Danganronpa 2 coming West on Sept. 2

The sequel to Spike Chunsoft's mystery adventure Danganronpa, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, will launch for PlayStation Vita on Sept. 2, publisher NIS America announced today.

The game will cost $39.99 and will be available at retail as well as downloadable via the PlayStation Network.

Players will once again become a high school student from Hope's Peak Academy thrown into a life-or-death situation — one by one, fellow classmates are killed off — on a desolate island that can only be survived through teamwork and careful sleuthing. Each character will have a unique special ability that makes them the "ultimate" example of something.

In order to solve crimes, players will have to match up evidence with classmates' stories in order to determine who is lying — and who is a murderer. Timing and reflex-based puzzles will them help players solve the case and pin down the killer. During Class Trials, players can also take part in minigames that will challenge these stories. Classmates can also call for Rebuttal Showdowns, seeking to take you down if they don't believe your reasoning.

The original Danganronpa launched in Japan for PlayStation Portable in 2010, before coming to PS Vita in North America this past February (check out Polygon's review). Danganronpa 2 initially launched in Japan for PSP in July 2012, and a third game, Absolute Despair Girl: Danganronpa Another Episode, is currently in development at Spike Chunsoft with a slated release window of later this year.