Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: TGM on February 12, 2011, 03:10:40 PM
Title: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: TGM on February 12, 2011, 03:10:40 PM
Has anyone else here played what I consider to be the most unbelievably amazingly wonderfully awesome DS game ever? Or did you miss the chance to buy it since the game sold out in America? If you did play it, what was your favorite part?
For those who don't know what 999 is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999:_Nine_Hours,_Nine_Persons,_Nine_Doors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999:_Nine_Hours,_Nine_Persons,_Nine_Doors)
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: nickmitch on February 12, 2011, 04:58:35 PM
Crimm did. He talks about it on RFN.
Also, you can still buy it on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/9-Hours-Persons-Doors-Nintendo-DS/dp/B003VR5PPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297547928&sr=8-1).
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Razorkid on February 12, 2011, 07:49:11 PM
I've played it and gotten all 6 endings! (Although I only got the true ending with a guide)
So satisfying! And although there is absolutely no action or time limits to deal with, the game is so atmospheric and moody at times. I first heard about it through neogaf when it was announced to be coming out last year. When it arrived, I happen to see it in Game Stop and promptly scooped it up. All I knew at the time was that it was a dialog heavy adventure game in the vein of Another Code R and Hotel Dusk only with a suspenseful twist.
The first thing that surprised me happened before I even turned the game on, I noticed it was rated M. I have never owned or even thought rated M games could exist on the DS (outside of like Dementium maybe), let alone one in a text heavy non-action game.
Well, as soon as I started it up, I got into it like a good brooding suspense novel and couldn't put it down till I reached my first ending! Say what you will about the story, the presentation of it was great. I was at first a little put off that I would have to play the whole thing again to experience more of the story and see subsequent endings. But once you find out that you can just skip every text scene you've done before (it doesn't allow you to skip a scene you've never experienced which was also great) and that the dialog choices you've made in the past were grayed/dimmed compared to the ones you didn't take made the experience that much more convenient.
For those who do play this game, I highly suggest:
1) Play the game multiple times to get all the endings. It is well worth it, easy, and really pays off once you see the true ending.
2) Because you ARE going to play it through multiple times, I suggest writing down the answers to the puzzles. There are not that many in the great scheme of things and you will thank yourself for doing it.
3) The first play through is going to be your longest, so take your time and enjoy the story. My own subsequent plays took me anywhere from 1-2 hours each (the true ending play through being slightly longer but not as long as the original)
4) Finally, it's impossible to get the true ending the first time around. As a matter of fact, it is a requirement to get at least a couple of the endings first before you are allowed to truly finish the game but it makes sense in the fiction. Don't try to game it your first time through, just play and enjoy it like a good suspense paperback.
I grew up devouring choose your own adventure books as a kid, so this game took me by surprise and knocked my socks off. It was the perfect length and playing it multiple times didn't take forever and actually got me even more invested in the story. Why they haven't released more games like this on the DS is beyond me and the "mature" themes added to this type of genre really pulled me in.
This game is an instant classic in the genre. For fans of games like Hotel Dusk and Phoenix Wright, it's a must buy. For those uninitiated to games of this type I recommend it highly, especially given the edginess of it throughout will keep people glued to the game at least through their first play through.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: NintendoDad on February 12, 2011, 09:01:15 PM
I've been playing it recently. Not sure it's as great as everything I've read but I'm still enjoying it. I think I'm on my 4th play through right now. The first time I get an ending I've already seen I'll be playing with a FAQ, which I'm not a fan of, but I imagine you have to make exactly the right choices to see the best ending. And the person above me who advised to write down the answers to all the puzzles, brilliant advice. It's very frustrating knowing you've completed a puzzle twice before and yet still getting stuck on it. And some of the sexual content, are you kidding me? This game definitely earns its M rating, lol.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: KisakiProject on February 14, 2011, 11:35:56 AM
I ordered this for my friend for his b-day. I'll play it after he completes it. Looking forward to it.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Miyamoto on March 16, 2011, 07:45:02 AM
I think I'm gonna have to get this at some point just because the word of mouth is so strong. I heard at one point it was really hard to find but now the publisher is doing a second larger print run?
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Razorkid on March 16, 2011, 09:52:25 AM
It's worth it, trust me. Especially if you've never played a visual novel type game before.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Oblivion on March 16, 2011, 07:31:37 PM
Hmm. I've heard things about this game. Can someone let me know if it's worth paying full price for it?
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Razorkid on March 16, 2011, 10:42:20 PM
YES!!! ;D
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: TalesOfFan on March 21, 2011, 10:16:21 PM
I picked the game up with James' first mention on RFN. I absolutely loved it. Although I wish I would have known that two of the endings were throwaways, so I could have shorten my play time a bit.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on April 12, 2011, 12:29:07 PM
Got this at GameStop for $25. Enjoying it a lot so far. Only on my first play through, and not that far into it. I'm keeping track of my "choices" for each playthrough - here's where I am so far (spoilery link, I guess): http://www.evernote.com/shard/s3/sh/581723b4-859e-45e8-a550-5c2acc457002/75939c1ec095b987df6eb48e7ca1b21c (http://www.evernote.com/shard/s3/sh/581723b4-859e-45e8-a550-5c2acc457002/75939c1ec095b987df6eb48e7ca1b21c)
Is it necessary to keep track of as many of the choices as I am so far?
