Some Thoughts About 'Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (which I'll refer to as 999 from this point) is a puzzle game which alternates between visual novel sections and escape room segments. It's famous for its inventive puzzles, complex story and branching narrative based on your choices. I have a history with this game - when it came out in 2010 (amusingly, 9 years ago) a few critical plot details were spoiled for me. That, combined with my lack of confidence in my ability to solve the escape rooms, dissuaded me from playing the game for a long time. Just a few days ago I saw the game's PC rerelease was on sale, and decided it was finally time for me to try it.

Find a Way Out (Gameplay)

The main 'gameplay' in 999 is in the escape rooms. You're given a quick overview of all the rooms and angles, and a simple objective: Find a way out. The way it controls is no different from what you'd expect in a point & click adventure. You click on objects in the environment to interact with them, either to examine them, pick them up or use an item on them. You can also combine items you've picked up to potentially create new items. The game does take advantage of the fact that the items are in 3D; papers will often have hidden messages on the back that you can only find by rotating them, and holding items at a certain angle may help you figure things out.

The item menu is clearly designed to be simple, so the items are big and central. This is usually fine, but scrolling through or finding the right combination can be a little tedious if you're carrying a lot of items. This usually won't happen if you're solving a room in the right order, but it can happen.

In escape rooms, you're stuck with a few predetermined angles that you can move between. This is a bit restrictive, but it ensures that wherever you look, there will be something of interest.

If I had one point of criticism that isn't just a minor quality of life improvement, it's the inconsistencies with which information is stored. You have an item menu for items, but there is also a 'file' menu where important papers are stored. Some papers end up under items, some under 'file' which is a bit harder to reach. This would be easy to fix by combining the item and file menus and simply allowing for more text to be displayed on the item menu.

Beyond that minor gripe, I had a great time solving all the rooms and it was always a good feeling when you slowly see the exit open as soft music begins to play and you're greeted with a simple, clear message:

From Two Screens to One (Presentation)

I played the PC version of 999, which is a remake of the DS version. There are clear improvements - all characters have larger resolution portraits and animations, the music has been redone and the visual novel sections have been provided with full voice acting - and you can pick the original Japanese version or the English translation, whatever suits you. This is a very significant improvement and makes the remake worth looking into even for people who played the DS original.

The characters and unique illustrations for important situations look great, but the escape rooms - which seem like they're changed the least from their DS versions - are very simple and varied in quality. In the picture above, you'll have noticed that they had to tack the word 'cheese' onto those yellow blocks to get across what it is. There are also many items that really could've used some more polygons and better textures, but in the end, it gets the job done - and the characters are still the main attraction. Each one is very distinctive.

As I mentioned earlier, the soundtrack has also been redone. It's very effective at what it does and the tracks lend a lot of tension to the rooms. Most of the tracks aren't exactly the kind I would listen to for fun, but there are a few standout tracks I really did enjoy. Here's an example:

Branches (Story)

999's story is worth the price of entry all by itself and I don't want to spoil it, so I'll keep this short and just list a few general selling points to convince you to try it:

- 999 has an intense, high stakes story. As its name implies, 9 people are put together in a deadly situation and forced to play a sadistic game known only as the Nonary Game. In this game, they players have only 9 hours to escape with their lives. Who do you trust? Who do you group up with?

- The cast of characters is distinct and well written. You'll undoubtedly take a shine to a few of the characters and start to dislike certain others; they're all very unique and it's a treat to see how they respond to each other and the various situations they end up in.

- 999 has a branching narrative and multiple endings. The real fun is in seeing all the different ways things can go and the game has a few useful functions to help you out with that. From the start, you have access to a flowchart that shows you exactly where the story branches and where critical decisions happen. You can jump to any part of the flowchart at any time, no strings attached, so if you regret your decision or want to try a different combination of choices, you're welcome to do so.

Conclusion

999 is a puzzle game with sharp writing, amazing characters and a branching narrative - not to mention vibrant animated portraits for the characters and heart pounding music tracks from start to finish. The game's escape rooms will challenge your puzzle solving skills, though they do lack some conveniences and aren't visually appealing. If you love story and puzzles, get this game. If you're only into story or only into puzzles, consider getting it on sale. It's bundled with its sequel that I am currently playing and will share my extended thoughts on in the future. Check it out here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/477740/Zero_Escape_The_Nonary_Games/