Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Hello guys, Kuromi here. It's been a while, but I can't help it since I got college classes' works and assignments piling up. However, it doesn't mean that I'll abandon this little blog of mine. So today, I'll be bringing you guys a review of one of the most recent game, Zero Time Dilemma. I decided to write one since I've finally got the true ending.
Zero Time Dilemma is the third installment of the Zero Escape series. It is the sequel to 9 Hours 9 Person 9 Doors (999), the first game and prequel to Virtue's Last Reward (VLR), the second game. Directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, the game demonstrates a great story which pars with the previous couple of games. It was released on 30th June, 2016, and I grabbed a copy a couple of days later for the PC version. That's right, PC players, you can play this game on Windows. Besides PC, it was also released for Nintendo 3DS and Sony PSVita.
But enough with the info, time for the review!
Now before we begin, let me just give you guys a heads up. I haven't played Virtue's Last Reward, the second game. At least, I've played a little bit (managed to hassle a buddy of mine) but not much. Blame me for not getting a 3DS *cries*. However, I still can get the gist of things going on here.
They brought characters from previous games like Akane, Junpei, Sigma and Phi. New characters introduced includes a firefighter named Carlos, an ice-cream man named Eric and his girlfriend, Mira. Also not to forgot, a mysterious boy with a spherical helmet called Q and a young pacifist nurse named Diana.
Story
The characters were trapped in a place like a bomb shelter where they are forced to play the Decision Game while seperated into teams, where their lives are literally on the line. They could only escape once there are six or more people died, or so they thought. Like previous games, the game's lore relies heavily on multiple universe theory, where each decision will branch off to a different outcome and another decision will lead to another outcome. In this game, most of the characters can finally use their power to shift between these timelines at will as long as the conditions are met. So by using their abilities, they try to uncover the mysteries lurking around them, the truth behind the Decision Game and make their way out of the shelter with all of them being alive.
The plot might looked like they had lot of holes, but once the story progresses, especially after shifting between timelines several times, things finally made a lot of sense. Especially with things going with team Q. The only twist was near the end of the true end. A character which never had any appearance before suddenly appeared. What's up with that!
However, the only downfall was the epilogue. It doesn't show much of what happens after the events with the true end. There are texts documents in the 'Files' section after the credit roll. But it's not really satisfying. Besides, this game's supposed to cover all holes that's left hanging from the two previous games.
Graphics and Gameplay
The way they used cinematics for narrations is a new thing considering the previous games which used visual novel approach. Nevertheless, it's pretty nice. Surprisingly, this actually boost the popularity and sale in the West. Perhaps it is because it is similar style of narration in Western games such as The Walking Dead. Contrast to their previous works, Spike Chunsoft, the developer of the game, got a bit lazy on the animation department. However, the graphics were a lot better than the others. Perhaps it is to meet standards of the previous games.
Unlike previous Zero Escape games, Zero Time Dilemma uses 'fragments' to proceed with the game's storyline. In other words, it's not linear. True, they do have a menu screen for viewing the timeline flowchart, but to access the next fragment from wherever you currently present were hard to spot on since in the end, you just had to play all fragments and meet all ends to continue the game. Including game over ends.
The puzzles and escape from room gameplay is still the same as previous games. The puzzles were well thought and challenging. I have to admit, there are some puzzles that really had me hours to solve. (Damn you, laser puzzle!). Especially the puzzles leading to the true end. It felt like a masochist fest as a puzzle enthusiast myself. There are also situations where you need to memorize passwords or answers from different timelines. So this is a good test to see whether you had a good memory or you're going senile. Joking, joking. And of course, the Decision Game. The key of the game where you are given two or more choices, and the outcomes will differ depending on your choice. Sometimes it's as simple as picking the 'correct' answer. But most of the time it's all about your personal moral views and ideology. Which really make things quite interesting, and sometimes pretty personal. (Trigger alert).
Music and Sounds
I'm really hyped when they used soundtracks from previous games during certain scenes or escape phase. You could expect for 999's soundtrack during scenes with Akane and Junpei, while you could hear soundtracks from Virtue's Last Reward during Sigma and Phi's scene. But with improvements and new variations of them, which is really cool and refreshing. As a veteran player, I just can't keep my hype down.
