Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

When the issues of a game are rolled and stomped by its greatness, then it’s something to invest on if you have some spare.

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NIS America and Spike Chunsoft's murder mystery-focused Danganronpa series is taking its robotic Monokumas into uncharted territory with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultimate Despair Girls. Does this shooter spinoff usher a new era of hope, or will it leave you in despair?

Check out PlayStation LifeStyle's Ultra Despair Girls review to see how the PS4 version of the Danganronpa spin-off fares. Is this shooter worth buying?

Danganronpa Another Episode: A New Hope

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 Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls’ story of bears run wild, teenagers under threat, and society in ruin didn’t do much to tempt you when it was first released, I can’t imagine that the transition to PS4 will change that. Very much an alternative take on the series and unfulfilled promise of what could have been, Ultra Despair Girls remains a necessity for Danganronpa fans wishing to fill in story gaps as well as mainstream newcomers looking for a different single player shooting experience. Just don’t expect another Another Episode any time in the near future.

As sinister as it is completely crazy, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is very much birthed from the same minds as the other games in the series – except that this time around, courtroom class trials and detective work are replaced by linear third-person action. It's a gameplay shift that paints Ultra Despair Girls as more of a spin-off than a main link in the Danganronpa chain, but nevertheless, it still boasts all of the themes and tones that you'd expect from the deliciously dark property.

This side-story made the jump from Vita to the PS4, but is Ultra Despair Girls worth playing?

Ultimately, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls just didn’t click for me the same way previous games did. Sure the narrative still has some strong moments, but it’s punctuated with third-person shooter gameplay that doesn’t enhance my engagement with the narrative the same way the first two visual novels did. If you’re a series fan, there’s a good, text-heavy, hands-off narrative to be explored here, but the gameplay sections really dragged it down for me.

It’s always interesting to see what happens to a series when it moves in a bold and new direction, either mechanically or narratively.

The sound in Ultra Despair Girls is astounding, as it can easily evoke the strongest emotions from players. The introduction of skills and new enemies is done in a “Microsoft Sam” voice, which is as jarring as it is fitting, while the music hops between heavy and suffocating to fast-paced and silly. The voice acting is just as impressive, with the Warriors of Hope standing out most. At one moment the kids can be annoying and infuriating thanks to their shrill voices, while in the next they can be pitiful as they border on sobbing. It’s a strong balance that takes real talent to pull off, which...