@@bassoonplatoon3146 give it a try, the bundle was a really smart idea since 999 and Virtue's last reward are crucial parts of the saga ! Personally VLR is my favourite !
@@jossebrodeur6033 I didn't think of it before, but perhaps as he was typing the word "complex", he saw a snail and panicked, losing his train of thought.
I recommended my bro to play AI Somnium, telling him that the game had some of the best localisation the industry had ever provided. He played it, immediately recognised the writing style and said "oh this pun loving writers must be the team that did Zero Escape." Yeah, there was zero escape for me, I bought it immediately lol.
I played AI somnium files on my dorm room's tv in the common area during break one day and a lot of people looked at it laughed are you really playing an anime game? I hope it's not hentia. 10 hours later: half the dorm crowed on 3 couches watching. 13 hours: conspiracy board #1 was made 16 hour: character web was made (red string included) 20 hours: conspiracy board #2 was made 22 hours: litteral side bets on who the killer was were being made and we had a pool going character web was given new board 26 hours: 3:00 am on the 3rd day playing this and conspiracy board #3 was made 26.5 hours: conspiracy board #3 was destroyed due to most of it being nonsense. 28 hours: Finds out who the killer is and the RA at first yells at us to go to bed because it was 5:00 am and we had class tomorrow then starts cheering because he technically won the pool. 29 hours: replaying the finally for the rest of the dorm so no complaints about who won the pool could be made
Nope, Somnium files have probably the worst localization ever, but it's not the team's fault, more like there's so much japanese content and puns that can't be translated properly into english and is funnier if you have the JP voice on
Well they changed the puzzle in the remaster to one of the weirdest puzzles I've ever seen so I guess the plot had an overhaul somewhere along the line.
DS version of 999 is superior because of the last puzzle. You have to flip your DS upside down to do the sudoku. There’s also the interesting thing how the top and bottom screens represent Junpei and Akane’s perspectives.
I can kinda agree tho I played it on an emulator on my phone so when that puzzle came about, flipping my phone just corrected which side of the phone I was using so I HAD to play Sudoku upside down. Did really like the perspective thing tho.
@@teh_user5199 My phone had rotation off, but that just keeps it from changing portrait to landscape and vice versa, landscape to landscape still changes the screen, also I have things in corners so I can't just move from one side to the other.
It might be, but I'd probably find it unplayable: DS version doesn't have the flowchart. Given the way the game is set up I don't object to being asked to guess how to reach the endings (the branches are minimal, and there are good ways to figure out the correct path...) but being asked to replay the *whole* game in order to try something new is a huge ask.
“Do not play this game first.” Too late. Maybe that’s why I love Zero Time Dilemma so much even after playing the first two. I honestly had no idea what to expect, and it definitely improved the experience. I’m just sad the games didn’t sell well when I love all 3. Also, Carlos standing in front of the US flag will always be absolutely hilarious to me.
Ironically ZTD is probably more enjoyable if you play it first. ZTD was a let down for me because I loved VLR so much and was so hyped for the conclusion, and it didn’t deliver. If you go into ZTD blind you don’t have those expectations.
That's a good point. The ending for VLR is honestly so good and really hypes you up for the conclusion (especially the Tu Fui Ego Eris part). I swear, Uchikoshi writes atmosphere and mystery so well.
Default_Beef yeah keep in mind that after VLR people believed the series was cancelled and there were major fan petitions and a fan campaign to get a third game greenlit. Then after years of waiting it finally got made. People’s expectations and hype were sky high, but the answers given in the actual game were underwhelming to a lot of people, especially since it treated the epilogue ending in VLR as non-canon.
Default_Beef Some of my biggest complaints with it in relation to VLR were that (1) the game only had one bad ending result in the VLR timeline. I had kind of assumed that the virus being released was an event that was almost possible to avoid. In my imaginary picture of ZTD, every bad ending would result in the virus getting released, and the good ending where it’s avoided would require extremely painful sacrifices to achieve. (2) Delta is a completely different character than how he was presented in VLR. I get that he just lied to people to create the persona you hear about in VLR, but I thought that version of him was a more interesting character. I thought the idea of him being disgusted with humanity because he was constantly exposed to negative thoughts by reading minds was a really interesting idea for a character. But then in ZTD he kind of just becomes a pretty generic “ends justify the means” villain who insists he wants to save humanity.
@@Superninfreak The only one timeline leading to VLR bit bugged me for a bit too, but I think Akane mentioning the anthropic principle was meant to imply that the events of VLR and the ZTD true end can only occur in one timeline as in no other timeline would humans be around to observe anything because of the fanatic that Delta goes on about the whole game. I think that was supposed to be the logic behind this, but it definitely feels like a quick attempt to close a plot hole. This feeling is definitely strengthened by scenes like ?'s goodbye to Tenmyouji and Quark and Phi End. As for Delta, yeah he was disappointing. I did like his speech leading up to the mandatory Q bad end, but overall he does become a generic ends justify the means villain.
All the VAs in the series are great, but Junpei's VA is especially great. He definitely puts the 'actor' in voice actor, all of his deliveries are incredibly realistic.
Slight correction, the golden files/Hard mode in VLR doesn't give you the "True Ending", but more of a bonus ending. (Which actually isn't considered "canon", despite how cool it is...)
Unless the Japanese text is significantly different, it's very difficult not seeing their decision to remove the canon of that ending as anything else but a retcon. With how ZTD distanced itself from a lot of hanging threads it's not difficult to imagine they'd write off an ending not many people would have seen to make the barrier of entry for new writers lower.
@@LizardVVizard the ending was only added at all because the director felt it was bad taste to end things on such a sour note after Japan had a bit of a bad thing going on involving reactors, and wasn't even voiced in the Japanese version. I think making it voiced in the English version is what fucked people uo
@@Cross-chan It could be both, it's likely he had an outline for the sequel in mind and used those elements to build an alternate ending. There's too many definites discussed that rule out it being simply some bonus material. For me at least I'm not satisfied with the answer that it was never meant to have any connection to anything.
@@LizardVVizard Sorry, but it is indeed non-canon, Uchikochi himself said so once on Twitter (sadly, I didn't save it). The reason for him creating it is because Tokuhoku had an earthquake prior to the release of the game and he wanted to give players a better ending so they could get a little bit of hope. That is why said ending isn't voiced in Japanese and why it wasn't taken into account at all.
I did my college thesis on the morphogenetic field theory as a love letter to this game series. It's so amazing! Fyi. My tldr takeaway from my research is that the morphogenetic field is very dramatized in the series. The research papers it cites are sometimes misconstrued and in some cases even flat out lies. Even so, got to love this series.
About not caring about deaths in ZTD, I think that might have been part of intent. After all, if you can just shift, why care about death? It just becomes a tool for you to use. Junpei and Akane even get into an argument about this exact thing after Junpei throws his life away in one timeline in order to shift and gain an advantage in another.
I completely agree. And honestly, the only death that got me was Junpei's in the freezer. That one was genuinely upsetting with the puzzles leading up to it.
I...can't even comprehend RamZaes criticism of VLR's "repeating text". At least in the 3ds version, you can easily skip through all of these scenes, and there are very few of them besides. I legitimately have no idea what he's talking about
Same in the Steam version. Skipping dialogues is easy-breezy. The only thing you can't fast-forward is the constant moving through halls and doors that open.
