Jump to content

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 42: Line 42:
===Story===
===Story===
Sigma, the main character, is kidnapped and awakens in an elevator with a girl named Phi, who seems to know him. Zero III, a talking rabbit,<ref name="igngpd1">{{Cite web|url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/119/1191557p1.html|title=Good People Will Die in 999's Sequel|accessdate=2011-11-05|publisher=IGN Entertainment|year=2011|author=Thomas, Lucas|work=IGN}}</ref><ref name="ascomxq2">{{Cite web|url=http://andriasang.com/comxq2/|title=First Look: Team 999's New Vita/3DS Adventure|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Andriasang|year=2011|author=Gantayat, Anoop}}</ref> appears on a computer monitor in front of them and tells them they must escape the elevator; the pair find themselves in an abandoned [[warehouse]] alongside seven other people.<ref name="igngpd1"/><ref name="ascomxq2"/> Their goal is to escape the building. However, they find themselves enrolled in a game known as the Nonary Game: [[Ambidexterity|Ambidex]] Edition,<ref name="siliconeratitle">{{Cite web|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2011/11/02/extreme-escape-adventure-good-people-die-had-many-many-different-titles/|title=Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die Had Many, Many Different Titles|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Siliconera|year=2011|author=Hou, Laura}}</ref> which relies on a system called "Bracelet Points" ("BP"), which are won by cooperating with or betraying other players. A player is allowed to leave the warehouse if only they possess nine or more BP; however, if a player's BP reach zero, they are killed by a [[lethal injection]].<ref name="ascomyv4">{{Cite web|url=http://andriasang.com/comyv4/|title=999 Successor Dated|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Andriasang|year=2011|author=Gantayat, Anoop}}</ref>
Sigma, the main character, is kidnapped and awakens in an elevator with a girl named Phi, who seems to know him. Zero III, a talking rabbit,<ref name="igngpd1">{{Cite web|url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/119/1191557p1.html|title=Good People Will Die in 999's Sequel|accessdate=2011-11-05|publisher=IGN Entertainment|year=2011|author=Thomas, Lucas|work=IGN}}</ref><ref name="ascomxq2">{{Cite web|url=http://andriasang.com/comxq2/|title=First Look: Team 999's New Vita/3DS Adventure|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Andriasang|year=2011|author=Gantayat, Anoop}}</ref> appears on a computer monitor in front of them and tells them they must escape the elevator; the pair find themselves in an abandoned [[warehouse]] alongside seven other people.<ref name="igngpd1"/><ref name="ascomxq2"/> Their goal is to escape the building. However, they find themselves enrolled in a game known as the Nonary Game: [[Ambidexterity|Ambidex]] Edition,<ref name="siliconeratitle">{{Cite web|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2011/11/02/extreme-escape-adventure-good-people-die-had-many-many-different-titles/|title=Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die Had Many, Many Different Titles|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Siliconera|year=2011|author=Hou, Laura}}</ref> which relies on a system called "Bracelet Points" ("BP"), which are won by cooperating with or betraying other players. A player is allowed to leave the warehouse if only they possess nine or more BP; however, if a player's BP reach zero, they are killed by a [[lethal injection]].<ref name="ascomyv4">{{Cite web|url=http://andriasang.com/comyv4/|title=999 Successor Dated|accessdate=2011-11-04|publisher=Andriasang|year=2011|author=Gantayat, Anoop}}</ref>

===Ending Summary===
The multiple mind time travels happened in this Nonary Game because Sigma and Phi had to develop their mind time travel abilities according to Akane's plan. Akane and Dr. Klim, the older version of Sigma who also turned out to be controlling Zero III thus making him the real Zero, developed this Nonary Game to stop a future virus from spreading. The future virus originated from Mars. It was called Radical-6 and it caused the perception of time to be slower than an average human's which was great except it caused a strong desire of suicide that temporarily released human limits to fulfill the desire. This caused millions to die and a later radical solution happened and nuked the earth's environment killing billions from fallout. The few immune survivors of the virus finally developed a cure but it was already too late for the world.


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==

Revision as of 22:01, 13 January 2013

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Developer(s)Chunsoft
Director(s)Kotaro Uchikoshi
Artist(s)Kinu Nishimura
Writer(s)Kotaro Uchikoshi
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
PlayStation Vita
Genre(s)Adventure game, Visual Novel
Mode(s)Single-player

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, released in Japan as Kyokugen Dasshutsu Adventure: Zennin Shibou Desu (極限脱出ADV 善人シボウデス), and in Europe as Virtue's Last Reward, is a visual novel developed by Chunsoft. It is the sequel to the Nintendo DS title 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and is created by the same staff, including writer-director Kotaro Uchikoshi and character designer Kinu Nishimura.[4] The game contains full voice acting (English and Japanese in the North American version and only Japanese in the Japanese and European versions),[4] and is rendered in 3D models, rather than 2D sprites like its predecessor. Though the story is self-contained, it contains several references to 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.[5]

The title was officially confirmed for a late 2012 release by Aksys Games (which also published the North American version of its predecessor) in North America via Nintendo Power magazine's March 2012 issue. It was published in the PAL region in the original Japanese language, with English subtitles, in November 2012 by Rising Star Games.[3]

Plot

Characters

File:Good People Die Characters.png
The cast of characters in Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Pictured from left to right: Zero III, Luna, Quark, K, Tenmyouji, Phi, Sigma, Clover, Alice, Dio.

