Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Story: ★★★★☆
Music: ★★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★★☆
Overall: ★★★★☆
Good game gives me lots of zetsubou

Being a Danganronpa game ( and the first in its series ) it definitely has its flaws, but it's still a fun play nonetheless .

I did absolutely hate grinding out the achievements though . Just a warning for any fellow completionists .

I'm am really enjoying this game it's so much fun and reminds me of the series on Crunchyroll. Monokuma is my favorite in the game he can be so funny sometimes but this game is a 10 out of 10!

Played this as preparation when people hyping up The Hundred Line had caught my interest. Amazing anime logic-arguments in a story right up my ally, great characters and a nicely developing-as-it-goes-along plot not lacking in edge. I had to force myself to play it for no more than 2 hours a day so that the enjoyment would last.

Played this in my peak danganronpa phase in 2022 but never tried to fully complete it, now in 2025 after replaying it for fun ive gotten back into my phase once again. This game honestly is such a fun game if you look past some of the weird scenes that have just aged poorly over time and I have and always will have a special place in my heart for this game. If you like detective, visual novels then u need to try this game for yourself.

The characters are fun, the voice-acting is great, and the soundtrack is incredible. The high-school setting, murder-mysteries, and high-stakes class trials all work together to create such a unique and captivating story. The game has its flaws but Danganronpa will always be my favorite visual novel.

I'm primarily someone who enjoys multiplayer games over singleplayer story games, but if you like murder mystery and crime stories I can't recommend this game enough. There are few singleplayer games that get me hooked and this is one of them.
This game is about 15 years old I think? And yet still, playing through this story I couldn't get enough of what was happening. Incredible story from top to bottom and honestly, I would recommend this to anybody even if this is not their type of game. Easily worth the money.

first off, THE SOUNDTRACK???? did the "ultimate music composer" make it or smth lmao its insanely good

i remember during 2020-2021 danganronpa hype , i tried watching it on youtube but its really not interesting like that. you have to play it because you realize stuff at your own pace.

that being said, trials 2 , 3 and last one were crazy good and had me on edge of seat constantly. kyoko was clutching every chapter lmao. i look forward to danganronpa 2 <3

I love the characters , and their voice actors . The story is really keeping me in suspense while having fun solving the murders.

A Great first outing into what would later become a pretty well known series, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is fun from beginning to end. Mixing first person shooter mechanics with a captivating mystery plot visual novel ,and a surprisingly heartfelt ending it had me second guessing myself when it came to just what was going on!? The characters added onto this with their dynamic personalities and fun interactions and the stakes of the death game being played where quite fun to see unfold.

The Pros: Great Voice acting, A Diverse And Unique Cast, An Enticing Mystery.

The Cons: Some ideas feel like they need to be a little more fleshed out. but what is there makes up for it.

Just play it already. So easily worth buying. The story unfolds in ways you'd never expect.

Really enjoyed if you like puzzles, and don't mind visual novels.

Great mystery game.
Great story with an overall convincing and fun point-and-click detective structure.
Some minor flaws, but overall probably still a B-B+

"Do not say: ‘I have sinned much, and therefore I am not bold enough to fall down before God.’ Do not despair. Simply do not increase your sins in despair and, with the help of the All-merciful One, you will not be put to shame. For He said, ‘he who comes to Me I will not cast out.’ (John. 6:37) And so, be bold and believe that He is pure and cleanses those who draw near to Him. If you want to accomplish true repentance, show it with your deeds. If you have fallen into pride, show humility; if into drunkenness, show sobriety; if into defilement, show purity of life. For it is said, ‘Turn away from evil and do good.’ (I Pet. 3:11)” - Saint Gennadius of Constantinople

i LOOOOOVE this game. i've already watched the kubz scouts play it, but its a fucking masterpiece i had to play it for myself. no seriously, its so worth the money.