The dialog was never the issue for me, but I do definitely haaaaaate the slow walk cycles. I get that its all to build atmosphere and tension, but especially during the "search the facilities" bits, it draaaaags on
I literally lent my friend's wife the Zero Escape trilogy just two weeks ago, and have been gleefully following her descent into madness. This video couldn't have come out at a better time.
I was actually a very big fun of the text skip in VLR. It's much better than the same function in The Somnium Files and actually stops when you find new dialogue, then immediately pops back up when you find the same dialogue for you to press. Granted, I agree with the fact moving is too sluggish, but the way it was implemented helped with replaying rooms
Is The Somnium Files a good game? I heard it was also made by Spike Chunsoft and was similar to Zero Escape but I still haven’t bought it yet just because it’s so expensive
@@Ziziwai I got it on sale yesterday. So far I'm loving it (only two hours in though). The visuals feel like what ZTD tried to be but done right. Plus the voice acting is outstanding.
@@Ziziwai It is a mixed bag in my eyes. The game isnt polished in the sense that while the 3D models are better than before, they still have issues with facial expressions. Unless it's a cutscene, the screen focuses away from the character that leave the seen instead of having a walking animation. Also I counted around 4 instances where the voice acting and text had differences, one of which is completely different. My biggest gripe of them all is that it doesnt know when to take itself seriously and when to be goofy. Without spoiling, there are numerous scenes were you are faced with a legion of armed enemies shooting at you with aim that matches the storm troopers, while you are able to dispatch them all with the use of underwear. There was a point I was honestly considering this game to be worse than ZTD. The branching system of this game is lackluster since there are endings that are cliffhangers and clearly you still have stuff to do, but the timeline ends. Somnium has a lot more focus on humour to the point it overshadows the serious scenes, but going out of your way to examine all the objects and see every dialogue option has some hidden gems and very comedic lines I enjoyed. Same goes for some "Puzzle rooms". If you want to interact with everything you have to replay it multiple times. It's not necessary, but I really loved some interactions I would have missed otherwise. What salvaged the game for me was the true ending. Even after all my complaints about the game and it still being much inferior and less polished than VLR and 999, at the end I realized I would really miss the characters. I would miss the bonds that formed along the way, and the memorable dialogue. AI has a very engaging start, a disappointing middle and a satisfying end game. Specifically I really liked the penultimate puzzle room. Non of them hold a candle to the Zero Escape series, but unlike what most say is just randomly picking options, there is logic to them. Just a few occassions where the right choice is "LOL so Random". I would never recommend this for full price, and even when I bought it for 27 euro I felt sorta cheated because it clearly was rushed at points. But right now it's 23 euro, and if you have the Zero Escape Trilogy I believe you can get an extra 10% off from the bundle. I would say it's worth it for that price. If you play normally it's around 30 hours I hear, but I did everything there is an played the puzzles multiple times so I about 65 hours.
@@Ziziwai TL; DR Do not go into this game expecting a serious room escape game like the Zero Escape series. The serious moments are there and when they are they are literally chill inducing with the atmosphere and soundtrack. But for the most part, expect to laugh a lot from the well-implemented jokes (and cringe at the constant focus on porno mags for the 4th time)
In my experience, trying to find another Zero Escape fan is like trying to find a unicorn. They only exist on the internet. Shame too, cause it's an amazing series.
"No I'm not gonna talk I want you to experience this." He says in the middle of it and towards the end talks about button mashing XD Look I can't blame ya I'd go crazy doing that for all the character's routes as well.
For the DS version, the emulator has frameskip, so that was VERY useful while replaying. For the PC versions of the games, CheatEngine's speedhack is a MUST while replaying. Especially for VLR and ZTD.
@@jfurycat Yeah. If I bad don't remember the game does tell you about this in the manual files that *nobody bothers to read.* This is a good reason why you should always read the manuals.
Clover's face in VLR is the kind of glitch that's so distracting and weird that you hope it's going to turn out to be a deliberate part of the story. SPOILER: It's not.
Interestingly, the way Zero III acts in Virtue’s Last Reward depends on if its the English and Japanese version. In the English version, he acts much more like Monokuma. Giving people demeaning nicknames, making rabbit and vegetable related puns, and overall acting what you’d expect out of a murder game mascot. However in the Japanese version, Zero III doesn’t act like that. He is much more serious, calling everyone by their given names, and just has a verbal tic at the end of his sentences. I think him acting more like Monokuma was to appeal to the western audience.
Great video, you cracked me up multiple times :D 999 was my first visual novel and i loved it to death, i might not like what they did to the final puzzle in the remaster but i understand it was impossible to replicate it on new consoles and pc
Omg 999 was my first and only Visual Novel I played, and I FREAKING LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF IT!!! Loved how they played the multiple ending concept into the actual story. It was great!
I was part of operation bluebird. I'm so glad the fans came together to promote the games and petition for ZTD. While I too was disappointed in the ending, the ride was fun and it was great to have some closure. Still a Nonary Games die hard fan.
As far as I know, this is only canon to the European order of localised releases. If I remember correctly, Virtue's Last Reward was relelased in Europe for the Nintendo 3DS in November 2013 and sadly didn't include the English dub. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was then released a few months later for PlayStation Vita in February 2014. So, in a way, Zero III existed before Monokuma is canon to us Brits and Europeans.
As soon as I saw that this video existed, I had to watch it. I love the Zero Escape , so any occasion to hear more about it is always welcome. Although, to be fair, I also liked the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton series a lot before finding out these games, so it would have been strange to not fall in love with this series, too. I hope that they release all these games on Switch too, because more and more people should have the chance to learn about and play them (also I want to play them again on a better handheld).
Ah yes, Zero Escape, my favorite visual novel series! Literally the only visual novel I can actually stomach and regularly enjoy watching other UA-camrs and Streamers play. Wonderful video as well, of course, by RamZaes.
"I swear everyone knows Schrodinger's Cat from this game" This game and the five hundred other VNs that use it. It's so common in VNs and I don't know why
Probably because this philospophy is the easiest to explain the diverging choices in VNs. Many VNs love to focus on the choice/route scenario and out of all the theories this one is a pretty good example of the A/B route formula these games follow (because a two-way split takes way less writng that a 3, 4 or more split path).
Honestly, the way you keep bringing up reading fast was SOOOOO relatable. I too am cursed with the ability to blip through text, and playing this series it was just kind of shocking how my ability to skip through the text and story got progressively taken away from me. It felt like a small grievance, obviously I enjoyed the series, but it feels great to have someone else validate my experience.
Yes, thank you for making this video, it's the perfect occasion to remind people that Ai: the somnium files exists. imo it's really good, I can't recommend it enough! (plus, if more people play it Uchikoshi could consider making a sequel. Maybe.)
Uchikoshi's works are an absolute treat. 999/VLR are definitely memorable pieces, but of his stories Remember 11: Age of Infinity was the piece that stuck with me the most. The premise alone is by far the most interesting alternating between two scenarios of mountain survival and having to make the most of living in a mental institute for the criminally insane. Those are two high stake scenarios and the interplay between the two scenarios has yet to be matched by anything else I've seen and it captures the chilling atmosphere brilliantly. It dives the furthest into psychology and metaphysical concepts out of all of his work too if thats your jam, but it (mostly) doesn't need to pause and explain things nearly as much as the nonary games do, but a compendium is available if you need to catch up. To top it off, the payoff at the end was actually quite brilliant when it sunk in and put me through a loop, I highly recommend it if you're able to get a chance to play.
