Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.0.3 Update

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp is a role-playing video game with board game elements, developed and published by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo Switch in late 2021, with Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows versions released in 2022. The game, a spin-off installment in the Danganronpa visual novel series, is an expanded version of two side-modes from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (2017) and was released digitally as a standalone game and physically through the game compilation Danganronpa Decadence, as a part of celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Danganronpa series.

GAMEPLAY

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp is an expanded version of the Ultimate Talent Development Plan and Despair Dungeon: Monokuma’s Test role-playing post-game side modes from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. In Ultimate Summer Camp’s Development mode, players level up different Danganronpa characters in a square-divided board game-like setting, which is traversed throughout 50 turns, with each turn representing an in-game day. The board has a total of six different islands, which are unlocked by defeating the prior island’s boss, with later islands allowing players to develop their character.

The squares, or tiles, are divided into different types, which have unique results, including giving players statistic increases or items, among other effects. To more easily traverse the board, players can take the use of cards, which are obtained through “Card Squares” and allow players to move a certain amount of squares. Cards can also have different effects, such as giving the playing character a temporary statistic increase. Throughout the development mode, players encounter enemies, defeating which will award them with experience points, as well as “Jabbercoins”, the game’s currency, which can be used at shops to buy equipment or other items. The combat system in Ultimate Summer Camp is similar to that of other turn-based role-playing games: players can perform both normal and special/elemental attacks, with special attacks taking up skill points, limiting the number of times they can be used.

Special attacks are unlocked through the use of “Talent Fragments”, which can be obtained by stepping on certain squares or by viewing certain scenes.  Each character also has an “Awaken” bar, which affects the power of attacks if used. If a battle is lost, players are sent back to the beginning of the board. In the game’s dungeon crawler-styled Battle mode, players form teams of up to four using their developed characters to fight floors of enemies in a 200-story tall “Tower of Despair”. Each 10th floor in the mode features a boss, which will give players access to the next 10 floors.

Clearing certain floors in the Battle mode will give players perks in the Development mode, allowing for faster progression. The game features a total of 62 different playable characters, all with four different rarity types, in addition to 9 “Hype Cards” each, which will give enhancements to the respective character if unlocked. Characters are unlocked through three different kinds of luck-based gashapon vending machines, using special coins that can be acquired in the Battle mode or by completing certain milestones and achievements Players can also unlock characters via microtransactions in the Nintendo Switch eShop.

PLOT

The game begins with Komaru Naegi, who has been invited to a test program hosted by the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy High School for soon-to-be graduates, as well as preschoolers of the Hope’s Peak Elementary, some students from the school’s reserve course, and certain family members of the students, the last of which applying to Komaru. After all the participants introduce each other inside the academy, the hosts of the program are revealed to be a quintet of anthropomorphic bear cubs and the children of the series mascot Monokuma, named the Monokubs. The Monokubs reveal that the test program is intended to cultivate the talents of the participants and that it will take place in a virtual recreation of the popular resort, Jabberwock Island.

After everyone has been successfully transported to the virtual Jabberwock Island, the Monokubs explain that if the students want to leave the island, they must first unlock everyone’s “Hope Fragments”, acquired through a participant finding their true hope and potential. Furthermore, the Monokubs demonstrate how they have full control over the world with magical wands by summoning a beach house. This leads to the mischievous and cynical Monokuma, who was also invited to the program, to steal one of the wands and summon a horde of enemies. Together, the participants manage to defeat some of the monsters, finding out in the process that their bodies have been powered up for the virtual world.

Although the Monokubs manage to get the wand back from Monokuma, the island is still overrun by monsters, which the participants are tasked with defeating throughout the summer. In the following months, as the characters go about their daily life, they learn that the Monokubs, too, have Hope Fragments, meaning that the characters have to assist them in finding hope as well. Once all Hope Fragments have been acquired, the Monokubs hold a graduation ceremony, though it is interrupted by the students of Hope’s Peak Elementary, who, together with Monokid of the Monokubs, betray the rest of the group and attempt to prolong the training camp. One of the preschoolers, Monaca Towa, uses a special megaphone to destroy the Monokubs, hoping to get their wands.

Monokuma ends up getting the wands instead and using them, he resets the entire simulation, destroying all the Hope Fragments in the process, and attempts to force the participants into a mutual killing game after erasing select memories. One participant, Makoto Naegi, somehow maintains his memory and begins to formulate a plan to stop Monokuma using Monaca’s megaphone. Makoto ends up facing off against Monokuma on the central island, although Makoto loses, and has his memory erased. Makoto is then saved by the other participants, who can regain their memories after hearing Monokuma’s conversation with Makoto. Together, they manage to defeat Monokuma and reacquire their Hope Fragments. With this, the participants can successfully return to the real world, ending the program, as well as their time at Hope’s Peak.