Introduction
Dangan what?
Dangan Ronpa (or its slightly longer full name, Dangan Ronpa: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair) is a game for the PSP published in Japan by Spike on November 25, 2010. The publisher calls it a "High-speed Mystery Action Adventure". In reality it's mostly a Japanese-style adventure game, but there's some shooting in it. And a little rhythm game. Because of the platform and some of the subject matter, I doubt it will ever be localized for the west. But since it's one of my favorite games of 2010, I thought it's a shame people can't see it.
There is a general discussion thread about the game and its sequel in Games. Spoilers are allowed there, so be careful.
So what is it about?
I guess the best way to describe it is Phoenix Wright meets Battle Royale starring a masochistic teddy bear with Doraemon's voice.
Sounds good. What about the LP?
Obviously, I will be translating the game.
This is a hybrid LP, though most of the time there will only be screenshots. Videos come in in two places: there are some cut scenes that can't be done justice with screen shots (there's one in the very first update!), and some of the action parts will get short videos to supplement the screenshots and show what gameplay is actually like. My guess is that it will be more than a month of updates before we even get there.
For the most part, this is a very linear game. If you played the Phoenix Wright games you know the drill - there's exactly one place to click at any given time that will trigger the next story event and advance the game. However, there is one part of gameplay that allows for some choice. It doesn't affect the overall story but it allows players to focus on the characters they like. I will open the decision to a vote once we get to that part.
Normal text is dialogue. Bold text is narration. Italic text is my own additions. The game is ridiculous, knows it, and doesn't really require snarky comments (it sometimes makes these snarky comments itself, in fact). This LP lets the game speak for itself, but adds supplemental information in many places. Information relating to the game itself are marked by the image of Monobear. Information about Japanese culture and translation notes are marked with a small Japanese flag.
About the translation
Neither Japanese nor English are my native language, and as such I am not really in the ideal position to translate a game. That said, I did take some translation theory courses and my main fear is that my English prose just isn't good enough. Feel free to copy-edit in your head.
I don't think super-literal translations are a good thing, and I don't leave Japanese words in just to sound exotic. I don't mind rephrasing passages when it makes the thing sound better. This game is steeped deep in Japanese culture, however, and this isn't a localization (which means I'm keeping the honorifics, and you can't talk me out of it). Don't fear, though - there will be plenty of translation and cultural explanations.
Attention new readers
I am currently in the process of editing the first half of the LP, fixing some translation problems and making the text flow better. I'm doing this gradually, so you may notice some small inconsistencies in style as you reach parts I haven't retouched yet.
Fan art policy
If you want to create something yourself, go ahead! I'm always happy to see original fan art from people who were introduced to the game by this thread.
However, because of several prior incidents, if you found some art or video on the internet and you want to post it, confirm with me first. You can PM me or send an email to hopespeakacademy@gmail.com. Fan art often contains spoilers, sometimes subtle. In addition, I may be sitting on some art waiting for the appropriate moment in the story to post it myself.
slowbeef posted:
This is mod approved, so you will be punished for posting spoilerful fan art
A note for people who are not color blind
Because of the intricacies of the Japanese game rating system, blood in this game is colored pink. Rest assured, though, it is human blood you will be looking at, and it doesn't mean our characters are secretly aliens or elves. If this bothers you too much, I suggest either reading this LP wearing red-tinted glasses or going on a nightlong photoshop color-correction frenzy.
