Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward Review

A few years ago, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors was released for the Nintendo DS which impressed both critics and gamers alike. This is especially impressive considering how poorly visual novels do outside of Japan. Taking place after the events of the first game, Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward starts another nonary game, but can it live up to the first one or will it lack the same charm the original had?

Lets look at what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward. 

HOT

Genuinely Interesting Story
After a brief introduction, you will awake in a mysterious elevator with an equally mysterious girl named Phi. For a later explained reason she knows your name, but the two of you have apparently never met. Before you can really explore this in length, a mysterious rabbit named Zero explains the situation you’re on. You quickly learn that you need to escape the elevator or fall to a certain death. This is where the game gets interesting.

After escaping the elevator, you will run into a bunch of people and learn that the 9 of you are part of a new Nonary Game dubbed, Nonary Game Ambidex Edition. From here, the story is in your hands and based off your choices different outcomes will happen. Some will bring you closer to freedom, while others will result in your death, but they all serve a purpose. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I won’t spoil that for you, though I can tell you that they get into some really bizarre sci-fi situations.

Can Freely Select Unlocked Events
How many times have you saved before the end or had to run through the game again for a different ending? I certainly did that a lot with Catherine, but you won’t have that problem with Zero Escape. You see, when you bring up the in game menu, you will see something called Flow. As the name suggests, Flow is a simple flow chart, which tells you what path you’re on and how long it will be. However, it also allows you to select events you’ve already done and replay them. In most cases, if there was some sort of option, you will instantly start at the choice, though you’re also able to skip till that point if required (only works in replayed stages). Once you get to whatever the choice is, simply do the opposite of what you did before and you will start going down a different stories path.

English or Japanese Voices
For those interested in playing the game in Japanese, you’ll be delighted to know that you can select either English or Japanese for the voice acting. This option will come up any time you load your save, so if you happen to forget or want to change it on the fly, you’ll be covered.