Jimmy Neutron lookin ass 3D models.
People say Zero Escape and Uchikoshi fell off on ZTD but nah, the cracks were already showing here.
Probably the ugliest looking VN out there. Even ignoring the downgrade in art style from the previous game the 3D models here make RWBY look like a pixar film, and the upscaled resolutions from the re-releases don't make it any better. I don't ask for much when it comes to the visuals on the visual novel department but if you're gonna put me through 20+ hour long reads the least I expect is for it to not look like shit.
Story wise it feels like a borderline parody of 999, guess people complained on how cryptic some of the puzzles were on the first game so they dumbed it down for the babbies who think Professor Layton's 3DS games are difficult. It does nothing that the first one already didn't do better in terms of character dynamics or themes, and you're basically playing a longer version of it with more branching paths that amount to the same endings with slight variations, route locks and unskippable transitions for when you are moving around on the map.
All of that timewasting of arguing semantics for a gotcha cliffhanger ending that shows the trilogy had no idea how to wrap itself up because it clearly didn't have enough material to be a trilogy. Part of me feels that the ending was omitted here because Uchikoshi didn't feel like writing one and hoped that he could wave it away by saying "Whoops, third game wasn't greenlit! Sorry, guess I don't have to explain shit!"
Lo and behold, the third game got greenlit, and we all know how that turned out. Some stones are better left unturned.
Probably the ugliest looking VN out there. Even ignoring the downgrade in art style from the previous game the 3D models here make RWBY look like a pixar film, and the upscaled resolutions from the re-releases don't make it any better. I don't ask for much when it comes to the visuals on the visual novel department but if you're gonna put me through 20+ hour long reads the least I expect is for it to not look like shit.
Story wise it feels like a borderline parody of 999, guess people complained on how cryptic some of the puzzles were on the first game so they dumbed it down for the babbies who think Professor Layton's 3DS games are difficult. It does nothing that the first one already didn't do better in terms of character dynamics or themes, and you're basically playing a longer version of it with more branching paths that amount to the same endings with slight variations, route locks and unskippable transitions for when you are moving around on the map.
All of that timewasting of arguing semantics for a gotcha cliffhanger ending that shows the trilogy had no idea how to wrap itself up because it clearly didn't have enough material to be a trilogy. Part of me feels that the ending was omitted here because Uchikoshi didn't feel like writing one and hoped that he could wave it away by saying "Whoops, third game wasn't greenlit! Sorry, guess I don't have to explain shit!"
Lo and behold, the third game got greenlit, and we all know how that turned out. Some stones are better left unturned.
not as good as 999 but still really good
y'know, i really liked this game. i had a good time playing through all the different routes, getting to the different endings, and even had a pretty good time with most of the puzzles. i can't really think of a better way to adapt the prisoners dilemma to a videogame form. all your choices really do feel like you're making significant decisions. the ultimate conclusion of the game was insane, but enjoyable. it does make sense, even if it took me a while to understand what the fuck was happening.
the 3D models in this one are 'fine' at best. early into playing, i found them to be incredibly distracting, and the closeup prerendered shots of the 3D characters interacting just look plain,,, bad, at least on the original 3DS version. the game environments are 3D, but honestly i think it woulda been way better if they had kept the same 2D art style that 999 had that makes its character designs feel so charming. there's little usage out of the advantages of having 3D character models, outside from extremely scarce fully animated 3D segments that are never more than a few seconds long. the style of the models just feels off and as if everyone's made of plastic, and lacking in a good visual style like other 3D VN characters, such as the 3DS installments of ace attorney.
the characters and voice acting were also mostly just,,, fine. overtime, i grew to like some of the characters at least some amount, but this cast isn't all that great compared to its predecessor. there's some nice moments of interactions, and i like the most important characters to the story, but some things really bother me. there's several jokes from our main character that are just blatant sexual harassment that feel incredibly out of character, like as if they were just put in the game as a joke, but i didn't find them funny and was instead just really uncomfortable every time they came up. the voice acting ranges from actively improving the experience, usually in more unique important moments, to feeling weirdly stilted and awkward. actually listening to the way some of these characters sound in the English voice acting made me feel like "whuh" sometimes.
