August 2019 Playthrough - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

[Mr_Stubbes]

So I finished the first game and without spoiling anything, I will say that I really enjoyed the ending of the game. There was an interesting twist on who the mastermind was which I didn't really see coming until the the final class trial. Also I'm hoping the ending, along with some other moments, of the first game is explained in the 2nd.

I've started the second game and have already made it to about halfway through chapter 1. The prologue was a little long, but I was able to "fast forward" through all of the controls/tutorial portions as they were basically identical to the first game. I the D2 already has a lot of humor and the constant fourth wall breaks are pretty funny. I also like the level up system in D2 as well. It promotes exploration and talking to your other classmates to become more power which I assume will be very important at the later levels.

[singlebanana]

You can manually save anytime in 2.  This was not what I expected.  The trial took some time to understand what it wanted from me, I'm not sure if I like this as much as 9 doors, but it's interesting.

Though I haven't made it through my first trial yet (I'm saved right now just after the investigation), I have played the first game and admit that the trials are aggrevating at times.  I'm hoping that this is a little less frustrating in D2, but we will see.

[singlebanana]

So I finished the first game and without spoiling anything, I will say that I really enjoyed the ending of the game. There was an interesting twist on who the mastermind was which I didn't really see coming until the the final class trial. Also I'm hoping the ending, along with some other moments, of the first game is explained in the 2nd.

I've started the second game and have already made it to about halfway through chapter 1. The prologue was a little long, but I was able to "fast forward" through all of the controls/tutorial portions as they were basically identical to the first game. I the D2 already has a lot of humor and the constant fourth wall breaks are pretty funny. I also like the level up system in D2 as well. It promotes exploration and talking to your other classmates to become more power which I assume will be very important at the later levels.

Glad that you enjoyed the first game man!  Yeah, the ending is pretty wild and IMO well done. I will say that the murders from the first game and Chapter 1 in D2 are extraordinarily creative and well done. There are great set ups and always multiple suspects in the pool, good red herrings, and fun clues to piece together. To me, the investigation is the best part of the games. Though the trials can be frustrating at times, it's fun putting it all together.

I agree that humor is a much bigger factor in D2 and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.  I like the idea of a leveling system, but I have no idea where this is going yet either.  I found that the running around the island, from right to left and vice-versa, rather odd at first, but I have gotten use to it now and I'm okay with it.  Finding hidden Monokumas is a nice little addition to the gameplay and what about the Tamagotchi in the menu?  Mine evolved into a snake after much poop cleaning. No idea what the benefit here is either, but it's kind of neat.  

[Mr_Stubbes]

Glad that you enjoyed the first game man!  Yeah, the ending is pretty wild and IMO well done. I will say that the murders from the first game and Chapter 1 in D2 are extraordinarily creative and well done. There are great set ups and always multiple suspects in the pool, good red herrings, and fun clues to piece together. To me, the investigation is the best part of the games. Though the trials can be frustrating at times, it's fun putting it all together.

I agree that humor is a much bigger factor in D2 and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.  I like the idea of a leveling system, but I have no idea where this is going yet either.  I found that the running around the island, from right to left and vice-versa, rather odd at first, but I have gotten use to it now and I'm okay with it.  Finding hidden Monokumas is a nice little addition to the gameplay and what about the Tamagotchi in the menu?  Mine evolved into a snake after much poop cleaning. No idea what the benefit here is either, but it's kind of neat.  

The only thing that kinda worries me about all the humor is that it might not "switch off" during the investigation sequences and class trials. I would hate for the game to kill the mood during those tense times. I like the addition of finding hidden Monokuma dolls to be a nice little addition to the game play. I'm not certain on this, but i think those dolls are probably the only way to get Monokuma coins (except for class trials). The Tamagotchi is also kind of interesting. It probably doesn't serve a purpose but I check on it every now and then. I've noticed when something happen the face of the e pet shows up in the bottom left corner of your screen. Have you noticed any of the references to characters from the first game? I found one in the grocery store that was a callback to the Ultimate Fanfic Creator. I hope there are some more sprinkled in as well.

[douglie007]

Speaking of the pet, does everyone get a snake? Or does it generate different pets per game or play through?

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[singlebanana]

Speaking of the pet, does everyone get a snake? Or does it generate different pets per game or play through?

Not sure, hopefully others can report on their pets

[Crabmaster2000]

All finished with the first game now so I'm ready to hop into 2 with you guys and hopefully catch up. I really enjoyed 1 and there were a couple cliffhangers at the end that I'm quite interested to see if they are addressed in 2. One thing I found odd was the structure of the game. During the first couple murders it was very hard for me to figure out who was involved because there were a ton of possible students. With the last 3 murders I had guessed the outcomes all correctly prior to the trial because each time there were less and less suspects to choose from so I found it became easier to piece to the mysteries together. While I wasn't surprised by the final reveal in 1 it was a fun ending never-the-less. What I really loved about the game was the characters and the relationships you could build with them. REALLY looking forward to meeting the cast in 2.

