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[Astarte]

Spoiler

Punchline

Uchikoshi please don't reuse twists, please don't reuse twists, please don't reuse twists... PLEASE!

He's going to reuse twists and it's going to suck. I hope the journey there is worth it though.

AA5 models are masterpieces.

Tell that to Trucy

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I did a rough recreation of what the key art might actually look like in terms of colors, saturation and unskewed perspective:

It's weird seeing a more realistic art style in this series.

 

[Voliko]

I don't like the art at all. Too subdued and realistic compared to the other games. I'm glad there will br a third game but I'm rather dissapointed about this. At least the music will still be great.

 

[mStudios]

THEORY TIME:
Why we won't see

Spoiler

Luna/Diana

as the main character:

Spoiler

One of the main reason I believe this its because we have to see how Diana dies/almost die and how she is reassemble back as a robot.

She is somehow part of the Free the Soul organization. We have to see how this organization works from "outside."

Sigma offered his parts to "save" Diana. This mean sigma knows or sympathize with Diana, so we actually have to see the relationship between these two, from a third person perspective.

My takes on who's going to be the main character:

Spoiler

I don't think we will sigma as the first person view character.
So we have:
Akane
Phi
The unknown conscious

Phi and the unknown being the most relevant in this part of the story.
We have to know how Phi joins Sigma/Akane.

 

[bon]

I'm worried about the new art direction, not only because I love Kinu but also because it looks like they're going for a big shift to realism. The feeling of that art is so different from the first two games.

VLR suffered for trying to appeal more to Japan, and I'm now a little worried that ZE3 is going to try too hard to appeal to Americans.

Still really looking forward to the game though, of course. Hopefully I'm off base here, it is just one image.

 

[TheSuperSakura]

I'm worried about the new art direction, not only because I love Kinu but also because it looks like they're going for a big shift to realism. The feeling of that art is so different from the first two games.

This. Hopefully the image shown is just going to be a flashback sequence image or something. I think it'd be hard to play this given the art style of the first two games, don't see a very good transition from anime style characters to realistic art style. This is just my opinion though obviously, and although I gripe about the change in art I've got complete faith in Aksys! Even if they keep this style throughout the whole game I think they'll somehow manage to completely pull it off.

I am still absolutely pumped for this game too.

 

[The Silver]

THEORY TIME:
Why we won't see

Spoiler

Luna/Diana

as the main character:

Spoiler

One of the main reason I believe this its because we have to see how Diana dies/almost die and how she is reassemble back as a robot.

She is somehow part of the Free the Soul organization. We have to see how this organization works from "outside."

Sigma offered his parts to "save" Diana. This mean sigma knows or sympathize with Diana, so we actually have to see the relationship between these two, from a third person perspective.

My takes on who's going to be the main character:

Spoiler

I don't think we will sigma as the first person view character.
So we have:
Akane
Phi
The unknown conscious

Phi and the unknown being the most relevant in this part of the story.
We have to know how Phi joins Sigma/Akane.

I thought VLR made it pretty obvious that

Spoiler

?/unknown/"you"

is going to be the main character in the next game


it's the same

Spoiler

blick winkel

concept from Ever 17

 

[mStudios]

I thought VLR made it pretty obvious that

Spoiler

?/unknown/"you"

is going to be the main character in the next game


it's the same

Spoiler

blick winkel

concept from Ever 17

I heard people saying

Spoiler

it was an easter egg

 

[Astarte]

I thought VLR made it pretty obvious that

Spoiler

?/unknown/"you"

is going to be the main character in the next game


it's the same

Spoiler

blick winkel

concept from Ever 17

The concept was confirmed by the creator in a tweet. The

Spoiler

?

is

Spoiler

Blick Winkel.

With how much importance was placed on this and how Ever17 wound up, I wouldn't be surprised if the main character really was

Spoiler

Blick Winkel.

Here's the tweet

 

[The Silver]

I heard people saying

Spoiler

it was an easter egg

that would be really weird with how important they made it seem

 

[mStudios]

that would be really weird with how important they made it seem

Spoiler

I think it's because it refers as "you" the player and not the character.

 

[4Tran]

In the Q&A session following VLR's release, Uchikoshi said that the third game will use 3D models. However, this was years ago and is easily subject to change. That being said, I preferred the 2D sprites of 999.

I think that 3D models are cheaper to animate, albeit Spike Chunsoft had only a limited ability to animate them convincingly. If ZE3 is made on a budget, then the 3D choice would be pretty easy to make.

