Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Reviews
There are not many superlatives that does not stick to Danganronpa V3 : Killing Harmony. This third instalment in the series is more extreme, more meta, more amazing in its storyline, even if the core gameplay suffers from reals changes to surprise the old students. Unless the visual novel genre or its japanese style makes you want to run away, Danganronpa V3 : Killing Harmony is worth the school trip.
Review in French | Read full review
Danganronpa V3 delivers what fans of the series want, which is more Danganronpa. A text-heavy game centered on high school students killing each other certainly won’t be for everybody. If you loved the previous entries in the series and its mix of eclectic characters, however, you’re going to love this one to death as well.
If you delight in the sense of drama and anticipation that arises from impossible situations, if you are engaged by a twisting mystery that is never quite what you expect, then the Danganronpa series is for you. I can't in good faith recommend that you play Danganronpa V3 before the other two, just like I would never tell you to enjoy Return of the King before partaking of Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers. As the third part of an incredible trilogy of games, Danganronpa V3 deserves your attention in its rightful place after the other two. Make no mistake though, it's a title that's well worth arriving at when you get there, a vibrantly dark mystery that sinks its teddy bear claws in and won't let go.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony's twisted helter-skelter ride of bloody murder and dastardly bears is a thrilling concoction of whodunit high jinks imbued with some surprisingly deep social satire, and to top it all off, it's terrifically written and marvelously presented, too.
As a Danganronpa fan, I liked Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, but I hesitate to call it a must-play. It's a great puzzle game to keep you busy while you wait for the next Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton, but you won't walk away from this one happy. What did you expect from a series obsessed with despair?
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony relies heavily on its characters and plot, so if these two things aren't of interest to you then you might not agree with this review. However, returning fans and those with an open mind will clearly understand why Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is one of the greatest visual novels I have ever played.
V3's best improvements aren't in its mini-games, the way it handles, or in high-fidelity visuals, but in the way it embraces the series' DNA and brings it to the forefront of the experience. Though there are some missteps along the way such as the almost cringeworthy hyper-sexualized dialogue revolving around Miu, or the filler ‘Free Time' segments, Killing Harmony has me desperate to see where the series goes next.
Danganronpa is lunacy personified where games are concerned but does do a very good job in keeping the series going and make it accessible to newcomers, too. A crazy RPG experience.
The biggest, the best and the most complex Danganronpa with the ending I sincerely love to hate.
Review in Polish | Read full review
But unless it's another one of the game's lies, Killing Harmony ends definitively enough that I'm content viewing it as more of a deconstruction of the killing game and perhaps a commentary on Danganronpa as a franchise than the beginning of a new story. It's not quite as profound, but it is daring. For that, Killing Harmony earns my respect, if not necessarily my adoration.
Aside from a few divisive plot points, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is yet another excellent entry in the series.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony will test your patience in more ways than one, and rarely does so for good reason.
Danganronpa V3: Killiing Harmony not only gives fans more of the Danganronpa they know and love, but it elevates the series to new heights and leaves old players scratching their heads and reeling in shock at the twists the story takes.
Danganronpa is completely silly, deranged, weird, terrifying, awful, ironic, depressing, hopeful, wonderfully written, emotional and engrossing. It's an experience you absolutely need to try as blind as possible.
Danganronpa V3 unravels the series' tightly wound coil of bloody intrigue in spectacular fashion.
Overall, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is yet another excellent installment in the franchise, delivering up another set of grisly murders and the well-crafted conundrums and kangaroo courts that result from them while still keeping a focus on black humor and twisted school life.
Even though it's not as fresh as it was back when the first chapter launched, the base concept around which Danganronpa V3 revolves is still very strong, and, aided by brilliant writing and strong character design, makes this visual novel hard to miss for all the fans of the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An intellectually (if not aesthetically) pleasing visual novel that may only appeal to regulars of the franchise. While Danganronpa v3 has it's own unique story-line not connected to the other games and a good mix of quirky characters, I can't help but feel like I missed my ride on the hype train for not having played the other titles first.
That can all be true, and I can still be mad about V3 for its mishandling of such a contentious theme, primarily because it led to such a hazy and frustrating ending. But maybe this is a sign that Danganronpa has run its course – after V3, I’m almost certain that there’s no one-upping its meta-meta conclusion without it starting to get even more wanky.
A familiar tune of discordant harmony.