The English localization was released with dual Japanese and English audio options on the Hong Kong and Singapore PlayStation stores by NIS America on August 19th, 2017[1] and in North America, Europe, and Australia on August 25th, 2017 on the PlayStation 4.[3] It was also released for PlayStation Vita on August 25th, 2017[5][7][9], and in Europe on August 29th, 2017.[11].
It was released on Steam for PC by Spike Chunsoft on August 26th, 2017 with dual English and Japanese audio and English, French, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese language options[12].
The demo is approximately between 1hr30-2hrs long, and allows players to play as Kaede Akamatsu for the first time, briefly meet the new cast of characters, experiment with the new gameplay mechanics (such as being able to "smack around" objects while investigating), explore a small section of the school, and try out the new Class Trial minigames. Because the story is unique to the demo, it does not spoil any of the plot of the main story, instead heavily referencing the previous, Japan-exclusive demo of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, known as Dangan Ronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei (Trial Version), and featuring the murder case of Yasuhiro Hagakure who does not appear in the storyline of the full game.
Completing the Demo, and transferring the save data to the full game, will reward the player with 333 Monocoins, the Class Trial skill "Machine Gun" ("Point Blank" on PS Vita) and the present "Nail Brush", which unlocks a cutscene during Chapter 1 of the full game,
before it can be gotten from the MonoMono Machine.
Release
Japan
The Demo - known in Japan as New Danganronpa V3 Trial Version - was first announced on Spike Chunsoft's New Danganronpa V3 development Ameblo blog on December 1st, 2016[13]. The Demo is only the 2nd Demo ever released for the Danganronpa franchise, since the release of the Japan-exclusive Demo Dangan Ronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei (Trial Version) 6 years prior. The Demo was promoted in the December 15, 2016 issue of Famitsu magazine, where it was revealed that the Demo would feature an original story exclusive to the Demo, and that Makoto Naegi, Hajime Hinata, and Yasuhiro Hagakure would appear as guest characters[14]. New Danganronpa V3 Trial Version was released on the Japanese PlayStation store on December 20th, 2016 for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4[15].
After the release of the Demo, there were a number of consumer complaints about the audio quality on the Vita release of the Demo, voicing concern about the audio quality that would be present in the full game, due for release on January 12, 2017[16]. The concerns were addressed by Danganronpa V3 associate producer Yuichiro Saito on the New Danganronpa V3 development blog, explaining that the poor audio quality was due to "capacity limitation" on the PS Vita, and assured players that after the release of the full game they will be able to download a DLC patch which improves the audio quality[16]. The patch for the full game was released on January 18th, 2017, 6 days after the game's release.[17].
The Japanese version of the Demo debuted on Steam for PC on August 25th, 2017.
International Release
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Demo Version is the first Danganronpa Demo to be released outside of Japan. It premiered on the showfloor of E3 2017 from June 13th to June 15th, 2017[15], with both English and Japanese voice tracks playable for attendees. During the event, a 16 minute commentated preview of the Demo was streamed by PlayStation Underground as part of their E3 coverage, which was the first official footage of English localization[18]. The Demo was then available to play for attendees of Anime Expo 2017 from July 1st to July 4th, 2017, and later at a press event hosted by NIS America and Kazutaka Kodaka held in London on July 10th, 2017. 30 minutes of gameplay footage from the London press event was shared by Gamereactor on Jul 13th, 2017[19], followed by an exclusive video preview of the full Demo by IGN on July 31st, 2017[20].
After a promotional Danganronpa event at the PS Carnival in Taipei, Taiwan, the Demo was released with English and Japanese audio and Chinese and Japanese subtitles in several Chinese-language PlayStation Stores on August 19th, 2017[1]. The Demo was later released worldwide on August 25th, 2017[3]. The Demo was available on both PS4 and PS Vita in North America, Canada, and Mexico on release day. In Europe and Australia, the PS4 Demo was available in all territories on release day, however the PS Vita Demo was only available in Germany, where both the PS4 and PS Vita Demos were PS Plus subscriber exclusive due to age restrictions in the country[21]. The Demo was later released on PS Vita in Europe and Australia on August 29th, 2017[11].
The Demo was not released in South Korea due to Danganronpa V3 being banned in the country[22].