I'm worried about the new art direction, not only because I love Kinu but also because it looks like they're going for a big shift to realism. The feeling of that art is so different from the first two games.

VLR suffered for trying to appeal more to Japan, and I'm now a little worried that ZE3 is going to try too hard to appeal to Americans.

Still really looking forward to the game though, of course. Hopefully I'm off base here, it is just one image.

I don't think that Uchikoshi has any idea how to appeal to Americans, so he'll just settle on whatever he wants to talk about. Which is really all for the best.

 

[CrazyDude]

I'm worried about the new art direction, not only because I love Kinu but also because it looks like they're going for a big shift to realism. The feeling of that art is so different from the first two games.

VLR suffered for trying to appeal more to Japan, and I'm now a little worried that ZE3 is going to try too hard to appeal to Americans.

Still really looking forward to the game though, of course. Hopefully I'm off base here, it is just one image.

Pretty much how I feel about it. Not really a fan of the art style used in what was shown.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I'm worried about the new art direction, not only because I love Kinu but also because it looks like they're going for a big shift to realism. The feeling of that art is so different from the first two games.

VLR suffered for trying to appeal more to Japan, and I'm now a little worried that ZE3 is going to try too hard to appeal to Americans.

Still really looking forward to the game though, of course. Hopefully I'm off base here, it is just one image.

All I know is that the key art looks awesome to me, and that I'd like to see more art like it. If it's entirely representative of how ZE3 looks, I'm all for it.

A bonus is that it could mean no more stupid designs like Lotus' or Alice's.

 

[Jotamide]

A bonus is that it could mean no more stupid designs like Lotus' or Alice's.

What if it backfires and we get realistic Lotus or Alice? :/

 

[Hours Left]

What if it backfires and we get realistic Lotus or Alice? :/

Then I'll be happy because I love their personalities, but don't care much for their outfits. (Alice would look great if her jacket was buttoned up. The necklace top was pretty ridiculous.)

 

[kewlmyc]

Art change? At this point, I just want to see how the trilogy ends, so I don't mind as much as I thought I would.

 

[Clov]

The art style looks great! Reminds me a bit of Suda51's old game, The Silver Case. I'm really excited that this game is finally happening; I think I'll pick up the Vita version this time. Only had a 3DS last time, and I was paranoid about my saves for the whole game.

 

[Hylian7]

Pretty much how I feel about it. Not really a fan of the art style used in what was shown.

I wouldn't worry, hell I would be excited. This is more reminiscent of 999, but still something new. The fact that Uchikoshi said there will be more horror than in VLR really speaks volumes about this one, as we know VLR had to tone it down to market to Japan. Now the gloves are off and Uchikoshi can make the end to the trilogy he wants.

As we already got confirmation, it was thanks to fan outcry and Aksys that this game exists. I think Uchikoshi understands that and knows what his audience is.

 

[Sölf]

AAAAAAHHHHH!!!

<3<3<3<3<3

 

[Jaymageck]

I'm actually a bit worried about this art style. I'm pretty anti-weeaboo, in that I don't think manga/anime style is a good in itself, however I'm concerned that Uchikoshi is going to try to deliberately "Westernise" this experience as that's the predominate fanbase. If he does that, it could drastically alter this game and make it no longer a "Zero Escape" title in its feel.

This game will be at its best if it's just the natural result of what the developers want to do, not if it's trying to cater to a specific audience.

 

[Hours Left]

I'm actually a bit worried about this art style. I'm pretty anti-weeaboo, in that I don't think manga/anime style is a good in itself, however I'm concerned that Uchikoshi is going to try to deliberately "Westernise" this experience as that's the predominate fanbase. If he does that, it could drastically alter this game and make it no longer a "Zero Escape" title in its feel.

This game will be at its best if it's just the natural result of what the developers want to do, not if it's trying to cater to a specific audience.

They have already stated that they're aiming for a tone similar to 999, so I don't think you need to worry about.

 

[Jaymageck]

They have already stated that they're aiming for a tone similar to 999, so I don't think you need to worry about.

Tone probably just means "as dark" as 999. The reason VLR was lighter in tone (injection bracelets instead of stomach bombs) was because it tried to appeal more to the Japanese market as the publisher was concerned 999 was too dark.

My concern is that if this is trying to be too edgy to appeal to Westerners, then that could spoil the actual storytelling. A confirmation that the tone is more similar to 999 doesn't ease that concern, unless they truly understand why people prefer 999 (i.e. the reason why 999 Clover > VLR Clover being a prime example).

