If you like puzzle and story games, you should get this game. I've played all of 999 and some of vlr and i think this is one of my favorite games of all time. The story is truly a masterpiece and should be more recognized.
In my 30+ years of playing games, 999 (the 1st half included in this game) is simply the best game I've ever played, none can match this. VLR (2nd half) has some minor plot holes, but vast majority of the game is still masterfully done. VLR's story might be weaker than 999, but the puzzles are simply the best.
Fun and entertaining games, but make sure to NEVER EVER play the third game "Zero Time Dilemma", it is extremely bad, so bad that it can ruin the memories and experience of these first two awesome games. Jut play Zero Escape: The Nonary Games and pretend the third game doesn't exist.
I tried Danganropa Reload before this, and was completely appalled by the lack of interactivity. It just seemed like I was hitting X to no good end. I was assured that the Nonary Games were better, and indeed they were. However there was still an awful lot of hitting X to be done.
So I played the game for a while and solved some of the puzzles. Every now and then there seemed to be a choice to be made, but it wasn't clear to me what I was trying to achieve by those choices. And then all of a sudden the game ended, badly. Whut?
So it seems that the choices were meaningful, and had I understood the consequences of them, I might have done better. However every other thing I had to do had been explained in such excruciating detail that I figured that these choices were of no great consequence.
Now, I could go back and make different choices and achieve a different ending. But that would involve a whole lot more tapping X to get through the really boring stuff I've already seen. Sure, I could do some different puzzles, but the puzzles really weren't very good. So I have no motivation to return to this game. In fact I think I'll avoid anime games altogether, I am not seeing the value in them at all.
SummaryTwo Nonary Games, two sets of nine unwilling participants kidnapped to an unfamiliar location. One set trapped on a sinking boat with nine hours to escape, the other locked in a facility and forced to either trust or betray each other. If they break the rules or fail to escape… they’ll die.