Plot
Reminiscent of the prologue of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Kaede Akamatsu woke up on her desk, unable to recognize her surroundings and not knowing how she got there. Makoto Naegi, seeing she had woken up, introduced himself as Kaede's upperclassmen, and Ultimate Lucky Student. Makoto already knew Kaede was the Ultimate Pianist, because, as in the Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, he had researched the students' talents before coming to the school. Makoto encouraged Kaede to read the note sitting on her desk. It read:
"If you want to progress the story... come to the gym. But please be careful. There are other people wandering around. If you talk to them, you'll end up having to listen to their introductions. Deja vu! I've just been in this place before! Er, sorry, there's no time for that right now... Anyway, come to the gym. Seriously, please."
Kaede then left the classroom with Makoto, introduced herself to each of the students, including previous protagonist Hajime Hinata, who introduced himself as also being her upperclassmen. She then headed for the gym. Once there, Makoto told Kaede that he could not go with her beyond that point, because she's protagonist now, and that they will meet up later. Before leaving, he told her that although she might feel despair, he didn't want her to throw away hope, and that even if there is despair on the horizon, he and Hajime are there to help.
Kaede entered the gym, and met Monokuma for the first time. He introduced himself as the academy's headmaster, and explained to her that she and the rest of the students were going to spend the rest of their lives within the walls of the school unless they killed one another. He told her that he has prepared a dormitory for each of the students, and that she should go there next.
Kaede learned that she would be sharing the room with the other "protagonists", Makoto and Hajime. After entering their room, however, she found it trashed, with upturned furniture and knife slashes on the walls and bed. She entered the bathroom, and there she found Yasuhiro Hagakure's corpse with a knife in his abdomen. Monokuma appeared and explained that it was now her and her classmates' job to investigate the crime scene and find evidence for the upcoming Class Trial.
After investigating and collecting evidence, and meeting the Monokubs, Kaede headed to the courtoom. K1-B0 and Rantaro Amami agreed to not participate in the Class Trial due to there not being enough podiums, on the condition that they would still be allowed to vote on who they believed the blackened was. Monokuma agreed to his terms, because "Even with these speedbumps in the road, the destination won't change. The outcome of this trial is absolute."
The Class Trial began, and all evidence appeared to point to Makoto, however, Monokuma interrupted the trial, saying: "That's it! I won't let you go any further! Cuz this is just the demo version!".
Just as it seems the Demo is over, however, more text boxes appear over the black screen, with Makoto and Hajime asking Monokuma how their acting was. Makoto, Hajime and Monokuma all say goodbye, but not before Yasuhiro shouts "Heeey! Wait for meee!", implying he never really died, and that the whole case was just for show.
Class Trial
For a walkthrough of the Danganronpa V3 Demo Class Trial, see: Class Trial
Critical Response
The English localization of the Danganronpa V3 demo had a successful premiere at E3 2017, receiving both Dualshockers' "E3 2017 Best VITA Game" award[23], and RPGFan's "Best of Show E3 2017" award[23]. The demo was also nominated for IGN's "Best Adventure Game of E3 2017" award, but was beaten by Sea of Thieves[24].
Videos
Danganronpa V3 Killing Harmony - Full PS4 Demo (English)
Adjusting the Voice Volume option from the main menu causes a different character to shout "Danganronpa V3!" with each press of the directional pad. When changing the volume from the options menu in the Monopad it instead plays Monokuma saying "Puhuhuhuhu!"
Using the investigate power while in the classroom causes a hidden blackboard doodle of Monokuma and the Monokubs to appear.
The writer of the note on Kaede's desk mentioned having deja vu; this refers to Danganronpa 1 (Trial Version), in which an almost word-for-word note appears on Makoto's desk.
The kitchen which appears in the Demo was created exclusively for the Demo as a further parallel to Danganronpa 1 (Trial Version). The kitchen is not accessible in the main game.
At the E3 2017 premiere of the Demo by NIS America, the English translated opening intro included Kokichi Oma's name spelled as "Kokichi Ouma". NIS America confirmed this was an error[25], and the spelling was later corrected in the public demo release.
The Demo Version heavily foreshadows the main game's reveal about the fictional show theme and Team Danganronpa. Notably, the demo version ended with Hajime, Makoto, and Monokuma talking in friendly terms like fellow actors and going home after a day in work, while looking forward to working together again. The supposed victim, Yasuhiro, was back to life in the end as well.
References to Other Media
The line "Deja vu! I've just been in this place before!" which is written in the letter on Kaede's desk is a reference to the song "Deja Vu", made famous by its appearance in the anime series Initial D.
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