Support NeoGAF

[BorkBork]

Burned through this in 3 days after getting it from the sale on e-shop. Amazing videogame story (as with 999, insane on the exposition but I'm not sure that can be helped). As many have already stated, it's better than 999 in some ways (flow system, replayability, puzzles, voice acting), and worse in others (tension, tone, atmosphere). I certainly didn't expect it to be as ambitious as it was, and I am looking forward to the third game far more than I looked forward to VLR after 999

Spoiler

(since the first game was relatively self-contained).

Major twists I actually said "WTF" out loud to:

Spoiler

-Sigma NOT being a robot
-Sigma being old
-K looking like you.
-Akane being K in the true ending.
-The insane body jumps and switches at the end.
-Phi's not being able to tell you (?) things at the end because it would alter the timeline.

Best character:

Spoiler

Luna. Usually good characters are too sappy and one-dimensional, but I think her unflinching goodness and the tragic nature of her character shines through, especially within the context of the prisoner dilemma scenario. But is she only good because she's the girl in the Chinese room? Or does it even matter? Her ending, with Bluebird Lamentation playing, stands as the high point for me through two games.

I am very interested to see how her ending will influence Old Sigma's actions in the past. Are his feelings for Luna the motivation for him to sacrifice his arms and eye for Diane, the real human on which Luna is based on? Because that would blow my mind.

 

[upandaway]

Major twists I actually said "WTF" out loud to:

Spoiler

-Sigma NOT being a robot
-Sigma being old
-K looking like you.
-Akane being K in the true ending.
-The insane body jumps and switches at the end.
-Phi's not being able to tell you (?) things at the end because it would alter the timeline.

That's about right for me too. Probably a lot more but this is what I remember right now.

Spoiler

Sigma being Zero (following the whole "one of you is Zero") made me freak out the most. The whole moon/earth switch got me too. Though, except for Sigma not being a robot, I knew that from Clover's ending, and Luna's behavior made me really suspicious that she's the robot pretty early.

.

Regarding ZE3:

Spoiler

I'm guessing whatever it is, it's slightly different from Blick Winkel/the player. I'm guessing Phi explaining him things and locking them to that timeline is something unique to him, and Phi can actually explain it to anyone else and nothing will happen. This wasn't true with Blick Winkel.

And one question regarding the ending:

Spoiler

If I understand it right, in the bottom line there's one Mars test with old Sigma and post VLR Phi which failed, and then it happens again with both of them + ?, which should succeed, and that's it?
Where's Kyle, is he irrelevant to this?

 

[BorkBork]

That's about right for me too. Probably a lot more but this is what I remember right now.

Spoiler

Sigma being Zero (following the whole "one of you is Zero") made me freak out the most. The whole moon/earth switch got me too. Though, except for Sigma not being a robot, I knew that from Clover's ending, and Luna's behavior made me really suspicious that she's the robot pretty early.

.

I think 999 prepped me for the fact that

Spoiler

anyone could be Zero, so it didn't come as big a shock. But I actually thought for a long time that Luna was Zero, that she was a Zeroth Law robot (Daneel-style from Asimov's Foundation and Robot series) who is running the game betting on the goodness of humanity to prevail, proving that we are worth saving. That they were on the moon would fit into that too.

Regarding ZE3:

Spoiler

I'm guessing whatever it is, it's slightly different from Blick Winkel/the player. I'm guessing Phi explaining him things and locking them to that timeline is something unique to him, and Phi can actually explain it to anyone else and nothing will happen. This wasn't true with Blick Winkel.

I actually really enjoyed

Spoiler

the setup and the unfinished nature of the ending after I've had a few days to process it. I'm in awe of the incredibly ambitious scope of the story, even if it is at the expense of some characterization (Quark, Clover, Alice as mere plot devices)

And one question regarding the ending:

Spoiler

If I understand it right, in the bottom line there's one Mars test with old Sigma and post VLR Phi which failed, and then it happens again with both of them + ?, which should succeed, and that's it?
Where's Kyle, is he irrelevant to this?

Spoiler

I can't even begin to guess, given the insanely convoluted nature of body swapping and time jumping that will be part of the next story. There will probably be twists upon twists that will cause my head to explode.

 

[grim-tales]

I also went WTF! to:

Spoiler

K having my face/looking like me
Akane being K in the true end
Thinking Sigma was a robot

To be honest I thought Luna was going to be Zero too at one point when she talked about her brain being in the main computer, etc

 

[ghostlyspice]

Is it necessary to complete all 24 endings to understand the full story?
I'm enjoying this game but I can't see myself being able to play it through 24 times.