Oh, you might see that R11 is the third entry of the infinity series, but aside from some shared concepts they're largely standalone games. Ever 17 is a decent as well, but doesn't quite reach the same heights as 999 or R11.
One day, when Uchikoshi was just a young teenager, he was walking in a park and chatting with his friends. But, when they reached a fork in their path, Uchikoshi noticed a snail on the left path. As a result, he urged his firends to continue down the right path. Why did he do it? Was he afraid of the snail? Even himself was not sure about the reason. Maybe, he did not control his actions... maybe, he just wanted to find out what would happen. Maybe, he remembered what happened last time (last time..? that can't be right. This had not happened again, right?). In any case, they followed the right path. After a while, one of his friends noticed one of their classmates, who was really into video games, and they chatted with him for a while. This was the first time Uchikoshi actually decided to play a videogame and realised his love for the medium. A couple of decades later, he would create the Zero Escape series. (Uchikoshi if you see this, I hope this is canon)
Good thing I somehow figure out to play these games and somehow managed to finish all three games and by coincidence you upload video about these games... Or just I jumped of shifted from different timeline where I didn't play so I would have played this games early. Somehow I made choice to play theses games but forgot how I jumped or shifted from that timeline. Now playing Never 7 The End of The Infinity... of course english patched because there isn't english release or it seems like that. What's coming up might be spoilers: Or just somebody with power controlled me so I can jump or shift to make current choice what I did made - playing zero escape games.
Did we all just got HACKED?! . Seriously, After Never 7 please play Ever17 with Himmel Patch. It's also very amazing. Might be a little boring at first (Too much Slice of Life) but the Character is so charming. The plot is crazy. Made me doubt, made me think and made me cried a lot.
@@ねむりねむる玄兎 Thanks for suggestion about patch. I was planning to play Ever17 but hopefully I'll keep in mind. Or just after commenting this I'll search at least for keeping in search result so I can remember about it.
According to a interview with Kotaro Uchikoshi (I don't remember if it was the Q&A for VLR or a random interview after ZTD), the 3D models were implemented on VLR because it would be much cheaper than the 2D art style from 999, and he also would able to reuse some of them for the third game, supossed to be released not much time after. That was part of how he did convince the highers up to be able to make this sequel, after the sales disaster that 999 was in Japan, but it was all for nothing since the sales from VLR on Japan were even worst. Turns out that releasing a sequel from a game that didn't sell well, even if you give a lot of context for the bits that refers to it, isn't a good idea. Really sad how things did go with the franchise, especially since Kotaro did change a lot of things on his writing to try to appeal to those people who didn't like 999, like making a less dark cenario, more funny and tension free moments, less visible violence (that why you go to sleep instead of exploding), younger characters and so on. Despite his best efforts, Japan still wasn't interested on his work (and even today it still feels like it isn't) for god knows why. The Q&A from 999 really shows how much work they did put on the franchise, working really hard on the puzzles, OST and art style to make a really fine visual novel. At least he was able to find a passionate fan base on the west to keep writing the things that he wants. VLR is my favorite of the triology and one of my favorite games of all times. Really loved how it improved by a LOT the multiple endings idea from 999 and was also able to make a even more interesting plot which is revelead little by little as the cenarios unfold. About how slow the game is, I kinda liked it and think it was also something present on the DS version of 999. Indeed it might end up getting of your nerves when you want to rush things, but it does add a bit of a nice tense atmosphere. And yes, the 9 points bad endings are real bullshit, but they give you good laughs after you see one or two of them. Also, a shout out for both dubs of the trilogy, but a special mention to Mamiko Noto, Luna japanese VA on VLR, who did make me addicted for her soft and calm voice.
Also for those who haven't played these games, there are some scenarios where random changes happens. The game tends to explore unplayed routes, so just play them again until you get to the route you haven't been. For example, there is a dice throwing decision game where there is only 1/216 chance that the team will survive. But actually, the game is set up so that the player will get to that rare route on their 3rd try. Don't use save and load, cuz it will just make your life much harder. I have seen a streamer tried that and it actually took him 10+ tries to get to the next route.
That randomness is only a factor in ZTD. In 999 and VLR, I don't think there are any random parts other than the safe combinations in VLR (which are supposed to be different to prevent skipping the whole room).
This game, ace attorney, layton and time hollow is one of the reason why i love visual novels so much. I recommend anyone whose into mysteries and mindblowing stories on playing zero escape.
i started with VLR and fell in love with it ( i had never played an escape the room type game before, and mixed with the deep story telling was perfect ). picked it up on the whim and can confidently say that it's one of my top favorite games of all time. i picked up 999 not too long after i beat it and i loved it! if only i'd known before that VLR was a sequel. so when ZTD was announced, i couldn't wait to play it and did my best to avoid any sort of spoilers. and once it got released, i almost immediately dropped it. i couldn't stand the more cinematic approach to the game, especially since it's dialogue was important on keeping up with the story, i felt anxious about missing anything. but when the trilogy got released on steam, i decided to replay them all and work through ZTD, and i ended up enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would. but yea, the ending just upset me and i wished i stopped before the ending. >> i wasn't the biggest fan of how they set it up either, and didn't have a more linear story, which actually messed me up more than i thought in terms of trying to make everything coherent in my head-- so much so, that i just gave up on trying to keep up with the timeline and just played the game with it's segmented story. it wasn't bad but it wasn't great imo. also, i'm super disappointed on the port for VLR to steam! they did 999 so good! D; D;
I’ll be honest I really like ZTD, the dialogue is amazing even if the models are stiff the voice acting and dialogue made me FEEL THINGS SAD THINGS, I didn’t mind the Delta twist too much I can understand why it could be annoying, but I felt it was properly foreshadowed, I just wish that there was a few changes, there is a whole reddit thread that highlights all the foreshadowing Delta had, and it’s a good read, but I wish for all of Q teams scenes the camera was locked since your actually delta, not a camera like the other scenes
I couldn’t get into the series past the second installment, but I will say that the first game had one of my absolute favorite moments. (Partial Spoiler) I can’t remember it too well, but you encountered a bad ending when a certain character kills you and then you have to act like you’re not scared shitless of him as you progress down through the “good” outcomes. Like that’s such an excellent visual novel concept that I’m sure has been explored before, but this game was the first time I encountered it.
As a standalone game - 999 is the best of the bunch, but as a trilogy - ZTD ties it all together so nicely, I loved, despite the ending. It made all those moments from VLR even stronger and vice-versa.
Saw that the Danganronpa series was on sale on the PS Store last week, nearly bought them because of your videos, saw these listed as "people also liked", and bought nothing because I decided to wait for payday. This video went up the next day. I wound up buying both series (ZE isn't on sale sadly). Worth it. Thank you.
Some random notes for anybody curious: - I honestly think they ran out of time on ZTD. If you haven’t played the game before, you should know there is basically a text based epilogue that feels more conclusive than the actual ending. It seems clear to me they wanted to animate it, but flat couldn’t get to it in time. - There is some nice watch merchandise out there tied into the games. Each game had a watch produced for them, though the 999 one in such limited quantity that it’s hard to find (even back in the day, it ran hundreds of dollars). The 999 one is really weighty and fun to wear. - Parts of VLR’s mechanics, as I believe was alluded to in the video, were borrowed from the prototype Danganronpa game (Distrust). - The original plans for the games included even more science-y concepts but were nixed by higher ups
I agree, plus not havening the budget to do some stuff. I wonder why we never heard about Kyle and Santa again and so on. If they could I would wish for them to remake, at least, the third game again.
