Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Joe Donnelly)

Danganronpa 2

It feels like just last month we were telling you about the PC release of Spike Chunsoft’s part murder mystery, part visual novel spectacle Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, doesn’t it? Hang on a second, it was> just last month! Despite having been previously released on both the PSP in Japan in 2012, and on the PS Vita in 2014 in the west, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair [official site] is now scheduled to arrive on PC on April 18 – just two months after its forerunner touched down on Steam. Here’s a trailer:

… [visit site to read more]

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft
Hello everyone,

We released a patch on February 25th, 2016 that addresses the following issues:

Windows
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue that would cause various parts of the interface to glitch out and flicker when using the Direct3D renderer.
  • [FIX] Improved and more secure saving flow, should hopefully fix the lost-progress issues.
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where players with sound cards not running at 48khz were experiencing audio issues.
  • [FIX] Fixed various sound effects appearing broken or as high-pitched static.
  • [FIX] Fixed pre-rendered movie audio not adhering to BGM volume setting.
  • [FIX] Fixed ‘What is a Mistrial’ and ‘You Must Acquit’ achievements not unlocking.
  • [FIX] Updated the achievement descriptions for ‘What is a Mistrial’, ‘You Must Acquit’ and ‘Not From Concentrate’ achievements to correctly reflect the fact that only a single trial needs to be completed under the conditions described.
  • [FIX] Improved synchronization between Music and Visuals during MTB sequences.
  • [FIX] Various performance improvements.
  • [CHANGE] Re-bound the ‘fast forward’ functionality to CTRL instead of SHIFT to prevent conflicts with the Steam Overlay.
  • [CHANGE] Opening the Steam Overlay will now pause the game.
Mac
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where Steam would not track time played.
  • [FIX] Fixed achievements.
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where Steam Big Picture mode would send the game to the background after passing through the launcher.
Linux
  • [FIX] Same fixes as Windows version.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft
Hello everyone,

We released a patch on February 25th, 2016 that addresses the following issues:

Windows
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue that would cause various parts of the interface to glitch out and flicker when using the Direct3D renderer.
  • [FIX] Improved and more secure saving flow, should hopefully fix the lost-progress issues.
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where players with sound cards not running at 48khz were experiencing audio issues.
  • [FIX] Fixed various sound effects appearing broken or as high-pitched static.
  • [FIX] Fixed pre-rendered movie audio not adhering to BGM volume setting.
  • [FIX] Fixed ‘What is a Mistrial’ and ‘You Must Acquit’ achievements not unlocking.
  • [FIX] Updated the achievement descriptions for ‘What is a Mistrial’, ‘You Must Acquit’ and ‘Not From Concentrate’ achievements to correctly reflect the fact that only a single trial needs to be completed under the conditions described.
  • [FIX] Improved synchronization between Music and Visuals during MTB sequences.
  • [FIX] Various performance improvements.
  • [CHANGE] Re-bound the ‘fast forward’ functionality to CTRL instead of SHIFT to prevent conflicts with the Steam Overlay.
  • [CHANGE] Opening the Steam Overlay will now pause the game.
Mac
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where Steam would not track time played.
  • [FIX] Fixed achievements.
  • [FIX] Fixed an issue where Steam Big Picture mode would send the game to the background after passing through the launcher.
Linux
  • [FIX] Same fixes as Windows version.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft

Tux and Monokuma, separated at birth? The two are together at last now that Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc supports Linux and SteamOS!

Note regarding NVIDIA drivers:
There is a widespread issue with recent drivers (361.18 and 361.28) that affects multiple titles.
While we work on a fix, we recommend you to use driver version 358 or below.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft

Tux and Monokuma, separated at birth? The two are together at last now that Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc supports Linux and SteamOS!

Note regarding NVIDIA drivers:
There is a widespread issue with recent drivers (361.18 and 361.28) that affects multiple titles.
While we work on a fix, we recommend you to use driver version 358 or below.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft
Hello everyone,

Thank you for making the launch so successful!

We mentioned this before but it's important enough for its own separate announcement:

The bonus mini-OST is only available as part of the bundle during the first week of launch. Please think of it as an early purchase bonus and not DLC.
After that, the mini-OST will NOT be available as DLC.
If you purchased the game during the first week, you will still have access to the OST after the bundle is removed.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Spike Chunsoft
Hello everyone,

Thank you for making the launch so successful!

We mentioned this before but it's important enough for its own separate announcement:

The bonus mini-OST is only available as part of the bundle during the first week of launch. Please think of it as an early purchase bonus and not DLC.
After that, the mini-OST will NOT be available as DLC.
If you purchased the game during the first week, you will still have access to the OST after the bundle is removed.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

Fifteen students are trapped inside a school and told they may only leave if they murder another student and can get away with it. As one of the students, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc [official site] will have players investigating each murder, searching for clues, interviewing people, and trying to win folks over to catch the killers. That’s a fine premise that, isn’t it? Then people see the evil anime teddy bear and are often a bit put-off. But wait! I’ve heard great things about Danganronpa from folks who played it on PlayStation Vita, and today the game arrived on PC.

… [visit site to read more]

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - Valve
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

Investigate murders, search for clues and talk to your classmates to prepare for trial. There, you'll engage in deadly wordplay, going back and forth with suspects. Dissect their statements and fire their words back at them to expose their lies! There's only one way to survive pull the trigger.

