Ranking all of Danganronpa 2's Cases/Trials

Hey everyone, time for another Danganronpa ranking!

In my last Danganronpa post, I ranked the cases in Trigger Happy Havoc, so now it's time to rank the cases in SDR2! I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say definitively that SDR2 has my favorite Danganronpa trials, but it definitely has the most competitive ranking. TBH I've considered putting at least half of these cases in first place.

If you have no idea what Danganronpa is, don't go any further, because this post will contain spoilers for the entire trilogy! (explicit spoilers for game #2, vague spoilers for the other 2)

I mentioned this in the last post, but I'll repeat it before jumping into the ranking:
I mostly see people talk about ranking the trials, which are definitely part of this, but in this ranking, I'm ranking the cases as a whole. So basically I'm focusing more on the mystery, how interesting it was to investigate and solve, how complicated it was, etc. Things like the trial being long/dragged out and the mechanics of the trial aren't things I have too much interest in discussing, so they're not things that will really come into play on this ranking.

Lastly, just something interesting that I wanted to note-- this ranking for me has 3 pairings (5th & 6th place, 3rd & 4th, 1st & 2nd) and within each pairing, I could really flip flop my placement and still be pretty content with the list. Seriously, I wasn't kidding when I said this was the most competitive list.

Without further ado, let's jump into the list!

6- Case #3- Ibuki & Hiyoko's Murders

Before I even start discussing this, I feel like I need to make this clear-- I DO understand this case and its motive. I've seen several people name this as their least favorite because they didn't get it, and that's not the case for me. I get it. I promise. That said, even though I totally understand that the despair disease caused Mikan to remember her true identity and her true love (Junko), that doesn't change the fact that it feels like lazy writing in order to make a usually meek character capable of murder. It just feels too transparently convenient as a way to off 3 characters who didn't (seem to) have the capacity to murder someone. 

The one positive that I'll give this case is the same thing I said for case 3 of game 1-- the aspect of the murderer confusing the timeline and forcing everyone to run around in confusion is always fun. The aspect of Hajime supposedly seeing the "suicide" occur so that he'll panic and run to discover the body is probably the most interesting part of the case. But logistically it's just such a mess, and even without Mikan being her bumbling self, it's hard to imagine that she'd be capable of pulling this whole thing off in the time we're presented with. Not to mention the fact that this murder removes any and all possibility of Hiyoko getting a redemption arc, which is just a really unsatisfying end to her story. 

5- Case #1- The Ultimate Impostor's Murder

Something that may be surprising to others is that when I sat down to figure out my ranking, this was actually the one I assumed I would put in last place. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it probably deserved to be placed above case 3. So here we are. 

When I think of this case, I'm left with the memory of it just being a bit dull and boring in comparison to the other fantastic trials in the game. However, when I really think about it, I'm reminded of the interesting twists and developments throughout it. In truth, it's really more of just a simpler, cleaner case rather than a boring case. Nagito flipping the switch on his personality wasn't necessarily mind-blowing, because I didn't really trust him from the start due to something feeling... off... but it adds an extra layer of interest to a case that otherwise would've been boring. 

4- Case #6- HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE

Like I mentioned in my previous trial ranking post, I tend to enjoy the final trials of each game, despite their flaws. I'd have to put more thought into this than I already have, but I think this is probably my favorite final trial. Which should say a lot about my opinion on both the trials in the last game and the trials in this game, since I vastly prefer this over my top-ranked case/trial from Trigger Happy Havoc. Like I said, I really, really like the cases and trials in this game. 

Overall, I don't love the investigation portion of the case. It was alright, and it was cool being back in Hope's Peak, but it definitely felt clunkier than in previous games. That, however, is made up for by the trial itself, which I really enjoyed. Hajime secretly being one of the villains in the real world and the island being virtual reality were both hinted at during the game pretty cleverly, so I thought their eventual reveal was actually really satisfying, especially in the way it ties back in to the first game. 

3- Case #2- Mahiru's Murder

Admittedly, this case gets up really high on this list largely on the strength of the character development it provides for my favorite Danganronpa character. Because although I enjoy the trial itself, the star of the show is the relationship between Fuyuhiko and Peko. I think some people don't really like how prominent the arcade game is in the trial, but I find it really interesting to see the way that their actual past comes into play after they've lost their memories. It adds a really cool extra layer to the story. 

