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LTTP: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors(spoilers)

G

"God's Beard!"

Member
So I heard that this was a good mystery/puzzle style game which I love, so I picked it up along with Resident Evil Revelations to go with my new Fire Emblem 3DS. I've been swapping between the games since I got it, and I just finished 999 right now.

It's really slow paced, and not in a good way. You can't speed up the text that makes up 90% of the game, so I'm forced to reread every line 3-4 times while the next one loads. What makes it worse is that everything you do in the game gets explained multiple times, and if you leave a puzzle and come back the tutorial repeats every time.

Honestly, I don't know if it's a good game. I was really frustrated with the characters, who as the game went a long didn't make a lot of choices that seemed obvious to me. At the beginning of the game, I chose to go into the door with the first guy that died because Junpei said he wanted to examine the body. I go in, and I never get the option to examine the body. I could have gone with the other characters, but I changed my mind just for that reason, which turned out to be nothing. The body of the guy had a knife that I wanted. Speaking of which, Junpei keeps all the door keys on his person, but I couldn't take the screwdriver with me from the first mission, so I had to build another one later on. I also wanted to leave people behind when Snake went missing that would add up to a digital root of 3 if he showed up again but that wasn't an option.

On top of that all the characters are pretty tired tropes that don't really get a lot of development, and the narration is pretty monotonous for a game that's supposed to be a visual novel.

I wound up getting a really shitty ending that didn't resolve anything, despite having solved all the puzzles and not feeling like I made any poor decisions. The game wants me to replay it, but I don't really feel like playing any more of what I feel is a random outcome based on the paths I chose. I've been hearing a lot of good things about Virtue's Last Reward so I got this game first since it's story-based, but I don't have any interest in a sequel any more. I'd rather go play "escape from a room" flash games so I don't have to deal with the same story frustrations. To be honest, I don't even think "click on things until something happens" is good gameplay design. It's not even a real puzzle, and a few of them I just solved algorithmically before even getting the clues(like all 3 puzzles in the torture room).

It's definitely the worst out of the 3 games that I got.
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Subsequent playthroughs feel much quicker since you can skip text and the puzzles go by fast since you know what to do. You really should get the true ending at least.

edit: This means playing through at least 2 more times, heh. That's where the payoff of this game is though.
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
God's Beard said:
I wound up getting a really shitty ending that didn't resolve anything, despite having solved all the puzzles and not feeling like I made any poor decisions. The game wants me to replay it, but I don't really feel like playing any more of what I feel is a random outcome based on the paths I chose.
Click to expand...
Replay it.

Or don't. But then you won't understand why we like the game.
 
F

Fey

Banned
Getting 1 ending is not playing the whole game, in case you weren't aware. Each ending is a part of the story. You've only really played 1/6th of the game.

Though it IS repetitive, a problem the sequel takes care of.
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
If you only got one ending then you barely saw any of the story. You have to get at least two specific endings before unlocking the real one. From what I understand, a lot of (or most?) visual novels are built like this.

Also, visual novels by design don't contain much gameplay at all. This isn't a western-style graphic adventure. It's a book printed on a game disc with a few choices every so often and some isolated puzzle sections. That's really the only "game" part right there.
 
V

VeryGooster

Banned
You're gonna LOVE the true ending text that's like an hour of scrolling.

I liked a lot of the puzzles even though I felt the game sometimes went too out of its way to explain what to do.

The tropes in the characters are fairly recognizable but, I dunno, I thought they helped keep the story interesting even if it went some weird places.
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Also, in VLR you don't have to repeat anything, that game added a story flowchart that let's you instantly hop to any point in the story where you've already been, along with skipping any already-seen text that pops up. Plus, as far as I've seen, you never have to repeat a puzzle in VLR.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
RedSwirl said:
If you only got one ending then you barely saw any of the story. You have to get at least two specific endings before unlocking the real one.

Also, visual novels by design don't contain much gameplay at all. This isn't a western-style graphic adventure. It's a book printed on a game disc with a few choices every so often and some isolated puzzle sections. That's really the only "game" part right there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but if that's the case then why is a story-only game nothing but shitty stereotypes?