After completing every achievement in the game, I can say for certain this game is the start to something fantastic. While the game itself is fine, comparing it to the other games is just unfair. But ignoring the other games, it's story is very slowly paced at times, but a very fun story overall. What the game does differently than most visual novels is put effort into actual gameplay as well, and I find that pretty neat. It adds a sense of suspense and a break from the typical dialogue, which can be very refreshing. If you want a full experience, you can also play School Mode, a mode unlocked after completing the story. It's a cute little resource management minigame with a bunch of cute dialogue from the cast, each with their own ending if you become besties with them. Albeit a grind, fans of the game should try it out! Either way, W game, would play again but Danganronpa v2 exists LMAO

It's really good! A story worth its weight in gold, some might say it's priceless.

This game definitely has a negative reputation especially from the fandom but once you actually play the game it is pretty enjoyable, only real complaints that i have besides from some of the characters being over sexualized and the controls being clunky at times are the characters. Near the end of the game the only characters left are the most stereotypical one note caricatures and the game does become a bit of a slog to play through sometime during the third trial but despite that the story is somewhat gripping and definitely an interesting concept if you're interested I'd recommend

Personally didn't like it very much, The linear and repetitive story line didn't help.

You can give it a try if you want.

It's a nice, lighthearted dating-sim visual novel with no other surprises. And there's certainly no killing game, definitely not in this 15-year old game that's well known about and highly memed and talked-about on the internet. Just play it.

It is an awesome game with a good cast of characters.

Pretty fire game. It did get repetitive at some points but the lore and story kept me craving for more. 10/10 would recommend.

Great game. Lots of freaks, but if you can look past them the story and "normal" characters are actually really interesting. 9/10.

Amazing game, great characters, masterful story, 0 complaints from me, 10/10

Kyoko Kirigiri is best girl.
I enjoyed story mode!
I hated school mode. I spent more time in school mode trying to get all the achievements. It was annoying...
If you want to give it a go, just play story mode. Unless your a completionist like me, I wish you all the luck!

Going into Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc blind, as my friend suggested, was absolutely the right move. As someone who loved AI: The Somnium Files, I was looking for another gripping mystery, and this game more than delivered.

The storytelling is next level—each twist and turn keeps you hooked, making it impossible to put down. The way the narrative unfolds is masterful, and by the time all the pieces fall into place, it’s nothing short of brilliant. If you enjoy visual novel-style mystery games, this is a must-play. It’s a wild, unforgettable ride that’s well worth your time.

W game great story telling totally give it a try

I have only few criticisms regarding this game. Not all characters have the same level of depth, another dimension.
And the resolution of the cases has some very unnecessary elements, like the bullet time battles.

But the greater plot is great and so are the individual cases. Usually, I'm pretty good at figuring out what happened before the resolution. For this game I only once figured out about 90% of the events, in all other cases I was pretty much completely blindsided.

84/100

i was enjoying myself until the 3rd chapter. the game became so difficult i was going to freak out. glad it's over. i don't know how someone could possibly solve those cases without a guide.

Overall, yes, I would recommend this game, it's definitely a trip and has cool gameplay. Creative mechanics for solving the mysteries and trials, and honestly amazing storytelling through them.


SPOILERS BELOW THIS--------------------------
For the negatives, though they're more warnings for anyone who may want to know about these:
There are definitely some very dated things, some awkward weird feeling things too, namely:
- Pretty bad example of a character with DID, stereotypical "evil other personality" trope
- Fat character is obligatorily an incel and gooner
- Masculine female character being hit with the "omg i thought you were a guy!" moments
- Many female characters are arguably sexualized a lot in the art

Despite everything though? I still enjoyed it a lot and found even the first character I mentioned endearing even with that feature. I still highly recommend and I've already gotten the rest of the series!

At first i thought this was a parody of some anime stereotypes with a cool premise and sometimes a few good characters that kept me playing. Now i just feel stupid and like i wasted my time this is Kingdom Hearts for adults with the repetitiveness of a microwave. The jokeler 2 of garbage endings.

