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999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors |OT| RED, DEAD, Redemption

Sorian

Banned
Did the submarine and safe ending. Not sure whether I'm going for a third one to get through all rooms. The second playthrough wasn't quite as interesting anymore.

A nice game for a rainy day.

You did the safe ending and didn't feel like it was quite as interesting?
 

Shiggy

Member
You did the safe ending and didn't feel like it was quite as interesting?

Yes, it gave me quite a few more insights but it wasn't quite as interesting as the first play through as I already knew what to expect next. The safe ending explained quite a few things but I still feel like I don't know a lot.

I am interested in what role a certain character plays:
I'm intrigued by Santa's role as he brings um stuff like emergency/emerge and knows quite a lot in the final scenes

But not sure whether I can find the motivation for another walkthrough. At least I can skip the text that appeared before.
 

Sorian

Banned
Yes, it gave me quite a few more insights but it wasn't quite as interesting as the first play through as I already knew what to expect next. The safe ending explained quite a few things but I still feel like I don't know a lot.

I am interested in what role a certain character plays:
I'm intrigued by Santa's role as he brings um stuff like emergency/emerge and knows quite a lot in the final scenes

But not sure whether I can find the motivation for another walkthrough. At least I can skip the text that appeared before.

Well at this point you can go for the true ending since you've completed the prerequisite of doing the safe ending. I'd say hunker down and go do it. The first half will be a lot of the same (which you can skip, as you noted) but once you get on track for the ending, you'll have hours of content that you haven't seen and probably can't even begin to guess at and a couple more puzzles that are exclusive to that ending.
 

Shiggy

Member
So I did the true ending. I'm not really disappointed, just felt like the story was quite cringeworthy. Felt the same after the last few Layton titles as the stories got just completely absurd. One can easily tell that 999 was made in Japan.

I definitely have no interest in playing the sequel(s) for now. Expected more something akin to CING's titles but those stories are quite a bit better, just as well as the presentation and puzzles.

By the way, was I the only one who had wished that the text appeared faster?
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
I picked up both 999 and Virtue's Last Reward not too long ago and finally started 999 yesterday. It's good so far but I wanted to ask about getting the various endings. I've heard you need a specific ending for VLR, is this true? Also I wanted to know a rough estimate of how long it'll take to obtain all the various endings? I'm assuming somewhere around 60 hours or so? Thanks.
 
I picked up both 999 and Virtue's Last Reward not too long ago and finally started 999 yesterday. It's good so far but I wanted to ask about getting the various endings. I've heard you need a specific ending for VLR, is this true? Also I wanted to know a rough estimate of how long it'll take to obtain all the various endings? I'm assuming somewhere around 60 hours or so? Thanks.

Just so you know, answering your question could constitute something of a spoiler.
The first and last endings you get will take the longest. 60 hours is way overboard for how long 999 should take you.

you do want to complete 999 before touching vlr though... don't worry about vlr at all for the moment. don't rush it. just enjoy 999 -- seriously.
 

KiraFA37

Member
So I've been playing 999 on and off this past week and already unlocked the
knife and axe
endings. I'm now going for a run through door number 3 and was wondering if it has any significant differences with the other paths that lead to the same ending since
it involves denying halve the crew from going through a door
. I suppose not. Also
Clover is a god damn murder machine.
I played VLR before 999 and so far this game has kept me less on edge then VLR, a bit disappointed in that regard but the obligatory mindf*ck in the end will fix that.
 

Sorian

Banned
I played VLR before 999 and so far this game has kept me less on edge then VLR, a bit disappointed in that regard but the obligatory mindf*ck in the end will fix that.

It's amazing how you can be less on edge when you already know the ending to the story.
 
I've just finished (100%) 999 and I think I didn't put more than 12 hours into it. Very enjoyable game with a very interesting story.

Already own VLR so I'm looking forward to playing that and seeing how 999 leads into it.

I read that VLR has 24 or so endings though, does it require all the endings for the true ending? If so is that 50+ hours of playtime?
 

Wichu

Member
I've just finished (100%) 999 and I think I didn't put more than 12 hours into it. Very enjoyable game with a very interesting story.

Already own VLR so I'm looking forward to playing that and seeing how 999 leads into it.

I read that VLR has 24 or so endings though, does it require all the endings for the true ending? If so is that 50+ hours of playtime?

Flowchart feature means you don't have to start from the beginning for each ending. It should take you about 30 hours to complete.
 

KiraFA37

Member
Well I can tell it isn't from playing VLR, I can't even properly remember what it spoiled. The tension in the story only start for me when you're nearing the ending when everything starts to go down. In VLR it was more spread out. But when it goes down it goes all the way.
 

Fey

Banned
I read that VLR has 24 or so endings though, does it require all the endings for the true ending? If so is that 50+ hours of playtime?

iirc, you only need to find 8 endings before the true one (i could be wrong, it's been a while x_x) BUT because of the flow chart feature, you don't have to restart the game every time and you can start it at the moments when you make choices, meaning getting all 24 endings isn't a hassle.
 

KiraFA37

Member
It's almost 3 in the morning and I finally got the true ending. I was not disappointed. I really liked the last puzzle, µsimple but due to the story it gave me a sense of urgency to complete. Man, really liked it, great game. Although (VLR spoilers incoming)
I'm a bit disappointed we don't see Junpei and Akane hook-up after the game, even in VLR when they "find" each other. I hope in Zero Escape 3 they fix this "issue" or will Akane be destined to be the guardian of space-time forever?
 
Just got this game after reading some of this thread.

Any tips for a newcomer?

Have fun!

Also, the first puzzle is probably the place you're most likely to get stuck. Feel free to come in here and ask if you need help on that, but other than that do NOT look up FAQs.

Try to get at least two different endings before you start looking for FAQs, and when you do, use a spoiler-free FAQ only. You owe it to yourself not to spoil this game.

Most importantly -- POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE AS YOU PLAY!
We all love reading new players' thoughts :D
 

airblade

Banned
Have fun!

Also, the first puzzle is probably the place you're most likely to get stuck. Feel free to come in here and ask if you need help on that, but other than that do NOT look up FAQs.

Try to get at least two different endings before you start looking for FAQs, and when you do, use a spoiler-free FAQ only. You owe it to yourself not to spoil this game.

Most importantly -- POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE AS YOU PLAY!
We all love reading new players' thoughts :D

Thanks!
 

-Horizon-

Member
The
safe ending
was the only ending I needed to ask some one to tell me how to get. Could not figure out the right combination
of doors
at all.
 

keit4

Banned
Just beat the game with the true ending (got axe, sub and safe before), so..

I think i undestand the whole thing, but to make sense Seven and Snake have to be in the plot with Santa and June. Akane never died, but in order to replicate the experiment in the future (to avoid a time paradox maybe?) and make Junpei communicate with her she had to fake his own dead. Did I get it right?

Also

The semi-naked woman in the end... is her identity explained in Virtue's Last Reward?

BTW, the game is amazing. I love how all the pieces fit perfectly whatever your decisions are during the gameplay. If i have to complain about something is about the puzzles, they are very easy.
 

-Horizon-

Member
Just beat the game with the true ending (got axe, sub and safe before), so..

I think i undestand the whole thing, but to make sense Seven and Snake have to be in the plot with Santa and June. Akane never died, but in order to replicate the experiment in the future (to avoid a time paradox maybe?) and make Junpei communicate with her she had to fake his own dead. Did I get it right?

Also

The semi-naked woman in the end... is her identity explained in Virtue's Last Reward?

BTW, the game is amazing. I love how all the pieces fit perfectly whatever your decisions are during the gameplay. If i have to complain about something is about the puzzles, they are very easy.
Her identity is already explained in 999 but yeah, you see more of her in VLR.
 

Videoneon

Member
It's very difficult for me to say that VLR felt more urgent than 999, at least prior to finding out the truth about both games. The timeline mechanic and the plot development its built upon sort of blunts the tension. Plus, the timeline offers more guidance in resolving your dilemmas on what to do next.

So, she really IS the mummy.

How to put this...

You open the sarcophagus in the game, and

You see the mummy.

The
safe ending
was the only ending I needed to ask some one to tell me how to get. Could not figure out the right combination
of doors
at all.

That was bullshit, as much as I mostly like the structure of this game's plot delivery. There's no way you can figure that's what you're supposed to do to complete the game other than by mostly random chance.

Even if you magically deduce that Akane's fever signifies doors that result in her not being saved, as far as I know it's basically impossible to properly figure out where your door sequence is wrong, or even if it's necessary to get all endings.

It's almost 3 in the morning and I finally got the true ending. I was not disappointed. I really liked the last puzzle, µsimple but due to the story it gave me a sense of urgency to complete. Man, really liked it, great game. Although (VLR spoilers incoming)
I'm a bit disappointed we don't see Junpei and Akane hook-up after the game, even in VLR when they "find" each other. I hope in Zero Escape 3 they fix this "issue" or will Akane be destined to be the guardian of space-time forever?

I expect that the third game will have a mostly happy ending. If Junpei and Akane don't hook up, then the world will at least be saved from whatever disease outbreak they mentioned in VLR.

So I've been playing 999 on and off this past week and already unlocked the
knife and axe
endings. I'm now going for a run through door number 3 and was wondering if it has any significant differences with the other paths that lead to the same ending since
it involves denying halve the crew from going through a door
. I suppose not. Also
Clover is a god damn murder machine.
I played VLR before 999 and so far this game has kept me less on edge then VLR, a bit disappointed in that regard but the obligatory mindf*ck in the end will fix that.

I'll just be blunt, I know you beat the game but for future reference as far as anyone else interested in learning about Door 3

It's the game-over door, basically. Don't ever choose it.
 
Thank, good to know.
I would disagree with that. I definitely think it's worth going through door 3 once.

Some pretty crazy stuff happens in there, and if you want to play all the puzzle rooms you need to go there. If you haven't gotten the sub ending yet, it's even better.
 

AniHawk

Member
It's almost 3 in the morning and I finally got the true ending. I was not disappointed. I really liked the last puzzle, µsimple but due to the story it gave me a sense of urgency to complete. Man, really liked it, great game. Although (VLR spoilers incoming)
I'm a bit disappointed we don't see Junpei and Akane hook-up after the game, even in VLR when they "find" each other. I hope in Zero Escape 3 they fix this "issue" or will Akane be destined to be the guardian of space-time forever?

999's mindfuck shits all over vlr's. and vlr's is pretty good. you can only pull off something like 999 once though.
 

KiraFA37

Member
I have been through door 3, but the thing is that afterwards
you are forced to take door 2 and I was wondering what the plot differences are if you take the other doors instead and then take 2.
And indeed 999 Finale > VLR Finale, but VLR had more tension during the plot, which I enjoyed a bit more.
 

Parablank

Member
I don't know if this is also a VLR thread so I'm just going to spoiler tag everything.

I just finished VLR last week, and it was just as good as 999. I didn't really get the same horror vibes from it though (submarine/axe ending compared to any of the endings, come on). Suspense was much better in 999, and VLR just feels like a huge setup for ZE3. The time-line/jump mechanic and Sigma's knowing of it really dulls the tension too, because he acts The plot-twists were all pretty great though, but a smidgen worse than 999 (I mean how can you beat Junpei accessing the morphic field and communicating with Akane 9 years in the past).
Elevator innuendo > everything in VLR
Q Room is really cool but that dice puzzle killed me
 

hunnies28

Member
Finally got all endings in this. I did lke it but will admit that I had to force myself to leave the good ending for last because I felt forced to replay sections and almost quit a few times.

That said. I would very much recommend this game.
 

LogicStep

Member
I can't buy this game on my 3ds? What's the best way to go around and getting it? I wanted to buy VRW but I hear that I should play 999 first.
 
I can't buy this game on my 3ds? What's the best way to go around and getting it? I wanted to buy VRW but I hear that I should play 999 first.

You can buy it for DS and play it on your 3DS. The 3DS is backwards-compatible. The game is a mere $20 on Amazon -- a steal by any measure.
 
Is there a story video or something for this game somewhere? I don't own a DS and badly want to play Virtue's Last Reward, but feel like I shouldn't until I've experienced this game's story first...
 

The Foul

Member
Is there a story video or something for this game somewhere? I don't own a DS and badly want to play Virtue's Last Reward, but feel like I shouldn't until I've experienced this game's story first...

There's a neutered iOS port, haven't played it but the consensus is that the DS version is better. There's also a pretty good text based lets play covering all endings that's supplemented by pictures & videos & other fancy shit over here (from this thread). If you can at all help it, play it on 3DS.

LTTP, I just beat 999 with all the endings, immensely satisfying. Couldn't put it down, two solid days of "gotta know what happens next" syndrome. How did I miss this game on release. The characters and plot elements developed over the different endings was pure smarty-pants cleverness, each resolving fantastically. I particularly liked the part
where Santa whips out the golden gun in true ending, after getting admonished by Ace for not thinking of taking the gun first in the safe end. Sold the whole Morphic Field is real thing for me, only to blow mind balls with the "truth is gone" transmission moments later.

Another fav bit was
the "Snakes fake arm" reveal, as soon as I learnt that from Clover, I'm like "That means his watch doesn't detect his pulse, which means he can take it off without setting off the belly bomb, which means he most likely isn't dead, which means...", then out came the calculator for some whodunnit hypothesis testing.
My play through was full of moments like that, haven't played a game like it, really satisfying experience for what is essentially a short novel with a few monkey island type puzzles.

The experience of 999 was once again so satisfying, that the thought of diluting it with 30 hours of similar thrills in the form of VLR kind has me avoiding it in fear of Battle Royale 2 syndrome. 999 had it just right with the way it end(s). The thought of 20+ endings featured in VLR seems like more than I could stomach, too much of a good thing.
 
Let it rest for a bit but you should definitely play VLR eventually.

And if - unlike stupid me - you are aware from the start of the feature that litterally lets you "jump" to an ending you haven't seen yet, without redoing the puzzles or reading the novel parts again, the multiple paths in VLR will seem much less overwhelming.

Also, it will blow your mind.
 

Korigama

Member
There's a neutered iOS port, haven't played it but the consensus is that the DS version is better. There's also a pretty good text based lets play covering all endings that's supplemented by pictures & videos & other fancy shit over here (from this thread). If you can at all help it, play it on 3DS.
The only answer. That terrible iOS port isn't even the same game with how much is missing (or even a game at all anymore), and reading someone else's write-up on it won't do either. Neither compare to playing the original DS 999 for oneself, with 3DS remaining the only place where playing the entire trilogy in one place will be feasible for the foreseeable future (whenever they get around to announcing information regarding the third and final game in the works).
 

takoyaki

Member
I made this post in another thread already, I would've made a new one, but I'm a Junior.

Anyways, there is a series called "Kamaitachi no Yoru" (Night of the Sickleweasel) which consists of 3 games on the PSX, PSP and PS2. A forth game called "Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru" came out around the time of the Vita launch in Japan, but that game is kind of a re-boot that doesn't continue the events nor share recurring characters from the first three games. All of the games where created by Chunsoft.

In the first game, you play as Tooru, who goes on a skiing-vacation with his friend Mari. He has a crush on her, she teases him a bit and they stay at a remote pension owned by her uncle and aunt. Other guest arrive at the lodge and as it grows dark, a heavy blizzard isolates the guest from the outside world. The group discovers ominous letters that predict that bad things are going to happen during the night. They laugh it of as a bad joke, but when one of the guests goes missing and a mutilated corpse is discovered, the time for jokes is over.... Now it's up to the player to find out what happened, who the murderer is and to prevent further bloodshed.

All of this takes place in the first 30min. of the game, there's a lot of other great twists and turns during the approx. 10 hours of story, but I don't wanna spoil anything but the basic premise.

