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Zero Time Dilemma (Zero Escape 3) review thread
- Thread starter takoyaki
- Start date
His consciousness was immediately swapped to 50 years in the future.
RIP Jintor. I'll miss you on ToonamiGAF.
The Illiterati
Member
I played both of the previous games a few years ago, and just read through their wikis to refresh my memory.
But even with the recaps, after all of the mind jumping and time travel I don't really know where in the hell Sigma and Phi and ? ended up and if it is even relevant to ZTD.
Am I going to be totally lost or is at least some of this going to be straightened out for me?
But even with the recaps, after all of the mind jumping and time travel I don't really know where in the hell Sigma and Phi and ? ended up and if it is even relevant to ZTD.
Am I going to be totally lost or is at least some of this going to be straightened out for me?
TheSuperSakura
Member
Guys, just another heads up...spoilers are popping up on the Zero Escape wiki so proceed with caution to the wiki and other sites. I serve as admin on the Zero Escape wiki and some guy is going around spamming a bunch of websites with spoilers about the game.
May have to disconnect myself from the internet until the Steam release.
Yeah, I thought this would happen eventually. Thanks for the head's up. What websites do you mean exactly or is "a bunch of websites" just a rumor?
TheSuperSakura
Member
I am also debating on this. This thread and a few others have been spoiler free but for those wanting to refresh their memory via the wiki may want to reconsider their options and go find a YouTube recap or watch a let's play of the previous entries.
They left before I could find more information as to specific sites, they even threatened to tell me the identity of Zero after I warned them to stop posting the spoilers. I panicked not wanting to see any potential spoiler they could throw out so I threw my hands up against my screen when they linked a thread here (didn't click on it, so unsure as to what it was linked to exactly, it was a single post) haha. Again though, just be wary of where you go, and what you read. We've all waited too long to have this game spoiled for us.
properpropaganda
Member
some of them are basically monologues and death scenes so....
Man, i cant wait for the spoiler thread.
lmao. still here for now.
really worried that ztd will make me fail my language exam tbh... dunno about my willpower these days
thanks for the warning! I'll stay clear of the Wiki for now.
Do you know if the two pages from the Wiki that I linked in the OP are now full of spoilers? I'll remove them if that's the case.
TheSuperSakura
Member
As far as I know, they were mainly on the forums and the wiki chat linking the spoilers, and not wanting to be spoiled myself I'm hesitant to read the pages. However, glancing over, and looking at the edit history they seem to be in the clear. This isn't 100% certainty though, but definitely steer clear of the character pages on there.
Ok, thanks again TheSuperSakura. I'll remove them just in case someone edits in spoilers later. Those leakers are not going to ruin it for the rest of us
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
I'm just very unsure about trusting any review so far. I thought that VLR had a terrible story that was presented in slow and grueling cut-scenes and text. I'm shocked that people like the story in VLR. I assume 999 was similar.
999 isn't really that similar. It's more horror but gameplay has tons of parts you need to do multiple times. If you don't like the VLR story then I doubt the series is for you.
Basileus777
Member
VLR is a significant step down from 999 in everything but pacing/lack of repetition due to the timeline jumping mechanics.
SoulUnison
Banned
I'd sort of agree with him.
I enjoy the overarching storyline but VLR felt like it had a LOT of filler and "get to the point already."
I also feel like you spend at least an hour or two of a play through just watching dots move around maps and doors opening and closing.
Thank god you can skip segments you've seen before, though.
You're too cool for these games you should skip them
Yes, VLR is garbage and a piece of waste. However, 999 was rather fun to go through.
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
I bought the game (VLR). I wanted to like it. Just being honest. It was torture but i got the platinum.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
Get out.
Trigonometrize.
Member
Going for platinums that I have a medicore opinion on can sometimes make me appreciate the game more. It's sometimes worth it, and even if it ends up a dud, hey, still got a platinum.
It's funny reading opinions similar to this when it is consistently championed as one of the best games on Vita/3DS. I played 999 and thought it was ok, but I got a bad ending and had no desire to replay through a bunch of puzzles and text.
I did consider picking up VLR during this weekend's flash sale, but I remember thinking the writing in the demo was pretty bad. Still, with all the praise I thought maybe I should guve it a fair shot. Now that I've read this thread I'm pretty sure the game isn't for me.
But, like, what does that actually get you in real life? I've never understood the appeal of achievements/trophies. I just play games for the experience and there's too many games to play.
You have to treat the games more like books with puzzles randomly injected.
You haven't seen any twist in either game then, and one of the best storytelling uses of videogames as a medium (later on in 999). I'd encourage you to take a guide and do it since you already have that game but eh.
