Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
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''999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' is a visual novel and
adventure video game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an Interactive storytelling, interactive story, driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus ...
developed by Chunsoft. It is the first installment in the ''
Zero Escape ''Zero Escape'', formerly released in Japan as , is a series of adventure games directed and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi. The first two entries in the series, '' Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' (2009) and '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Re ...
'' series, and was released in Japan in December 2009 and in North America in November 2010 for the
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
. The story follows Junpei, a college student who is abducted along with eight other people and forced to play the "Nonary Game", which puts its participants in a life-or-death situation, to escape from a sinking cruise liner. The gameplay alternates between two types of sections: Escape sections, where the player completes puzzles in escape-the-room scenarios; and Novel sections, where the player reads the game's narrative and makes decisions that influence the story toward one of six different endings. Development of the game began after
Kotaro Uchikoshi is a Japanese video game director and writer. He is known for his work on visual novel games, including the ''Infinity'' and '' Zero Escape'' series. His writing style often incorporates elements of science fiction with various scientific and p ...
joined Chunsoft to write a visual novel for them that could reach a wider audience; Uchikoshi suggested adding puzzle elements that are integrated with the game's story. The inspiration for the story was the question of where inspiration comes from; while researching it, Uchikoshi came across
Rupert Sheldrake Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has ...
's morphic resonance hypothesis, which became the main focus of the game's
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
elements. The music was composed by
Shinji Hosoe , also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring ''Ridge Racer'', ''Street Fighter EX'' and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production ...
, while the characters were designed by
Kinu Nishimura is a Japanese video game and anime concept artist and illustrator. Currently freelance, she is best known for her Game art design, character design and promotional art for Capcom's fighting games during the 1990s. Career Kinu Nishimura began wor ...
. The localization was handled by
Aksys Games Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Bandai Namco Games, Xs ...
; they worked by the philosophy of keeping true to the spirit of the original Japanese version, aiming for natural-sounding English rather than following the original's exact wording. ''999'' was positively received, with reviewers praising the story, writing and puzzles, but criticizing the game's tone and trial-and-error gameplay. While the Japanese release was a commercial failure, the game sold better than expected for the genre in the United States. Although ''999'' was developed as a stand-alone title, its unexpected critical success in North America prompted the continuation of the series. The sequel, '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward'', was released in 2012, which was followed by ''
Zero Time Dilemma ''Zero Time Dilemma'', also known as ''Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma'', is an adventure video game developed by Chime, and published by Spike Chunsoft and Aksys Games. It is the third entry in the '' Zero Escape'' series, following '' Nine Hours ...
'', released in 2016. An updated version of ''999'', with voice acting and higher resolution graphics, was released alongside a port of ''Virtue's Last Reward'' as part of the ''Zero Escape: The Nonary Games''. This bundle was released for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
,
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
, and
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
via
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
in March 2017, and for
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
in March 2022.


Gameplay

''999'' is an
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
in which the player assumes the role of a college student named Junpei. The
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
is divided into two types of sections: Novel and Escape. In the Novel sections, the player progresses through the branching storyline and converses with
non-playable character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s through
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
segments. These sections require little interaction from the player as they are spent reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either dialogue between the various characters or Junpei's thoughts. During Novel sections, the player will sometimes be presented with decision options that affect the course of the game, resulting in one of six endings. The whole plot is not revealed in just one playthrough; the player needs to reach the "true" ending to get all the information behind the mystery, which in turn requires another specific ending to be reached beforehand. Some endings contain hints to how to reach further endings. In between Novel sections are Escape sections, which occur when the player finds themselves in a room from which they need to find the means of escape. These are presented from a
first-person perspective A first-person narrative (also known as a first-person perspective, voice, point of view, etc.) is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from that storyteller's own personal point of view, using first-person grammar suc ...
, with the player being able to move between different pre-determined positions in each room. To escape, the player is tasked with finding various items and solving puzzles, reminiscent of escape-the-room games. At some points, the player may need to combine objects with each other to create the necessary tool to complete a puzzle. The puzzles include various
brain teaser A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking. Logic puzzles and riddles are specific types of ...
s, such as
baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...
and
magic squares In mathematics, especially historical and recreational mathematics, a square array of numbers, usually positive integers, is called a magic square if the sums of the numbers in each row, each column, and both main diagonals are the same. The " ...
. An in-game calculator is provided for math-related problems, and the player can ask characters for hints if they find an Escape room too difficult. All Escape sections are self-contained, with all items required to solve the puzzles being available within that section; items are not carried over between Escape sections. After finishing an Escape section, it becomes available to replay from the game's main menu.


Plot


Characters and setting

''999'' features nine main characters, who are forced to participate in the Nonary Game by an unknown person code-named Zero. For the majority of the game, the characters adopt code names to protect their identities due to the stakes of the Nonary Game—most of their names are ultimately revealed over the course of the game, and for several their true identities are important to the plot. The player-controlled Junpei is joined by June, a nervous girl and a childhood friend of Junpei whom he knows as Akane Kurashiki; Lotus, a self-serving woman with unknown skills; Seven, a large and muscular man; Santa, a fashionable
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
with a negative attitude; Ace, an older and wiser man; Snake, a blind man with a princely demeanor; Clover, a girl prone to
mood swing A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive or a disruptive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part ...
s and Snake's younger sister; and the 9th Man, a fidgety individual. The events of the game occur within a cruise ship, though all of the external doors and windows have been sealed, and many of the internal doors are locked. The game's nine characters learn that they have been kidnapped and brought to the ship to play the Nonary Game, with the challenge to find the door marked with a "9" within nine hours before the ship sinks. To do this, they are forced to work in separate teams to make their way through the ship and solve puzzles to find this door. This is set in part by special locks on numbered doors that are based on
digital root The digital root (also repeated digital sum) of a natural number in a given radix is the (single digit) value obtained by an iterative process of summing digits, on each iteration using the result from the previous iteration to compute a digit su ...
s; each player has a bracelet with a different digit on it, and only groups of three to five with the total of their bracelet's number with the same digital root as marked on the door can pass through.


Story

Junpei escapes a flooding cabin after waking up, wearing a bracelet displaying the number "5". He encounters the eight other passengers. Zero announces over a loudspeaker that all nine are participants in the Nonary Game, explains the rules, and states each carry an explosive in their stomach that will go off if they try to bypass the digital root door locks. Trying to escape on his own, the 9th man threatens Clover, and is able to coerce Ace and her to scan their bracelets on Door 5's keypad. It is then revealed that it is not only necessary for all of the entrants to scan their bracelets at the ''entrance'', but everyone who scanned must also authenticate within the rooms behind the Doors as well—lest the bombs of everyone who entered explode. Fearing what harm might come to them, the group adopts code names and splits up to explore the ship. Over the course of the story, Snake and an unknown man are found dead. The player has the option to select which group that Junpei travels with, which affects the story; several choices lead to Junpei and the cast's death at the hands of either Ace or Clover. Through various choices, Junpei learns of a previous Nonary Game, played nine years earlier, and the connections of the other characters through that, as well as studies about
morphic resonance Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has ...
and stories of the Egyptian priestess Alice, who is frozen in
ice-nine Ice-nine is a fictional material that appears in Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 novel ''Cat's Cradle''. Ice-nine is described as a Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of ice which instead of melting at 0 °C (32 °F), melts at 45.8  ...
. In one ending, Clover is found dead. Junpei learns that the dead man was not Snake and that the first Nonary Game was run by Cradle Pharmaceutical, of which Ace is the CEO. Zero was a participant of this game, and had set up the second Nonary Game as revenge towards Ace. The surviving players confront Ace and deduce he killed every person found dead in order to both cover his identity and obtain their bracelets. Ace holds Lotus hostage and escapes. As they find Snake and the door with the 9, Akane becomes weak. Santa watches over her while the others enter the door, leading to an incinerator where Ace and Lotus are. Learning of his sister's murder, Snake tackles Ace, and the others pull Junpei out of the incinerator before it activates, consuming Snake and Ace. Junpei returns to Akane, finding her nearly dead. Zero claims over the loudspeakers that he has lost. Junpei investigates a nearby room, and returns to find Akane and Santa have disappeared, after which he is knocked out by a gas grenade. After the player views this ending, they can then access the "true" ending. In the true ending, Junpei learns that the previous Nonary Game consisted of nine pairs of kidnapped siblings separated onto the ocean-bound '' Gigantic'' and in a mock-up in Building Q in a
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
desert. The game was designed to explore morphic fields; the research anticipated that the stress of the game would activate the fields between siblings, allowing solutions solved by one to be sent via these fields to their counterpart at the other location. This research was to help Ace cure his
prosopagnosia Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, (" illChoisser had even begun tpopularizea name for the condition: face blindness.") is a cognitive disorder of face perception in which the ability to recognize familiar faces, including one's own f ...
. This Nonary Game went awry: Akane and her brother Santa were placed at the same location instead of being separated, and Seven discovered the kidnappings and rescued the children from the ship. Ace grabbed Akane before she could escape, forced her into the incinerator room, and started the incinerator while leaving a puzzle for her escape. Unable to solve the puzzle, Akane was apparently burnt to death while the other children, including Snake and Lotus's daughters, escaped with Seven. After rescuing Snake, Junpei and the others reach the incinerator; Akane disappears and Santa escapes while taking Ace hostage, trapping the others inside. It is then revealed that the portion of the game's narrative portrayed on the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS, which only shows narration and interacts with puzzles, is presented from a 12-year-old Akane's point of view during the first Nonary Game. Through morphic fields, she connected to Junpei in the future, witnessing several possible endings and directing Junpei to help him survive. Junpei then faces the same puzzle Akane did, and relays the solution back to Akane in the past, allowing her to escape with Seven and the other children. Junpei realizes that Akane was Zero and, with assistance from Santa, had recreated the game and all the events she had witnessed in order to ensure her survival and avoid a temporal paradox. As Junpei and the others escape, they discover that the game had taken place in Building Q the entire time; Akane and Santa have fled, leaving behind a car with Ace restrained in the trunk. In the game's epilogue, they drive away hoping to catch up with them and pick up a hitchhiker in Egyptian robes.


