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[R_thanatos]

nice set of theories J_Ark BUT

unfortunatly .... you got some things wrong and some things right

My advice , read the 9,9,9 answer FAQ witch is full of answer by the writter of this game and go ..quickly play the sequel

 

[J_Ark]

nice set of theories J_Ark BUT

unfortunatly .... you got some things wrong and some things right

My advice , read the 9,9,9 answer FAQ witch is full of answer by the writter of this game and go ..quickly play the sequel

I've read the answers but on the answers (nº24 I suppose), the thing is quite unclear for

Spoiler

Snake (the author only says that he should had known about Akane's death) and Seven (he suggest some kind of induced memories, but leaving it to the players interpretation). Santa's motives are pretty clear, Snake and Seven being aboard too... It just feels too forced, even with just being Snake collaborating. Remember how it was treated by Santa, leaving him on a coffin after changing his clothes while he was unconscious. I mean, Santa could just reunite with Snake, prepare the victim of Ace and then just leave the game's playground. You can still say "everything should be as Akane had seen 9 years ago, you should go to the coffin and Seven must play an amnesic role", but...

Here's the question nº24 and the answer: Why did Seven, Snake, and even Santa insist that Akane had died 9 years before, yet she was clearly there the entire time?

Santa lied about her death in order to save her. Since Snake was on the ship too, we can assume that he knew the truth about Akane's death as well. If we are going to believe that Seven didn't lie, then we can assume that a fake memory was implanted in his mind somehow. If I tried to explain that in the story, though, I was worried people would think I was just coming up with random excuses, so I left it up to the player's interpretation. If it makes more sense to say that both Snake and Seven were in on the plot with Santa and lied to move things along, I'm totally fine with that.

And yes, I should play VLR. Damn! I need a Vita/3DS so much T_T

 

[R_thanatos]

Spoiler

The most common interpretation is that seven was vague on purpose

Snake however wasn't ..for the simple reason that there was clover in there. Going by this game alone you might have doubts but with VLR information this becomes unlikely.( i don't want to spoil much ).

There is a way this might make more sense , but i can hardly explain it to you without the new information on the morphogenetic fields given in VLR so , again ... sorry

 

[J_Ark]

Spoiler

The most common interpretation is that seven was vague on purpose

Snake however wasn't ..for the simple reason that there was clover in there. Going by this game alone you might have doubts but with VLR information this becomes unlikely.( i don't want to spoil much ).

There is a way this might make more sense , but i can hardly explain it to you without the new information on the morphogenetic fields given in VLR so , again ... sorry

Ok, let's tal again when I play VLR

 

[Jintor]

Hmmm... actually, yeah, VLR does kind of offer up a solution to that problem, doesn't it?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Well my game arrives tomorrow in preparation for the April PS+ freebie VLR. Just gotta finish Persona 4 first and I'll fire this thing up next.

Question time till I bail from this thread since it probably is full of spoilers: there was already some talk about the endings in the ''true endings'' thread. So how I understand it is that I will most probably get a ''wrong end'' on my first playthrough and I need to see the ''true end'' for things to make sense in VLR.

So should I just play without a guide first and after finishing the game go for the true end with a guide? Watch it on youtube? Get the true end with a guide on my first playthrough?

Also apparently this one doesn't have skene skip ect while VLR has option to go back to the branching parts. Whats up with dat :/.

 

[Korigama]

It's best to play through the true ending for yourself (it's one of those things that can't really be explained without spoiling it, but well worth it). I would recommend playing through without a guide to begin with, and only using one as a last resort if you get stuck on finding the other paths (the spoiler-free one I linked a short while back on the previous page will do).

It's impossible to get the true ending in a single playthrough. If you want to see to it that you experience as much of the game as possible without opening the path to the true ending early on (recommended, won't really have as much impact if you just go for the minimum requirements), then I would recommend not going through door

Spoiler

5

until you see at least several other endings first. No jumping between already finished segments, unfortunately, but you can fast forward through scenes already seen by holding right on the D-pad.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

It's best to play through the true ending for yourself (it's one of those things that can't really be explained without spoiling it, but well worth it). I would recommend playing through without a guide to begin with, and only using one as a last resort if you get stuck on finding the other paths (the spoiler-free one I linked a short while back on the previous page will do).

It's impossible to get the true ending in a single playthrough. If you want to see to it that you experience as much of the game as possible without opening the path to the true ending early on (recommended, won't really have as much impact if you just go for the minimum requirements), then I would recommend not going through door

Spoiler

5

until you see at least several other endings first. No jumping between already finished segments, unfortunately, but you can fast forward through scenes already seen by holding right on the D-pad.

Thanks for the info. Game arrived today, the cover is totally different than I expected tho. I guess it's a reprint version.

What the hell is this stuff anyway that is used for wrapping the american games. You need a friggin axe to open it.

 

[R_thanatos]

Thanks for the info. Game arrived today, the cover is totally different than I expected tho. I guess it's a reprint version.

What the hell is this stuff anyway that is used for wrapping the american games. You need a friggin axe to open it.

LOOOOL

The funny part is that you didn't do it on purpose !

 

[CassSept]

Hah, seems over that weekend this thread had been bumped. There is a lot of people playing 999 on GAF recently, no?

Anyway, I finished true ending yesterday and oh-wow-wow. Oh-wow-wow.

Spoiler

The ultimate twist, man. The way it was handled. Amazing. Most of my complaints about the game? Gone, just like that. Why you have to go through safe ending first. How Junpei suddenly got answers out of nowhere in true ending. Akane's peculiar random fever attacks. The exact path you have to go through several answers to get the true ending and how the pieces had all fallen into place.

All the different endings were great, except maybe for knife. Maybe it's because I went sub->knife->axe->safe->true, and knife as the second one is underwhelming. I almost wanted to skip axe, glad I didn't.

How the game makes you keep guessing how it's gonna turn out was great, I slowly put the pieces together as the story progressed through several endings and it was fun, really.

It isn't perfect, sure. Text scrolling is too slow. The game is too wordy at parts, especially around the twist (it's great, yeah, but it doesn't justify hanging around it for so long). Prose can get pretty bad - some of the more complicated metaphors feel clunky and hamfisted (worst offender being "Snake"'s corpse's description - intestines spilling out like spaghetti, ugh, really). As far as game writing goes it's still great, but that also highlights some of industry's problems and how we've still got some way to go.

Still, I'm complaining here, while I should be praising the game. I guess that's because it gets already enough praise, while it deserves some criticisms. It's a fantastic journey.

Now onto VLR I guess. I'm ready. And thankful GAF not only recommended, but even almost asked me to not skip it (PAL-land ). I hope no sleeper hit of that sort gets released for 3DS, not being able to import it would kill me.

PS. Napalm_Frank, play through to the first ending by yourself, then go through all the others with spoiler-free walkthrough because it's totally worth it. Fresh off the game, I'd recommend going through all bad endings first. You can scroll through text you've already seen after first ending so it's not that much of a hassle.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I finished my first play through yesterday and got the bad ending,

Spoiler

Junpei gets stabbed.

I started playing through it again and I have just been selecting options that I didn't select the first time. Is there a certain way I should be approaching my replays?

 

[CassSept]

I finished my first play through yesterday and got the bad ending,

Spoiler

Junpei gets stabbed.

I started playing through it again and I have just been selecting options that I didn't select the first time. Is there a certain way I should be approaching my replays?

I'd say check the spoiler-free walkthrough and go through endings in this order

Spoiler

Sub->Axe->Safe->True

. I'd recommend seeing them all, it's worth it.

 

[timetokill]

I finished my first play through yesterday and got the bad ending,

Spoiler

Junpei gets stabbed.

I started playing through it again and I have just been selecting options that I didn't select the first time. Is there a certain way I should be approaching my replays?

The best way to do it is basically what you're doing, just select things you didn't select. Different paths will generally lead to different endings. While you're doing so, pay close attention to what is going on and you can basically figure out what the right pathway for the end is.

That said, if you get tired of doing that, use a spoiler-free walkthrough as the post above suggested. It's not really important how you go through the endings, but save the (ending name spoilers)

Spoiler

safe and true

endings for last.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

Just finished my second ending,

Spoiler

the submarine ending. I am gonna follow a guide and work through the other endings starting with the axe one.

 

[Basch]

I just finished 999 in its entirety. Every ending, every puzzle, every door. My first ending was the

Spoiler

safe

ending. I then went back and got the

Spoiler

knife, axe, submarine and true

ending in that order. I enjoyed all the endings and actually thought some were better having done the

Spoiler

safe

ending first. I'm actually posting all of this on the vita right now. I'm debating whether or not to start vlr tonight. I shouldnt because i have a speech due in two days that ive known about for over three weeks. lol but i cant help it. this story is so addicting. 999 has been one of the best games ive ever played. im honestly debating if i should just take the hit to my grade and gpa and start vlr.

 

[DaBoss]

I just finished 999 in its entirety. Every ending, every puzzle, every door. My first ending was the

Spoiler

safe

ending. I then went back and got the

Spoiler

knife, axe, submarine and true

ending in that order. I enjoyed all the endings and actually thought some were better having done the

Spoiler

safe

ending first. I'm actually posting all of this on the vita right now. I'm debating whether or not to start vlr tonight. I shouldnt because i have a speech due in two days that ive known about for over three weeks. lol but i cant help it. this story is so addicting. 999 has been one of the best games ive ever played. im honestly debating if i should just take the hit to my grade and gpa and start vlr.

Do the speech now. I couldn't stop playing VLR when I started. You don't want to do the same.

 

[CrazyDude]

I got a question,

Spoiler

Why wasn't ace arrested after the first Nonary game?

 

[Fuu]

I got a question,

Spoiler

Why wasn't ace arrested after the first Nonary game?

Spoiler

He pulled some strings within the government using influence/money if I recall correctly.

 

[DaBoss]

I got a question,

Spoiler

Why wasn't ace arrested after the first Nonary game?

Spoiler

He pulled some strings within the government using influence/money if I recall correctly.

Wait how do we know this stuff? Is it in the Q&A?

 

[Fuu]

Wait how do we know this stuff? Is it in the Q&A?

Unfortunately I don't remember where I read it first as it was a long time ago. It's on the zeroescape wikia too which doesn't mean much, so it's better to take it with a grain of salt.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I am just starting the my play through for the 'True' ending. I am loving this game, there are so many twists in the story that keep me playing all night. The 'Safe' ending was pretty crazy, I can't wait to find out what happens in the last ending.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

Just finished the true ending, damn that was a way to end it. Am I right in speculating that

Spoiler

the hitchhiker at the end was Alice

 

[Meier]

Oh my, I'm down to 3 hours left and have to make the pick between Door 1, Door 2 and Door 6. Do I stick with my girl?! Such a tough call..

Just a total guess, but I have a feeling that (spoiler guess)

Spoiler

June is actually Zero. That or Junpei is and he has multiple personalities... It could be a big guy like Ace or Seven though but I'm leaning towards June for some reason. Can't wait to find out!

.

 

[AniHawk]

Oh my, I'm down to 3 hours left and have to make the pick between Door 1, Door 2 and Door 6. Do I stick with my girl?! Such a tough call..

Just a total guess, but I have a feeling that (spoiler guess)

Spoiler

June is actually Zero. That or Junpei is and he has multiple personalities... It could be a big guy like Ace or Seven though but I'm leaning towards June for some reason. Can't wait to find out!

.

is this your first time through?

 

[Meier]

is this your first time through?

Yeah, mostly playing it just so I can play VLR too!

 

[Korigama]

Just finished the true ending, damn that was a way to end it. Am I right in speculating that

Spoiler

the hitchhiker at the end was Alice

Spoiler

Yes, quite right.

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah, mostly playing it just so I can play VLR too!

ah, saving the least for last.

 

[CassSept]

Yeah, mostly playing it just so I can play VLR too!

Play all the way through True Ending, please. Don't jump straight to VLR after finishing it the first time.

Eh, you'll probably want to do it anyway after you get your first ending

 

[Meier]

Play all the way through True Ending, please. Don't jump straight to VLR after finishing it the first time.

Eh, you'll probably want to do it anyway after you get your first ending

Realistically I probably will just play it the one time through. Sadly I have this from Gamefly and didn't realize when I added it to my queue that this game was unavailable for the Keep It option (never actually seen this) so I can't keep it forever. I'll probably just finish it and then read up on the other endings.

 

[AniHawk]

Realistically I probably will just play it the one time through. Sadly I have this from Gamefly and didn't realize when I added it to my queue that this game was unavailable for the Keep It option (never actually seen this) so I can't keep it forever. I'll probably just finish it and then read up on the other endings.

if you're going to do this, just use a non-spoiler faq to get the other endings. this is not mass effect. seeing the other endings matters a lot, and doing so on the ds or 3ds matters a whole lot.