 

[Wichu]

Is it necessary to complete all 24 endings to understand the full story?
I'm enjoying this game but I can't see myself being able to play it through 24 times.

The 'true' ending is locked until you've seen certain other endings.

Thanks to the flowchart system, you don't need to repeat anything ever (other than the few scenes shared between paths), so you should actually just go for all of them. After you get an ending, jump back to a path you haven't explored yet; you only need to play through the beginning sequence and first puzzle room once, for example. Unlike 999, puzzle rooms are unique between paths (speaking of 999, have you played that?)

Trust me, once you get into the plot, you won't want to stop playing

 

[ghostlyspice]

The 'true' ending is locked until you've seen certain other endings.

Thanks to the flowchart system, you don't need to repeat anything ever (other than the few scenes shared between paths), so you should actually just go for all of them. After you get an ending, jump back to a path you haven't explored yet; you only need to play through the beginning sequence and first puzzle room once, for example. Unlike 999, puzzle rooms are unique between paths (speaking of 999, have you played that?)

Trust me, once you get into the plot, you won't want to stop playing

I actually just finished 999 yesterday, I only did the endings needed to get the true ending.
I'm not very good at these puzzles though, that's mostly what I'd see stopping me! Maybe I always just end up missing that one clue that makes it all so obvious.

But we'll see, I do enjoy the dialogue and characters, 24 just seems like a lot. I suppose it wouldn't be easy to know which endings are required without some spoiling...?

 

[upandaway]

Is it necessary to complete all 24 endings to understand the full story?
I'm enjoying this game but I can't see myself being able to play it through 24 times.

Think of it like this - if this was a book, each chapter in the book is one of those endings. Like it doesn't make sense to stop in the middle of a book and understand the full story, the same goes for the game. Saying you don't want to get through the game one more time is like saying you don't want to read the next chapter, yet still experience the full story.
Though I guess that's a terrible analogy for too many reasons, couldn't really think about anything else.

It's just misleading that it's called an ending when it's not the end of anything. It's completely in the middle of the game. And it's different from 999 in that all endings and all puzzle rooms are required, and for good reason. Looking up answers for puzzles is totally kosher. (luckily I like puzzle rooms, but if I didn't, I would definitely have done the same).

 

[Wichu]

I actually just finished 999 yesterday, I only did the endings needed to get the true ending.
I'm not very good at these puzzles though, that's mostly what I'd see stopping me! Maybe I always just end up missing that one clue that makes it all so obvious.

But we'll see, I do enjoy the dialogue and characters, 24 just seems like a lot. I suppose it wouldn't be easy to know which endings are required without some spoiling...?

There's spoiler-free walkthroughs online. I think you might have to at least solve all the puzzle rooms to get the true ending; if you get stuck on a puzzle, there's a couple of spoiler-free walkthroughs out there (such as this one).

There's one thing I have to say about using puzzle guides, and that is DON'T USE THE STORY MODE PASSWORDS BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY FIND THEM IN-GAME (the two computer logins, and the deactivation codes). Use passwords while doing puzzles as much as you want, but there's a couple of passwords that let you skip over important sections of the story, which I really wouldn't advise. You'll know the story passwords when you see them.

EDIT: (mostly) beaten.

 

[ghostlyspice]

There's one thing I have to say about using puzzle guides, and that is DON'T USE THE STORY MODE PASSWORDS BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY FIND THEM IN-GAME (the two computer logins, and the deactivation codes). Use passwords while doing puzzles as much as you want, but there's a couple of passwords that let you skip over important sections of the story, which I really wouldn't advise. You'll know the story passwords when you see them.

Oh I wouldn't do that, I always make sure I click every spot in the room, eventually I get frustrated after clicking around everything for the 4th time and I still don't get the puzzle and look it up. I'm probably just too dense lol

Think of it like this - if this was a book, each chapter in the book is one of those endings. Like it doesn't make sense to stop in the middle of a book and understand the full story, the same goes for the game. Saying you don't want to get through the game one more time is like saying you don't want to read the next chapter, yet still experience the full story.
Though I guess that's a terrible analogy for too many reasons, couldn't really think about anything else.

It's just misleading that it's called an ending when it's not the end of anything. It's completely in the middle of the game. And it's different from 999 in that all endings and all puzzle rooms are required, and for good reason. Looking up answers for puzzles is totally kosher. (luckily I like puzzle rooms, but if I didn't, I would definitely have done the same).

Well I guess if I look at it like that, I figured there must be some sort of continuity between the paths, 'cause when I

Spoiler

went into the AB room for the first time and selected ally on Alice, she did betray, but then I went back and did it as betray and she did ally, and Sigma was speaking as if he was aware of what I did, which confused me I guess as much as it confused him.