Since there were 15 students at the start of 1 and I knew I wouldn't be able to make friends with everyone before the end of the game I chose 5 characters at the start of the game that were going to be the ones I spent time with during Free Time. This was before I knew much about their profiles. Turned out I picked 3 murderers and one victim out of my 5 choices so it was getting lonely near the end. Might go for the same approach in 2, but hopefully I do a better job of not picking cold blooded killers this time!

[singlebanana]

So I finished the trial in Chapter 1 last....holy crap, the trial took nearly 2 hours!  I dunno, seems that this could be cut down quite a bit because there seems to be a lot of redundancy with the dialogue and choices.  Thank goodness there is a save within the trail. I would have hated for my Vita to die or I get stuck somewhere and not have a save to fall back on. 

Though I enjoy the trial mini games, I have to say that some of them are a bit difficult to figure out on the first go.  Yes, there are instructions, but they are textual and for me, it's very hard to follow without a visual; this would have been a good implementation by the developers. The word game is quite slow and annoying... I think this will be easier as the game moves along and though it should ramp up in difficulty, at least having a grasp on the gameplay for each mini game will make it easier.

I know this sounds like a good bit of complaining, but I had similar issues in the first game when I played it a year ago. However, I still loved it and I feel the same way about this one.  Not giving anything away, but there is a really nice "twisted factor" that they implement in D2 that wasn't really in the first game. Can't wait to talk about this a little more in a few days. 

[Crabmaster2000]

I'm just starting chapter 1 right now. You guys weren't kidding that the prologue was bloated. That was pretty long winded. One of the things I kept thinking during the first game was "it would be nice to fast travel to locations or even just different floors". Was so happy that they added fast travel into this game..... and then built mechanics into the game to punish you for using it! doh! Fast travel would be nice, but you know what's nicer? Leveling up and walking your tamagotchi. So no fast travel I guess.

Much like the last game when I first met the group of people I'd be stuck with most of them weren't initially appealing to me, but even this early in the game I'm getting fond of several of them. I decided to do what I did last time around and pick 5 favorites to focus on and hope they don't die/kill people. I went for Ghundam Tanaka, Nekomaru Nidai, Chiaki Nanami, Peko Pekoyama, and Mikan Tsumiki.

The last game had a few pervy moments in it (like most anime style games), but they were pretty sparse. This game is VERY pervy so far and it's so much that it's pretty distracting at times. I cringe when Teruteru's sprite appears on screen. He's a pretty disgusting person to be around. I really hope he is killed/killer very early because I don't know if I can stand a whole game worth of him. Beyond just Teruteru though many of the female sprites are pretty provocative and they've already had a swimsuit and upskirt portrait as well as the long shot of Mikan's ass straight in the air when she wiped out in the kitchen early on. I'm a hetero dude as much as the next guy, but even I think it's pushing the limits so far, and distracting me from the actual game.

I do like the hope system and hunting down the Monokuma statues for extra coins. I'm really scouring each screen and I've only found 2 so far (one was the first one where he teaches you about it to).

[singlebanana]

From what I recall, the first game did have fast travel between floors. Am I wrong on this?  However, I do agree that I like the walking and leveling up aspect quite a bit.

The last game had a few pervy moments in it (like most anime style games), but they were pretty sparse. This game is VERY pervy so far and it's so much that it's pretty distracting at times. I cringe when Teruteru's sprite appears on screen. He's a pretty disgusting person to be around. I really hope he is killed/killer very early because I don't know if I can stand a whole game worth of him. Beyond just Teruteru though many of the female sprites are pretty provocative and they've already had a swimsuit and upskirt portrait as well as the long shot of Mikan's ass straight in the air when she wiped out in the kitchen early on. I'm a hetero dude as much as the next guy, but even I think it's pushing the limits so far, and distracting me from the actual game.

I have to say that I really disagree here. Sure there is a little fan service and potty humor, but I wouldn't deem it "very pervy."  In the grand scheme of all of the anime I have seen and the anime fan and art culture I have been around due to its high presence in my local game store and conventions (statues, cuddle pillows, etc.), I think it's fairly tame. Sure, I would contend that the humor is of the adult variety, but this is a game about murder, not a plushy Pokemon title. Also, the fan service that is present is humorously edited (which you will get a big shot of in Chapter 1). I don't think any of it is distracting at all, but instead ramps up the humor that was a bit lacking in the first game. To me, it's merely funny adult, sexual humor. There is far, far, far, far much worse out there.  

[Crabmaster2000]

From what I recall, the first game did have fast travel between floors. Am I wrong on this?  However, I do agree that I like the walking and leveling up aspect quite a bit.

The last game had a few pervy moments in it (like most anime style games), but they were pretty sparse. This game is VERY pervy so far and it's so much that it's pretty distracting at times. I cringe when Teruteru's sprite appears on screen. He's a pretty disgusting person to be around. I really hope he is killed/killer very early because I don't know if I can stand a whole game worth of him. Beyond just Teruteru though many of the female sprites are pretty provocative and they've already had a swimsuit and upskirt portrait as well as the long shot of Mikan's ass straight in the air when she wiped out in the kitchen early on. I'm a hetero dude as much as the next guy, but even I think it's pushing the limits so far, and distracting me from the actual game.

