Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward for Nintendo 3DS Reviews by Gamers

If you're interested in any games within these genres (Point-and-click, mystery, puzzle/logic, or visual novel) then this game will excel for you.
If you played games like 999 (the predecessor), Ace Attorney, Professor Layton, or Trace Memory you will be hugged by a new yet different look at playing these types of adventure games.
You're forced into playing a game that is like Saw but just a smig less gorey. You may frequently have to write down codes as there are few you may need. It is key to the game that you replay it to go down all the different paths. I beat the game in one and half weeks as I could not keep my hands off of it.
Graphics 10/10
Sound 10/10
Story 11/10
Controls 10/10

The sequel has been announced to come out this year to hurry a get this so you can enjoy the next installment.

This is a good game, an interesting story, good, if somewhat confusing at times puzzles, but my main purpose for this review is to warn about the PEC Room Glitch. If you enter the PEC room and you're playing on a 3ds, you may encounter a heart-breaking glitch, that cause the game to restart from the last save point. Especially if you haven't save for like an hour, like I did. Researching the glitch I found that there is also a glitch that affects your save file if you save in the PEC room, making it unusable. So, if you find yourself in a scenario where you're going to the PEC room (one scenario I was with Clover and the old guy, good idea to save before you pick a red, green or blue Chromatic Door) save during the novel sequence, not the puzzle sequence!

This game is pretty great, it seems like a fairly straightforward puzzle game at first glance but do not be fooled, it's a very deep and intellectual game with a complex storyline!

Story - 5/5 - Without spoiling anything, (which is really hard EVERYTHING is a spoiler to one ending or another) the story leaves you guessing "Who is Zero?" "Why are we here?", "Why are we playing the Nonary Game?", all the way up until the final "true" ending where everything is revealed. Some characters from the previous DS game 999, make reappearances though not always in expected forms. The text can get a bit heavy sometimes but it is ridiculously well written and executed.

Graphics -4/5- The character graphics and details around the room are very well done, all the rooms lead you to feel you are in a bunker of some kind and leave you wondering why these kinds of rooms are here in the first place. However I found myself tapping the same area several times to get some of the smaller items that you needed (though that would be more a hardware issue than a software one.)

Sound -5/5- The voice acting is very well done, very believable and does not shy away from cursing, this does have an M rating for a reason. The ambient music could have been better, or had more variety, but what was there got the message and feeling across and gave the player a general feeling of things like paranoia, nervousness, etc.

Gameplay - 5/5 - The puzzles on hard mode are complex, no hints are given unless you manually switch that room to easy mode, at which point your companions will walk you through it. Many of the answers/solutions aren't very straight forward which allows you to experiment a bit.

I would recommend that you play the first game 999 on the DS before this one, it will give you some insight into a few things however, -it is not necessary.-

A very top notch game all around, it exceeded my expectations and I recommend it to gamers who enjoy a good puzzle challenge and engaging

Though technically a sequel of the DS game, 999, Virtue's Last Reward stands on its own merits as an adventure/visual novel game.

The story is wonderfully dark sci-fi adventure, which puts you in the role of a character imprisoned in a factory filled with puzzles that you'll either have to solve or die trying. The depth of the characters and the way that the story's twists and turns lead up to a grand finale is just amazing. It stands on its own merits as a visual novel, let alone as a game.

As a game, though, there is more to the title than story. Large portions are made up of puzzle rooms, in which you and other characters must solve in order to open a chest with a cardkey. Puzzles often have you looking in all areas, going over every tiny hint. If you're on an easier mode, other characters may make additional comments or clarify an important aspect of the puzzle. This can be shut off by playing in a harder mode, but if you're new to adventure games it is probably a good place to start.

Aside from the physical puzzle rooms, there are booths that you'll enter and have to make a very important choice. You'll either choose to betray an friend who helped you escape the room, or you'll choose to ally with that friend. Your choice here determines both you and your opponent's fate.

Once a choice is made, you may end up revisiting old timelines and making knew choices. The game has so many specific bits of story that you'll end up travelling to the some of the same bits of time more than once. Essentially, the game becomes about moving back and forth in time in order to get the best possible or 'true' ending.

