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Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (PS4/Vita/PC) - Review Thread

T

takoyaki

Member
nonaryp9ut8.jpg


Platforms:
PC: digital only
PS4: digital/physical in all regions, EU physical currently only available at a limited number of retailers (e.g. Amazon UK)
PSV including PSTV: digital/physical in NA&JP, EU still TBD

Release dates:
PC: WW March 24, 2017
PS4: NA March 24, 2017, EU March 24, 2017, JP April 13, 2017
PSV: NA March 24, 2017, EU Q4 2017, JP April 13, 2017

Opencritic: 87

Metacritic: PC, PSV (84), PS4 (87)

Reviews:

  • Twinfinite 8/10
    The Flowchart feature is another cool addition to 999, and it's a fantastic way of letting you track your in-game progress, along with how many endings you've unlocked. It worked extremely well in Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma by letting you jump to specific events you wanted to replay, and it's handy in 999 as well. [...] The Flowchart could potentially spoil the experience by revealing the game's flow and how many possible outcomes you can get from a decision, especially for newcomers, but it's not really a problem as long as you don't look at it until you beat the game once.
    Click to expand...
  • DualShockers 9.5/10
    In order to make up for the loss of the second screen, a new system has been added to give the player the ability to switch between ”Novel" and ”Adventure" mode. Novel mode shows text overlaying the characters, this text includes all spoken dialog as well as any dialog found in the original DS version.
    [...]Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a perfect addition to any visual novel fan's collection. Both games are truly a work of art that combine mystery and horror to tell a story that is so gripping that it's almost impossible to put down. The only thing missing is the inclusion of the third entry of the series, Zero Time Dilemma.
    Click to expand...
  • CGMagazine 8.5 /10
    Despite the PC version not supporting 4K resolutions, which left me feeling a little miffed, the visuals in both titles look excellent considering their origins as portable titles. I'm particularly fond of 999's expressive 2D character portraits and animations, which make up for the occasionally janky and archived 3D cutscenes.
    [...]While I do think the best way to play both of these titles is on the 3DS (some puzzles just work better with the dual screen setup,) there's no denying the quality and value of Zero Escape: The Nonary Games. It's never been easier to play these games, and if you've never had the means to, they're truly worth it.
    Click to expand...

  • We Got This Covered 9/10
    Players who've already experienced all the twists and turns of Kotaro Uchikoshi's first two Zero Escape games don't have much reason to dip back into Zero Escape: The Nonary Games other than hearing the added voice acting for their favorite characters from 999 (though to be fair, that was enough for me to play it again). For those who haven't gotten through this series yet, on the other hand, I can't think of a visual novel/adventure series that's more worth their time.
    Click to expand...

  • PlayStation LifeStyle 8.5/10

  • GearNuke 9/10

  • PSXBrazil 9/10

  • GamingBolt 8/10

  • GameRevolution 9/10

  • GameSpew 7 / 10

  • God is a Geek 9.5/10

  • Game Rant 8/10

  • Keen Gamer 8.5/10

  • multiplayer.it 8.5/10

  • Digitally Downloaded 9/10

  • ZTGD 9/10

  • PS4Blog.net 9.5/10

  • ZTGD 9/10

Will add more reviews to the OP when they are published. Thanks in advance for sharing them in the thread!

additional source: Zero Escape Wiki
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
I've seen zero buzz and didn't even know this was coming out today. There goes any chance these two games might become a success.
 
S

sirronoh

Member
I've been following this release for awhile as a huge fan of the franchise but I can see the average person completely missing it.

I'm in though. Can't wait to experience 999 all over again.
 
S

ShyMel

Member
I already own both games but I just really enjoyed 999 and I got VLR free though PS+ so I bought the PS4 version (thanks to 20% off through Amazon Prime). Still kinda confused as to why both games don't have their own trophy lists but it is what it is.

Bought the PS4 version as the Vita version is AWOL in the UK. Probably going to rebuy it.

Do they have separate trophy lists?
Click to expand...
Nope (possible spoilers in that list)
 
P

phantasmic_glaive

Member
Can someone please explain what this/ these games are? Or like.. didn't want to watch it on YouTube and spoiled. Reviews seem to be good.. just don't know what it is like.

