Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls Reviews
Overall, DanganRonpa: Another Episode is a fantastic entry in the franchise and far more worth your time than the "spin-off" status would imply. In spite of its sub-par combat mechanics, fans of the series will find plenty to love about this fascinating and intense lore-furthering side-story, from the colorful cast of dysfunctional characters to the simple yet memorable puzzles.
There is a better story here than there is a game. If you are looking for a twisted, original, horror themed tale, Danganronpa Another Episode has a great one to tell. It will keep you guessing throughout with visually stimulating environments and cutscenes. While the gameplay will be entertaining at first, it will quickly become just a means to get to the next story section.
Ultra Despair Girls may not be as great as the first two Danganronpa titles, but it's still a worthwhile experience for fans of the multimedia franchise. There is plenty to look forward to in this entry, especially since Another Episode takes a wider look at the world than its predecessors. Getting through some of the shooting bits may be a little rough, but overall Another Episode is a game worth playing through.
Ultra Despair Girls is repetitive, clunky and worst yet, overly long. An animated film that gathered up all the cutscenes would have served as a better continuation of the world of Danganronpa. This one's for obsessives only; all others need not apply.
But for all the pacing and control issues, as well as frequently being treated as though I can’t solve my own puzzles in a game made for adults, it’s still a game I highly enjoyed.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls might not be as polished as the previous mainline games, but within this handheld adventure is still the fabulous, quality story and tone fans expect from something slapped with Danganronpa on the case.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is great, but this greatness lies primarily with the tale it weaves and character interactions.
Overall, Ultra Despair Girls manages to be both a worthy distraction between the two mainline Danganronpa titles, while also giving a new coat of paint to the series' formula.
Danganronpa Another Episode Ultra Despair Girls is still a profound story with improved mechanics on PS4, but its standing in the series' narrative has shifted for the worst since it originally launched.
Different mechanics, same great Danganronpa storytelling
Ultimately, Ultra Despair Girls is a good follow up to the previous Danganronpa games. It still carries a consistent tone throughout, and the writing is as good as ever. And don’t let the game’s design fool you – despite being an action title, Ultra Despair Girls is just as heavy on text as the previous games. Thankfully, the story is the best part, so making your way through all the text never feels like a chore. And, despite a few issues here and there, this is still a Danganronpa game, and worth your time.
Danganronpa did it again. Another Episode was heartpounding, mind blowing, and for the millionth time, filled with despair. So do yourself a favour, fill yourself with hope, and absolutely play this must have entry in the Danganronpa franchise.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultimate Despair Girls hits all the right notes for a spinoff, retaining the spirit of its source material while still trying something new. It might not be the most challenging game around, but those looking for a bit more despair in their life have come to the right place.
Like it or not, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is an essential part of the series canon, despite the vastly different take on the previous visual novel format. Whilst far from perfect gameplay-wise, and dragging on too much for its own good, many of the positive attributes Danganronpa is known for successfully transfer across to this entry, filling in the gaps left between the previous two releases. It is the plot that carries Ultra Despair Girls along, but had it not been for the entries before it, this may not have been received as favourably. Either way, this is still a must-play for Danganronpa fans.
Following the pedigree of the first two titles, 'Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls' could be seen as a bit disappointing. It's markedly shorter than the mainline titles, and the story it tells, while good, is simply not as great as the first two 'Danganronpa' titles. While it's not the Game of the Year material of its series' herald, there is plenty to be enjoyed in 'Ultra Despair Girls' to be worth a purchase for any fan of the series.
The icing on the cake is the game’s splendid audiovisual design. Taking advantage of the Vita’s more capable hardware, Ultra Despair Girls brings Towa City and its inhabitants to life with more detailed environments and character models, all while retaining Spike Chunsoft’s trademark art style. The game also brings back remixed versions of the classic audio tracks from previous Danganronpa titles. Despite not sounding all that different from their original iterations, they’re a treat to listen to and go a long way towards setting the right mood for Ultra Despair Girls’ comic and tense moments.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is oddly named and really, the game lives up to that tone: Odd. But that’s part of the charm and appeal and fans of past entries will quickly embrace this style. What’s questionable is whether or not they’ll embrace the new third-person action gameplay, which is a dramatic departure from the courtroom scenarios seen before.
Overall Daganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a lot of fun. It looks and plays so much better on the PS4 than it does on PS Vita, and it felt as if the shooting mechanics have been improved over the original Vita release. If you're a fan of the Danganronpa series, then I highly recommend you get this one right now. Sure, it's set in a different genre, but the many nods to the first two games in the series as well as the expansion on the Danganronpa universe's lore make this an entry worthy of the Danganronpa name.
Ultra Despair Girls might be an outlier, and even a game that only the most hardcore Danganronpa fans will ever truly appreciate, but underneath that hood, it's a smart one, and has a wicked sense of humour to boot. [OpenCritic note: Matt Sainsbury separately reviewed the PS4 (4 stars) and Vita (4.5 stars) versions. Their scores have been averaged.]
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls jumps oddly between different genres, which fits in an otherwise enjoyable story. A vast majority involves simply clicking through the story, which per the series in general is largely pretty good. The convoluted plot, and heavy 'anime moments' make it tough to recommend to non-fans of previous releases, but those who enjoy the first or second title will have a great time here as most of the feel still remains, despite the very odd genre change.