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: KnowsNothing on April 12, 2011, 02:00:58 PM
I'm not sure, but I think I read that when you play through it again it will indicate in some way which options you have and haven't chosen. I just finished one play through (and got what I think is one of the worst endings...) but have yet to start the second.
Overall I didn't find the game nearly as gripping or atmospheric as others have. The tedious explanations and rambling side conversations really killed any sense of urgency in the game. The story is pretty interesting and my ending was certainly vague enough that I'll want to go through it again, but overall it didn't quite live up to the hype.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on April 12, 2011, 09:42:07 PM
Is it necessary to keep track of as many of the choices as I am so far?
No. On replays, choices you've made will be grayed out (although you'll still be able to pick them, if you wish).
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on April 13, 2011, 09:02:29 AM
Oh, good.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: ymeegod on April 16, 2011, 12:48:48 AM
Damn, finished the first time though and got the extremely bad ending :(. Now I'm on my second play though and stuck on a stupid puzzle in the Captin's quarters. Still loving it so far.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on April 22, 2011, 09:37:11 AM
Got all the 999 endings. I thought the true ending was quite cool and interesting, especially the whole dual-realities sequence toward the end, though it's odd that the final climactic puzzle is a fairly easy sudoku. I was also glad to see they addressed some of my lingering questions after the credits were finished, though the very final shot was really silly. But yeah, the reasoning behind making you play the game multiple times comes together pretty nicely at the end.
I will say that if you haven't yet gotten the true ending, then you effectively have not beaten the game yet. Playing through the story multiple times is an essential part of the narrative. I've seen some people complain that they shouldn't have to play a game more than once to see everything there is to see, but this game just doesn't work that way - do people complain that the movie Groundhog's Day is actually a single short film repeated a few dozen times? So, yeah - keep at it. (However, I used a guide to figure out the correct sequence for the true ending, and I have no shame about it.)
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on April 25, 2011, 09:30:39 PM
Got all the 999 endings. I thought the true ending was quite cool and interesting, especially the whole dual-realities sequence toward the end, though it's odd that the final climactic puzzle is a fairly easy sudoku. I was also glad to see they addressed some of my lingering questions after the credits were finished, though the very final shot was really silly. But yeah, the reasoning behind making you play the game multiple times comes together pretty nicely at the end.
My favorite part about that moment is how it subtly tells you that you've been playing as young Akane, and not Junpei, all the way until that last puzzle. It's such a simple thing, done without a hint of text, and it makes the player examine the past few hours in a different light.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Razorkid on April 27, 2011, 12:07:23 AM
The true ending really ties up the whole game's experience like no other game I've played like it.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Ymeegod on May 06, 2011, 03:07:28 PM
Well I ended up cheating and just watching the true ending? For some reason I had a glitch and COULDN'T get ending 4 which you need to get the true ending. I even followed the damn guide and nothing. Youtube had the whole true ending. Still great game though.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on May 07, 2011, 01:32:30 PM
That's really weird about the glitch. Have you seen any evidence of other people running into that?
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on May 09, 2011, 02:42:24 PM
Well I ended up cheating and just watching the true ending? For some reason I had a glitch and COULDN'T get ending 4 which you need to get the true ending. I even followed the damn guide and nothing. Youtube had the whole true ending. Still great game though.
That's strange. What ending did you end up getting instead?
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: JasonMaivia on May 25, 2011, 09:42:15 AM
I bought the game around launch (it took a week or so after the launch date for the game to arrive at a the Gamestop near me), got all of the endings, and thought it was pretty cool.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on August 24, 2011, 01:37:59 PM
So, apparently a sequel (spiritual or direct) is in the works for the 3DS+Vita.
Judging by the talking rabbit things are going to be a bit more fantastic this time around.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on August 24, 2011, 05:57:28 PM
Exciting!
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Shaymin on August 24, 2011, 06:58:22 PM
For anyone on the fence: The 8/24 Amazon Gold Box is 999 for $20.99 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=vg_nav_hp_dotd?ie=UTF8&docId=1000208101&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=0E8G8S3QQ3Z85R9H3307&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1314170362&pf_rd_i=468642)
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Oblivion on August 24, 2011, 07:02:01 PM
I can get it cheaper other places.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Shaymin on August 24, 2011, 07:32:31 PM
Do these places have websites that ship north of the 49th parallel without bending over for customs fees?
