after reading this
I immediately ordered it… I am always in for a new experience… and it is ChunSoft (Shiren), come on… they are the good guys.
anyone with impressions so far?
My pre-order is backordered with the supplier at Axelmusic at the moment, sadly.
Really looking forward to it to after having read that review earlier today.
There is a “demo” on the official site though: http://www.aksysgames.com/999/agegate
This game is hard! I was stuck in the first puzzle (room) for almost an hour. Then I had to go to game FAQs… I like the game so far, but it feels a bit like pixel-hunting…
Played the demo.
Ordered.
Thanks.
My Axelmusic order was shipped on the 20th of November and still hasn’t reached me. This is starting to get really annoying.
I usually don’t like story in games (or cutscenes), except 999 has a really interesting story. Actually, 999 is more a graphic novel than a game, but still great. If you liked Phoenix Wright (as I did), then you will like this. I fear the escape rooms, since I had trouble with the 1st room… I have a problem to be more specific on the story, since it might spoil it for you.
That’s only making me more excited! I really liked the Phoenix Wright games and the recent Edgeworth game.
Some guy on this board wrote how Cladun has a great story. After an hour playing Cladun, I did not care about the story any more. 999 is different. I play the game to get to read the story, it is that good. I dig the story more than the gameplay right now. … This is somewhat similar to Phoenix Wright, where I liked the humor more than the trial/error gameplay. So far the puzzles in 999 are solid… not bad at all. Can’t put it down…
Finished my 1st playthrough with a very, very bad ending. WTF, that can’t be it … apparently there are 6 endings (not a spoiler)… I am going to start a new game+ … It is almost a roguelike approach to adventure games. My fear is that replaying solved puzzles to get to the decission points might be a chore. Replaying parts in a typical roguelike is usually interesting and rewarding, but replaying puzzles? hm…
I had a great time with my first playthrough and the puzzles were well designed… I think I played 30-40% of the whole game.
So for those that bought this how is it? I’ve been eying it but I’m still going through my backlog right now. Is it becoming hard to find? As Amazon ran out of it I think a few days ago and just got more in stock.
One question is the adventure aspect like Hotel Dusk? As I couldn’t get into that game.
This is one of the best games I played last year. Granted, it’s probably as much a book as it is a game, but it’s great.
The adventure/gameplay elements are more specific than Hotel Dusk, you know when you are “adventure gaming”. I didn’t find the puzzles that tough as long as you examine everything.
The story is awesome. And “replaying the game” is actually integrated into the story. I can’t say more than that without spoiling. Replaying isn’t that bad cause you can zoom past through the story sections and if you happen to have to redo a puzzle section, it won’t take that long. The conclusion is almost entirely satisfying which is hard to say for most games.
Definitely worth checking out if you want something different.
Finally found a copy and spent 2 hours on the first puzzle. I half figured it out and guess the remaining part of it but I still don’t know how the puzzle was supposed to be solved.
Does anyone know how you were supposed to figure out the first set of puzzles?
spoiler warning:
I’m referring to the blue and red briefcases.
Find the two slips of paper with the blue and red codes, and use the colored arrow along the bottom to match up half of one paper with half from the other paper. Then refer to the code guide on the back of the picture you find (near the mirror?) to convert the shapes into numbers to enter into the briefcases, blue and red.
I loved the game and played through it twice, meaning I got 2 bad endings. Now I have the problem that the unexplored branching paths are getting too deep into the game. They should not force you to replay puzzles… Like I already played the first puzzle 3 times, next I would have to replay the casino puzzle again… eh, enough… also there is the danger that you get the same bad ending from a different path, so all work would be for nothing… I am looking now for youtube walkthroughs … I would have liked to have a puzzle select screen so that you could continue playing at any place in the story… anyway, good game with a great story…
I agree, great game.
I got three bad endings until I got the right one. I downloaded the flowchart of the story (spoiler! http://www.gamefaqs.com/ds/961351-nine-hours-nine-persons-nine-doors/faqs/61438) just to make sure I got the right ending the fourth time.
The puzzles only take a couple of minutes or so once you know them, and somhow replaying them kept me remembering the story. Had I had the option to bypass them I surely would have, but I think some of the feeling of the game would have been lost.
Yeah, what was up with that?
(It was on Fidgit I believe).
On topic: Maybe I have to take a second look at this game. I dismissed it before because I didn’t like Phoenix Wright. But if it is like with ClaDun…
Tom Chick was the guy…
I really enjoyed this one. I played through three different endings, the last being the good one. I would have enjoyed this strictly as a visual novel a la Time Hollow, but I thought the puzzles were enjoyable. While I could see where replaying the puzzles might turn some off, it should be mentioned that replaying areas you’ve been through goes rather fast because you can speed through the text so quickly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered.
Yeah I got stuck in the first room too. It’s easy to think you have everything you need and stop looking around the room. Once you have everything, it’s trivial.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t compare it to Phoenix Wright, except that it’s an adventure game. It’s REALLY text heavy. The tone is much darker than the PW series. There’s also far more in the way of puzzles than PW. One potential downside is that while the game has multiple branching points, it is extremely linear on a given path, meaning if you get stuck on a puzzle you won’t be able to proceed. Most of the puzzles aren’t difficult, though. The hardest part can simply be finding things in the rooms (as mentioned above).