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Zero Time Dilemma (Zero Escape 3) review thread

T

TheSuperSakura

Member
truestatic said:
What are you trying to pull here, Amazon?

All these positive impressions and I've gotta wait two weeks? Paaainful.
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At least yours is updated :( Mine still hasn't, I'm getting pretty close to cancelling (regular order, missed out on all the watches per game) so I'm hoping I'll get lucky in the wild.
 
C

Cody_D165

Banned
Gonna have to fucking double dip to play this game day one aren't I?

Maybe I'll wait the extra day and buy the Steam version... but I have Tuesday off work so I'll probably end up buying a second digital 3DS copy if the watch edition isn't going to show by then. :/
 
P

Phamit

Member
orthodoxy1095 said:
I don't think that's really a sensible way of looking at this.

An individual, self-contained story should be able to stand on its own, sure. But most "series" are functionally one long story told in multiple installments. Sure, each installment needs to be well-written on its own, but they make the most sense in the context of their series.

An example that comes to mind is Lord of the Rings. Technically, most people know them as three books, even though they're really one book/story. Could you read The Return of the King and get enjoyment out of it? Sure, I guess so. Would you get any depth or nuance of the story and characters by doing that? No. And anyone who told you "Oh yeah, go ahead and read the third book to 'get into the series'." would be doing you a disservice.

On top of that, if anything, ZE is a more convoluted piece of fiction than most. People diving into ZTD without playing 999 or VLR are going to be wildly confused by what's going on. Hell, I've played them and I still get confused. I don't think we're doing people any favors encouraging people to jump in at the end.
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Contrary to Books or other Games ZE changed the way how it presents it's story quiet a lot. They may not like the first one and/or second one, but would enjoy the third one. Yes they won't understand everything and some storyelements won't have the same impact, but they could still enjoy it. To get confused or think about what happened is also quiet part of the fun. In the end they maybe are interested playing the previous games or try to play them again or not

I would of course recommend playing the series by starting with the first one, but if someone is interested in this one and refuse to play the previous ones for whatever reason, I wouldn't say he shouldn't play because he wouldn't understand anything and he wouldn't have fun. I believe he might have fun if he can accept that there might be some points that he wouldn't understand
 
P

PurpleMaster

Member
Cody_D165 said:
Gonna have to fucking double dip to play this game day one aren't I?

Maybe I'll wait the extra day and buy the Steam version... but I have Tuesday off work so I'll probably end up buying a second digital 3DS copy if the watch edition isn't going to show by then. :/
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On the same ship, bruh...
I have both games preordered with watches. But my order is int'l, so it will take 9-14 days to get to me. That's why I'll play digital Vita.
 
O

Ondore

Member
I'm surprised Amazon Canada hasn't made alternate arrangements yet. I've gotten Purloator and Fedex for them, and they have their own courier in some areas, so...
 
E

Eusis

Member
999 was always the more problematic one due to being built with the DS in mind, even if you disregard that whole "but you need two screens!" angle you'd still need to rework the game to not actively need that, nevermind being 4:3 (roughly?) and very low resolution.

VLR upscaled nicely to the Vita, and is designed around being able to run on a single wide screen, so it should have no issues whatsoever, at worst some sort of hybrid controller/mouse controls for those who absolutely want to use a controller, and I imagine you can work around that with the Steam controller and mode shifting anyway.
 
C

calc84maniac

Member
Eusis said:
999 was always the more problematic one due to being built with the DS in mind, even if you disregard that whole "but you need two screens!" angle you'd still need to rework the game to not actively need that, nevermind being 4:3 (roughly?) and very low resolution.

VLR upscaled nicely to the Vita, and is designed around being able to run on a single wide screen, so it should have no issues whatsoever, at worst some sort of hybrid controller/mouse controls for those who absolutely want to use a controller, and I imagine you can work around that with the Steam controller and mode shifting anyway.
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I believe Uchikoshi said in the 999 Q&A that the character assets were originally 1024x768 or something like that.
 
O

orthodoxy1095

Banned
Phamit said:
Contrary to Books or other Games ZE changed the way how it presents it's story quiet a lot. They may not like the first one and/or second one, but would enjoy the third one. Yes they won't understand everything and some storyelements won't have the same impact, but they could still enjoy it. To get confused or think about what happened is also quiet part of the fun. In the end they maybe are interested playing the previous games or try to play them again or not

I would of course recommend playing the series by starting with the first one, but if someone is interested in this one and refuse to play the previous ones for whatever reason, I wouldn't say he shouldn't play because he wouldn't understand anything and he wouldn't have fun. I believe he might have fun if he can accept that there might be some points that he wouldn't understand
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Meh, agree to disagree then.

I think playing the third game in a long-line of convoluted stories is just absurd and I'll continue to recommend that people not do it.
 
N

names2hard4you

Member
Zero Time Dilemma |OT| 999 Dilemmas And Time Ain't 1

I'm praying for the best with this game. Seeing the crazy positivity around the plot has me real happy since I loved the previous 2 games. Hopefully the clunky animations don't get in the way. Will be playing this alongside God Eater. This Tuesday is going to be great!!
 
T

TheSuperSakura

Member
Oh yeah, for those who have played the game I just have one question, how is the OST? I prefer 999's over VLR (but I love them both) and seeing as how Shinji Hosoe is returning for the OST I was just curious as to how it holds up to the previous two.
 
T

takoyaki

Member
rpgsite 7/10

[…]The shift to cinematic cutscenes over the more visual novel-esque arrangement in its predecessors works to a certain degree, but not without its share of problems.

[…]With inconsistently stilted voice acting and subpar animations, Zero Time Dilemma is a mixed bag when its cinemas play out.