 

[demidar]

They have already stated that they're aiming for a tone similar to 999, so I don't think you need to worry about.

Nice.

 

[Hours Left]

Tone probably just means "as dark" as 999. The reason VLR was lighter in tone (injection bracelets instead of stomach bombs) was because it tried to appeal more to the Japanese market as the publisher was concerned 999 was too dark.

My concern is that if this is trying to be too edgy to appeal to Westerners, then that could spoil the actual storytelling. A confirmation that the tone is more similar to 999 doesn't ease that concern, unless they truly understand why people prefer 999 (i.e. the reason why 999 Clover > VLR Clover being a prime example).

Why do you think they wouldn't know?

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Tone probably just means "as dark" as 999. The reason VLR was lighter in tone (injection bracelets instead of stomach bombs) was because it tried to appeal more to the Japanese market as the publisher was concerned 999 was too dark.

My concern is that if this is trying to be too edgy to appeal to Westerners, then that could spoil the actual storytelling. A confirmation that the tone is more similar to 999 doesn't ease that concern, unless they truly understand why people prefer 999 (i.e. the reason why 999 Clover > VLR Clover being a prime example).

I think this worry is silly and unfounded. Uchikoshi knows what he's doing, knows the kind of game he wants to make and knows the kind of games fans want. ZE3 will be a result of all of this. If anything was to be worried about, it was VLR which was definitely messed with due to the Japanese audience's supposed wants. Now, Uchikoshi will probably have more freedom to do what he wants to do.

 

[Jaymageck]

Why do you think they wouldn't know?

The reason I'm concerned is because I've seen examples in the past where talented Japanese developers have had odd ideas of how they think they should develop for a Western audience.

One of these is Project S.T.E.A.M, where the plot and characters seem to be Western targeted but ended up looking terrible and the end product didn't really appeal to many people.

Bomberman Zero I believe was also developed by a talented team right, but with some warped idea of what "Westerners want" in mind?

It's the whole funding situation and the closer collaboration with Aksys that has me a bit concerned. Everything points to this game being aimed more at the Western fanbase than Japanese. I know Uchikoshi is a very, very smart guy, but I just hope he doesn't end up influenced by an image he has of what "westerners want" vs. a Japanese audience and writes from that perspective. He wouldn't be the first smart Japanese developer to make that misake.

 

[Hours Left]

The reason I'm concerned is because I've seen examples in the past where talented Japanese developers have had odd ideas of how they think they should develop for a Western audience.

One of these is Project S.T.E.A.M, where the plot and characters seem to be Western targeted but ended up looking terrible and the end product didn't really appeal to many people.

Bomberman Zero I believe was also developed by a talented team right, but with some warped idea of what "Westerners want" in mind?

It's the whole funding situation and the closer collaboration with Aksys that has me a bit concerned. Everything points to this game being aimed more at the Western fanbase than Japanese. I know Uchikoshi is a very, very smart guy, but I just hope he doesn't end up influenced by an image he has of what "westerners want" vs. a Japanese audience and writes from that perspective. He wouldn't be the first smart Japanese developer to make that misake.

I understand your concern based on those examples, but considering what Uchikoshi has produced to date, I don't think he's gonna toss that out the window suddenly. This project seems very personal to him, and I'm sure he'll do his best to be true to his original vision.

 

[petethepanda]

I wonder if they can possibly reign in the turbo-craziness of VLR and wrap things up in a satisfying way. I was extremely impressed at just how tight 999 was, those last few hours were one of the (if not the honestly) most satisfying experiences I've ever had in gaming, so I was a little wary of VLR piling insanity on top of insanity and possibly digging themselves into a Lost-like hole.

Edit: Man, it's been years and I still get INCREDIBLY PSYCHED thinking about the ending of 999 :lol

 

[Lusankya]

A different artist again? That'll keep things fresh.

What do you mean with "again"? 999 and VLR had the same artist.

 

[JODOROWSKY51]

The art style looks great! Reminds me a bit of Suda51's old game, The Silver Case.

Holy crap! That's exactly what I was thinking!

Man I'm so giddy that ZE3 is an actuality now. I need to finish 999 ios and then play VLR again.

 

[Caelestis]

I am kinda digging the new artstyle to be honest. I bet they will use it to hide old characters as new for some later twists.

 

[Thoraxes]

As long as everyone still has their discernible character designs, I am totally cool with wherever the art goes.

I really like the way this image looks atm because of how... I guess, mature it looks? The color palette looks more subdued, and the content of the image itself is a far more grim and desperate-looking situation more akin to the style of 999.