Yeah I think it was a miracle that ZTD was even completed and released. Also I heard that Uchikoshi mostly write for D-Team (but I have no idea if that’s actually true) It suffered greatly from time and budget restraints and part of me wishes that he could remake the third game entirely to make a better written and looking ZTD.
Definitely 999 is my favorite. Is sad how i had to wait years to play VLR because didnt owned a 3DS. At least didn't had to wait that many years for ZTD when we got the PC version. Despite the end, i love the trilogy and enjoyed every single title. Good video.
2:04 HOLY SHIT ARE THOSE SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT BOOKS! I HAVE NEVER MET ANYONE ELSE WHOSE READ THEM AND YOU SHOWED THEM IN VIDEO TALKING ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VIDEO GAMES THAT NO ONES HEARD OF EITHER!! I FEEL SO SEEN
Mannnn i loooooooove this series, a friend recommended it to me about a year ago and i binged through 999 and VLR but never got to ZTD i may have to get to it despite the jank this video reminded me how much i loved the first two. Also gotta say this becoming one of my fav channels to watch. Keep up the good work Ramzaes! Looking forward to the next upload
Finally got around to reading it (took me around a week for all three since I really, REALLY liked it), and man I did not expect that before playing it. I liked ZTD's twist btw, I think it provides more logical motives than "Oh yeah I destroyed the world because why the f not"
Oh man, I completely disagree with you about the ZTD ending. I LOVED it. For me it was what made this series so incredible. It felt just amazing to know who the villain was and why he/she did what it did. You hate the villain so much and yet you realize he is right and committed no crimes at all. It was probably the best plot twist in videogames I've ever seen.
ZTD is such a guilty pleasure for me, but only because it reminds of the time when for the first time I was really hyped for a game to be released in summer. I was kinda let down by the animations, but mostly satisfied with the story (except for Q-Team, Jesus Christ). Now I play it every summer accidently just because I felt like playing through those awkward and sometimes bad paced cutscenes just to get to the good twists and interesting stuff...
VLR had the best ending, jesus christ what a fucking game finale that was. Fantastic. I like Zero Time Dilemma because it felt like it was a game they decided to put together at the last minute with all the faults it had from what felt like a rushed game, it was pretty hilarious in some scenes because of it(like the fire hydrant scene). 999 was probably my 2nd favorite game while VLR was number one just because of that ending.
![Zero Escape [999|VLR|ZTD] Game Systems Analysis](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lW2Fy3HG9dI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Zero Escape [999|VLR|ZTD] Game Systems Analysis](/img/tr.png)
You just woke a whole community from a really really looooong nap. Now everyone should play the zero escape bundle.
I haven’t finished the first game since I started it in 2018 but now seems to be a good time to do that
Yeah, I guess I'll give it a try now. Though, I'm mostly only interested in playing 999
Dear God what has he done
Evil Rosary Harvester I hope the Zero Escape sub gets more active after this
@@bassoonplatoon3146 give it a try, the bundle was a really smart idea since 999 and Virtue's last reward are crucial parts of the saga ! Personally VLR is my favourite !
Zero Escape Content in 2020?!
*I SHIFTED SO MANY TIMES FOR THIS*
ITS BECAUSE OF THE CRISIS IN THE WORLD. WHEN ONE IS SUBJECT TO A CRISIS THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO SHIFT. WOOOT.
Ayo 🤨
There's only one thing you need to know about Zero Escape: Praise and worship the Funyarinpa.
F U N Y A R I N P A
This guy gets it
Funyarinpa, the god of this world
What is Funyarinpa?
Fukaze This blasephemy will not be tolerated. Apologize immediately to the Funyarinpa!
“Damn brat, I’ll sue” -Eric/Shido
Dammit!!
This video could have been titled “Zero Escape is Complex”, and I can never forgive you for the fact that it wasn’t.
_MY MOTIVES ARE COMPLEX_
Nah, that's part 4 when he does a thing on ZTD
Perhaps he has complex motives for naming it this?
@@jossebrodeur6033 I didn't think of it before, but perhaps as he was typing the word "complex", he saw a snail and panicked, losing his train of thought.
I bet you there is a timeline where you forgave him
and even another one where it was called exactly that too
I recommended my bro to play AI Somnium, telling him that the game had some of the best localisation the industry had ever provided. He played it, immediately recognised the writing style and said "oh this pun loving writers must be the team that did Zero Escape."
Yeah, there was zero escape for me, I bought it immediately lol.
I played AI somnium files on my dorm room's tv in the common area during break one day and a lot of people looked at it laughed are you really playing an anime game? I hope it's not hentia.
10 hours later: half the dorm crowed on 3 couches watching.
13 hours: conspiracy board #1 was made
16 hour: character web was made (red string included)
20 hours: conspiracy board #2 was made
22 hours: litteral side bets on who the killer was were being made and we had a pool going character web was given new board
26 hours: 3:00 am on the 3rd day playing this and conspiracy board #3 was made
26.5 hours: conspiracy board #3 was destroyed due to most of it being nonsense.
28 hours: Finds out who the killer is and the RA at first yells at us to go to bed because it was 5:00 am and we had class tomorrow then starts cheering because he technically won the pool.
29 hours: replaying the finally for the rest of the dorm so no complaints about who won the pool could be made
@@danielokeeffe4704 dude, this sounds awesome lol.
Nope, Somnium files have probably the worst localization ever, but it's not the team's fault, more like there's so much japanese content and puns that can't be translated properly into english and is funnier if you have the JP voice on
Zero escape is quite simple actually (Spoilers)
Girl starts a death game inorder to learn sudoku
this is not a joke this is the plot of the first game
Interesting
Weird flashbacks to that one Nancy Drew game set in Japan.
it’s pretty complex if you think about it
Well they changed the puzzle in the remaster to one of the weirdest puzzles I've ever seen so I guess the plot had an overhaul somewhere along the line.
DS version of 999 is superior because of the last puzzle. You have to flip your DS upside down to do the sudoku. There’s also the interesting thing how the top and bottom screens represent Junpei and Akane’s perspectives.
I can kinda agree tho I played it on an emulator on my phone so when that puzzle came about, flipping my phone just corrected which side of the phone I was using so I HAD to play Sudoku upside down. Did really like the perspective thing tho.
@@DarknessDpa couldnt you just turn off the display rotation? or put your phone on a table or something?
@@teh_user5199 My phone had rotation off, but that just keeps it from changing portrait to landscape and vice versa, landscape to landscape still changes the screen, also I have things in corners so I can't just move from one side to the other.
It might be, but I'd probably find it unplayable: DS version doesn't have the flowchart. Given the way the game is set up I don't object to being asked to guess how to reach the endings (the branches are minimal, and there are good ways to figure out the correct path...) but being asked to replay the *whole* game in order to try something new is a huge ask.
@@THB192 - actually if you play a scene once you can skip it next time you go through it, making it less of a hassle than it would be otherwise
“Do not play this game first.” Too late. Maybe that’s why I love Zero Time Dilemma so much even after playing the first two. I honestly had no idea what to expect, and it definitely improved the experience. I’m just sad the games didn’t sell well when I love all 3. Also, Carlos standing in front of the US flag will always be absolutely hilarious to me.
