Over ten years ago, the first Danganronpa game came out on the PlayStation Portable. Even back then, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was a standout of the visual novel genre, combining detective work and dating sim elements in a way that weirdly gels. The player explores an odd school and even odder classmates while trying to solve an increasingly bizarre series of murders. Add in the lightning-fast pace of culprit-cornering “Class Trials,” and the result is an addictive fusion of gameplay and storytelling.

Fast-forward to 2021 and three of the full-length Danganronpa games are available for the Nintendo Switch. (The third-person shooter Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls continues to be the black sheep of the franchise and isn't part of the collection.) Danganronpa Decadence is what I'd argue is a steal at $60—that's at least 100 hours of gameplay, and more if you're a completionist. If you haven't played them before, now is absolutely the time to give them a try; these well-ported games have retained their intuitive controls through the platform migration. The graphics may not be as crisp as they once felt, but the overall style still looks fresh today. New players might compare these games' investigation/trial setup akin to Phoenix Wright, but with a lot more weirdness, violence, and adult humor. Since the latest of the three was released back in 2017, there's nothing I can say about them that hasn't already been written in dozens of mostly positive reviews acclaiming their in-depth worldbuilding, catchy soundtracks, and instantly cosplayable character designs.

But that's not all the Danganronpa Decadence package comes with: there's also a stand-alone bonus game, set in a quasi-alternate universe that imagines the cast relaxing at a lush tropical resort, minus any murderous intent. Still, this additional game isn't comparable to any of the three full-length murder mysteries, and in fact bears a heavy resemblance to a post-game feature in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. It offers a bit of new content, new gameplay, and new interactions between cast members, but this little something extra hardly feels decadent.

Once I determined that the main trilogy had transferred well to the Nintendo Switch, I spent the majority of my time reviewing the new content: Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp. I spent more than 30 hours playing the new game, and in that time I only completed a fraction of what's available. The game allows you to play as any of 200 different Danganronpa characters, and I've only played as 25. This sounds promising, but most of the gameplay is repetitive, offering the same challenges for each playthrough with a bit of RNG to spice it up.

Combine Mario Party with an 8-bit RPG and you've got Danganronpa S. It's very similar to the Ultimate Talent Development Program and Monokuma's Test minigames that came bundled with Danganronpa V3 (and are, therefore, also part of the Decadence package). Pick a character to guide through the board game portion (“Development Mode”) and level them up by finding talent fragments. When you're finished, teach them skills like “Ice Barrier” and “Assassination” for Battle Mode. There, you build parties to fight enemies that resemble the antagonist mascot Monokuma. (You can literally fight your battles on autopilot with AI mode while you go make dinner or something.) Both sections are visually improved—for example, the Mario Party board takes place over the entire set of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (meaning potential visual spoilers!). But at the same time, they're so similar to the V3 minigame that whenever I had issues figuring out which skill to teach whom or how to beat an especially challenging boss, I simply referred to a strategy guide designed for the V3 minigame… for this new game, which wasn't officially out yet. That doesn't say much about its originality.

Some fans may also have issues with the game's gacha elements and microtransaction capabilities, which is a new feature for the Danganronpa franchise. (It got me thinking about microtransactions I'd enjoy in the original three games, like paying a fee to see my favorite characters escape punishment for their crimes!) At the beginning of the game you can only play as each game's protagonist(s), and you need to roll for cards of different characters to play as by using a vending machine in the “School Store.” You can use real money to buy in-game Monocoins to speed up this process or fight through Battle Mode to earn those coins more slowly. This game is punishingly difficult at first; you're at the mercy of RNG events and it took me 15 hours to begin getting characters to level 99 so I could start making serious progress through Battle Mode. Even though it takes longer, I'd argue that you don't need to engage in microtransactions to play, though it may be tempting at first. But after a while, it's a snowball effect as you unlock features that make the game much easier to play.

As you continue to unlock characters, the real magic happens in the form of hundreds of new interactions between members of the cast. Any time you land on a “Friendship Square” in the board game mode, you'll see an interaction between your player character and one or more others. All of the dialogue is original to this game and most of it is fanservice-heavy. For example, all of the characters are usually shown wearing swimsuits—each one designed specifically for this game. Many of the interactions are shippy, with lightly romantic interactions between Kaede and Shuichi, Makoto and Sayaka, and other pairs from the visual novels. Other matchups were unexpected but just make sense—like gluttons for punishment Miu and Genocide Jack both hoping the haughty Byakuya will insult them. Of course, it's all fluff! It's great to see my favorite characters getting a break from killing and being killed, but you have to admit it does remove a major source of storytelling tension.

Danganronpa S is not as much new content as I'd hoped. But at the same time, I spent 30 hours playing it, and I barely scratched the surface! There are hundreds of “Friendship Squares” I haven't seen yet, tougher bosses I haven't beaten yet, and an interesting subplot with the Monokubs that activates every time you progress with a certain number of students. I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone game unless you've already sampled every other part of the Danganronpa franchise and just want more, regardless of the quality. But as part of the Danganronpa Decadence collection, it's a fun little bonus.

Who will get the most value out of the Danganronpa Decadence collection? It's no doubt players who plan to experience the Danganronpa universe for the first time, followed by those who are hoping to replay the original three games. The least value will go to people like me, who were mainly hoping to check out the new content. If you fit in this last category, you're better off saving your pennies and buying the standalone Danganronpa S for $19.99. It's clear that Danganronpa's vibrant fan following exists in spite of its sparse new content; after all this time it's still the original three visual novels that make this collection shine.