Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is oddly named and really, the game lives up to that tone: Odd. But that’s part of the charm and appeal and fans of past entries will quickly embrace this style.

The change is definitely good, but it doesn't reach the excellence of the main titles of the series. Still, it's a great choice while we wait for Danganronpa 3.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls brings this brand on a new path. Action mechanics replace the traditional visual novel’s style seen in the past, while maintaining attention to the plot and dialogues between characters. The overall result is not bad, even if previous iterations are quite better.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls might not be as polished as the previous mainline games, but within this handheld adventure is still the fabulous, quality story and tone fans expect from something slapped with Danganronpa on the case.

Ultra Despair Girls is the latest installment in the Danganronpa series. This spin-off is good, but not as good as the previous games. The lack of Japanese audio is a big minus.

But for all the pacing and control issues, as well as frequently being treated as though I can’t solve my own puzzles in a game made for adults, it’s still a game I highly enjoyed.

It was definitely an experiment worth trying yet the action gameplay does little to hold up its side of the bargain.

Some pacing issues and a lack of memorable characters prevent Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls from attaining the lofty heights set by its predecessors, but it’s still an adventure that’s well worth taking.

If Ultra Despair Girls didn’t have so much else going for it, it would be a mostly-mediocre quasi-survival-horror-shooter with a few high points. But even with some very obvious gameplay issues, the sheer strength of the game’s setting, story, characters, and style manages to overshadow everything else, turning this into an absolute must-play for anyone already invested in the Danganronpa universe.

A massive amount of dialogue often saps the pace of an otherwise eerily tense third-person adventure, but other than that, this is a welcome addition to the franchise that's well worth experiencing if you're a fan of the maniacal Monokuma and all that he stands for.

Ultimately, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls just didn't click for me the same way previous games did.

The move to third person shooter isn’t a wholly successful one, but despite the issues inherent to the core design of this ill-advised but nonetheless enjoyable spin-off, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a journey worth taking for fans of the series.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a mixed bag, with some interesting moments offset by monotonous gameplay and poor pacing.

Ultra Despair Girls would be easier to bear if it were just an incidental side story that fans could ignore. Unfortunately, it is important to understanding the world of Danganronpa, but the gameplay and dialogue make you suffer every step of the way.