Ironically ZTD is probably more enjoyable if you play it first. ZTD was a let down for me because I loved VLR so much and was so hyped for the conclusion, and it didn’t deliver. If you go into ZTD blind you don’t have those expectations.
That's a good point. The ending for VLR is honestly so good and really hypes you up for the conclusion (especially the Tu Fui Ego Eris part). I swear, Uchikoshi writes atmosphere and mystery so well.
Default_Beef yeah keep in mind that after VLR people believed the series was cancelled and there were major fan petitions and a fan campaign to get a third game greenlit. Then after years of waiting it finally got made. People’s expectations and hype were sky high, but the answers given in the actual game were underwhelming to a lot of people, especially since it treated the epilogue ending in VLR as non-canon.
Default_Beef Some of my biggest complaints with it in relation to VLR were that (1) the game only had one bad ending result in the VLR timeline. I had kind of assumed that the virus being released was an event that was almost possible to avoid. In my imaginary picture of ZTD, every bad ending would result in the virus getting released, and the good ending where it’s avoided would require extremely painful sacrifices to achieve. (2) Delta is a completely different character than how he was presented in VLR. I get that he just lied to people to create the persona you hear about in VLR, but I thought that version of him was a more interesting character. I thought the idea of him being disgusted with humanity because he was constantly exposed to negative thoughts by reading minds was a really interesting idea for a character. But then in ZTD he kind of just becomes a pretty generic “ends justify the means” villain who insists he wants to save humanity.
@@Superninfreak The only one timeline leading to VLR bit bugged me for a bit too, but I think Akane mentioning the anthropic principle was meant to imply that the events of VLR and the ZTD true end can only occur in one timeline as in no other timeline would humans be around to observe anything because of the fanatic that Delta goes on about the whole game. I think that was supposed to be the logic behind this, but it definitely feels like a quick attempt to close a plot hole. This feeling is definitely strengthened by scenes like ?'s goodbye to Tenmyouji and Quark and Phi End. As for Delta, yeah he was disappointing. I did like his speech leading up to the mandatory Q bad end, but overall he does become a generic ends justify the means villain.
“Zero escape is complicated”
Understatement of the century right there
All hail the Funyarinpa!
Can't spell Funyarinpa without FUN.
"What the hell is a Funyarinpa?"
@@ねむりねむる玄兎 You don't know?!
@@ねむりねむる玄兎 Apologise to the Funyarinpa!
@@ねむりねむる玄兎 How rude!
2:25 I love how Junpei's VA reacts. He scoffs it off, gets offended, and then confusion. Perfect.
All the VAs in the series are great, but Junpei's VA is especially great. He definitely puts the 'actor' in voice actor, all of his deliveries are incredibly realistic.
You could say Zero Escape is...COMPLEX.
Like someone's motives?
@@gewerdstrauss9843 Exactly like that.
Slight correction, the golden files/Hard mode in VLR doesn't give you the "True Ending", but more of a bonus ending. (Which actually isn't considered "canon", despite how cool it is...)
Unless the Japanese text is significantly different, it's very difficult not seeing their decision to remove the canon of that ending as anything else but a retcon. With how ZTD distanced itself from a lot of hanging threads it's not difficult to imagine they'd write off an ending not many people would have seen to make the barrier of entry for new writers lower.
@@LizardVVizard the ending was only added at all because the director felt it was bad taste to end things on such a sour note after Japan had a bit of a bad thing going on involving reactors, and wasn't even voiced in the Japanese version. I think making it voiced in the English version is what fucked people uo
@@Cross-chan It could be both, it's likely he had an outline for the sequel in mind and used those elements to build an alternate ending. There's too many definites discussed that rule out it being simply some bonus material. For me at least I'm not satisfied with the answer that it was never meant to have any connection to anything.
Which is ALSO untrue btw. I got the "bonus ending" without collecting any of the golden files. (except for some I got by accident)
@@LizardVVizard Sorry, but it is indeed non-canon, Uchikochi himself said so once on Twitter (sadly, I didn't save it). The reason for him creating it is because Tokuhoku had an earthquake prior to the release of the game and he wanted to give players a better ending so they could get a little bit of hope. That is why said ending isn't voiced in Japanese and why it wasn't taken into account at all.
I did my college thesis on the morphogenetic field theory as a love letter to this game series. It's so amazing!
Fyi. My tldr takeaway from my research is that the morphogenetic field is very dramatized in the series. The research papers it cites are sometimes misconstrued and in some cases even flat out lies. Even so, got to love this series.
Zero Escape
Escape Zero
Escapist Zero
Escapist: Zero Punctuation
Waaaaaait a minute
The murderer was Yahtzee all along!
Any anagrams we can make from this?
21:47 Akane having a Nendoroid design, just hurts more when you consider there is no merch
Please do a spoiler review for this game. Would love to see it and your detailed thoughts on it
I just want to hear more people talk about this game...I miss it
@@ziongamer6905 tell me about it. It's one of my all time favorites and it doesn't get much love anymore
@@jammerlammer546 For sure, this series and Danganronpa are my top and I can’t go a year without rewatching them at some point
@ZionGamer You should check out Ai the Somnium Files too! Its really good too
@@AtomicWhiskers For sure! I’ll be checking it out soon then, thanks.
"I'm a fast reader and just want to skip the dialogue"
"The voice acting is so amazing."
I thought the same thing lol. Like if you appreciate the voice acting, let the dialogue play out would you xD
I'm not gonna lie I got into zero escape because I wanted to find a game like danganronpa and someone recomend zero escape
I Like Hentai same
I'm the weirdo who played danganronpa because someone recommended me it from zero escape
otugle You like hentai too?
@@bassoonplatoon3146 I don't lie
I Like Hentai good man
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE
About not caring about deaths in ZTD, I think that might have been part of intent. After all, if you can just shift, why care about death? It just becomes a tool for you to use. Junpei and Akane even get into an argument about this exact thing after Junpei throws his life away in one timeline in order to shift and gain an advantage in another.
I completely agree. And honestly, the only death that got me was Junpei's in the freezer. That one was genuinely upsetting with the puzzles leading up to it.
I...can't even comprehend RamZaes criticism of VLR's "repeating text". At least in the 3ds version, you can easily skip through all of these scenes, and there are very few of them besides. I legitimately have no idea what he's talking about
Derek Dickinson yeah same you can also do this in the remastered version so idk why he kept bringing it up as a complaint
Same in the Steam version. Skipping dialogues is easy-breezy. The only thing you can't fast-forward is the constant moving through halls and doors that open.
The dialog was never the issue for me, but I do definitely haaaaaate the slow walk cycles. I get that its all to build atmosphere and tension, but especially during the "search the facilities" bits, it draaaaags on
I played the ps4 nonary games version of VLR and I could skip the map walking parts? it’s in the settings
I literally lent my friend's wife the Zero Escape trilogy just two weeks ago, and have been gleefully following her descent into madness. This video couldn't have come out at a better time.
I was actually a very big fun of the text skip in VLR. It's much better than the same function in The Somnium Files and actually stops when you find new dialogue, then immediately pops back up when you find the same dialogue for you to press. Granted, I agree with the fact moving is too sluggish, but the way it was implemented helped with replaying rooms
Is The Somnium Files a good game? I heard it was also made by Spike Chunsoft and was similar to Zero Escape but I still haven’t bought it yet just because it’s so expensive
@@Ziziwai I got it on sale yesterday. So far I'm loving it (only two hours in though). The visuals feel like what ZTD tried to be but done right. Plus the voice acting is outstanding.
