Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS Vita) Review

The biggest worry for Danganronpa V3 would had to have been how to ensure it stays entertaining despite being the third entry, retaining the same basic premise and format. Sixteen high-school students are trapped in an enclosed academy and forced to participate in a game of death; killings must occur, the innocents must deduce who the culprits are in class trials, and the games continue until just two participants remain, effectively "graduating" from the school.

It is all very familiar - taking more than a few cues from the first Danganronpa - but remarkably, V3 holds its own extremely well, even to the point that it comes pretty close to being just as good as the original title… for the majority of chapters, at least.

Even from the get-go, there is clearly some strange stuff going on that is bigger than what is on the surface, but the core of the game - the murder mysteries and the class trials - is full of absorbing and captivating twists and turns, including from the first chapter. This is only successful because of the great characters, of which just about every one of them is compelling in their own special way, whether it is Miu's apathetic and filthy mouth, Kokichi's dastardly tricks and lies, or Kaito's uplifting nature. The flipside of this is that each murder is tragic - just about every chapter leads to a beloved character being lost.

The writing is mostly great, with plenty of heart-breaking and comical moments, but some localisation decisions have led to certain problems - not just in characters having important dialogue altered from the Japanese in some way, but also through edits to CG art that ends up conflicting with murder cases. Some offensive words have wormed their way into the translation, and there are outdated views that are the work of the original writers, but these are generally few and far between, and the overall writing and English text and voice acting is top draw (although one or two high-pitched voices are a little grating, including Monokuma in the early stages).

Characters develop well over the course of the game - provided they remain in the killing games long enough - and they become tangled up in continually bizarre and outlandish scenarios. Murder investigations themselves are some of the most difficult to work out before the trials begin - and even right up till they end, in many cases. The curveballs and revelations continue to keep you guessing. Trials don't get overly difficult, but some trial and error is necessary on occasions where things aren't obvious, and it can sometimes feel a little pedestrian - this is a visual novel primarily, after all - however, the entertainment values are always there, as the enjoyment comes in reaching the conclusions of each case.

Little has changed from previous titles when it comes to the general flow. Walk around the academy during free time periods and get to know some of the students, with story developments progressing after a fixed number of free time sections. A murder will soon follow, with a point and click-style investigation period, where clues used for the trials are obtained. The class trial to solve the case will commence, at which point discussion amongst the participants of the killing games and minigames occur in order to reach the truth.

Minigames are mostly ones seen before, including selecting the correct truth bullet and firing it at words and phrases that contradict something. Other minigames include a form of hangman to decipher a key word (or words), some rhythm-like games to fight off arguments, a driving game where the goal is to collect boxes to form questions and then drive through the correct answers, and a simple puzzle game of shooting blocks to reveal images relating to the case. Once the conclusion draws near, it's a case of piecing everything together in a timeline of events in a comic book style and placing missing panels in order.

At third time of asking in the series, the non-stop debates still remain some of the more frantic and engaging moments, as you listen to the arguments put forward and try to deduce the inconsistencies from the truth. The majority of the other minigames can feel a little more like going through the motions and dragging a tad, although the new debate scrum, where essentially half of the class disagrees with the other half, resulting in a quick-fire round of countering one side's views with other truths, is always a fun part of the trials, especially with the catchy soundtrack backing it up. Remember again, though, that this is no Phoenix Wright, so don't go in expecting to think too hard about solving heavy puzzle sections.

Danganronpa V3 is a consistently great story that at least keeps par with the other two mainline entries - even if it does borrow massively from what has come before - but it is the ending that will have the most impacting and long-lasting effects. Of course, no spoilers will be mentioned, but it is most definitely a conflicting part of the game that will make or break it for just about anyone that plays it through. Whilst some will appreciate what V3 does here, it can somewhat reduce the desire to continue maxing friendship bonds and play the other modes post-game. That said, there perhaps hasn't been so impactful an ending in the series thus far, and the discussions that will emanate from it will go on for a while.

The extra modes feature - just like in previous entries - essentially big enough games in themselves that can eat up just as many hours as the main story. A table top board game and RPG mode with card game elements can accrue heavy grinding, but there is so much to them that it's like unlocking brand-new games that many would charge a decent sum for separately. It will take a long while to achieve that Platinum Trophy because of these extras, but there is no lack of effort at trying to prolong the replayability of the game and allowing players to spend more time with their favourite characters.