Topic: 999

I was referring to the lots-of-reading part. ))

@Mickeymac 999 has point-n-click segments during the room escape sequences. I'd still call it a visual novel since most of your time is spent in dialogue or narration.

@Nightwalker Why weren't you impressed by the story? Please include spoiler warnings. As much as I adore the Phoenix Wright series, 999 just slightly beats it in terms of story for me. Phoenix Wright's gameplay is more enjoyable but 999's story is superior imo. To me it's like they transformed comic courtroom hijinks into a thoughtful psychological thriller and I appreciate that more.

My comparison of 999's story to Phoenix Wright's:

• 999 has no deus ex machina (spirit channeling saves the day again!) and much less artificial tension (the solution is actually on the back of the paper, but you couldn't turn it around before!) and the story is more believable and satisfying as a result.
• There are no throwaway scenes like most of the early cases in the PW games so the plot is tighter overall.
• The characters are generally deeper than PW as well, since it is more of a psychological game. Very few silly stereotypes to be seen in 999 where they exist by the truckload in Phoenix Wright.
• In fact the overall premise of 999 is more exciting to me. Trapped on a sinking ship, the number 9 appears everywhere, and the 8 other people all seem like suspicious madmen? And the ending is actually mind-blowing. I can't see how it's an overrated ending.
• Then there's fact that the story of 999 actually branches where PW is totally linear. You complain that 999 has few choices but in PW you have none at all. Unless you count a game over a choice...

^
OK, so I found the background stories of the other characters pretty interesting to discover. But, the thing about the story that bothered me was the:

***SPOILER WARNING***
1. The very reason for the second Nonary game, you know it, I wouldn't go into details.
2. The real "nature" of the sinking ship.
3. And, I also expected Zero to be someone other than the people on board. I imagined that in the end, it would eventually come to Zero being someone that had a grudge against all the 9 persons, for a reason they would come to know during the escape, and a reason that would connect them all, in a way.
4. And, last, but not least, the hitchhiking Alice in the end. Her appearance leaves too much unexplained, and whenever I finish a game, I want to have finished it for good, knowing all the answers there are to know.

@Nightwalker Fair enough. Perhaps the story isn't your cup of tea then.

MAJOR SPOILERS

1. This was well explained, I thought. It all makes sense if you join the dots. June's fevers = incinerator = morphogenetic fields = link to Junpei = orchestrating the second Nonary Game so that all events match up correctly. I won't go into more detail than that, but it does tie up and I thought it was clever.
2. This also makes sense. The second place was chosen because it could be bought, and "Zero" had enough money to do it - he plays the stock market remember? I thought the fact that it wasn't the ship was a really cool twist. You don't expect it until you see it, and then it dawns on you that it makes more sense to host the second Nonary Game in the facility than on the ship.
3. Yeah, you're led to believe that Zero is someone who is external to the game and that he has a grudge against everyone. That's pretty typical thriller stuff though, like a Saw movie. The truth is much more interesting then your (and my) original suspicions though. If it did end up that Zero was some external guy who wanted them all dead then it would have been a boring ending. Random sinister man appears out of nowhere and he is beaten in the end - I'd get no emotional return on that. Also the presence all of the characters except Lotus was explained well. Zero has a reason for picking each of them except for her. There is a reason they were all brought together. And specifically those 9 people. But maybe you missed it?
4. Yeah, that's a weird one haha. I figure Alice isn't meant to be important. She's a red herring in the main story, used to tie Ice-9 in with the plot, and then they throw her in as a joke at the end to soften the atmosphere. After dying horrifically like 4 times I was glad to have a light-hearted ending that made me laugh in disbelief. I can see why you might not be happy with that ending but I appreciated it! lol

[quote=holymackerel]@Nightwalker Fair enough. Perhaps the story isn't your cup of tea then.

MAJOR SPOILERS
2. I thought the fact that it wasn't the ship was a really cool twist. /quote]

Reading this, I came to wonder about something... Was the reason for the flood in the beginning explained, having in mind the "nature" of the ship? It looks like I have escaped the details explaining it...

@Nightwalker It was. I wish these forums had a spoiler tag!

MAJOR SPOILERS

It has a water pump system inside which was used in the first Nonary Game to copy the water levels of the ship. Remember that the children in the facility were meant to copy the children on the ship exactly, so all details of their environment were kept the same. Zero used the facility's water pump system in the second Nonary Game to make the participants believe they were on a ship and to add to the danger of the game. Danger being important for success in using the morphogenetic fields, which Zero needs Junpei to use in order to survive the first game. It all ties in.

^
Yes, thank you. You are a true 999 fan. ))

I do my best. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them. I think I have a good grasp of 999's story.

I think this game is underrated, if anything. All those folks in the Phoenix Wright and Ghost Trick threads don't know what they're missing.

Nah, they're making up for it by playing those 2 great games.

Oh I love PW and I'm going to get Ghost Trick as soon as I can, but I don't think adventure gamers should miss out on a great game like 999. It's a very different experience from those two but it's also similar in many ways. I think they'd enjoy it haha. I certainly hope more people on these forums will pick up this game because I love discussing it.

@HM: that's not fair at all of you to say -- we know how 999 is getting rave impressions from everyone here, and we'll probably get it eventually if we haven't already. i know i for one am having to choose my purchases carefully at the moment; i can't afford it right now so i'll pick it up later. :/

@tbd Oh, it was a tongue-in-cheek comment. D: But I can understand choosing Ghost Trick and other titles over 999 first. I would have done the same if Ghost Trick was out around the same time! I just look forward to when some more people pick up the game so we can chat about it, that's all. And there's plenty to chat about. :3

Oh I might add that for people who don't like heavy reading (as in book-like descriptive text, not just dialogue), they won't enjoy this game. From that perspective I understand where Nightwalker is coming from. But personally I love reading so 999 has been a delight for me.

haha, don't worry, it's next on my list. i'll join the chat then :3

GDI, I seriously can't find this game anywhere, And its easily $30+ used on ebay. Anyone know of a good place to score a copy?

@OB: Is it really that much used already? Sorry about that man. I foresaw the game's rarity and got mine from my local Gamestop about a month after launch. I'm not really sure where you could get it anymore but might I suggest just biting the bullet and paying the inflated used price before it gets any worse?

Just looked at ebay and there is one listing for it for 34.99 Buy it Now. Shipping is 4 bucks so I guess if you really want a new copy of it and don't mind paying a couple bucks over retail, now's your chance! I think that's pretty much as good as its gonna get.

@OB I preordered my copy online since I knew the print run would be limited... can't really help you with getting a copy now. Amazon? Play-Asia? I think the chances of getting it online should be higher than at retail.

w00t, got me the last copy in town. whew~!

Great, hope you enjoy it!

@Objection_Blaster: I'm not sure if you managed to find yourself a copy of this game yet but Amazon currently has it in stock for $34.99 including free shipping.