David Samuel Yeah, it’s been out for a while now and the base price hasn’t dropped, so I assumed so. That’s good that you’re enjoying it
@@Ziziwai It is a mixed bag in my eyes. The game isnt polished in the sense that while the 3D models are better than before, they still have issues with facial expressions. Unless it's a cutscene, the screen focuses away from the character that leave the seen instead of having a walking animation. Also I counted around 4 instances where the voice acting and text had differences, one of which is completely different.
My biggest gripe of them all is that it doesnt know when to take itself seriously and when to be goofy. Without spoiling, there are numerous scenes were you are faced with a legion of armed enemies shooting at you with aim that matches the storm troopers, while you are able to dispatch them all with the use of underwear.
There was a point I was honestly considering this game to be worse than ZTD. The branching system of this game is lackluster since there are endings that are cliffhangers and clearly you still have stuff to do, but the timeline ends.
Somnium has a lot more focus on humour to the point it overshadows the serious scenes, but going out of your way to examine all the objects and see every dialogue option has some hidden gems and very comedic lines I enjoyed. Same goes for some "Puzzle rooms". If you want to interact with everything you have to replay it multiple times. It's not necessary, but I really loved some interactions I would have missed otherwise.
What salvaged the game for me was the true ending. Even after all my complaints about the game and it still being much inferior and less polished than VLR and 999, at the end I realized I would really miss the characters. I would miss the bonds that formed along the way, and the memorable dialogue.
AI has a very engaging start, a disappointing middle and a satisfying end game. Specifically I really liked the penultimate puzzle room. Non of them hold a candle to the Zero Escape series, but unlike what most say is just randomly picking options, there is logic to them. Just a few occassions where the right choice is "LOL so Random".
I would never recommend this for full price, and even when I bought it for 27 euro I felt sorta cheated because it clearly was rushed at points. But right now it's 23 euro, and if you have the Zero Escape Trilogy I believe you can get an extra 10% off from the bundle. I would say it's worth it for that price. If you play normally it's around 30 hours I hear, but I did everything there is an played the puzzles multiple times so I about 65 hours.
@@Ziziwai TL; DR Do not go into this game expecting a serious room escape game like the Zero Escape series. The serious moments are there and when they are they are literally chill inducing with the atmosphere and soundtrack. But for the most part, expect to laugh a lot from the well-implemented jokes (and cringe at the constant focus on porno mags for the 4th time)
In my experience, trying to find another Zero Escape fan is like trying to find a unicorn. They only exist on the internet.
Shame too, cause it's an amazing series.
Amazingly Stupid but I love this series
My IRL friend recommended me the series. So... they exist!
My sister somehow had a roommate who was talking about the series to her, but we never met each other.
15:45 This makes so much sense now. I played VLR before Danganronpa and was so whiplashed hard by the sudden tonal change of Zero. Like why?!
(Someone brings up Zero Escape)
The Community: *I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED*
I’m just impressed by your commitment to the “stop it get some help” joke with the first order motion model of June at 4:43
"No I'm not gonna talk I want you to experience this."
He says in the middle of it and towards the end talks about button mashing XD
Look I can't blame ya I'd go crazy doing that for all the character's routes as well.
Ram managed to not talk about danganronpa for 15 minutes a new record.
E
Does it count if he played Danganronpa music at around 7:15?
E
@@KirbyKips no
2 years too late with that Meme,
Am I the only one who noticed he talks about each game for 9 minutes? The video is 27 minutes long.
I actually didn't plan that haha
@@RamZaes wait what?
27=2+7=9
@@RamZaes it's the morphogenetic field, another version of you had that idea and now you have it
"With group Q you have the leader, Q, a boy trapped in a ball - poor thing, melons and blondie. "
i see what you did there, Ramzaes
I love this series, and I wish more branching games included the branching tree. It was soooooo handy.
have you played Raging Loop?
For the DS version, the emulator has frameskip, so that was VERY useful while replaying.
For the PC versions of the games, CheatEngine's speedhack is a MUST while replaying. Especially for VLR and ZTD.
way back when, emulators where the only way of playing 999... so I didn't know that was an issue
and here I am playing the ds versions on the actual ds and suffering
Actually, the game does have a built-in text-skip function. Just press R+B. At least the 3DS versions do after you have gotten at least one ending.
@@toumabyakuya3498 so I'm over here. Barely skipping through the dialogue. AND I COULDA GONE FASTER THIS WHOLE TIME
@@jfurycat Yeah. If I bad don't remember the game does tell you about this in the manual files that *nobody bothers to read.* This is a good reason why you should always read the manuals.
Clover's face in VLR is the kind of glitch that's so distracting and weird that you hope it's going to turn out to be a deliberate part of the story.
SPOILER: It's not.
Lol budget
I remember hearing that it was a glitch, but the game devs saw how people were meming and enjoying it, so they kept the glitch in.
@@sauce4279 - tbh I've been assuming that that's been the case with Bethesda Games for years, so it wouldn't surprise me.
See also: the glitch with Zero's identity in ZTD where it turns out it's something incredibly stupid.
and here I was thinking it was cause she goes crazy in the axe ending of the original game
I’ve finished the whole trilogy a few month’s ago and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Did... I just heard older Persona games and SMT IV Soundtracks in a Zero Escape related video now?.
Interestingly, the way Zero III acts in Virtue’s Last Reward depends on if its the English and Japanese version. In the English version, he acts much more like Monokuma. Giving people demeaning nicknames, making rabbit and vegetable related puns, and overall acting what you’d expect out of a murder game mascot. However in the Japanese version, Zero III doesn’t act like that. He is much more serious, calling everyone by their given names, and just has a verbal tic at the end of his sentences. I think him acting more like Monokuma was to appeal to the western audience.
999 and VLR have my favorite stories out of any video games I've played.
trying to explain how the plot line "puzzles" work without a napkin to draw it on is dangerous enough to give you an stroke
Great video, you cracked me up multiple times :D
999 was my first visual novel and i loved it to death, i might not like what they did to the final puzzle in the remaster but i understand it was impossible to replicate it on new consoles and pc
Omg 999 was my first and only Visual Novel I played, and I FREAKING LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF IT!!! Loved how they played the multiple ending concept into the actual story. It was great!
I was part of operation bluebird. I'm so glad the fans came together to promote the games and petition for ZTD. While I too was disappointed in the ending, the ride was fun and it was great to have some closure. Still a Nonary Games die hard fan.
This is one of may favorite series of all time. Glad you are talking about these
My boyfriend and I thought of a game that in 999 you take a shot for every “what the hell” the characters say.
I loved the first zero escape game! I'm really happy you're doing a video on the series.
15:52 - The bunny actually existed before Monokuma.
As far as I know, this is only canon to the European order of localised releases. If I remember correctly, Virtue's Last Reward was relelased in Europe for the Nintendo 3DS in November 2013 and sadly didn't include the English dub. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was then released a few months later for PlayStation Vita in February 2014. So, in a way, Zero III existed before Monokuma is canon to us Brits and Europeans.
Finally he's talking about it! I love this franchise
Wait, that one DS game everyone played after playing Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk 215, had a sequel?
No, Ghost Trick did not receive a sequel.
...
Oh, you were talking about 999.
@@MaJuV Oh god.. Ghost Trick.. it has been 9 years of waiting..
As soon as I saw that this video existed, I had to watch it.
I love the Zero Escape , so any occasion to hear more about it is always welcome.
Although, to be fair, I also liked the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton series a lot before finding out these games, so it would have been strange to not fall in love with this series, too.
I hope that they release all these games on Switch too, because more and more people should have the chance to learn about and play them (also I want to play them again on a better handheld).
Ah yes, Zero Escape, my favorite visual novel series! Literally the only visual novel I can actually stomach and regularly enjoy watching other UA-camrs and Streamers play. Wonderful video as well, of course, by RamZaes.
Played this on my ds as a kid, went through so many walkthroughs just for nightmares ;-;
I'm still playing through the 3ds game. It's so good!
"I swear everyone knows Schrodinger's Cat from this game"
This game and the five hundred other VNs that use it. It's so common in VNs and I don't know why
Probably because this philospophy is the easiest to explain the diverging choices in VNs. Many VNs love to focus on the choice/route scenario and out of all the theories this one is a pretty good example of the A/B route formula these games follow (because a two-way split takes way less writng that a 3, 4 or more split path).
Honestly, the way you keep bringing up reading fast was SOOOOO relatable. I too am cursed with the ability to blip through text, and playing this series it was just kind of shocking how my ability to skip through the text and story got progressively taken away from me. It felt like a small grievance, obviously I enjoyed the series, but it feels great to have someone else validate my experience.
Yes, thank you for making this video, it's the perfect occasion to remind people that Ai: the somnium files exists. imo it's really good, I can't recommend it enough! (plus, if more people play it Uchikoshi could consider making a sequel. Maybe.)
Welcome to the future, your wish has been granted.
@@velvetphi eheheh, can't wait to play Nirvana (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞
More people need to play this series, its so good and such a thrill ride. I would have loved another entry to the series.
Uchikoshi's works are an absolute treat. 999/VLR are definitely memorable pieces, but of his stories Remember 11: Age of Infinity was the piece that stuck with me the most.
The premise alone is by far the most interesting alternating between two scenarios of mountain survival and having to make the most of living in a mental institute for the criminally insane. Those are two high stake scenarios and the interplay between the two scenarios has yet to be matched by anything else I've seen and it captures the chilling atmosphere brilliantly.
It dives the furthest into psychology and metaphysical concepts out of all of his work too if thats your jam, but it (mostly) doesn't need to pause and explain things nearly as much as the nonary games do, but a compendium is available if you need to catch up.
To top it off, the payoff at the end was actually quite brilliant when it sunk in and put me through a loop, I highly recommend it if you're able to get a chance to play.
Oh, you might see that R11 is the third entry of the infinity series, but aside from some shared concepts they're largely standalone games. Ever 17 is a decent as well, but doesn't quite reach the same heights as 999 or R11.
One day, when Uchikoshi was just a young teenager, he was walking in a park and chatting with his friends. But, when they reached a fork in their path, Uchikoshi noticed a snail on the left path. As a result, he urged his firends to continue down the right path. Why did he do it? Was he afraid of the snail? Even himself was not sure about the reason. Maybe, he did not control his actions... maybe, he just wanted to find out what would happen. Maybe, he remembered what happened last time (last time..? that can't be right. This had not happened again, right?). In any case, they followed the right path. After a while, one of his friends noticed one of their classmates, who was really into video games, and they chatted with him for a while. This was the first time Uchikoshi actually decided to play a videogame and realised his love for the medium. A couple of decades later, he would create the Zero Escape series.
(Uchikoshi if you see this, I hope this is canon)
Thank god, this game is something I've been playing over the course of a couple years, and its so wild I just need people to talk about it.
Good thing I somehow figure out to play these games and somehow managed to finish all three games and by coincidence you upload video about these games...
Or just I jumped of shifted from different timeline where I didn't play so I would have played this games early. Somehow I made choice to play theses games but forgot how I jumped or shifted from that timeline.
Now playing Never 7 The End of The Infinity... of course english patched because there isn't english release or it seems like that.
What's coming up might be spoilers:
Or just somebody with power controlled me so I can jump or shift to make current choice what I did made - playing zero escape games.
Did we all just got HACKED?!
.
Seriously, After Never 7 please play Ever17 with Himmel Patch. It's also very amazing. Might be a little boring at first (Too much Slice of Life) but the Character is so charming. The plot is crazy. Made me doubt, made me think and made me cried a lot.
@@ねむりねむる玄兎 Thanks for suggestion about patch. I was planning to play Ever17 but hopefully I'll keep in mind. Or just after commenting this I'll search at least for keeping in search result so I can remember about it.
I’ve wanted you to make a video on this for SO LONG
Finally someone is talking about my favorite games!
The best thing about Zero Time Dilemma is how much of a meme Carlos becomes half way through in my opinion.
According to a interview with Kotaro Uchikoshi (I don't remember if it was the Q&A for VLR or a random interview after ZTD), the 3D models were implemented on VLR because it would be much cheaper than the 2D art style from 999, and he also would able to reuse some of them for the third game, supossed to be released not much time after. That was part of how he did convince the highers up to be able to make this sequel, after the sales disaster that 999 was in Japan, but it was all for nothing since the sales from VLR on Japan were even worst. Turns out that releasing a sequel from a game that didn't sell well, even if you give a lot of context for the bits that refers to it, isn't a good idea.
Really sad how things did go with the franchise, especially since Kotaro did change a lot of things on his writing to try to appeal to those people who didn't like 999, like making a less dark cenario, more funny and tension free moments, less visible violence (that why you go to sleep instead of exploding), younger characters and so on. Despite his best efforts, Japan still wasn't interested on his work (and even today it still feels like it isn't) for god knows why. The Q&A from 999 really shows how much work they did put on the franchise, working really hard on the puzzles, OST and art style to make a really fine visual novel. At least he was able to find a passionate fan base on the west to keep writing the things that he wants.
VLR is my favorite of the triology and one of my favorite games of all times. Really loved how it improved by a LOT the multiple endings idea from 999 and was also able to make a even more interesting plot which is revelead little by little as the cenarios unfold. About how slow the game is, I kinda liked it and think it was also something present on the DS version of 999. Indeed it might end up getting of your nerves when you want to rush things, but it does add a bit of a nice tense atmosphere. And yes, the 9 points bad endings are real bullshit, but they give you good laughs after you see one or two of them.
Also, a shout out for both dubs of the trilogy, but a special mention to Mamiko Noto, Luna japanese VA on VLR, who did make me addicted for her soft and calm voice.
Also for those who haven't played these games, there are some scenarios where random changes happens. The game tends to explore unplayed routes, so just play them again until you get to the route you haven't been. For example, there is a dice throwing decision game where there is only 1/216 chance that the team will survive. But actually, the game is set up so that the player will get to that rare route on their 3rd try. Don't use save and load, cuz it will just make your life much harder. I have seen a streamer tried that and it actually took him 10+ tries to get to the next route.
That randomness is only a factor in ZTD. In 999 and VLR, I don't think there are any random parts other than the safe combinations in VLR (which are supposed to be different to prevent skipping the whole room).
Only ZTD, thst was the games whole plot tbh
In fact, the dice thing really isn’t meant to be won.
