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[Chopper]

I think I'll need to replay VLR before tucking into this. Still, I'm very excited for it.

 

[hans_castorp]

Is 9/9/9 on iOS a good place to start the series? I know it doesn't have the puzzles, but o just want to ingratiate myself with the lore and characters.

Absolutely not. Play it on (3)nds or pc.
iOS version cuts puzzles and dialogues.

 

[kurahador]

Is 9/9/9 on iOS a good place to start the series? I know it doesn't have the puzzles, but o just want to ingratiate myself with the lore and characters.

PC version is coming soon apparently, wait for that.

 

[-Horizon-]

Apparently, looks bad(more of an opinion i guess?), frames sometimes go down as low as 2fps, longer loading times. (unless i've missed any other statements)

Sad to hear they basically gave up on the 3ds version.
Guess that's what happens with a limited budget spread across 3 platforms.

 

[Fardeen]

glad its getting great reviews, my only fear is that i dont want any plot holes or unexplained stuff knowing its the last game, and hope its the end of it, no cop out for another sequel which will defeat the purpose of this game

 

[RustySpoon]

Getting a bit worried that Amazon still shows my order as delivery date pending. Ordered that sucker within minutes of it going live last year. :-/

 

[Dinjoralo]

Apparently, looks bad(more of an opinion i guess?), frames sometimes go down as low as 2fps, longer loading times. (unless i've missed any other statements)

Is there a zero missing in that frame rate, or does the game seriously go that low?

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

A slow beginning is pretty much the standard when it comes to Uchikoshi games.

The only Uchikoshi game that starts off strong is Remember 11 I feel like. Too bad that one had budget issues in the end which resulted in them not beeing able to put out the ending they wanted.

Lies detected.

999 had an incredibly strong start. Who can forget about the whole incident with the 9th man? It was fantastic!

 

[sensui-tomo]

Is there a zero missing in that frame rate, or does the game seriously go that low?

Kagari said the game dropped to 02 (yes TWO) FPS at some points.

 

[calc84maniac]

Sad to hear they basically gave up on the 3ds version.
Guess that's what happens with a limited budget spread across 3 platforms.

These complaints are overblown. The frame drops are the exception, not the rule, and loading times are usually less than 5 seconds, 10 tops.

Though I don't know if my playing on New 3DS had any effect on these issues.

 

[Übersandvich]

Since Playasia decided to appeal to Gamergators, I am wondering if there is an alternative place to buy the JP/US version of the game as someone from the UK? I hope Playasia will apologise for that someday.

 

[takoyaki]

Lies detected.

999 had an incredibly strong start. Who can forget about the whole incident with the 9th man? It was fantastic!

thought so too, 999 has a strong start apart from the first puzzle; Especially if 999 is your first Uchikoshi game.

I loved how it starts off slow like a Saw movie and you think you know where the story is going, before the game slowly starts to go in its own unique direction.

 

[Rektash]

Lies detected.

999 had an incredibly strong start. Who can forget about the whole incident with the 9th man? It was fantastic!

Hmm, I disagree. While I did enjoy the 999 opener, I didn't think it was particulary strong. Certainly not

Spoiler

planecrash into crazy switching perspectives

strong thats for sure.

Remember 11 nailed the "Holy shit, what is going on here" combined with an incredibly oppressive atmosphere.

For reference, my favorite Uchikochi game, Ever 17 started off even slower(and had quite a few what one might consider boring segments). So, it's not like I think this affects my enjoyment of the game alot.

 

[DiddysKongQuest]

Getting a bit worried that Amazon still shows my order as delivery date pending. Ordered that sucker within minutes of it going live last year. :-/

Yeah, I'm also a tiny bit worried. I'm just going to order the standard version on Monday in case nothing changes. I have to wait at least 2 more weeks for the delivery as an European anyway :/

But I'm extremely happy about the scores. I smell my game of the year.

