Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PlayStation 4) Review

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls has as complicated a plot as its name is long. Making the very odd genre change from detective/trial visual novels to a third-person action romp seems like it would not work and, largely, this train of thought would be correct. Before thinking that this spells disaster, though, over 80% of the 'game' is simply story, and as such stays true to its roots, meaning it is enjoyable.

The action follows Komaru Naegi, the sister of the protagonist of the first entry, who is mysteriously trapped in a city for over a year before it is attacked and everyone starts dying. For those who have never played a Danganronpa before, the plot revolves around a 'despair' that starts to infect the whole world and eventually causes everyone to kill themselves, and others, en masse. The leaders of the despair have an iconic black/white bear named 'Momokuma' that serves to taunt and be somewhat of a joke character, despite the dark tale.

To be clear, this dark theme follows in the footsteps of its predecessors - that remains the same. People are murdered repeatedly throughout the game, never in an overtly grotesque manner, but the game does not spare written detail about things, such as describing inner organs and what certain characters will do to them. The narrative switches between several different ways to spin the yarn: anime, 3D movies, in-game models, talking portraits, 'execution' style cartoons, and then the third-person shooter element. It jumps between these frequently, and it can often be a touch jarring. The anime scenes are wonderfully done and set what is a high bar that many of the others fail to reach. The absolute worst is what could be called '3D movies' in which the characters are rendered in 3D models (different from their in-game models, oddly) as they do things like run or talk. This section of storytelling is absolutely abysmal, to put it lightly, as the models look horrendous and any story is usually rendered nullified simply by how bad the faces/emotions look.

The 'execution' cartoons are familiar to anyone in the series, and while very odd looking they are part of the series, so not a big deal. The talking anime portraits are largely well done and a majority of the story takes place using them. The third-person parts are completely average, however. The gamer controls Komaru who has an electronic gun to shoot the Momokuma robots. She walks and shoots, nothing more, nothing less. There are various extra things the gun can do, but they don't really matter in the end as the best 'shot' is the first one, and any gamer with any third-person experience will be getting headshots most of the time. There is a very strange balance, though, as it is fairly easy to be killed health-wise but the game absolutely dumps over-kill levels of ammo on the player - in a game where you are never flooded with enemies to begin with! Komaru can switch with the melee 'Genocide Jack' who uses scissors to kill. She does not take damage but operates on a timer. In general, she is never needed, and her calmer alter-ego, Toko Fukawa, serves as pretty good characterisation for the two girls to banter back and forth.

Bouncing between the various ways the story is told, the third-person shooter sections, random puzzle parts, and so on, ruins the immersion. This is amplified by random 'anime moments' where someone will have just been killed but then someone else has exaggerated fourth-wall-breaking cut-scenes with bright lights flashing. Unfortunately, that is the way it is. Luckily, this is a small part of the overall adventure and, while not good, it does not outright fail. Anyone playing this is going to be here for the story, and it delivers in that regard.

Fans will want to look past the very odd genre Ultra Despair Girls is set in, and it is easy enough to beat even if not especially good at this genre. The action parts are very easy, with only something like personal challenges of trying to say get 80%+ headshots the whole game to make it at all difficult. Non-fans likely will not like this latest Danganronpa for multiple reasons, of which the convoluted plot is a major one. For those invested in the series' story, though, it stays true to its roots and, as such, comes highly recommended, despite some bad gameplay sections.