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999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors |OT| RED, DEAD, Redemption
- Thread starter Volcynika
- Start date
-Pyromaniac-
Member
hosannainexcelsis said:
Alright so I guess that's what I'll do. Does it continue or do I have to keep going to new game or something.Korigama said:
Yeah 4 or so hours isn't that long for the first playthrough and 1 hour for the rest isn't bad. I'm enjoying the reading plenty.
-Pyromaniac- said:
No, you have to get the true path to get any real sense of the story, the game is purposely designed story wise to be played multiple times . You probably wont have any clue as to what is going on until you get at least 2-3 endings prior to the true path. Generally speaking getting as many endings as possible is pretty crucial to understanding and enjoying the game fully. Get all of them for sure.
timetokill
Banned
-Pyromaniac- said:
You can do "Begin With Memories" to start your new game after getting an ending.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
ah yeah that's what I did last night. I also assumed I should pick different things than last time so that's what I've been doing in the second go-through. Not sure if that makes a difference.timetokill said:
It's kind of a bitch to have to do all the rooms again though.
ShockingAlberto
Member
Yeah, I kinda regretted I finished it after I finished my GOTY list. I really wish I could have put it in there somewhere.Kagari said:I've decided that even though this game came out end of last year... it's my game of the year for this year so far
Akselziys said:Multi page spread just released in the latest issue of Nintendo Power discussing a post mortem of 999 along with an interview with Kotaro Uchikoshi and our very own editor of 999, Ben Bateman <3!
Check it out if you can
Most definitely will whenever my next issue arrives. Should be an interesting article.
storafötter
Member
Tried this game some days ago and I am left pleasantly surprised.
It is one of the rare times where the puzzles fit well and feel rewarding and are well explained. Most of the time adventure games give you ridiculous or illogical puzzles.
Unfortunately now I can't find my ds as I lost it somewhere within the house. But hope to continue soon again.
It is one of the rare times where the puzzles fit well and feel rewarding and are well explained. Most of the time adventure games give you ridiculous or illogical puzzles.
Unfortunately now I can't find my ds as I lost it somewhere within the house. But hope to continue soon again.
Fucking DS had to run out of battery just when I got the safe ending and was gonna do the true ending. The safe ending just left me with such a wide range of emotions and questions and suspicions. I immediately had to go back into it. God, now I just hope I won't stay up all night thinking about this. I want to sleep so when I wake up I can pick up my charged DS and finish this shit. It's too good.
Edit: WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!
Edit: WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!
Iwatas Magic Sports Coat
Member
Just got 999 a few days ago and I'm absolutely loving it.
I have a few minor gripes about the streamlining of the game, but they're minor nuisances. I just figured out the crate puzzle in the cargo room. very cool. I'm loving the story too. We need more games like this.
I have a few minor gripes about the streamlining of the game, but they're minor nuisances. I just figured out the crate puzzle in the cargo room. very cool. I'm loving the story too. We need more games like this.
abstract alien
Member
This thread has legs!!!
storafötter
Member
Just finished the game the first time, wow this game is really good. I admit I didn't care much for the characters back story but the puzzles are fun and rewarding. This is possibly the first and only time I have played an adventure/visual novel type of game where the puzzles make sense and are well explained. There is a possibility that this tops Phoenix Wright for me, even if the characters aren't as appealing so far.
Too bad I got the bad ending. But I am excited to unravel more of the mysteries concerning what happened.
Too bad I got the bad ending
. But I am excited to unravel more of the mysteries concerning what happened.Which ending did you get? (mark in spoilers).storafötter said:Just finished the game the first time, wow this game is really good. I admit I didn't care much for the characters back story but the puzzles are fun and rewarding. This is possibly the first and only time I have played an adventure/visual novel type of game where the puzzles make sense and are well explained. There is a possibility that this tops Phoenix Wright for me, even if the characters aren't as appealing so far.
Too bad I got the bad ending
storafötter
Member
GaimeGuy said:
The one where everyone gets killed, and junpei last as he approaches the submarine. I don't even know if there are several endings where everyone dies yet . But I know there was a little box I couldn't open on that playthrough in the beginning, but I was a bit lazy not rechecking all the other rooms after returning to the hall the third time
. But I know there was a little box I couldn't open on that playthrough in the beginning, but I was a bit lazy not rechecking all the other rooms after returning to the hall the third timethat's definitely the worst ending.storafötter said:The one where everyone gets killed, and junpei last as he approaches the submarine. I don't even know if there are several endings where everyone dies yet
abstract alien
Member
Yeah, definitely play through to at least get the true ending. The game gets like 10 times better and its extremely easy to play through again due to the fast forward ability. You will literally fly through the game and get to content you hadn't played before in no time at all. I really don't say this much, but do it for the story alone if anything. It is completely worth it.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
storafötter said:The one where everyone gets killed, and junpei last as he approaches the submarine. I don't even know if there are several endings where everyone dies yet
There's a lot of missing character development with just this ending, so there's a good chance you'll like the characters better after reaching the true ending.
GaimeGuy said:
Personally I'd go with the
knife, just because of how abrupt and uninformative it is.
storafötter
Member
GaimeGuy said:
Thats a pity. I did manage to enjoy it despite the lackluster character development. Of course I will play again. The last game I played that had this type of gameplay was Shadow of Memories, but thankfully with this game I can skip most dialogue quickly and don't have wonder around waiting for the time to pass!
One question for possible endings, as I don't want to go down the same wrong path
Okay so in that bad ending I was only with June on my second trip through those numbered doors, however on this new playthrough I am with her from the beginning. Will the outcome be different if I still cheat on the other characters and stay with June like i did on the previous ending?
The reason why I am asking is that I don't want to go down the same path thinking that some tiny change will give another ending. It might go quick, but I wish I could skip puzzles ive done before.
Like I didn't like the roulette one, even if that room had the best puzzles for me so far
Hmm.. so by reading a bit of this thread, I can continue after the beginning instead of restarting the whole thing? Thats nice, I thought it was just segments you could play.
timetokill
Banned
storafötter said:
Generally, the doors you choose will determine the ending you get. There are a few important dialogue choices you have to make to get the "true" ending... but by the time you've gotten a few of the other endings, you will probably piece together which ones these are.
So as a rule, pick different door combos to get different endings. If you get stuck towards the end, search out the SPOILER-FREE walkthrough, which just gives you the requirements for each ending in particular.
Here are the first two pages of the Nintendo Power article
http://nintendopower.com/images/NP267_999.jpg
http://nintendopower.com/images/NP267_999.jpg
timetokill
Banned
Nice! Hope to see the rest sometime, I haven't seen a NP in ages
storafötter
Member
Akselziys said:Here are the first two pages of the Nintendo Power article
http://nintendopower.com/images/NP267_999.jpg
Interesting read even if I only can read a glimpse of it. I liked his proposal of how visual novels should be in book stores. Some book stores here sell videogames and dvds. If only they specialized in specific games that appealed for a reading crowd I am sure more people would be interested.
Iwatas Magic Sports Coat
Member
Just got my 1st ending. it was a bad ending
Awesome music for the bad ending theme.
Awesome music for the bad ending theme.
storafötter
Member
I got another bad ending , but an interesting twist of events. I just wish I didn't have to do the puzzles over again.
, but an interesting twist of events. I just wish I didn't have to do the puzzles over again.J'onn J'onzz
Neo Member
I actually got this game because of that Nintendo Power issue.
It's really good but after each ending I am frustrated for some reason or another. I guess that is probably the intent though. Having to solve the same puzzles several times gets annoying and I wish you could skip to the dialogue choices instead of having to hold down the arrow keys for a while... but it isn't stopping me from trying to unlock all the endings. I've played through it four times now and
It's really good but after each ending I am frustrated for some reason or another. I guess that is probably the intent though. Having to solve the same puzzles several times gets annoying and I wish you could skip to the dialogue choices instead of having to hold down the arrow keys for a while... but it isn't stopping me from trying to unlock all the endings. I've played through it four times now and
the "to be continued" one was the most frustrating because I thought I did everything right but now I'm not sure what to do... I guess I'll play through again and try to unlock the last two endings. The other three I have unlocked are knife, axe, and sub. I'm hoping there are no more bad endings but I suspect there's one more.
timetokill
Banned
J'onn J'onzz said:
You have to get the other ending
before you can get the "true"
you basically did everything right, like you thought.
IAmtheFMan
Member
Okay, impressions after playing through
This is a great story marred by some extremely frustrating play mechanics. I'm now on my 5th playthrough, and I'm seeing the next playthrough as a chore, despite my desire to want to see how the "good ending" unfolds. Like the poster above said, I don't want to play through room 5 again. I want to push "start" so I can bypass all the story elements until I'm at a branching point. I mentioned in a past post that I read a lot faster then the "scrolling" rate of text, and this has only been more and more annoying. Let me fast forward text. If I skip something, it's my own damn fault.
I also mentioned that the text is verbose for verbosity sake. Seriously. This is a quote from the game.
Three sentences that could have been condensed to one, with absolutely nothing added with its length. Yeah, just an example of the writing in this game. Brevity is king, and this game doesn't get that. I also don't buy the argument that it's supposed to be more of a novel then a game. 30 years ago, Infocom was doing it better with the Zork games and recently, Hotel Dusk and the court-room sessions of PW have been doing this very well.
I think the GAF-hype made me expect too much. Maybe I expected this game to be an evolution of the text-based Infocom games that I grew up with but so far, it's not quite there. Maybe I'll change my tune once I see the real ending, but I don't think any narrative will let me get past some of these game mechanics.
endings 3, 4, and 6...
This is a great story marred by some extremely frustrating play mechanics. I'm now on my 5th playthrough, and I'm seeing the next playthrough as a chore, despite my desire to want to see how the "good ending" unfolds. Like the poster above said, I don't want to play through room 5 again. I want to push "start" so I can bypass all the story elements until I'm at a branching point. I mentioned in a past post that I read a lot faster then the "scrolling" rate of text, and this has only been more and more annoying. Let me fast forward text. If I skip something, it's my own damn fault.
I also mentioned that the text is verbose for verbosity sake. Seriously. This is a quote from the game.