 

[Not_Mario]

Is there a zero missing in that frame rate, or does the game seriously go that low?

I played on n3DS so I don't know if that makes a difference, but it does go that low in a few instances when the entire screen is covered in particle effects. These only last a few seconds. The biggest downside to the 3DS version (assuming the game performs the same on old 3DS) is the low resolution making some puzzle room items and points of interest difficult to spot.

EDIT: I should add that if you have access to a Vita or PC then there's no reason you should bother with the 3DS version, but overall I thought it was slightly more solid of a port than VLR on 3DS. There doesn't seem to be any game breaking glitches this time, at least.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Hmm, I disagree. While I did enjoy the 999 opener, I didn't think it was particulary strong. Certainly not

Spoiler

planecrash into crazy switching perspectives

strong thats for sure.

Remember 11 nailed the "Holy shit, what is going on here" combined with an incredibly oppressive atmosphere.

For reference, my favorite Uchikochi game, Ever 17 started off even slower(and had quite a few what one might consider boring segments). So, it's not like I think this affects my enjoyment of the game alot.

Funnily enough, that's exactly how I would describe the start of 999. It gripped me pretty much instantly and didn't let go until the very end.

 

[RustySpoon]

Yeah, I'm also a tiny bit worried. I'm just going to order the standard version on Monday in case nothing changes. I have to wait at least 2 more weeks for the delivery as an European anyway :/

But I'm extremely happy about the scores. I smell my game of the year.

Apparently people who preordered the SE at Gamestop are having the same issue as amazon and it might potentially be delayed.

 

[brainslug]

Glad to see some great scores.

Anybody know what the price will be on (EU) PSN?

 

[Rektash]

Funnily enough, that's exactly how I would describe the start of 999. It gripped me pretty much instantly and didn't let go until the very end.

Eh, let's just agree to disagree on this. Might come down to preference after all.

Anyways, I for one, am not concerned about a slow beginning!

 

[septicore]

Reading all these review scores for the game is getting me really hyped for it.

I REALLY WANT THE GAME.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Eh, let's just agree to disagree on this. Might come down to preference after all.

Anyways, I for one, am not concerned about a slow beginning!

I can live with that. : )

 

[Hylian7]

So did anyone actually get Steam review codes, or was it all 3DS/Vita?

 

[DiddysKongQuest]

Apparently people who preordered the SE at Gamestop are having the same issue as amazon and it might potentially be delayed.

Damn
I mean I could live without it, but it would be cool to at least own one Zero Escape watch.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

I'm just re-reading the gamespew review, and man is the game getting showered with a ton of praise!

"Kotaro Uchikoshi has given us one of the finest gaming trilogies of the 21st century, which has shaped me both as a gamer and a writer."

I NEED THIS GAME RIGHT NOW!!! O_O

 

[darkside31337]

Apparently people who preordered the SE at Gamestop are having the same issue as amazon and it might potentially be delayed.

The silence is so stupid. Is Aksys really not going to say anything until at all until the game is out? I'd just cancel my preorder right now and order a regular version but I'd like the damn watch.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

VLR overstayed its welcome a bit in my opinion. An adventure game taking 32-35h is ridiculous.

Some of the best visual novels are 50+ hours.

 

[eternalcircle]

If I remember correctly, the shipment issue happened with VLR, as well... copies didn't end up going out until Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I think I remember having day 1 shipping and still not getting my copy of VLR until Thursday. I wonder if a similar issue is going on here.

 

[Hylian7]

If I remember correctly, the shipment issue happened with VLR, as well... copies didn't end up going out until Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I think I remember having day 1 shipping and still not getting my copy of VLR until Thursday. I wonder if a similar issue is going on here.

I think I remember getting VLR late too, but kept the preorder for the watch. I'm probably doing the same here, but playing on PC if it doesn't come before that version releases.

Are we going to be able to preorder/preload it on Steam?