Completed all achievements, grinding monocoins was a pain in the ass but worth it.
The game has great art, soundtrack and AMAZING story. I knew the overall lore beforehand (watched the anime a couple years ago) and i was still shocked during class trials and plot twists. Gameplay is not hard at all and tha game pretty much handhelds you during trials. Very enjoyable and I highly recommend it, on my way to the second game ;)

8/10
story 9/10
characters 10/10
design 8/10

If I was rating games purely on their story and how it unfolded, this would probably be one of the greatest games of all time. Masterful delivery, most characters were deep and complex individuals.

The gameplay isn't anything fancy. Point, click, read and then the trials.

Going to watch the anime now.

Highly recommend.

Absolutely floored by how engrossed I was in the story. Good writing and very entertaining murder cases which did, to my surprise, sometimes greatly challenge your deduction skills and ability to follow what's happening. Main character is pretty daft at times but that's a minor complaint. Always love a good mystery. Even if this is one of the first full length visual novels I've ever played I thoroughly enjoyed it. BANGING soundtrack btw

Never thought i would enjoy a visual novel game, it was somewhat captivating, watched the anime long ago before playing the game and I don't recommend it since mostly they are spoilers (it is a replicate of the game but in least details, and somewhat can't relate to the characters, I mean fair since it is 4h compare to the game around 25h to complete. Personally, if I were to give a note if the game is 7.5/10, some glitches and had to replay at some point in the middle of trial. The anime would be around 2,5 to 3/10) with the game you actually see characters's depth/ personality, and actually engaged in the investment which give more insight, unlike the anime you barely understand what happened and I love most of how the crime were committed with bunch of plot twists. This game is literally a box of chocolate, If you are not spoiled then you'll never know what is going to happen. Finally, if you enjoy uncovering crimes and casually be a detective with minimal dating sim content then this game is for you.

I don't like the cast of DR1 as much as the other games but this is still a solid story and really enthralling especially on your first playthrough if you don't know anything about the series.

Doing the post-game content 100% for the second time was a little bit painful but worth it

I'm only just finishing chapter 1 and I'm obsessed. I knew from long before I played it I loved the art style and characters and finally I'm getting into it. It's a lot of reading but it's in a way my ADHD brain can handle without having medication to focus on reading lol. Fantastic art/soundtrack/character design. Can't wait to play the rest of the game and the series!

The Danganronpa series has definitely become one of the more infamous weeb-friendly video games of all time. Some people even call it "visual novel-ish," but I will vehemently disagree with that. There’s too much gameplay and moving around for it to be a proper visual novel.

That said, Danganronpa took the weeb fandom by storm, even when it was just a fan translation—and for good reason. While the whole "people trapped in an enclosed space, potentially having to kill each other to escape" premise isn’t too unique, the quirky Japanese high school characters, courtesy of writer Kodaka, made it stand out.

Every main character having an "Ultimate" ability (or "super high school level" in the original Japanese) gives them a distinct flair that makes them memorable and ties into the murder mystery aspect—figuring out who the culprit is in each case and, more importantly, who the mastermind is behind trapping all these high school students in a school.

Compared to the rest of the series, the first Danganronpa game is relatively simple. The very first case, for example, more or less gives you the answer straight up once you find the first victim. Apparently, this is less obvious in the original Japanese, mostly if you're a Japanese-native who may not know much of the English language.

Even so, the murder mysteries are a mix of straightforward and challenging, depending on how much of a mystery game or story veteran you are. Personally, I found every case—besides the first and third—pretty tough to solve. Figuring out the details through the investigations and nonstop debates during the class trials was decently challenging and kept me engaged.

If there’s one thing the Danganronpa series lives and dies by, it’s the character cast. The characters in the first game are fine overall. They still have their quirky gimmicks, but they’re more down-to-earth compared to the over-the-top personalities in the sequels. In a way, the simplicity works in their favor. Characters like Makoto Naegi, the ultimate "Normal" protagonist, get more room to shine, especially later on in the story. My personal favorite was Kyoko Kirigiri, the main female lead—clearly familiar with mysteries and murder, with some solid character development throughout the story.