 

[Mister Zimbu]

Well I guess if I look at it like that, I figured there must be some sort of continuity between the paths, 'cause when I

Spoiler

went into the AB room for the first time and selected ally on Alice, she did betray, but then I went back and did it as betray and she did ally, and Sigma was speaking as if he was aware of what I did, which confused me I guess as much as it confused him.

That was my first (of many) WTF moment.
The second coming shortly after, when

Spoiler

Phi has the same reaction you do later

.

 

[grim-tales]

That was my first mindfucking curveball too

 

[SloaneRisette]

So, I, not too long ago, got my sister to play 999 and she absolutely loved it, and now she's slowly continuing on towards going through VLR. Last night we (going there with her for most of it) reached the lock (I'll spoiler just in case)

Spoiler

Towards the end on the Magenta door, the one right before Luna's ending

so now I'll have to get her to go on another path.

My question is what's the main course of character endings that a person will likely get? Because I was a moron and messed things up, I got some endings WAAAAAAAAAAAY out of order, so I'm curious if there's a sort of general path of character endings to go through. Spoiler if need be, but if someone could just give me this, that would be great, thanks

 

[DaBoss]

I imagine most people just went left to right, that's what I did.

This link has a spoiler free path guide:
http://www.thonky.com/virtues-last-reward/endings/

 

[Elija2]

Well I just finished the game. Overall, I think it's a good game but I like 999 much better. I don't want to give anything away so I'm just going to spoiler my whole explanation:

Spoiler

I think 999's story is more solid. It was meant to be a single one-off story and it wrapped things up very well. With VLR it seems like they tried to make a sequel to a game that didn't need one, and because of that the connections between VLR and 999 are really awkward. Akane went from plotting a Nonary game to save herself to plotting a Nonary game to save humanity. How did she get involved in that? In the 999 Answers Uchikoshi says that the events in 999 were a prologue to a larger scheme, but I'm guessing he just made that up.

Plus in 999 the crazy twists and stuff were much easier to comprehend, while VLR still has me scratching my head over everything. Like, my consciousness went into the future, and then the past, and then all over the place. And also, where did Radical-6 come from? I know that a third game is coming that will end up explaining everything, but that just makes me frustrated that this game doesn't really have an ending. We're totally left hanging. In 999 we were sorta left wondering about what happened to Akane and Santa, but we knew that Akane was saved and everyone had escaped. It was a bittersweet ending. In VLR we don't really know if the world was successfully saved or not (Or do we? I'm still confused by everything). I just feel totally disconnected from what was happening. The story just seems too crazy ambitious for it's own good, which I can appreciate but it doesn't make me like it more. That said, I loved the concept of jumping between timelines to justify the multiple endings. It's just the story itself was too confusing. 999 handled the mindfuckery much better.

Still, I can't wait for the third game to wrap things up.

 

[Jintor]

It's

Spoiler

the Empire Strikes Back,

brah.

 

[R_thanatos]

For Elija2

You're right but there are some clues that he kinda wanted to do something bigger from the start. that are in 9,9,9

Spoiler

How did Akane get involved in that ? she was already close to them in the first place ...
Was she supposed to kidnap those people , make the Second nonary game and then come back to a normal life now that her espers powers are there ? It's a simple escalation just like what happenned to clover.. you bet that after 2 games like that she wasn't gonna live a normal life

Radical - 6 , unless proved otherwise came from the site that exploded ( in the desert ).. that lead to the collapse of society on earth.

I disagree on the bittersweet ending ... 9,9,9 ends with the crew meeting Alice in the desert .. sure it works at a single game but it's in no way THAT satisfying as it is. You could argue that VLR ending is worse because it's not really an ending .

And no , the world is still fucked up in VLR ending ...this was a preparation for the real trial, the 3rd game that might change things ( sigma & akane bet their entire life on this )

 

[Elija2]

For Elija2

Alright, I'm beginning to appreciate this game's story a bit more. I still think 999 is better, but this game's story is still really good too. Reading the spoiler thread I saw some details that I had forgotten about that explains some of the things I didn't understand. There's still some things that I'm really confused about:

Spoiler

Basically everything in the final ending about Sigma's consciousness going back and forth through time to those specific points. Why did he have go back and forth in that specific way to prevent the Radical-6 outbreak? Same with Phi. Apparently she volunteered to be in the Nonary game as well? And I still don't quite understand Kyle's purpose. The last hour or so of this game really overwhelms you with information.