 

[Gvitor]

Phew, embargo's now up. If anyone has more specific questions about the game, I might be able to answer them. I played on a 3DS. I also won't be spoiling the story, obviously.

Anyone with the game know if you can cycle between items more quickly this time around? This was one of the only few things that bugged me about VLR.

I don't remember exactly how it was in VLR, but in ZTD you can cycle them only in one direction by pressing the up button in the d-pad. The down button does something else, so you can't cycle both ways. It never bothered me, though.

 

[Hylian7]

Phew, embargo's now up. If anyone has more specific questions about the game, I might be able to answer them. I played on a 3DS. I also won't be spoiling the story, obviously.



I don't remember exactly how it was in VLR, but in ZTD you can cycle them only in one direction by pressing the up button in the d-pad. The down button does something else, so you can't cycle both ways. It never bothered me, though.

Did you play on n3DS or the old one? If the former, did you have the issues Kagari mentioned?

 

[Ivan A Nguyen]

Based on the frame rate issues I thought maybe I'd just pick this up from Best Buy on the day of instead of getting the watch. Now it looks like no store is going to carry it where I live. Is this going to be a low print game?

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Remember when a lot of people were saying the English voice acting was going to suck?

From gamespew:

"Both the Japanese and English voice casts also deserve proper recognition. Each actor brings their character to life. The emotions they convey are complex and multi-faceted, so their success cannot be understated. Personally, I left the English cast on for the majority of my playthrough. Their voices seemed to match the bodies just a little bit better. However, you have the option to change them on the fly, so if you like one team’s Japanese VAs more than their English VAs (or vice versa) it’s just a button press away."

Seems like it turned out really well, just like in VLR. I always believed it was just shitty editing with the trailers making the voice acting sound worse than what it would be in the final game.

 

[Gvitor]

Did you play on n3DS or the old one? If the former, did you have the issues Kagari mentioned?

Old 3DS. I didn't have any framerate issues. I read someone talking about lagging after sleep mode and fixing it by going through the home menu... I used the sleep mode all the time. I think I only turned off the 3DS 3 times during my playthrough, most of the times I'd just close the lid and leave it in sleep mode overnight, and I never experienced this.

That said... I wouldn't recommend the game on the 3DS. It's not dealbreaking, so if you only have a 3DS, you'll still enjoy it lots, but the resolution hurts it. There's one instance where I couldn't make out the number in a playing card due to the blurriness of it, I had to count the pips on the card.

 

[takoyaki]

another review, this one has what I assume are direct feed screenshots from Vita (only puzzles, no story spoiler).

ztgd 9.5/10

Despite the minor complaint, Zero Time Dilemma is a triumph in storytelling and world building with some of the most complex and yet satisfying narrative ever to grace a videogame. Whether this is the final entry to the Zero Escape series or not, the developers can rest easy knowing that they’ve managed to craft one of the finest visual novel series of all time.

Good

+Mind-bending story
+Clever puzzles with well balanced difficulty
+Clean, easy to use interface and quality of life improvements

Bad

-Touch controls on the Vita can get a bit obnoxious

Fun Tidbit – Both the English and Japanese voice acting deserves special mention as the performances are all around quite stellar. It always puts a smile on my face to hear D.C. Douglas doing his Albert Wesker like voice in another game!

Having finished my play through on the Vita, I can say that the visuals were quite crisp and colorful, and being able to see the environments in widescreen helped in navigating the escape rooms.

However, the built in memo functionality was difficult to use with my finger (I kept a notepad and pen next to me instead), and some of the puzzles that required very precise inputs were a bit of a hassle to handle from time to time.

This is something that could’ve perhaps been alleviated through the use of a capacitive pen, but I unfortunately didn’t have one on hand.

more at the link

 

[Marcus]

Old 3DS. I didn't have any framerate issues. I read someone talking about lagging after sleep mode and fixing it by going through the home menu... I used the sleep mode all the time. I think I only turned off the 3DS 3 times during my playthrough, most of the times I'd just close the lid and leave it in sleep mode overnight, and I never experienced this.

