in order to get the best out of this game you MUST play the first. This is not a sequel that you can just jump into blind. While some may describe this as a visual novel, I feel it is actually offering far more than that.
How to Download Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
To download the game on your PC or console (PS4, PS Vita) you need to click on the Download button that is placed underneath this review. Be sure to also read our review of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
The Game Review
Talking about the story in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a bit challenging as I do not want to spoil anything. Basically, you are a new student at Hope’s Peak High and you are an “ultimate” which means you are very special. The problem is you do not know what your ultimate ability, but actually that is the last of your problems!
You and some of your fellow ultimate’s find yourself on an island and it all kind of goes to hell. The only way to get off the island is to kill and not be caught! There is far more to the story than just this and the way the characters are written really gets you invested. The dialogue options in the visual novel portions of the game are done very, very well and do make you want to keep playing.
You go around the various islands talking to your fellow students. There are many areas you can explore and you can get to know people better. This lets you form an opinion and get an idea of who the next killer could be. This is where the game kind of turns into something like Ace Attorney.
These sections have you need to plead your case and prove the truth. These sections of the game are awesome and way more intense than words can actually describe. You have to be confident that you are right when you are saying who the killer is or it can be the end for you.
What is really cool about this is that while there is a lot of messing around with dialogue options. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair actually has way more varied gameplay than you would think. You can walk around exploring, gathering evidence and knowing people better. However, there are many mini-games such as a platforming one, one where you miss words and even this strange one with one of the mascots.
Just when you think you have the answers, the game changes the questions. It makes for a very addictive kind of game and the varied gameplay styles keep things fresh, fun and exciting. The visual presentation is great, you do have to keep in mind that this game was made the better part of a decade ago originally, but the anime style holds up well.
The character designs are great as are the locations. If I do have one complaint it is that I wish there was animation on the characters during the discussion scenes. The characters have a lot of personality and I think that this would have made them come to life even more so.
Overall, I love what they have done with Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It is a far better “game” than the first. It offers a great story, plenty of variety to the gameplay and it looks good too! Once again, I do have to state that you simply have to have played the first time to get the best out of this. Lucky for you, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is also a really good game too!