I watched the whole game by Manlybadasshero and boy i even got confused but then again it was a cool route and game
This game, ace attorney, layton and time hollow is one of the reason why i love visual novels so much. I recommend anyone whose into mysteries and mindblowing stories on playing zero escape.
The Music Choice for this video is impeccable (and the music in Zero Escape is also godly)
As good as the other games are, 999 just had this atmosphere and plot that just couldn't be replicated. Such a masterpiece
i started with VLR and fell in love with it ( i had never played an escape the room type game before, and mixed with the deep story telling was perfect ). picked it up on the whim and can confidently say that it's one of my top favorite games of all time. i picked up 999 not too long after i beat it and i loved it! if only i'd known before that VLR was a sequel. so when ZTD was announced, i couldn't wait to play it and did my best to avoid any sort of spoilers. and once it got released, i almost immediately dropped it.
i couldn't stand the more cinematic approach to the game, especially since it's dialogue was important on keeping up with the story, i felt anxious about missing anything. but when the trilogy got released on steam, i decided to replay them all and work through ZTD, and i ended up enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would. but yea, the ending just upset me and i wished i stopped before the ending. >> i wasn't the biggest fan of how they set it up either, and didn't have a more linear story, which actually messed me up more than i thought in terms of trying to make everything coherent in my head-- so much so, that i just gave up on trying to keep up with the timeline and just played the game with it's segmented story. it wasn't bad but it wasn't great imo.
also, i'm super disappointed on the port for VLR to steam! they did 999 so good! D; D;
I first played ZTD, then VLR, then 999. It was an okay way to play, and ZTD was my favorite for the long time
But that thing...
*clover vlr face *
It scares me.....
I’ll be honest I really like ZTD, the dialogue is amazing even if the models are stiff the voice acting and dialogue made me FEEL THINGS SAD THINGS, I didn’t mind the Delta twist too much I can understand why it could be annoying, but I felt it was properly foreshadowed, I just wish that there was a few changes, there is a whole reddit thread that highlights all the foreshadowing Delta had, and it’s a good read, but I wish for all of Q teams scenes the camera was locked since your actually delta, not a camera like the other scenes
I love that all the soundtracks you used are of games I played and love, nostalgia hit me hard.
I couldn’t get into the series past the second installment, but I will say that the first game had one of my absolute favorite moments.
(Partial Spoiler)
I can’t remember it too well, but you encountered a bad ending when a certain character kills you and then you have to act like you’re not scared shitless of him as you progress down through the “good” outcomes. Like that’s such an excellent visual novel concept that I’m sure has been explored before, but this game was the first time I encountered it.
my favorite moment is "Actually, I'm Santa", such a badass moment to lure out the true culprit
There are only three games- I- wdym. Just say you didnt wanna ruin the great experience with the garbage that is ZTD
I watched a 3 hour video on this game just covering the endings and deaths
Which video?
Covering as in discussing? BC I need more discussion of this in my life
As a standalone game - 999 is the best of the bunch, but as a trilogy - ZTD ties it all together so nicely, I loved, despite the ending. It made all those moments from VLR even stronger and vice-versa.
Saw that the Danganronpa series was on sale on the PS Store last week, nearly bought them because of your videos, saw these listed as "people also liked", and bought nothing because I decided to wait for payday.
This video went up the next day.
I wound up buying both series (ZE isn't on sale sadly).
Worth it.
Thank you.
Seriously, one of my favorite game series of all times. Good times!
Some random notes for anybody curious:
- I honestly think they ran out of time on ZTD. If you haven’t played the game before, you should know there is basically a text based epilogue that feels more conclusive than the actual ending. It seems clear to me they wanted to animate it, but flat couldn’t get to it in time.
- There is some nice watch merchandise out there tied into the games. Each game had a watch produced for them, though the 999 one in such limited quantity that it’s hard to find (even back in the day, it ran hundreds of dollars). The 999 one is really weighty and fun to wear.
- Parts of VLR’s mechanics, as I believe was alluded to in the video, were borrowed from the prototype Danganronpa game (Distrust).
- The original plans for the games included even more science-y concepts but were nixed by higher ups
I agree, plus not havening the budget to do some stuff. I wonder why we never heard about Kyle and Santa again and so on. If they could I would wish for them to remake, at least, the third game again.
Yeah I think it was a miracle that ZTD was even completed and released. Also I heard that Uchikoshi mostly write for D-Team (but I have no idea if that’s actually true)
It suffered greatly from time and budget restraints and part of me wishes that he could remake the third game entirely to make a better written and looking ZTD.
I had this in my watch later for a long time and finally decided to watch it, good video!!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯
The usage of the ds touch screen was genius in 999
Definitely 999 is my favorite. Is sad how i had to wait years to play VLR because didnt owned a 3DS. At least didn't had to wait that many years for ZTD when we got the PC version. Despite the end, i love the trilogy and enjoyed every single title. Good video.
2:04 HOLY SHIT ARE THOSE SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT BOOKS! I HAVE NEVER MET ANYONE ELSE WHOSE READ THEM AND YOU SHOWED THEM IN VIDEO TALKING ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VIDEO GAMES THAT NO ONES HEARD OF EITHER!! I FEEL SO SEEN
every once in a while, i’ll remember this game out of nowhere and then totally forget about it again.
I would buy Zero escape merch so much 😫
I played the series randomly bc i heard so much about 999, and after playing it... i was hooked. you've convinced me to replay the games 😍
Mannnn i loooooooove this series, a friend recommended it to me about a year ago and i binged through 999 and VLR but never got to ZTD i may have to get to it despite the jank this video reminded me how much i loved the first two.
Also gotta say this becoming one of my fav channels to watch. Keep up the good work Ramzaes! Looking forward to the next upload
Didn’t the series become more popular when they released the collection of 999 and VLR? More people started doing LPs and talking about it.
Whether you like Zero Time Dilemma's ending or not really is a coin flip...
Finally got around to reading it (took me around a week for all three since I really, REALLY liked it), and man I did not expect that before playing it.
I liked ZTD's twist btw, I think it provides more logical motives than "Oh yeah I destroyed the world because why the f not"
Dude the “i read fast, oh no thats too fast”
Was so funny i just felt like subscribing for it
Oh man, I completely disagree with you about the ZTD ending. I LOVED it. For me it was what made this series so incredible.
It felt just amazing to know who the villain was and why he/she did what it did.
You hate the villain so much and yet you realize he is right and committed no crimes at all. It was probably the best plot twist in videogames I've ever seen.
I’m working my way through Virtue’s Last Reward, I love these games so much hehe.
ZTD is such a guilty pleasure for me, but only because it reminds of the time when for the first time I was really hyped for a game to be released in summer.
I was kinda let down by the animations, but mostly satisfied with the story (except for Q-Team, Jesus Christ). Now I play it every summer accidently just because I felt like playing through those awkward and sometimes bad paced cutscenes just to get to the good twists and interesting stuff...
VLR had the best ending, jesus christ what a fucking game finale that was. Fantastic. I like Zero Time Dilemma because it felt like it was a game they decided to put together at the last minute with all the faults it had from what felt like a rushed game, it was pretty hilarious in some scenes because of it(like the fire hydrant scene). 999 was probably my 2nd favorite game while VLR was number one just because of that ending.
im so happy that people are talking about this series!
24:41 ways makes me laugh. Good grief, Akane! He's a firefighter, not a parasitologist.
I always forget you’re Australian until you throw in random references like the cashconverters snail