Delve into the Dysfunctional World of Danganronpa on PS Vita

*BRRIIINNNGGG* Attention students, class is now in session. Visiting professor David from Prinny University here (AKA NIS America) to give you a little lesson on Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, which launches on February 11th in North America exclusively for PlayStation Vita.

Trigger Happy Havoc is a revamped edition of the very first Danganronpa that appeared on PSPs in Japan in 2010, and now includes updated graphics, touchscreen functionality, and a new game mode. Now get your thinking hats on, because murder’s afoot, and you’re going to need more than a #2 pencil to survive the tests this high school’s got in store for you.

Imagine attending the most elite high school in the country, Hope’s Peak Academy, where only the best students get their education. Your classmates include the Ultimate Swimming Pro, the Ultimate Fashionista, and the Ultimate Baseball Star. And then there’s our main character, Makoto Naegi, who’s not much of an Ultimate anything.

It’s hard enough trying to find your niche in a regular high school, but when it’s revealed that the students have been locked in by the headmaster of this school — a psychotic black and white bear named Monokuma — things get a little more complicated. The only way out is to murder someone and get away with it. However, if the other students unveil the murderer, he or she will have to endure a poetic death at Monokuma’s hands.

The gameplay utilizes the investigatory elements of the Phoenix Wright series with the dark storytelling of games like 999 and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward. Throughout the game, you’ll gather clues and establish ties with other students. Once a murder happens, you’ll then enter the “Class Trial” period, which consists of a series of adrenaline-laced, timing- and rhythm-based games, shooting down falsehoods and shining the light of truth in the darkest corners of the school halls. On top of that, you’ll build relationships with the surviving students. But keep on your toes, because nothing is as it seems! It’s just like high school, except with crazy bears and murder.

So keep your friends close and your frenemies closer in this game of mystery and deceit. You’ll need your wits about you to reveal the killers and survive the deadliest high school you could imagine.

Thanks for taking this crash course in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Please keep your eye out for the game in February, and until then, this professor has some apples to polish. Prinny out, dood!