The educational institution is the site where the sixteen Ultimate students have been forced to participate in the killing game. The academy houses a variety of facilities, though the classrooms and hallways are notably overrun with dense vegetation.

A government-mandated program to identify its most gifted citizens and foster their growsth and development. Those who have been selected for this program are known as "Ultimates." Ultimates are entitled to special privileges, such as voting rights, government subsidies, and eligibility to hold political office.

The Ultimate Academy enforces strict rules among its student body. Students who violate these rules may be exterminated with extreme prejudice by the Exisals—highly mobile, bipedal weapons platforms. There are a total of five Exisals at the Ultimate Academy. Each one is a different color and piloted by a Monokub.

~ Ultimate Academy Regulations ~

• 1. Students are required to cohabitate at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future.
• 2. When a murder is committed at the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.
• 3. If the killer (hereinafter referred to as "the blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.
• 4. If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.
• 5. If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will graduate from the Ultimate Academy and re-enter the outside world.
• 6. If innocent students (hereinafter referred to as "the spotless") continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain.
• 7. "Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, the dining hall and gymnasium are closed.
• 8. All acts of violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, are strictly prohibited.
• 9. Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder.
• 10. Your Monopads are very important items. Make sure you do not damage them.
• 11. A body discovery announcement will occur when three or more students discover a body.
• 12. Students have free rein to explore the Ultimate Academy as they see fit.
• 13. Students who violate these rules will be exterminated with extreme prejudice by the Exisals.
• 14. The headmaster may add additional regulations to this list at any time.

The story of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is divided into chapters. In each chapter, you must identify the culprit (blackened) responsible for that chapter's murder case. By doing so, you will progress to the next chapter of the story.

During the Daily Life segments of the game, you will observe the students as they live out their lives and plan their escape from the Ultimate Academy.
The Daily Life segments also feature moments of free time from the main story. During these moments, you may freely move about the academy and interact with your classmates.

Upon discovering a body, you will enter the Deadly Life segment of the game.
During this segment, you will investigate the crime scene, gather testimonies from your classmates, and collect evidence in order to solve the case.

During the class trial, you will attempt to identify the blackened by using the evidence you've gathered.
As your classmates present their various arguments, some of them will contain statements based on incorrect information and conjecture.
The goal of the class trial is to reach the truth by identifying the inconsistencies in your classmates' statements.
You can refute these inconsistencies by using Truth Bullets, which represent the evidence you've gathered during your investigation.
Matching the correct Truth Bullet to the inconsistencies in each character's argument is the key to advancing the debate.

Whenever questionable details appear during a class trial, a Nonstop Debate will begin so the students can discuss it in more detail.
During the Nonstop Debate, the discussion will shift to a specific topic as the students automatically present their respective arguments.
As the students argue, their statements may contain potential inconsistencies and weak points (represented as gold words and phrases). Use the Truth Bullets you've obtained during your investigation to shoot down these weak points and allow the discussion to progress.

At times, discussion in a Nonstop Debate will only progress by agreeing with another character's statement.
Statements you can agree with (Agree Points) differ from normal weak points by being blue instead of gold.

During a Nonstop Debate, if you hold down the button to fire a Truth Bullet, you can change it into a Lie Bullet instead.
By shooting a Lie Bullet at a weak point, you can tell a lie to refute statements that aren't actually inconsistent.

In the Mass Panic Debate, you must find the inconsistencies in the students' statements as they all shout over each other.
Though similar to the Nonstop Debate, because so many characters are speaking at once, the screen becomes cluttered with words and voices, making it more difficult to find inconsistencies.

A Rebuttal Showdown occurs when a student's argument clashes with the player's intuition.
As the student presents their argument, you must cut through each statement until an inconsistency appears.
Use the correct Truth Blade to slice through this inconsistency and completely refute the argument.

At times, questions will arise that can only be answered by clearing away all unnecessary clutter so that the truth may be revealed. In Mind Mine, colored blocks will cover images that represent the correct answer to a particular question. By selecting two or more blocks of the same color you can erase them in one fell swoop. As you erase blocks, adjacent blocks will also change color. Use the shifting colors to your advantage to clear away the blocks and reveal the answer.

If only one block remains, you can mine it multiple times to force it to vanish, but you will incur a penalty for doing so.

Drive down a lonely stretch of road, picking up words and phrases, to spell out the questions posed by a particular case.
After successfully completing a question, you must then select the correct answer to progress further.

Pick up the woman holding the correct answer to make her a passenger and continue driving.

Select the correct letters among those floating across the screen to spell out the answer to a particular question.
However, some of the letters are obscured by shadows. You will need to rely on a light that occasionally appears to reveal them.

If you focus your energy you can illuminate the center of the screen, which will make it easier to identify the floating letters.

A Debate Scrum occurs when the participants in a class trial are split between two opinions and cannot reach a consensus. Characters on both sides will each make remarks that address a particular subject, but these remarks alone will not result in a consensus being reached. For each remark made by the opposing side, you must identify the key subject of that remark and match it to a similar remark made by your side. The goal of a Debate Scrum is to match all the remarks in a single round of debate.

During a Debate Scrum, the key subject that appears in both sides' remarks will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
This key subject will always be visible when your side makes their remarks, but it will be hidden for the opposing side.
It's best to read each opponent's remarks first, then try to identify the key subject of each remark.

An Argument Armament is a one-on-one debate against an enraged opponent who is wearing armor made of their own arguments and theories, and who refuses to listen to your reasoning.

To win an Argument Armament, you must shoot down your opponent's statements while keeping the rhythm of the debate. Only then will you pierce their armor and reach a conclusion.