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Zero Escape Vol. 3: Zero Time Dilemma |OT| Skip the first two games? Nein Nein Nein

grim-tales

Member
Hey,
I'm seriously stuck on one of the Rec Room Puzzles :(

The one with the playing cards :s I worked out the cards make up words and managed to get: JAM - ODDS + SADMAN =

Now I think JAM could be 100 as the Jam Jar says 100% Pure on it, and SADMAN could be 570, but WTF is "ODDS"? Also theres the Order of Operations to consider. The closest thing to ODDS is the OIL which says 130 on it :s
I only have 3 coins in the slot where it says "Collect 5 coins" and I have absolutely no idea where the others could be.
 
Hey,
I'm seriously stuck on one of the Rec Room Puzzles :(

The one with the playing cards :s I worked out the cards make up words and managed to get: JAM - ODDS + SADMAN =

Now I think JAM could be 100 as the Jam Jar says 100% Pure on it, and SADMAN could be 570, but WTF is "ODDS"? Also theres the Order of Operations to consider. The closest thing to ODDS is the OIL which says 130 on it :s
I only have 3 coins in the slot where it says "Collect 5 coins" and I have absolutely no idea where the others could be.

ODDS
is referring to
probability, chances
... and there's definitely one thing matching that.

Don't worry about the
coins
- they'll come as you go.
 

grim-tales

Member
Thanks, I'll have another look round. :)
ETA:
Think I know what Odds is referring to and found a hammer now, not sure what to use it on.
 

grim-tales

Member
I found that
I hit 2 locks with C team, once when I rolled the dice and got all 1's (1/216) and once when they werent all 1's)
- not sure where to go from here :s

However I see its bringing up the
multiple universe theory like in VLR and suggesting I rolled the dice "hundreds of times", it took me 3 tries but maybe its always like that ;)

Edit: In the
"Monty Hall" segement
which was hard and I thought I cleared :s
After the carbon monoxide gas went off the announcer said the oxygen mask was in one of 10 lockers, and I could choose one. Then 8 of them opened - no mask (not among the one I chose). I chose one of the remaining two - found the mask and still lost, WTF? :s I don't get that at all.
 
Yeah, most people found you only had to do that part 3 times.

You're done with C team on this branch for now, I think - you'll know when you get to come back here.
 

grim-tales

Member
Yeah, most people found you only had to do that part 3 times.

You're done with C team on this branch for now, I think - you'll know when you get to come back here.

Thanks :) Where do you recommend to go after that?
I got two Game Overs in the Monty Hall room for some reason even though I changed decisions
 

Javier

Member
Thanks :) Where do you recommend to go after that?
I got two Game Overs in the Monty Hall room for some reason even though I changed decisions
Is that the one with
the ten lockers?
That game
is played completely straight. Just keep trying and you'll get it.
 
Thanks :) Where do you recommend to go after that?
I got two Game Overs in the Monty Hall room for some reason even though I changed decisions

When you said
you got the mask
, I thought that meant that
you saw someone get out, even though it was a bad outcome
?

If so, you can move on. I honestly don't remember what's next - maybe D team?

If not, just do the
lockers
the "right" way until
you get the mask
.
 

grim-tales

Member
When you said
you got the mask
, I thought that meant that
you saw someone get out, even though it was a bad outcome
?

If so, you can move on. I honestly don't remember what's next - maybe D team?

If not, just do the
lockers
the "right" way until
you get the mask
.

Sorry for confusion,
both outcomes seem bad and no one got out, even though I found the oxygen mask in one of them, but I'll try again
 

emag

Member
I'm glad that's over.

999 was great as a self-contained story. VLR's multiverse approach was a huge step down, but the twists were still interesting enough to carry the game. ZTD inherited that lack of urgency, but dialed it down to -11 with the fragments approach (requiring/encouraging selecting every option for every choice, one after the other) and the abysmal characters (Eric and Mira especially, but the returning cast was also poorly characterized (Akane, Phi)). The "twists"/reveal also lacked any weight. As always, the puzzle gameplay was disposable, but this time seemed more finicky with touch targets (and a lot slower).

On the technical front, ZTD's easily the ugliest game in the series (particularly on 3DS) and still doesn't have a reasonable text advancement option (either let it go super slow or risk invisibly skipping multiple lines at once).

Thankfully I rented this through GameFly instead of buying it on Steam.

EDIT: I did like the probability discussions in Zero Time Dilemma (even though some of the numbers are wrong, which can be blamed on the dumb characters). I love how the series brings in math/philosophy, even if it goes over-the-top with them.
 

grim-tales

Member
I havent even finished the game and agree the lack of urgency is a weak point. There doesn't seem to be any tension when you can just select an option and then
go back and do the opposite
. Dropping you right in the action at the start of the game also feels like a mistake. I hope it gets better towards the end. I'm enjoying the puzzles though.
 
