Can't say I'm not glad. A lot of things were rushed, but it was interesting how the author would foreshadow future characters with cameos and references from earlier scenes. Obviously it was pretty difficult to develop 24 different characters at once, but I can't say this was an awful story at...
Another late response. Answer: Yeah, they did. That was the chapter where we found out the game can be played without a SCM and the results can be finalized as long as you put on the SCM at any point during the game.
Late response, but yeah. That's how it works. However, there's a loophole where you can coerce someone into accepting your game. The first time we saw this was back when Zenshin was forcing people into "fistfights" by beating on them. In this case, Maria was forced to accept the game otherwise...
I knew it... On another note, that Kita Minami girl already made a cameo back in Shinagawa Zero 1.
I like how the author introduces cameos for everyone, and for some reason all the groups like to meet up at the totally not a knock-off Donny's.