I'm looking at $49 for it after shipping otherwise... and I'm gonna be glad to pay it, by the sound of it.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 24, 2011, 07:55:56 PM
The websites don't determine custom fees, your country does. All the website does is decide if they will pay the costs for you.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Oblivion on August 24, 2011, 07:58:26 PM
For anyone on the fence: The 8/24 Amazon Gold Box is 999 for $20.99 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=vg_nav_hp_dotd?ie=UTF8&docId=1000208101&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=0E8G8S3QQ3Z85R9H3307&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1314170362&pf_rd_i=468642)
Crudly! I was waiting for something like that, and I missed it. It normally hovers around $30 on Amazon.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: rlse9 on December 26, 2011, 06:22:01 PM
I picked this up during Black Friday week when Amazon had it on sale. Just finished my second play through, the game lives up to its hype and then some, the story is great, the mood is amazing, and the puzzles are very well done. I could have done without some of the excessive description and violence at times but overall the game is amazing. I think I'm going to play through one more time without a guide then use a guide to get to the remaining endings.
For anyone who hasn't played this game yet, you need to, it's everything people say it is.
Are there any other games out there that are similar (branched story with multiple endings, heavy on the story, maybe with similar types of puzzles, not necessarily with a violent story) to 999? I've played Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright games and while I really enjoyed them, having a branching story where your decisions impacted the story instead of just following the story as it progressed was really interesting.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: gbuell on December 27, 2011, 11:49:26 AM
I think Hotel Dusk does have multiple endings that are affected by your decisions, but it's not nearly as extensive as 999 in that way. I can't think of any other games that do what 999 does, except possibly some old Infocom text adventures.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on December 28, 2011, 11:17:21 PM
Are there any other games out there that are similar (branched story with multiple endings, heavy on the story, maybe with similar types of puzzles, not necessarily with a violent story) to 999?
Heavy Rain, although I was not at all impressed with the final product. I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream is also an option if you're looking for a depressant.
Alpha Protocol is also an option if you're looking for a more action-oriented game. It's a flawed game, but I admire its willingness to let the player do a number on the story, to the point where there are at least two different possible final bosses, and I've heard it's possible for your choices to end with all but one major character dying at various points in the story.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: rlse9 on December 30, 2011, 08:37:01 PM
I didn't know there were multiple endings to Hotel Dusk, I managed to get "Game Over" a couple times for making the wrong choices a couple times but I thought the game only had one ending.
I just finished my third play through of 999. This time through the puzzles got a little bit irritating but the story has gotten more and more intriguing. I've gotten three endings, all different and all bad. Going to play through it one last time and get the true ending then I think I'll be done with this game. But it's been a blast to play through and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story gets tied together.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: rlse9 on January 02, 2012, 01:08:30 PM
I finished 999 a couple days ago, ending up doing two more play throughs since you need to get the safe ending before getting the true ending. I was surprised how long the ending of the game was, I figured it would take a while to tie everything together but they story just kept going and going. I was impressed by how almost everything in the story was all tied together so well at the end. I agree with what others said, if you haven't gotten the true ending you haven't finished the game, not even close. This game may have been my favorite experience on the DS, previously it was either Hotel Dusk or Elite Beat Agents but I think this tops it.
I was happy that they added a little more to the story after the credits, when the credits started I was disappointed by how they left the story unfinished but the post-credits story satisfied most of my questions. The one thing that still didn't completely make sense to me that they didn't really answer was why Lotus was there instead of her daughter who was in the first game. Everyone else being there was well tied in. I also completed missed that the woman along side the road at the very end was supposed to be Alice, I thought it was a young Lotus, which didn't quite make sense either. The scene with June and Junpei in front of the elevator where he thinks she's worried about being in the elevator alone with him was hilarious. I thought having the sudoku puzzle at the end was good, the last thing I wanted at that point was a puzzle I'd get stuck on. The only other complaint I had was once I got to the point that I used a guide I realized how few of your decisions actually affect what happens in the game, when you're playing it before using a guide the choices you make seem so much more important. But overall a brilliant game.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Razorkid on January 03, 2012, 12:35:57 AM
It's so so good. I really hope that developer makes another game like that for 3DS that is also released here in West. Audio Visual Novels are the best ;D
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: noname2200 on January 03, 2012, 01:19:09 PM
My personal favorite moment from that last puzzle is how the developers revealed, without a single word and in only a few seconds, how for the entire game up to that moment we've been playing as young June, and simply observing Junpei. It's a small thing, but the execution was so perfect that I can't help but admire how it was done.
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: Bill Aurion on January 03, 2012, 02:54:40 PM
It's so so good. I really hope that developer makes another game like that for 3DS that is also released here in West. Audio Visual Novels are the best ;D
(http://i.imgur.com/BRzbn.jpg)
And Aksys better localize it if they know what's good for them!
Title: Re: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Post by: rlse9 on January 04, 2012, 01:19:44 PM
That's an interesting looking group of characters. Hopefully 999 was successful enough for them to bring the sequel here.