Another problem I had with this game is some of the puzzles. They were usually more complicated than one's that you'd find in 999, and the game does a bad job of explaining what you're supposed to do. I recall at least two puzzles that I was stuck on for the longest time. I had to switch to easy mode because I just didn't know what the game wanted me to do. I guess that's part of the puzzle though, huh.

 

[R_thanatos]

For Elija2
That answer is simple.

Spoiler

The loops are that way because it's the only way to create a suitable loop. Sigma and phi must be in the third game in a way that allow them to jump back and forth in their possibilities almost at will in order to find a future that is suitable. You need 2 things : a point in time before the events in the desert and another point before the outbreak on earth so they can create the 2nd game. That's why the loop is like this.

Kyle purpose was to replace sigma should he have died before the events of the second game.
Phi is another esper and 2 esper going around is better than 1 just like the true end route of VLR as for who she is , we'll have to wait for the 3rd game.

 

[ghostlyspice]

I imagine most people just went left to right, that's what I did.

This link has a spoiler free path guide:
http://www.thonky.com/virtues-last-reward/endings/

I should have gone Left -> Right.
But I went Right -> Left -> Center lol
Not enjoying it any less, though. Still not finished but don't really want it to end.

 

[podracer35]

Anyone hear anything new about the iOS release of 999 for the west? I have a strong urge to play 999 on the DS, but don't know if I want to redo all the puzzles and all. The iOS version sounds pretty good In that sense.

And if anyone here has either played the Japanese version, or heard from anyone who has, could you tell me *MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 999*

Spoiler

How well the dual screen twist was handled on only one screen?

I know the puzzle dialogue was included in summaries, but that part sounds a bit difficult to do without messing up things...

 

[DaBoss]

There are no puzzles in the iOS version.

 

[Elija2]

For Elija2
That answer is simple.

That doesn't sound simple to me. I'm still pretty confused by it all.

Spoiler

Why did Sigma's old consciousness have to go back in time and replace his young consciousness? And what happened to his young consciousness when he did so?

And it sounds like Kyle was pretty much useless. He didn't really play any part in the story besides filling in for K when Akane couldn't.

 

[SolarKnight]

That doesn't sound simple to me. I'm still pretty confused by it all.

Spoiler

Why did Sigma's old consciousness have to go back in time and replace his young consciousness? And what happened to his young consciousness when he did so?

Spoiler

The entire game is what happened to young Sigma's consciousness when the old one jumped back in time

Spoiler

And it sounds like Kyle was pretty much useless. He didn't really play any part in the story besides filling in for K when Akane couldn't.

Spoiler

Yet, he will be more important in the sequel apparently.

 

[Elija2]

I think I should take my questions to the spoiler thread so this thread doesn't get cluttered with spoilers.

 

[BorkBork]

I think I should take my questions to the spoiler thread so this thread doesn't get cluttered with spoilers.

A suggestion: Rewatch the ending again. It took a few tries for it to sink into my brain and not have it explode.

 

[corn_fest]

A suggestion: Rewatch the ending again. It took a few tries for it to sink into my brain and not have it explode.

Spoiler

That consciousness/time traveling flowchart at the end was a real bad time at 4 in the morning when I finished it. I remember just staring at it like "are you serious"

 

[PurpleMaster]

SolarKnight, please fix your quote!
Although incomprehensible, there are big spoilers inside!

 

[SolarKnight]

Oops, missed the beginning spoiler tag when splitting the quote, thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Elija2]

A suggestion: Rewatch the ending again. It took a few tries for it to sink into my brain and not have it explode.

Yeah, I'll probably do that.

Spoiler

That consciousness/time traveling flowchart at the end was a real bad time at 4 in the morning when I finished it. I remember just staring at it like "are you serious"

Spoiler

I know! The whole consciousness going back and forth to the A-B-C-D-E points was really hard to keep track of. That's the main thing I'm having trouble comprehending.

 

[Drago]

So.

Zero Escape 3 news at TGS. Is it possible? I need to know more about this game D:

 

[GSR]

So.

Zero Escape 3 news at TGS. Is it possible? I need to know more about this game D:

I'm not hopeful - I don't think Spike Chunsoft has any events lined up besides a Dangan Ronpa booth.

VLR was announced in Famitsu ahead of TGS.

 

[-Horizon-]

Just started the game, chose the CD with Luna.

Already confused with the puzzle lol.

Spoiler

mixing drinks, finding out who the liar is

 

[BowieZ]

Two things.

(1) Am I playing this right? I seem to be having to replay the same (or very very similar) sections of story over and over again as I pick different paths through the "flow". Like, having to press the A button repetitively for 5-10 minutes at a time. Sometimes there are very minor script changes depending on which character is teamed up with who, for which I slow down the A-tapping but yeah, I've read the same explanations about AB rules and the virus countless times.

