Danganronpa: The end of the road—yet not quite (SPOILERS!)

 

After 18 intense hours, I finally finished Danganronpa. And boy, am I delighted! From the early hours shrouded in mystery to the final revelatory plot twist, it has been an amazing ride, and I loved every single minute of it. Even the Bullet Time Battles became entertaining after a while—somehow. Anyway, this was a great gaming experience that enthralled me all the way through and didn't disappoint me in the slightest, which is rare enough to be mentioned.

It could have disappointed me, mind you: no matter how you look at it, there are still heaps of unanswered questions at the end of the game. Lingering unaddressed plot points at the end of a narrative usually have a way of irritating me to no end, yet they didn't do so in Danganronpa. They didn't do so because I got a satisfying and conclusive answer regarding the most burning question of them all, namely the identity of the Mastermind. Shedding light on that most challenging enigma left me deeply sated—so much so that knowing the actual state of the outside world didn't really matter that much to me after that. I am perfectly content with this Cube-like ending that lets us see nothing more than a dazzling flash of white light when our crew finally manages to open the school doors, and I'll wait patiently to play Danganronpa 2 and Ultra Despair Girls to get more information about the state of the world. Or not, because I really wouldn't be surprised if said state of the world were bound to remain an enigma throughout the whole series, just like the real identity of the Cigarette-Smoking Man in The X-Files. And surprisingly enough for someone who likes narratives to tie up loose ends in a neat and nice way, such an outcome wouldn't bother me either.

And why would it bother me, when I've been served such a grand plot twist—coupled with such a magistral Mastermind character? To my giddy delight, I really didn't see it coming. Or rather, I saw it coming somehow while still not having a clue. I suspected before the last Class Trial that Junko's body had been used as a decoy, because the wounds found on Mukuro's supposed body were similar to the ones that killed Junko; however, it never dawned on me that Mukuro could have passed as Junko and that Junko could be alive and well, and pulling the strings to boot. Oh, the plot twist! That was brilliant. Junko sure didn't disappoint as your crazy Mastermind, with her twisted outlook on life and her constant switching between what could only been described as the most overused and cliché anime voice-acting styles—from the dumb kawaii girl to the gloomy mysterious one—with the corresponding expressions to match. That came accross as a delicious parody of anime tropes, and I lapped it up with vengeful delight, especially so soon after having suffered Steins;Gate's gallery of cliché characters. I'm quite glad that Kyoko didn't turn out to be the Mastermind after all; I had taken a fancy to her as the game progressed, and it would have been painful to see her reveal a vicious side. Of course, she's not completely in the clear either: this whole story with her father remains mostly unexplained, and Monokuma's sudden return to life at the very end of the story to the vibrant scream of "I am the Headmaster!" could indicate that said father is still alive and playing his part in this whole mess. Or not. Well, time and the sequel will tell us if it's the case. Or not. Who can tell with that twisted mind-bender of a game?

Story aside, I loved absolutely everything in Danganronpa: the colourful cast of characters with their obvious parodic charge, the amazing pacing, the cardboard cutout aesthetics, the slickly fluorescent lights in the corridors, Monokuma's theatrical musings, the limited yet brilliant voice acting, the endearing low-fi, budget quality, Hina's unholy love for donuts that made me crave some myself, and so on. I fervently hope that the sequel and the "Ultra Despair Girls" episode will be just as stellar as this first instalment, and I'm already licking my chops at the thought of playing them. The second episode is already mine to play and UDG will be released in just a couple of days, so the time may be ripe for a delicious Danganronpa marathon. But as always, my gaming instinct will have the last word! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!