Order to play these games

[Unremarkable Rat]

There seems to be a million of them, I'm just wondering if there's some order that's best to play them in or if it doesn't matter.

[Kazuhiro]

Danganronpa 1 (game), The worst day of makoto naegi (light novel), Danganronpa 2 (game), Danganronpa Zero (light novel), Danganronpa AE (game), Danganronpa V3 (game)

And if you want, you can read DR Togami and DR Kirigiri

[Lots Of Blue]

You should play them in release order, but some are more important than others.

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Essential)
  
• Danganronpa/Zero (A light novel. Not required, but recommended. Can also be read after DR2, but preferrably before DR3)
  
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Essential)
  
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (A spinoff. Not as important as the two prior games, but still recommended, especially if you're going to watch Danganronpa 3)
  
• Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School (This one is an anime, concluding the story of all previous installments and ending the Hope's Peak Saga.)
  
• Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Essential. Set in a completely new universe unrelated to the previous entries. Still, don't play this first.)

And then there are a bunch of less important side stories and mangas like Makoto Naegi's Worst Day Ever, Danganronpa Kirigiri, Danganronpa Togami and Danganronpa: Killer Killer. As a general rule of thumb, you can read these if you've played the games that released before them.
The first game also has an anime adaptation. Skip that one.

[SilverByte]

You can just start by playing Danganronpa 1, followed by Danganronpa 2. There are a lot of side games/Stories/novels(like the other guy listed) but the main canon starts there, and the other things are not really things you need to know either way to enjoy the story/game.
Danganronpa V3 is the continuation in games but it doesn't follow the same story anymore.

[RA Ranno]

Just play them by the number. It starts with Trigger happy havoc, and after you finish 2 you can optionally play AE (it takes place between 1 and 2, but has spoilers for 2). There's also anime and novels out there, but game wise it's pretty straight forward, with AE being the only offtrack.

[Myy100]

Originally posted by SilverByte:

You can just start by playing Danganronpa 1, followed by Danganronpa 2. There are a lot of side games/Stories/novels(like the other guy listed) but the main canon starts there, and the other things are not really things you need to know either way to enjoy the story/game.
Danganronpa V3 is the continuation in games but it doesn't follow the same story anymore.

Then why can't you play V3 first?

[Marisa Reset]

Originally posted by Myy100:

Then why can't you play V3 first?

A couple reasons.

- Even though V3 is not directly related to the characters and events from previous games, there are a number of callbacks and plot details which will have more impact to someone who has played them.

- The callbacks give some pretty major spoilers that will ruin some of the twists from earlier games.

[Lucio]

Up

[limerain]

Originally posted by Lucio:

Up

Don't bump the thread. It is resolved.

[SilverByte]

Originally posted by limerain:

Originally posted by Lucio:

Up

Don't bump the thread. It is resolved.

I'm confused - this reply seems like it came almost 2 years after the original bump. Or this might be a great ironic joke that I just missed.

[featherclaw]

This has nothing to do with the question but I met someone online who told me he was a Danganronpa fan, even showing me a Monokuma tshirt to prove it, and he never had even SEEN any of the games, not even as a Let's Play or something. he didn't even knew of the existence of V3. All he's seen was the DR1 Anime. Absolute disgrace.
xD sorry for the rant

Oh yeah also really DO NOT play V3 first, it literally spoils the entire series. Like literally all of it. Same with the Despair Arc anime. Lots Of Blue gave the right order ^^