Development

''999'' was developed by the Japanese game studio Chunsoft and directed by
Kotaro Uchikoshi is a Japanese video game director and writer. He is known for his work on visual novel games, including the ''Infinity'' and '' Zero Escape'' series. His writing style often incorporates elements of science fiction with various scientific and p ...
, and produced by
Jiro Ishii is a Japanese video game developer and television and anime producer. He is best known for directing the live-action visual novel '' 428: Shibuya Scramble'', producing the adventure video game '' Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'', and creat ...
. Chunsoft had made successful visual novels in the past, such as '' Kamaitachi no Yoru'' (1994), but wanted to create a new type of visual novel that could be received by a wider audience; they contacted Uchikoshi, who at the time was working on a mobile game based on ''Kamaitachi no Yoru'', and asked him to serve as a writer for the then upcoming visual novel '' 428: Shibuya Scramble''. Uchikoshi did not join the company in time to work on ''428'', but came up with the idea to include puzzles that are integrated within a story, and need to be solved for the player to make progress: he enjoyed playing browser-based escape-the-room games, but thought that they would be more interesting if they had a larger focus on telling a story. This idea served as the basis for ''999'', and Uchikoshi was named director of the project. Development of ''999'' began in 2008. The inspiration for the story was the question "where do mankind's inspirations come from?"; Uchikoshi researched it, and found the British author
Rupert Sheldrake Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has ...
's theories of morphogenetic fields, which became the main theme of the game. The theory is similar to telepathy, which answers the question of how organisms are able to simultaneously communicate ideas to each other, without physical or social interaction. Uchikoshi used the theory to develop the concept of esper characters, which are able to either transmit or receive information from another individual. Because of the vital role of the number 9 in the plot, each of the characters was based on one of the nine
personality type In psychology, personality type refers to the psychological classification of individuals. In contrast to personality traits, the existence of personality types remains extremely controversial. Types are sometimes said to involve ''qualitative'' ...
s from the
Enneagram of Personality The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram, is a pseudoscientific model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. The origins and history of ideas assoc ...
. Another source of inspiration was ''Kamaitachi no Yoru'', which, like ''999'', begins with putting the characters in a state of discomfort. Uchikoshi started writing the script by working on the ending first. From there, he would continue to work backwards, in order to not get confused when writing the plot. The game's setting, with characters who are trapped and try to escape, was meant to embody two of humanity's instinctive desires: the unconscious desire to return to one's mother's womb and shut oneself away, and the desire to escape and overcome one's current condition. This was a theme Uchikoshi had used before, when writing the visual novel '' Ever 17: The Out of Infinity'' (2002). The illustrations by character designer
Kinu Nishimura is a Japanese video game and anime concept artist and illustrator. Currently freelance, she is best known for her Game art design, character design and promotional art for Capcom's fighting games during the 1990s. Career Kinu Nishimura began wor ...
influenced the script, as certain scenes were altered to match the character illustrations. Among scrapped story elements were the use of hands as a major part of the story; in the final stages of production, Uchikoshi's higher-ups did not accept this focus, forcing him to re-write the story. The characters were originally supposed to be handcuffed to each other as they try to escape, but the idea was scrapped as it was seen as overused, with appearances in
light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...
s such as '' Mahou Shoujo Riska'' (2004). The Escape sequences were created to appeal to players' innate desires: Uchikoshi wanted them to feel the instinctive pleasure that he described as "I found it!". For the puzzles, he would consider the details within the story, and the props and gimmicks found in the game; after deciding on them, they were integrated with the puzzles. He also used puzzle websites as reference. He did not design the puzzles himself, instead leaving the puzzle direction to other staff, while checking it multiple times.
Shinji Hosoe , also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring ''Ridge Racer'', ''Street Fighter EX'' and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production ...
, the president of the game music production company SuperSweep, was chosen to compose the game's soundtrack for being skilled in a wide range of music genres, ensuring that he could compose music that would fit a lot of different types of moods and scenes. He described his work on the game as the most straightforward music project he had had, due to receiving concise reference material that answered all his questions about the game; he made a few test tracks, after which everything went smoothly. The music was written using the Nintendo DS's internal synth, and Hosoe worked together with fellow SuperSweep composer Yousuke Yasui to make this less obvious.