Overall, Danganronpa 1 is a solid introduction to the series. Sure, there are minor issues—like the cast being hit-or-miss for some people, certain mysteries being too easy, and a bit of first-game clunkiness—but it’s a memorable and fun murder mystery experience.

The controls are easy to understand, the trials are fun, love this game!

erm... O.o
used to be a big fan but have mixed feelings about the entire Danganronpa series now;
As a friend once put it "feels like murder p*** of a bunch of minors"

Idk, pretty conflicted about everything right now, but I'll be sure to revisit this game when am more stable?? Am way too high on despair right now

- Junko Enoshima Kinnie

Nice audiovisual, immersive storyline and interesting detective. The best visual novel I have played

this game is really cool if you remember it was written a decade ago ! enjoy media critically everyone !!

This game aged like fine wine (with its unique humor and refferences) even tho i do not consider myself a conossieur of graphic novels i am pretty sure this one gotta be of the best in the genre. I did enjoy the game despite having watched the anime 7-8 years ago. I only remembered the first two trials victims and the mastermind identity. I do believe this game gotta be sick playing it from scratch.

Its art style is very unique and attractive despite it being old, the only bad thing ingame it its having low res. The characters are very unique and different from eachother, with very remarkable personalities. You do get free time to spend it with the characters you choose, thing that is very cool because you can be totally biased sometimes and make bad decisions while trying to resolve some cases. The story and the pacing are both good, the main story never gets stucked so you are always clinging to the next thing that is going to happen, meanwhile the character stories and secondarie things keep moving.

The gameplay is very handheld but that doesnt make it bad, every trial feels sick and comes with an amazing soundtrack. All the atmosphere the game has with the gameplay and the art makes it something hard to forget.

It's a good game, I cannot in a clear mind recommend this game, but I am not in clear mind, so play it, trust

danganronpa is the worst game i have ever played in my entire life and i LOVE it. its repetitive and dumbs down its content so fuckin much that u really wanna kys. its humour and bits can suck ass and the characters arent even that fleshed out but you just LOVE it. at least a smidge. because its just so loveable. the art style and general stylistic choices are amazing, it makes you feel the emotions so much somehow and god. it sucks but its amazing and i have 100% it which im proud of.

This game was purchased solely for the purpose of writing this review.

What comes to mind when you hear the name Danganronpa? Is it the cute psychotic bear? Is it the insane yet entertaining executions? Is it the absolute bonkers of a messed up premise? Is it the well-designed and attractive characters? The cringe fanbase? Heck, even staple characters such as Junko Enoshima, Nagito Komaeda, and Kokichi Ouma come to mind for many. Danganronpa is a game with countless points of attraction that brings people to the game, appealing to a large mass of players. Not only is it widely loved, but the story, art, animation, characters, and sound are all some of the best I've ever seen in any media, with the emotions I've felt throughout this franchise unlike any other. This is the strange but endearing world of Danganronpa.

At first, the sound of a killing game is messed up and dark. However, Danganronpa, while obviously portraying it in a dark light, has a somewhat upbeat atmosphere. The environment is pleasant yet uncomfortable, populous yet lonely, and spacious yet claustrophobic. The premise is genuinely some of the most unique things you'd see out there; you kill someone and you leave, but if you get caught then you get executed. There are so many potentials and pathways possible, and Danganronpa makes full use of these and doesn't disappoint in the slightest.

The story is genius and brilliant; it never felt too fast or slow and everything fit into place. There is so much foreshadowing from the VERY START, and the amount of plot twists per chapter building up to something bigger is insane. Chapter 6 was one of the most jaw dropping experiences I've ever had in a media. Although leaving a lot of room for continuity and expanding the world which we see in SDR2 and UDG, it wraps up the story in a nice bow and leaves things satisfying and conclusive; you could play this standalone if you wanted to without touching the sequels, although I don't recommend this. The little unsettling hints and build ups always keep you on your toes and the plot twists aren't just for shock value; they serve a purpose and are important to the plot and the characters and are the best type of plot twists: the ones that make you say "why didn't I think of that earlier?". The game is divided into 6 different chapters plus the prologue, each chapter having a murder, a trial, and execution, plus some storyline in between, exploring and trying to figure out the secret behind the school. Every chapter unlocks more things and more areas so things never get old and even though you go through a trial 6 times, it never gets old and each trial brings something new and memorable. Even after beating the game, you have different stories and minigames to play, having so much content packed in here.