Willing to buy it cause I like rpgs.
 
M

MaximumSpider

Banned
phantasmic_glaive said:
Can someone please explain what this/ these games are? Or like.. didn't want to watch it on YouTube and spoiled. Reviews seem to be good.. just don't know what it is like.

Willing to buy it cause I like rpgs.
Click to expand...
They're visual novels with a mix of puzzle solving involved. They're really good and you should probably at least look at a walkthrough of at least the first 15 minutes to see if you'll like it.
The series never got a third game so no proper ending. Be aware of that if you decide to jump in,
 
T

takoyaki

Member
Spieler Eins said:
I've seen zero buzz and didn't even know this was coming out today. There goes any chance these two games might become a success.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's been really weird. No marketing whatsoever leading up to release. Would have missed it as well if my preorder hadn't shipped today.
 
R

rickyson1

Member
phantasmic_glaive said:
Can someone please explain what this/ these games are? Or like.. didn't want to watch it on YouTube and spoiled. Reviews seem to be good.. just don't know what it is like.

Willing to buy it cause I like rpgs.
Click to expand...

I mean from what I understand it's got a few puzzles so it has more "gameplay" than most VNs but I wouldn't get it because you like rpgs

expect what is essentially a book with voice acting,music,art,and the occasional dialogue choice or puzzle
 
R

RiggyRob

Member
MaximumSpider said:
They're visual novels with a mix of puzzle solving involved. They're really good and you should probably at least look at a walkthrough of at least the first 15 minutes to see if you'll like it.
The series never got a third game so no proper ending. Be aware of that if you decide to jump in,
Click to expand...

Eh?

Isn't it 999 -> Virtue's Last Reward -> Zero Time Dilemma? Am I missing something?

This would make sense as to why it doesn't include all 3 games mind...
 
M

MTC100

Banned
Oh wait! This is available on PC too, yay! 999 was such an incredible game, been waiting to replay it again some day, hopefully the conversion from the NDS to PC was flawless.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
RiggyRob said:
Eh?

Isn't it 999 -> Virtue's Last Reward -> Zero Time Dilemma? Am I missing something?

This would make sense as to why it doesn't include all 3 games mind...
Click to expand...

Hyperbolic posts about how the "third game doesn't count because it didn't fulfill a plot point that wasn't cannon to begin with".
 
P

phantasmic_glaive

Member
rickyson1 said:
I mean from what I understand it's got a few puzzles so it has more "gameplay" than most VNs but I wouldn't get it because you like rpgs

expect what is essentially a book with voice acting,music,art,and the occasional dialogue choice or puzzle
Click to expand...

Hmm.. Ima check out the price and see what's up.

MaximumSpider said:
They're visual novels with a mix of puzzle solving involved. They're really good and you should probably at least look at a walkthrough of at least the first 15 minutes to see if you'll like it.
The series never got a third game so no proper ending. Be aware of that if you decide to jump in,
Click to expand...

Sounds cool.. thanks guys.
 
R

RiggyRob

Member
data said:
The 3rd game is disliked.
Click to expand...

Oh, it's snark - never mind then.

I feel like the Flowchart feature is a fantastic covenience/replay value addition to 999, but it comes at the cost of not being able to play it on the original hardware, which affects...things...
 
T

takoyaki

Member
RiggyRob said:
Eh?

Isn't it 999 -> Virtue's Last Reward -> Zero Time Dilemma? Am I missing something?

This would make sense as to why it doesn't include all 3 games mind...
Click to expand...

Yup, you're right.

I think that's a joke post. Zero Time Dilemma is a pretty divisive game among fans and I think some people on GAF just like to pretend it never happened ;)

But even people that hate ZTD will tell you that 999 alone is a fantastic experience that works well as a stand-alone game.
 
Hoho for breakfast

Hoho for breakfast

Member
If you havent played these games yet and you like a good story (and it's a lot of story), buy it buy it buy it. Right now. I had no idea it even released today.

Personally I've played through both and will wait for a sale.