Localization

The North American localization of the game was handled by
Aksys Games Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Bandai Namco Games, Xs ...
; Chunsoft was introduced to Aksys by
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...
while looking for a company that could publish the game in North America. When Aksys evaluated ''999'', many at the company did not believe in its commercial viability and at first turned it down; as many of the people who evaluate games at Aksys do not speak Japanese, it was difficult for them to gauge whether a game was good or not. In the end they decided to localize it, which was considered a big risk for the company. The localization was done by the philosophy of keeping true to the spirit of the original Japanese, making dialogue sound like what a native speaker of English would say instead of strictly adhering the original's exact wording. The localization editor, Ben Bateman, did this by looking at the writing from a wider view, line by line or scene by scene rather than word by word or sentence by sentence, and thinking about how to convey the same ideas in English. Most parts of the game that include a joke in the localization also have a joke in the Japanese version, but a different one; Bateman did however try to make similar types of jokes, with similar contents and ideas. The game's use of Japanese language
pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
s led to problems, as many of them relied on Japanese dialects to function; for these, Bateman replaced them with new puns in English. He was given mostly free rein in what he could change or add, as long as it did not disrupt the plot. During the localization, Bateman had to keep track of the numerous plot points throughout the game, as the script had not been written in chronological order due to the numerous endings. Localizing the game took roughly two months. Another challenge was getting the localization done in time: Nobara Nakayama, the game's translator, worked on it for 30 days, and the editing process took two months. Because of this, Bateman had to do most of the work "on the fly". Nakayama had started playing the game prior to starting work on the localization, but did not finish playing it until she was more than halfway through translating it; after learning that the plot hinged on a Japanese pun, they had to halt the localization to discuss it with Uchikoshi and come up with a solution, after which they went through the whole game to make sure that it still made sense. Another problem Bateman ran into was related to the game's first person narration. A plot twist regarding the narration relied on the use of gender-specific first person pronouns at specific points in the story. As this would not work in English, the narration was made to instead be in the third person, and the twist's effect was replicated by shifting from third to first person at a specific story point. Bateman admits however that the twist is "more mindblowing in Japanese". During a scene related to an abstract painting of a dog, one of the localized answers for what the painting depicts is "Funyarinpa", a
nonsense word In linguistics, a nonce word—also called an occasionalism—is any word (lexeme), or any sequence of sounds or letters, created for a single occasion or utterance but not otherwise understood or recognized as a word in a given languag ...
directly translated from the original Japanese game. Picking it prompts a humorous exchange between Junpei and Lotus. This became a highly popular
meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
within ''Zero Escape'' circles.