Couple this with the fact that we're going back to more 999-isms or general atmosphere tendencies (and Chiaki Omigawa) and you have me being on the side of being a happy camper.

I mean, i'm hyped just by the sheer fact it exists, but seeing all these cool little tidbits is enough to make me thirst hard for more.

 

[Hylian7]

We have a had a lot of people come in with things like "I've never heard of this series. What is it?" and that is actually kind of a difficult question to answer. I've written the following to try to answer that question to newcomers, and I kind of think it should go at the top of the OP in this thread.

I've never heard of this series. What is Zero Escape?

Zero Escape actually started as 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors for the DS. There is an iOS version of the game, however it is generally considered the inferior version for reasons I will go into momentarily.

The gameplay of 999 is a mix of a visual novel and "escape the room" puzzles. These puzzles are similar to what you would find in a point and click adventure game, similar to something like Monkey Island or King's Quest. The visual novel sections of the game are narrated and contain dialogue between the characters in the game. There is some interaction from the player during these sections, and some of the choices really do make an impact on how the game will play out. Most of it though is filling in the storyline though.

The iOS version of 999 is considered inferior to the DS version for a few reasons. The main reason is that the puzzle rooms are missing, and while the story is still there, you are still missing out on the game's world by being able to interact with the puzzle sections of the game. There is also one other reason, however I can't go into specifics on it since it is major spoilers for the game. All I will say is that you won't truly "get" a major plot element of the game's storyline unless you play it on the DS.

The game had a sequel, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. VLR is available on both the 3DS and Vita. In this case, play VLR on whichever system you prefer or own. There are differences, such as some bugs with the 3DS version, the Vita version having higher resolution, and the note taking functionality is different in the two versions, but other than that, you will get the same experience out of it. Some people may say the 3DS version is awful, but I played it on 3DS myself and it was just fine.

Before VLR released, Aksys Games, the publisher of the games in the series in the US, rebranded the series as "Zero Escape". The reason for this was that the series needed some kind of name that made it clear there was a connection between the games. The name "Zero Escape" is chosen because all the games in the series involve an antagonist that goes by the name "Zero" and escaping some kind of area.

Visual novels are a genre that is a hard sell on many people, and understandably so. Most people don't want to play video games to read, and that is an understandable concern. The genre overall isn't necessarily for everyone, however I think the Zero Escape series is for everyone if you have a bit of patience and engage yourself into the game's world. You'll find that the Zero Escape series does a superb job of playing with your emotions, expectations, and mind. Most of the gameplay in the ZE series is mental, encouraging you to think out of the box, and even then shattering your expectations.

In both games in the series, you will find characters that are all interesting, clever puzzles, and one of the best told stories in video games. You may have thought a game like Telltale's The Walking Dead, or The Last of Us was at the top of the line in storytelling, but they don't hold a candle to this series. The games I mentioned aren't bad games, but they definitely are not as good as the Zero Escape series.

At this point you are probably wondering why you should even bother trying to get through the walls of text. Giving a justified answer to that question is a very difficult one without getting into spoilers, so I will say, like many others in this thread, and any other Zero Escape related topic, to just trust us on this one and play the games for yourself. I would also recommend not reading more of this thread before playing the games, as much of it is spoiler-filled theorycrafting for what will happen in the third game. You can find 999 on Amazon, however at the moment it might be backordered. You can usually get it for around $20 though when it is available. As for VLR, you can get that game physical on 3DS or Vita, or digital via Nintendo eShop or the Playstation Store.

Why all the hype for Zero Escape 3?

Again, I will try to give a justified answer to this question without getting into spoilers.

VLR ended on a huge cliffhanger, as well as a confirmation from the developer that the series would be a trilogy and end on the third game in the series. A while back, the director of the game, Kotaro Uchikoshi, said that since VLR did not sell well in Japan, that Zero Escape 3 would not be made. This news disappointed many fans, and there was a huge outpouring of support on Twitter, including even a fan campaign to bring Zero Escape 3 back from the abyss of cancellation. After Saturday's panel, we learned that this caused the higher-ups at Spike Chunsoft to reconsider the decision, and Aksys Games stepped in to help revive the game. The game sold very well in North America and Europe, and given that this was where the audience for the series was, the game was able to be revived with help from Aksys. It almost seems like a miracle the game exists, but it does, and we are all thankful for it. We also got other news that the tone of ZE3 would be more like 999, which had a much more macabre horror tone than VLR. VLR was definitely not light-hearted, however it did contain some pandering, and toning down of violence to try to appeal to the Japanese market. This did not work, and the game sold even worse than 999 did.

