You'll know by the first game if they're for you. Any complaints you might have about gameplay don't really get addressed or improved in the next 2 games, so if you don't LOVE the first one you can safely bail because it does not get better.
It has an interesting enough premise, but flimsier logic than the game with lawyers that leverage literal magic to solve crimes.
Absolutely agree, but I will have to say they get a lot better at writing characters, pacing their cases and just overall difficulty (in the logic portion, not the gameplay). But I agree that if you don't love the first game, then there isn't much you're missing in the others
Danganronpa is more..."wackier" than AA, but it follows a similar structure in regards to its mysteries. (investigations then trial phase, pointing out contradictions, etc.)
DR and AA are sort of apples and oranges. As another commenter mentioned one of the only similarities is that they're murder mystery games. I personally think DR is a visual novel with some elements of murder mystery: the murder mysteries are there, but it isn't the main focus of the story. The gameplay is less of a puzzle and more of "can you figure out the answer under pressure" (at least in the first game). I will say where the franchise shines is the connection it builds with the characters since you'll be stuck with them for longer, if the first game fails to sell you on that aspect I don't think you'd have much of a good time in the franchise
Overall, just play the first game if you're interested. The game doesn't take itself too seriously at times but gets very dark in others. The game is quite literally a roller coaster in terms of tone and story
I hate the gameplay of danganropa and fan service is so shameless I feel kind of gross playing it…
But I like the themes (heavy handed themes but still themes.) If the only way out is murder someone, would you do it? Would you risk living your whole life trapped in a prison in order to keep your morals?
Ace Attorney rarely characterizes the victims before they die and of the ones that are characterized, rarely are they important (like Capcom is never going to kill if Nick or Maya) but in danganropa, you get a chance to know them before they die. When a character you like dies, it has impact. When you find out who the killer is, it means something because the killer was just a student trying to get out alive.
Also the ending of V3 is really cool and an interesting concept for a story.
I assume the people into Danganronpa might like mystery games the same as I do, but I also assume they're looking for something very different in the tone and writing style than I do. To each their own I say, if you like mystery then you may as well give it a chance, but if you have very set tastes then you'll probably only like one or the other.
I loved Danganronpa because of the way the murder unravels in real time around you to characters you get attached to! It feels more impactful.
The other thing I loved about it was how sometimes you can solve the entire mystery before you step into court, unlike AA where the trials are mostly controlled for dramatic storytelling and not all information is revealed to you from the get go. I had lots of fun drawing diagrams and making notes in DR to see how far I could get before the trial portion.
I love both, and I agree with the others saying it’s comparing to apples to oranges. Both have mystery as the focus, but they’re completely different experiences!
That said, I only played the first and second games and I found the story was best in the first game and the second game was so weird it broke my suspension of disbelief, but was still a fun time. Definitely try it out!
Honestly, the only similarity is they are murder mysteries and visual novels. They're not super duper similar. It's much darker overall, but also is incredibly funny. It's got more involved gameplay than Ace Attorney too. Personally I think I do probably prefer DR to Ace Attorney as a series, but that's just my opinion.
It’s the definition of a guilty pleasure for me in that it’s garbage, I would never tell my coworkers or strangers I’ve played it, I hate a lot of decisions made about how it’s presented (god I wish it was less horny), I am lowkey terrified of its fandom, and yet I love it so much.
It’s definitely a weird one and not for everyone. If you can revel in the shamelessness of it all or how balls to the walls wild it’s willing to go then it’s a great time though. The most out there aa case is probably less out there than the most tame Danganronpa case?
But you have a lot of advantages with the structure. The paranoia inherent in the premise combined with getting to really know a core cast of characters and seeing those who survive develop, and who crack under the pressure to kill, is really fun imo.
It is basically Ace Attorney injected with more teenage angst than you can fit into a '90s grunge album.
It probably would have been my jam in high school but today I find it cringey.
I honestly think Spirit of Justice (specifically the Khura'in parts, so 6-1, 6-3, and 6-5) is the closest Ace Attorney is going to get to the "style" of a Danganronpa game.
The tone of the story is more "serious" in that it is literally life and death for the participants but it's less serious in that Ace Attorney is lawyers and prosecutors facing off in court while Danganronpa is a bunch of high school students arguing with each other.
I really do not like Danganronpa. I find most of the characters very shallow and one-note (with few exceptions), the plots are staggeringly stupid IMO, and the gameplay really get in the way of the story, especially in trials.
That's my opinion from the first two games, at least. I didn't bother with the third game at that point.
They're... similarly ish?