The game relies upon nine characters introduced at the start of the game. Each of the characters wears a watch-like device that identifies them, as well as keeps track of their score in the game.[6]

  • Sigma (シグマ, Shiguma)- An ordinary college student who has been abducted and thrown into the Nonary Game. Or is there more to it...? Sigma is a generally bright, honest young man, although he can be a little... inappropriate at times. He’s easily swayed by his emotions, which makes him a poor choice for a game about trust and betrayal. He serves as the game's protagonist. In the animated promotion movie, he is voiced by Kōsuke Toriumi in Japanese, and Troy Baker in English. He is unvoiced in the game itself.
  • Phi (ファイ, Fai) - Her cold intelligence comes across in her curt speech and no-nonsense attitude. Is she an ally? Or is she the enemy? She is voiced by Chiaki Omigawa in Japanese, and Karen Strassman in English.
  • Dio (ディオ, Dio) - A mysterious man with a singular sense of style. His comments are often insensitive or downright mean, although whether this comes from intentional malice or simple ignorance is unclear. [7] He is voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya in Japanese, and Liam O'Brien in English.
  • Tenmyouji (天明寺, Tenmyouji)- A stubborn, grumpy old man. He seems to have no patience and the least trust for anyone in the group. [7] He is voiced by Rokurō Naya in Japanese, and J. B. Blanc[citation needed] in English.
  • Quark (クォーク, Kwōku)- A sweet and cheerful boy. His childlike curiosity and boundless energy hide an exceptionally clever and analytical mind. [7] He is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in Japanese, and Erin Fitzgerald in English.
  • Luna (ルナ, Runa)- A kind and quietly intelligent young woman. She speaks softly, and always advocates for the most peaceful, optimistic solution.[7] She is voiced by Mamiko Noto in Japanese, and Laura Bailey in English.
  • Clover (四葉, Yotsuba) - A slightly unpredictable young woman. Apparently this isn’t her first Nonary Game. [7][8] She is voiced by Yukari Tamura in Japanese, and Wendee Lee in English.
  • Alice (アリス, Arisu) - An exotic, focused, powerful woman. The reason behind her dislike for shirts is unknown. Her body water is rumored to be Ice-nine.[9] She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese, and Tara Platt in English.
  • K (K, Kei) - A mysterious man in a suit of what appears to be armor. His face is hidden by a mask, and no one knows his name or his age-not even him. [7] He is voiced by Daisuke Ono, and Travis Willingham in English.
  • Zero III (ゼロ3世, Zero San Sei) is a CGI (Computer-generated imagery) rabbit that serves as the gamemaster and oversees the progression of the Nonary Game. An AI that gives penalties to those who go against the rules. It gets its instructions from "the true Zero", who appears to be one of the 9 players. It is voiced by Tarako in Japanese, and Cindy Robinson in English.

Story

Sigma, the main character, is kidnapped and awakens in an elevator with a girl named Phi, who seems to know him. Zero III, a talking rabbit,[6][10] appears on a computer monitor in front of them and tells them they must escape the elevator; the pair find themselves in an abandoned warehouse alongside seven other people.[6][10] Their goal is to escape the building. However, they find themselves enrolled in a game known as the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition,[5] which relies on a system called "Bracelet Points" ("BP"), which are won by cooperating with or betraying other players. A player is allowed to leave the warehouse if only they possess nine or more BP; however, if a player's BP reach zero, they are killed by a lethal injection.[1]

Gameplay

There are two main types of gameplay in Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. As a visual novel, the game primarily involves interacting with non-player characters and making choices that alter the outcome of the story. The player is given the additional responsibility of choosing whether to betray a character, or to cooperate with them.[7] If both characters choose to cooperate, they both gain BP. However, if one character betrays another, the character being betrayed loses points while the traitor gains a greater amount of points.[7] If both characters choose to betray, no points are gained or lost. (This is a slight variation of the prisoner's dilemma, a classic problem in game theory.) The plot and ending of the game will vary depending on whether the player chooses to betray or cooperate with other characters. The game offers a timeline function that allows the player to travel to select points in which he or she can make different choices and replay puzzle sequences, the timeline function is also integral to the story overall.

The game also contains various puzzles, in which the player interacts with the environment in order to escape from a room. Solving puzzles can drastically alter the environment of a room. If the player fails a puzzle too many times, the characters in the room with them will offer hints on how to complete it, eventually revealing the solution to the puzzle.[5] However, the game also introduces a slightly harder difficulty to the game in which during puzzles, the non-player characters will not give hints.

