Danganronpa 1•2 Reload (PS4) Review

Now on the big screen.

It is no secret that I adore the Danganronpa series.

In fact, I have reviewed all three entries in the franchise, and have since played through both titles featured in this collection multiple times for various reasons. With each full playthrough, my appreciation for the series has only grown, and today, it stands as one my favorite visual novel franchises of all time. So while I welcome the chance to experience it once more, given that there is no new content or improvements over the originals on the Vita, I will refrain from delving into details about the story or gameplay content. Instead, I will simply refer the reader to my earlier reviews.

Click on the title of the game you want to read the review for!

MSRP: $39.99
Platform: PS4
Voice Acting: JPN/ENG
Played: 10~ hours
Length: 25~ hours for each game

Visually speaking, the transition from the handheld to the big screen is mostly a success thanks to the distinct art style of Rui Komatsuzaki, which features ample use of bold black lines to accentuate the unique features of each character.

I’m not entirely sure if there were new assets used or if they’re blown up to a much higher resolution, but the character portraits looked sharp and colorful. While not quite as nice as it was on the beautiful OLED screen of the original Vita, it’s still quite the treat for the eyes.

(The Vita is great, fight me nerds.)

The actual character sprites that stand in place waiting to be interacted with or the one featuring Hajime running around in Danganronpa 2 does not fare nearly as well, with visibly rough edges. Also, the various FMVs littered throughout both of the games are still in low resolution and stick out amongst the other more refined visuals.

The character sprites are rough around the edges but it’s worth noting that they didn’t look all that great in the original either.

The 3D exploration areas looked clean, and better than it would have on a PSTV playing the Vita version of the game, but this is certainly not a game anyone would play just for the graphics.

The sampling of the voice work sounded great coming from my 5.1 surround sound system and it was nice not having to wear headphones to play Danganronpa for a a change. It also served to solidify my opinion that the voice acting presented here, whether it be English or Japanese, is quite excellent overall.

As stated before, the actual content remains identical to the original Vita releases so don’t expect to find any new story bits or added voice over work. So if you’re like me and have already played through both titles, there’s really no need to pick this up unless you absolutely feel like you need to play through it again on the big screen. As for the question of, “is this the definitive version of the games?” I would say that depends entirely on whether you prefer to play on a handheld on the go or at home sitting on a couch on the big TV.

They forgot “donut obsessed”.

To the uninitiated to the wild world of Danganronpa, at the bargain price point only $39.99, there is really no excuse for any PS4 owner that isn’t severely adverse to the idea of reading to not pick this up. This collection features some of the most exciting and mind-bending adventures I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and it remains just as it was three years ago, highly recommended.

Fun Tidbit – Also feel free to check out the Phoenix Down series where me and my Samsung having colleague, Drew play through Danganronpa 1 & 2 and discuss the ins and outs of the series.

Phoenix Down Link

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Written by
Jae has been a gamer ever since he got a Nintendo when he was just a child. He has a passion for games and enjoys writing. While he worries about the direction gaming as a medium might be headed, he's too busy playing games to do anything about it.