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Part 19: Don't Press Pretty heavy interest in un-doing that last decision.  Although I think that was the shortest/quickest game over segment in the game, so it's a fair opinion.  Jumping back in!  The game really makes you think about it for a long time if you don't want to press the button. That's over 60 seconds on the clock at the start.  There's no way to know what will happen if you don't press it, right?!Every ten seconds or so Sigma or Phi will chime in to try and talk you into their camp. But if you're waiting that long you're probably already committed to not pressing the button. Or you're like us and have already seen what happens when the button is pressed. No thanks.  Listen to me, Diana. Don't even think about touching it! Zero's telling us not to push it! We need to do the opposite! Don't forget he's the enemy! I've got a bad feeling about this... A really bad feeling...The camera flashes and zooms in on the button every so often as well. And the camera starts shaking more and more the more time ticks away.  What if there's a bomb and this button turns off the timer?! If we don't push it then we're gonners for sure!There is a bomb, and this button sets it off. You're not gonna sway us, Sigma.  The button looms large with only a few seconds left. Don't press it Diana! Push it! You have to push it! You can't! You mustn't! Push iiiiit!  That scene would've been more tense if we hadn't already seen that pushing the button blows up the whole shelter.   A beep and a click and the door slides open. We're free!   The door... It opened...Music: Clarification 2nd Mix  It opened because we didn't touch the button? It's the only thing that makes sense.  Well, we kind of do know. I wonder if any of Phi's "bad feelings" were picking up on the bad timeline from pushing the button?   Um, anyway, we should go. Music: Transient Tranquility  So the team leaves, and now we find ourselves in the Lounge. Um Sigma? How old are you really? It must be hard to keep track of birthdays when you're skipping around the multiverse. Sixty-seven?! You remember, right? I told you my consciousness came from 2074...  But that's more or less correct. So, is it the same thing with Phi? Yes, it's the same. She came back from the year 2074 too. With one difference: Her mind's still young. She must still be around 20 years old...? Eh, not exactly.  She was born in 2008.   Missing Lip Animations: 14 A device that is capable of placing someone into cold sleep. There's forty-five years of blank...nothing stuck inside her mind. So that's why she still thinks like a 20 year old...I wonder if that feels any different. She's got a mind with twenty years of experiences, in a body that's twenty years old, but her mind actually took a nap for 45 years and then went back to the point just before it fell asleep.  But...how? How what? How is it possible for you and Phi to come back to this time?  Missing Lip Animations: 15    I'm looking at Diana's spaced-out face here and thinking that this entire conversation is how I imagine it going whenever a VLR fan tries to explain the game to someone. For example... Ah yes, we can use the button from earlier. We didn't push that button, and we're here right now. However, there's a world where we did push it somewhere in this timespace. This world, this history, infinitely branches off as a result of momentary decisions. There are other yous, other mes, and other Phis. All of them exist in those different histories... SHIFT is the phenomenon which allows us to send our consciousness to them.I may have skipped a few screenshots there to keep the whole speech together - it's just Sigma talking in front of a few background shots that we've already seen before.    So you want to know what it is exactly... I'll sum it up in one sentence.Oh boy, we finally get the secret of how all this mystical consciousness-hopping works!    Music: Extreme Extrication 2nd Mix  This is the conclusion I reached after 45 years of consideration. I know how SHIFT works. But as to why the phenomenon happens-- Did you just say you know how SHIFT works? Yeah... How does it then? Innate abilities, and danger to one's life. Basically, when a person with this ability faces a life-threatening crisis, that's when SHIFT kicks in. And...both you and Phi have this strange ability? One winter, my friends and I went fishing and I slipped, falling into the water. I woke up under the blankets on my bed... It was the next day. When I saw my friends at school, I asked them, "What happened yesterday?" One of them spoke up and said, "You blew us off. You promised to come fishing, but you up and cancelled on us." Missing Lip Animations: 16 I was about to get run over by a car once, and found myself in the school gym. I fell off the roof only to wake up on the school bus. Things like that. Of course, at the time I had no idea what was going on. I just believed they were extremely vivid dreams. But now I know. I... To another world. In another history...I don't remember how many, if any, of these examples were also provided in VLR, but there you go, some of Sigma's backstory.  