Zero Escape: The Nonary Games Reviews
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.
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.
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.
If you’ve already played it, there’s not a whole lot of incentive to dive back in, especially you’ve already experienced all its 20 plus endings. But if you haven't, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a great way to jump into the series.
Although Zero Time Dilemma is nowhere to be found and there's no extra whatsoever, Zero Escape The Nonary Games is a great package containing two brilliant visual novels. If, for any reason, you didn't have a chance to play them (or just one of them), then buying it is heavily recommended, expecially for the treatment that 999 has undergone.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is as close to the perfect package as is currently available for folks looking to jump into the Zero Escape world.
Overall, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a really solid compilation that offers a great visual novel experience on PC (and the PS4 and Vita, for that matter). Even for longtime fans who are familiar with the series, the HD facelift that 999 has received is certainly worth a second look too.
For newcomers, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is an essential purchase. You've got two excellent games that tell a wild and wonderful story that will stay with you for a very long time, and combine that with the engaging puzzles and you've got a recipe for a quality experience. For returning fans, it's a tougher sell: your purchase mostly balances on the enhancements of the PS4 edition, in which case we can only confidently recommend the package if you're looking to do a play though of the improved Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games attempts to reintroduce the first two games in the Zero Escape series, and proves that their puzzles and stories have withstood the test of time.
The Nonary Games contains two of the best-known escape room games (except for perhaps Crimson Room) together in a timeless package. The updates to 999 make it the most definitive version to date, although Virtue's Last Reward feels just the same as it did the first time around.
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.
It's never been easier to play the Zero Escape titles than it is now, and for the money, any fan of heady narratives and fun puzzles is in for several hours of quality entertainment.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games fixes some major issues with 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, but doesn’t go all the way in updating it for current consoles. While the remastered version isn’t perfect (and it had the impossible task of replicating how the original game used both screens of the DS), it’s still the best way to play 999 in 2017. Throw in a mostly unchanged port of the PlayStation Vita version of Virtue’s Last Reward, and the package contains two of the best stories in gaming, albeit one without the ending part of the trilogy. Kotaro Uchikoshi’s fantastic titles should be played by any fan of the medium, just be aware that the final chapter, Zero Time Dilemma, will have to be played elsewhere.
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.
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.
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'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.