Zero Escape: The Nonary Games Reviews
As you might expect, the idea of jumping one’s consciousness through time and reliving events with different possible outcomes does get a little convoluted by the end of proceedings — but it does make consistent internal sense according to the logic established by the story. It also sets up the next game, Zero Time Dilemma, very nicely indeed — though interestingly at the time Virtue’s Last Reward was originally released, a third and final installment in the Zero Escape series looked like it might not happen.
Suffice to say, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors remains a classic with good reason. If you’re not an experienced visual novel reader, its relatively brief length (by comparison to some other titles) makes it quite accessible, and its interactive room escape sequences help break things up with some actual “gameplay”. And if you’re a visual novel veteran, you owe it to yourself to check out a true masterwork of the medium; a wonderful example of how the interactive elements of visual novels can very much distinguish them from traditional linear media.
If you can handle overwrought voice acting, some nasty characters, and thin writing, you’ll enjoy the story. For fans of puzzles, thankfully there is a fast skip button that allows you to skip the overly talky bits and get to the real shining star in Zero Escape: The Nonary Games.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games packs two great mystery visual novels that should provide hours of content with their alternative paths, mind bending puzzles and interesting cast of characters.
There's a lot to like about Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Both games offer well-done plots with unique characters, and the escape room based gameplay is both difficult and enjoyable. At times, the pacing does drag out certain moments a bit too long, leading to lots of furious tapping of the X button to speed up dialogue as quick as possible, yet it's hard to want to skim over anything since crucial information might be missed. Still, this compilation is a great way for folks to catch up on what is arguably one of handheld's hidden gems.
The Nonary Games brings together two excellent games which I highly recommend.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games brings an unmissable package for any fan of good mystery stories, surprising from the first until the last minute, without losing the player's attention.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you are a major fan of the Zero Escape series, this game is definitely recommended for the added voice acting alone, or just to play it all over again. However, if you already beat the games and are not looking forward to suffering through those puzzles again, it might be best to pass, as there is not much new content added.
If you're like me and do take game narratives seriously, then these two are right up there with the best in the industry, and sticking them together into a single package makes them completely essential.
The Nonary Games is a collection of two examples of some of the best visual novels available. Expect a riveting mystery full of interesting and layered characters, and even some diabolical puzzles. Whilst Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors is clearly the game that got the most attention for this compilation, it doesn't mean that Virtue's Last Reward is the lesser of the two... 999 just needed it more and it pays off beautifully.
I have a certain reverence for the Zero Escape series and hold it is certainly one of my favorite franchises. The narrative weaves a tale of corruption and deception, creating a deadly thriller where you want to find out the outcome. The Escape Rooms are great, especially VLR’s excellent rooms. This is a must play whether you do that on Vita or PS4. Once you have played both of these don’t forget it’s Zero Time Dilemma which I absolutely adored, giving it a perfect score. I’m not sure what’s next for Zero Escape, but I hope they continue with the series!
Probably the most unique graphic novel in a videogame. Both games have a superb storytelling and challenging escape room puzzles. The game has multiple endings but manages to makes all of them useful and important thanks to it's amazing plot twist. Be careful, you might learn a thing or two while playing The Nonary Games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Even though the presentation didn’t get the upgrade it needed, there are options to make it much more appealing to the player. Enjoy some of the most satisfying stories in the Visual Novel genre.
For me this game was a massively unexpected experience that I have a long bus journey to thank. I absolutely loved Virtues Last Reward and I would say that you should not judge this book by it's cover. Virtues Last Reward is an amazing puzzle game that has an incredible story that really sucked me in. I found it hard to put the Vita down as I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.