The first time I heard about the concept for the  Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, I was immediately intrigued. The game has elements of many other games including Persona 4, Ace Attorney, and Virtue’s Last Reward. As a fan of all of these games, I was excited at the prospect of playing Danganronpa, especially on a portable console like the PS Vita.

In Danganronpa, the player controls Makoto Naegi who, along with 14 other students, was recently accepted into the highly elite high school Hope’s Peak Academy. Hope’s Peak only accepts students who are considered the best or “ultimate” in their respective field. Examples of some of the others students include: the Ultimate Baseball Star, the Ultimate Fan Fiction Creator, the Ultimate Fashionista, and the Ultimate Moral Compass. Makoto, on the other hand, does not have a specific talent or skill. Instead, he won a raffle and was accepted into the school as the winner making him the Ultimate Lucky Student. Everything quickly takes a turn for the worst as the students realize they have been trapped in the school by an evil remote-controlled teddy bear named Monokuma.

Is Danganronpa truly a mix of Persona 4, Ace Attorney, and Virtue’s Last Reward and does it work? Keep reading and find out in our official review.

In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Monokuma informs everyone that if they wish escape they will need to murder their classmates and get away with it. The first student to successfully murder another classmate and hide their guilt from the other students investigating the murder will be released from the school. However, if the remaining students discover enough evidence to prove who the culprit is, the murderer will be executed instead. As Makoto, you are tasked with investigating and finding the best way to survive and escape the situation. If you are familiar with the fantastic Virtue’s Last Reward the story will likely sound very similar.

Gameplay is  from a first person perspective and split into three separate sections. First is the Daily Life section where you explore the school, deepen relationships with other classmates to unlock new skills (think Persona 4), and progress through portions of the story. The next section is the Deadly Life and occurs immediately following the murder of one the students. During the Deadly Life phase you are tasked with looking for clues (think Ace Attorney) about the murder and attempting to deduce the identity of the killer. The final phase is the Class Trial phase, where you are forced to present your evidence, refute any misinformation presented by the killer, and determine the identity of the true killer. The evidence that you collected in the Deadly Life phase takes the form of Truth Bullets which you use to literally shoot down inconsistencies in arguments or present new information. This leads to very high paced gameplay and is an enjoyable change of pace compared to the other phases.

After reading my brief summary of the plot and gameplay, you may have already realized that the game has a distinctive Japanese feel. Danganronpa was originally released in 2010 in Japan for the PlayStation Portable and luckily for us NIS America recently released an updated version for the West for the PlayStation Vita. This version has improved visuals, a fantastic translation, and an extra mode that unlocks once you complete the game for the first time.

There was nothing that I disliked about Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The story is interesting and while I often thought that I knew how the trials would play out, the game never failed to surprise me with a last second twist. I also enjoyed the combination of exploration, relationship building, evidence finding, and fast paced shooting gameplay. This combination was paced in such a way that you were never forced to do any on thing too many times and it helped to keep things from getting stale. If you enjoyed any of the other games I mentioned during the review, a good story, or simply like playing quirky games I believe that Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is for you!

*Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was released on February 11, 2014 for the PlayStation Vita. It is currently available both in physical and digital formats.*

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Will you be purchasing Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc?