The Strange Case of Danganronpa - Ultra Despair Girls | PostMesmeric

To celebrate three years making game analysis content, I'm heading back home to Danganronpa and examining one of the most maligned titles to come out of the series. Grab some hope and prepare for despair: we're looking at Danganronpa: Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls.
Follow PostMesmeric on Twitter!
/ postmesmeric
Check out more music by Janet Mars!
mjanetmars.ban...
Additional music from OCRemix.org
#Danganronpa #UltraDespairGirls

[@mayaha200]

I think it the best game in the series, since it capture what "kids" is mean. Like you said yourself, Monoca is just someone that try to mimic Junko, the adult crazy person that brain washing her easily. But Monoca, has a kid she is, can't do that good like the adult she trying to mimic. It actually very interesting to see and make sense how much kids lean on their adult parents, no matter how bad they are, they need them. I feel the kids didn't get much identity other then their parents wanted them to be. With is very scary and sad to think about. And of course Toko has a character development was great. Has for gameplay I think it's good, even if it can be repetitive. I think if you get used to it, it pretty fun. The only thing I hated about the gameplay is the parts of fan service crap you need to save yet grab Kuamru body. It was annoying!

[@ShadwSonic]

Odd... I had significantly fewer issues with "headshots" here than this video implies, and I'm notoriously BAD at headshots normally! Perhaps the difference is this: bullets in MOST shooters seem to travel from "fired" to "hit" instantly, but in THIS game they take some travel time. Perhaps, having grown up with games from other genres where this is the case (to give the player a chance to dodge), I got used to THAT as the norm...

[@lordhighlordofthehalfgays2456]

DR UDG, for me feels like DR 1.5 in a way. Maybe if it didn't have the spinoff label and focused on more as a connector between 1 and 2 it would have been less on the fence.

[@PostMesmeric]

I agree. It really tries to be essential, and I think if it doubled down on being important to the main story, folks wouldn't be as dismissive of it.

[@gabrielt4305]

​@@PostMesmeric I think that wasn't the case since it was a Ps Vita exclusive

[@Antiformed]

I think it is ludicrous to have so much to say about its story and themes and then end with repeated discouragements to try it. The gameplay doesn't break new ground, but as someone who platinumed the game on PS4 I thought it absolutely justified its existence. The game doesn't cost very much on any platform as it is, it doesn't pretend to be a full fledged game. It's a story supplement, a good one at that, with a shooting mechanic between story dumps. Based on this footage it felt like a chore because you are REALLY bad at the shooting. Like I'm not great at games myself but you couldn't hit the red eyes even when the enemy was frozen in place, and you didn't move your reticle at all. The game requires you to adjust every shot slightly right of center in real-time, to get eye shots. You were aiming far too low every single time, and not taking into account that your shots go toward the right because of the angle Komaru is shooting from. I agree with all your analysis of the interesting story and how good the interactions are between Toko and Komaru, I have seen peoples opinion of Toko from DR1 turn around completely because of how good she is in this game. But the last few minutes are kind of discouraging and mean considering it just gave you this whole video of stuff to think about and acknowledge. DR3 was their attempt at animating an original DR story and honestly it was BAD. Like REALLY BAD. In fact the UDG episode of DR3 anime was probably the only good part! But if the whole game had been an anime it would have had much worse pacing issues. Please do a video on the DR3 anime if you want to know the feeling of wishing something could be non-canon and ignorable. Sadly Future Arc is there now and will always be the actual end of the main story and we can never undo it.

[@PostMesmeric]

I'd like to do a video on the DR3 anime someday. Not sure when or how, but someday. I will say this, though: I totally agree with you that DR3 is flawed. My list of criticisms with that anime is not short at all.

[@turbosonic7219]

Antiform Future Arc is what happens when get too much Dragon Ball Z in my Danganronpa. As a fan of battle anime I enjoyed it, it's definitely flawed, but everything that happens post Munakata is inexcusable, Mitarai is the worst DR villain by far. Also sorry if it seems like I'm picking on you, I just love this series and have a lot to say.

[@Antiformed]

Despair Arc almost borders on good at points while Future Arc feels like "what if a killing game and its rules were just kinda made up and improvised as the killing game goes on". And that was them in CONTROL of the anime unlike the original game's adaptation. What the hell happened.

[@turbosonic7219]

Antiform Anime production is notorious for being gratuitously overbearing, DR3 in particular requiring two episodes a week for the 2 arcs to be written and animated week by week till it was done, if it had been given the time it needed to flesh out the ideas it would've been great. Also as a DR2 fan I just enjoyed seeing all those characters again pre-tragedy, Despair Arc is fun fan service and it doesn't handle the emotional parts as well as it could but I still like it a lot.

[@SpecialInterestShow]

The main hate I have for it is simply the way they treated the sexually abused girl as a joke. They even had the kid who was a victim of CSA herself sexually assault Komaru! And almost any time the girl mentioned her trauma, it was played up for laughs! It was horrific and I'm glad I watched just the cutscenes rather than pay for that shit. I'll give it one thing: I did enjoy seeing Toko get character development beyond just the stereotypical "DID person's alter is a killer" thing. Heck, it even develops GJ a bit. Like, don't get me wrong, it's still a fuckin horrible representation of DID. But at least they gave her actual character development.

[@Meowlaxative69]

Dude the worst part was the panty shots of kotoko. Like why the one who was abused that way? I know it’s not real but I feel it’s distasteful and offensive to real victims

[@SpecialInterestShow]

@@Meowlaxative69 it really is. It played her as a joke and I hate it. They not only sexualized a CSA victim but they also made her commit CSA herself. What the fuck? And it doesn't help that the "ugly" kid was also constantly played for laughs or groans imo. Like, this could have been such an interesting game if just a handful of changes were made. I mean, hell, they even managed to make me slightly like Toko/GJ, and she's a walking ableist trope! Toko's arc shows that they had the ability to handle topics.... Okay, not "well", but not horridly offensively. Pedophilic anime/game writers keep it in your pants 2kforever impossible challenge. Like, seeing how they treated Kotoko makes me think "oh these writers shouldn't be allowed to write children ever"

[@Cptn.Viridian]

To sum up my feelings of UDG: Despite the clunky controls and story, it still manages to be fun and enjoyable.

[@turbosonic7219]

Even after finishing the video I can't help but disagree, Ultra Despair Girl's is great and absolutely worth playing, it's a great follow up to 1 and 2 while telling it's own story.

[@Antiformed]

I think his final opinion is tainted by the fact he's clearly not very good at the shooting. If the combat didn't click for me I'd probably find it to be a chore as well. Personally the hardest parts while I plat'd it were the Arcade segments, and having to move around the factory and backtrack so much. I'm sad he didn't mention the Toro and Kuro easter egg room as well.

[@turbosonic7219]

Antiform The complaints about the story really set me off. It feels like he's comparing it to previous games too much and not taking it for what it is. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't find the secret room it's pretty well hidden.

[@ryanhatfield4517]

I still like this game

[@YARGGG_GG]

hey, grats on coming this far with the channel. i enjoyed udg, but in the way one does while realizing it is a deeply flawed work. i agree that komaru and toko are a lot of fun. i disliked toko in dr1 but started to like her thanks to udg, so that is a point for the writing.

[@yankeegmen90]

Not sure I'll ever get around to the game, but it was a fascinating look at it, regardless. Being I've usually been warned away from Ultra Despair Girls, it's nice to get a detailed "why" for that sentiment.

[@Antiformed]

He is completely exaggerating about the combat being bad. The game costs practically nothing and it's often on sale, and I guarantee if you're able to get headshots in RE4 or games like that, this game is simple as hell to one-shot kill the red eyes on enemies. Especially on PC where you can aim precisely, it's a lot of fun. His comments about the villains being a bit undercooked is unfortunately true, Monaca and Kotoko get way more development than the other Kids. But weirdly enough, every character in the game does seem to get a LITTLE development, even to the point where Komaru is learning the backstories of nameless, faceless NPC adults that are dying or scared in the streets. They let you get a feel for the plight of the adults outside the main plot.

[@turbosonic7219]

Antiform Nagisa and Jataro are pretty well established too (especially Nagisa), and even saying that Masaru's only problem is he's the first to go and it happens before we see much of him, the same issue with 1st killer in 1 and 1st victim in V3, both great characters that don't stick around for long.

[@mayaha200]

I think you should play it yourself and see how you feel about it from your own point of view. Me I didn't agree with his video about the characters. I think all of them were very interesting and real to their situation.

[@ultimatesquid3894]

They tried to hard to be sad

[@Sandromatic]

I have a hard time deciding whether UDG or V3 is the game I like more. V3 is probably objectively better, but I would argue that UDG is an extremely well made experience. I would say a lot of the things you complained about wrt combat and such is designed to increase tension, the claustrophobic viewpoint and the sluggish movement is designed to make the game tense. its a survival horror game, I would argue. like resident evil, it is a game about survival. is the game maybe a little too easy to justify that if you're good enough? probably. I would also argue that the game is a different game, told in a different way, and so expecting the same things from it is not worth doing, as someone else said. The only real minor shortcomings I can think of for it is that the puzzle rooms sometimes rely on specific occurrences to happen and need to be so precise that its near impossible to obtain them your first try without retrying. which then lowers your score, etc. like the other danganronpa games, I suppose, its easy to beat, but hard to complete. All in all, UDG really doesn't feel like that far of a departure from the other games, after all, the trial segments in the other games involve aiming and shooting, solving puzzles, etc, which this game expands onto as a full game.

[@PostMesmeric]

While I can't say I agree with the idea that it's a survival horror game (outside of a few tense sequences like the blackout in Towa Tower or anything featuring the Beast Monokumas), I do understand why someone would interpret it as one. That's an interesting viewpoint, all things considered.

[@Sandromatic]

PostMesmeric I would say a large amount of the game could be very tense, depending on your situation. If you're out of health, ammo, etc, it's an incredibly tense and scary situation. Mind you, getting into that kind of situation is entirely dependent upon your skill, so if you're good enough it's probably not that tense. Definitely depends on how good you are at that kind of game, and I'm definitely not.

[@SlickEvan]

I haven't played it myself so I can't give an opinion from actual experience with this game but I can say from what I've watched I definitely agree. I especially agree with the points of it just being very long and Komaru's character growth being hammered in so many times it kind of loses impact. I liked the story somewhat but mostly just for it's ties to the other two games. And from what I watched the gameplay is something I couldn't see myself ever deciding to touch. Opinion aside this was a good review.

[@thehobbler1349]

I really loved the setting, my favourite in the entire series. I really wanted to like this though, and it has the worst characters in the series. Haiji alone was half the reason I couldn't stand most of the dialogue centered scenes and whenever I come back to this game solely to wander Towa City with murderous Monokuma's (favourite thing ever) it's the most content I skip in any game I've ever replayed due to how bad the story and characters (except the three you pointed out) were.

[@RegalPixelKing]

I personally really liked this game. I understand and agree with most of your point that you made in this video, but a lot of aspects did not really effect me as much. Some stuff just did not feel like massive issues, like landing headshots, not to say that I didn't have some issues at times, but most the time I managed to get one when that was my goal; it's worth mentioning that I played with with a keyboard and mouse, so that might have helped with the aim. Also you said this game is about 20 hours long, from what I've seen the playtime is about 5 hours shorter than that for most people, myself included. That shorter playtime made this game feel kind of like a breeze to get through, especially compared to the first 2 games, although yes, there is sometimes too much dialogue. Speaking of dialogue due to the story focusing on a much smaller cast, the amount that this game was able to flesh out Toko made her one of my favorite characters in this franchise, which I would have not thought to be possible after I beat the first game.

[@PhantomShadow224]

I enjoyed this game. It brings a completely new perspective to the “horrors of the outside world” caused by rampant despair, death and destruction that we’ve only been told about in the previous two games but never experienced. It is the darkest game in the series with themes of child abuse and notes about children murdering their parents in a blind rage for past or recent transgressions, and then regretting their actions when they realize they are all alone in the world now and despite their anger, they miss their parents. but has the best character arc for toko fukawa. And the interaction between komaru and toko is adorable. Love the soundtrack, puzzle challenges can be a bit finicky because of the enemy AI which is kind of frustrating if you want to get a perfect grade on every chapter Kurokuma and the factory level are the worst things about this game

[@Junomaster2006]

I guess I'm one of the gamers that actually enjoyed the game; not the gameplay, but the story is awesome!

[@n3r0n3]

This is the king of anarcho-punk games on ps4 and vita. Conceptually it mixes Lord of the flies with a commentary on contemporary terrorism. Art direction is brilliant as usual (the pop art rendition of Venice!). Gameplay is an original twists on resident evil but it is much weaker than the narrative and aesthetic aspect. Nonetheless the mediocre gameplay and tech limitations are secondary to what this game has to say: any radical and any atheist will simply ADORE Ultradespair. 100% hidden gem and not for everyone.

[@SpeakNoEvil5000]

Tbh this is my second favourite game after V3. I really enjoyed the risks they took with this game and how they presented the kids and their pasts. The notes from the parents and especially the notes from the kids just before the final boss I found to be very interesting. The flaws that bother me the most is how little of Masaru's character we see when they could have put more scenes in chapter 1 to flesh out his character. The other big problem is how Haiji is a pedophile/lolicon. This may have been done to imply that Monaca was sexually abused (just like how she briefly mentions physical abuse when she states that Haiji and his dad thought they broke her legs) along with how she was treated like an alien. However all this does for Haiji is put a big neon sign over his head of "This guy is evil, his viewpoint is wrong" when his point of view could have been more understandable. As it stands nobody who plays the game tries to see things from the adults point of view because of Haiji and his presence in the final confrontation only seems to service Monaca's character. They also push you to feel the most bad about Kotoko's abuse but this doesn't really bother me personally and since most people think of sexual abuse as the worst it makes sense that is would be pushed the most. That's also probably why she was the one they chose to "stay alive" to be there in the final confrontation. Or maybe the hands grabbing her in the 'execution' would've been too traumatic for her for them to want to show resulting in the interruption.

[@Meowlaxative69]

Just say you’re a p3do ❤

[@getsouped]

i have... a strained relationship with udg. i got into danganronpa because its a mystery game and not really a shooter (the nonstop debates are far more forgiving than most shooter games ive been recommended/come across, using the 'shooter game' label loosely in this context), and i was excited to get into a story i had never heard much of before! combined w the anime cutscenes, i am all for this game being a show/movie because it has that energy. but i mean... this game kinda sucks from a functional standpoint. i mean, i cant even move around in a straight line, unless my computer is just wonky and has been making komaru swerve since i downloaded the game and was using arrow keys to move. i love the story and the characters, im literally making two fanganronpas with monaca as the mastermind because i want to explore her potential, but all in all it leaves... a lot to be desired.