Top 10 Danganronpa Twists

It’s been a while since I’ve dipped my toes in the Danganronpa waters, and what better topic to talk about than one of the series staples – the twists.

More often than not, the Danganronpa twists really wowed me – I’ll be ranking my ten personal favourites from the main trilogy. Massive SPOILERS ahead (duh).

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

10 – Rantaro Dies First (3-1)

When V3 was setting up its characters and plot beats, it all felt vaguely familiar. One of the tropes they reused was the amnesiac character – Rantaro was V3’s unknown ultimate, and I was intrigued.

What I wasn’t expecting, therefore, was the most mysterious character to die first. I would rank it higher, but the writers already pulled off this trick in the previous game.

9 – The Double Murder (1-3)

I had played all of the Ace Attorney franchise before going into Danganronpa, and a lot of the case beats felt similar – there’s a murder, and you have to find the contradictions in testimony to best the culprit.

It came as a massive shock, therefore, when two people turned up dead in quick succession. The following games in the series tried too hard to brute-force the double-body tradition, but the original is still best.

8 – Gundham Is The Killer (2-4)

In possibly the most last-minute culprit reveal in the series, we find out that Gundham is Nekomaru’s killer at quite literally the eleventh hour.

I never had him as a suspect for a second, so when you catch him in a random contradiction it came as a huge surprise.

7 – Byakuya Dies First (2-1)

I was a little sceptical going into Danganronpa 2, and I was annoyed that the previous game’s ending had been seemingly ignored. I was delighted, therefore, when my favourite character – Byakuya – made a return.

I was considerably less delighted when he bit the dust first. He had so much potential as a mysterious character, so I thought he was safe – so that’s exactly how the writers knew his death would be such a twist.

6 – It Was A Suicide (1-4)

Maybe you immediately knew that Sakura must have killed herself, but I was none the wiser at first.

The writers do a great job of balancing the potential suspects, and the locked room mystery is a detective staple. One of the best cases from the first game, and one of its best twists too.

5 – Gonta Is The Killer (3-4)

Much like with Gundham, I never suspected Gonta as Miu’s killer. But even after the reveal, I still didn’t believe it to be true.

This was one of those great twists where it’s utterly obvious in hindsight, but I never even thought to consider Gonta as a possible suspect.

4 – Kaede Is The Killer (3-1)

Even though it was later revealed that Kaede never did the deed at all, that initial trial in V3 is legendary for its plot twist.

I kid you not when I say I picked every other option before reluctantly choosing Kaede as the culprit – part of me didn’t believe it, while the other part didn’t want it to be true.

3 – Hajime Is Izuru (2-6)

You hear murmurings of Izuru across Goodbye Despair, and the final trial hints that he was an important figure in Hope’s Peak Academy’s history, so I was floored when it was revealed to be none other than the protagonist.

The news affected Hajime just as much as it did me, and I sat in stunned silence whilst processing the information and the further implications.

2 – Chiaki Is The Killer (2-5)

The best culprit reveal in the series, I’d be amazed if anyone knew Chiaki was the culprit before the game outright says it.

The twists and turns of 2-5 are written to perfection, so much so that I never suspected her until it was too late.

1 – Junko Is The Mastermind (1-6)

Maybe I was being dumb, or maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the little details, but the reveal that Junko was the mastermind all along was one of the most surprising twists I’ve ever experienced.

In hindsight, there was so much excellent foreshadowing and teasing in the lead-up to the final trial, and when Junko revealed herself she didn’t disappoint in the slightest. This was one of those gaming moments I’ll remember fondly forever.

Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: