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[Volcynika]

Junpei, a normal college student, suddenly finds himself along with eight other strangers involved in a deadly conspiracy he could never have imagined. He wakes aboard an old cruise liner. Dazed and confused, he stumbles around the room he finds himself in, trying desperately to remember how he got there. The first thing he notices is a number, scrawled across the door… A bright red number 5. As Junpei’s memory returns, his mind is filled with the image of a mysterious figure in a gas mask, and their haunting words: “You are going to participate in a game. The Nonary Game. It is a game…where you will put your life on the line.”

• Platform -- Nintendo DS
• Genre -- Adventure Game / Text Adventure
• Release Date -- November 16th, 2010 (US)
• Website -- Official 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors Website (Flash demo available)
• MSRP -- $34.99
• Publisher -- Aksys Games
• Developer -- Chunsoft
• ESRB -- M for Mature (Blood, Drug Reference, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence)
• Buy from Aksys Games Store: 999 + Watch Bundle / Watch for free ($5 s/h)

• #1 -- Ace
• A tall, grave older man with a streak of gray in his hair, he is often the voice of calm reason when events descend into chaos.

• #2 -- Snake
• A young man with a princely demeanor, he is an unending fount of information, but tends to only reveal it when there is no other option.

• #3 -- Santa
• Little more than a punk with silver hair and a bad attitude at first glance, this clever guy keeps pushing forward and doesn't like dealing with indecisiveness.

• #4 -- Clover
• Prone to rapid swings of emotion, this pink haired girl doesn't hesitate to speak her mind or put people in their place

• #5 -- Junpei
• After this college kid wakes up to find he's been transported to a strange location, he takes it upon himself to figure out all the cryptic clues and to save everyone trapped with him.

• #6 -- June
• A delicate girl with a connection to Junpei, she's always helpful and works hard to make sure no one gets left behind.

• #7 -- Seven
• A large, bumbling mountain of a man, his appearance and behavior hide an intelligent mind well-equipped for solving problems.

• #8 -- Lotus
• A self-serving, barely-dressed woman with unknown skills and knowledge, she does whatever she can to find her way out.

• #9 -- 9th Man
• A fidgety, jumpy man from the start, he knows more than he's letting on.

• Zero
• The one behind the Nonary Game. Who is he and why is he doing this?

• Trailer
• Character Trailer
• Launch Trailer

• Destructoid -- 10/10
• Nintendo Power -- 9/10
• AV Club - B+

• Question -- So what's this game like? I don't get it.
• Answer -- The game is a sort of a mix of room escape and visual novel. You will have puzzles to solve. Puzzles! To help you out, please visit the official site here and try the demo. There are three main systems for the game. They are:
  
  • Novel
    

    The novel section is where the plot progresses. It reads like a story, with narration and dialog that you can advance. Information is revealed as the story continues, and every little piece is important. The choices you make determine your path throughout the game and affect what you find out...and what you don't. Narration text appears on the bottom screen, while dialog and Junpei's thoughts are seen on the top screen. If you want to re-read a particular bit of info, you can view the log by pressing up on the Control Pad, but only while you're in the novel section.

  • Escape
    

    The escape portion of the game occurs when you find yourself trapped in a room, or set of rooms. You must then examine your surroundings for hints and items that will aid you in making your way out. Some items will even need to be combined. Talking to the other players trapped in the room with you will often give you further information, and they usually offer up advice if you get stumped. Nearly everything in the room is able to be examined so explore your surroundings. Important plot points as well as some critical decisions can happen here so every choice counts.

  • Minigame
    

    Each escape has at least one minigame, or puzzle, within it, often the lock on the door itself. Specific objects and information are required to solve each minigame, which can range from playing music and beating card games to solving math puzzles or finding correct combinations of objects. Everything needed to solve the puzzle can be found in the escape area. Some may require the use of the File screen, with its pertinent files and calculator.

• Question -- I played the demo and I am so annoyed at it constantly explaining things over and over! Do I have to deal with that the entire game?
• Answer -- Nope, it is just for the first puzzle to get players used to and accustomed to the game's systems. No worries!

• Question -- How long is the game? Will it give me some bang for my buck?
• Answer -- It's estimated about 10 hours for the first playthrough. There are six endings in all, and you can skip text and go quicker on subsequent playthroughs. The true ending takes some work as well, so you might even go to 20-30 hours (via Akselziys)

• Question -- Anything else cool I need to know?
• Answer -- It might be cool for some! GameStop is offering a digital watch with pre-orders (apparently this seems to be restricted to online orders). To pre-order it at GameStop's site, just go here.

 

[thetrin]

Hell yes! Day one. Cannot fucking wait for this game. If this thread goes ignored, then GAF is part of the problem.

 

[HarkenSlash]

Already got this game pre-ordered. Hopefully this game gets as much recognition as it deserves.

 

[sundrenched]

Getting it since it sounds cool prob end november though!

Gah I hope aksys brings out an otome game too

 

[Ryn]

Why does this remind me of Saw 2?

Still wanna play it though.

 

[Hours Left]

Totally into this game. I can't wait! ^_^

 

[jgkspsx]

Preordered despite reservations about demo.

 

[Akselziys]

Awesome job with the OT, Volcy!

You've done 999 great justice !

And if you guys have any other questions, I'll do my best to help answer them! It was my and my amazing team's project after all

 

[Chesskid1]

looks pretty nice. i've always enjoyed these types of games for DS.

 

[thetrin]

:lol

 

[Dresden]

Does this use the triggers at all? The left trigger in my DSi is broken.

 

[thetrin]

Does this use the triggers at all? The left trigger in my DSi is broken.

It does, but I believe you can use tap the onscreen icon to perform the same task as the LT.

 

[Dresden]

It does, but I believe you can use tap the onscreen icon to perform the same task as the LT.

Great, will buy then.

 

[ULTROS!]

Hyped, I hope I get a new stylus soon in order to play this.

 

[Akselziys]

Does this use the triggers at all? The left trigger in my DSi is broken.

The L & R Buttons can be used to access the item menu and file menu, but you can bypass using them by just hitting the icons with your stylus, since most of the controls are stylus based

 

[Dynamite Ringo Matsuri]

Consider me interested. Been waiting for a new adventure game after hotel dusk and Phoenix wright.

 

[Salsa]

Im in

 

[Synth_floyd]

Anyone able to figure out the codes for the red and blue suitcases in the demo? I have the paper with the key and the red and blue figures but can't figure out the numbers.

 

[speedpop]

Another one to get stuck into eventually. The over-abundant breasts are a bit of a joke though.

 

[Akselziys]

Anyone able to figure out the codes for the red and blue suitcases in the demo? I have the paper with the key and the red and blue figures but can't figure out the numbers.

Spoiler

There are two notes you have to find and you have to use both notes to find the passwords for the suitcases (each note possesses one half of the red and blue suitcase passwords respectively).

The way you connect the halves is by creating a full colored arrow using the halves from each note (red with red and blue with blue).

You can then decode them using the picture with the symbol information on the back of it.

Hopefully that helps!

 

[Synth_floyd]

Where is the

Spoiler

2nd note?? I found one of them but can't find the other

Edit: Nevermind. Found it.

 

[Akselziys]

Where is the

Spoiler

2nd note?? I found one of them but can't find the other

Edit: Nevermind. Found it.

Hehe, I'm glad Was just about to post where

 

[bernardobri]

The setting reminds me a lot of Vincenzo Natali's "Cube". Will definitely check this out.

 

[Synth_floyd]

Man that demo sold me. It comes out this week. Sweet!

 

[Mockingbird]

I want it but $35 is a pretty high MSRP. Will wait for it to be a bit cheaper. I loved Ever 17 though and I hear this is similar.

 

[timetokill]

I'd heard about it, but I knew nothing about this game until this OT. I checked out the demo, and it was awesome! Definitely planning on a purchase.

 

[Ferga]

Came in expecting a thriller/horror game :lol

 

[a1m]

Them tits.

Will buy, sounds awesome. Nice OT.

 

[viewtiful_dru]

who did the character art? it looks familiar, like from some Capcom games

 

[Volcynika]

who did the character art? it looks familiar, like from some Capcom games

7th mentioned in one of the earlier 999 threads that it is Kinu Nishimura.

 

[Urban Scholar]

I'll wait from impressions from everyone first. This title looks rather interesting and I'll willing to get my mind screwed up through a blender.

 

[Lain]

I don't think I'll be able to get this game on release day, but I'll get it for sure, I really liked the demo.

 

[-KRS-]

Hmm, I never even heard of this until now. Looks really interesting.

 

[Crazetex]

I will probably get this, horrifying breasts aside.

Am I the only one who thinks that Snake looks like Edgeworth?

 

[Ermac]

Hm. Might get. Hotel Dusk is my favorite game on the DS, this looks similar.

 

[Shadow Red]

Nice! Can't wait for the game! I long for a visual novel!

 

[leroy hacker]

Genre -- .. Text Adventure

No it isn't.

This is a text adventure:

 

[Femmeworth]

The character designs look good, except for the obligatory Miss Big Tits. -_-

 

[Akselziys]

The character designs look good, except for the obligatory Miss Big Tits. -_-

Yeah, Kinu Nishimura does amazing work

Ironically enough her favorite character to draw was the 9th Man :lol

 

[Volcynika]

No it isn't.

This is a text adventure:

http://i41.tinypic.com/wmb810.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Adventure game with text, so I'll call it that in part. I think you'll live.

[QUOTE]The character designs look good, except for the obligatory Miss Big Tits. -_-[/QUOTE]

Miss Big Tits can't help herself for how big she is!

 

[Akselziys]

Adventure game with text, so I'll call it that in part. I think you'll live.



Miss Big Tits can't help herself for how big she is!

Well, at least Lotus never has to worry about drowning

 

[Volcynika]

Well, at least Lotus never has to worry about drowning

See! The power of BUOYANCY!

 

[notworksafe]

The character designs look good, except for the obligatory Miss Big Tits. -_-

Um her name is Miss Lotus Big Tits, okay! :lol

Also helping with this thread convinced me to buy this game. And the online demo thing. This should be fun!

 

[Akselziys]

Um her name is Miss Lotus Big Tits, okay! :lol

Also helping with this thread convinced me to buy this game. And the online demo thing. This should be fun!

Hurray! Another convert !

I welcome thee into the 999 fold

 

[Shadow Red]

999 will definitely be amazing. I long for these mature visual novel titles with a touch of Higurashi and Saw. And Kinu Nishimura's art totally fit into the 999 atmosphere.

 

[Femmeworth]

I will probably get this, horrifying breasts aside.

Am I the only one who thinks that Snake looks like Edgeworth?

"He looks nothing like me."

I'm playing the demo right now. I'm kind of stuck. >_<

 

[Akselziys]

"He looks nothing like me."

I'm playing the demo right now. I'm kind of stuck. >_<

Let me know if you need help and I'll try to guide you through wherever you're stuck

 

[thetrin]

"He looks nothing like me."

I'm playing the demo right now. I'm kind of stuck. >_<

One thing I find really really helpful is that when you click on the environment, there's a yellow outline that shows the bounds of the object you're interacting with. Basically, no pixel hunting!

That will also help if you think you're interacting with the entire bed, for instance, or just the pillow.

Hurray! Another convert !

I welcome thee into the 999 fold

I think the combination of room escape and VN will garner some interest in American gamers. VNs on their own may not entice people all that much.

 

[Femmeworth]

Let me know if you need help and I'll try to guide you through wherever you're stuck

Thanks, but I figured it out. Turns out I didn't click on everything.

Spoiler

I didn't notice the closet at first.

If you don't mind answering a technical question, how was the flash demo made? I know it's not the first demo of a DS game like that. Is it something the DS dev kit supports or something Nintendo provides? Just curious.

The demo definitely has my interest peaked. The premise isn't the most original, but I think the characters and puzzles will make up for it. I like that the character sprites have some animation, though it obviously isn't on the same level as the Ace Attorney series, which I'm obviously a big fan of.

 

[Akselziys]

Thanks, but I figured it out. Turns out I didn't click on everything.

Spoiler

I didn't notice the closet at first.

If you don't mind answering a technical question, how was the flash demo made? I know it's not the first demo of a DS game like that. Is it something the DS dev kit supports or something Nintendo provides? Just curious.

The demo definitely has my interest peaked. The premise isn't the most original, but I think the characters and puzzles will make up for it. I like that the character sprites have some animation, though it obviously isn't on the same level as the Ace Attorney series, which I'm obviously a big fan of.

The flash demo was created via an outsourced company in Japan and Chunsoft. We handled the creation and translation of the English demo and requested English versions of the assets as well as a little programming assistance (since we had to change the very first puzzle in the game, since it made use of Japanese kana) and implement the new American version of the puzzle into the demo as well.

All the other characters you interact with have various animations as well, so I hope you'll enjoy them all !