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LTTP: 999

S

Shiggy

Member
Fear2die said:
can you give some examples of those better visual novels?
Click to expand...

Hotel Dusk, Last Window, potentially Ghost Trick if that counts as a visual novel.


Lusankya said:
There are also Hotel Dusk 1 and 2, which are really good.

Anyways, I find it weird to not like a story, just because it's unrealistic. That's like dismissing all sci-fi or fantasy stories ever.
Click to expand...

The endings in this game were just too cringeworthy. The characters just felt unrealistic and rather stupid. Fantasy stories and sci-fi are fine, their characters just need to be believable.
 
G

galvenize

Member
Optimus Prime said:
All is not lost. I'll bet galvenize doesn't know about the nature of the true ending. I played VLR first. I would not recommend doing this, but it didn't blunt the impact of either game as much as people might think. Though admittedly my own fuzziness over the ending of VLR helped to preserve many of the twists in 999. If I had went out my way to figure out the end of VLR (e.g., using the official FAQ or reading spoiler threads), it would have certainly blunted 999's impact. Fortunately, I was foggy enough that not only was I still shocked by everything in 999, but it made me understand and appreciate the true nature of a few characters in VLR.

After I finished 999, I looked up everything and my mind was blown. Of course, it would have been better doing it the other way around (especially considering how much of a chore the gameplay can be sometimes in 999 compared to VLR), but I was still able to fully enjoy both games playing them out of sequence.

There is one advantage to playing VLR first. You're not disappointed by it lacking the great 2D art of 999. :p
Click to expand...

Interesting, so you're saying the twist I seem to know isn't the biggest? Hope you're right. Currently going through the safe ending and it's already dropping big hints in regards to Zero's identity (
bracelet (0) = (6)
), which is basically confirming what I already knew but if you're telling me that's not all there is to it, then dayum I'm looking forward to what's in store, assuming I haven't already read it on wiki when I wanted to deepen my VLR knowledge.
 
N

Neverforget

Member
I wish I could forget about this game just to be able to experienced all over again! Best DS game ever, it's ranked 3rd on GOAT games list all platforms included.

I played it straight and I got all of the endings without guides, I don't even think it was that popular back then.
 
P

Primethius

Banned
Immaculate said:
OH MY GOD

I JUST FINISHED IT COMPLETELY NOW

OH MY GOD WHAT
Click to expand...

VtRIt3t.gif
 
SoulUnison

SoulUnison

Banned
Amory said:
The true ending is cryptically difficult to get without a guide.

Only complaint I have about 999
Click to expand...

Poltergust said:
I somehow managed to get the Coffin ending on my first playthrough, without a guide. >.>
Click to expand...

It's actually pretty simple to get without a guide, I got the
Coffin
,
Safe
and True Endings completely by accident.

The trick is never passing up an opportunity to hear more information from someone when it's offered and to always go with different groups into the doors so that you spend a puzzle with every character.
It should happen pretty naturally if you want to learn about everybody's stories and don't play favorites with anyone.
 
M

MLH

Member
Galactic Fork said:
I don't get why people want to skip the puzzles. It's part of the story. You're supposed to get better and faster at the puzzles each time.
The whole thing about morphogenetic fields and rats doing better at mazes even though it was their first time. Each playthough isn't a new playthrough, it's a continuation in an alternate reality using the morphogenetic field to make better choices. (Which makes the best ending all the more interesting).
. By skipping the puzzles, you lose out on that.
Click to expand...

I never thought of it like that, you've just blown my mind.
I still find the VLR method to be better/ more convenient but I now also appreciate 999's method; it adds the additional cleverness of the
4th wall breaking elements the game has
. (spoiled just in case)
 
P

pashmilla

Banned
So I played this game, got all the endings, adored it. It's possibly one of my favourite DS games, up there with Hotel Dusk.

I got Virtue's Last Reward on Vita... and hated pretty much everything I played of it. The gross CG portraits as opposed to the drawn ones from 999, the puzzles seemed completely random, the voice acting... why is there voice acting? Why is it only in Japanese? Why can't I turn it off??? Guhhhhh. Tell me it gets better.
 
S

Skii

Member
pashmilla said:
So I played this game, got all the endings, adored it. It's possibly one of my favourite DS games, up there with Hotel Dusk.

I got Virtue's Last Reward on Vita... and hated pretty much everything I played of it. The gross CG portraits as opposed to the drawn ones from 999, the puzzles seemed completely random, the voice acting... why is there voice acting? Why is it only in Japanese? Why can't I turn it off??? Guhhhhh. Tell me it gets better.
Click to expand...

CG portraits are great imo. Add a lot of emotion to each character (except Clover).

Puzzles are a lot more difficult and sometimes a bit more random than they should be but you can always search the answer if you get super stuck.

Japanese voice acting is for us Europeans only :( US got some great English voice-acting instead.

Where are you exactly? Please spoiler any plot stuff as obviously the guy who created this thread hasn't played it.
 
P

pashmilla

Banned
Skii said:
CG portraits are great imo. Add a lot of emotion to each character (except Clover).

Puzzles are a lot more difficult and sometimes a bit more random than they should be but you can always search the answer if you get super stuck.

Japanese voice acting is for us Europeans only :( US got some great English voice-acting instead.

Where are you exactly? Please spoiler any plot stuff as obviously the guy who created this thread hasn't played it.
Click to expand...

