999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - The Pinnacle of Immersive Storytelling

Just finished the game today and I went into thinking I wouldn't enjoy that much or at the end of the day it would just be another game. To give content I haven't been gaming for long but the few games I've finished I've liked but I had yet to truly enjoy any of them.

It was different with this one and it took a little bit but before i knew it I was sucked into the story. I played it for 3 days ( or maybe 4 ) consistently because I was determined to get all six endings.

I got the knife one first and then the axe one day, leaving me with this feeling of an incomplete story and I just had to know all of it. Maybe there were some plot holes I didn't pick up on but I liked all the twists , the feeling of dread the game gave me sometimes, and how surprisingly easy it was to fool me at times.

I think until the coffin ending I truly believe Snake wasn't alive anymore.

It was just a lot more engaging than I thought it was gonna be and now I think I'm hooked.

He was right in one thing. Play the game before watching the video. You will be suprised how bad this game dialogs are. Characters have only two modes: being a cretin or being an encyclopedia.

I'm not going to finish watching this video. Within the first 4 minutes you've convinced me to buy it and try it out. And it just so happened to be on sale on Steam.

Just finished this game today and its actually so bad wtf, the ending is so overhyped and unsatisfying…

Maybe I set myself for disappointment thinking this would be some kind of masterpiece, but I left feeling like I wasted my time :/

Why doesn't anyone mention that Ice-9 is taken from the Kurt Vonnegut book "Cat's Cradle"?

can't believe I used to have this game on my DS as a kid it was such a banger

just finished the game (true ending) and man what a masterpiece! its crazy how intricate it all is while still being written in such a way that allows you to piece together things on your own, there were so many instances where id randomly get an epiphany seemingly from nowhere about something an- wait.. oh no..

I hope I wasn't the only one who's stinks at Sudoku puzzles. Even the really simple ones and sat there for 15 minutes, trying to figure it out.

Akane set up the most complex escape room of all time so her childhood self could learn sudoku. A true masterpiece of a game

"Gigantic sized spoilers" thrnbtndnrne

I highly recommend reading infinity series too written by the same writer of 999. The stories are not connected to eachother and you can start from any game. I would recommend to skip the first game (Never7) if you aren't fan of slice of life genre.

I have been wanting to play this for years, but never had the time. Thank you for this video!

Lotus was my sexual awakening

Snake taking down ace in the incineratoe has burned itself into my brain
its one of my favourite "bad" endingns in any ame ever , followed only by the ones from the other 2 games

I can't believe I started to cry when I recalled that final puzzle moment, I really loved the game but can't explain this feelings this game bought to me rn

I started playing 999 some time ago, but at first I didn't play it much because it scared me a bit (I kept getting nightmares about being trapped). I'm easily scared, so I looked up online some information about the game because I felt like I wouldn't be so scared of things if I knew about them beforehand. I ended up getting a couple of spoilers that way (not super important ones), and everyone said that the axe and knife endings were very scary, so I should try to avoid them. I played having that one chart with the endings next to me, and somehow the knife and axe endings were the first two I got 😂. After that, I dropped the game for some time, and I recently started playing again. This time I was hooked, and most of that fear I felt playing before had disappeared. I got the sub ending, then the safe ending, and finally, I finished the true ending yesterday. The ending completely blew my mind. Even if I had read a few spoilers I never expected something like that. The two screens made me completely lose it. I cried throughout the entire ending, especially during the flashback and the scene with everyone in the car. When I finished the game, I just lied in my bed for several minutes, thinking about everything I had just experienced, still crying. I really don't think I had ever felt so happy, satisfied, content when finishing a game. The story was one of the best I've ever read in my life, I really liked the gameplay and I absolutely loved every single one of the characters. Now, I feel short of empty, like "now what?", but I know it's because I really liked the game and it deeply affected me. The only thing I feel sad about is that there doesn't seem to be a very big fandom around the game, so I've made it one of my new missions in life to introduce as many people as I can to this story. I truly think that I'd enjoy just watching someone play the game. For now, I'll jusr stay for a bit in this comment section :)

Great retrospective. I do love the door 3 path just because it's so crazy. It's the only choice that can't lead you to either the Safe or Coffin endings, which means it's the only path that's completely hopeless. And boy does it make you feel it.

it good me hooked until the god awful cringey ending, dont care for the romantic bout between a pre teen and an almost adult LMAO

i wish i could like this video more than once

oh so this is like cube

I feel like this video helps capture the beauty of this game. Experiencing it raw was one of the most life changing things I've had the pleasure of playing. This game will always hold a special place in my heart.

