danganronpa 2nd impressions

(TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, Hanging)

DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

LAst time I posted thoughts on this game I was mid way throuhg the investigation in chapter 1, so it makes sense I'll do my next post mid way through chapter 2. I'll make this into a liveblog, of sorts.

Oh, also, massive spoilers, once again.

First off, I have a pretty strong stomach for horror and violence in general. I'm part of the desensitised generation, and I often groan and roll my eyes at horror movies. I shrug off extreme violence almost every day. Secondly, this is the most disturbing, nihilistic game I've ever played. (I'll go into why in a while) This feels like obviously it's the whole point-although at the same time it feels like I can't really map out what its intent really is.

The ending of chapter 1 did nothing to disprove what I wrote before, that this game definitely takes a perverse pleasure in lingering, drawn-out death scenes. The whole thing is basically snuff, and it feels like it sells short any other things the game talks about. Loss never feels like it's addressed properly, instead, the game just focusses on the bloodiness. It made me wonder if Monokuma's actions are truly being condemned, or are just there as an excuse for blood.

Now, to clarify what I said above: This game is nihilistic because the core of the gameplay involves talking to these characters during free time, and solving their murders in investigation time. You can't tell who'll be picked off next, so you have to strategically guess who to spend the most time with during free time (you get limited time, so can only choose to socialise with a few characters.) The purpose of talking to them in free time is to get a bit of background on them, then give them a gift you think wil be appropriate, which might lead them to teach you a new ability, which you can use in courtroom scenes. This makes it feel like these characters get picked off, leaving behind only what useful, themed abilities you can pick off them before they go- in other words, making characters only good for your own purposes, and what they can give you.

Another thing characters are good for- unlocking new areas. After every trial and execution, a new area of the school opens up, for you to explore. By this point you know how this game works, so, every room in the new area is filled with things you just know can or will be used to kill. Nothing looks innocent, and the most normal of things fills you with dread. Monokuma, who is basically a murderous looney tune at this point, has his own traps set up, such a gun turret that will punish students for using the wrong gendered changing room- this scene is simultaneously coated in a sense it will be used to kill someone in the upcoming chapter, and a weird, lurid sense of seediness- changing room swapping/ peeking, all being tropes of real-life gossip or high school "ecchi" shows, being fused together into some monsterous combination of the two

So anyway, I figured someone would probably drown in the swimming pool. I went to hang out with some characters during free time. I picked Taka, Celeste (twice) Aoi, and that clairvoyant guy I forgot the name of. Weird I should forget his name, because he was probably the nicest. Made it all the more depressing I knew I'd probably be solving his murder later. It's at this point I began talking to people strategically. I was thinking, Celeste will probably die next, because the game's making me like her- So I talked to her the most, getting abilities along the way. I knew not to get attached to anyone. Even that made me feel bad.

As I'm only in chapter 2, I don't know if the game stays this way, but so far, that's what it is.

So okay, eventually we get to the murder. It was a relief because obviously the horror aspect of the game comes from the tension. Everyone gathered in the dining hall, and we all made our way to find the next victim. I was like, I can take it, hit me with your best shot, game.

...Oh, okay. Didn't expect it to ACTUALLY give me its best shot. Ouch. I know I said I was desensitised earlier, but hanging-by-the-neck is one of the only things that can still get to me. (I don't want to go into too much detail, but, in high school I had a classmate who killed herself this way. I wasn't like, there, when it happened, but it affected me a lot anyway) the following scene felt like it was just being rude to me. Everything from the vacant, horrified look on Chihiro's face, to her classmate's somewhat mild (in my opinion) reaction to it- they expressed shock, but they didn't feel like they expressed loss, or mourning. Maybe they will later, but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and felt unlike life.

There's another thing that makes this game disturbing- the klaxon noises, the bright colours, the cutesy art- it's made all the more worse by the fact it does not look like it's horror. I described it on IRC as "like watching an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh with crucifixions" and I feel like that's accurate, at least for now.

I was perusing the Genocide Jack casebook, before I stopped for the day. This was 5 or more days ago and I haven't picked it up since.

There are things I like about this game- there is a central mystery (the nature of monokuma, and the school itself) but in the meantime it feels like it's just getting off on murder. Tere may be a good, lofty story in here, but I feel like it's too submerged in the tropes of B-Movie snuff and it will sell it short for me, regardless.

Also, I've never played anything like it. (it reminds me a lot of the things fmtownsmarty: http://fmtownsmarty.tumblr.com/ digs up, the kind of japanese horror game I always knew existed, but had never actually played) This game presents a world wheree murder is as frequent as the weather, it's set in such a claustrophobic environment with such a small cast, it's just... WEIRD in every aspect of the story and the gameplay... There is also the disconnect between how it looks and how the story pans out. I also can't believe there's about 4 games of this. It could be partly because I don't want to wade through such a vast amount of content, all of which will be miserable, to get to the conclusion.

Anyway, I wanted to stop because it wasn't fun anymore, but I will probably continue at some point. I will complete this chapter, at the very least.