We have not only one, but TWO bodies to investigate - plus a lot of strange leads.I've been SO excited to play this - so please - NO SPOILERS in the comments.

Part 70: Chapter 3 Deadly Life, Part 3

First I'd better check the Monokuma File.. 'The victims were Hifumi Yamada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The cause of death for each was a blow to the head. It is thought that they were both killed with a similar weapon.
: ..That's it?
: Yeah, it's pretty strange. We got way less information this time than before.
: That is no problem. After all, the events of this case unfolded before our very eyes. We should know more about what happened than the Monokuma File could, anyway.
: Maybe..
: There's something else that's bothering me.. Someone else has been missing for quite a while..
: Are you talking about Kyoko?
: Without a doubt, she has an alibi for when Celeste and Hifumi were attacked. But what if the killer wasn't acting alone? What if they had..an accomplice?
: An accomplice!?
: An accomplice!?
: ..What are you doing here?
: Don't be rude! I'm here to answer your question!
: What question..?
: You're talking about accomplices, right? I'm pretty sure I explained it before, didn't I? During the first class trial!
: Speaking of which, I'd like to ask the bear..if there *is* an accomplice, do they also become 'blackened'?
: So you ask, and so I shall answer! Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who does the killing will get to graduate.
: So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it..
: Then there's no way anyone would work together, right..?
: So basically..you can be an accomplice if you want, but there's no gratification in it!
: So are you saying nobody worked together this time, either?
: Sorry, can't answer that! it would obstruct the free exchange of information between you guys. I just want to make sure you don't forget--no matter how much you assist in a murder only one blackened can graduate. An accomplice gets NOTHING!
: Then we only need to figure out who that one blackened is that did the killing, right? Just like normal?
: Okay, okay, let me take this opportunity to clarify the whole shebang. In this class trial, what you need to determine is..
: ..the one true blackened who devised the murder plot and put it into action!
The true blackened..? So just one person?
: Now it's down to the final battle between all of you, and the blackened! Good luck to all the contestants! *leaves*
So there can only be one blackened. An accomplice wouldn't benefit..
: Then I can't see any way Kyoko would be connected to this case, after all.
: You may be right..
: If that's true then..Kyoko, where are you?
: As long as she's not connected to the case, it doesn't matter. Let's get back to the investigation.
: I have absolutely no doubt that Hiro is responsible. But for the time being, I suppose it can't hurt to pursue further information.
: You know..don't you think we should consider a certain someone a suspect, just in case? I'm talking about the murderous fiend..Genocide Jack!
: Wha--!? I'm offended!
: Kyah!?
: You.. When did you--?
: I've been looking all over for you, Master! When I woke up, you were nowhere to be found!
: ..
: Anyway! You there, milk sack swimmer girl!
: Milk sack..?
: Why do I gotta be a suspect!?
: Well, I mean..you *are* a serial killer.
: So what, I'm like a special guest suspect every time!? I have an alibi, you know!
: She's right about that.. When we heard Hifumi scream, she was with me. And when the bodies disappeared, she was still lying unconscious in the equipment room. Plus, Taka's body aside, I can't imagine any way she would have been able to move Hifumi's body.
: Besides, I calculate every move I make! I'm not gonna kill someone when everyone knows what I look like!
: They don't call me the murderous fiend for nothing!
: That's not the kind of thing you should be bragging about!
: On another topic, should we post a guard by the bodies like before? We can't have them disappearing again..
: Hina and I can handle that. You don't mind, do you Hina?
: Sure. I'd be totally useless on the investigation anyway..
: Then that's that. Let's begin.
This whole thing is so strange.. All but one of us has an alibi, so figuring out who did it should be obvious, right? But.. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's going to be as straightforward as it seems.
: We can finally start our investigation. The lead-up to the investigation can get a little confusing though with all the running around and disappearing bodies so luckily, Sakura can help us by refreshing our heads on the sequence of events so far. It's a bit long but it does a good job of organizing what we know.
: There are many aspects to the incident this time. *Too* many, to be honest. Considering that, it may be good to look back on everything that's happened. Would you like my help?
> Yes
: Yeah, let's look back on things.
: This morning, only four of us met up at the dining hall--Hina, Kyoko, you, and myself. We waited for the others, but nobody showed up. So we decided to go look for them. It was around 8 o'clock when we began our search.
: And soon after we split up, Kyoko disappeared..
: After that, Hina found Celeste in the