*Offer ends February 25 at 10AM Pacific Time
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
NEED TO KNOW

What is it? A murder mystery visual novel.Expect to pay $30/ 25Developer Spike ChunsoftPublisher In-houseReviewed on GeForce GTX 970, Intel i7-950, 16GB RAMMultiplayer NoneLink www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp

Makoto Naegi is a completely average student. There s nothing remarkable about him at all, yet he s been invited to Hope s Peak Academy, the most prestigious, exclusive school in the country. He s one of fifteen talented young people who ve been hand-picked for their brilliance in various fields, but the only reason he s among them is because he was randomly chosen in a lottery. Lucky guy! Or not, because Hope s Peak is hiding a sinister secret.

A twisted, mischievous villain called Monokuma, who appears in the form of a mechanical bear, traps the students in the school and forces them to play a sick game. The only way to leave this makeshift prison, or graduate as he calls it, is to kill another student in cold blood. And not only that, but the killer has to get away with it too. As far as nefarious plots conjured up by depraved, maniacal ursine robots go, it s pretty damn evil.

Danganronpa is a visual novel, which is a type of dialogue-heavy, largely text-based adventure game popular in Japan. You spend most of your time clicking through dialogue, being told a story rather than taking part in one. But, despite this, it s really entertaining. Rich, vivid characters, a captivating mystery that s constantly unfolding in surprising, shocking ways, and a charmingly fun sense of humour make reading through all that text an unexpected pleasure.

Your first days at Hope s Peak are spent getting to know the other students, exploring the school, and trying to escape—a task made difficult by the metal plates bolted on all the windows. They might be the smartest, most talented kids in the world, but they re a deeply weird bunch with quirks, personalities, and interesting backstories. I grew genuinely attached to some of them, which made the looming threat of one of them either killing someone or being killed themselves extra tense.

There s fiery, charismatic Mondo, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. Kiyotaka, the Ultimate Moral Compass, who s obsessed with rules and punctuality. Sakura, the softly spoken Ultimate Martial Artist, who looks intimidating but takes it upon herself to protect the weaker students. Ultimate Writing Prodigy Toko who has low self-esteem and thinks everyone is judging her. And that s just a few of the oddballs you ll encounter at Hope's Peak. Few games offer such a varied, fascinating, and well fleshed-out collection of characters.

Inevitably, someone decides to play along with Monokuma s sadistic game and someone is murdered. The cackling bear explains that if the group can prove who did it, the culprit will be executed. If not, everyone dies. This is when Danganronpa becomes a murder mystery with Makoto reluctantly playing the role of detective. You have to scour the school for clues, gather evidence, interview people, and then make your case in a challenging, fast-paced trial.

Trials consist of reaction-based mini-games, most of which involve listening to statements and looking for inconsistencies. When you hear something that doesn t quite add up you can load a piece of the evidence you ve gathered that contradicts it—a so-called truth bullet —into a gun and shoot their words down. You take aim at the offending sentence with a swaying crosshair and fire, which makes Makoto interject and challenge the assertion.

Trials get increasingly difficult, throwing in additional elements like barriers of white noise that can block your truth bullets. But there is a gentle difficulty setting if you re only in it for the story. If you make a mistake, like firing a bullet at an accurate statement, you lose health and eventually fail if it drops to zero. But all this means is a restart and a lower score at the end. The final stage of each trial sees you pummeling your faltering suspect with irrefutable evidence in time with the music until they eventually crack. It s enjoyably silly.

When you finally reveal the killer, you re treated to a grimly amusing cutscene in which Monokuma executes them in a manner relevant to their field of expertise. As more bodies fall, the characters become increasingly paranoid, and so do you. You worry that your favourite character is going to end up dead. And it doesn t help that Monokuma is constantly providing motives , like threatening to reveal the students deepest, darkest secrets to the world if someone doesn t die in the next 24 hours.

If you take the time to befriend your fellow students between trials, you ll grow closer to them and unlock special abilities to make your life in court easier—like increasing the time limit or steadying your crosshair. But all this talking means that Danganronpa is an incredibly long, slow-paced game. It can take around 30 hours to finish, most of which is spent reading—they don t call them visual novels for nothing. But it s a testament to the quality of the story, and the constant desire to know what absurd or disturbing thing is going to happen next, that I didn t get bored once.

Trigger Happy Havoc is actually six years old. It was first released for the PlayStation Portable back in 2010, and has since appeared on a number of mobile formats including iOS. It s fairly obvious that it s a port of a mobile game, with slightly fuzzy text and low-resolution visuals. But the detailed, colourful artwork is fantastic, and I quickly got over its technical shortcomings. The characters are static 2D images, but have more personality than the most realistic, motion-captured FPS gunbro.

Danganronpa is one of the best story-driven games on PC. The scarcity of interaction, vast quantities of text, and glacial pace will turn a lot of people off, but the story is so compelling that I barely noticed that all I was doing was clicking through lines of dialogue. Monokuma is a deliciously evil villain and the crimes are brilliantly constructed. Just when you think you ve figured them out, you ll be blind-sided by some new piece of evidence. If you love adventure games and want to experience something different, Danganronpa is worth investigating.

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