The Danganronpa franchise’s most exciting gameplay segments are the Class Trials, dynamic trials in which the player must solve murder mysteries and choose which classmate is the culprit. Each of the mainline games includes six class trials, with some common patterns showing up between games. For instance, the second case is typically an emotional trial where the culprit is someone who didn’t murder out of pure malice, and the third trial typically involves a double murder.
Not every Danganronpa trial can be an exciting whirlwind. Some cases are a bit too predictable, convoluted, or just plain disappointing. But there are standout trials too, that rise above the others in their twists, turns, and emotions. Naturally, huge spoilers for the entire main series are ahead.
The original game’s fourth trial is both shocking and emotional. The constant turns in the trial and evidence pileups convince the player that Byakuya or Asahina could be responsible for Sakura’s death, but the truth comes out that Sakura committed suicide. Asahina, grieving her best friend, covered up the real cause of death and would have allowed everyone to be executed. Asahina didn’t exactly feel malice towards her schoolmates, but rather a deep sorrowful anger that her friend was taken away from her so unfairly.
The trial also ends with another bitter punch; since Monokuma wants someone to be executed, he brutally crushes Alter Ego into scrap metal. While this chapter is filled with despair, it still manages to feel compelling and not too egregious. The emotions in this chapter are well-deserved.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair‘s third trial is a major disappointment after the whirlwind second case that ends in tragedy. Both Ibuki and Hiyoko are taken down, removing Hiyoko from the character development she was just starting. The actual murder method is a bit convoluted, and the trial drags out longer than it needs to considering the player likely knows early on that Mikan is the most obvious answer. The series’ trials are meant to have fun and dynamic gameplay, but this trial becomes a chore fast.
The despair disease was an interesting concept, and it’s only natural that Mikan would have caught it as the resident nurse. However, the disease suddenly reviving Mikan’s Ultimate Despair memories is a bit too narratively convenient, and it actually makes her murders less compelling. It would have made sense for her to suddenly lash out at Hiyoko, her bully, and perhaps kill Ibuki too as collateral damage. That said, her motive does serve to foreshadow revelations in the endgame.
After the long drawn-out trial, Mikan’s execution isn’t even very satisfying. It’s over in an instant and just plays up her fanservice role. With all of Mikan’s medical motifs, there was a lot of wasted creative potential for her execution.
The second game’s fifth trial has become one of the most infamous cases in the game, and it’s all thanks to the breakout star of the series: Nagito Komaeda. After his introduction as a calm, cool friend to Hajime, Nagito quickly shifts in the first trial into an unpredictable mastermind. All of the students on the island regard Nagito as dangerous, but the only person he successfully manages to kill is himself. However, he stages his own death to look like a murder and relies on his superhuman luck for the whole plan to go through. This performance, if successful, would essentially doom everyone on the island.
Nagito sets the stage for the revelations in the final chapter, in which it’s revealed that everyone except the “traitor” used to be part of Junko’s Ultimate Despair group. Even though Chiaki is blamed and executed for Nagito’s death, which was accidental at worst on her part, Chiaki was actually the one person who Nagito wanted to save. Chiaki, as the traitor to the island, represented hope in the face of Ultimate Despair. Nagito’s fanatical love for hope as a concept pushed him to punish everyone else who represented despair.
Considering everything learned in the final chapters of Goodbye Despair, and his actions throughout every case in the game, it’s hard to paint Nagito as being explicitly a villain. Even though he could be obstinate or opaque in his methods, his goals were always to support hope and the truth.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is the most controversial title in the main series, and it is difficult to place its trials on a clear “best” or “worst” list. However, one thing is clear: the game is another victim of “third case syndrome.” In both the Danganronpa and Ace Attorney fandoms, the phrase “third case syndrome” refers to the phenomenon of the third case in every game being the weakest and least popular.
Following the pattern of previous games, the third trial involves two victims. While the game does take the time to acknowledge both victims and give them their allotted screen time, the actual murder is disappointing. It’s a convoluted and unrealistic method, and Korekiyo’s motive is both underwhelming and uncomfortable. His odd incestuous relationship with his sister is disturbing, and her “taking over” his personality comes off as a poorly executed recall to Genocide Jack. At least Korekiyo’s execution is fun to watch.
The first game’s fifth chapter mostly serves to set up the climactic final act, but it’s also a dramatic whirlwind on its own. After the death of the mysterious Mukuro Ikusaba, the surviving students struggle to figure out who she even is, and who can even be blamed for her death. The player is likely just as confused as the characters are, since nothing really adds up. In reality, this is all a setup by the mastermind Junko, but the students can’t figure this out just yet.
During the trial, Kyoko says something contradictory to the evidence Makoto knows. If he points this out, Kyoko is executed, and the game is railroaded straight into a bad ending where the survivors (except Toko, who dies from unknown causes) accept their fate and live the rest of their lives in the school. If Makoto lets her slide, he is blamed for the death and everyone reluctantly votes for him to be executed. However, at the last second, Alter Ego reappears and stops the execution. Makoto ends up falling into the school’s dump in the basement, trapped but alive.
Makoto, even after being sentenced to death, still clings to hope and his strong trust in Kyoko. This trial is the strongest display of Makoto’s character, and it works excellently to set up the game’s final chapter.
The original victim of Danganronpa‘s third case syndrome is Celestia Ludenberg. She’s supposedly a queen of liars with an impenetrable exterior, but her lies in the third trial are so obvious that the entire mystery is ruined. Her motive is pretty flimsy, too: she just wanted the cash reward for killing someone so she could buy a castle full of vampire butlers. Celestia was an interesting character who could have been hiding a lot of depth, but the third case cuts that potential. One positive highlight is Celestia’s manipulative skills on display with Hifumi; she could have been a compelling later-game murderer. Another, admittedly small, nitpick is how Celestia’s real surname just happened to be Yasuhiro. It’s a bit too convenient.
With regards to Kiyotaka, it’s sad to see him struck down so soon after the turmoil he was put through in the second trial. It’s a bit of a useless death, which makes it all the more disappointing.
Considering Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony‘s explosive and controversial ending, it seems unlikely that the series will return to its typical pattern in any future entries. Outside of the main games, however, there are plenty of spinoffs and supplemental material for fans to enjoy.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is available on mobile, PC, and the PS Vita.
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