Class Trials

Class Trials are the final act of each chapter of the main Danganronpa games. The students debate amongst themselves, using evidence collected during the investigation phase, to determine the culprit in each chapter. The debate takes place in a courtroom setting, and consists of several debate phases and minigames. The trial ends when the culprit - known as the "Blackened" - is uncovered, and ultimately executed.

This page serves as a general overview of the Class Trial mechanic. For a more in-depth explanation and overview of Class Trials in each game, please see the subpages for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony respectively.

About
The goal of Class Trials is for the students to uncover the "Blackened", the student who has, either voluntarily or involuntarily, murdered another student as part of the mutual Killing Game. During the Class Trial, they oppose all the other students, who are known as the "Spotless". The students determine who they believe is guilty by participating in a vote at the end of the trial. If the Blackened is found guilty, they will be executed by Monokuma and the Killing Game will continue, but if the students find the wrong student guilty then every student except the Blackened will be executed and the Blackened will be allowed to leave. Participating in Class Trials is mandatory for all students. Students who have been murdered or executed prior to the trial are represented in the courtroom in portraits displayed on stands at the student's former podium.

Influence and Concentration
Influence and Concentration are two gauges which appear on the Class Trial HUD, represented by pink hearts (Influence) and blue stars (Concentration).

Influence is essentially the protagonist's "health bar" during class trials, and it becomes depleted if they select wrong answers or make mistakes during minigames, but is restored by selecting the correct answer during the multiple choice phases of the trial. If the protagonist's Influence Gauge runs out, the protagonist fails the trial and the game is over.

Concentration is a special ability which can be used during Class Trials to make minigames easier to complete, typically by by slowing them town and reducing the crosshair drift to make it easier to aim correctly. Concentration depletes each time it is used, but slowly restores itself when not in use. Concentration has a special effect during Bullet Time Battle/Panic Talk Action, triggering "Fever Time" which allows the player to ignore the tempo markers until the Concentration gauge depletes.

Non-Stop Debate and Truth Bullets
Over the course of the trial, the protagonist must participate in several Nonstop Debate phases. Within these debates, the students will argue amongst themselves in a series of statements. Certain phrases will be highlighted in orange; these phrases are called weak points. Truth Bullets are used during Class Trials to fire evidence at the weak points in students' arguments. If the correct Truth Bullet is selected and fired at a weak point using the crosshair, it either shows the contradiction in their statement or proves its veracity. In later stages, additional Truth Bullets can be "absorbed" from students' arguments and used at a different point within the same debate. Text called "White Noise" will also appear on the screen during Non-Stop Debates, moving around the screen and making it harder to hit weak points. White Noise can be removed from the screen by shooting it. Successfully shooting white noise will add seconds onto the time limit, but accidentally hitting White Noise with Truth Bullets while aiming at a Weak Point will decrease the time limit. From Danganronpa 2 onwards, White Noise takes multiple shots to destroy as the game progresses.

Skills
Skills are special abilities which can make Class Trial minigames easier. They are earned through the main game by completing various tasks, such as bonding with other students during Free Time Events. Skills are available for all minigames, causing effects such as slowing down time, increasing the time limit, increasing the recovery of Influence or Concentration, or slowing down or speeding up the crosshair.

Closing Argument
Each Class Trial ends with the Closing Argument minigame, in which the events of the murder are pieced together in a -style comic. The comic is built up by selecting frames from a pool below the comic, some of which are incorrect. When the whole comic is completed, an version of the comic is played, narrated by the protagonist and culminating in the reveal of the culprit.

Execution
After the students have voted for who they believe is the Blackened, the Blacked is then Executed by Monokuma, also known as "Punishment Time". The style of execution typically relate to the character's Ultimate ability, their major interests, or their personality in general, for example Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star, is executed by being pummeled by baseballs fired from a pitching machine.

Minigames
Class Trials are split into phases, with each phase containing a minigame.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

 * For a full overview, see: Class Trials/Danganronpa 1

Aside from Non-Stop Debate and Closing Arguement, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc has 2 major minigames: Hangman's Gambit and Bullet Time Battle:
 * In Hangman's Gambit, the player travels into Makoto's mind and tries to complete a game of hangman by shooting at letters that float on the screen in order to form the correct word.
 * Bullet Time Battle is a rhythm-based minigame in which Makoto has to negate a student's assertions. Like Non Stop Debates, there are weak points which must be destroyed using bullets which are gained by staying on rhythm, until the student's influence gauge is depleted, at which point the correct Truth Bullet must be selected and fired.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

 * For a full overview, see: Class Trials/Danganronpa 2

Aside from Non-Stop Debate and Closing Arguement, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair has 4 major minigames: Improved Hangman's Gambit, Panic Talk Action, Rebuttal Showdown and Logic Dive:
 * In Improved Hangman's Gambit, the player travels into Hajime's mind in a minigame similar to the Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc equivalent, however the letters now move on a set path and must be shot in order. If two letters collide, it causes damage to Hajime's Influence gauge.
 * Panic Talk Action is Danganronpa 2's equivalent of the Bullet Time Battle minigame. Although the rhythm mechanic is the same, instead of an influence gauge Hajime now damages shields which float around the opponent. Once the shields are destroyed, 4 words or word segments will appear on screen which, if selected in the correct order, form a rebuttal to the opponent's argument.
 * Rebuttal Showdown is similar to Non-Stop Debate, but is a one-on-one debate against an opponent. Statements must be destroyed using a sword, until the correct weak point is identified and destroyed with a final "Truth Sword".
 * In Logic Dive, the player travels into Hajime's mind and rides a snowboard through a virtual obstacle course. At certain points along the course, multiple choice questions are posed which are answered by travelling along the correct route. Choosing the incorrect answer causes Hajime to fall off the course and waste time. Hajime must reach the end of the course before the time limit ends.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

 * For a full overview, see: Class Trials/Danganronpa V3

Aside from Non-Stop Debate and Closing Arguement, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony has 6 major minigames: Hangman's Gambit Ver 3.0, Theory Armament, Scrum Debate, Mind Mine, Psyche Taxi, and Panic Debate.


 * Hangman's Gambit Ver. 3.0 is similar to Danganronpa 2's Hangman's Gambit, featuring letter tiles on a set route which can collide, however they are in the dark, and the protagonist must shine a light on them in order to view the letters.
 * Theory Armament is a rhythm game equivalent to Bullet Time Battle/Panic Talk Action but with a new format, in which the player must hit the correct buttons in time with the beat in order to destroy parts of a statement. As the opponent's health depletes, their clothing also gets destroyed. When their health is empty, 4 words or word segments will appear on screen which, if selected in the correct order, form a rebuttal to the opponent's argument.
 * In Scrum Debate, multiple characters argue their case in two teams representing two contradictory opinions. The protagonist must find a keyword in the argument in one side in order to contradict the argument of the other.
 * Mind Mine is a puzzle-style minigame in which the player destroys blocks in order to uncover images hidden underneath. Uncovering the correct image wins the game.
 * Psyche Taxi is similar to Logic Dive, with the protagonist driving a car through a route to collect letters to form a question with a multiple choice answer. To answer the question, the protagonist must drive into the correct lane and slow down enough to pick up the girl who is standing in that lane, who will hop into one of the passenger seats.
 * Panic Debate is similar to Non-Stop Debate, however in this version multiple students talk at the same time. Because of this, the screen is split into multiple segments with a different student and statement in each as well as multiple weak points. As with Non-Stop Debate, the correct Truth Bullet must be used to destroy the correct weak point.