Release

''999'' was originally released in Japan by Spike on December 10, 2009, for the Nintendo DS. An American release followed on November 16, 2010. In the United States, a replica of the in-game bracelets was included with pre-orders at
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...
; due to low pre-orders, Aksys made these available on their website's shop, both separately and bundled with the game. Upon release, ''999'' became the eleventh and ultimately final Nintendo DS game to be rated M by the
ESRB The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Softw ...
. It was a commercial failure in Japan, with 27,762 copies sold in 2009 and an additional 11,891 in 2010, reaching a total of 39,653 copies sold. Meanwhile, American sales were described as being strong; according to Uchikoshi, this was a surprise, as the visual novel genre was seen as being particular to Japan and unlikely to be accepted overseas. In addition to the game, other ''999'' media was released. The game's soundtrack was published by SuperSweep on December 23, 2009. A novelization of the game, ''Kyokugen Dasshutsu 9 Jikan 9 Nin 9 no Tobira Alterna'', was written by Kenji Kuroda and released by
Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
in 2010 in two volumes, titled ''Jou'' and ''Ge''. Coinciding with the release of the game's sequel, '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward'' (2012), ''999'' was reprinted under the title ''Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'', with new box art featuring the ''
Zero Escape ''Zero Escape'', formerly released in Japan as , is a series of adventure games directed and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi. The first two entries in the series, '' Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' (2009) and '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Re ...
'' brand. An
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
version of the game, ''999: The Novel'', was developed by
Spike Chunsoft is a Japanese video game development and video game localization, localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike (compa ...
as the second entry in their ''Smart Sound Novel'' series. It was released in Japan on May 29, 2013, and worldwide in English on March 17, 2014. This version lacks the Escape sections of the Nintendo DS version, and features high resolution graphics and an added
flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of v ...
that helps players keep track of which narrative paths they have experienced; additionally, dialogue is presented through
speech bubble Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...
s, and an extra ending is included. This version has since been removed from the App Store. ''Zero Escape: The Nonary Games'', a
bundle Bundle or Bundling may refer to: * Bundling (packaging), the process of using straps to bundle up items Biology * Bundle of His, a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction * Bundle of Kent, an extra conduction path ...
that contains
remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
versions of ''999'' and ''Virtue's Last Reward'', was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and PlayStation Vita in the West on March 24, 2017. People who purchased the Windows version through
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
in its first week of release received a complimentary soundtrack, with songs from ''999'' and ''Virtue's Last Reward''. In Japan, the Microsoft Windows version launched on March 25 and the console versions on April 13. The European PlayStation Vita version was released on December 15. ''The Nonary Games'' was later released for
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
on March 22, 2022, and was added to the
Xbox Game Pass The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPad ...
service for console, PC and
cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...
on the same date. The ''999'' remaster retained most of the features from ''The Novel'', but the new ending was not included.