I'm writing this post because I came across this Japan-only series when I read an interview with the director of 999 / VLR. He said that the Kamaitachi games were one of his main inspiration for creating the 999-Series. So around November, I started buying and playing those games. In my opinion, the games are fantastic; the writing is really good, like a nice murder-mystery book and I can recommend them to anybody who likes Visual Novels where your decisions shape the story and where one wrong choice can lead to your or another person's death. There are multiple endings, but I think you can make it to the best "happy ending" on your first playthrough if you make the right decisions and guesses. After you "beat" the story once, additional scenarios and side-storys open up and further expand the story/playtime. I wouldn't even call it a "game" since 99% of it is reading; there are no puzzles to solve, only decisions to make.

A few minutes ago, I finished Kamaitachi no Yoru 2 on the PSP, liked it a whole lot and did a google search for a portable version of the third game which I might have missed on my first buying spree. To my surprise, Aksys released an iOS version of the first game on 24. January. The game has been renamed to "Banshee's Last Cry" I'm pretty sure this is the first time that the game has been available in English, I couldn't even find a fan-translation.

If you're looking for a good detective story in the vein of 999 and are in the mood for a nice murder-mystery that need some solvin', give the game a shot. It looks like the app is free and you unlock the whole game via an in-app purchase of $3,99.

http://www.aksysgames.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/banshees-last-cry/id740139977?mt=8


Sorry for the long post, but I feel like this series seriously needs a shout-out. If this game is successful, there might be a chance for other Chunsoft iOS ports to make it over here, like 428 (a man can dream ;-)
 
The spoiler-free flow chart I've been following suggests skipping the "coffin" ending and going straight for the "true". It said that the "coffin" is true, but ends with " to be continued". I've gotten the other four endings and I don't mind replaying the game several times, but I'd rather jump into the full ending if I'm going to be doing the same thing again.

Am I missing anything by skipping the " coffin" ending?
 

DaBoss

Member
The spoiler-free flow chart I've been following suggests skipping the "coffin" ending and going straight for the "true". It said that the "coffin" is true, but ends with " to be continued". I've gotten the other four endings and I don't mind replaying the game several times, but I'd rather jump into the full ending if I'm going to be doing the same thing again.

Am I missing anything by skipping the " coffin" ending?
You miss nothing. The True Ending and the coffin ending has everything the same except that the Coffin Ending cuts off before the last portion of the True Ending.

Getting the True Ending also means you get the Coffin Ending.
 
So... I'm halfway through a first playthrough and I reeeeally don't feel like playing it atleast twice more. Is it possible to just play it once and then watch the other endings? Because let's be honest... The game's plot is moving at a snail's pace, the conversations are so fucking redundant and overexplicit. Can't see myself wanna do this twice more.

edit: I also love how this game pretends to be so smart. The dialogue and the conclusions the characters make are sometimes borderline retarded.
 

Jintor

Member
Put in the time to make it worthwhile or you'll cheat yourself out of the experience.

Besides, the skip button will fastforward you to decision points pretty handily. (They way improved it in VLR though)
 
Haha, oh man. This is what counts as a good story nowadays? Maybe if I was 15.

Could someone tell me what the bigass mindfuck was about the true ending? And why did you say I need to play it through several times to appreciate it?
 

//ARCANUM

Member
So I'm nearing completion of the "true" ending to 999 and want to jump right into VLR next. By the end of the true ending, I'll have completed 4 endings:

Axe
Sub
Safe
True

I know there are 2 more endings that I believe are both "bad" endings. If I go ahead and skip those am I missing anything? Do you get anything bonus by completing all 6 endings? Any other sort of story element, etc? As I'm planning on moving right on to VLR, I want to make sure I don't miss anything important in 999. Thanks!
 

AniHawk

Member
So I'm nearing completion of the "true" ending to 999 and want to jump right into VLR next. By the end of the true ending, I'll have completed 4 endings:

Axe
Sub
Safe
True

I know there are 2 more endings that I believe are both "bad" endings. If I go ahead and skip those am I missing anything? Do you get anything bonus by completing all 6 endings? Any other sort of story element, etc? As I'm planning on moving right on to VLR, I want to make sure I don't miss anything important in 999. Thanks!

you don't get one bad ending, and you don't get a cliffhanger ending. the cliffhanger ending is basically the path to the true ending if you didn't complete safe first.

you don't get anything for getting all the endings, and the missing bad ending is something you can catch on youtube if you're curious.
 
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