Three sentences that could have been condensed to one, with absolutely nothing added with its length. Yeah, just an example of the writing in this game. Brevity is king, and this game doesn't get that. I also don't buy the argument that it's supposed to be more of a novel then a game. 30 years ago, Infocom was doing it better with the Zork games and recently, Hotel Dusk and the court-room sessions of PW have been doing this very well.
I think the GAF-hype made me expect too much. Maybe I expected this game to be an evolution of the text-based Infocom games that I grew up with but so far, it's not quite there. Maybe I'll change my tune once I see the real ending, but I don't think any narrative will let me get past some of these game mechanics.
IAmtheFMan
Member
Instro said:
Yeah I know. Holding the the right arrow while I stare at the ceiling after 4 playthroughs gets annoying though.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
IAmtheFMan said:
You do know you can fast-forward through text you've already seen by pressing right on the D-pad, right? I do wish this included multiple save slots and auto-skip like PC visual novels do, as well as letting you skip puzzle rooms already completed. But with skipping text and how easy it is to breeze through puzzles you know the answer to, it's a minor inconvenience.
But this is more of a novel than a game. The previous works of the director, Uchikoshi, have all been PC visual novels (most famously Ever17). This is the first of his works that includes gameplay beyond branching decision points - and much of the puzzle design was outsourced to another company. The most important part of 999 and the part the design part put the most effort into is the narrative, not the puzzles.
Also, brevity is not a hallmark of Japanese writing in general. Maybe I've just gotten used to it, but I never noticed anything excessively wordy when I was playing through 999. (And trust me, there are a lot of excessively wordy visual novels.)
This is a Japanese adventure game stemming from their tradition of visual novels; expecting it to be similar to Infocom games, with their greater emphasis on puzzles, is a mistake. If you're looking for modern games similar to Infocom, the best place to find them is in the indie field of interactive fiction.
I hope you'll at least appreciate 999 after you see the true ending, though; it's a masterfully executed narrative.
IAmtheFMan
Member
hosannainexcelsis said:
I know this. Despite that, it's still annoying.
This is the same argument that people use when they say something like the Star Wars prequels are more of a visual movie so you should excuse the dialogue, acting and poor pacing. Should we excuse the fact that there's puzzles in this video game since its intent was always to be more of a "graphic novel?" You can't have your cake and eat it too.
And to be fair, I never complained about the puzzles. I think that for the most part, they're fairly fun, and inventive.
There's a difference between verbosity and eloquence. The 1000 year memories from Lost Odyssey were probably the best things in that game, which were very lengthy and totally disrupted the gameplay. Did I mind? Not a damn bit since those stories flowed with a much stronger focus and narrative.
Yeah comparing it to IF titles was not the best comparison but like I said, I like the story. I think it's an interesting concept and think the characters and overall story are really well developed, and two of the three endings I've gotten so far have managed to surprise me. However I don't think that it can be excused from some pretty stupid play mechanics (not letting me skip scenes that I've seen FIVE times) because of the excuse that "it's from a Japanese author who's really wordy."
hosannainexcelsis
Member
IAmtheFMan said:
No arguments there.
I'm not trying to excuse the fact that there are puzzles - there's no excuse needed, since I agree they are well-designed. I'm just saying they're not the focus of the game, more a way to provide variety. I don't think 999 would be worth playing if the escape-the-room puzzles were all it had.
I haven't played Lost Odyssey, so I can't speak to that. But I felt 999 had a very strong focus; from the very first moments I played it I was completely drawn into the narrative and could not stop playing it in every free moment I had until I finished it. I never felt like the story or writing dragged.
I'm not trying to excuse the inability to skip scenes; as I said, I wish this game had multiple save slots so that was unnecessary. All I'm saying is that this flaw was not major enough to impair my enjoyment of 999 in any meaningful way.
storafötter
Member
I am expecting another dead ending ugh. Could someone explain to me in spoilers what was the logic behind the puzzle in the room with a safe outside the autopsy room. I worked from every number to the safe opened. I thought I got the clues, (about the atoms) but it seems I had to do some calculating with the numbers?
Mockingbird
Member
storafötter said:
If it's the room I'm thinking of, then you have to
count how many molecules something has. Like how H2O = 1 hydrogen + 2 Oxygen = 3 molecules.
IF memory serves, that is.
storafötter
Member
Mockingbird said:
I did understand that, but it required
3 digits, so I tried calculating together and couldn't reach the real answer that way
storafötter
Member
IAmtheFMan said:
I agree with this post entirely. And some minor changes on dialogue options also end up with the same answer before you can even skip them. I just wish you could skip the puzzles as they are getting tiresome after replaying them for the second time.
My love for the game isn't as high regarded as it was before I reached the first ending, but I hope for the "real" ending to do the game more justice. But I am still compelled to try to get the right ending. It would be less engaging if I got the best ending first.
The puzzles are still very likable, but they aren't as great as I initially thought to begin with. As in some rooms explain the puzzles better than others, I especially noticed this when taking different routes. My first play through door 5, 3 and the last 2 was much fun. Can't say I like so much the other rooms in comparison.