Literally on the very first puzzle section, in the
lift where you meet... Phi?
. What I loved about 999 is that while the puzzles could be tricky they were always logical. Here it just seems like complete random nonsense.
"The numbers we need are 5 and 6 because this poster has 5 babies and this poster has 6 old people!"... what.
 
S

Skii

Member
pashmilla said:
Literally on the very first puzzle section, in the
lift where you meet... Phi?
. What I loved about 999 is that while the puzzles could be tricky they were always logical. Here it just seems like complete random nonsense.
"The numbers we need are 5 and 6 because this poster has 5 babies and this poster has 6 old people!"... what.
Click to expand...

That actually wasn't random at all. I felt that puzzle was pretty intuitive haha. They will get a lot more harder than that. A lot more. If you simply can't tolerate the puzzles at all, just find out how to solve them online. I still think it is worth trying all of them!

Anyway, you can't afford to miss the story of VLR. It is absolutely sensational. It is a direct sequel of 999 as well. Just so many twists and turns with the story, just like 999.
 
J

Jintor

Member
pashmilla said:
Literally on the very first puzzle section, in the
lift where you meet... Phi?
. What I loved about 999 is that while the puzzles could be tricky they were always logical. Here it just seems like complete random nonsense.
"The numbers we need are 5 and 6 because this poster has 5 babies and this poster has 6 old people!"... what.
Click to expand...

Iirc there's a pretty obvious logic "key" to that first puzzle... Somewhere. I think.
 
J

Jachaos

Member
pashmilla said:
The last number you need being 0 cos the guy holding you captive is called Zero is what killed it for me.
Click to expand...

To be fair I disliked that room but loved most of the others. I say most because there were a few rooms with random-ass puzzles like this one, where you need to add a 0 or something to the beginning or end of a code, or to roll a dice to be in the exact position it's supposed to be.
 
L

Linkstrikesback

Member
Amory said:
The true ending is cryptically difficult to get without a guide.

Only complaint I have about 999
Click to expand...

?

If I'm remembering rightly, you get one bad ending, you get a video that shows you the doors to go through to get the safe ending.

Then once you do that, you get another video that shows you the path to the true ending.

Granted you have to make some choices a specific way during that playthrough, but those options are fairly obvious as to which you should be choosing, if I remember rightly. Like, why would you ever not accept the gift from
santa
or then not give it to
Clover
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
I got through the true ending in 999 the first time yesterday and I wasn't blown away.

What am I missing ?

SoulUnison said:
It's actually pretty simple to get without a guide, I got the
Coffin
,
Safe
and True Endings completely by accident.

The trick is never passing up an opportunity to hear more information from someone when it's offered and to always go with different groups into the doors so that you spend a puzzle with every character.
It should happen pretty naturally if you want to learn about everybody's stories and don't play favorites with anyone.
Click to expand...

I got the coffin ending on my first playthrough, which is essentially the true ending without the correct prerequisites. I played through the first time on a plane flight, so I can be assured I didn't use a guide.
 
I

Immaculate

Banned
Grief.exe said:
I got through the true ending in 999 the first time yesterday and I wasn't blown away.

What am I missing ?
Click to expand...

the akane revelation and reveal was suprising for me but what really took the cake was the fact you arent at sea and are in nevada. it legitmately caught me off guard and suprised me to the point i was jumping out of my seat
 
O

OverturePT

Member
Grief.exe said:
I got through the true ending in 999 the first time yesterday and I wasn't blown away.

What am I missing ?



I got the coffin ending on my first playthrough, which is essentially the true ending without the correct prerequisites. I played through the first time on a plane flight, so I can be assured I didn't use a guide.
Click to expand...


EDIT: Ignore it. Read it completely wrong.


Didn't exactly blew me away either, but it was pretty cool/interesting, thinking back on how it all began and my assumptions and how it all turned out.
 
K

Korigama

Member
Galactic Fork said:
I don't get why people want to skip the puzzles. It's part of the story. You're supposed to get better and faster at the puzzles each time.
The whole thing about morphogenetic fields and rats doing better at mazes even though it was their first time. Each playthough isn't a new playthrough, it's a continuation in an alternate reality using the morphogenetic field to make better choices. (Which makes the best ending all the more interesting).
. By skipping the puzzles, you lose out on that.
Click to expand...
Even though VLR's skipping mechanic is convenient, this is a very good explanation for 999's method that fits with the themes of that game.
 
T

thestopsign

Member
I can't see how the iOS version is even remotely worth looking at considering 999 is
one of the few games that really makes use of the system it was developed for in every capacity, including the story. That is what blew my mind the most.
 
A

AniHawk

Member
Grief.exe said:
I got through the true ending in 999 the first time yesterday and I wasn't blown away.

What am I missing ?
Click to expand...

for me it's that you were seeing the game from multiple perspectives the entire time. the omnipotent narrator on the bottom screen was always kid-akane, and the way the information was conveyed to you was by having the player turn the screen upside-down. it is so elegant and beautiful. designers can learn from this.

more than that, it also colors everything before it in a completely different light. all of those video game endings aren't really video game endings, they're actually part of a larger narrative of this girl looking for the one way out. that one twist simultaneously subverts the idea of multiple endings and how hardware can tell a video game story at the same time. masterful.
 
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