Popular visual novel series Dangandonpa comes to PC this year

By Danny Cowan January 19, 2016

Japanese developer Spike Chunsoft revealed that its acclaimed Danganronpa visual novel franchise is coming to Steam, with the first game in the series making its PC debut in February.

The company additionally confirmed that a PC port of sequel Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is also in the works.

Originally released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc features a story in which players are new students at the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy. Shortly after arriving on campus, all students find themselves trapped and subject to the murderous whims of Monokuma, a remote-controlled teddy bear with a twisted sense of humor.

In order to escape the academy alive, enrollees must successfully murder a fellow student and escape suspicion. After each murder, the remaining students gather to hold a trial to determine the culprit. Caught and convicted culprits are executed, but if the trial comes to an incorrect conclusion, all jurors are killed and the culprit escapes from Hope’s Peak alive.

The Danganronpa games won acclaim for their suspenseful storylines and casts of memorable, quirky characters. Following its success on the PSP, the Danganronpa series was ported to the PlayStation Vita, and a localized version was released in North America and Europe.

Sequel Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair continues Trigger Happy Havoc‘s storyline, and a third entry in the series is currently in development. Last year additionally saw the launch of a Vita-exclusive spinoff game, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls.

Developer Spike Chunsoft plans to port more of its back catalog to Steam after the launch of Danganronpa and its sequel, but hasn’t announced which games are next in line. The developer’s previous work includes 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors, sequel Virtue’s Last Reward, and the Fushigi no Dungeon series of roguelike dungeon crawlers.

Players who pre-order the PC version of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc will receive a bonus digital 16-track soundtrack at launch.

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