Echoing the disappointment.

Puzzles were uneven, with many being brainless and/or tedious (
biolab, trash disposal room, study, pantry, pod room, healing room
). The main issue, however, is the unrewarding trial and error progression through the story. VLR ultimately made exploring the story tree worthwhile, whereas nothing really drove ZTD's plot and characters home (
Eric and Mira being particularly useless
).
Supposed twists and emotional moments were hollowed by underdeveloped characters, and the ending left an overpowering sense of "that's it?"
.

The good parts:
- Great additions to the soundtrack, though the default mix overpowered the spoken dialogue.
- The usual metaphysical and mathematical subjects.
- No game-breaking, save-corrupting bugs as in VLR. The game only crashed on me once.
 
I liked the
healing
room overall, even though the whole idea was "cool for the sake of looking cool". And despite the
flower
puzzle being, yes, tedious as hell.

It also ties into the two parts of the game where you actually feel for the characters the most, so there is that.
 
Amazon just shipped me the Special Watch Edition that I ordered.

In July of 2015.

Thanks guys.

How much does this go for new? Already burned myself with the digital copy of this disappointment (why do I do this to myself again and again?) and have no idea what the market is for it.
 
Amazon just shipped me the Special Watch Edition that I ordered.

In July of 2015.

Thanks guys.

How much does this go for new? Already burned myself with the digital copy of this disappointment (why do I do this to myself again and again?) and have no idea what the market is for it.

Holy fucking shit. That's a 6.5 month delay compared to the supposed release date, LMAO. Dunno for how much it goes.
 

Chris R

Member
I'm stuck on two points right now with nowhere else to go seemingly.

Any tips on these two points? Q Team spoilers, just spoiling the branch point, nothing else.

#1 :
Who Killed Mira?

#2 :
3-Way Standoff

I'm not asking for explicit answers, just pointing out what thing I might have missed or maybe where to look/replay :\ Kinda bummed that the flow chart isn't as helpful as it was in VLR. I feel like I'll need to get a notepad before too long.
 
I'm stuck on two points right now with nowhere else to go seemingly.

Any tips on these two points? Q Team spoilers, just spoiling the branch point, nothing else.

There's really nothing you need to know for either of these two points.

#1:
You don't know. Say so, or let it time out.

#2:
Just try everyone. And I mean everyone who's present.
 

Chris R

Member
There's really nothing you need to know for either of these two points.

#1:
You don't know. Say so, or let it time out.

#2:
Just try everyone. And I mean everyone who's present.

Well, hadn't done that for #1, and then it opened up the other locks I had been stuck on before then. Thanks for the help
 

Torraz

Member
Maybe my memories of 999, VLR have faded, but this game seems overly melodramatic? It constantly tries to manipulate the player's emotions etc.?

Really dislike the fragments and having to replay every scenario x-times, making the opposite choice every time. Also Eric and Mira are annoying. There is virtually no urgency.

Could also be that I just finished Danganronpa V3 and I think that game just did a better job of presenting a killing game.
 
This is on sale on Steam for, I think, $23.99. Opinions on this seem negative. Is it even worth the price, or should I skip it entirely and let the memories of 999 and VLR live in a happy place in my head?
 

Shahadan

Member
This is on sale on Steam for, I think, $23.99. Opinions on this seem negative. Is it even worth the price, or should I skip it entirely and let the memories of 999 and VLR live in a happy place in my head?

Depends. Are you expecting a proper follow up and conclusion to VLR? If you are, skip.
 

emag

Member
This is on sale on Steam for, I think, $23.99. Opinions on this seem negative. Is it even worth the price, or should I skip it entirely and let the memories of 999 and VLR live in a happy place in my head?

Skip unless you just want to play a VN, regardless of quality. ZTD is one of the few games I regret having played, and I only rented it.
 

emag

Member
I feel like I need to see how it ends.

Without "spoiling" much, there's no sense of conclusion or closure in ZTD. The vast majority of plot lines are just dropped, and even returning characters are effectively returning in name only. Technically the game does deal with what went down during the Radical-6 incident, but in an entirely tangential and unfulfilling way.
 

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
C team and D team were great.


All Q team members are weaker than any other characters in the trilogy. Fuck Q team.
 
This is on sale on Steam for, I think, $23.99. Opinions on this seem negative. Is it even worth the price, or should I skip it entirely and let the memories of 999 and VLR live in a happy place in my head?

As someone who absolutely loved 999 and like VLR a lot, I would recommend the latter. I wouldn't buy this for anything more than 5$, if that.

I feel like I need to see how it ends.

That's the thing, you won't. You will only get a different (arguably worse) cliffhanger after a quite mediocre game.
 
Maybe my memories of 999, VLR have faded, but this game seems overly melodramatic? It constantly tries to manipulate the player's emotions etc.?

