Danganronpa dev on Switch exclusive content, why the games got ported, more

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls project director Shun Sasaki previously sat down with Famitsu to reflect on the series’ 10th anniversary and the overall Switch package of Danganronpa Decadence. In the interview, Sasaki spoke to why the team decided to port the titles to Nintendo’s console, the exclusive content, and much more.

We’ve put together a full translation of the interview after the jump.

Why did you decide to port the Danganronpa series to the Nintendo Switch?

November 2020 marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of Danganronpa 1. To celebrate, we decided to port it to the Nintendo Switch, so that new and existing fans have an easy way to play the game.

Are there any new elements or features in the Switch ports of the numbered titles?

The added free time events and bonus illustration gallery from the Anniversary Edition, which was released for smartphones, have also been included in the Switch port.

A lot of fans have been hoping for a port of Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls – Is there any chance of that happening?

I think Nintendo Switch’s handheld mode would work well with Ultra Despair Girls, which was a cornerstone of the Vita lineup, but at this stage there’s nothing in the pipeline (laughs). The game deals with sensitive subject matter and we’re not sure if we can release it on Switch. If fans are vocal enough though, it makes it easier to turn it into a reality. If you’d like to see it, please speak out!

Why did you decide to include a new board game mode alongside Danganronpa 3?

We wanted to release something new for the series’ 10 year anniversary and after exploring various options, we thought the best way to celebrate the anniversary would be with an all-star cast of Danganronpa characters. Evolving the board game from V3 seemed like a good idea, which is how we landed on Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp.

How did you decide which characters to include on the boxart?

The package is the trilogy of games and so we wanted to show the faces of the protagonists of each game. Aside from the protagonists, Komatsuzaki-san gave us creative control and we left it in the hands of the series’ character designers.

The box art features a striking portrayal of Hifumi Yamada. Is there a special meaning behind that? Does he play an important role in the game?

Yes, Hifumi Yamada is the mastermind behind everything… Is what I’d like to tell you, but sorry, no. There’s no hidden meaning there, it was just Komatsuzaki-san’s preference (laugh)

Titles in the series are known to have hidden meanings behind them, is there anything like that for Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp?

It’s a special edition [of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony‘s Ultimate Talent Development Plan], so the ‘S’ is for special. There’s more to it than that, but we’ll save that for another time.

What were some of the difficulties you had developing the game?

We wanted to make the game an evolution of all parts of the original Ultimate Talent Development Plan, which was a particular challenge for the graphics team. Originally we went with an all 2D style but gave up on it because we couldn’t surpass the previous game no matter how we tweaked it… After considering other options, using 3D pre-rendered assets allowed us to blend pixel art with the board game and achieve the quality we were hoping for. The designers worked hard to recreate Danganronpa 2’s Jabberwock Island all the way down to the position of the buildings and other objects, so we hope you’ll enjoy that.

Is anyone working on scenarios for free time events?

We asked the writers responsible for V3’s freetime events to create all the events based around a new premise: What if there was a Hope’s Peak High School that didn’t involve killing each other? It may be a parallel universe, but the characters were written in a way that respected the relationships in the original games and kept their relationships intact. There are a lot of new events this time around, as well.

Are there any free time events we should look out for? Do you have any favorites?

The events with Byakuya and The Ultimate Imposter are a must-see, they’re guaranteed to make you laugh. On top of that, the game features a lot of dialogue between characters that goes beyond what was possible in the main series, so be on the lookout for events with your favorite characters!

The whole cast got new swimsuit designs. Are there any characters in particular you’d like fans to pay attention to? Were the new designs difficult?

My choice would be Sonia, who finally broke free from her wetsuit (laughs). Her royal elegance emanates even through a regular swimsuit…

Hifumi’s design was probably the most difficult. Removing his clothing made it a tough balancing act between the cuteness of his original design and his physique. Tweaking that took some time (laughs).

Who came up with the swimsuit designs?

The planners and designers were responsible for the in-game swimsuits. Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp’s key visuals also included swimsuit designs, but they were original designs of Komatsuzaki-san. Chiaki is as pure as ever, Junko’s design might turn a few heads, we hope you enjoy the designs we chose for the swimsuits!

A lot of fans are hoping for a new numbered Danganronpa title, how likely do you think that will become a reality?

I have no comment. (laugh)

Do you have a final message for readers and fans?

Many people have come to love Danganronpa over the last 10 years, and what we’ve built alongside fans has allowed us to release the Nintendo Switch version of the games. The thanks we’ve received from fans alongside the development team’s selfish desire to spend more time playing as the Danganronpa characters allowed us to make Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world once again. Thank you once again for supporting Danganronpa thus far, we hope you’ll continue to in the future as well.

Translation provided by Jarop and Meg G on behalf of Nintendo Everything.

If you use any of this translation, please be sure to source Nintendo Everything and please do not copy its full contents.