overall, i think i definitely still liked 999 more. 999 felt like a much more emotional experience, especially with its conclusion, that makes it feel like a much more special story to me. i think this story is cool too, no doubt, but it doesn't carry that same charge that 999 did when it had me sobbing constantly in its final act. there's so much in this game conceptually and plotwise that it does feel a little bloated at times, and i wonder if some elements could have been removed to make the rest even stronger. i will definitely be thinking about this game and its concepts for the few weeks. excited to play ZTD even if it doesn't seem like it's anywhere near on the same level as 999 and VLR.
the 3D models in this one are 'fine' at best. early into playing, i found them to be incredibly distracting, and the closeup prerendered shots of the 3D characters interacting just look plain,,, bad, at least on the original 3DS version. the game environments are 3D, but honestly i think it woulda been way better if they had kept the same 2D art style that 999 had that makes its character designs feel so charming. there's little usage out of the advantages of having 3D character models, outside from extremely scarce fully animated 3D segments that are never more than a few seconds long. the style of the models just feels off and as if everyone's made of plastic, and lacking in a good visual style like other 3D VN characters, such as the 3DS installments of ace attorney.
the characters and voice acting were also mostly just,,, fine. overtime, i grew to like some of the characters at least some amount, but this cast isn't all that great compared to its predecessor. there's some nice moments of interactions, and i like the most important characters to the story, but some things really bother me. there's several jokes from our main character that are just blatant sexual harassment that feel incredibly out of character, like as if they were just put in the game as a joke, but i didn't find them funny and was instead just really uncomfortable every time they came up. the voice acting ranges from actively improving the experience, usually in more unique important moments, to feeling weirdly stilted and awkward. actually listening to the way some of these characters sound in the English voice acting made me feel like "whuh" sometimes.
overall, i think i definitely still liked 999 more. 999 felt like a much more emotional experience, especially with its conclusion, that makes it feel like a much more special story to me. i think this story is cool too, no doubt, but it doesn't carry that same charge that 999 did when it had me sobbing constantly in its final act. there's so much in this game conceptually and plotwise that it does feel a little bloated at times, and i wonder if some elements could have been removed to make the rest even stronger. i will definitely be thinking about this game and its concepts for the few weeks. excited to play ZTD even if it doesn't seem like it's anywhere near on the same level as 999 and VLR.
why does this game have a literal hour's worth of a dot moving on the map
Started on the 3DS but had to switch to the Vita version because I ran into the legendary game-breaking bug. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I didn't like this game nearly as much as its predecessor. It started off really strong, I liked the initial situation, the characters, the voice acting. I was also very impressed by the puzzle rooms. Unfortunately, the story became a bit too wild and nonsensical for me towards the end. In 999, I had the feeling that I could enjoy the story because it didn't get too stupid. There was a "supernatural" element there too, but I could accept that more than here. Unfortunately, this game got very, very stupid in the last third :D That's a shame, I had high expectations for the game because I liked the predecessor so much.
while the most interesting aspect of VLR is the fact that you can experience lots of different narratives and take information off of these narratives in order to progress in the story, the game falls victim of this mechanic. the stories drag on for too damn long, the characters feel really shallow till the last minute so you have that final "revelation". the game builds up so much tension and rises so many questions for So long that i got to the point where i kinda didnt care about anything anymore. i mean, i didn't bother doing the true ending bc i realized i was truly uninterested.
frustratingly bad and a huge downgrade in terms of writing comparing to its predecessor.
frustratingly bad and a huge downgrade in terms of writing comparing to its predecessor.
if two guys were on the moon and one killed the other with a rock would that be fucked up or what.
This review contains spoilers
So basically you spend 20-30 hrs playing a realllllllly slow, clunky, repetitive visual novel with a few inconsistent and frustrating puzzle rooms and then the last hour is like “oh shit here’s the actual story” and suddenly they info-dump an actual apocalypse on you, and right when it gets to the part that has the potential to be genuinely interesting the game ends on a cheap OR IS it?!???
I admit after playing the third game I appreciated this one more, but it’s my least favorite of the three on its own.
I admit after playing the third game I appreciated this one more, but it’s my least favorite of the three on its own.
I cried when Virtue said "This is my last reward!"
Truly the piece of fiction of all time
Truly the piece of fiction of all time
This really is "fuck it we ball" the video game
The closest thing to sex for Physics undergrads.