I have to say that I really disagree here. Sure there is a little fan service and potty humor, but I wouldn't deem it "very pervy."  In the grand scheme of all of the anime I have seen and the anime fan and art culture I have been around due to its high presence in my local game store and conventions (statues, cuddle pillows, etc.), I think it's fairly tame. Sure, I would contend that the humor is of the adult variety, but this is a game about murder, not a plushy Pokemon title. Also, the fan service that is present is humorously edited (which you will get a big shot of in Chapter 1). I don't think any of it is distracting at all, but instead ramps up the humor that was a bit lacking in the first game. To me, it's merely funny adult, sexual humor. There is far, far, far, far much worse out there.  

Counter point:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=640 height=480]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48495177532_9c0c17f096_z.jpg[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48495179227_0645716a62_z.jpg[/img]

Finished chapter 1 now. They really padded out the Investigations and Trials compared to the first game. A lot longer and a lot more to take in. I like the new hangman's gambit a bit better than the old one. It took me a few tries to understand what to do in the Truth Blade section before I could pass it. Unlike the rhythm game that ended the trials in the previous game I have no idea how to play this one. I died on it twice and then mashed as fast as I could to finish it off because everything I did was a miss. I really enjoyed that part of the game in the 1st Danganronpa, but I'm obviously missing something with the shields now. Can anyone walk me through it? Is it only the X button you need to press? In the previous game I didn't have any deaths until the final chapter and I'm already at 3 in Chapter 1. I much prefer how they are doing the comic book at the end of the trial in 2 to 1 though. Much easier to follow their train of thought through it with less options and some hints available.

I'm so glad Teruteru is gone. No more blowjob, pantie, and "can I stick my fingers there?" jokes. Pretty surprised that Byakuya is gone already though, because of his link to the first game I assumed he'd be a major player through most of this. I think the Nagito turn during the trial is supposed to make him kind of like the Genecide Jack/Jill character from the 1st game, but seems far less interesting. He went from being the character I was 2nd least interested in being around to the least because of Teruteru's death and his heel turn. I wasn't sure that Fuyuhiko was a character I would be interested in seeing on screen much, but I actually really enjoyed him when he spoke up in the trial, looking forward to seeing how they use him going forward.

The humor is really not hitting for me like it did in the first game. When Nekomaru is constantly talking about taking a "shit" I get some chuckles, but everything else is just not jiving with me. Anyone else just feel sad for Usami/Monomi at this point? She's not must Monokuma's punching bag, but everyone just tells her to screw off every time she comes to help or show some positivity.

How's everyone's bond going? I've almost got Peko maxed out because of some awesome sword related gifts from the gotcha machine. Also have started on Gundham as well and have 2 hope crystals with him. Have found 5 Monokuma dolls now also.

PS - I forgot to mention last time that I'm very intrigued to see how "fat Byakuya" fits into the overall story. Blew my mind when I first saw him.

[singlebanana]

Wow.....I'm so striken with lust over some cleavage (which I see daily even in my workplace) and a comically placed salad............. Far, far, far from "very pervy."

Yeah, I agree with the Truth Blade section. I had to watch a video just to see the instructions again after starting it. Very confusing at times. Also, I don't really care for Truth Bullets in contradicting and agreeing with arguments (just stick with contradicting).  And yes, I think you only have the press the X button in rythum with the dots centering on the screen, not my favorite event and rather odd.

Yes Crabby!  I noticed the correlation between the Genocide Jack/Jill in the first game and also how the character Byakuya reminded me of (of course) of Byakuya Togami also the afluent prodigy in the first game. It seems that several of the characters are mirrored here, which is very interesting. Also agree that Fuyuhiko is an interesting character and it's a fun incorporation of an outsider with a violent past to add a red herring.

Yeah the Nekomaru poop humor is the best!  I find myself laughing out loud at it. I don't care for the Monomi character at all. Just seems like unnecessary fluff right now. Who knows, maybe this will improve or there will be some twist.

My bonds are spread out with three characters getting my attention and I believe have two crystals each. I tend to create bonds determined on what gifts come out of the machine. They don't work with everyone so it's hard to try to pick certain characters to improve relationships with sometimes.  Damn, one of the gifts went to Teruteru, but I didn't know anyone else who would be interested in salt....

[douglie007]

Messing with the hope/ despair with the pet... I got this guy lol[img width=700 height=340]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190811/3003d119815b68332eeda9d711a4a3ef.jpg[/img]

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[Mr_Stubbes]

I maxed out the hope for my ePet and got an Usami. Which makes me wonder if you did the exact opposite, would you get a Monokuma???

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/QMur8lm.jpg[/img]

[douglie007]

I maxed out the hope for my ePet and got an Usami. Which makes me wonder if you did the exact opposite, would you get a Monokuma???

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/QMur8lm.jpg[/img]

I tried.. dont get 10 despair, they die.  But 9 with no hope did get him.