"Please, regardless of who ends up getting killed, don't send me hate mail" - Kazutaka Kodaka and Shohei Sakakibara on Danganronpa 2x2
During Anime Expo, we once again had the chance to sit down with Spike Chunsoft to talk about some of their upcoming releases; this year, as it so happened, coincided with a new set of info released for Danganronpa 2x2, and as such we had the chance to speak with the series' creator Kazutaka Kodaka, as well as producer at Spike Chunsoft Shohei Sakakibara. We had the opportunity to discuss what's new with the remake, what is unique to the additional scenario, and more.
[Editor's Note: This interview was conducted the day after Spike Chunsoft's Anime Expo panel]
RPG Site: Yesterday, you had your panel where you discussed Danganronpa 2x2 - it seems like the reception was very positive. How do you feel about coming back to Anime Expo to showcase a new Danganronpa title, and how do you feel about the fans' response so far?
Shohei Sakakibara: We announced the release timing of Early 2027 during the panel, and we really appreciate that the fans reacted quite positively - we felt really welcomed.
Kazutaka Kodaka: Like, man, look at all those fans!
Shohei Sakakibara: We announced the release timing of Early 2027 during the panel, and we really appreciate that the fans reacted quite positively - we felt really welcomed.
Kazutaka Kodaka: Like, man, look at all those fans!
RPG Site: Latching onto that, from a personal standpoint it feels like Danganronpa has a status and a history with Anime Expo as a whole - as a consistently popular IP. How does you feel about that?
Kodaka: I came to AX for the first time twelve years ago. Back then, Danganronpa was a super niche title, but by the time V3 had released 10 years ago there were so many more people who knew about and appreciated the series. I strongly believe it was the word of mouth from the fans that spread the word to new players; I appreciate those fans.
Kodaka: I came to AX for the first time twelve years ago. Back then, Danganronpa was a super niche title, but by the time V3 had released 10 years ago there were so many more people who knew about and appreciated the series. I strongly believe it was the word of mouth from the fans that spread the word to new players; I appreciate those fans.
RPG Site: Yesterday at the panel, you finally revealed some information about the second scenario included in 2x2. Can you share some insights into how it ended up longer than the original scenario?
Kodaka: Starting with the very first Danganronpa, as we continued the series the scenario for each game continued to get longer. For 2x2, we kept writing and writing - and before we knew it, suddenly it was super long. The other thing is, all the cases and culprits are different from the original. So as we wrote the scenario, fitting it all in place just took longer.
Kodaka: Starting with the very first Danganronpa, as we continued the series the scenario for each game continued to get longer. For 2x2, we kept writing and writing - and before we knew it, suddenly it was super long. The other thing is, all the cases and culprits are different from the original. So as we wrote the scenario, fitting it all in place just took longer.
RPG Site: As revealed at the panel, the team considers the Slayhem scenario to be the main focus of the project. Was there ever a point during development where it was ever considered just releasing the new scenario, rather than the original and the new scenario in one package? How did the logistics of that come about?
Sakakibara: It was decided from the very beginning - from the planning stage - that there was going to be the better, revamped version of the original mode, and then on top of that have a different mode where everything was changed. Those were part of the talks, even way back then.
Sakakibara: It was decided from the very beginning - from the planning stage - that there was going to be the better, revamped version of the original mode, and then on top of that have a different mode where everything was changed. Those were part of the talks, even way back then.
RPG Site: One thing that's left unsaid, but makes a lot of sense when you think about it, is that a ton of Danganronpa character's popularity comes from what happens to them in the story. Do you think there will be some characters who were less popular in the original Danganronpa 2 that will find more popularity due to the events of the Slayhem scenario?
Kodaka: I want to make one thing clear; it doesn't matter if a character is popular or not, I will kill them off anyway. But, it's pretty natural that in the Slayhem mode, since the cases are going to be different, the events will be different, aspects of the characters that weren't seen in the original game might be more evident in Slayhem. All that to say - please, regardless of who ends up getting killed, don't send me hate mail.
Kodaka: I want to make one thing clear; it doesn't matter if a character is popular or not, I will kill them off anyway. But, it's pretty natural that in the Slayhem mode, since the cases are going to be different, the events will be different, aspects of the characters that weren't seen in the original game might be more evident in Slayhem. All that to say - please, regardless of who ends up getting killed, don't send me hate mail.
RPG Site: The word "Slayhem", which I suppose is a word the localization team has now coined, brings to mind at least a few ideas of things that might happen in the new scenario. Without spoiling anything, I know things will be tight-lipped heading up to launch - can you give a broad feeling for what this new scenario's meant to bring to the table, in comparison to the original? [Editor's Note: Spike Chunsoft asked Kodaka-san about the vibes for the new scenario, but wanted to stress that the specific title of the scenario differs between the Japanese and Global versions of the game.]
Kodaka: We can't say too much about it, but in terms of "tricks" in the new cases - it's become more difficult. It is a brand new story, so there are a few things here and there that have been added; so please look forward to future announcements.
Kodaka: We can't say too much about it, but in terms of "tricks" in the new cases - it's become more difficult. It is a brand new story, so there are a few things here and there that have been added; so please look forward to future announcements.
RPG Site: It appears that there have been a few system level changes to Danganronpa 2 that apply to both the original game and the new scenario, including the world map being entirely different - it's now an isometric 3D perspective. What were some of the considerations when it came to what parts of the original Danganronpa 2 that the team wanted to change for both scenarios, rather than aspects that they wanted to only explore with the new scenario?
Sakakibara: Back in the original, in the PSP days, because of the hardware spec things like travelling around the Island it had to be presented as the sidescrolling perspective, and it was really hard to determine where you were. Now that we're working with much stronger hardware, we wanted to have a better presentation that would make sense to the players as well as being visually appealing.
Sakakibara: Back in the original, in the PSP days, because of the hardware spec things like travelling around the Island it had to be presented as the sidescrolling perspective, and it was really hard to determine where you were. Now that we're working with much stronger hardware, we wanted to have a better presentation that would make sense to the players as well as being visually appealing.
RPG Site: Danganronpa 2x2's new scenario is the first Danganronpa scenario where Kodaka wasn't the main writer on the project. How exactly has that worked out in practice, and what sort of challenges - or benefits - have their been from working with a team?
Kodaka: The 2x2 Scenario Writer, Yoichiro Koizumi, he's been with the series for a while - working on the Danganronpa 3 anime series, Ultra Despair Girls, and V3. So I had no worries about having him depict the characters in 2x2. Likewise for the "tricks", there's another gentleman, Takekuni Kitayama, who's also been working on the series for a while and is working on the tricks for 2x2. So I didn't think there was anything to worry about.
Kodaka: The 2x2 Scenario Writer, Yoichiro Koizumi, he's been with the series for a while - working on the Danganronpa 3 anime series, Ultra Despair Girls, and V3. So I had no worries about having him depict the characters in 2x2. Likewise for the "tricks", there's another gentleman, Takekuni Kitayama, who's also been working on the series for a while and is working on the tricks for 2x2. So I didn't think there was anything to worry about.
Thanks again to Spike Chunsoft and both Kazutaka Kodaka and Shohei Sakakibara for facilitating this interview! Danganronpa 2x2 launches early next year for Switch 2, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store). Stay tuned for our impressions in the months ahead.