A MASKED MAN KIDNAPPED YOU SO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE WITH YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND THAT SECRETLY LOVES YOU
 
A

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
God's Beard said:
Yeah, but if that's the case then why is a story-only game nothing but shitty stereotypes? If all they had to focus on was story then why is the story:

A MASKED MAN KIDNAPPED YOU SO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE WITH YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND THAT SECRETLY LOVES YOU
Click to expand...


But that's the thing... its NOT that. lol its REALLY not that.
 
A

AniHawk

Member
God's Beard said:
So if the whole first playthrough was garbage and I enjoyed almost nothing, I'm expected to replay the game several times to understand why it doesn't suck?
Click to expand...

you will be able to fast-forward (although not skip) through text you've seen before. you'll know you get to a new area once the text goes back to its normal speed.

999 is really more of a visual novel, and i caution anyone looking to pick it up that they'll be doing a lot of reading. depending on your path, you might be replaying some of the same puzzle rooms again.

virtue's last reward is much tighter as a game. it lets you skip from decision to decision without having to replay anything. it also loses some of the tension 999 has in the process.

this is one of the few games you really need to see to the end to understand why people like it. the way the game and story is designed hinges on multiple playthroughs. even when i had seen maybe half the endings of the game (and none were the true endings), i didn't get it. it wasn't until the very final plot twist that i realized just how smartly put together absolutely everything was.

and without giving much away, pretty much everyone is wrong about everything in this game (meaning, the direction of the plot and intentions of the characters) on their first playthrough.
 
D

DaBoss

Member
I am going to play this game soon. May start this week and add it to my February backlog. I've finished every game so far in the Ace Attorney series that has been localized, so I've been itching for another visual novel.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
I just restarted the game with my memories, guess I'll be back in an hour or so to talk more shit about this bad game that I spent twenty bucks on.
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
God's Beard said:
So if the whole first playthrough was garbage and I enjoyed almost nothing, I'm expected to replay the game several times to understand why it doesn't suck?
Click to expand...
Ok, then don't replay it? I mean I think for most of gaf, the main game was fun, but the final ending blew it over the top. That's why you hear about it as much as you do. However, if you didn't like any of it, by all means, don't replay it.

But some of your criticism isn't fair. Sure, the enjoyment of the writing is subjective. You think it's shit, and I can't tell you you're wrong. That said, describing the ending as a "random outcome" is pretty facetious. What makes the ending you got random compared to any other literature? The writer has a set narrative, and you read it.

And I don't recall many real character tropes. Could you tell me what you think is being represented?
 
J

Jintor

Member
I don't know, on one hand you didn't actually finish the game. On the other, if you didn't enjoy what you played so far and aren't hankering to know more you probably won't enjoy it anyway
 
B

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
God's Beard said:
So if the whole first playthrough was garbage and I enjoyed almost nothing, I'm expected to replay the game several times to understand why it doesn't suck?
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone expects anything from you in this matter. *Shrug*

God's Beard said:
I just restarted the game with my memories, guess I'll be back in an hour or so to talk more shit about this bad game that I spent twenty bucks on.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're really bent on not enjoying this. Well, sucks to be you.
 
A

AmaterasuOkami076

Member
I got all the endings to this game, and was doing subsequent playthroughs in a matter of a few hours, you can't skip puzzles, but you can massively speed up text and memorise the answers to puzzles to blitz through it really quickly. Your first playthrough isn't mean to give you closure on the story, and eventhough you find it repetitive, I still definitely think it's worth your time to see it through to the proper ending. It's the least predictable game I've ever played when it comes to story, and I guarantee you won't be expecting it.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
Lumination said:
But some of your criticism isn't fair. Sure, the enjoyment of the writing is subjective. You think it's shit, and I can't tell you you're wrong. That said, describing the ending as a "random outcome" is pretty facetious. What makes the ending you got random compared to any other literature? The writer has a set narrative, and you read it.
Click to expand...

It's random because it's a game, not just a novel. I don't think I made any bad decisions, but everybody still died at the end with no explanation. I basically got no ending. Books have things like resolution. If I had to reread Norwegian Wood 16 times to figure out what happened to the characters, I'd be pissed. I'd be happier if it was just one story that made sense. I don't need to be blown away, but I appreciate coherent storytelling and not infodump epilogues..

Lumination said:
And I don't recall many real character tropes. Could you tell me what you think is being represented?
Click to expand...
Waking up in a mysterious room with a childhood friend is like the basis of every shitty Japanese story ever.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
God's Beard said:
So if the whole first playthrough was garbage and I enjoyed almost nothing, I'm expected to replay the game several times to understand why it doesn't suck?
Click to expand...

I hated my first 2 playthroughs. The true end still blew my mind.

You have to realize that completing a playthrough doesn't mean completing the game. It's more like a chapter end than anything else. It is designed around multiple playthroughs, and not in the sense that more means extra, but you've literally gotten 1/5 of the story (less really).

That being said, knowing your tastes, you will hate it no matter what.
 
S

Synth_floyd

Banned
The true ending is a bit of a clusterfuck but it's still an enjoyable game. And the whole underpin to the game is basically a huge cliche of visual novels.
Every character is lying about who they are
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
God's Beard said:
It's random because it's a game, not just a novel.
Click to expand...
But it's not a game. It's a visual novel. The "game" parts are the puzzles, not the narrative.
God's Beard said:
I don't think I made any bad decisions, but everybody still died at the end with no explanation. I basically got no ending. Books have things like resolution. If I had to reread Norwegian Wood 16 times to figure out what happened to the characters, I'd be pissed.
Click to expand...
You got an ending and a non-ending. Who died? Why did they die? Who killed them? These are questions that need answers that you do not have yet.

God's Beard said:
Waking up in a mysterious room with a childhood friend is like the basis of every shitty Japanese story ever.
Click to expand...
What japanese stories are you reading?
 
A

AniHawk

Member
God's Beard said:
It's random because it's a game, not just a novel. I don't think I made any bad decisions, but everybody still died at the end with no explanation.
Click to expand...

this is actually fucking awesome. this is how decisions should work in real life. you do things and there are consequences that are out of control. you don't put points into paragon and get the good ending. you make a choice and you're stuck with it.

it's one of the few things that other games could learn from. all the endings are also explained in other paths. it's not random. you'll find out how you fucked up.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
The endings make sense the more of them you get and if you pay attention to what conversations take place in each route. The first one won't make sense probably, especially if you got the most confusing one the first time.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
I don't feel like I made a choice though, none of the things that happened had any apparent connection to my actions. I got through every puzzle, and at the end, people are just dead. I turn around, and people are dead. There's no tension in the game because I don't feel like I'm in control and I don't feel like Junpei's actions had any effect on the path of the story.

It's not like "oh I have to sacrifice so-and-so and now I have to deal with how the rest of the group treats me now", or "I can be a dick and go off on my own or force people to do things they aren't comfortable with". It's just tagging along and seeing what happens.

Lumination said:
Which ending DID you get? So we can relate with you.
Click to expand...

Everybody dies, and I fall in a pool of water and the game's over.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
AniHawk said:
this is actually fucking awesome. this is how decisions should work in real life. you do things and there are consequences that are out of control. you don't put points into paragon and get the good ending. you make a choice and you're stuck with it.

it's one of the few things that other games could learn from. all the endings are also explained in other paths. it's not random. you'll find out how you fucked up.
Click to expand...

Yeah, best to think of the other endings as sort of chapter ends more than any actual endings. I can give a more accurate description, but that would be spoiling things.

As someone said a long while back, 999 starts underwhelming, then gets whelming, then after the true end overwhelming.
 
S

Synth_floyd

Banned
God's Beard said:
I don't feel like I made a choice though, none of the things that happened had any apparent connection to my actions. I got through every puzzle, and at the end, people are just dead. I turn around, and people are dead. There's no tension in the game because I don't feel like I'm in control and I don't feel like Junpei's actions had any effect on the path of the story.

It's not like "oh I have to sacrifice so-and-so and now I have to deal with how the rest of the group treats me now", or "I can be a dick and go off on my own or force people to do things they aren't comfortable with". It's just tagging along and seeing what happens.
Click to expand...