Reception

''999'' was well received by critics, according to the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' included it on a list of the best games of all time, crediting it with popularizing the visual novel genre in America. Reviewers enjoyed the writing and narrative, with Andy Goergen of Nintendo World Report labeling it as "a strong argument for video games as a new medium of storytelling". Reviewers at ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' called the story enigmatic and thrilling. Carolyn Petit at
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
felt that the lengthy Novel sections amplified the fear and tension throughout the game, while Heidi Kemps of
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
compared them to "high-quality
thriller novels Thriller is a genre of fiction with numerous, often overlapping, subgenres, including crime, horror, and detective fiction. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving their audiences heightened feelings of suspe ...
".
Jason Schreier Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is an American journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several Investigative journalism, investig ...
of ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' criticized the prose for being inconsistent, but said that the use of the narrator was clever and unusual. Susan Arendt at '' The Escapist'' called the story multi-layered and horrifying. Zach Kaplan at
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
liked the dialogue, but found the third-person narration to be dull and slow, with out-of-place or clichéd
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
s and
simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...
s. Both Chris Schilling at
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
and Lucas M. Thomas at IGN felt that the urgency portrayed in the game's story sometimes was at odds with the tone or timing of the dialogue, such as lengthy conversations while trapped inside a freezer, or lighthearted dialogue and jokes. Thomas called the premise gripping, and said that the mythology, conspiracies and character backgrounds were engrossing. Tony Ponce at Destructoid said that the characters initially seemed like a "stock anime cast", but that the player discovers more complexity in them after moving past first impressions. Kaplan felt that each character was well developed, fleshed out and unique, and could pass for real people. A ''Famitsu'' writer said that they enjoyed solving puzzles, and that it gave them a sense of accomplishment; similarly, Goergen, Petit, Schilling and Arendt called the puzzles satisfying to solve. Goergen found some puzzles to be cleverly done, but said that some were esoteric. Ponce and Petit liked that the puzzles never became "pixel hunts", and how everything is visible as long as the player looks carefully; because of this and the lack of
red herring A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentiona ...
s, time limits and dead ends, Ponce found it to be better than other escape-the-room games. He applauded the large amount of content, saying that even someone only buying the game for the puzzles would be satisfied. Schilling and Thomas appreciated the puzzles, but found some solutions and hints to be too obvious or explanatory. Kemps found the puzzles excellently done and challenging, but disliked how difficult it was to reach the true ending. Kemps and Schreier appreciated how the puzzles felt logical, while they, along with Thomas and Arendt, criticized how the player has to re-do puzzle sequences upon subsequent playthroughs. Goergen, Schreier, Thomas and Arendt all appreciated the fast-forward function, as it made repeated playthroughs more bearable, but Thomas felt that it didn't go far enough in speeding up the process. Goergen found the sound designs to be unmemorable, saying that the music does not add much and that players would be likely to mute the game after hearing the "beeping" sound effect used for dialogue for too long. Meanwhile, Ponce and Petit liked it: Ponce called the score "masterful" and said that it "gets under your skin at the right moments", while Petit said that she appreciated the sound, which she called atmospheric and " endingshivers up your spine". She was unimpressed with the environments, but said that they were clear and easy to look at. She liked the character portraits, calling them expressive and, paired with the dialogue, enough to make the player not care about the lack of voice acting. Ponce, too, felt that the game did not need voice acting. He felt that the way the game favored textual narration over animated cutscenes made it more immersive, allowing the player to imagine the scenes. Goergen said that the graphics were well done, but that they did not do much for the atmosphere. Kaplan called the presentation "awesome", saying that it looked great and that the artwork stood on its own despite the simplicity of the animations, and that the soundtrack was "fantastic". ''999'' received some awards from gaming publications, including: Best Story of 2010 from IGN, Best Graphic Adventure of 2010 on a Handheld System from RPGFan, and an Editor's Choice Award from
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
. Bob Mackey at ''
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conte ...
'' featured ''999'' on a list of "must-play" Nintendo DS visual novels, citing its story, themes and "zany narrative experimentation", and
Jason Schreier Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is an American journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several Investigative journalism, investig ...
at ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' included it on a list of "must-play" visual novels worth playing even for people who do not like
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...
. RPGFan listed it as one of the thirty essential
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
s from the years 2010 to 2015.


Sequels

''999'' is the first game in the ''
Zero Escape ''Zero Escape'', formerly released in Japan as , is a series of adventure games directed and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi. The first two entries in the series, '' Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' (2009) and '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Re ...
'' series, and was originally intended to be a stand-alone game. The development for the sequel began after the first game got positive reviews. '' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward'', the successor to ''999'', was developed by Chunsoft for the
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
and
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
, and was first released on February 16, 2012, in Japan, and later that year in North America and Europe. ''Virtue's Last Reward'' also follows a group of nine people, and focuses on
game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
, specifically the prisoner's dilemma. ''
Zero Time Dilemma ''Zero Time Dilemma'', also known as ''Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma'', is an adventure video game developed by Chime, and published by Spike Chunsoft and Aksys Games. It is the third entry in the '' Zero Escape'' series, following '' Nine Hours ...
'', released in 2016, is set between the events of the previous two games, and has morality as its main theme.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Zero Escape series 2009 video games Chunsoft games IOS games Nintendo DS games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Vita games Single-player video games Spike Chunsoft video games Video games about death games Video games about telepathy Video games about time travel Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Shinji Hosoe Video games set in 2027 Video games set in Nevada Video games set in the United States Video games with pre-rendered 3D graphics Video games written by Kotaro Uchikoshi Visual novels Windows games Xbox Cloud Gaming games Xbox One games Zero Escape