The pinnacle of narratives exclusives to video games, the story is so well executed, the escape rooms are fun to play, and the foreshadowing makes at least another replay valuable
I... am not sure how I feel about this one. It's not as good as 999, at least in my opinion, but I actually really enjoyed the story once the characters felt more fleshed out...? But, at the same time, I've heard ZTD is a companion game to this one, so I'll certainly give that one a shot once I'm finished thinking on it. I think the story did make sense but also my head is kind of sore from thinking and I feel like it was... a bit anticlimactic at some points. I liked the setups for the twists but everything pales in comparison to the masterpiece that is the first game. Who knows, maybe I only feel this lukewarm because it's expanding on a formula I've now had experience with. Dunno. Whatevs. Also, maybe it's just me but Clover felt a bit OOC in this one. It bothered me.
Has a few low parts (and a few too many map transition scenes...) but for the most part this has higher highs than its predecessor, even if it has lower lows. Luna is the best character ever and I love her - the whole cast of new characters is a treat, even if they butcher two of the returning ones. (IYKYK)
You see, this is the best VN ever. You need to play 999 first to understand but its worth it. I wont go into detail but it has the best story I ever saw in a videogame
This review contains spoilers
Radical-6 = Coronavirus
Las zonas de cuarentena = Plandemia
El plan de Dio = Agenda 2030
Los brazos de Sigma = Culpa de la vacuna de Pedro Sánchez
Brother = Pedro Sánchez
Las zonas de cuarentena = Plandemia
El plan de Dio = Agenda 2030
Los brazos de Sigma = Culpa de la vacuna de Pedro Sánchez
Brother = Pedro Sánchez
My main issue with the Zero Escape saga thus far is the personality of the characters: they don't have any. They live and die in a plot of intrigue where they serve only as cogs in the greater mystery.
This should not be a problem, as the games seem to be somewhat aware of the condition of those characters, so everything is directed towards conversations that seek to create enigmas, explain them (or try to) and play with ambiguities. That is, they don't so much seek to be emotional games (luckily, seeing the messy occasional attempts) as intelligent games, which is why they don't shy away from including escape rooms, puzzles and frequent scientific or philosophical references with explicitly cheeky quotes. But they are not smart games.
The deficiency in creating good riddles contained in the escape rooms is more severe, although more concealed, in the main plot. One expects the revelations to show the connections hidden under our noses all this time, but it isn’t like that, particularly in Virtue's Last Reward. Ideas simply succeed one another, none of them particularly imaginative, surprising or interesting on their own or in their cohesion and evidently discrepant when the biggest surprises are revealed, even trying to exemplify them by clarifying small forgettable enigmas without being able to avoid raising at least two major contradictions on the core plot in the process. As you understand more, you also wonder if all this is going to go anywhere. If the component of intrigue, of tension, of intelligence, of emotion, of surprise, if all this and more, has been lost, what is left?
The first installment ended with an ending that, although it came too late and too clumsy, at least achieved something, literalizing a scientific hypothesis into something convincing for its fiction. It made you want to see what more was there to say about it, what could be explored once this hypothesis had materialized, how far could it go.
In Virtue's Last Reward, it is made clear that there was nothing more to say. It tells what is already known and the little that is not, or was less obvious, such as to what extent future actions can have unexpected repercussions on this intricate temporal system, is again greatly reduced in comparison to everything else that gets in the way. Even its worsened structure is surprising. This one, at first appearance more accurate, stating when the story branches and when it reaches different places, loses completely in tension.
Some mystery was preserved in the first game when deciding which teams would go where and how they would be formed, even more so when, being a first entry, anything could still happen. There was no guarantee that a fortuitous decision could not lead to a bad end, and in fact that was often the case in the long run. The structure of Virtue's Last Reward clarifies that it's not so much about choosing as it is about exploring, yet it still feels distracted. The door decision system is both more confusing and more boring, but the final straw comes in the voting ramifications. Something that should be a total psychological confrontation is actually revealed very quickly as a simple formality, the weight that deciding one option or another may have, no matter how much it tries to insist on the supposed human burden carried, comes to nothing.
The last ace up the sleeve to justify the mediocrities that cannot stand their own weight is that the purpose of everything was to expand knowledge horizontally, hence the tree that branches more even if it was with less interesting motives and implications. However, from such an extensive tree of knowledge, ironically, once finished exploring, you come to learn nothing.
