999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors review by Harlequin

[Harlequin 17]

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

 

 

 

 

Opening movie:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of34lDuVQNo

 

 

 

 

 

(Spoilers are all inside the spoiler box down at the bottom.)

 

 

"Now, it is time. Let our game begin."

 

 

Ah yes, 999. It's been a long time since I played it, but it remains a sweet memory that I will try to write and inform about now. Thanks to ErogeGames and its great members, I've been able to reminisce about 999 a whole lot, so writing this shouldn't be a problem.

 

However, what we need to adress first is that this game is not a PC game, but rather a Nintendo DS game. As of me writing this, it's not available for download on this site. If you want to play 999, you'll either need to own a real NDS plus the game, or you will need an emulator as well as a rom of the game. Google "999 rom" or something similar and you should be able to find a site to get it from. The fact that it's not on ErogeDownload/ErogeGames (right now) is one of the reasons why I want to write about it. Because I think that you should be aware of its existence at least.

 

Now then. What is 999? An excellent point-and-click game (and visual novel) focused on mysteries as well as puzzle solving gameplay. That's the easiest way to describe it. Being a fan of mystery stories myself, naturally this game ended up being one of my favourites, even though I technically would rate several other VNs higher. 999 puts you in a position of not only having to solve these very ominous mysteries and puzzles it presents within its story, but also a position of being trapped in a dangerous place with characters whom you certainly feel that you cannot fully trust. Expect some paranoia and anxiety on your journey through this game... that's certainly how it was for me at least. I really like VNs that can produce this kind of atmosphere and tension in them, and 999 most definitely does it extremely well.

 

But now, on to the specifics for this impressive Nintendo DS visual novel!

 

 

 

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Gameplay - Before we talk about the other stuff, I would first like to bring up the topic of the puzzles in this game. Naturally, some are harder than others. Whether you would have problems with them or not, I couldn't say. You probably wouldn't though, because for the most part they are very straightforward. As said earlier, 999 is a point-and-click game. You use the pointer (mouse, if emulator) to click on things to solve the puzzles presented to you. Search for hidden items, combine/search said items, solve math problems, investigate the environments - that kind of stuff. The puzzles themselves are integral to the story, which means they are definitely important to have, but even so they are still fun to just solve as well.

 

All that said however, there is one negative point here: You cannot skip puzzles that you have already completed on a previous playthrough. That's right. It's really quite bad that they wouldn't let you even skip the first puzzle in the game. Well, it just becomes a matter of powering through the ones you've already done anyway. I recommend writing down the solutions to every puzzle that you find and solve the first time, unless you've got a good memory.

 

 

Visuals/Art - Great visuals in general. It has a quite gritty and more realistic art style than the usual, which suits this particular game very well. Considering what 999 is about, you want to have that slightly dark and ominous atmosphere. This art certainly enhances that kind of atmosphere. I personally like it a lot.

 

The backgrounds are pretty nicely detailed, and it is in these backgrounds that you'll have to find the many hidden items necessary to progress with the puzzles. Sprites in this game are impressive as well - sometimes they are animated very smoothly, and yes, it looks sweet.

 

As for the inventory screen, files menu, etc... nothing to complain about. It's all perfectly fine. You just need to get used to how exactly the game works at first, that's all. But that shouldn't take long anyway since it's quite intuitive for the most part, as it should be.

 

 

Sound/VA/Music - Excellent music! But most importantly, fitting music. Oh yes, the music that this game has to offer contributes a lot to the perfect ominous atmosphere as well, just like the visuals. But not only that... several of these songs gets you into the mood for mystery solving, which is obviously extremely appropriate. Oh, and... I daresay that some of this music alone can make you paranoid. Yes, that's when you know it's doing something very right.

 

There is a flaw in this department though, which you can probably guess for yourself what it is. Voice acting. There is none in 999. And yes, personally I do see it as a weakness. In most VNs you expect to hear the voices of characters, so playing this game will probably feel a bit different for those who are used to more "standard" VNs. That said however, one shouldn't expect to actually get voice acting in a NDS game in the first place. Still, I think anyone would agree with me when I say that it'd be fun to know just what kind of voices these characters would have.

 

 

Characters - There's a good variety of fun personalities in 999, and in general I'm quite impressed by all of them. Nine characters, each character denoted by a number between 1-9. You will play the Nonary Game with them - solving puzzles, getting into arguments, speculating possibilities, discovering things, joking around. All while trying to escape the sinking ship in which you are trapped. "Who are these people? Why am I playing the Nonary Game with them? And who can I trust?" These are the questions you will ask yourself... and ponder about at great length.

 

 

Plot/Story - A superbly well-written thriller mystery story, that keeps you at the edge of your seat from start to finish. Nine people who must escape from a sinking ship by passing through doors numbered 1-9, with a time limit of nine hours. Sounds like an interesting scenario, doesn't it? It's definitely a whole lot of fun. If you're anything like me, you will not want to put the game down until you have unravelled all of its complexities. Because yes, this story is filled with things that makes you wonder a lot. Have you ever read Ever17? Both E17 and 999 was written by the same guy - Kotaro Uchikoshi. Suffice it to say, this man knows how to make a compelling story that commands you to think about everything that is going on in it.