It's a staple of the visual novel genre. You make a bunch of random choices and they have major effects on the plot. Choosing door 1 over door 2 is basically a random, meaningless choice but it affects the game. Choosing "I search the bedroom" instead of "I search the bathroom" is another meaningless choice but it affects the game.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
God's Beard said:
Waking up in a mysterious room with a childhood friend is like the basis of every shitty Japanese story ever.
Click to expand...

First thing , he woke up alone .
A second , there is more to it than a childhood friend with you .. There is plenty of things you should pay attention rather than this part of the story.
God's Beard said:
Everybody dies, and I fall in a pool of water and the game's over.
Click to expand...
Submarine ending on the first try ? lol
That's the most boring ending out of the endings in this game..
 
A

AniHawk

Member
God's Beard said:
I don't feel like I made a choice though, none of the things that happened had any apparent connection to my actions. I got through every puzzle, and at the end, people are just dead. I turn around, and people are dead. There's no tension in the game because I don't feel like I'm in control and I don't feel like Junpei's actions had any effect on the path of the story.

It's not like "oh I have to sacrifice so-and-so and now I have to deal with how the rest of the group treats me now", or "I can be a dick and go off on my own or force people to do things they aren't comfortable with". It's just tagging along and seeing what happens.
Click to expand...

that's the thing though- you don't think you made a decision, but you did. the people you talked with, the doors you chose. they mattered.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
Synth_floyd said:
It's a staple of the visual novel genre. You make a bunch of random choices and they have major effects on the plot. Choosing door 1 over door 2 is basically a random, meaningless choice but it affects the game. Choosing "I search the bedroom" instead of "I search the bathroom" is another meaningless choice but it affects the game.
Click to expand...

That's... so pointless, though. I've played these things before but I figured this one was different because everybody seems to like it. I'm playing through a second time right now as I post to see if anything interesting happens.

AniHawk said:
that's the thing though- you don't think you made a decision, but you did. the people you talked with, the doors you chose. they mattered.
Click to expand...

But there's no connection. If it was something like "oh, these guys died because they didn't have an expert computer hacker with them and I could have prevented it by making a different team" with appropriate forshadowing and character building, that'd be one thing. But I felt like what I got was "I chose door B so everyone's dead."
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
God's Beard said:
Everybody dies, and I fall in a pool of water and the game's over.
Click to expand...
Not everyone died. Who was left, and who had the most to gain from killing "everybody"? These are the questions I had racing through my head. Then again, I was pretty absorbed and not having a miserable time like you.

Maybe it's really not worth your time if you're hating it this much, but if you are still curious and you don't think the game is a total pile of shit, replay it.
 
S

Synth_floyd

Banned
God's Beard said:
That's... so pointless, though. I've played these things before but I figured this one was different because everybody seems to like it. I'm playing through a second time right now as I post to see if anything interesting happens.
Click to expand...

It's a visual novel and it follows the tropes and cliches of the visual novel genre. Interesting stuff will happen though. If you want to skip the repetitive stuff then just check out a FAQ and it tells you what choices you need to make to get the "good" ending. But there's no way to figure out the "correct" choices without guesswork, brute force or an FAQ.
 
G

"God's Beard!"

Member
Lumination said:
Not everyone died. Who was left, and who had the most to gain from killing "everybody"? These are the questions I had racing through my head. Then again, I was pretty absorbed and not having a miserable time like you.
Click to expand...

No, everybody(except maybe zero/the guy who killed the 9th man) was dead, unless the kids from the experiment have been living on the boat for 9 years diving into an endless abyss of obsession and insanity.
 
S

SteveWinwood

Member
lol you didn't beat anything

you're one seventh of the way there

but go ahead and hate it or whatever if you want to go this far out of your way to despise it

you need to understand that its narrative structure is nothing like you've obviously played before

stick with it

or don't no skin off my back you'll just miss out
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
I don't think saying the door choices affect the ending you get in random ways is fair either.

Sure, the scenarios don't play out like you might expect 100% of the time, but they do follow logical conclusions.

I think the most important things you can take away from your door choices are that you learn more about the people you're with, and you get to keep an eye on these people.
 
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