Review: Despair Dungeon: Monokuma's Test (Danganronpa as a JRPG!)

Spoiler Warning: This is a video related to content in Danganronpa V3. It will contain no story spoilers, however it is related to end-game content unlocked after completing V3’s story. If you want to keep these features a surprise, you honestly probably shouldn’t watch this video. But these features and mini-experiences don’t tie in with the story, so it’s up to you if you want to proceed at your own risk!

JRPGs I Played In October 2017

With a brand new Switch in hand, I entered October with pure excitement after an August and September fairly quiet on new JRPG releases. My main goals for October were to finish Blue Reflection and play my new Nintendo Switch, so I made sure to play any new Switch demo on the go that caught my eye and at home give my time to my new favourite JRPG magical girls in Blue Reflection. As usual, I also attempted to finish what I was playing before I dedicated myself to newer releases, but I let lots of little things use my time in between too meaning I didn’t get to focus on them much. I don’t regret a bit of it though as I wasn’t ever bored last month, so here are all the JRPGs I played in October.

JRPGs I Played in Summer 2016

This Summer was the season of a surprising amount of mobile games for me. I did play a bunch of games on consoles and portable devices, but with the release of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ and Mobius Final Fantasy I had my work as a JRPG fan cut out for me. Aside from mobile games, I also finally completed the wonderful Fire Emblem Awakening and I just started Lost Dimension on Vita which I’m happy with so far. Speaking of handhelds, I’d like to give a shout out to portable gaming devices in general this month as they were a total gaming lifesaver while I was moving apartments this month. Without portable consoles, my gaming life would’ve been on hold and that simply wouldn't do! So here’s what I played this season and I hope everyone enjoyed their Summer gaming time! Let me know your favourite JRPGs of this Summer in the comments.

Lost Dimension (PS Vita)

Status: Now playing. Suspicious of everyone.

I've definitely still got a lot of Lost Dimension to get through but I picked it up recently to fill time in between now and Final Fantasy XV (which you know, is delayed now) after it was recommended to me on Twitter (thanks @Sypherica!). I’m already enjoying its tactical battle system a lot and I really like how the Vision system helps you take notes on who the traitor may be. Since I’ve been enjoying the Danganronpa 3 anime recently, Lost Dimension satisfies my JRPG needs and my mystery 'find-the-traitor' visual novel needs all in one game.

You can pick up Lost Dimension at Play-Asia.com

Digimon World DS (DS, Japanese)

Status: Played for about 15 minutes, back on the shelf.

I missed Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth enough to pick up Digimon World DS when I randomly saw it for under $10 secondhand. I didn’t do any research on it, I was just hoping it would bring me fun Digimon collection and the Digimon World experience I remembered from my childhood. I switched it on, found the different animation style and Japanese a little jarring, but I’m not saying it’s bad as it’s way too early to tell. I’ll have to sit down and really give this game a proper try sometime but I still think it was a cool find.

Long Gone Days (Steam demo, full game coming in 2018)

Status: Now playing, played a small amount between packing boxes to move. Hoping to play in full in the next few weekends

Another game suggested by a friend (thanks @DefurInTokyo!), Long Gone Days is probably my second or third indie JRPG. I only played it briefly while taking a break from moving preparations, but already I like its quick character development and simplistic, yet smart battle system that required a little more thought than just hitting attack. Since I really enjoy the JRPG cross Visual Novel genre, I'm looking forward to getting back to this one soon.

You can play the demo of Long Gone Days on Steam now for free!

Mobius Final Fantasy (iOS)

Status: Played for about an hour, not actively playing

I played Mobius for an evening after being super excited for it in the weeks leading up to its launch. After playing it, I found myself a little underwhelmed. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad game, but it didn’t hook me in. I don’t mind games with cards (I play Hearthstone regularly) but when combined with the lack of familiar Final Fantasy mechanics, while the system was interesting, it's not what I overly want from a portable Final Fantasy game. I really wanted to like Mobius so I may check in with it on occasion, but for now it's not nearly as compelling as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is for me.

Mobius Final Fantasy is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (PS4)

Read the full review here!

Status: Slowly platinuming

With my trusty Agumon pillow, I remembered I wanted to platinum Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth eventually and remembered how much fun I had with it. Coming back to a game after such a long time though, I saw how much I needed to do, felt a little overwhelmed and kinda bounced out. I do want to try platinum games I love in Japanese like I’m trying to do (with limited success) with Final Fantasy X so I know if I really want to collect all of those Digimon, I’ll do it.

You can pick up Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth at Play-Asia.com

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (iOS)

Read the full review here!

Status: Playing a few times a week on the go

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was another Final Fantasy mobile game I was extremely excited for and to my delight, ended up totally loving. Since I was a long time fan of Record Keeper, I initially wondered if Exvius would be as good as it was and it turned out to be better. It's character collection is like an upgraded version of Record Keeper, its battle system is much smarter for the platform it's on and there are finally some maps to explore making it feel much more like a legitimate RPG. In my opinion, it's the best Final Fantasy game on smartphones so definitely try it if you're a fan of Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ (iOS)

Read the full review here!

Status: Playing a few times a week on the go

Another one of the great mobile games released by Square Enix recently is Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ. I think Unchained χ is a particularly amazing smartphone game because it manages to somehow turn the active battle mechanics of Kingdom Hearts into a turn-based system while feeling like a really similar system to the Kingdom Hearts games on Playstation consoles. Unchained χ is literally giving away Stamina/AP right now with the current 0 AP Summer promo so if you're looking to try the game without limitations, now is the time.

Kingdom Hearts Unchained X is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

X-Tactics (iOS)

Read the full review here!

Status: Playing occasionally on the go.

With so many new mobile games out, my X-Tactics playing did fall a little by the wayside. The times I did play though I was reminded how well the gameplay mechanics work together and would like to catch up on quests for it during Fall. I also really want to continue collecting X-Coin to get the adorable Kuku into my party and finish the quests to get the third special attack for my characters.

X-Tactics is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper (iOS)

Read my first impressions or about my recent experiences with the game!

Status: Hiatus

It’s with many sighs that I consciously jumped off the Final Fantasy Record Keeper train this month because I just couldn't enjoy it the same way after Brave Exvius came out. Record Keeper was a great game when it came out but I got stale with the repetitive mechanics without any story or other incentive to keep playing, especially after I got behind on its content. I really liked Record Keeper for a long time so I’m a little sad it’s out of my mobile game roster but I’m also excited to keep finding more games that will keep me committed for over a year like Record Keeper did.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)

Status: Finished the main story. May play again one day in other difficulty modes

I really wish I hadn’t put off playing this for so long because it was fantastic. Fire Emblem Awakening is hands down one of the best tactical JRPGs I’ve ever played. The way its Support system affected the battles had me really motivated and excited to pair off characters and just the way the game was so personable with its characters was nice too. I already miss Tharja as well, my new favourite experimenting mage that’s high on my best girl list and many of the other fun characters that enriched the experience. As a new Fire Emblem fan, I’ll definitely be picking up Fire Emblem Fates soon as I’m sure it will be even better than Awakening. Feel free to comment with any other Fire Emblem suggestions!

You can pick up Fire Emblem Awakening at Play-Asia.com

Honourable Mention (Non-JRPG): Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Technically not a JRPG, but it’s one of the funnest third-person shooter adventure games I’ve ever played and hooked me in the usual Danganronpa way of interrupting any after work activities I needed to do all week because I needed to finish that story. Not a good idea while I was preparing to move, but goddamn it was a fun 30 hours. I wanted to add it in this list because Danganronpa always manages to give me that hook I'm always looking for in games and its mechanics are a little similar to JRPGs, so I think some people will enjoy it and its messed up story about kids killing adults.

You can pick up Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls at Play-Asia.com

Fall Game Plan

Once this heat has subsided and fall has arrived, it brings with it a really big JRPG title - Persona 5. However this will only be out in Japanese and I definitely won't understand it on a native level. I was completely ready to give Final Fantasy XV the rest of my year, but since it’s been delayed I have no excuse not to try and understand Persona 5 in Japanese now. I’ll give it a shot, but it won’t be my top priority gaming wise. I’ll probably finish Lost Dimension and after that I’m not really sure. Like I said, Final Fantasy XV really had the rest of the foreseeable year for me and I have such a surprising amount of free gaming time now that I'm not sure what to do with it.

To fill this free time, since I’ve finished moving apartments it would be nice to get back in touch with my home consoles. I may finally try the Atelier series or give Final Fantasy VII - one of my biggest unplayed JRPG sins - a try on PS4. I'm also pretty excited for World of Final Fantasy after the E3 footage shown and the new trailers, so at least I can get my Final Fantasy fix somehow!

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What did you play in Summer? Do you have any gaming plans for fall or did Final Fantasy XV's delay also leave a hole in your life?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

JRPG Appreciation Post: Why Handheld Consoles Are Great (And JRPGs That Show Why)

After spending most of the year so far playing console games on home consoles like PS3 and PS4, I was pretty surprised how much it felt like home when I started playing handheld consoles again. The simple convenience of playing through the deep, wide JRPG worlds I love while being able to lock the console and continue exactly where I left off later felt much more right to me than relying on save points, and having extra mechanics like touch screens and second screens was something I really appreciated after being without it for so long. In the spirit of rekindling my love of handheld consoles again, here a few of the reasons I think they're great, along with some of my favourite handheld JRPGs showing why.

Unique Experiences Thanks To Hardware Features and Portability

Modern handheld consoles like the PS Vita and 3DS boast extra features such as touchscreens and motion control, giving the consoles fun extra gameplay mechanics in certain games. It’s thanks to the PS Vita’s touchscreen and motion control features that one of my first and favourite PS Vita experiences, Gravity Rush, was so dynamic. The way Gravity Rush used the PS Vita’s motion control during mini-games to control Kat’s movement was like nothing I’d ever experienced on consoles and yet somehow I was able to play this game on a train. It was a surprisingly unique experience that really helped solidify my love for my Vita early on, because I couldn’t get that experience at home (at least at the time, since Gravity Rush is now on PS4).

Another unique kind of experience I noticed has a solid place on handheld consoles is visual novels. While visual novels aren’t so much known for their mechanics as they are their stories, I always feel like they fit well on portable consoles because of the length and style of the stories, especially ones that are divided into chapters or small sections. The Danganronpa series is another one of my favourite handheld console experiences for the way it was so immersive with it’s crazy, one-of-a-kind story without any intense battling or fighting - the story is enthralling enough to shine on its own. I was so hooked on it that I was almost relieved to be able to take it with me so I could finish each chapter as quickly as possible. Visual novels find their home comfortably on other consoles and PC as well, but I definitely feel the portability of handhelds is great for the experiences they offer.

The Best of Both Worlds

Handheld consoles have their own unique experiences, but there are plenty of console experiences made for or ported to handheld consoles that are just as deep as something you'd expect to play at home. A good example of this is one of the most well-loved handheld games, the quirky and touching dungeon crawler Persona 4 Golden. With plenty of dungeons to be crawled, part time jobs to sign up for, social links to complete, a great story to explore and plenty more, Persona 4 Golden is one of the biggest games I’ve played ever on any console. I love that it’s on a portable console because it allowed me to play it at home and during my commute and I’m sure the 8+ months I played it for probably would’ve been even longer if I only played it at home.

Fans of JRPGs can find plenty more deep JRPG game experiences on Vita, such as Final Fantasy, Atelier, Fire Emblem, Disgaea and of course, plenty more. These games all have in common that they boast many game mechanics, things to do and big stories that could fit just as well on home consoles as they do on handhelds, so being able to play them on the go is a fantastic option.

Old Games Still Look Good

Playing Final Fantasy IX on my Vita is up there in one of my favourite experiences playing portable consoles. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but playing an old game on my TV feels slow and clunky and seeing all the old graphics stretched out doesn’t look great, which doesn't really entice me to keep playing even if the game is good. On a portable console this isn't much of a problem as the smaller, sharper screen makes old PS One games and the like look sharper and much more acceptable, sometimes even making the game look legitimately good. Although a smaller screen can’t fix old school load times, I always appreciate the way that handheld consoles make this aspect of playing an old game feel much smoother.

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I almost wish every game was available on handheld consoles. While a lot of things in the world of gaming are moving towards more immersive, crazy experiences such as VR, all I want at the moment is the variety and convenience I get from handhelds. On top of this, Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV's home console releases are creeping up and because I know they’re both gonna be huge games, there’s definitely a piece of me that wishes I could play them on the go so I could play them both as much as possible. I do love home consoles, but I definitely have a special love for handhelds so I hope that they stick around for awhile. Long live handhelds!

You can pick up handhelds like the PS Vita and 3DS and plenty of handheld games at Play-Asia.com!

(This link helps support the site, so if you click it or buy something from there, thank you!)

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Which handheld console is your favourite? Do you prefer home consoles or handhelds?
Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on the JRPG Jungle Facebook page and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

My Five Favourite Games I Played in 2015!

Somehow, I managed to play next to no new JRPG releases this year. In some ways, I regret missing new games such as Tales of Zestiria and Sword Art Online: Lost Song. On the other hand, I caught up on some classic games, along with others I'd been curious about (I'm looking at you, Conception II). With this in mind, my list of favourite games this year includes the favourites of what I played this year, regardless of release year. I love these games all for very different reasons and each minute playing them is a fond memory from this year.

With this in mind, I hope you enjoy this list and Merry Christmas dear readers!

5. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3 and Xbox 360)

Persona 4 Arena was fun, but Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's character roster and streamlined story make for a polished and fun experience that made it fly right into being one of my favourite fighting games ever. I never fully the finished story mode of this game (I want to finish Persona 3 before going deeper into it's part of the story), but it was my go to game to play with friends and my boyfriend after a long day of work. With plenty of modes to play, there will always be many reasons to come back to this game.

It's not a JRPG, but fans of either Persona 3 or 4 and fighting games are highly likely to enjoy the game because of the new chapter of the story and the return of many important characters from Persona 4.

You can pick up Persona 4 Arena Ultimax from Play-Asia.com!

4. Persona 4 Dancing All Night (PS Vita)

Persona 4 Dancing All Night is the Persona spin off that shouldn't have worked, but it excels as a rhythm game and has a pretty nice story too. I didn't want to wait for the localisation, so I bought the Japanese version so I'm not as well versed with the story as I'd like to be, however Kanami and Nanako made an adorable duo and the rhythm game portion had me tapping and pushing buttons to trump all my high scores over and over again. I'm excited to put this game in my Vita and try platinum it sometime (91% so far!) and the soundtrack was great enough to make me buy it as a standalone after I'd finished playing it.

I love rhythm games anyway, so this game was easy for me to digest but if you have any love for Persona 4's soundtrack, this game is a must try and as probably the last spin-off of Persona 4 since Persona 5 is coming, it's a fun end to a great series.

You can pick up Persona 4 Dancing All Night from Play-Asia.com!

3. Danganronpa 1 + 2 (PS Vita and PSP)

As a huge fan of deep, JRPG stories, Danganronpa's complex story was more than enough to satisfy me in it's visual novel form. Both the first and second games are full of intricate mysteries, colourful characters and enough game mechanics to make it satisfying for fans of both visual novels and exciting storytelling. Not only does it have a great story, the class trials feel incredibly satisfying with the variety of game mechanics incorporated, making it more than just a visual novel. As a series I had never delved into, Danganronpa has become one of my all time favourites very quickly and I'm very excited for the third installment to hopefully come out next year.

Fans of the mystery aspect of Persona and Phoenix Wright should find many reasons to love this game and I honestly can't recommend it's story enough.

You can pick up Danganronpa 1 and 2 from Play-Asia.com!

2. Final Fantasy IX (PS One Classic for PS3, PS Vita and PSP)

I really want to play all the old Final Fantasy games, especially since I started my journey into Final Fantasy from X meaning that I missed out on the classic Final Fantasy games before it. I began my journey backwards into the series from IX and it was well worth it to find this gem of a Final Fantasy game.

What it lacks in modern day graphics is made up for by a solid story, fun battles, cool equipment mechanics, side quests and beautiful music. The story's strong characters are just as interesting without voice acting - it's hard not to fall in love with characters like Vivi, Zidane, Garnet and even Steiner!

If you missed this one and you're a fan of long, old style JRPGs, go back and play this game because good golly it's worth it!

You can pick up Final Fantasy IX as a PS One Classic from your local PSN store!

1. Final Fantasy Record Keeper (iOS and Android)

Final Fantasy Record Keeper has a special place in my heart this year. Record Keeper came out when I was very, very tight on money after moving and became my addition very quickly because it's free. There's in-game purchase options of course, but it's extremely easy to enjoy the game without spending a cent, like I did for months. Basically a JRPG without the story, Record Keeper's equipment system, perfectly timed new/weekly dungeons and level challenges keep me on the game on the go and in my house. It manages to be both very involved because of it's many systems (and they're only adding more) but also easy enough to pull away and jump back in later. It has a decent nostalgia factor, thanks to the game being filled with the best boss fights, characters and music from the main Final Fantasy series. There's many reasons to love this game if you're a Final Fantasy fan and if you don't have time to play or money to purchase a long JRPG, this is one of the best substitutes out there.

I stopped playing this game only because after four months of playing, it inspired me to go back and try the older Final Fantasy games. It's my top game of the year (although I love the other games on an extremely close level) thanks to it's additive and fun nature, it inspiring me to finally (no pun intended) play older Final Fantasy games again and it being the only mobile game that has ever inspired me enough to put down my consoles for awhile. It doesn't replace a full length JRPG, but it's extremely satisfying on the go!

You can pick up Final Fantasy Record Keeper from the App Store for iPhone users or the Google Play store for Android people!

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What were your five favourite games of the year? Leave a comment below or send @JRPGJungle a tweet and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Note: This article does contain affiliate links to Play-Asia to help support this site. You can read our Affiliate Link Policy here.

Review: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PS Vita)

When the first game in a series is incredible, it sets very high expectations for the next one. Thankfully, Danganronpa 2 takes all expectations brought from it's predecessor and hits them with the hard-hitting visual novel mystery that it does best, with added new features partnered with the best ones from the first one. Delivering the epic battle between hope and despair back once again with just as many passionate and colourful characters as last time, Danganronpa 2 is definitely special in it's own right and is worthy of being part 2 of Danganronpa's thrilling mystery.

Giving a new layer to the classic 'stranded on an island' dilemma, 16 students of Hope's Peak Academy find themselves trapped on Jabberwock Island alone with a strange magical rabbit. To begin their school trip gone wrong, the rabbit insists that they must travel the island to collect the Hope Fragments and become friends with one another...that is until Danganronpa's original evil bear Monokuma arrives and takes over, turning it into a tropical killing trip where the students are expected to kill one someone without getting caught. If successful, they can 'graduate', have their classmates punished (killed) and leave the island. If unsuccessful, the killer (known as the blackened) is punished and the rest of the class stays on the island.

The story runs over six twist-filled chapters, all compelling enough to have me glued to my PS Vita for about a week straight. The new cast is just as funny and zany as the last, to be expected when the talented cast of characters includes such titles as the Ultimate Team Manager, the Ultimate Yakuza and even the Ultimate Gamer. The characters aren't just amusing though, they're all complex personalities with different backgrounds, therefore reacting in very different ways. Throw in Monokuma and Monomi and you have a cast that perfectly compliments the deep, but cheeky storytelling of the Danganronpa series.

The consistent flow established in the first game continues in Danganronpa 2. Each chapter is divided into two parts, Daily Life and Deadly Life. During Daily Life, the story progresses and you are also given a chance to collect Hope Fragments with your fellow students. Once the story progresses to a climax (when a character has been killed), Deadly Life begins and it's time to Investigate and do a Class Trial to choose who is the blackened. Making friends with characters during Daily Life is encouraged to add more depth to the story, although it can be bittersweet, as you never know if they might be killed by the time it hits Deadly Life.

During the Class Trial, the group discusses at length the murder case in an attempt to weed out the blackened. The protagonist must use his Truth Bullets - facts uncovered during the Investigation - to shoot down or support his classmate's arguments. Supporting character arguments during the Non-Stop Debates hasn't been the only thing added to the Class Trial, in fact for better or worse the whole experience has undergone a revamp, along with some new additions. My favourite new additions were Logic Dive, a cool snowboarding mini-game that utilities ramps as choices when thinking out an argument, and Spot Selection, a simple new feature which presents a photo and you must choose the area being discussed or that is a contradiction.

On the other hand, the revamped Hangman's Gambit seemed much more complicated than it's original form and Rebuttal Showdown was cool, although my Vita sometimes couldn't handle some of the button mashing required of it. Initially when playing, I found the sheer amount of mechanics needed for the Class Trial overwhelming, but the way they are used add for a nice variation during the trial. Another small, but nice addition is that each trial is split into two parts, meaning it's possible to save partway through, which is appreciated when the length of each Class Trial is considered.

Outside of the main story is enough content to put most DLC to shame. There's Island Mode, an item collection cross social/dating game much like the original Danganronpa's School Mode, Magical Miracle Girl Monomi, a mini-battle game where you can fight small island enemies and Monobeasts, a digital novel called Danganronpa IF covering an alternative story line to the first game, unlockable art and movies and even your own Tamagochi like pet to raise during and after the main story is over. I was overjoyed when these features where unlocked at the end of Chapter 6, as the game had not only left me wanting more, but had willingly given me it. There's also a Japanese voiceover option and in-story collectibles that are also an excuse to playthrough the thrilling story a second time, making Danganronpa 2 highly re-playable even after the 40 hour story.

If you loved the first game, Danganronpa 2 does nothing but add to the thrilling story and world from the first game. With many more activities and a gripping story that ties in perfectly to the first one, Dangranronpa 2's mystery kept me coming back for more - and then kept giving me more. If more thrills, chills and kills is what you're looking for in a story, letting yourself become absorbed by Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair's many mysteries is completely worth it.

Score: 9.7/10

A gripping tale and new game mechanics and modes make this game beary, beary good.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is available now at Play-Asia,net.

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Did you play Danganronpa 2? Are you itching for V3 as much as I am?
Leave a comment below and let's talk!

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games!

This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (20/8/15)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

No new JRPG releases this week, but luckily there are still some great games such as Persona 4 Golden, Danganronpa and Steins;Gate on sale. This is the last week they're on sale, so pick them up soon if you want them!

Have a good week and happy gaming!

DLC

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess (PS3, PS4, PS Vita)

Paid

• Humiliating Trap: Octopus Arm
• Rachel Pack

Deals

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PS Vita)
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PS Vita)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse (PS3, PS4)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse: Time Travel Edition (PS3. PS4)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed (PS Vita)
• Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita)
• Sayonara UmiharaKawase + (PS Vita)
• Steins;Gate (PS3)
• Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita)

Avatars

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines

• Akaneko Onatsu Avatar
• Akeboshi no Oji Avatar
• Onmyoji Ataru Avatar
• Tokasen Avatar
• Yazaka Gozumaru Avatar
• Yatsude no Osumi Avatar
• Avatar Bundle (includes all of the above avatars)

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Pick of the week: Persona 4 Golden, the Danganronpa series and Steins;Gate. Loved the Persona and Danganronpa games and I want to play Steins;Gate because of how great the anime was.

What's your pick of the week? Will you be picking up anything from the PSN this week?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow to keep up with the content we post. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Please note the content available is subject to change by region and the content listed in this post is based on the European/Australian PSN at the time of writing.

The Platinum Trophy Journey: Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa

Following my time playing and reviewing Danganronpa, I quickly made the decision that seems to only happen with my favourite PS Vita game stories - I didn't want to leave that world yet and a good excuse to continue play was getting the Platinum Trophy.

About a year ago I did Platinum Trophy info posts for Persona 4 Golden and Gravity Rush that lightly touched the surface of my platinum trophy experience. Without entering 'trophy guide territory' (PlaystationTrophies and it's contributors already do a brilliant job at this), I still wanted to give a little guide to people going for this platinum because I made a lot of uneducated mistakes in my experience so I'd like to help you avoid doing the same.

How long it took to Platinum (according to psnprofiles): 1 week, 5 days and 12 hours. If you're looking for an hour count estimate, I was silly and didn't realise clicking the info button on my save file would display how many hours I had done until my post-platinum playthrough. As an estimate based on that, I would say I spent around 50 hours between my first playthrough and tying up loose ends specially for the Platinum trophy.

My Trophy Advice

The trophies I've categorized below are all the different trophies you need to receive the 'Despair's Last Reward' Platinum Trophy.

Story Trophies

You don't need to do anything that special for these. Just playthrough each chapter, complete the trials and enjoy the game!

From Zero to Hero - Finished the Prologue
One is the Loneliest Number - Finished Chapter 1
Two of a Kind - Finished Chapter 2
Three's A Crowd - Finished Chapter 3
Four by Gore - Finished Chapter 4
Five Alive - Finished Chapter 5
All's Well That Ends...Umm... - Finished every chapter

While these trophies are pretty self-explanatory, I did refer to this very spoiler-free guide if I was low on health during the class trials.

Report Card Trophies

Report Card trophies are achieved by hanging out with each classmate in any of the Story Chapters or School Mode until you finish their friendship arc and finish their Report Card (which you can access in the menu). Each Report Card is a different length, with the longest one at 9 pages long.

Psychic - Filled in every page of Sayaka's report card
Hope Peak's Confidential - Filled in every page of Kyoko's report card
Memoirs of a Fashionista - Filled in every page of Junko's report card
The Devil Wears A High School Uniform - Filled in every page of Kiyotaka's report card
The Game Hungers - Filled in every page of Byakuya's report card
Rebel Without A High School Degree - Filled in every page of Mondo's report card
Almost Almost Famous - Filled in every page of Leon's report card
Lost in Scanslation - Filled in every page of Hifumi's report card
The Sixth Nonsense - Filled in every page of Yasuhiro's report card
GoodFellows - Filled in every page of Chihiro's report card.
Mystic Donut - Filled in every page of Aoi's report card
Stranger's In A Brain - Filled in every page of Toko's report card
Lovesport - Filled in every page of Sakura's report card
The French Disconnection - Filled in every page of Celeste's report card
Mr Know-It-All - Filled in every page of every character's report card

It is impossible to complete all the Report Cards in one playthrough of the main story, so there's not much need to worry about this in your first playthrough. You can replay the story to complete them, but an easier way is to do this is while playing and leveling up your characters in School Mode.

To speed up completing the report cards it is possible to give each character presents. However, if you haven't received the 'Ooh, For Me?' trophy or 'Seriously, You Shouldn't Have' trophies (listed in the Monocoin Related Trophies in this post), I would advise saving your Monocoins as it makes those two trophies more time consuming. The presents are not an essential part of completing the Report Cards, so it's up to you if you want to use them or not.

SP Trophies

I put these near the Report Card Trophies, because you will probably achieve these as a result of filling in the report cards. You earn SP most times you spend time with a classmate (unless you receive an trial ability), so expect these to come naturally.

Skilling 'Em Softly - Cleared the 10 SP threshold
Skilled or Be Skilled - Cleared the 20 SP threshold
Ghostface Skillah - Cleared the 30 SP threshold

Trial Trophies - Standard

These are earned by playing through each trial particularly well. A quick note - despite descriptions, multiple sites (PSNProfiles and PlaystationTrophies) have stated it only takes fulfilling the trophies requirements in one trial rather than all trials. I can vouch as well that I only needed to fulfill the trophy requirement in one trial rather than all of them, so these are easier to achieve than they sound.

What's A Mistrial - Cleared every class trial without having to retry
You Must Acquit - Cleared every class trial without taking any damage
Not From Concentrate - Cleared every class trial without using your concentration skill a single time
The Color of Television - Destroyed 100 white noise lines across all class trials
Tuned to a Dead Channel - Destroyed 500 white noise lines across all class trials

If you need help with any of the trials, I again recommend referring to this guide. These trophies are mostly self explanatory, but are time consuming because of the average length of the trials, even while fast-forwarding though everything. I did most of these by replaying the first trial, as it is by far the most straight forward case.

School Mode

School Mode trophies can only be achieved after finishing the main story once. After finishing the main story, this School Mode mini-game will unlock. The trophies for School Mode do require a little more effort, but because your stats do carry over each playthrough, the mini-game gradually gets easier.

School's Out for Summer - Cleared School Mode once
School's Out Forever - Saw every possible School Mode ending

Completing School Mode requires a little more strategical planning than the other trophies. The mini-game is based around resource collection and management, along with keeping up with cleaning and making sure you keep your characters energised to avoid them entering rest mode. A strategy that seemed to work for me was constantly having 2-3 cleaners on every day that I also gave all cleaning buffs to. On top of this, after completing each of the Monokuma Spares, I would spend time gathering resources and creating 10 of each of the Processed Goods (and then 10 more if I finished that). This allowed me to be ready to easily make any Monokuma Spare and kept a good amount of materials in my inventory. Put simply, I recommend having an assigned cleaning team and stocking up on Processed Goods after completing your assigned tasks. It makes every other task a lot easier to gather resources for, because you already have a good amount of them.

As for the School Mode endings, these are obtained by taking the classmates on Trips around the school in a Dating Sim style. Each interaction involves conversation options that help determine how much a classmate likes you. For the trophy, you need to achieve each character's ending by having positive date experiences with them until they have 10 hearts on Monokuma's friendship chart. The great thing about this is it's possible to get more than one classmate's ending in one playthrough, so go on as many trips as possible in each playthrough until you get 10 hearts and then repeat the process until you've dated and done that with all still students cause you're super monogamous like that.

Upon finishing each ending, you will receive a special present (heh) from each of the students that will be worth holding on for when going for the Seriously, You Shouldn't Have trophy.

Monocoin Related Trophies

I put together all the Monocoin, present and gallery-related trophies here together because they're all essentially connected by the spending and receiving of Monocoins, which you receive in game by investigating certain areas, completing trials and School Mode as many times as you like.

Nine Coins, Nine Purses, Nine Bears - Collected 999 Monocoins
Ooh, For Me? - Collected 50 unique presents
Hey, Big Spender - Enjoyed the excitement of the Mono Mono Machine 100 times
Seriously, You Shouldn't Have - Collected every possible present
Rogue's Gallery - Unlocked all gallery items

This set of trophies isn't hard, although they're all time consuming and perhaps a little tedious, so I'll describe this set in more detail.

Nine Coins, Nine Purses, Nine Bears may pop after trying to get the School Mode trophies because School Mode gives you 200 Monocoins upon completion, so I would recommend getting as many Monocoins as possible while trophy-hunting in School Mode. A big tip is to not spend any Monocoins until this trophy pops as your coin count is not accumulative and will only pop the moment you have 999 Monocoins in your inventory at one time.

Ooh, For Me?, Hey, Big Spender and Seriously, You Shouldn't Have all tie in together, because you'll probably pop the first two while working towards Seriously, You Shouldn't Have. This trophy revolves around the Mono Mono Machine, which makes this a difficult trophy to write about because it is based around chance. While the more coins you put in the Mono Mono Machine, the more chance you get of not doubling up on presents, I would recommend putting your coins in one Monocoin at a time until you have all of the presents you can gain from the Mono Mono Machine as you won't waste as many coins this way. You'll know you have all the presents you need as you'll see the odds of getting a double of a present go to 100%, which means you're done. The rest of the presents are received by completing all of the classmates endings in School Mode and getting their special present when you talk to each of them one last time before leaving the school.

I left the Rogue's Gallery trophy for last as it includes a sneaky locked Easter Egg gallery photo for those who have the 'Man's Fantasy' present, which can be gained while playing the Mono Mono Machine. Once you own the Man's Fantasy present, to unlock the secret item you need to replay chapter 3 up to the scene where the girls go to the bath house without the boys. With the 'Man's Fantasy' present, Makoto will decide to take a peek at the girls in the bathroom, which unlocks a hidden artwork for the item gallery. Once you've unlocked that, it's as simple as spending your Monocoins on each gallery item until you have them all. If you run out of coins, you can replay School Mode or one of the trials to get more.

Finally, after all that you will receive 'Despair's Last Reward', the Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa Platinum trophy! w00t!

The platinum is by no means easy, but compared to a lot of other platinum trophies, it's pretty easy as long as you know what to do. I hope this helped someone! Good luck and happy platinum hunting!

Don't have the game yet? You can purchase Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa at Play-Asia.

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What's the last game you platinumed?

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Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa Review (PS Vita)

There aren't many games that render me unable to be a normal functioning human being, but I'm strangely proud to say that Danganronpa is one of them. Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa's positively gripping plot and immersive world took me by surprise and gripped me with it's thilling story and fun puzzle-like gameplay. If your PS Vita has been lacking a worthwhile visual novel with unique gameplay and a thrilling mystery, look no further than Spike Chunsoft's masterpiece, Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa.

The world of Danganronpa is based at the prestigious Hope's Peak Acadmey, where ultimate students of their fields (brilliant examples include Ultimate Fashionista, Ultimate Fanfic Writer and Ultimate Gang Leader) are scouted to attend this elite high school that boasts guaranteed success later in life. This sounds all well and good, until protagonist Makoto and the other students find that everything isn't what it seems and are now trapped inside the school. The only way out? Killing a classmate and not getting caught will allow a student to 'graduate', but if they're caught they'll face punishment, as in, their own execution. If the wrong student is selected as the main suspect of the murder, the rest of the class is subject punishment while the killer is set free. It's a pretty dark story, but the students are next required to kill anyone – they have the option to live a communal life together. In turn, this plot characters many morality and though-provoking questions for the player and the game is filled with a wonderful cast of amusing and zany characters to lighten up the game and solve the mystery with.

Umm...

The show shopper for the game is Danganronpa's immersive story and atmosphere. Like a good book that sucks you in, Danganronpa has that effect with it's constantly moving plot full of incredibly interesting characters and surprises. The plot is constantly moving until the very end, decorated with wicked twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout the 25+ hours of story. What I was happy to see is that in the games six main chapters, there was only one where I was 100% sure who the killer was - each mystery is heavily veiled, requiring careful examination of all possible evidence to get the right clues to find the blackened student.

He seems nice.

Thanks to music, voice acting and quirky graphics, the game's atmosphere does a lot to keep it's mood and essentially never break character. The game's graphics are rendered in a 2.5D art style, with 2D characters placed on a 3D background. Cutscenes also look unique, combining anime art and sketch artwork to create a visual style that is distinctly it's own. One of my favourite parts of the game's graphics that if a part of the game really doesn't need crazy artwork, it instead uses a retro feel, with pixel art and sprites used on things like the map or each character's door signs. The music and visuals all have a distinct feel that fits perfectly - things like having gruesome murder scene but hot pink blood and dark looking school corridors lit by a neon light create a disturbingly dark but light-hearted feel that fits the game perfectly. Partnered with incredible voice performances whether you choose the English or Japanese voice track, the game is well-polished and stylish all at once.

Taking advantage of the visual novel format, Danganronpa's detail heavy and absorbing story is delivered in the best way possible between it's text and gameplay functions. While the game is text heavy, the way Danganronpa adds gameplay to the visual novel format is smart and fits the 'who-dun-it' vibe by using puzzle-like elements. In each chapter, the first half goes through Daily Life, where you're taken through the chapter's main story and get the chance to get to know the cast through the mini-social sim Free Time section. Once a murder occurs, the chapter switches to Deadly Life. You're given Investigation Time where you find the Truth Bullets you need for the Class Trial in the form of evidence from the scene of the crime. During Class Trial time, you literally shoot down weak ideas spoken by the class members, using the Truth Bullets you found earlier to counter against contradictions.

I was impressed at how the Class Trial takes full advantage of the PS Vita's hardware, incorporating the back-touch pad, front touch-pad, triggers and other buttons all in this one section of gameplay, which isn't something I've seen in a Visual Novel style game. Class Trial throws in timed mini-games such as Hangman's Gambit (a mini-hangman-esque game) and Bullet Time Ballet (to my delight, a mini-rhythm game for when someone is mouthing off suspiciously) to keep things interesting and finishes off with a puzzle game where you put together a chronological comic of all the events that have been proven as fact in the class trial. The whole experience, along with the story each murder and the school's own mystery unfolding really kept me on my toes and I found myself becoming as shocked as the other character when a surprising fact was unveiled.

If you like Visual Novels, are looking for an introduction or a game to lose yourself in, let me suggest one of my new favourites, Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa. The plot left me entangled in it's depths for nearly 25+ hours and I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. Partnered with varying gameplay elements and styles to keep things interesting, it cannot be missed by fans of Visual Novels and rich stories for on the go. At this point in time, I call it the best visual novel game I've ever played and one of PS Vita's finest.

Score: 10/10

Just play with the crazy bear, goddamit!

Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa is available for purchase now at Play-Asia.com.

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What did you think of Danganronpa? And what's your general opinion on monochromatic, deranged bears?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow if you want to keep up the content we post. Thanks for stopping by!

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E3 2014 - NIS America: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Trailer

NIS America have shared another trailer for Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. For a slightly longer look at Danganronpa 2, check out our post on the other recent trailer for the game.

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You can pre-order Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair from Amazon.

Follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter to keep up to date with our news, reviews, articles and J-RPG musings!

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Trailer

A beautiful island and the promise of a "lovey-dovey heart throbbing school trip". Yeah, that was never going to be the case in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Your task is to solve the mysteries of Jabberwock Island, but beware: "Sometimes the truth can be it's own despair...."

I didn't play the original Danganronpa, but dammit I wanted to. After my 9 month love affair with Persona 4 Golden, another high school, murder mystery Vita game was right in my ball park. Now the sequel has been given a trailer and a September 2nd release. I really need to get onto playing the first one. So many J-RPGs, so little time. </3

Pre-order Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair at Amazon.com!

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Follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter to keep up to date with our news, reviews, articles and J-RPG musings!