This should not be a problem, as the games seem to be somewhat aware of the condition of those characters, so everything is directed towards conversations that seek to create enigmas, explain them (or try to) and play with ambiguities. That is, they don't so much seek to be emotional games (luckily, seeing the messy occasional attempts) as intelligent games, which is why they don't shy away from including escape rooms, puzzles and frequent scientific or philosophical references with explicitly cheeky quotes. But they are not smart games.
The deficiency in creating good riddles contained in the escape rooms is more severe, although more concealed, in the main plot. One expects the revelations to show the connections hidden under our noses all this time, but it isn’t like that, particularly in Virtue's Last Reward. Ideas simply succeed one another, none of them particularly imaginative, surprising or interesting on their own or in their cohesion and evidently discrepant when the biggest surprises are revealed, even trying to exemplify them by clarifying small forgettable enigmas without being able to avoid raising at least two major contradictions on the core plot in the process. As you understand more, you also wonder if all this is going to go anywhere. If the component of intrigue, of tension, of intelligence, of emotion, of surprise, if all this and more, has been lost, what is left?
The first installment ended with an ending that, although it came too late and too clumsy, at least achieved something, literalizing a scientific hypothesis into something convincing for its fiction. It made you want to see what more was there to say about it, what could be explored once this hypothesis had materialized, how far could it go.
In Virtue's Last Reward, it is made clear that there was nothing more to say. It tells what is already known and the little that is not, or was less obvious, such as to what extent future actions can have unexpected repercussions on this intricate temporal system, is again greatly reduced in comparison to everything else that gets in the way. Even its worsened structure is surprising. This one, at first appearance more accurate, stating when the story branches and when it reaches different places, loses completely in tension.
Some mystery was preserved in the first game when deciding which teams would go where and how they would be formed, even more so when, being a first entry, anything could still happen. There was no guarantee that a fortuitous decision could not lead to a bad end, and in fact that was often the case in the long run. The structure of Virtue's Last Reward clarifies that it's not so much about choosing as it is about exploring, yet it still feels distracted. The door decision system is both more confusing and more boring, but the final straw comes in the voting ramifications. Something that should be a total psychological confrontation is actually revealed very quickly as a simple formality, the weight that deciding one option or another may have, no matter how much it tries to insist on the supposed human burden carried, comes to nothing.
The last ace up the sleeve to justify the mediocrities that cannot stand their own weight is that the purpose of everything was to expand knowledge horizontally, hence the tree that branches more even if it was with less interesting motives and implications. However, from such an extensive tree of knowledge, ironically, once finished exploring, you come to learn nothing.
This review contains spoilers
justice for Kyle
Why do people betray each other? It's all because of that darn cat.
Zero Escape: 999 was a game that truly astounded me with its quality, showcasing how a well-rounded and meticulously crafted game could excel. Now, Virtue's Last Reward continues to uphold this standard flawlessly.
This game, significantly larger in scale, occasionally borders on being overly bigger. Nevertheless, it rewards players with small pieces of information until, in the end, a complex and astonishing narrative unfolds.
The escape rooms have seen significant improvements, and the characters remain as charismatic as those in the first game, drawing you in effortlessly.
The story is the culmination of everything you've been yearning for, leaving you craving more. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward has once again proven itself as a must-experience game for fans of visual novels.
Zero Escape: 999 was a game that truly astounded me with its quality, showcasing how a well-rounded and meticulously crafted game could excel. Now, Virtue's Last Reward continues to uphold this standard flawlessly.
This game, significantly larger in scale, occasionally borders on being overly bigger. Nevertheless, it rewards players with small pieces of information until, in the end, a complex and astonishing narrative unfolds.
The escape rooms have seen significant improvements, and the characters remain as charismatic as those in the first game, drawing you in effortlessly.
The story is the culmination of everything you've been yearning for, leaving you craving more. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward has once again proven itself as a must-experience game for fans of visual novels.
Almost as good as the first game, the story had me constantly invested though I think the cast was slightly worse
"YOOOOOO"
"WASUUUUUUUP"
"SIGGYYYYYYYYY"
"PHIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
top tier dialogue
"WASUUUUUUUP"
"SIGGYYYYYYYYY"
"PHIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
top tier dialogue
While I enjoyed 999 better, this was still a phenomenal game. I loved most of the twists and characters. Dio is the funniest character in the series.