[…]Character movement in cutscenes feel stiff and never quite nails a natural flow to how their limbs move. When the 3D character models need to make a sudden motion, it often comes off rigidly in an odd robotic sort of way.

[...]There are several benefits to this stark change in format though. ZTD is much more action-packed in its depiction of events; the game wants to convey that characters are always on the move as their nightmarish shelter devises new ways to threaten their lives. The cinematics also help build up a sense of urgency when the Decision Game interface pops on screen; tension is rightfully pre-established before it’s time to decide.

[...]Overall, we still firmly believe Zero Time Dilemma is a great conclusion to the Zero Escape series. Its incredible storytelling through fragmented scenes fittingly structures the entire plot as a puzzle that the player pieces together one at a time.

[...]While some of its flaws may leave some areas feeling half-baked, Zero Time Dilemma will be something that won't be leaving our minds anytime soon.
Click to expand...
 
T

takoyaki

Member
Kagari said:
There's no spoilers, I can assure you.
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Good to know, thanks!

Your review score is on the low end so far and more in line with what I would have expected after seeing the first gameplay footage. Towards the end, you mention that the game is a great conclusion to the series but also that you felt like something was missing. As a long-time fan, did you think ZTD was a little disappointing or am I reading too much into it.
 
K

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
takoyaki said:
Good to know, thanks!

Your review score is on the low end so far and more in line with what I would have expected after seeing the first gameplay footage. Towards the end, you mention that the game is a great conclusion to the series but also that you felt like something was missing. As a long-time fan, did you think ZTD was a little disappointing or am I reading too much into it.
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I felt like it was definitely the weakest entry in the series. It's still good but at the end of the day something felt... off about it. Like it's missing a lot of the development both 999 and VLR had. I don't want to spoil anything directly but I'll just say I was expecting maybe a bit more there.
 
E

Eusis

Member
Kagari said:
I felt like it was definitely the weakest entry in the series. It's still good but at the end of the day something felt... off about it. Like it's missing a lot of the development both 999 and VLR had. I don't want to spoil anything directly but I'll just say I was expecting maybe a bit more there.
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This sounds like my realistic fear. Not having something like the end of MGS3, so much as like... Xenosaga III I suppose? Feel like there should be more but still a satisfying conclusion to the whole thing?

Though I guess it'd be like going from Xenogears, to Xenogears + VA, to Xenosaga in terms of presentation.
 
T

takoyaki

Member
Kagari said:
I felt like it was definitely the weakest entry in the series. It's still good but at the end of the day something felt... off about it. Like it's missing a lot of the development both 999 and VLR had. I don't want to spoil anything directly but I'll just say I was expecting maybe a bit more there.
Click to expand...

I see, thanks again. Can't wait to finally find out for myself in a few days; I'll be happy as long as the story feels like a satisfying conclusion to the series, but I'll keep my expectations in check.
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I'll be getting the game in a few hours, yay.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
Kagari said:
I felt like it was definitely the weakest entry in the series. It's still good but at the end of the day something felt... off about it. Like it's missing a lot of the development both 999 and VLR had. I don't want to spoil anything directly but I'll just say I was expecting maybe a bit more there.
Click to expand...

Now I'm kinda dreading that this will be typical Uchikoshi and follow the trend the Infinity series took a little too closely.
 
J

Jintor

Member
anyone know what time it unlocks on the EU PSN? I assume when they update... probably Wed my time, huh...

living in the future sucks sometimes
 
A

Abilidebob

Member
I think I just got spoiled about something in the game and I'm trying to fill my mind with useless shit to forget but it's hard.
FUCKING HELL that's what I get for browsing the internet just 3 days before release.
 
T

takoyaki

Member
Soriku said:
What about Steam? Anyone know when it might unlock?
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Unlock is June 30 (2 AM JST), no one knows if they will let you pre-order before that date

Jintor said:
anyone know what time it unlocks on the EU PSN? I assume when they update... probably Wed my time, huh...

living in the future sucks sometimes
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It’s part of the weekly update, I think those happen worldwide on Tuesdays and EU PSN is more reliable with when the store get’s updated than US PSN. Not sure about the exact time though.
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
I honestly think I've forgotten a lot of the intricacies behind 999 and VLR. I'm hoping I'm reminded of the important bits with ZE3.

Edit: I ordered two copies on Amazon (one for the 3DS and the other for Vita), but I'll be buying the game digitally because like hell I'm waiting on the physical copies to arrive.
 
T

Tricky I Shadow

Banned
Hylian7 said:
Still no movement on Amazon, I'm starting to wonder if this is really coming without the watch on Tuesday.
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Same. I just checked.

But you think you have it bad? Not only will I not get it on release day, but I have to wait God only knows how long for my copy to arrive in Australia. It's going to be torture. ;_;
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I'm at least an hour in.

Animations are really awkward and Akane's hair is kinda buggy. It was kinda going all over when she was bending.
 
T

takoyaki

Member
FluxWaveZ said:
I honestly think I've forgotten a lot of the intricacies behind 999 and VLR. I'm hoping I'm reminded of the important bits with ZE3.

Edit: I ordered two copies on Amazon (one for the 3DS and the other for Vita), but I'll be buying the game digitally because like hell I'm waiting on the physical copies to arrive.
Click to expand...

According to some reviews, there's a prologue chapter that catches you up on the important things and conversations with the new characters that also serve the same purpose.

Same situation with amazon for me, 2 watch editions with int'l shipping still without a delivery date and plans to get it on PSN on Tuesday. But Aksys is still tweeting out updates on the status of Amazon orders, telling people it will arrive on release day; hope it all works out.
 
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