Table of Contents
Prologue
- Super High-school Level Update #1
- Super High-school Level Update #2
- Super High-school Level Update #3A
- Super High-school Level Update #3B
- Super High-school Level Update #3C
- Super High-school Level Update #4
- Super High-school Level Update #5
Chapter One - (Ab)normal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #6
- Super High-school Level Update #7
- Super High-school Level Update #8
- Super High-school Level Update #9
- Super High-school Level Update #10
- Super High-school Level Update #11
- Super High-school Level Update #12
- Super High-school Level Update #13
Chapter One - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #14
- Super High-school Level Update #15
- Super High-school Level Update #16
- Super High-school Level Update #17
- Super High-school Level Update #18
Chapter One - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #19
- Super High-school Level Update #20
- Super High-school Level Update #21
- Super High-school Level Update #22.1
- Super High-school Level Update #22.2
- Chapter 1 Extra Study Material
Chapter Two - (Ab)normal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #23
- Super High-school Level Update #24
- Super High-school Level Update #25
- Super High-school Level Update #26
- Super High-school Level Update #27
- Super High-school Level Update #28
- Super High-school Level Update #29
- Super High-school Level Update #30
- Super High-school Level Update #31
Chapter Two - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #32
- Super High-school Level Update #33
- Super High-school Level Update #34
- Super High-school Level Update #35
- Super High-school Level Update #36
- Super High-school Level Update #37
Chapter Two - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #38
- Super High-school Level Update #39
- Super High-school Level Update #40
- Super High-school Level Update #41
- Super High-school Level Update #42
- Super High-school Level Update #43
- Super High-school Level Update #44
- Chapter 2 Extra Study Material (1)
- Chapter 2 Extra Study Material (2)
Chapter Three - (Ab)normal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #45
- Super High-school Level Update #46
- Super High-school Level Update #47
- Super High-school Level Update #48
- Super High-school Level Update #49
- Super High-school Level Update #50
- Super High-school Level Update #51
- Super High-school Level Update #51 Addendum
- Super High-school Level Update #52
- Super High-school Level Update #53
- Super High-school Level Update #54
- Super High-school Level Update #55
- Super High-school Level Update #56
- Super High-school Level Update #57
- Super High-school Level Update #58
Chapter Three - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #59
- Super High-school Level Update #60
- Super High-school Level Update #61
- Super High-school Level Update #62
- Super High-school Level Update #63
Chapter Three - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #64
- Super High-school Level Update #65
- Super High-school Level Update #66
- Super High-school Level Update #67
- Super High-school Level Update #68
- Super High-school Level Update #69
- Chapter 3 Extra Study Material (1)
- Chapter 3 Extra Study Material (2)
- Chapter 3 Extra Study Material (3)
Chapter Four - (Ab)normal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #70
- Super High-school Level Update #71
- Super High-school Level Update #72
- Super High-school Level Update #73
- Super High-school Level Update #74
- Super High-school Level Update #75
- Super High-school Level Update #76
- Super High-school Level Update #77
- Super High-school Level Update #78
- Super High-school Level Update #79
- Super High-school Level Update #80
- Super High-school Level Update #81
Chapter Four - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #82
- Super High-school Level Update #83
- Super High-school Level Update #84
- Super High-school Level Update #85
Chapter Four - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #86
- Super High-school Level Update #87
- Super High-school Level Update #88
- Super High-school Level Update #89
- Super High-school Level Update #90
- Super High-school Level Update #91
- Super High-school Level Update #92
- Chapter 4 Extra Study Material
Chapter Five - (Ab)normal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #93
- Super High-school Level Update #94
- Super High-school Level Update #95
- Super High-school Level Update #96
- Super High-school Level Update #97A
- Super High-school Level Update #97B
- Super High-school Level Update #98
- Super High-school Level Update #99
Chapter Five - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #100
- Super High-school Level Update #101
- Super High-school Level Update #102
- Super High-school Level Update #103
- Super High-school Level Update #104
- Super High-school Level Update #105
Chapter Five - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #106
- Super High-school Level Update #107
- Super High-school Level Update #108
- Super High-school Level Update #109
- Super High-school Level Update #110
- Super High-school Level Update #111
- Super High-school Level Update #112
Chapter Six - Abnormal Days Part
- Super High-school Level Update #113
- Super High-school Level Update #114.1
- Super High-school Level Update #114.2
- Super High-school Level Update #115
- Super High-school Level Update #116
- Super High-school Level Update #117
- Super High-school Level Update #118
- Super High-school Level Update #119.1
- Super High-school Level Update #119.2
Chapter Six - School Trial
- Super High-school Level Update #120
- Super High-school Level Update #121
- Super High-school Level Update #122
- Super High-school Level Update #123
- Super High-school Level Update #124
- Super High-school Level Update #125
- Super High-school Level Update #126
- Super High-school Level Update #127