 

[timetokill]

Realistically I probably will just play it the one time through. Sadly I have this from Gamefly and didn't realize when I added it to my queue that this game was unavailable for the Keep It option (never actually seen this) so I can't keep it forever. I'll probably just finish it and then read up on the other endings.

When it comes to 999: Playing the game one time through is actually getting all of the endings. If you get only one ending you haven't played the game through.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Ok today is finally the day I dive into this. I hope it is as good as people say, I should be a sucker for this kinda game/VN tho for what little I know about it.

Hopefully I don't need to use any guide to see everything worth seeing. Will be refreshing to play a game without trophies too in a good long while.

 

[Korigama]

Realistically I probably will just play it the one time through. Sadly I have this from Gamefly and didn't realize when I added it to my queue that this game was unavailable for the Keep It option (never actually seen this) so I can't keep it forever. I'll probably just finish it and then read up on the other endings.

Going to echo the others here and say that playing through one ending and just reading up on the others would very much be a waste (getting all of them for yourself is a very important part of the experience, and just as important in respect to the big picture with the story). Much better to take your time with it and go through all of them.

 

[Meier]

Looks like I am in line for a "bad" ending. I tried to find out how much farther I had to go from the cargo room and it seems that's my last room but the "non-spoiler" faq mentioned BAD below it. Ahh well! Gotta figure out how to do this F puzzle....

Edit: Fucking hell!

Spoiler

I didn't think the bad ending would be quite that bad. I thought they'd at least tell me who killed me too! Sheesh..... at least it probably wasn't June. There wouldn't be any reason for her to kill me and Lotus, right? I guess it didn't mention the killer removing Junpei's bracelet though. Clover, Lotus' bracelet and June would equal 18 or a digital root of 9...

 

[Meier]

I'm trying for a Safe ending and using the walkthrough.. it seems like I basically have to be an idiot and that is going to save me. Every answer it's told me to pick thus far has been the wrong one. I guess I'm less of a threat to the culprit if I'm clueless. :lol

 

[timetokill]

I'm trying for a Safe ending and using the walkthrough.. it seems like I basically have to be an idiot and that is going to save me. Every answer it's told me to pick thus far has been the wrong one. I guess I'm less of a threat to the culprit if I'm clueless. :lol

Hahaha, that is an interesting way to look at it.

By the way, I'm really happy that you're going for more than just the one ending. It's worth it! Keep at it and keep us posted

The way this game keeps you thinking about different theories is one of its best aspects.

 

[Meier]

Hahaha, that is an interesting way to look at it.

By the way, I'm really happy that you're going for more than just the one ending. It's worth it! Keep at it and keep us posted

The way this game keeps you thinking about different theories is one of its best aspects.

Seriously, the digital root question it tells me to use the wrong answer and before that I gave the wrong one about all parties going through. Silly me for trying to be right on my first play through!

I will go for the "safe" ending then attempt to get the "true" ending after. It seems like with the d-pad speeding up, it won't be too bad time wise.

 

[AniHawk]

Seriously, the digital root question it tells me to use the wrong answer and before that I gave the wrong one about all parties going through. Silly me for trying to be right on my first play through!

I will go for the "safe" ending then attempt to get the "true" ending after. It seems like with the d-pad speeding up, it won't be too bad time wise.

i think by now it's instinct for veteran players to do the 'right' thing from the start. one of this game's strengths is how it plays with expectations.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

It's impossible to get the true ending in a single playthrough. If you want to see to it that you experience as much of the game as possible without opening the path to the true ending early on (recommended, won't really have as much impact if you just go for the minimum requirements), then I would recommend not going through door

Spoiler

5

until you see at least several other endings first. No jumping between already finished segments, unfortunately, but you can fast forward through scenes already seen by holding right on the D-pad.

Ok there must be something I am thinking wrong here.

Spoiler

I'm right at the beginning of the game and just got through the door 5 that is in the first room of the game. There is no way there were routes to some other endings before that right?

Edit: Actually I don't feel like worrying too much about the endings right now. I'll just play the game naturally without a guide and seek out this stuff afterwards. If I somehow miss something that would make the game more enjoyable I can laugh about it having shitty design.

 

[Meier]

Got the True ending last night thanks to using the walkthrough. Wish you guys had warned me about how long that final playthrough would take.. holy crap, I thought I'd have like 30 mins left and it ended up being like 3 hours! :O Very cool story, really enjoyed the game. If I have a Vita, should I just go ahead and play VLR on that over the 3DS or what's the general consensus?

Some thoughts

Spoiler

I nailed my guess on Akane/June being Zero! Seven ended up being a good guy but I was right to suspect Ace as well obviously. How disappointing that Junpei didn't catch up to her at the end.. I really would have liked that closure. Totally confused as to how a sequel would work since I don't see a reason why Akane would host another game and all of the bad guys are dead or would be in jail. Is VLR then based on the events from 9 years prior? I haven't read anything on it to avoid being spoiled. I saw from the cover that there is someone who looks like Santa/Aoi but they look exceedingly feminine.

 

[AniHawk]

vlr starts a year or some months after 999. it's not the same cast and crew outside of a few obvious ones. the 3ds has the ability to save notes, but the game has a save-erasing bug if you try saving in puzzle rooms. the vita version is widely accepted as the better version despite not being able to save notes (i think).

i played the 3ds version, and it did freeze on me once, inside a puzzle room. the game plays like a much more streamlined 999. more ideas regarding weird theories are explored, but it's a mostly good game. i don't think it clearly captures the sense of danger and darkness that 999 had, but it makes up for it in the gameplay. you won't find yourself repeating puzzle rooms unless you really want to, for instance.

 

[Meier]

Sounds good, thanks Ani! I think I will play Bioshock next instead and play VLR after I beat Bioshock. Probably do some good to have a slight break from lengthy handheld games especially ones that require this much attention. Getting in trouble at home, haha.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Fast question:

Spoiler

Do the more insignificant dialogue options affect the ending or only the bigger decisions. I went to the door 4 as someone suggested to get some other endings beside true ending first (stuff like this obviously affect the ending) but after that in the next puzzle room there are some dialogue choises like telling if you are worried about June and whatnot. Also there are those questions where there obviously is a right answer like when asked what digital root would the 4 specific people have. Do these matter and should I memorize my answers or is it only the big obvious ones like choosing between doors 4 and 5?

 

[timetokill]

Fast question:

Spoiler

Do the more insignificant dialogue options affect the ending or only the bigger decisions. I went to the door 4 as someone suggested to get some other endings beside true ending first (stuff like this obviously affect the ending) but after that in the next puzzle room there are some dialogue choises like telling if you are worried about June and whatnot. Also there are those questions where there obviously is a right answer like when asked what digital root would the 4 specific people have. Do these matter and should I memorize my answers or is it only the big obvious ones like choosing between doors 4 and 5?

Spoiler

There are one or two important choices you have to make through the dialogue. Most of them are irrelevant but I can remember at least one that you have to do right in order to do things correctly.

 

[CassSept]

There is one answer that's not necessary but is pretty damn funny

Spoiler

, that one being choosing "She was afraid of being alone with a boy" (or something along that lines) when in front of an elevator along with June

Other than that, most of the answers that don't lead to True End don't have any impact on the story.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I know I have only completed 3 puzzle rooms so far but the puzzles ain't exactly impressing me. Either there will be a big difficulty spike or this game is pretty much all about the story.

 

[hao chi]

I know I have only completed 3 puzzle rooms so far but the puzzles ain't exactly impressing me. Either there will be a big difficulty spike or this game is pretty much all about the story.

Yup.

There was one puzzle near the very end that was annoying (I ended up using a guide), but for the most part the puzzles aren't really too difficult. The story is really where 999 shines.

VLR's puzzles seemed to require more thought for them, especially if you stay on hard mode so characters won't practically blurt out the solution.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Yup.

There was one puzzle near the very end that was annoying (I ended up using a guide), but for the most part the puzzles aren't really too difficult. The story is really where 999 shines

Seems like it. Just completed the next room

Spoiler

Laboratory with Clover and Lotus and it was sooooo easy. Best part was when there is the puzzle where you need to get every block green. I probably have played 5 games before this where there is almost exact same puzzle but this is the first one where the answer is just handed to you before the puzzle even started.

Are the ?????? in my save file supposed to be endings?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Ok got 2 endings thus far

Spoiler

Axe and Knife

I'll just use the spoiler free guide from now on to get the rest. One question tho, is it worth seeing

Spoiler

the Coffin ending before true ending? Apparently it is just a cut version of the true ending?

It's a little silly tho that you cannot skip the puzzle rooms you have already done.

 

[thequickandthedead]

According to tv tropes, Lotus has

Spoiler

twin daughters by rape

. When the hell was this implied?