A few months ago I reviewed the iOS reboot of popular Famicon game Banshee’s Last Cry by Spike Chunsoft and Aksys. Today I played 999: 9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors (999), a reboot of a popular DS game by Spike Chunsoft and Aksys for iOS. Deja vu or what? There’s always a danger in releasing two games so close together that are in many ways very similar. Both of them are plot-driven and player interaction is limited to only a handful of choices. They both take place in an enclosed, claustrophobic environment and have loads of grisly murders.
But to 999’s credit I can say the similarities never bothered me, and in fact only occurred to me after completing the game a second time. 999 is definitely its own game. It’s unique, intriguing and creepy as hell. It’s also pretty damn confusing and deeply flawed.
What the hell is going on?
999 begins with a group of 9 people waking up on an abandoned cruise liner. They were kidnapped by a mysterious gas-masked fiend named Zero who has big plans for them. They have bombs inside their bodies so must play the mysterious “nonary game” otherwise go down with the sinking ship. Or blow up.
Who is Zero? Why were these people people chosen? What the hell is going on? Honestly I have no idea. After two full playthroughs I have several important pieces of the puzzle but nothing seems to link together. Betrayals don’t make sense. Hints of backstories haven’t been fulfilled and I still have no idea why the main character or his one-time crush are there. I’m sure it’s not random but I have no idea.
Sounds frustrating right? Well, it’s not!
Smartest feature ever!
999 has one of the most user-friendly features ever. Once you have played through a scene it unlocks in a “flowchart” menu, meaning that you can go back to it whenever you want.
What’s even better is that the flowchart shows all the possible option branches. If you have three doors to choose from, the flow chart shows these choices to you, it also shows you which choices you have made. This is awesome!
Made the wrong decision?
I have frequently wanted to sit down and play Banshee’s Last Cry again but have been put off. Re-reading umpteen pages of dialogue I have already seen only to make the same choices by mistake is just too intimidating. 999’s flowchart system eliminates that worry and allows me to get into the story and play around to my heart’s content.
Gorgeous anime, but not enough artwork
tokobagus office thumb
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