Really dislike the fragments and having to replay every scenario x-times, making the opposite choice every time. Also Eric and Mira are annoying. There is virtually no urgency.

Could also be that I just finished Danganronpa V3 and I think that game just did a better job of presenting a killing game.

No, I felt the same thing. I think it's two-fold.

1 - The game's non-linear story progression means absolutely nothing has any weight or investment to it. You're basically just jumping from scenario to scenario with no prior connection or context, going, "oh, I'm dead again", and then moving on. Unlike 999 and VLR which had much longer pathways which allowed for a natural development of and investment in the story events and characters.

2 - The characters in this constantly go on tangents about shit that doesn't matter. In 999 and VLR, all the waxing poetic about thought experiments and scientific concepts was at least stuff that was relevant to the game's themes or foreshadowed later plot events. Here, the characters spend 10 minutes navelgazing over the Monty Hall Problem which has absolutely nothing to do with anything beyond the single puzzle it's used for.

It also doesn't help that rather than mixing up the characters like the last two games did, allowing for great little moments of them playing off each other in interesting ways and shaking things up with unique dynamics, allowing us to really see new sides of them, here everyone is stuck with the same core groups of people, so everything feels much more static all-around.
 

Will F

Member
Finally got around to finishing the game last night, and while it was an overall positive experience for me, I certainly have mixed feelings.

I think it's worth playing if you really liked 999 and VLR, can keep your expectations in check, and go in with the mindset that it is nowhere near as good as the previous ones. But at the same time, if you've waited this long it might be worth waiting to see if it's even cheaper in a later sale.
 
It also doesn't help that rather than mixing up the characters like the last two games did, allowing for great little moments of them playing off each other in interesting ways and shaking things up with unique dynamics, allowing us to really see new sides of them, here everyone is stuck with the same core groups of people, so everything feels much more static all-around.

this! the game was extremely disappointing in many, many ways, but this was just such a fundamentally poor decision by the developer, something that completely contradicted what had been one of the major strengths of the previous 2 games. so dumb...
 
This is on sale on Steam for, I think, $23.99. Opinions on this seem negative. Is it even worth the price, or should I skip it entirely and let the memories of 999 and VLR live in a happy place in my head?
Go to that happy place and never let this game tear you away from it. I adore the other two, but I think I might even wish I could un-play this game. If you do decide that you want to play it I would highly recommend waiting for the price to go even lower than this.
 
...so I'm returning to this, seems to be about a year later. Initially made it about 12 hours in and then just kind of stopped. I didn't hate it or anything, but I really didn't care for the "jumping around" structure, and I also just hadn't really been hooked by the story. Still, I want to know how it ends, so here I am.

Just cleared out the rest of the fragments that were initially available, found myself without any options for about a half hour, and finally realized I had to
double back and change a team's vote in that initial section
to unlock more fragments.
Q's currently talking to Zero in person
. I'm kind of hoping I get into it a bit more at this point? I'm assuming the random structure starts to pull together a bit from here on (or at least becomes a bit easier to track).

I'm still annoyed by how much of this game seems to be made primarily for newcomers. It spends a bewildering amount of time acting like a lot of these characters aren't familiar with the kind of shit going down.

Edit: I'll get some good usage out of this:

DH9Ttc3XsAETAs6.jpg

Edit the second: Finally able to jump around and input some letters/numbers at different places to advance stuff. If nothing else, this kind of thing is still unique and cool.
 

grim-tales

Member
I'm back playing ZTD after a long 'break' (seems like months later).
I agree I don't care for the fragmented structure and theres no tension that 999 or VLR had, VLR had longer pathways.
But weirdly....
After clearing the Power Room with C Team (I hated the puzzles in there as I suck at 3D, I just cant think in 3 dimensions), I play the AB game from VLR, Carlos goes on about choosing Ally, I (Junpei) choose Ally and its Game Over, WTF?
 

grim-tales

Member
Oh my...
Evil Red-eyed Q what the fucking fuck!?
Edit:
Now we know how Sigma lost his eye and arms, but when he's telling Diana about Luna - why not just tell her the truth?! "Let's call her D" - Luna was based on Diana FFS! :/
 

grim-tales

Member
Oh my God D-End 2

what the fuck

no fucking way

holy fucking shit

I just got that ending myself

Wait a second... :eek:

OH SHIT, OH SHIT

What if (VLR spoilers?)
The Phi in VLR is actually Sigma/Diana's daughter? Or maybe that's the "Phi" in ZTD because she has orange eyebrows?
 

MAtgS

Member
Finally finished this today.
I think I liked my "the dog is Zero" theory better :p At least that would've felt at least semi-foreshadowed.
 
I bought this game finally after listening to Vinny at GB talk about this game. It was so good, I could not put it down! Beat it after 20 some hours.

Now I am curious to try the other 2 games. Suprised I am still playing Vita games in late 2017...
 
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