(2) Otherwise I'm enjoying it. Any news about the next sequel?

 

[Jintor]

why aren't you just fast-forwarding through all of that stuff or jumping straight to the branching off bits?

it'll auto-slow you down if anything new turns up.

 

[BowieZ]

why aren't you just fast-forwarding through all of that stuff or jumping straight to the branching off bits?

it'll auto-slow you down if anything new turns up.

That's why I've been doing. I'll start a new branch where it splits, pick the next alternate option, but a lot of what comes after that is still almost exactly the same, apart from the puzzles.

Is there another way to fast forward besides hitting the icon in the bottom right corner, or pressing A?

 

[Jintor]

Should be a button that just auto fast-forwards for you until it hits something new. Can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

 

[LProtag]

Just a quick question that's slightly related to VLR.

Is it worth playing Ever17 if I've had some of the major stuff spoiled for me? I'm talking about (spoilers for both VLR and Ever17)

Spoiler

The whole Kyle reveal being similar to the Blick Winkel.

Thanks!

 

[podracer35]

Just a quick question that's slightly related to VLR.

Is it worth playing Ever17 if I've had some of the major stuff spoiled for me? I'm talking about (spoilers for both VLR and Ever17)

Spoiler

The whole Kyle reveal being similar to the Blick Winkel.

Thanks!

If that's all you've been spoiled on, I think you're fine. Just avoid any and all other spoilers. I was spoiled on a few major details, but still enjoyed the ride thoroughly. My brain just wasn't blown all over the place As mmuch as it should have been.

So yeah, you should be fine as long as you avoid more spoilers. Just be warned that the pacing is pretty meh during the beginning of the first four routes, since it is fairly slow. I enjoyed it, but I know a good amount of people were turned off by that. If you can press trough to the final route, you're golden.


Also, a tip on the order of routes: (minor spoils? Nothing plot related)

Spoiler

Do Takeshi's routes first, then The Kid's. And do the final route as The Kid as well. It's soooooo much better!

 

[BowieZ]

Should be a button that just auto fast-forwards for you until it hits something new. Can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

Thanks. Took me a while to figure out pressing the bottom right button twice enabled "Skip". I thought I had to just repeatedly press that button.

After 30+ hours I've only got a couple of endings to go, and then I take it I will be able to start solving the final puzzle, involving the

Spoiler

lion

eating

Spoiler

the sun

... or whatever I'm in for lol

Great stuff. Very addictive and engaging!

 

[entremet]

So has anyone played through the digital 3DS version and see if they really worked everything out?

Yes. It's fixed. They disabled saving in the PEC room.

 

[Check Mark]

I've barely watched Doctor Who...but uh, one of the script writer's a Doctor Who fan?

Spoiler

I didn't see it coming until you're in The Archives and then bam "Allons-y!"

Maybe a reference to all the

Spoiler

wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey

that occurs in this game. Do you also notice all the blue boxes in the Flow screen? lol

Just finished this incredible game. Took about 32 hours, but I skipped a lot of voiced dialogue (I read fast, too eager to finish the story!)

I played a physical copy and never saved in an escape room, so I never experienced corrupted data. Game froze once after solving an annoying puzzle though:

Spoiler

the dice in the Archives

 

[mstevens]

The Vita version was $19 for me on Amazon so I decided to double dip. Excited to play this one again! (without the fear of any save glitches)

 

[Downhome]

Has the 3DS version gone OOP or something? I can't find it in stock anywhere online, some places only have listings for a preowned version still up, and on Amazon it is OOS and says "temporarily not in stock" but a lot of times that is what they list things as when they are out of stock and wont be getting any more.

Anyone know what's up?

 

[PKrockin]

This guy might know something?

 

[Downhome]

Oh wow, thanks. I'll shoot a message their way.

 

[Downhome]

Well, the one I ordered on Amazon for $19.99 the other day just shipped actually!

 

[neojubei]

I'm at my wits end with this game. This game stop being fun when it has me type in random numbers only to get them wrong all the time. I've trusted people who said this was a good game and it's not.

 

[SpoonyBard]

I'm at my wits end with this game. This game stop being fun when it has me type in random numbers only to get them wrong all the time. I've trusted people who said this was a good game and it's not.

hint: they're not supposed to be random

 

[R_thanatos]

I'm at my wits end with this game. This game stop being fun when it has me type in random numbers only to get them wrong all the time. I've trusted people who said this was a good game and it's not.

i have no idea what you're talking about . witch part of the game are you in ? ( Behind what door ? )