Save Big On Danganronpa With Spike Chunsoft's Switch eShop Sale

Ats grand so it is

I already have all of the Danganronpa games on both Switch and PS4, super recommended. Also absolutely check out the AI: The Somnium Files games if you haven't.

Personally I'm wondering about picking up one of Steins;Gate 0, My Darling's Embrace, and Chaos;Head but not sure which. Former I already have / played on the PS4 but handheld would be convenient for it, latter two are respectively the only Steins;Gate game I don't have and the only core Science Adventure game I don't have. Only really want to get one of the three since saving money for Separate Ways, a convention, and Spider-Man, but not sure which to prioritize.

Already have them on PS4 and Switch. The big question is if they are ever going to release the Zero Escape series on Switch; the more people playing that the better.

@Lizuka i wouldn't get Chaos;Head on switch personally. The localization is pretty poor. I got it on Steam with a fan patch that fixes a lot of the problems as well as added some cut content from the original release.

For someone thats never played a visual novel but is interested in the genre any recommendations from this list? Anything dark and gritty as opposed to cutesy. Been wanting to try famicom detective. Will it ever go on sale? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

For anyone looking for recs in the comment section, my personal favorite would be the Danganronpa trilogy (not S), the Steins;Gate games, Robotics;Notes Elite and Chaos;Child. AI: The Somnium Files was pretty good too although I didn't enjoy it as much as the others.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Of this list, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc would be a great place to start. It's a killing game so certainly dark, though doesn't really tend to be bleak exactly since it kind of plays a lot of it for dark comedy, it has multiple sequels so if you get a feel for it it's easy to turn right around into another (though be warned each sequel does spoil the earlier games, so start with THH as it's the first one), it doesn't take a super long time to beat, and it's a good starter VN because it has a lot of side content and isn't strictly just reading and has actual gameplay interspersed in-between.

AI: The Somnium Files has a lot of the same appeal, and benefits from the entire thing being voice-acted (other than some unessential internal monologue bits), but I'd go with Danganronpa over it since the first AITSF can often be rather obtuse with figuring out what to do next. The sequel's better about that but I wouldn't play the sequel first since again, it'll spoil things, even with the spoiler toggle it has.

Would definitely not start at Steins;Gate. It's fantastic but it's pretty much entirely reading with no gameplay in between, it's kind of in the deep end of the genre so not really the most beginner-friendly.

After I had a mental breakdown due to the sexualised nature of these games, I quit the series during the middle of the second game. I’ll never play these games again. Period.

@MS7000 I find it utterly baffling Zero Escape hasn't wound up on Switch yet. They put them on Xbox and can't imagine it has anywhere near as much of a market for them as the Switch would.

Was Made in Abyss any good? I know the anime is excellent. What about the game?

@Kidfunkadelic83 I agree with Lizuka. For a first visual novel with a darker tone Danganronpa is a good place to start although I'd argue that only the first and third games are truly dark. Unlike your more kinetic visual novels, Danganronpa has actual gameplay. Games like Steins;Gate is 99% reading with the occasional prompt that decides which ending you get. That said, if you are fine that, Steins;Gate is a must play along with Steins;Gate 0, both are dark and gritty (you can skip My Darling's Embrace if you don't want cutesy).

@Lizuka appreciate the in depth reply. Going to download it when i get home. At that price i cant really go wrong. Thanks buddy 👍

@AnnoyingFrenzy Feel like I should add onto this to note that someone should absolutely not play Steins;Gate 0 first.

For anyone who doesn't know, contrary to the name it is not a prequel, it is a midquel set VERY late in Steins;Gate that spoils it literally from the second it starts. Even knowing the premise kind of spoils it.

@Lizuka That is very true. Do not play Steins;Gate 0 first, do not play Chaos;Child before Chaos;Head, do not play Robotics;Notes DaSH before Robotics;Notes Elite (although personally I would say don't play DaSH at all). Funnily enough, MDE is also a midquel to Steins;Gate and shouldn't be played first, albeit a very non-canon one.

Get the somnium file if you haven't, it's amazing!

And of course Danganronpa, it's as great as everyone says it is! 😂😁

I'm not really into VNs but these are so cheap and Danganronpa is so highly regarded that I might get one anyway.

I've wanted to play AI: The Somnium Files for ages so I'd love to indulge in this sale, but it's not on the eShop here in Europe? The weirdest thing is that Nirvana Initiative (the sequel) is available here and yet the original isn't for some ungodly reason 😞

@Fizza Not got my Switch in front of me but it's on the UK site? - https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-games/AI-THE-SOMNIUM-FILES-1631321.html

@Wool_Sheep Clicked on that link and this was the message I was greeted by:

THE UNIVERSE DOES NOT WANT ME TO PLAY THIS GAME

@JONOFTHEJONS and you had no issues with Oshi no Ko?

Because that one is much more realistic honestly…

Fitness Circuit is quite fine. I use it for shorter evening exercise sessions. There's some inconsistencies here and there, but the exercises are a bit different then what I usually get, seems like they've thrown some dance moves in the mix, and it works quite well. But really 50 EUR for this is asking way too much. With a discount, it's definitely a nice addition if you like to exercise with your Switch.

@Rayquaza2510 I’ve literally only seen the first episode, I never knew it was sexualised?

@Fizza weird, I'm in the Netherlands and have it digitally installed on my Switch. So it should be found easily! Do you have age restrictions or certain triggers filtered?

@JONOFTHEJONS not specifically sexualised, I mean more realistic as the industry it covers is really that scummy.

My point is more, sexualisation in some japanese games is pretty unrealistic and that if why I don’t mind or care about it.

Same with a arm being cut off in a game or anime and the character acting like nothing happened.

Because they are definitely fake.

Meanwhile Oshi no Ko (which is a good anime) covers stuff that actually happen, I can handle that fine but I know people that could not, because what it shows really happens in real life and entertainment business.

@garfreek Nope: I've never set up any Parental Controls/similar age-gating measures and wasn't even aware that the eShop had filters until you just said it there XD

Even then though, it doesn't really explain why I can access the sequel just fine yet the original is completely M.I.A 🤔

Always wanted to get into Danganronpa. I better jump in on this sale. I take it that I should start off with Tigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition?

They still haven't fixed V3. That game has framerate issues, ESPECIALLY in Chapter 6.

@shonenjump86 Yep.

@JONOFTHEJONS Oh, my God, that's disgusting! Sexualized video games? Which ones exactly?

Oh... I would like to buy STEINS;GATE ELITE, though... Linear Bounded Phenogram on Nintendo Switch is still available only in bundle in Japan... And would like to play Danganronpa 2... But, I need to buy UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II [Sys:Celes] and Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion, so... I don't have enough money to buy all these games, sadly.

@NorthwestEagle Hmm, yes, agreed. I was hoping for something lighthearted.

80% of discount on AI nirvana initiative comes down to 26 pounds? That must be a mistake right?

Dang, those Danganronpa prices are crazy! Too bad I already played them all on Vita. Fantastic games.

Maybe it’s time for me to finally buy the second Somnium Files game. Or maybe one of the Science Adventure games. Hmmm.

@AnnoyingFrenzy So I’ve only played Steins;Gate and S;G Zero. I love Steins;Gate and I think Zero is fine. Are the Chaos; and Robotics; games worth my time?

Same old same old. Zzzz

Can these dicks out there learn to pull a sale at the start of the *****' month?

Edit: Also, Spike Chunsoft? Bring the damn nonary games over!

@imgrowinglegs This is a fairly difficult question to answer as Steins;Gate is a bit of an outlier in the series. Its the only game in the series that doesn't rely on concepts from previous entries to get the full story. For example, while I would say if you liked Steins;Gate you would like Robotics;Notes, that game relies on concepts from Chaos;Head to fully understand whats going on and thus I would recommend playing Chaos;Head first. But Chaos;Head is wildly different from Steins;Gate and I can't safely say you'd enjoy it just from liking S;G

Chaos;Head NoAH is MUCH darker than S;G and is way heavier on the science aspect of the series while also being much less grounded in reality (the game is about making your delusions exist in reality after all). There is a strong chance you will hate the main character for most of the story, maybe the whole game. He is written to be a pathetic degenerate that can't do anything for himself, which I personally found annoying and he doesn't get real character development until the end. I also mentioned this in another comment, but the localization for Chaos;Head is pretty poor and I recommend getting this game on PC and installing a fanpatch made by Committee of Zero to get the full experience of the title. While you can read the other games in series without reading Chaos;Head, I would pretty much consider it required reading for most of the series to get the full experience. The main "gameplay mechanic" of Chaos;Head are delusion triggers, where periodically the MC will be able to play a usually humorous or disturbing scene in his head (or are they just in his head). Chaos;Head NoAH is around 50 hours long and has 9 routes. Unlike in S;G where you could get every ending as you played, you need to read the previous 8 to get to the true ending and can't get any of the other routes before completing the first one. I recommend using a guide to find all the endings, getting them requires choosing specific delusions throughout the game.

Robotics;Notes Elite is lighter in tone than Steins;Gate and its protagonist is more of a normal dude, albeit it a lazy and snarky one. Like Chaos;Head it also leans very hard into the science aspect of the series, this time its about robots and AR (augmented reality). I personally thought the story moved a little slow as the conspiracy stuff doesn't really come up to the forefront of the story until over halfway through but the character writing is some of the best in the series. There are also abundant references to events from Chaos;Head as well as parts in story that allude to the science concepts established in that game without explaining them, youre expected to just know which is why I recommend reading C;H first, but it is still readable without. If you liked Steins;Gate you'd most likely like Robotics;Notes. You WILL need a guide though. Unlike in S;G and C;H there are no true character routes. R;N is a linear story, they just took the middle chapters of the story and let you read them in any order. They way you access these is a tad obtuse. In S;G you responded to people in e-mails throughout the game and in R;N you respond to people on Twitter. How you respond to people determines which chapter you get to read next, so you might read Chapter 8 before your read Chapter 6. Those middle chapters are largely self-contained so its not too much of a problem, but they do occasionally make a reference to something that happened and you would have no idea.

Man, you never realise how long your comment is until it posts. I was debating adding a paragraph for Chaos;Child and Robotics;Notes DaSH as well lol. Sorry for the Wall of Text!

@Fizza The original AITSF is much more violent than the sequel so that might be why.

@AnnoyingFrenzy Don’t be sorry, haha. Thank you for the very thorough response.

@Fizza hmmm, that's strange! Maybe contact Nintendo themselves about this?

@Lizuka Personally, I'm waiting for Steins;Gate 0 Elite. Now since MAGES has finally wrapped up Anonymous;Code, that should be what they release next.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Island is the best thing ever created by humans, in my opinion. Goes pretty dark at times though. Use a route guide though!

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/island-switch/

@JustMonika i will take a look. I did download Trigger happy havok at that price. Yet to start it tho.