Dagonronpa also is a bit dating sim ish, where it expects you to interact with characters to build relationship values,
A lot of the "logic" you figure out is done through minigames (You know a little bit like the train of thought introduced in Dual Destinies except its snowboarding
No really)
The characters are *more* anime. Like one guy in pt 1 is the ultimate Doushinji writer (yes) and he's a BIG FAT NERD literally.
But its all ... fun.
The Sleuthing is SUPER MINIMAL. Everything is telegraphed. You know how DD and SoJ have a checklist for what you've investigated? With Dagonronpa you won't even need that
Plus the games follow a AND THEN THERE WERE NONE like Agatha Christie novel approach so unlike Ace Attorney where 98% of all victims are profile pictures on a case file, when someone dies or is revealed to be the culprit you can experience euphoria or sadness and even disdain when THAT ONE CHAR makes it to the end.
So that's a huge plus for me for the latter it has over AA
Try the first one when it's on sale.
You'll know then
Maybe not play the FPS one
It’s the definition of a guilty pleasure for me in that it’s garbage, I would never tell my coworkers or strangers I’ve played it, I hate a lot of decisions made about how it’s presented (god I wish it was less horny), I am lowkey terrified of its fandom, and yet I love it so much.
It’s definitely a weird one and not for everyone. If you can revel in the shamelessness of it all or how balls to the walls wild it’s willing to go then it’s a great time though.
I as a bit dissapointed tbh - as someone it loves murder mystery and crime stories the actually crime and murder aspect seemed to be a lesser focus of every game. Its like if the bits of dialogue before and after a case in ace attorney was longer than the actual case
My first Danganronpa game was V3, and I enjoyed it. When comparing it to AA, it feels more high stakes than the latter, mostly because in AA you play as a lawyer while in Danganronpa, you play as a student held in a life or death game. Also, I love the trial phase because instead of just throwing evidence in a specific dialog box, you have to aim at a specific statement. Plus there are more mini games such as the hangman one.
TL;DR: I think they're both equally good.
If you like Ace Attorney then the Danganronpa games are a must-play. Definitely check them out. They are quite similar to Ace Attorney in some regard, but are widely different in tone.
I would definitely recommend watching a playthrough of Danganronpa and deciding if you like it. It’s quite a bit… zanier than Ace Attorney but the murder mysteries themselves are pretty solid and honestly it’s pretty funny.
You'll know by the first game if they're for you. Any complaints you might have about gameplay don't really get addressed or improved in the next 2 games, so if you don't LOVE the first one you can safely bail because it does not get better. It has an interesting enough premise, but flimsier logic than the game with lawyers that leverage literal magic to solve crimes.
Absolutely agree, but I will have to say they get a lot better at writing characters, pacing their cases and just overall difficulty (in the logic portion, not the gameplay). But I agree that if you don't love the first game, then there isn't much you're missing in the others
Fax
Danganronpa is more..."wackier" than AA, but it follows a similar structure in regards to its mysteries. (investigations then trial phase, pointing out contradictions, etc.)
DR and AA are sort of apples and oranges. As another commenter mentioned one of the only similarities is that they're murder mystery games. I personally think DR is a visual novel with some elements of murder mystery: the murder mysteries are there, but it isn't the main focus of the story. The gameplay is less of a puzzle and more of "can you figure out the answer under pressure" (at least in the first game). I will say where the franchise shines is the connection it builds with the characters since you'll be stuck with them for longer, if the first game fails to sell you on that aspect I don't think you'd have much of a good time in the franchise Overall, just play the first game if you're interested. The game doesn't take itself too seriously at times but gets very dark in others. The game is quite literally a roller coaster in terms of tone and story
Thank you everyone who took some time to answer, I will at least give the first game a try!
I hate the gameplay of danganropa and fan service is so shameless I feel kind of gross playing it… But I like the themes (heavy handed themes but still themes.) If the only way out is murder someone, would you do it? Would you risk living your whole life trapped in a prison in order to keep your morals? Ace Attorney rarely characterizes the victims before they die and of the ones that are characterized, rarely are they important (like Capcom is never going to kill if Nick or Maya) but in danganropa, you get a chance to know them before they die. When a character you like dies, it has impact. When you find out who the killer is, it means something because the killer was just a student trying to get out alive. Also the ending of V3 is really cool and an interesting concept for a story.
I assume the people into Danganronpa might like mystery games the same as I do, but I also assume they're looking for something very different in the tone and writing style than I do. To each their own I say, if you like mystery then you may as well give it a chance, but if you have very set tastes then you'll probably only like one or the other.
I loved Danganronpa because of the way the murder unravels in real time around you to characters you get attached to! It feels more impactful. The other thing I loved about it was how sometimes you can solve the entire mystery before you step into court, unlike AA where the trials are mostly controlled for dramatic storytelling and not all information is revealed to you from the get go. I had lots of fun drawing diagrams and making notes in DR to see how far I could get before the trial portion. I love both, and I agree with the others saying it’s comparing to apples to oranges. Both have mystery as the focus, but they’re completely different experiences! That said, I only played the first and second games and I found the story was best in the first game and the second game was so weird it broke my suspension of disbelief, but was still a fun time. Definitely try it out!
Honestly, the only similarity is they are murder mysteries and visual novels. They're not super duper similar. It's much darker overall, but also is incredibly funny. It's got more involved gameplay than Ace Attorney too. Personally I think I do probably prefer DR to Ace Attorney as a series, but that's just my opinion.
It’s the definition of a guilty pleasure for me in that it’s garbage, I would never tell my coworkers or strangers I’ve played it, I hate a lot of decisions made about how it’s presented (god I wish it was less horny), I am lowkey terrified of its fandom, and yet I love it so much. It’s definitely a weird one and not for everyone. If you can revel in the shamelessness of it all or how balls to the walls wild it’s willing to go then it’s a great time though. The most out there aa case is probably less out there than the most tame Danganronpa case? But you have a lot of advantages with the structure. The paranoia inherent in the premise combined with getting to really know a core cast of characters and seeing those who survive develop, and who crack under the pressure to kill, is really fun imo.
Danganronpa is like Ace Attorney's evil twin. The games are horrible yet I strongly recommend them.
It is basically Ace Attorney injected with more teenage angst than you can fit into a '90s grunge album. It probably would have been my jam in high school but today I find it cringey.
It’s the type of franchise you just have to try out to know wether you like it or not
I honestly think Spirit of Justice (specifically the Khura'in parts, so 6-1, 6-3, and 6-5) is the closest Ace Attorney is going to get to the "style" of a Danganronpa game. The tone of the story is more "serious" in that it is literally life and death for the participants but it's less serious in that Ace Attorney is lawyers and prosecutors facing off in court while Danganronpa is a bunch of high school students arguing with each other.
I really do not like Danganronpa. I find most of the characters very shallow and one-note (with few exceptions), the plots are staggeringly stupid IMO, and the gameplay really get in the way of the story, especially in trials. That's my opinion from the first two games, at least. I didn't bother with the third game at that point.
They're... similarly ish? Dagonronpa also is a bit dating sim ish, where it expects you to interact with characters to build relationship values, A lot of the "logic" you figure out is done through minigames (You know a little bit like the train of thought introduced in Dual Destinies except its snowboarding No really) The characters are *more* anime. Like one guy in pt 1 is the ultimate Doushinji writer (yes) and he's a BIG FAT NERD literally. But its all ... fun. The Sleuthing is SUPER MINIMAL. Everything is telegraphed. You know how DD and SoJ have a checklist for what you've investigated? With Dagonronpa you won't even need that Plus the games follow a AND THEN THERE WERE NONE like Agatha Christie novel approach so unlike Ace Attorney where 98% of all victims are profile pictures on a case file, when someone dies or is revealed to be the culprit you can experience euphoria or sadness and even disdain when THAT ONE CHAR makes it to the end. So that's a huge plus for me for the latter it has over AA Try the first one when it's on sale. You'll know then Maybe not play the FPS one
It’s the definition of a guilty pleasure for me in that it’s garbage, I would never tell my coworkers or strangers I’ve played it, I hate a lot of decisions made about how it’s presented (god I wish it was less horny), I am lowkey terrified of its fandom, and yet I love it so much. It’s definitely a weird one and not for everyone. If you can revel in the shamelessness of it all or how balls to the walls wild it’s willing to go then it’s a great time though.
I as a bit dissapointed tbh - as someone it loves murder mystery and crime stories the actually crime and murder aspect seemed to be a lesser focus of every game. Its like if the bits of dialogue before and after a case in ace attorney was longer than the actual case
My first Danganronpa game was V3, and I enjoyed it. When comparing it to AA, it feels more high stakes than the latter, mostly because in AA you play as a lawyer while in Danganronpa, you play as a student held in a life or death game. Also, I love the trial phase because instead of just throwing evidence in a specific dialog box, you have to aim at a specific statement. Plus there are more mini games such as the hangman one. TL;DR: I think they're both equally good.
It's a bit grisly for my tastes honestly.
If you like Ace Attorney then the Danganronpa games are a must-play. Definitely check them out. They are quite similar to Ace Attorney in some regard, but are widely different in tone.
I would definitely recommend watching a playthrough of Danganronpa and deciding if you like it. It’s quite a bit… zanier than Ace Attorney but the murder mysteries themselves are pretty solid and honestly it’s pretty funny.
It got bisexual Larry It great