Playing over and over to find the 'true ending' is fun, and adds a lot of replay/value to this game. It isn't something you'll play for only a couple hours.

Overall, this game is a real gem due to it's fascinating story and characters. It stands on its own merits, but also adds a new perspective to the story line of its predecessor, 999. Just a gr

First of all, this game has one of the most unique gameplay styles I've ever experienced. It's setup as mostly an interactive movie with great storytelling and puzzles setup between the lengthy (but good) narrative pieces. Saying anything more will just open up to spoilers so I'll leave it at that, but be prepared for a very enjoyable time.

However there is one very game breaking flaw that forced me to return this game early. There is a room in this game that if saved in can potentially corrupt your save file. I looked it up when this happened to me and there still is no patch or fix to this so buyer/renter beware. The exact room in question is called the PEC room, do NOT save in this room. Other victims to this glitch report that saving in other rooms in this game have led to bugs as well so it is recommended that you only save at the end of story pieces or in the warehouse. Below is a semi spoiler that I would recommend reading just to better prepare you for the bug that crippled my gameplay experience and lost me 20 hours of time (of which I just don't have the heart to repeat therefore my early Gamefly return, I may rent or buy the game in the future but I just can't replay all that this early).

QUASI SPOILER: I recommend taking the story path to the PEC room first thing you do in this game to guarantee getting passed this glitch right away. That way you don't spend 20+ hours on the other story arcs as I did only to have it all ruined. The story arc to take is to ally with the character Tenmyouji both times leading you to the dreadful PEC room. Once again don't save in this room and hopefully you will be able to enjoy the game as it was intended.

this by far has to be the best game released for the new hand held system puzzels were challenging but fun and loved the the multple story lines and flow chart design saving you from having to start the gameover like most other multiple choice path choosing games characters i think can be relateable to any fanbase gamer and i liked the other videogame references all in all i would definatly recommend this game to all

I love puzzle games and this was hard. Not only are there puzzles in the game, but each choice you make determines a different outcome of the game. There is only 1 or 2 outcomes where you escape, so your choices really matter.Overall it is a good game.

HOWEVER!!!! This also has ALOT of little movies that you CAN NOT skip through. It may take 10-15 minutes to clear a puzzle, then there will be 10-15 minutes of you watching people talk. AND..... if/when you make the wrong choice and someone else escapes, it starts you from the begining and you have to watch them all over. I learned to save after everything I did.

(Note: review is based on the 3DS edition; game is also available on the PSVita...heck if I know why, though...)
What could have ended up being Chunsoft's swansong (before the merger with Spike) has become the small software company's Opus of Visual Novels(heretofore VN). Why is this so? This reviewer will hit on the 3 major points of this last must-have title for the 3DS of 2012.
First, as stated in the title, this game has improved in EVERY aspect over its predecessor, 999. This is especially evident when it comes to the games' endings.
Wait a Sec...

##DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT##
Sorry, but I cannot write a review on the awesome without mentioning endings. In 999, the game had 5 or 6 endings(depending on your point of view), 4 of them ending in your bloody, horrible death. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward(heretofore VLR) has over 10 endings, and more than 3 of them don't end in your bloody, horrible death. A marked improvement.

##End SPOILER ALERT##
2nd, the story itself has legs of its own to stand on. There is such a blend of old and new elements that you miss nothing by playing VLR 1st or by itself, but your experience is enhanced by previous exposure to 999. The inclusion of one old character, Clover, is such an immediate point of intrigue that I was invested in the story almost immediately.
Lastly, this is a little broad-based, but I feel it must be said. To all who view VNs as an unprofitable niche, super-boring text-heavy wastes of time, and/or games only for die-hard Otaku or Eroge/HG fans: that stops dead with VLR. The 3D capabilities of the 3DS are a revolutionary revelation on what the VN genre can be. If anyone involved in the production industry is reading this, here me NOW: the 3DS is the platform you have be waiting for to launch your small Visual Novel project.
In Conclusion, the GF rating system doesn't allow for 9.5 ratings, but based on its improvements, story, and simple math the 10 is well-earned. VLR is a must-try game for EVERY

A great game for fans of story driven puzzle games. Wait... Are there any of those? Exactly. It's awesome. And not meant for kids, due to swearing, murder, etc.