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Chapter 6 Investigation

rec room, on the 3rd floor, then quickly came and got you and me.
: According to Celeste, she was attacked by a suspicious individual and lay unconscious for about an hour. In other words, she was attacked an hour before we found her. Meaning, just after 7 o'clock.
: Based on the picture Celeste took, we discovered her attacker was dressed in a strange costume. It was..Robo Justice. It also became clear that this Robo Justice had dragged Hifumi away.
: After meeting up with Toko and Byakuya, we began searching for the costumed assailant. We found an injured Hifumi in the library, on the 2nd floor. We took him down to the nurse's office, on the 1st floor, then resumed our search. But not long after leaving the nurse's office..
: ..!?
: What's wrong..?
: I saw a shadow! Something moving around at the top of the stairs!
: Based on Celeste's claims, we went back up to the 2nd floor, where we split up and began searching. Then, right after that..
: Celeste screamed. This time she had apparently seen the suspect on the 3rd floor. Hearing her screams, we quickly made our way to the 3rd floor.
: Celeste! What's wrong!?
: That was a rather..intense scream for someone like you.
: I saw him! The strange costumed man..! He ran off as soon as I screamed.. I was blocking the stairs, so he headed further down into the hallway and disappeared..!
: And then..
???: Ungyaaaaaahhh!!!
: Huh!?
: Wh-What was that!?
: That came from downstairs! It must have been..
: Hifumi! He's in the nurse's office! This is bad! Come on, we have to go back!
: At that point, we decided to split up into two groups. Celeste, Hina and I went back to the nurse's office. Meanwhile you, Byakuya, and Toko pursued the suspect up on the 3rd floor. And when we got back to the nurse's office..
: ..we found Hifumi's corpse. Which is also when we heard the body discovery announcement play. I left Celeste and Hina alone and headed back to the 3rd floor to tell the others what had happened.
: But at that same time, we had discovered Taka's body in the equipment room. Which means Hifumi and Taka's bodies were discovered right around the same time. Because I remember hearing the body discovery announcement play right after finding Taka.
: And that's when I showed up and told you and Byakuya that Hifumi had been killed, right? Then you, me, and Byakuya all headed back to the nurse's office leaving behind Toko, who had fainted. But as soon as we left the physics lab we ran into Celeste, who'd just arrived to tell us something very unusual.
: Hifumi's body has disappeared!
: We hurried back to the nurse's office, to discover that his corpse was, in fact, gone.
: Then we remembered we had abandoned the unconscious Toko, and rushed back to the equipment room.
: This can't be happening..
: Are we hallucinating all this or something?
: This time, Taka's body had disappeared. So from there, we began our search for both of the missing bodies. And after some time..
: Celeste told us she'd found the bodies, and we all headed to the repository.
: And there we rediscovered the two bodies that had apparently vanished.
: And that brings us up to now.
: Looking back, things have certainly been very active.. If you want to look back at the case again, just let me know. I'm fine anytime.
: We'll begin the investigation in earnest next time. Sorry if the flashback bars got confusing, there are just so many flashbacks that occur during this scene that it was unavoidable.
Developed by Spike, Spike Chunsoft. Published by NIS America. Released February 11, 2014. Available on PS Vita.

A stuffed bear is alive, and it's trapped fifteen teenagers in an evil high school, where they must murder each other to escape. If one student can murder another and survive both the investigation and trial process - undertaken by the other students - they will be free to leave while the rest of the class is executed. If they're found guilty, the class survives for another day, while the 'Blackened' murderer is fatally punished instead.

This is Dangangonpa and it's as demented as it sounds. A visual novel flavored with a cocktail of energetic gameplay ideas, this series of criminal investigations carries itself with enough confidence and savvy style to draw one successfully into its otherwise ridiculous world.

It's hard not to talk about Trigger Happy Havoc without making mention of Phoenix Wright and Zero Escape, as it has quite rightly been described as a combination of the two. It's a punchy game broken into multiple stages, with an emphasis on story and a lot of time spent reading dialogue. Those who use criticisms like, 'This isn't a game,' liberally will not find much to entertain them here. For everyone else, there's value to be had.

There are lockers inside of the vault, each having cash that can be robbed by pressing 'E'. The vault is past two prison-like doors.

As players take on the role of Makoto Naegi, they wander Hope's Peak Academy and interact with fellow students - each one an exceptional embodiment of a certain laudable trait. These 'Ultimate' students are each clearly defined by their various strengths and overbearing psychological problems, from 'Ultimate Moral Compass' Kiyotaka, to the 'Ultimate Swimming Pro' Aoi Asahina. Most characters are likable, though a number of them fall into annoying and shallow stereotypes, to the point where the idea of them getting murdered doesn't sound so bad. Animal crossing new horizons codes.

Each chapter is split into two rough phases, Daily Life and Deadly Life, signifying the moments before and after a student is murdered. Daily Life mostly consists of free time, in which players talk to one or two fellow students and learn more about them. While this is optional, and can be skipped, spending time with characters awards the player with skills and skill points, which come into play at the end of every chapter. During this time, the game's antagonist - the evil stuffed bear Monokuma - will usually introduce an extra incentive to get the students more willing to kill each other. Not soon after, death happens.