Conclusion
I know it's hard to take some people's word for it, especially on a visual novel, but just trust us and play these games. You will be glad you did. Before I played 999, I was put off by the idea of visual novels, but I had heard such high recommendations for 999 when it released, that I decided to pick it up, and now I can say it is easily one of the best experiences I have ever had in video games. I hope you pick up the game and experience this same feeling yourself.

 

[Lusankya]

Well, that's just the key art, it probably won't look like this ingame. At least I certainly hope it doesn't look too "Western" ingame.

Spoiler

I want Sigma, Phi, etc. to look similar to their VLR looks.

 

[shink]

Hmm not really liking the art style, but would need to see more.
I actually preferred VLR, in pretty much every aspect though.

 

[BowieZ]

Crazy theory time, but regarding

Spoiler

Sigma

,

Spoiler

his cat-like behaviour was never explained, was it? (I forget.)

Is it crazy to suggest that

Spoiler

this is significant in some way, potentially his consciousness can jump into the body of animals... perhaps the dog will actually contain the consciousness of someone of importance?

I was always (no pun intended) curious about that...

 

[Lusankya]

Btw.

Q7: Will Clover be appearing again in the third game?

She’s

Spoiler

in the middle of a cold sleep right now

…but if there are enough requests for her she might show up.

Okay, so I will write many requests to ensure she's in ZE3. >

 

[timetokill]

Btw.



Okay, so I will write many requests to ensure she's in ZE3. >

Hopefully as

Spoiler

a corpse

She was ruined after 999

 

[grim-tales]

Yep, looks like it.

Spoiler

Could be the situation that causes him to lose both arms and an eye.

WHOA
Why didnt they show this yesterday?

Spoiler

That looks like it could be Sigma, who is the person behind him?
I'm definitely feeling a 999 vibe from that image

2D confirmed?! So happy

 

[blacksark]

This is just like a dream, the key art gives us an idea on how the game will be more mature and with the vibe of 999 as they have confirmed, I don't think it will look that way exactly(so realistic) in the game, and still it's amazing.
We will also have a dog, diana, and uchikoshi wondering how our values are.
Although they are not too far in developing the game the story and scenarios are already set I believe, so that's the most important part.

 

[NotLiquid]

WHOA
Why didnt they show this yesterday?

Spoiler

That looks like it could be Sigma, who is the person behind him?
I'm definitely feeling a 999 vibe from that image

2D confirmed?! So happy

It's

Spoiler

Diana.

She has the blue bird necklace

 

[grim-tales]

Maybe they wont use that art style all the way through, I kinda like it, very realistic but certainly different from the first two games thats for sure
Maybe

Spoiler

That's the accident (?) that causes Sigma to lose his arms and an eye

 

[Lusankya]

Btw. do we know who drew the 2d ingame art in 999?

June drawn by Kinu Nishimura

June as she appears ingame:

In addition there are two different 2D artworks of the VLR characters:

Drawn by Kinu Nishimura:

Drawn by ???:

So overall Kinu Nishimura artwork never actually appeared in the games, that's why I wonder how it will be handled with the artwork of the new artist.

 

[NotLiquid]

...Ahah.

Ahahaha.

I just realized what 4infinity stands for.

Spoiler

It stands for Mars Infinity. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It's a reference to the setting of the game being the Mars Mission Test Site.

 

[Omikaru]

...Ahah.

Ahahaha.

I just realized what 4infinity stands for.

Spoiler

It stands for Mars Infinity. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It's a reference to the setting of the game being the Mars Mission Test Site.

Goddamn. It was there right in front of us all this time.

 

[Dangerous1992]

i hope it will be a good mix of 999 and Remember11, and if Uchikoshi reuses a similar twist, then i hope he picks something in the style of R11.

 

[Busaiku]

...Ahah.

Ahahaha.

I just realized what 4infinity stands for.

Spoiler

It stands for Mars Infinity. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It's a reference to the setting of the game being the Mars Mission Test Site.

Dang.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Crazy theory time, but regarding

Spoiler

Sigma

,

Spoiler

his cat-like behaviour was never explained, was it? (I forget.)

Is it crazy to suggest that

Spoiler

this is significant in some way, potentially his consciousness can jump into the body of animals... perhaps the dog will actually contain the consciousness of someone of importance?

I was always (no pun intended) curious about that...

 

[Busaiku]

Dang.