I really enjoyed this game as well, the story hooked me after I got my first ending (the knife ending) and I finished all endings over two days because I had to know what was going on. But I really don't agree with the emotionality of it all, since I wasn't invested in the characters that much. The writing of the novel sections was just so bad it took me out of it. Not incompetent or anything, but painfully cliché. Which is kind of inexcusable for a visual novel imo. Maybe it's just not for me, though, I'm not really an anime fan.

this game was so satisfying to play

i love these games. found a playlist and guy to sub to.

This game is old. If you spoil anything for anybody, it's not your fault. It's theirs.

Didn't watch the video, don't need to. If you think the story of this game is inmersive, satisfying or well made in ANY way, you are delusional and need to start reading and/or watching fiction made outside japan. Please stop making people believe that the ramblings of a demented person that thinks is ok to build a story around wikipedia conspiracy theory pages are worth their time and attention, thank you and you are welcome.

Yes! I played the DS version was amazed by that realization that the text was more than the system! You verbalized my experience perfectly!

The first ending I got was the Axe meeting... So close to the actual ending, but so far lol

999

9 + 9 + 9 =27
2 + 7 = 9

I literally went and played the game because I wanted to watch this video.

First game to make me cry and

Jesus Christ.... Masterpiece

I hate Snake tho. Made me cry. I don't like ppl who make me cry.

Here in July 2023 and love how your channel has grown <3

Ice 9 is a real theoretical ice structure and the central subject of the book Cat's Cradle. I thought this video would actually look deeper at the references instead of just a summary.

Try to play the seven mysteries of honjo , its damn good

The first ending I got was being in the sarcofagus room, but without anough info to proceed. AKA the 'one was the killer reveal". I didnt know there even had been a previous nonary game! It was. very anti-climactic, confusing, and ultimately i looked up what the hell was happening, therefore spoiling the game and turning me off from playing.. But I see now that the game has some brilliant moments. Also, while playing, the ice9 and memory transfer stuff feels. Pretty fucking obvious that it'll be plot relevant later.

Jumpei's perspective being on the top screen of the DS and Akane's on the bottom was awesome.

The fevers are because those paths are too slow.

This game changed my life. I also found it through Dookieshed and that makes me feel a great sense of fondness for you already. I know this is an older video but I needed a solid review for an upcoming project I'm working on and this felt as good a place to start. Thank you for this retrospective! I'm feeling most invigorated!

The game was absolutely astonishing!

Thank you for doing a video essay on it. Like yourself i didnt put it down until finishing it.
Some things in my own play through:
Screaming at All-ice realization.

Snake.

The Funyarinpa. I've given it as an unapologetic "factual" presentation in college 3 times. Once seen you cannot un-see.

First play through was the canotical way to play the game. All next choices were wrong. Couldnt figure it out for a while.

I tried to put this in front of as many people as I could. Just wanted them to experience it.

There was a give away to recieve a 999 watch and I got one. Its relatively poorly made, but wore it until it broke. Loved it.

I played 999 on my DS on a whim one summer and left with a game that I will gush about to my friends any chance that I get.
Truly a masterpiece of a game

On the note of soundtrack, I'd like to just say, Tinderbox is the one that gives me nightmares.

This visual novel is an absolute masterpiece! The story of Virtue's Last Reward seems unrelated at first, but then you can figure out one of the big plot twists for yourself before the game confirms it. And then it punches you in the face. And then it all gets weirder. And then there is the final game, Zero Time Dilemma. That game is a bit too different in my opinion. But it is necessary to play all three to get the entire story.

When you think of it, Akane messed up multiple timelines just because she couldn't solve a tiny sudoku, this is ridiculous 😂

One of the greatest games of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Thanks I now want to play this game again.

Just to add, I've actually read Kurt Vonnegut's book Cat's Cradle and some pseudo-scientific journals about morphogenetic resonance all because of 999. The best DS game of all time!

9 is my favorite number because every multiple of 9 has the Digital Root of 9. So this game? Fucking love it sooooooo muuuuuuuuuuch for that.

I thought it was 9 doods, not doors lol