Danganronpa Another Episode (PS Vita) Review

A Monokuma Massacre.

 Developer Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair are among the best games on the Vita. Both had great stories to tell accompanied by memorable characters. When Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls was announced, I felt a little skeptical of good is it going to be since it's half visual novel, half third-person shooter. But having experienced everything it has to offer, my doubts were put to rest.

STORY- Another Episode takes place between Danganronpa 1 & 2 and follows Komarou Naegi, little sister of Danganronpa 1's main lead Makoto Naegi, and Toko Fukawa, a Hope's Peak Academy survivor. Together, they must survive in a Monokuma-infested Towa City and fight against The Warriors of Hope, who plan to kill all of the adults in the city. Throughout the game, you'll understand the hardships they faced that made them unstable. Without getting into spoilers, the story presented is very engaging and just as great as the previous games. The characters, especially the Warriors of Hope, are interesting and have their own dark stories to tell. There's also some fourth-wall breaks here and there to lighten up the mood. Also, the story does a great job of giving backstory prior to the events of the first game and setting up Danganronpa 2.

Despite the dark and uneasy tone of the story, it's pretty funny at times. 

GAMEPLAY- Ditching the class trails aspects of the previous games, Another Episode plays as a third-person shooter with visual novel elements. It can feel stiff at times, but overall it's solid. Komaru's primary weapon is the "Hacking Gun", which is one of the few weapons effective against the Monokumas. There are eight unique "truth bullets" for the gun, all of which have their own abilities. "Break" is your starting bullet, which can damage Monokumas, it's especially effective when you shoot it's left eye. "Link" allows Komaru to take control Monokumas to get past tricky situations. "Move" can be used to manipulate various equipment scatted throughout Towa City.

The gameplay takes inspiration from RE4 with its over-the-shoulder shhoting style.

 Furthermore, Toko can use her stun gun to use her split-personality, Genocide Jack. Genocide Jack plays differently from Komaru; she can hack and slash through Monokumas using razor-sharp scissors. The "Scissor Fever" allows Jack to perform moves that can instantly kill Monokumas. The Hacking Gun and Scissors can be upgraded at your nearest Monokuma kids shop. Some of my frustrations lie with the camera. Even with the two options presented to you, controlling the camera is a annoying and can be a pain when dealing with large groups of Monokumas. 

Effortlessly killing Monokumas as Genocide Jack is satisfying.

 Many challenge rooms are encountered in the game's chapters. These help change the gameplay a bit either by solving a riddle given to you by Monokuma kids or thinking of a good strategy to dispose of Monokumas with your latest bullet. Having these challenges are fun and help give some variety to the gameplay.  Also, there various collectibles scattered across Towa City. These range from scraps of paper that provide insight to what happened to the residents of Towa City, various books that Toko can comment on, "Hit Lists", and Reference books that will give Komaru new skills. With all these collectibles scattered, you'll have a reason to explore some of Towa City.   

Towa City is filled with neat little collectibles to look for.

PRESENTATION- If you've played a Danganronpa game before, you'll be familiar with the presentation immediately. The character models and backgrounds are neat and well-detailed. Additionally, the cutscenes look good, especially the 2.5D ones. The same can be said for the anime cutscenes, which were fun to watch. The voice-work is great with some spot-on performances. Also,  it wouldn't be a Danagnronpa game without some catchy music. Composer Masafumi Takada, whom also worked on the previous games, nails the dark and despair-filled atmosphere of the game. Some familiar tracks make a return and the new ones were a joy to listen to.

The presentation, like previous games, is colorful and unique.

OVERALL- Danganronpa Another Episode is a simple and fun third-person shooter. The story, gameplay, and presentation are great and should entertain many fans. Fans should pick it up as it sheds some light to prior events. Newcomers should check out the first game to get some of the references and understand the story better. If you can dismiss some of its issues, it's a nice distraction until Danaganronpa 3 gets localized.

                        IMPRESSIVE