The atmosphere is another part I wanted to discuss; it was perfect. Like said before, it was the perfect amount of unsettling; not too much that I was scared and couldn't trust anyone, but not too relaxed that I'm not on edge at all. When I did feel like things were getting a little too "happy" or "comfortable", boom, someone's dead, someone's executed and I'm traumatised for life, more on this later. Everything, from the artstyle of the characters, the layout and details of the school, the little details and easter eggs, and obviously the cutscenes of the dead people perfectly add to the atmosphere of the game, making it unsettling yet endearing at the same time. The atmosphere is one of the main selling points of the game; unsettling enough so you know something's wrong, but comfortable enough for you to not expect bad things.

The art and music are incredible; character designs are ICONIC, Junko was one of the most cosplayed characters in existence. It's insane how 15(6) different students with different interests and abilities all have iconic and creative designs that can tell so much about them at one look. By looking at, let's say Kyoko, you can see she's off-standish and distant, and maybe hiding a side to her. Kiyotaka looks like an uptight and law-abiding citizen. And these are just from looking at their sprites, you don't need a word of dialogue to know what they're like. The CGs are clean and effective, the backgrounds are very well put together and detailed, I have zero complaints. The music is amazing and memorable, Box 15 is one of my favourite video game soundtracks ever. Oh my goodness, did I mention the execution music?! A highlight is the third chapter, the violins and the buildup blew me away. The game is perfect in this department, I would change nothing.

Finally, the characters. The selling point of Danganronpa. Look, I have played all of the games, the spinoff games, watched the anime, read some of the novels, etc. but no character has come close to Kyoko yet (except maybe Chiaki). I could write a whole paragraph on how Kyoko is the best thing ever but all I need to say is, every character is well written. They have goals, aspirations, flaws, strengths, development, backstories, all of that. Each character is so interestingly thought out and unique, I fell in love with them. Makoto is a very strong protagonist and tackling the role of the Ultimate Luck is very interesting too. My only complaints would be the use of the characters of Kiyotaka and Hifumi, they had a lot more potential and I was interested to learn more about them. Either way, I love every character in their own way and they're what brings popularity to the series; the characters all have diverse and colourful personalities that make it hard to hate any of them.

Danganronpa won't inspire you to go do something, it won't change your life to let you be a better person, but it will give hours of entertainment, thrill, and interest. It is not a simple game, it is a whole experience. I genuinely don't believe any game can come close to the hours of investment and emotion I had from this series, and I hope it stays that way because this series holds a very special place in my heart. I mean, the game has a large cult following for a reason. The question I have had heard many times though, is how does the plot of a killing game not get old after a few chapters, let alone 3 whole games? The simple answer is, well, that's for you to find out.

Thank you for reading.

Even though the game is just mostly left clicking your mouse, there is some places where gameplay is possible but even then the story and dialogue from the characters carries the experience immensly for me. Immensly is an understatement for how much I adore the characters in this game and the writing this game brings. The secrets of the story are also wonderful to discover. Don't expect to be playing much because what you should expect instead is a fantastic story with characters that are unique from one another. My only complaint is you can only play the main story because of the mystery of how this game goes but I guess the silver lining is the side mode within it.

watched gameplays of every single game in the franchise,,, lowkey sm more fun playing than watching 🙏🙏 peak...

This has been an absolute favorite of mine for years. The gameplay, plot, and art style are all extremely memorable and clearly have a lot of effort put into them. The characters themselves are also very well written and are very easy to get attached to.

never realized how many important pieces of evidence was missing in the anime before i started playing . chapter 1 is very different than how the anime showed the murder .

im going to sink so many hours into this trying to 100% it . kill me , dear god .