 

... Oh, and I mustn't forget. The story of 999 could be considered a little bit dark and definitely very serious. Bloody scenes will take place, with detailed descriptions of them. For me, it's perfect. I welcome any VN that is not afraid to show some blood and whatnot. More of that stuff please!

 

There's a total of six endings in 999. One of them is the true ending, which of course is the ultimate goal. I obviously won't go into detail about all the endings though. However, that said, there is something in particular that should be mentioned... If you decide to go through this game completely blind (no route order, no walkthrough), you run the risk of getting an ending early on that can actually make some other endings in future playthroughs far less interesting. In other words, there is a certain good flow to the endings. Or there can be one, at least. Here is my recommendation (don't check it at all if you're not interested in having a route order):

 

[spoiler=999 route order]((1.)) 5-7-1 ((2.)) 5-3-2 ((3.)) 4-8-6 ((4.)) 5-8-6 ((5.)) 4-7-1

 

Yes, that's right. Five playthroughs. The last one will clear *two* endings for you.

 

Some extra things are necessary to do on the last playthrough. You should be able to figure that out on your own though.

 

Screenshots (click the thumbnails) -

 

 

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Final words - What a brilliant game this is! That's what I think at least. It's especially good for anyone who loves mysteries (like me), or just the actual theme of "being trapped". 999 is top quality when it comes to atmosphere and overall plot. It's a serious and tense thriller filled with mysteries and twists.

 

Who should play 999? Most fans of VNs should, actually. It may be a NDS game, but even so, you should still try it. Just get an emulator and a rom of the game if you don't own a real NDS. A game/VN with a plot this intriguing needs to be experienced, enough said.

 

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - Read/play it. Love the Nintendo DS? Love stories like this? GET TO IT NOW!

 

 

 

 

Pros: Addictive, amazing atmosphere, nice art style, fun and intriguing characters, fitting soundtrack, thought-provoking and entertaining plot, well-designed mysteries, interesting premise, good puzzles.

 

 

Cons: No voice acting (+/-), can't skip puzzles already completed on previous playthroughs, getting certain endings early on can make other endings less interesting.

 

 

 

Harlequin gives 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors a rating of...

 

9.0/10

(Follows the rating scale on VNDB)

 

 

Remember, this is only my opinion and experience with this visual novel.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the spoiler box with some spoilerish thoughts and impressions I got from reading this VN.

 

Do not touch it if you have not fully read this VN already:

 

 

Again, it's been a long time since I played this game. There's nothing for me to talk about here... basically.

 

June was the cold-hearted and intelligent bitch Zero all along. Yes, that part was interesting of course. The time paradox stuff... There had to be a second nonary game (created by Zero, herself) with Junpei being put in that particular situation with the Sudoku puzzle, or she could never have been saved in the past in the first place.

 

The two Nintendo DS screens being used as part of the story. Top screen = Junpei in the future. Bottom screen = Akane in the past. Clever, huh? Never expect less from that Uchikoshi. It's Blick Winkle all over again.

 

Anyway, can't be bothered to write anything more here now. I've already been discussing about the game so much lately. So I'll just leave some links here for you:

 

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Wiki

 

June - Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Wiki

 

999: Enter

 

Edited February 8, 2013 by Harlequin

[iLoveTsundere 10]

Nice harle , nice. I liked the underlining on the "9" rating there. 999 is a great title , its a great way to SEEK A WAY OUT of reality for a while. Anyways , now its time for your review on dustmania with this kind of attention to detail. GOGOGO!

[Avenger 11]

Interesting, I'll take a look at playing it.

[desi 53]

Nice review. As mentioned in the review, the writer of ever17 is the same as 999. Fans of Ever17 that never played 999 should check it out. Even if you weren't a big of Ever17, I still encourage people to check it out since some people enjoyed 999 more because of the puzzles aspect and some people felt the twists were a bit well executed. Definitely a good DS VN to check out.

[radiantmadness 11]

Nice review. As mentioned in the review, the writer of ever17 is the same as 999. Fans of Ever17 that never played 999 should check it out. Even if you weren't a big of Ever17, I still encourage people to check it out since some people enjoyed 999 more because of the puzzles aspect and some people felt the twists were a bit well executed. Definitely a good DS VN to check out.

 

a similar post like this made me discover vn's/eroges on the gamefaqs forum:)

 

anyway, very well written Harle. I Hope you continue writing reviews!

[Kozue 10]

nice review.

I will be sure to pick this up.

 

no voice? no loss if the story is good.

 

*remembers RF2 ENG VA* horrible.

[radiantmadness 11]

nice review.

I will be sure to pick this up.

 

no voice? no loss if the story is good.

 

*remembers RF2 ENG VA* horrible.

 

oh god, those seriously sucked......