And 999 is better than VLR imo but theyre both fantastic games.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
Imp the Dimp said:
VLR has better tension that 999 tbh
Click to expand...

VLR gets ten extra points alone for having a main character that isn't 'high school animu wimp lusting for quirky childhood waifu' for once. There's still Clover distracting from the atmosphere sadly, but you gotta let that pass - best game in the series.
 
S

Sumio Mondo

Member
Spieler Eins said:
VLR gets ten extra points alone for having a main character that isn't 'high school animu wimp lusting for quirky childhood waifu' for once. There's still Clover distracting from the atmosphere sadly, but you gotta let that pass - best game in the series.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tend to look back on VLR fonder too. 999 has a rather cliche set up with Junpei and Akane (childhood friend crush, so original). The characters were all good in VLR aside from Clover (who was unnecessary and just thrown in there to pander to the Japanese otaku audience). I do think that 999 has the best villain in the series though.
 
C

caliph95

Member
Spieler Eins said:
VLR gets ten extra points alone for having a main character that isn't 'high school animu wimp lusting for quirky childhood waifu' for once. There's still Clover distracting from the atmosphere sadly, but you gotta let that pass - best game in the series.
Click to expand...
Yeah the same for me and i appreciate the gameplay changes in VLR that made puzzles less annoying especially for completion.
Tenmyouji
> Junpei
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
Sumio Mondo said:
Yeah I tend to look back on VLR fonder too. 999 has a rather cliche set up with Junpei and Akane (childhood friend crush, so original). The characters were all good in VLR aside from Clover (who was unnecessary and just thrown in there to pander to the Japanese otaku audience). I do think that 999 has the best villain in the series though.
Click to expand...

Also, because of that, the often used argument of 999 being so much "darker" doesn't really hold water for me. Sure, it starts with a gore scene. Yet then you're back to
goofy sex jokes between Akane and Junpei
. And while I wouldn't have had anything against more gore in VLR, some of the fates in its story are actually bleaker to think about than simple murder. Like even the basic premise of
being trapped forever for an unknown reason if you fail the game, often alone when everyone else has died
.
 
L

LAA

Member
Would love this, but don't like a few things about how this has been handled, espicially in EU.
1. It's not on Vita till much later.
2. I seemingly can't just buy 999, despite already owning VLR, at the very least a discount.
3. It's priced crazy right now.

So sadly for a few reasons, not getting it right now, and to add to it's problems, it's in the midst of a very very packed quarter, which gives me less of a need to want this now.
 
N

NinjaCoachZ

Member
I can't personally imagine playing 999 on anything other than a DS and I'm perfectly happy with my original versions of both it and VLR, so I'm skipping this collection, but I'm really glad the former finally gets to be played on more platforms and be open to more people. One of my favourite games ever, and VLR is great too.
 
S

Shantom

Member
takoyaki said:
PS4: digital/physical in all regions, EU version currently exclusive to Amazon UK
Click to expand...

It's also available at Base for far cheaper. Plus, that seller on Amazon is a 3rd party, so it actually appears to only be available on Base, so whoever is handling the physical edition in Europe has done a dreadful job.
 
H

hans_castorp

Member
The ZE3 watch fiasco made promise myself I would never give money to Aksys again.

Also, I can't imagine playing 999 on anything other than nds
 
D

Deimo5

Member
Guess I'm importing the Vita version. Darn EU shenanigans.
That is ok on Vita right? Like if there is a patch of something. Just don't really want to deal with the account swapping thing.
 
R

ryushe

Member
Wait, 999 is fully voiced AND has a flow chart now?

Shit, I was going to skip this initially but that just sold me.

Edit:
Oh darn, I thouught it was the three games. Might have to skip for now.
 
D

DrunkShogun

Member
Will buy eventually since I love already played them but rather play upcoming games for the new experience then replay these two great games.
 
N

Neverforget

Member
999 was the best game of the Nintendo DS in my opinion, I enjoyed it from the start to finish. I unlocked it 100% and loved every second of it.

The characters are lovable, the story is engaging with a realistic twist, the puzzles have just the right level of difficulty to engage you without frustrating you.

I can only recommend this game regardless if this genre is for you or not. You will not regret it.
 
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