That said... I wouldn't recommend the game on the 3DS. It's not dealbreaking, so if you only have a 3DS, you'll still enjoy it lots, but the resolution hurts it. There's one instance where I couldn't make out the number in a playing card due to the blurriness of it, I had to count the pips on the card.

original 3DS or XL? i might cancel my LE preorder and get the steam version if its really that bad

 

[blacksark]

Also thanks takoyaki for all the info so far. Looking awesome!

 

[MillionStabs]

Getting a bit worried that Amazon still shows my order as delivery date pending. Ordered that sucker within minutes of it going live last year. :-/

The LE? Same for me.

I'm getting it on Steam too so I'l lbe able to play it, but I really want that Vita version and the watch.

Amazon also apparently fucked up on Mirrors Edge Catalyst SEs too, don't know why they hate them so much

 

[Gvitor]

original 3DS or XL? i might cancel my LE preorder and get the steam version if its really that bad

Original 3DS. Like I said, it's not dealbreaking. That example was the worst it ever got, but the blurriness can get annoying. A good example are pre-release screenshots and video comparisons that have Sigma on them. The logo in his shirt is verry blurry on the 3DS.

 

[Kazer]

The LE? Same for me.

I'm getting it on Steam too so I'l lbe able to play it, but I really want that Vita version and the watch.

Amazon also apparently fucked up on Mirrors Edge Catalyst SEs too, don't know why they hate them so much

I'm worried they'll mess this up too. I have some random 3 hour commutes on Wednesday and Thursday so if they don't get it to me on time I'll just buy a digital copy too I guess!

 

[Beartruck]

Wait what, this is almost out already? Thought I had more time to catch up.

 

[takoyaki]

Also thanks takoyaki for all the info so far. Looking awesome!

thanks man, appreciate it! still remember you from the very first "Aksys might be teasing something"-thread blacksark, it's been a long journey

I’m just so relieved that the reviews are overwhelmingly positive so far.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

another review, this one has what I assume are direct feed screenshots from Vita (only puzzles, no story spoiler).

ztgd 9.5/10







more at the link

That's some lofty praise!

 

[Shift Breaker]

I was going to stick with the Japanese voices seeing as that's how I played VLR, but if they're that good then I might use the English ones as I would for any other game.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Um...was anyone else surprised to learn this was coming out this month?

For some reason I thought this was 2017. HYPE.

 

[mStudios]

TO THOSE WHO PLAYED THE GAME.
ONE QUESTING OF YES OR NOT ;

VLR spoiler.

Spoiler

Is the VLR timeline explanation satisfactory and well done?

 

[Mookie1515]

I was thinking of replaying both 9/9/9 and VLR before this, but, I think I remember enough of 9/9/9's story WAY more than VLR's. That story went some wacky places and I really need to establish the twist at the end, and really hope it makes more sense by the end of ZTD.

 

[milkham]

Um...was anyone else surprised to learn this was coming out this month?

For some reason I thought this was 2017. HYPE.

yeah I've had it on preorder from amazon forever and kind of forgot about it until i saw this thread.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

Um...was anyone else surprised to learn this was coming out this month?

Nope. Been counting down the days.

 

[Vibed]

Hmm, maybe I should just order a PSTV right now with a Vita edition...

3DS version makes me sad

 

[blacksark]

thanks man, appreciate it! still remember you from the very first "Aksys might be teasing something"-thread blacksark, it's been a long journey

I’m just so relieved that the reviews are overwhelmingly positive so far.

Yep same here! Have been a bit on a blackout so I get the less quantity of spoilers possible but glad that everything is looking awesome and appreciate your work.As said, from all the negatives(which seem not too many) the only one that worries me is that is way shorter than vlr, but will have to live with that haha.