Development

Localization

Editing

In an interview, Ben Bateman, the editor for the game's English localization, described how the editing went. He got the text from the game in the form of Excel spreadsheets, with one column for the Japanese text, one with the translated text from Aksys's translators, one or two columns showing the name of the character who's saying that particular line, and one for the edited text Bateman wrote.[11]

When editing, Bateman would usually determine what was going on just by reading through a section of the text files, but he'd often just edit the text as he read through it, and then go back and tweak things when it became clear that they were connecting with things further down the page.[11] When he ran into something he couldn't figure out, such as Japanese cultural ideas or metaphors, Bateman would ask the translators - most of whom had completed the game - and they would clarify it for him, and give him the context of where that particular text appeared, what characters were on-screen at the moment, etc.[11]

When neither he nor the translators were able to figure out what to do with particular sections of the game's text, they would send an e-mail about it to the game's writer, Kotaro Uchikoshi, who according to Bateman was "super helpful and always got back to us really fast".[11]

When asked about what the hardest thing about editing Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward was, Bateman mentioned the lack of time, but there were also a few translation issues. Since Uchikoshi had written the game with the English language audience in mind, there weren't too many plot related translation problems, but a few jokes didn't translate well, or at all, and had to be changed for the localization.[11]

In addtion to that, there were two characters in the game who "talked like animals" in the Japanese version of the game: There's Zero III who adds "-usa" to the end of his sentences, which is the first half of "usagi" (the Japanese word for "rabbit"); and Sigma who adds "-nya" (the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound cats make) to the end of his sentences whenever he's talking about cats.[11] Bateman solved this by writing rabbit and cat themed puns.[11]

Voice casting, direction and recording

For voice casting, the studio sent the localization team a list of people they thought might fit the roles, along with short reels for each actor, and the producer chose one for each role.[11] Once the actors had been chosen, Bateman wrote the voice direction, which were short blurbs the voice actors saw next to the line they were supposed to say, so they'd know how to perform it.[11]

After that, the voices were recorded. The localization team's job there was to make sure the actors delivered their lines correctly and help the actors establish the tone and voice of their character.[11]

Reception

Publication Score
IGN 9.5 / 10[12]
1UP A-[13]
GameSpot 8.5 / 10[14]
Game Informer 8.75 / 10[15][16]
EGM 9.0 / 10[17]
gamrReview 9.0 / 10[18]
Famitsu 34/40 (9/8/9/8)
Awards
Publication Award Result
GameSpot Handheld Game of the Year Won[19]
RPGFan Best Graphic Adventure of 2012 Won[20]
RPGFan Best Story of 2012 Won[21]

Sequel

Kotaro Uchikoshi revealed in an interview with Nintendo Power that a sequel to Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is currently in development.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Gantayat, Anoop (2011). "999 Successor Dated". Andriasang. Retrieved 2011-11-04. Cite error: The named reference "ascomyv4" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Yip, Spencer (2012). "Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Escapes To North America This October". Siliconera. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
  3. ^ a b c d http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183044
  4. ^ a b Gantayat, Anoop (2011). "ChunSoft Developing 999's sequel for Playstation Vita and 3DS". Andriasang. Retrieved 2011-11-04. Cite error: The named reference "ascomxp7" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Hou, Laura (2011). "Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die Had Many, Many Different Titles". Siliconera. Retrieved 2011-11-04. Cite error: The named reference "siliconeratitle" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Thomas, Lucas (2011). "Good People Will Die in 999's Sequel". IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-11-05. Cite error: The named reference "igngpd1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Yip, Spencer (2011). "How The "Game" In Extreme Escape Adventure Works". Siliconera. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  8. ^ Yip, Spencer (2011). "Extreme Escape Adventure, The Cliffs Notes Explanation". Siliconera. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  9. ^ "Characters: Alice" (Japanese). Chunsoft. 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  10. ^ a b Gantayat, Anoop (2011). "First Look: Team 999's New Vita/3DS Adventure". Andriasang. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bateman, Ben. "Interview 3: Zero In". Aksys Games. pp. 1–8. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  12. ^ http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/24/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward-review
  13. ^ http://www.1up.com/reviews/zero-escape-review-vita-3ds
  14. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward/reviews/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward-review-6398932/
  15. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/zero_escape_virtues_last_reward/b/3ds/default.aspx
  16. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/zero_escape_virtues_last_reward/b/playstation_vita/default.aspx
  17. ^ http://www.egmnow.com/articles/reviews/egm-review-zero-escape-virtues-last-reward/
  18. ^ http://www.gamrreview.com/review/89419/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward-psv
  19. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward/videos/handheld-game-of-the-year-the-winner-6401621/
  20. ^ http://www.rpgfan.com/features/go2012/story.html
  21. ^ http://www.rpgfan.com/features/go2012/story.html
  22. ^ Hoffman, Chris (2012). "Betrayal is a Virtue". Nintendo Power (282). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Zero_Escape:_Virtue%27s_Last_Reward&oldid=532925361"