The adittion of the AB game allows for so many different endings and is exactly what zero escape needed to become one of the greatest games I've ever played
The first 18-ish hours of this game are very interesting if still flawed, the usual good old escape room gameplay mixed with a life or death game that forces people to make decisions... that's still good, a hint more contrived than 999 but that was inevitably going to happen unless they were going to do the exact same formula again, and the greater focus on the time-hopping was very enjoyable... It really did give a feeling of desperately scrambling around timelines to get out of this situation, while also building up to greater reveals, and that was the intention so good job!
Good job, but also that doesn't really matter, because after you do get out of those 18-ish hours, the game just stops being about that at all and instead turns into some wanky-ass bullshit about time travel- don't get me wrong it still makes sense (even though it bends over backwards to seem like it's not contrived as hell and ends up feeling all the more contrived for it), my issue is that it's just not what the story was about up until now- as long as there's some threat of death you could replace the AB Nonary Games with literally anything else and they'd still work. 999 had some contrivance but it actually had a successful emotional payoff to the story (not to mention its nonary game systems were core to the plot's workings), so I didn't mind, meanwhile this game has no payoff at all! I guess they ran out of budget but the last 3-ish hours of the game are all building up to the great conclusion that the game's been foreshadowing all along... and then it ends on a cliffhanger??? Apparently the conclusion's in the sequel but I just don't care, this sucks. VLR is a more than long enough game, there's no excuse for not at least making the cliffhanger satisfying in itself. Frankly there's no excuse for a cliffhanger at all but you take what you can get.
There's some big flaws to the game even disregarding the baffling final act: biggest one of them is the... "humor", if one is to be charitable enough to call it that. To put it bluntly, about half the time a female character is on screen, either Sigma will act perverted towards them, sometimes to the level of near sexual harassment, and even more bafflingly sometimes the female characters will just spontaneously act in weirdly provocative ways to try to manipulate the MC- we're in a death game, lady, I don't care about seeing you in a swimsuit! You could see this as an attempt at flirting from them but spoilers, it ain't. It's a shame cause I think the cast is pretty good otherwise, maybe on the level of 999's, but every time one of those """""jokes""""" came up on screen I wanted to bash my head against a wall. 999 had some too but there was usually a punchline to them beyond "hehe, tiddy", and they weren't so prominent. I genuinely cannot fathom a grown man writing this shit, it feels like the sort of jokes you make when you're 14 and just learned what sex is. No- actually, it feels like the writer think this is genuinely not just funny, but also kind of hot. You can tell some of this shit was written one-handed and it's so, so cringe. Otherwise, the game is very intriguing, though there's still some stuff that feels put there for the sake of a twist, and Dio's character is really dumb. Also I'm not sure Uchikoshi actually knows how quantum physics work, just sayin'. Again I like this game's writing most of the time, it's just that it usually hovers at a nice 6.5-7 with occasional 8s, and sometimes dips into a raw 2/10; obviously the latter is going to be more memorable.
Anyways, the escape rooms are noticeably worse- I wasn't really sure if it was just me being bad (I am very much not puzzle-minded at all) but it seems to be an issue others share so... yeah, I guess. They're alright still. Also this is more funny than anything but almost every time the characters move around the screen cuts to a dot on a map showing their movement, and that cuts out to a door opening animation every time they run into one, so there's just entire minutes of walking around inserted pretty often in the game- it's not really a problem, but it is kind of baffling that they didn't think to make it faster. It isn't ever relevant it's just... why.
I do think the game while always rough is overall enjoyable enough for the first 3/4, and then you hit the conclusion and it falls apart completely, which is pretty disappointing. I have an overall positive opinion of it because most of it is strong but it doesn't stick the landing at all which sabotages it pretty hard.
Good job, but also that doesn't really matter, because after you do get out of those 18-ish hours, the game just stops being about that at all and instead turns into some wanky-ass bullshit about time travel- don't get me wrong it still makes sense (even though it bends over backwards to seem like it's not contrived as hell and ends up feeling all the more contrived for it), my issue is that it's just not what the story was about up until now- as long as there's some threat of death you could replace the AB Nonary Games with literally anything else and they'd still work. 999 had some contrivance but it actually had a successful emotional payoff to the story (not to mention its nonary game systems were core to the plot's workings), so I didn't mind, meanwhile this game has no payoff at all! I guess they ran out of budget but the last 3-ish hours of the game are all building up to the great conclusion that the game's been foreshadowing all along... and then it ends on a cliffhanger??? Apparently the conclusion's in the sequel but I just don't care, this sucks. VLR is a more than long enough game, there's no excuse for not at least making the cliffhanger satisfying in itself. Frankly there's no excuse for a cliffhanger at all but you take what you can get.
There's some big flaws to the game even disregarding the baffling final act: biggest one of them is the... "humor", if one is to be charitable enough to call it that. To put it bluntly, about half the time a female character is on screen, either Sigma will act perverted towards them, sometimes to the level of near sexual harassment, and even more bafflingly sometimes the female characters will just spontaneously act in weirdly provocative ways to try to manipulate the MC- we're in a death game, lady, I don't care about seeing you in a swimsuit! You could see this as an attempt at flirting from them but spoilers, it ain't. It's a shame cause I think the cast is pretty good otherwise, maybe on the level of 999's, but every time one of those """""jokes""""" came up on screen I wanted to bash my head against a wall. 999 had some too but there was usually a punchline to them beyond "hehe, tiddy", and they weren't so prominent. I genuinely cannot fathom a grown man writing this shit, it feels like the sort of jokes you make when you're 14 and just learned what sex is. No- actually, it feels like the writer think this is genuinely not just funny, but also kind of hot. You can tell some of this shit was written one-handed and it's so, so cringe. Otherwise, the game is very intriguing, though there's still some stuff that feels put there for the sake of a twist, and Dio's character is really dumb. Also I'm not sure Uchikoshi actually knows how quantum physics work, just sayin'. Again I like this game's writing most of the time, it's just that it usually hovers at a nice 6.5-7 with occasional 8s, and sometimes dips into a raw 2/10; obviously the latter is going to be more memorable.
Anyways, the escape rooms are noticeably worse- I wasn't really sure if it was just me being bad (I am very much not puzzle-minded at all) but it seems to be an issue others share so... yeah, I guess. They're alright still. Also this is more funny than anything but almost every time the characters move around the screen cuts to a dot on a map showing their movement, and that cuts out to a door opening animation every time they run into one, so there's just entire minutes of walking around inserted pretty often in the game- it's not really a problem, but it is kind of baffling that they didn't think to make it faster. It isn't ever relevant it's just... why.
I do think the game while always rough is overall enjoyable enough for the first 3/4, and then you hit the conclusion and it falls apart completely, which is pretty disappointing. I have an overall positive opinion of it because most of it is strong but it doesn't stick the landing at all which sabotages it pretty hard.
THOUGHT PROVOKING VIDEO GAME, THIS SHIT WAS CRAZY IDKWHAT THIS BRO UCHIKOSHI WAS DOING WHEN MAKING THIS GAME BUT ITS SO FUCKING GOOD BRO THEY ULTILIZED TELLING THIS STORY THROUGH VIDEO GAMES PERFECTLY. thats all i can . play this game.
30 hour physics lecture. the stars are for phi
IMO a downgrade in the story, an upgrade in the characters from the previous game
sigma male
When I first played Virtue's Last Reward five years ago, I went in completely blind, and experienced something no other piece of fiction has been able to provide, before or since. Every moment I wasn't playing the game, I was thinking about it, trying to put together the puzzle with the pieces I had. Even when interrupted by my younger sister being attacked by a shark (long story, she's fine) I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was magical, and an experience I treasure (not the shark attack part).
I'll admit, though, I was a little worried replaying it might diminish the experience somewhat, knowing all the big twists and mysteries. But, thankfully, I still love and appreciate it just as much, if not more. I can understand why 999 is usually the more highly regarded and favored of the two, but the way this game expands on the concepts it establishes just really resonates with me. It's had a massive influence on how I write, analyze, and appreciate fiction, and probably several other parts of my personality. I love Virtue's Last Reward, and it's a big part of why I am who I am today.
I'll admit, though, I was a little worried replaying it might diminish the experience somewhat, knowing all the big twists and mysteries. But, thankfully, I still love and appreciate it just as much, if not more. I can understand why 999 is usually the more highly regarded and favored of the two, but the way this game expands on the concepts it establishes just really resonates with me. It's had a massive influence on how I write, analyze, and appreciate fiction, and probably several other parts of my personality. I love Virtue's Last Reward, and it's a big part of why I am who I am today.