On top of this, the trial is made really interesting and confusing due to Fuyuhiko and Peko simultaneously trying to constantly divert attention from each other and protect each other, with Peko trying to save her "young master" and Fuyuhiko trying desperately to keep the other students from discovering that she's the culprit so that she can survive. 

The end of this trial, as well as what is technically the post-trial, is by far the most emotional part of the entire trilogy for me. The way that Peko explains why she pretended to be Sparkling Justice, the moral dilemma this presents for Fuyuhiko, and the way that his hard exterior finally breaks when he realizes he can't save her. And don't even get me started on Peko's execution and how it emotionally wrecks me every single time I see it again. It's so well done.

2- Case #5- Nagito's... Murder?

OK, I know this is everyone's stock pick for their favorite trial-- not only in this game, but also across the entire trilogy. And I totally get that. Based just on technical aspects, it probably is the best case in the series. And as I mentioned at the beginning, these top 2 could easily be flipped and I wouldn't complain too much. But I put this one in 2nd place because although the mystery itself is really complex and the result is so clever, I didn't really enjoy its investigation or trial as much as I enjoyed solving the mystery of the trial that got first place. 

First off, my favorite aspect of this case is the eventual twist ending-- Nagito didn't just make the culprit random, he purposely trusted that with his luck, the person to throw the poisoned fire grenade would be the traitor, in the hopes that no one could figure out the traitor and thus only the traitor would survive. The way the game showed his actual lucky ability throughout the game, just for this eventual resolution-- brilliant. Regardless of the fact that it resulted in the death of one of my favorite characters, that's such a great twist. It's legitimately so brilliant. 

The rest of the case and trial is good, but it pales in comparison to that one singular moment. I mean, I kinda had it in the back of my mind the entire time that it was likely suicide. It seemed like something Nagito would do, and it was what made the most sense. I was only surprised once I realized that someone was legitimately the culprit and we needed to figure that out. That's the main problem with suicide cases for me-- if it's even mildly possible that the character might commit suicide, it's something I tend to take into consideration, so it's never a surprise to me when it ends up being the case.

1- Case #4- Nekomaru's Murder

It's unfortunate that the trope that lasted throughout all 3 games was the double-murder third trial rather than this one-- the new...world... trope? Is that what we're gonna call it? Anyway, a bit of a spoiler for my V3 trial ranking, but I love the two 4th cases where you have to use the mechanics of a new world to solve the mystery. Oddly, I actually really disliked the fact that the 4th chapter took place totally in the confines of the funhouse, but once we got into the investigation and trial, I loved how much the funhouse played into solving the case. 

Although playing as Nagito is kinda cool, it's actually not a huge factor for how much I liked the case. What was cooler is actually the element of time and how Nekomaru's internal clock plays into the case. TBH I think it's really just the element of something being tampered with (their location, time, etc) and the way that the culprit messes with everyone's perception of reality in order to control their understanding of the circumstances surrounding the murder. That aspect is really cool to me, and I love the way it's used in this case. 

And I haven't even talked about how Nekomaru and Gundham both essentially sacrificed themselves to save their friends. I think this chapter turned around a lot of people's opinions on Gundham overall, and as someone who already quite liked him, it just made me appreciate him even more. And his execution at the end of everything was especially sad, because of the way he looked after his hamsters and tried his hardest to survive. And then all the little animals taking him up to heaven despite him talking about being evil? Waterworks.

Even if I didn't love the free time living inside the funhouse, this entire chapter is just so unique, and from the investigation to the trial, to the eventual punishment time, every single aspect is really cool and really well done. 

So, those are my rankings for all 6 trials from Danganronpa 2! My plan is to do V3's rankings next. I still haven't decided if I'm going to rank all of the cases together after that, or if I'm going to do a 5 favorite/least favorite. idk. We'll see. V3's might be a bit of a wait again, because there are several great ones and I'm going to have a hard time choosing between them. We'll see.

Let me know which Trigger Happy Havoc case is your favorite down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!