Again, I don’t think it’s something we’ll see in the early moments of the full game. It’s a moment that provides a staccato note in the smooth harmony of meeting the new cast. It’s here that Kaede sees another familiar face, Danganronpa 2’s lead, Hajime. Given free reign over a portion of the overgrown school, Kaede is given the chance to meet the rest of the Ultimates, each student being an expert at something that defines (or sometimes doesn’t) their character. The mystery that pervades Danganronpa means cards are held close to the chest on how one game relates or connects to another. It’s a nice familiar call-back, something that I doubt will crop-up in the early moments of the actual game. Surprisingly, she is immediately greeted by Danganronpa’s first protagonist, Makoto. It’s new to have a female protagonist for a main entry Danganronpa game, though Spike Chunsoft played with the idea through the bizarre third-person shooter spin-off, Ultra Despair Girls. In the demo, similar to the openings of both previous entries, Kaede awakens in the school that will presumably house the murder game for V3. Spoilers follow for the Danganronpa V3 Demo

I’ve reviewed the first two games-as well as the spin-off-and the despair only gets heavier with each iteration. The proprietor of all this despair? Good old Monokuma, the sadistic black and white bear that relishes in seeing hope drained from the lives of the innocent and not so innocent cast of characters.

It’s the Prisoner’s Dilemma amplified through 16 students that have no idea who they can trust. The themes revolve between hope and despair, though most often trending towards despair. Students at Hope’s Peak Academy are locked in a game of murder. If you’ve never played a Danganronpa game before, you should know that they are quite twisted but joyously engrossing. They also allow you to take your save file from the demo and get exclusive items in the full game when it launches. They created a unique demo scenario that will not be part of the final game as a way to let players meet the characters, wander the environment, see a gruesome character murder, and take part in a class trial with all the new mechanics coming to V3. Hence why the team at Spike Chunsoft came up with a creative idea to show potential players what a full console Danganronpa can be without pulling from their main story. I was skeptical of the Danganronpa V3 demo for this very reason. If you were to give someone a demo of a visual novel, either the early portion of the game would fail to build and show off the intensity of the scenario, and a slice from later in the game would give away too much regarding characters and story up to that point.

Danganronpa v3 characters