The Danganronpa games were easy favorites of mine from last year. Thanks to their interesting storylines and mind-teasing mysteries. If you have yet to play those games, I recommend you stop reading this review and go play them immediately. The story is an important part of why they’re great. So it is crucial to have some knowledge of the first two games in the series before playing this. For those who have played and enjoyed them, please continue reading for my review of the next game in the series, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls for the Playstation Vita and Playstation TV.

In terms of the overall timeline, Another Episode falls in place between the original Danganronpa and Danganronpa 2. This time around you’re following Komaru Naegi, the sister of Makoto Naegi, who was the main character in the original Danganronpa game. Along with her is returning characters, Toko Fukawa and the serial killer within her, Genocide Jack. The story helps give insight to events that occurred after the ending of the first game and also offers pieces of info that led to the events of Danganronpa 2. So those who are deeply into the storyline of the whole series, will find enjoyment with what’s shown in Another Episode.

Unlike the first two games, Another Episode is a third-person action game instead of a adventure style type with a Class Trial gameplay setting. As Komaru, you have access to a hacking gun that you will use to destory enemies by shooting them or to solve the game’s many obstacles by making use of the gun’s many abilities. As Genocide Jack, you won’t take damage and are more melee oriented. Controls much like any third-person shooter, so they’re fairly intuitive and not difficult to get a grasp of. The game is also offered in various difficulties so those who only wish to enjoy the story can have an easy time with the game.

The Good: Although this Danganronpa title is different from the previous ones, it still keeps intact of what made Danganronpa so memorable in the first place. That being a very interesting and dark storyline. Perhaps a storyline that’s darker than the previous titles. Still very entertaining to go through with it’s share of mysteries and surprises that Danganronpa fans will appreciate.

The third-person shooting gameplay isn’t bad either. It’s actually well thought out. The gun Komaru uses has various functions to it. These not only help you defeat enemies in several ways, but it also serves as a puzzle mechanic throughout the game. You’ll occasionally run into rooms where enemies are place in specific positions and spots. Then you’re given the task of having to destroy all of them at once and without being detected, while also being limited in what you can use. I found these rooms to be cleverly thought out. While some were straightforward and easy, there were rooms that made you think and were very satisfying to complete. You’ll also come across riddles that are more thought-based and not exactly having you destroy enemies. This puzzle mechanic is also seen in the game’s boss fights. Where reading enemy patterns in order to avoid hits and then knowing when and how to attack.

Also notably different is the game’s artstyle. Opting in for 3D models instead of the usual 2D sprites in previous games. Not only with 3D models either, as other aspects of the game are presented in unique manners. 3D models used for some cutscenes, as well as in gameplay. 2D sprites similar to previous games get some use in cutscenes as well. Finally, actual animated cutscenes are in the mix too. An interesting choice in how to present the game, but I enjoyed watching each of the styles. Accompanying them all is a story that’s fully-voiced in English or in Japanese via free DLC. There are portions that are text only, but I’m pretty surprised at how much voice audio there is in the game. The English track was very well done too and it was nice to hear some consistency with returning voices for returning characters.

There’s some replayabilitiy to the game as well. After completing through the game once, all your equipment and upgrades carry over. So you can choose to replay portions of the game in order to improve your score. Also the chance to obtain any missed collectibles, which do help offer more backstory to characters in the Danganronpa universe. It is possible to obtain everything in one playthrough, and the incentives for scores and collectibles are mainly for earning Trophies. There’s also the usual gallery item unlocks like movies and CGs that await you after a story completion, and a special novel for fans to enjoy.

The Bad: For as much as I enjoyed the gameplay of Another Episode, it does have it’s share of issues. One of which is with the AI for the enemies. As I mentioned earlier, there are puzzle rooms in which you must defeat all enemies in one go. This is optional since you can still move on if you fail, but completing the objective perfectly and on the first try are what’s required to obtain a perfect score. While some of the difficulty is in figuring out what do, the other half is actually pulling it off. This is mainly because the AI can be a bit rough in some spots.

One problem I kept running into is with an enemy that is used to draw more enemies around it in order to serve as a distraction. The problem I ran into was that it would take a while for these enemies to gather together and stay in place. In cases where many enemies are ivolved, some enemies would just keep wondering around forever cause they can’t get into place since it’s too crowded. This often brought bits of frustration since the time it took for an enemy to get into place usually led to me missing my opportune moment or getting caught, causing me to fail the objective.

Another issue I had is with the game’s camera. While fine throughout most of the game, for some reason the camera becomes locked in a boss fight. It’s fixated on the boss at all times, which causes some issues with trying to maneuver around properly or to pick up items in front of you. I found this odd that the camera setting would just suddenly change like this and force you to be locked in. Really made things more difficult than it needed to be and I did get killed once in a fight because I couldn’t really see where I was running to and ended up taking some damage. You do get accustomed to it since all the boss fights are done this way, but I still would’ve preferred the free moving camera that the rest of the game had during non-boss fights.

Overall Thoughts: Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls may play very differently from previous titles, but it captures that same dark, mysterious tone that fans have enjoyed throughout the series. It’s not a bad game either for what it is. Offering a mix of action with clever puzzle design. All the while being presented in various artstyles that were a joy to see and to listen to with the game’s nicely made dubbing. While I do prefer the adventure gameplay of the previous games, I wouldn’t mind seeing the series return to a more action playstyle for future games since I really enjoyed how this turned out. Another Episode is an important game too, as it does plug in some holes in the Danganronpa lore, while also opening up others. So if you’re deep into the Danganronpa story, you’re in for quite the experience.