Of course, there are Zero Time Dilemma exclusive tracks as well. Which are on par with those comeback soundtracks. If not, better. The sounds made you feel immersive so much that you can feel the tension with the characters in the game. Especially with a pair of nice headphones, my heart races on EVERY tense situation.
Regarding the voice acting, I have to say I prefer the Japanese voice acting more than the English voice acting. The English voice acting is great as well, but personally, the Japanese voice acting felt more... alive, and real. But I have to say, the English voice acting for this game doesn't dissapoint me much. I can feel the emotions with it, too. Unlike other localized games, where the voice acting for English was literally sounded as they simply read the script. (Roxas, why oh why...)
Final summation
So I got all the endings, including the true end and peeked on almost everything I could with the game. Again, the end was not very satisfying, at least not to me personally. But the plot was amazing and well thought nonetheless. Twists were placed well, too. Graphic-wise, just look at Virtue's Last Reward and you'll get the idea. I'm especially hyped the most by the soundtrack. Hearing a new mixed version of previous games' soundtrack, it was blissful. *Eargasm overload*.
If I have to give a scale for them, it would be a little like this:
Story: 7/10
Graphic: 9/10 (PC)
Sound: 9/10
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm still replaying this game. I would really recommend for those who never played the Zero Escape series to play from the first game before playing this one because there'll be a LOT of references from the previous games.
Until next time, thanks for reading. As always, keep on reading.
The plot might looked like they had lot of holes, but once the story progresses, especially after shifting between timelines several times, things finally made a lot of sense. Especially with things going with team Q. The only twist was near the end of the true end. A character which never had any appearance before suddenly appeared. What's up with that!
However, the only downfall was the epilogue. It doesn't show much of what happens after the events with the true end. There are texts documents in the 'Files' section after the credit roll. But it's not really satisfying. Besides, this game's supposed to cover all holes that's left hanging from the two previous games.
Graphics and Gameplay
The way they used cinematics for narrations is a new thing considering the previous games which used visual novel approach. Nevertheless, it's pretty nice. Surprisingly, this actually boost the popularity and sale in the West. Perhaps it is because it is similar style of narration in Western games such as The Walking Dead. Contrast to their previous works, Spike Chunsoft, the developer of the game, got a bit lazy on the animation department. However, the graphics were a lot better than the others. Perhaps it is to meet standards of the previous games.
Unlike previous Zero Escape games, Zero Time Dilemma uses 'fragments' to proceed with the game's storyline. In other words, it's not linear. True, they do have a menu screen for viewing the timeline flowchart, but to access the next fragment from wherever you currently present were hard to spot on since in the end, you just had to play all fragments and meet all ends to continue the game. Including game over ends.
 |
| Fragment screen |
Music and Sounds
I'm really hyped when they used soundtracks from previous games during certain scenes or escape phase. You could expect for 999's soundtrack during scenes with Akane and Junpei, while you could hear soundtracks from Virtue's Last Reward during Sigma and Phi's scene. But with improvements and new variations of them, which is really cool and refreshing. As a veteran player, I just can't keep my hype down.
Of course, there are Zero Time Dilemma exclusive tracks as well. Which are on par with those comeback soundtracks. If not, better. The sounds made you feel immersive so much that you can feel the tension with the characters in the game. Especially with a pair of nice headphones, my heart races on EVERY tense situation.
Regarding the voice acting, I have to say I prefer the Japanese voice acting more than the English voice acting. The English voice acting is great as well, but personally, the Japanese voice acting felt more... alive, and real. But I have to say, the English voice acting for this game doesn't dissapoint me much. I can feel the emotions with it, too. Unlike other localized games, where the voice acting for English was literally sounded as they simply read the script. (Roxas, why oh why...)
Final summation
So I got all the endings, including the true end and peeked on almost everything I could with the game. Again, the end was not very satisfying, at least not to me personally. But the plot was amazing and well thought nonetheless. Twists were placed well, too. Graphic-wise, just look at Virtue's Last Reward and you'll get the idea. I'm especially hyped the most by the soundtrack. Hearing a new mixed version of previous games' soundtrack, it was blissful. *Eargasm overload*.
If I have to give a scale for them, it would be a little like this:
Story: 7/10
Graphic: 9/10 (PC)
Sound: 9/10
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm still replaying this game. I would really recommend for those who never played the Zero Escape series to play from the first game before playing this one because there'll be a LOT of references from the previous games.
Until next time, thanks for reading. As always, keep on reading.
