About the first killer. BIG SPOILERS OF CHAPTER ONE.

[Konork]

So, yesterday I finished chapter one and it was very dissapointing for me.

I’m familiar with this games series about generating a big plot twist to shock the player, but I think they did it in a very wrong way with the first murder.

Don’t get me wrong, even though I like Kaede, I’m ok with her being the murder and I understand her motives to do that crime. But the thing that completely ruins for me the experience is that SHE IS THE PROTAGONIST, the character I’m controlling. In this games the protagonist have personalities, yes, they are not empty carcass but they are also your avatar and you control the course of their actions and if you decide to not do something, they don’t do it(I’m talking about the progress, the game are almost linear progression). You are also aware of these protagonist’s thouthgs and their emotions, of every internal monologe they have(blue text).

With that explained, I'm supposed to let go of the fact that the writers are telling me that my avatar really did all that murder plotting in front of my, without any thought about it and also carried the investigation until the middle of the trial, without any thought or remorse about killing an innocent person? Is ridiculous.

They deceive the player with actions that I didn’t know my avatar did? Simply giving an ambiguous explanation of those events after they have already happened is not enough. I’m even ok with the idea of the switching protagonist, even the concept of the protagonist you’re controlling diying and passing the baton to other npc that adopt the main role, but not this way. This breaks totally the coherence of the gameplay for me and doesn’t feel ok at all.

Also, the new protagonist. Suichi receibes all the objects and experience you have, even the events you live with other students. Feels very weird and don’t have much sense.

Anyone who played the game have the same opinion or maybe I’m just very picky about this. Didn’t notice this level of “fraud” in the other two games, they are not perfect, but have better writting than this first chapter of Dangaronpa 3.

[Omertoso]

If I remember correctly, Kaede did show remorse, although she talked about it only after the trial. She wanted to tell everyone that she was the killer, but she couldn't because then Monokuma would have let her go and killed everyone else because of the extra rule. Her hands were tied.

Other than that, I agree. I think it would've worked better if you switched between Kaede and Shuichi far earlier into the game, because then the developers could've easily hidden what Kaede did without outright lying to the audience.

[Nibbie]

They said everything you did, and they weren't lying about anything; they just weren't explicit about everything. When you were in the storage room and looked at the shot put balls, it said you picked one up, then "I shoved the things I was holding into my backpack." "As I moved the ladder, I reorganized the books, bit by bit" when she was preparing the trap. When the alarm goes off and you run downstairs, it does a similar "I dropped everything I was holding" for when she drops the ball.

It is a classic example of the "unreliable narrator", a trope/technique that's been used plenty for decades. It should have been clear to you that something was up and Kaede was involved by the time you ride down in the elevator, where she has an otherwise weird conversation with Shuichi, though there are obviously hints before then. I thought the swap was done well, though I do wish it hadn't happened at all and we got a real female protagonist for once.

Lastly, do you really think you hear every thought your character thinks? That would be absurd. "The grass smells nice today." "My arm is kind of stiff." "I have to pee." The only thoughts displayed are the ones the writer wants to serve the narrative; it is no different here, or in any other unreliable narrator story.

[Zemoco101]

Originally posted by Nibbie:

It is a classic example of the "unreliable narrator", a trope/technique that's been used plenty for decades. I.

Because apparently Kaede can somehow hide her own thoughts from people who don't exist in her own universe who happen to be watching her.

[Magic]

I'll admit that I had no idea who was the culprit and that it could be Kaede, especially since keeping information that the player character knows from the player is itself a poor decision in story design.

However, as a murder mystery (And granted "the detective did it" is one of the cardinal sins of the genre) and in a series that strives to keep each case fresh and original ... then I partly respect it. Put yourself in their shoes: what twist hasn't been done yet? This.

So, no, I didn't like how they did it (I agree with some of the above about how they could have made it more feasible like having dual control over Kaede and Shuichi) but I did like how we had no idea who was the culprit when going into the class trial and that it was a shocking reveal. That all wasn't enough to put me off from continuing at least.

In conclusion, it's Danganronpa.