Danganronpa: Hope's Academy and Despair's Students

[gekiganwing]

After a few months of work, Project Zetsubou has released version 1.0 of its Danganronpa fan translation. They have stated that this patch will only work with the "PSP The Best" edition. Therefore, even if you import a copy of this specific UMD, you will need to have a Playstation Portable with modded firmware in order to get it to work. Be sure to read their Acquiring the Game tutorial.

Danganronpa was first released on the PSP in 2010. It's a murder mystery game which got a CERO D rating (content appropriate for ages 17 and up). In 2012, it had Android and iOS ports. This summer, there will be a televised anime series spinoff. And in the future, both Danganronpa and its sequel will be ported to Playstation Vita. I don't think any company has announced plans to localize any version of this franchise.

[gekiganwing]

According to what I read on ANN, the Danganronpa TV series will be streamed by Funimation in July.

EDIT on July 7 2013: I learned that NISA has licensed the upcoming Playstation Vita edition. This game, slated for release in Japan this fall, includes both of the Danganronpa games on one cartridge, as well as some bonus content. The translation is currently scheduled for 2014.

[akizakura]

So excited for this and Steins;Gate getting announced, not to mention ToX2! It's a great day to be a niche game fan. Now I'm debating whether or not I should watch the DanganRonpa anime or wait. I'd rather the play the source material first...

[papillon]

Last I heard the version they're putting out in English is actually only going to be the first game, but with the enhanced content from the re-release version. If it sells enough they'll follow up with the second one. Still, that's enough reason for me to get around to buying a Vita.

And I would definitely suggest NOT watching the anime first! The game plot is way too long and complicated to fit properly into the anime format, you'll just end up spoiling a lot of the twists without seeing the characterisations that go into it.

[Alexis_Royce]

Last I heard the version they're putting out in English is actually only going to be the first game, but with the enhanced content from the re-release version. If it sells enough they'll follow up with the second one. Still, that's enough reason for me to get around to buying a Vita.

And I would definitely suggest NOT watching the anime first! The game plot is way too long and complicated to fit properly into the anime format, you'll just end up spoiling a lot of the twists without seeing the characterisations that go into it.

Agreed! I imported a copy so I could use the Project Zetsubou patch, and it worked like a dream. I don't read Japanese well enough to compare their localization to the original, but it felt very professional and smooth. I fell in love with the characters, and while some anime-esque stories have a tendency to bash you over the head with their philosophical themes (FRIENDSHIP, GUYS), I was pretty pleased with how well Danganronpa handled their themes of hope and despair. They clearly were more than cool-sounding buzzwords to the writers. I've heard that the sequel is even better than the first, so I'm pretty excited for it. I'll wait to play it, though. While I admire the work they're doing in the Something Awful forums, the gameplay in the trial sections is too much fun to pass up.