Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

Smart without being overbearing, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games continues to set the bar for its genre.

For newcomers, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is an essential purchase. You've got two excellent games that tell a wild and wonderful story that will stay with you for a very long time, and combine that with the engaging puzzles and you've got a recipe for a quality experience. For returning fans, it's a tougher sell: your purchase mostly balances on the enhancements of the PS4 edition, in which case we can only confidently recommend the package if you're looking to do a play though of the improved Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.

The Nonary Games contains two of the best-known escape room games (except for perhaps Crimson Room) together in a timeless package. The updates to 999 make it the most definitive version to date, although Virtue's Last Reward feels just the same as it did the first time around.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is as close to the perfect package as is currently available for folks looking to jump into the Zero Escape world.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games attempts to reintroduce the first two games in the Zero Escape series, and proves that their puzzles and stories have withstood the test of time.

As you might expect, the idea of jumping one’s consciousness through time and reliving events with different possible outcomes does get a little convoluted by the end of proceedings — but it does make consistent internal sense according to the logic established by the story. It also sets up the next game, Zero Time Dilemma, very nicely indeed — though interestingly at the time Virtue’s Last Reward was originally released, a third and final installment in the Zero Escape series looked like it might not happen.

The Nonary Games is a compilation of two magnificent games.

There's a lot to like about Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Both games offer well-done plots with unique characters, and the escape room based gameplay is both difficult and enjoyable. At times, the pacing does drag out certain moments a bit too long, leading to lots of furious tapping of the X button to speed up dialogue as quick as possible, yet it's hard to want to skim over anything since crucial information might be missed. Still, this compilation is a great way for folks to catch up on what is arguably one of handheld's hidden gems.

Even though the presentation didn’t get the upgrade it needed, there are options to make it much more appealing to the player. Enjoy some of the most satisfying stories in the Visual Novel genre.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games stands as the definitive way to experience two of the best (and criminally underrated) visual novels to date. If you have yet to check out Uchikoshi's brilliant series, now is the time to do so.