(Not Spoiler Free!) Danganronpa 2 thoughts

The first thing I wanna say is that I felt this game was a huge step up from Trigger Happy Havoc (the 1st Danganronpa). Any complaints I had about the first game was basically entirely gone with this game, save for a few exceptions.

That being said, I'll get into the meat of this review now. I'll style it in a similar format to my Luigi's Mansion 3 review where I list out some pros and cons and give general thoughts at the end.

Pros:
1. The music.
There was not a single track in this game that I didn't like or thought of as boring or repetitive. As well, the music had much more of a grander or epic adventure sense to it all. The highlight of the soundtrack for me has to be the song "Beautiful Ruin", which I can already tell will give my a lot of nostalgia on repeat playthroughs or speedruns, or if I'm just listening to it on Youtube.

2. The characters and character development.
The cast of ultimates/protagonists and antagonists was also a big improvement from the first game. Similarly to the soundtrack not having a single song I didn't enjoy, there was also not a single cast member I didn't really dislike (besides the ones you're intended to dislike/be uncomfortable at, of course). Every cast member had something about them that made me like them or feel attached, whether it's Sonia's  obliviousness and bluntness, Nagito being that insane-but-helpful type of character (if that makes sense), Hiyoko being bratty but likable, or Gundham with the running gag of his hamsters being the "Four Dark Devas of Destruction".

3. The plot/setting.
The plot was so good. Chapter 6 and the ending in particular was so good, with multiple 4th wall breaks and glitches in the matrix that all got me multiple times. I honestly regret not streaming that part, because I had some really good reactions to it. I loved the choice of an island/series of islands as the main setting of the game, because a tropical setting like this is guaranteed way to get me engrossed in what's happening.

4. The trial gameplay.
I don't really have much to say here other than I liked the Logic Dive and improved Hangman's Gambit. Ch. 2's trial in particular had a good twist.

(and reinforced the fact that any character I trust in these games will get the axe eventually-)

Cons:
1. Vagueness of the clues
Part of this might be because I was playing on Kind for both Logic and Action (Kind being the game's "Normal" mode), but trying to find some of the clues during the trials were downright rage-inducing. For some reason when I play Danganronpa and only when I play Danganronpa, my brain just shuts off and I can't do any sort of critical thinking.

Overall, I loved it. In fact, I can confidently say that I think it's the best game in the entire series. That may change when I play Ultra Despair Girls and v3: Killing Harmony soon, but that's where my opinion stands.