In Deadly Life, a character has been offed by one of the group, and it's down to Makoto to work out who it is. Players will examine the crime scene and take statements from witnessing students, gathering evidence as 'Truth Bullets' for later use. Once players have examined everything of note, gameplay will move into the Class Trial stage, where evidence is presented, students argue among themselves, and the player tries to find lies and contradictions to sniff out the killer.

Class Trials are, themselves, split into several stages with bare hints of gameplay. The most common phase is the 'Endless Debate,' in which characters present their case. As they talk, their dialogue subtitles will show 'weak points,' highlighted pieces of text that can be shot with Truth Bullets. By aiming a target reticule over the weak point and selecting a piece of previously gathered evidence to shoot, you can shatter the character's statements and demonstrate to the class how they screwed up.

It's essentially a memory game and, like Phoenix Wright, sometimes veers into 'guess what the developers were imagining' territory. Sometimes, the use for evidence isn't as conventional as players might think, and even if they used the correct evidence at the correct time, the reason might be wildly different than what the player thought. Even so, these debates are surprisingly tense, and though there's plenty of time, the fast paced presentation provides a taxing amount of perceived pressure.

Hangman's Gambit is another phase, in which players shoot letters to complete a word or phrase (yes, just like Hangman). These stages represent Makoto's attempts to remember a vital piece of evidence, and like Endless Debates, it feels more challenging than it actually is due to some very nice visual and audio design.

By far the best part of the Class Trial is the Bullet Time Battle. At various points in a trial, one character may launch into a tirade of abuse or otherwise attempt to filibuster the player. At this point, players must tap X in time with a rhythm to target words as they appear onscreen, and tap Triangle in order to smash those words and break through the opposition's denial. As battles get more complex, players will also have to contend with reloading their mental ammunition by pressing Square (all on the same rhythm), as well as dealing with enemies that obscure the onscreen tempo counter. You can also temporarily raise the tempo of the fight yourself, making your actions more effective.

These rhythmic combat sequences are a real highlight, and it's a shame they occur so infrequently. They're a lot of fun while they last.

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Guide

While bizarre to experience, much less describe, Class Trials do an impressive job of representing verbal debate and mental wrangling in gameplay terms. It's also a masterclass in how good presentation can make something better than it otherwise could be. At its core, trials are fairly linear processes that don't require much thought and can often be solved through sheer trial and error. The marriage of music, writing, visual style and excellent pacing, however, transcend the mundane framework to provide something utterly enthralling.

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Investigation 3

That said, one cannot forget that this is a visual novel first, and as such, Class Trials are but one relatively small part of the overall adventure. Most of the game consists of being told the story, without much in the way of autonomy. Yes, you get to explore the school from a first person perspective, and yes, you get free time in which you choose your interactions. A vast majority of the experience, however, lies in sitting back, doing what one's told, and just going with the flow.

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Chapter 4 Investigation

Luckily for narrative fans, Danganronpa's plot is an absorbing one, propelled along by affably realized characters and a deliciously ridiculous villain. One great strength of the writing is how, even when the outcome of a case seems predictable, there's always some totally unexpected plot twist. There were times I had a murder completely pegged, yet was still surprised by some fresh revelation that kept things spicy. Trigger Happy Havoc sucked me in more than a lot of recent games have, and it's thanks entirely to the uniquely compelling cast and premise.

All that said, there are some issues with the writing that may cause problems depending on your mileage. One cannot deny a handful of sexist and potentially transphobic moments that, while not ruining things, cast a bit of a shadow over scenes. These are things that did not ultimately wreck the game for me, personally, but they could for others, and as such, it's hard to recommend the game without at least a courtesy caveat.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc has its issues, for sure. The less likable characters gnaw at you like bugs under the skin, and the English voiceovers are hit-and-miss, especially when one character shouts 'Piece of shit' for no reason whenever his dialogue text appears onscreen. Full dialogue sequences, however, are generally solid, and there's always a Japanese option if you want to keep things faithful. Havoc also falls into a common trap of Japanese game design, whereby wordy tutorials never stop appearing. Even hours into the game, some new element is introduced along with a lengthy description of how it works. You can ignore the tutorials, but you'll likely not want to if you wish to understand whatever convoluted new idea just barged in (and should have been there from the start).

This is a great little game that has learned lessons from the most celebrated visual novels and adventure games out there, combining the best of the best to create a thoroughly rewarding murder mystery. It can be a bit too ponderous at times, and some of its investigations are more busy work than detective work, but the strength of the writing carries it forward. In any case, you won't find many more surprising games on your PS Vita this year.

Bottom Line: Often funny, sometimes shocking, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is as convoluted as it is curious. A strange but gripping interactive crime novel, and a thoroughly unforgettable jaunt into lunacy.

Recommendation: Fans of Phoenix Wright and Zero Escape will love it, and even those who aren't normally into visual novels may find a lot to like as well. If you are, however, turned off by what is commonly deemed problematic material, you might want to approach with caution.