Zero Escape: The Nonary Games Reviews

Loved the puzzles and multiple endings aspect. Wish they could do a little better on the puzzle hints and such, but still a very solid game overall.

The Zero Escape games are fantastic, and are decent to mediocre escape rooms. The first game is the strongest, the second on is alright, and the third game is so bad it's good in a different way.

Amazing games with amazing stories that hooked me instantly, especially 999.

Ignore the playtime, already played the originals way back in the day. While 999 has a good amount of its punch removed due to the original narrative heavily relying on the NDS' dual screens, Virtue's Last Reward remains one of the most brilliant mystery thriller plots ever with no compromises made for the PC port. What it lacks a bit in characterization it makes up tenfold in the nail bitingly tense narrative that's incredibly satisfying to unravel. Even if 999 was the worst game ever (it's not, it's one of the best VN's ever made), it'd be worth playing just to experience Virtue's Last Reward to the end. Buy it, play it, your life will be that little bit more rich for it.

999：4/5 VLR: 5/5 I had some trouble with using the flowchart. I thought the progress of solving rooms could be synced across save files, but this was not the case. In either of these games, it's best just to use one save file. I realized this rather late, which made me replay significant parts of 999 to unlock the TE. 999 feels a little redundant; the rooms are kind of grouped together, so to reach an ending, you finish one room from each group. VLR does not have this problem, because the rooms are changed after making the decision (probably a design choice of the gamemaster). VLR also has a broader selection of puzzle minigames. Both games have decent stories, but VLR is a little confusing at first when I first read about all the quantum physics stuff. I had to search online for discussion posts, which helped me clear up my confusion.

Really well made games with an interesting story and good plot twists. Worth the pay off in the end. I do think the ability to skip dialogue should be better when it's repeated dialogue just from other characters to make doing different lines easier.

What a ride! I spent the whole day finishing the first game and all its endings. The story-telling is organic and the pacing works well. Feels good to give my brain a lil mental exercise. Can't wait to fire up the game again for the 2nd installment. Game works wonderfully on Moonlight.

Two very ambitious games, amazing puzzles, great characters, and interesting stories. There is a lot to like about Zero Escape and I heavily recommend it for anyone looking for a fix of puzzles, characters, and intrigue. Though 999 is my favorite for my preferences, ZLR is immensely ambitious and really does pull the rug out from under you constantly, definitely a rollarcoaster.

It's worth it for the English voice acting in 999 alone. If you want to believe that a world where anime dubs aren't awkward and directionless is possible, look no further. Of course, the writing is also really good.

One of the best visual novels I've played (or read?). What you get here is actually two games: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue's Last Reward. What should you expect? A story loaded with sci-fi references, challenging puzzles, and a memorable cast of characters. Both games rely on these dynamics to deliver one of the most unique experiences out there.