Hey! This is just a quicky I did a while ago and wanted to put it up, think of it as an apology for my taking so long for not updating Accidental Journey...I swear I'll get one up soon for those who actually care.
Uhmm...this first chapter is like a review. I don;t know if that's okay with or not but whatever.
9 hours 9 person 9 doors (999).
It's a DS visual novel game. The basic of the story is this; [9 people] are kidnapped at midnight from there homes. [A man in a gas mask, wearing all black clothing] tells them in a distorted voice; 'Consider this a privilege. You have been chosen to play a game. The [Nonary Game]. It is a game...where you will put your life on the line. Let our game begin.' [Junpei, the main character] you play as, comes face-to-face with this [masked man]; meaning what? He's been [chosen to play the game]. After waking from a knock out gas the masked man, whose identity is only known as [Zero], must have used on Junpei to kidnap him, Junpei finds himself on a [ship with 8 other people] ranging in different ages, sexes, disabilities, connections, and personalities, all who have been chosen as well to play the Nonary game with Junpei. They realize they've only [9 hours] to find a door with a red painted —[9]— written on it, [before time runs out]. If they can get through the [9 door] while following all the rules in place (what game doesn't have rules that can't be broken?), they win. If they don't...they're sent to the bottom of the sea along with the ship...
Now being a visual novel game, you don't do a lot of actual action. You read, and read, and read. Once you're done that, you search a room looking for a way out by using the touch screen. You explore any room you can get into, be it a kitchen, a bedroom suite, a cargo bay, or even the captain's quarters. You don't get to walk all around the ship, making Junpei walk wherever you want him to go. You get choices at certain points, asking where you wish to go, depending on what you're doing. Although it is a bit of a bummer you don't do to much actual game play, the story and writing more then enough makes up for the lack of game play. You go where you need to when you need to and get out of rooms as fast as you can...well that's what it feels like for Junpei and his companions. Luckily for us, there isn't any actual time limit for anything to be done. Another lucky for us, is that any important word, name, number, or saying, is identified by the [square brackets around the subjects]. That was why I put them in the summary above, its part of the game. I'll also use them in the fic I've put in the next chapter, I'm hoping it'll give more depth to it.
If you don't want this terrific game spoiled AT ALL, please don't read any further because I will be talking about it and some of it's plot just within this review of sorts as well as the fic I've put in the next chapter. I've split the actual fic and this chapter apart because this is like a review I guess you could say... Still, both have EXTREME and mild spoilers; don't blame me now if you get the game ruined for you after you've read this warning. If you do, I'll laugh. Also, if you have an extremely weak stomach, please turn back. I've got some bloody descriptions here and I don't want anyone getting sick in my account.
9hours 9persons 9doors is an extremely gripping and heart tearing game; I've lost days of sleep just playing on it and crying over the story. Why? Because, as you may probably be able to tell, people die in this game. And it's not just your average death, like in ToS, where Dorr just falls to the ground and they say he's died; or in a movie where they just show the dying person slowly fading away, with a happy smile on their face in the arms of their love.
No.
No simple deaths, no heart warming ones. People die painful gruesome deaths.
Within the first ten minutes of game play, a man dies by exploding from a bomb inside of his body.
We don't see the explosion, nor do we see the destroyed body, nor do you see the look on the man's face as he realizes what is to become of him, or hear the screams that rip through his throat as he's about to explode.
Instead, you get to read about it.
It explains the disgusting smell of the blood and flesh on the walls, how his ribs are sticking out of what remains of his massacred body...every thing. This game really isn't for those with weak stomachs; for me, it was actually kind of hard reading it at times. I had to save the game wherever I may have been, turn off my DS and walk away for a few good hours to remind myself; IT'S JUST A GAME.
The way the characters interact with each other, with the situation they've been placed in and the time they have makes you sit at the edge of your seat, gripping the DS so tightly your knuckles are white and you're putting your DS in danger of snapping it to small bits.
Why is that? How can a game make you terrified to go to sleep with your back facing your bedroom door? How can it make you flinch at the sound of metal creaking...like a ship swaying in the water?
Well, simple really. You make decisions in this game. Which door to go through, which area to explore, which character to talk to, what Junpei, the main character, thinks and acts...
Also...within these decisions you can make mistakes.
You could be at fault for killing people.
Yes, yes, you're probably thinking 'This chic's gone off the deep end! You can't really kill these people in the game! It's just been programmed in... Get a life...' I agree, I have gone off the deep end; many times in fact. But the truth is this game seems so real, it feels like you're really there, like you are Junpei, living through this as him. The people you meet, that are trying to make it out alive with you, become real people.
It's like any other game you've played; you meet the characters, you become a fan of one and love them for who they are. You're shown their triumphs, their falls, their lives and who they are. You play as them through their adventure, sometimes feeling more like a tag-along rather then you actually being there with them.
That's where 999 takes it to the next level. Everything is explained. Everything. The sound of footsteps on the water flooded or blood covered floor, the clacking of keys on a keyboard, the ticking of a timer whispering to you the last few seconds of life you have... You read about how cold, and cruel a person's face looks while they hold another at gun point as they confess to killing numerous people you got to know within 9 hours...just so they can get off the boat alive, without being blamed for their past. You can see, from reading the story, the worry, confusion and terrifiedness on the faces of people as they look at a body, blood pouring from an axe wound on the body... You can feel the horrible bone shattering shivers that run up your spine as you find your way out...only to have it taken away with a mind blowing mind fuck.
This truly is an amazing game. Not only is it realistic, with all the character's thoughts and actions, but it's also placed in modern times...giving you more to connect with the characters. The few animations of doors opening and closing give it more realism, making you feel like you could reach out to the door as it slowly eats away the people waking through it. Although there is no Da Vinci artistic talent, the anime styled people in front of more life like backgrounds give it a nice look; and helps to remind you it's a game as well. And the music! Every track found within the game is perfectly fitted to the scene and situation you come across; headphones are an absolute mandatory item to play this game. The slow, tense and spine crawlingly creepy music and sounds you hear while you try to understand a knocking sound from a coffin will make you sleep deprived for days.
If you have the time, and you're at least 18, go to the closest EB games to you and get this game. And I'm serious; you have to be at least 18 to get this game. It's rated M for a reason; all the description done in the game is so horribly terrifying, it scares your god damned soul. It's so magnificently explained; one could expect as much from an Aksys game. If you aren't 18, maybe try to get a friend, parents, or older sibling to get it for you. That's what I did; I asked my brother for Christmas if he could get it. Luckily he was actually able to find it by taking an hour's drive to another cities EB games store to find it. He went through the last minute Christmas shopping hell to get this game for me and I couldn't tell him how much I'm grateful for him getting me this game if I tried. And I have, several times.
So, if you have a strong stomach, can stand reading for most the game instead of just playing when you need to escape a room, then get this game. You will not regret it.
Although, I guarantee you will be petrified of cruise ships for the rest of your life.
In the words of Zero...
Let our game begin.