September 25th marks the 12th anniversary of Spike Chunsoft’s Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. First released in 2014, this action-adventure third-person shooter spin-off expands on the Danganronpa universe, featuring Komaru Naegi—the younger sister of Makoto Naegi from the original series—and Toko Fukawa, another key character from the first game.
To celebrate the milestone, series creator Kazutaka Kodaka shared insights on X about the development journey behind Ultra Despair Girls.
Kodaka reflects that Ultra Despair Girls represented a peak in his career, stating he doubts he’ll ever craft a scenario that surpasses it.
The development process was particularly challenging, especially when it came to creating the game’s event cutscenes. Kodaka and his team often worked through the night, only to have their progress lost when the software crashed, wiping hours of work. Kodaka wasn’t keen on overnight office stays (a practice more common in the late 90s and early 00s as noted), so he’d take a taxi home, nap, and return to work.
Despite the hardships, Kodaka was determined to make players deeply feel the bond between Komaru and Fukawa, which may explain his intense dedication to the project.
In past interviews, Kodaka has mentioned that he only considers emotional scenes complete when they evoke tears in himself. “When I test play and a tear falls, that’s when I know it’s finished. This is non-negotiable for me. If I can’t cry, I revisit the scene to find what’s missing,” he explained.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is available on PC (Steam) and PlayStation 4.