Of course they're not perfect and I can see what you mean on some points, it's just that you've only seen the weaknesses so far and not really any of their strengths except I guess 999's atmosphere and puzzles.
petethepanda
Member
I know there's no chance the series can ever possibly recapture the feeling of the final couple hours of 999, but I'll keep on irrationally hoping that it does anyway.
After thinking about the series a lot lately it occurred to me that my feelings on VLR are pretty much the same as Back to the Future 2. I really enjoy the movie, it ups the sci-fi stuff in lots of fun ways, but it doesn't have the heart that the original had, and in a lot of ways I kind of wish the first had just been a single thing without any follow-ups.
After thinking about the series a lot lately it occurred to me that my feelings on VLR are pretty much the same as Back to the Future 2. I really enjoy the movie, it ups the sci-fi stuff in lots of fun ways, but it doesn't have the heart that the original had, and in a lot of ways I kind of wish the first had just been a single thing without any follow-ups.
VLR felt like the MGS2 of the series.
It felt like Uchikoshi tried to cram every freaking sci-fi twist ever (
!)
, to the point it went overboard. Didn't help that the game basically lacked of any conclusion whatsoever, the ending was basically TUNE IN NEXT GAME FOR SOME ACTUAL STUFF.
999 was a well told story, with crazy twists, but I never felt like it went overboard, once the credits rolled I thought "Yeah, that was a bit crazy, but it was a good story. It knew what It wanted to tell and it did within its boundaries. I'm satisfied".
It felt like Uchikoshi tried to cram every freaking sci-fi twist ever (
Virus! Clones! It was the moon all along! Giant timeskip! Consciousnesses swapping through time and space! Androids
while still managing to recycle the same twists from Ever17, you big hack!!!
999 was a well told story, with crazy twists, but I never felt like it went overboard, once the credits rolled I thought "Yeah, that was a bit crazy, but it was a good story. It knew what It wanted to tell and it did within its boundaries. I'm satisfied".
Much like the games,
he's just hammering in the idea of Infinite loops when he reuses ideas in the Zero Escape series that he's already explored in the Infinity series.
MORPHOGENETIC FIELD
his work and their similarities as Blick Winkel both in and out of
properpropaganda
Member
Its ok. The low res kinda affects one or two puzzles. But other than that it is cool.
Oh no I have a dissenting opinion and I should totally get out!
VLR is garbage and I'm sure ZTD won't fare any better but I'm finishing this to move on with my life.
Eh, it's a take it or leave it kinda series. The only reason I got really into the series was because I had a fun time with Uchikoshi's previous stuff before 999.
I really adored Ever17. Some people don't like it because it's essentially some weird offputting boring chicken sandwich eating simulator but I thought it was charming. Charming until VLR happened.
VLR was pretty much the point where the series went full-blown MGS, yeah. I'd say this assessment of 999 sums up much of why I felt that it worked better.
StarStabbedMoon
Member
Surprised by the VLR hate. I thought GAF loved that game.
Anyways from what I've played ZTD feels much more like VLR than it does 999. It borrows some more of the gritty and violent tone from 999, but the story, concepts, and timeline gameplay is basically just like VLR amped up to 11. There's no going back to basics for this game.
I love VLR and this game too, but if people don't like VLR than I'd severely temper your expectations for this game.
Anyways from what I've played ZTD feels much more like VLR than it does 999. It borrows some more of the gritty and violent tone from 999, but the story, concepts, and timeline gameplay is basically just like VLR amped up to 11. There's no going back to basics for this game.
I love VLR and this game too, but if people don't like VLR than I'd severely temper your expectations for this game.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
I hope you realise just how silly this sounds.
GAF is three people?
Most of GAF does love VLR. It's loved by both critics and fans. You'll always get a small handful of people that won't like something in, well, pretty much anything and everything no matter how much something is loved.
VLR isn't as good as 999 in my opinion, but it came very close. Spoiler discussion on why, this is VLR and 999 spoilers, NOT ZTD spoilers:
To make Zero Escape (before it was called that) a franchise, the stakes of the plot had to be upped from the original game. The original game was about taking out Cradle, and saving Akane. Both of these were resolved in that game. Alice's appearance at the end was comic relief, and then was made into an actual character for the next game. No stones were left unturned, so the plot had to be expanded upon. VLR went a very logical direction with it, and still shocked and surprised players. The plot was turned into the fate of the world being at stake, and twists had to evolve further.
One of things I really liked about VLR, is even though they went crazy with the plot (in a good way), every single thing was explained, there were no plot holes. The only "hole" left is of course what happens in ZTD. For instance, the way they handled being on the moon and what Radical 6 did was really smart. VLR also kept the suspense through the roof, and I would even argue moreso than 999 since there was more to the game, and given that the player knew some of the background from 999, everything else was a mystery. One thing was obvious to players that played 999 right off the bat: They knew exactly what the flowchart really was. However they weren't expecting moments for the characters to recognize it, such as that bit when Alice Betrays Sigma when he chooses Ally, and then chooses Ally when Sigma chooses Betray, and says "Wait that's not what happened last time..."
