Danganronpa Another Girl: Ultra Despair Girls Review

The first two Danganronpa games that were released in the states were visual novels that drew on their characters and the murder mystery aspect to deliver great games. When it was first was announced that a spin-off game was being made in the veins of a third-person shooter, many people were wondering how exactly it would tie into the wonderful storytelling that the other two games set forth. It is important to know that the game will spoil the story from the first game, as well as foreshadow some from the second, so it's best to play those two before this one if you're concerned about the story.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (known hereafter as Ultra Despair Girls) takes place in between the events of the first game and the second. You play as Komaru Naegi, who is the younger sister of Makoto Naegi, the protagonist of the first game. She has been kidnapped and held captive, not even knowing who did it or why they did. One day, however, a strange bear breaks into her room and tries to kill her.

As she escapes, she is eventually brought into more despair as the mysterious bears, called Monokuma, are rampaging through the city, killing mercilessly, accompanied by young kids who join in on their fun. It turns out a group of kids, known as The Warriors of Hope, have set their goal to kill all of the adults and create a child paradise. She ends up getting some help in the form of Toko Fukawa, who some might remember from the first game, and has a split personality with the other being a serial killer named Genocide Jack.

Surprisingly, the story for this game is quite dark, even moreso than the other two games. It is also one of the highlights of the game, with some twists thrown in later that flesh out the story even more. If there is one downside to the story, it is the plethora of cutscenes that are mixed into the gameplay segments that kind of throw it off a little bit. You could have a 10 minute cutscene, walk five steps and then have another 5 minute scene. It just kinds of ruins the pacing of the action a little bit.

The game's voice acting is in English and although that was the only option in the review copy given, I've been told that there will be a free Japanese language option offered as DLC at launch. Despite that, the English voices are pretty top notch, with none of them really sounding out of place at all. On the other side of the spectrum, while the music isn't too bad, there seem to be only a handful of tracks that actually play during the game, making them seem repetitive.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the game plays like a third person shooter, and has the basic movement systems from something like Resident Evil 4. Komaru can run while holding down a button, but walks when not. She is equipped with a Hacking Gun, which fires one of eight different types of Truth Bullets that can be used to defeat the Monokuma. Each bullet type does something different and you can get a taste of each one at the beginning of the game.

For example, Move affects various objects if you hit them with it, like certain cars moving or item dispensers offering refills for your ammo (yes, ammo is a resource in the game, with only two out of the eight types having unlimited ammo). Another bullet type, Break, is your standard ammo to be used against the Monokuma, while Dance will make them get funky and start moving to the groove.

The game is fairly linear, as far as main story progress is concerned, with side paths aplenty that will lead you to finding the game's collectibles or the in-game skills. As you destroy the Monokumas, Komaru will level up and be able to equip more of those skills. Also, you can use the Monokuma Coins that drop to purchase Bling Bullets, which can be equipped to the Truth Bullets to enhance them (more ammo, stronger effect, etc).

You can also use the coins to power up Toko Fukawa's abilities, who you can switch to and play as her other personality, Genocide Jack, with the press of a button. Genocide Jack utilizes a battery gauge, which depletes as you control her, meaning that she is sort of like a "super" mode. Jack cannot be hurt at all, despite being able to be knocked back, and she controls similar to a hack-n-slash title, ripping apart the Monokumas with her scissors. Despite the overpowered nature of Genocide Jack, there aren't too many moments in the game where you actually need to use her.

Aside from the exploring and basic combat against Monokumas as you happen upon them, there are many instances where you're presented with a challenge or puzzle to advance the story. These are usually presented as separate rooms, where you need to defeat all of the Monokumas in a certain way or all at once, with them affecting your overall rank at the end of each chapter. They aren't particularly hard, but having to use specific Truth Bullets in them can make you think a little bit.

Visually, the game might not be spectacular, but it does get the job done. There is that anime-style rendering of the importants, with the non-important NPCs either being a carbon copy of each other (Monokuma Kids) or simply silhouettes (the adults). Although it doesn't feel like there were a lot of animated cutscenes as you went through the game, the Extras section that you unlock lists around 90 of them.

You will likely clock in around 15-20 hours by going through the main story, while exploring here and there for the game's collectibles. There may not be a big incentive to replay through it again, you always have the choice to use Chapter Select to go through and try to get anything you missed. Plus, you get the ability to purchase all of the BGMs, artwork and cutscenes in the game using the Monokuma Coins, but that will require you to grind for them.

While the game may not win any awards for its gameplay, the story is as top notch as the visual novels released before it. The wonderful characters and the way they are fleshed out add to the overall experience. One of the few downsides in the game is that the story breaks up the gameplay a little too much, and some of them are quite lengthy as well. If you've played and enjoyed those games, or even just like a great story, then this is a great entry in the Vita library.