The path locks, while something that may seem annoying, were actually fun to figure out what you needed to get around them. A few months ago, I was watching my girlfriend play VLR, and she was confused because she got the Clover ending, where she learned what Neostigmine did (stopped the Turbocurarine in the bracelets), so then in the lock where Sigma's BP hits 0, she thought the answer was the Turbocurarine. However no one had it and Sigma didn't know where it was in that timeline, but she found out later the real answer was his arms being synthetic.
VLR's plot direction was necessary because it needed to give the series something to have at stake, and managed to do this in a logical manner. We learned of the origin of Cradle, and even what the creepy Chapel in 999 was for. Instead of being all about Akane's life, the stakes were higher with the apocalyptic release of Radical 6. Having VLR set in the future illustrated how much of a threat this was. If they were to not have released VLR, and released ZTD instead (keep in mind I do not know ZTD spoilers), part of the goal would be to keep this "Radical 6" thing from releasing, and if you are successful, you really don't get a sense of how big of a threat it is. VLR established all this, as well as adding new important characters to the franchise.
Funny little thing, people pointed out that the ZTD cast is 4 (debatably 5 if you count Diana) characters that appeared in previous games. VLR had 3 (4 if you count K when Akane was in the suit).
One of things I really liked about VLR, is even though they went crazy with the plot (in a good way), every single thing was explained, there were no plot holes. The only "hole" left is of course what happens in ZTD. For instance, the way they handled being on the moon and what Radical 6 did was really smart. VLR also kept the suspense through the roof, and I would even argue moreso than 999 since there was more to the game, and given that the player knew some of the background from 999, everything else was a mystery. One thing was obvious to players that played 999 right off the bat: They knew exactly what the flowchart really was. However they weren't expecting moments for the characters to recognize it, such as that bit when Alice Betrays Sigma when he chooses Ally, and then chooses Ally when Sigma chooses Betray, and says "Wait that's not what happened last time..."
The path locks, while something that may seem annoying, were actually fun to figure out what you needed to get around them. A few months ago, I was watching my girlfriend play VLR, and she was confused because she got the Clover ending, where she learned what Neostigmine did (stopped the Turbocurarine in the bracelets), so then in the lock where Sigma's BP hits 0, she thought the answer was the Turbocurarine. However no one had it and Sigma didn't know where it was in that timeline, but she found out later the real answer was his arms being synthetic.
VLR's plot direction was necessary because it needed to give the series something to have at stake, and managed to do this in a logical manner. We learned of the origin of Cradle, and even what the creepy Chapel in 999 was for. Instead of being all about Akane's life, the stakes were higher with the apocalyptic release of Radical 6. Having VLR set in the future illustrated how much of a threat this was. If they were to not have released VLR, and released ZTD instead (keep in mind I do not know ZTD spoilers), part of the goal would be to keep this "Radical 6" thing from releasing, and if you are successful, you really don't get a sense of how big of a threat it is. VLR established all this, as well as adding new important characters to the franchise.
Funny little thing, people pointed out that the ZTD cast is 4 (debatably 5 if you count Diana) characters that appeared in previous games. VLR had 3 (4 if you count K when Akane was in the suit).
Sure. I've already had Uchikoshi's writing shoved down my throat for VLR and punchline let's see how far this goes.
Only just realised that this is scheduled for a 28th June release (I assumed it was this coming Friday). Does that mean it will be out on the 3DS eShop on Tuesday too? I'm sure this has probably been asked but I've run a few google searches and searched the European Nintendo website and can't find the info.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Yes
Tinfoilhatsron
Banned
999 was pretty fucking great, but if ZTD lives up to the hype then it will surpass it imo. As much as I love VLR, it was a set up for this game.
Considering 999 wasn't a huge success in Japan and seemed to be loved more in the West combined with how rocky ZTD's whole hiatus was, VLR might have been Uchikoshi's only chance to expose to this brand new audience these ideas he's had in his previous works before Zero Escape that this audience may have never heard of or have a chance to play. It's no wonder VLR feels so packed with ideas that some people who preferred the more palatable 999 felt filled to burst with all these new story devices in VLR.
The idea was indeed to make VLR with appealing to Japanese consumers who passed on 999 in mind, though not everything about how it was made was in line with Uchikoshi's wishes (i.e., toning down the horror and tension). Either way, it was all for nought, for even as a multiplatform release on 3DS and Vita, both versions combined still managed to sell less than the then DS-exclusive 999 over there.
You could say something similar about 999 given what happened with KID and the Infinity series.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
Yep.