Silence, and fade to black. Music: Glacial Solitude  She has been uncharacteristically quiet....  Huh? Oh, she's gone... I saw her over with Gab just a minute ago... Still a half-hour of awake time left.  Oh lord, here comes trouble. It's computer lady again!   Hey, we managed to kill Eric again somehow, great job everyone!    [Computer Lady:] That is all. FIRE is for Carlos, the firefighter. CRASH is for Akane, the leader of the Crash Keys group who infiltrated this place. FIVE is for Junpei, who had the number five on his bracelet during 999. And ICE must be for Eric, maybe because he worked in an ice cream shop. These are different X-Passes for some of the same people compared to what we saw in the Study fragment.       From the vote at 13:30... Because of the outcome, the three in C-Team... But wait, that's weird. That's true, we did.  Didn't we? Huh...? Did I really vote for Q-Team...? What are you saying...?  We weren't injected with the amnesia drug afterwards!If the fragments weren't already confusing enough, we now have to confront the possibility that we're playing in timelines that we haven't even unlocked yet.  Wait. Hold on. There's another possibility. Maybe the three teams really did split the votes equally. Well, that's what we tried to do. But they're-- I know. They could've gotten into a big argument and then killed each other...C-Team seems pretty stable to me, that wouldn't happen, would it? No... But why would they do that? Still, can't we say the same thing goes for what you believe? There's no evidence to support the idea that C-Team was executed. Music: Consternation 2nd Mix  Creepy flashback/vision time...     Is that...C-Team getting executed? How?  What's wrong? I'm pretty sure...there's no mistake. C-Team really was executed... How do you know? I know because...I just do.Even if she was having memories slip in from somewhere, how would she have witnessed that?  I... Oh boy, here come the TVs again.  While we've seen Eric in that pose before, I don't believe that image is from the Study. I'll let you all try to figure out what room it is.    In Ward Q there's... There's only Mira and... Well, we already know some stuff about Mira. Too bad the image didn't show if his heart was intact.   And, the lights go out.  What... This doesn't seem like a blackout...Music: Extreme Urgency (What Will You Decide?)   A mysterious figure in a black cloak.  Surely only here to wish us well in the game.  Footsteps as the figure approaches our duo.  The screen flashes white.  A-Are you all right, Sigma?! No, I don't think he is...  Diana...run... If I go with you, I'd just slow you down. Y-You're wounded...     The screen shakes, and there's the sound of a collision.  Where's she going to go?        We're treated to a shot of every room in Ward D as we look for Phi.  Finally, she's in the Healing Room. Where this whole fragment began. Phi!  Fade to black... Music: Blue Bird Lamentation 2nd Mix     There!  Luna...?  The me from the past...won't be coming back here... My SHIFT connection's been cut... I'm sorry... Now you won't be born in this world... I... I'm...! No... Not just you, Luna. Kyle... Lagomorph... The others...These are all references to VLR characters. If Sigma dies here, he won't be around to create the events of VLR. In particular, Sigma created a robot named Luna who shared the appearance of someone special to him....  But maybe it's better this way...  If we've gone off the rails that led us to VLR, maybe the virus won't get released and six billion people won't die to it?    Sigmaaa!  Diana, I know this is difficult... It might be affecting me even more than you... But it's dangerous to stay here... We have no idea when the killer will return. Who is the killer...? It should only be the two of us now in Ward D... Zero must've hidden himself away some-- Is there...really...anywhere to hide...? Wait... You don't really think it was me, do you...? Phi takes a step forward...  I feel like it's a good thing that there's no chainsaw in this scene. Well, good for these characters, at least.  Hey wait! Diana!Music: Solitary Snail  Fade to black, then we come back to a dark scene.   Why would Phi kill Sigma...? The door suddenly opens.  Has Phi come to finish off Diana, too?  Slow footsteps.  A thump as Phi hits the floor. So they can do falling animations!  Music: Confession 2nd Mix  Phi!    No, I don't think so... It wasn't Zero... Then who?! You have to escape here, Diana... If I die...you can... You can't die!Have you been keeping count?  I... I... It's okay... As long as you survive... Why... Why did this... Such a...familiar...smell...   Nooo! Diana now stands in front of the scoreboard, waiting for the inevitable update.   [Computer Lady:] Q-Team: Eric  Scoreboard is now updated. [Computer Lady:] These six are now deceased.   [Computer Lady:] That is all. DAD for Sigma, which is interesting because as far as we know he was never directly a father. Though he did create Luna the robot, the Lagomorph the AI, and Kyle the clone. I think he acted as a father figure for Kyle, at least. TIME is for Phi which makes as much sense as anything for her. These announcements are not in the same order as on the scoreboard or the status screen for some reason.  Diana slowly surveys the scoreboard. Six... If I put these in...   Once again, you can go check the log if you've forgotten these already, or weren't paying attention. But they do have to be manually entered.     The X-Door finishes opening with a thud.  Diana and Gab ready to go through the door. Somehow Gab always shows up for these.  The door doesn't stay open long, Diana, go through--  Squelch.  Something falls. Music: Sacrificial Demise (Demise 2nd Mix)  Oh, Diana.     And the killer walks free.  The X-Door slowly closes as the screen fades to black, then thuds shut.  We learned a bit of background, but ultimately both paths in this fragment lead to a game over.  But hey at least we fully completed our first fragment?  Completed fragments get a little border around them. We've completed a fragment for each team now. Let's take a (limited) look at the global flowchart.  As we saw during the Study room, it follows immediately from the "Carlos's Decision" node of the Pantry fragment. In both of these fragments, D-Team is killed by the time the casualties are announced, but it's not revealed how or why yet.  The fragment we just played is off on a different branch, not connected to anything we've seen yet. The only thing we know about this branch, is that C-Team was (likely) executed, and somehow Eric dies again.  Anyway we're back at square one. We've completed the Healing Room, but there are still 11 new fragments to explore and 3 replays available. Select the story fragment.
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May 31, 2020 22:06
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 12:48 |
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I wanna get back to C-team. As for the specific fragment... sure, Infirmary. Just chosen at random.
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May 31, 2020 22:33
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Junpei posted:I wanna get back to C-team. As for the specific fragment... sure, Infirmary. Just chosen at random. 
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May 31, 2020 22:44
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Infirmary it is.
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May 31, 2020 23:29
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It's pretty obvious who the mystery killer is, assuming they aren't some mystery person we haven't seen yet. If it's not Zero, it's someone on Q team. And Eric is dead. You can even sort of see their face under the hood.
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May 31, 2020 23:33
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Looks like Mira is taking up the mantle left by Ace and Dio as "that guy/gal that murders everyone by default". I still approve of her here because Eric is dead.
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May 31, 2020 23:37
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Yeah, I get the feeling this isn't supposed to be a mystery at all. Oh no, the serial killer is the killer. Shock.
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May 31, 2020 23:46
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Remember that it's possible not to get the reveal that Mira's a serial killer right away.
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May 31, 2020 23:49
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It's basically not a secret. You can see Mysterious Cloaked Figure's nails in a couple of shots, most specifically after Diana gets shanked. Which leaves the actual question. How'd they get into Ward D to stab everyone?
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Jun 1, 2020 00:17
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Leraika posted:Remember that it's possible not to get the reveal that Mira's a serial killer right away. Yeah in this case, the mystery is less about the identity of the killer (obvious if you played the Study before this one), but how she got over there, and why she's doing it? She was a lot more in control/methodical in the Study....
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Jun 1, 2020 00:26
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Super Jay Mann posted:Looks like Mira is taking up the mantle left by Ace and Dio as "that guy/gal that murders everyone by default". I'm learning videogame design just so I can edit this game and make an ending where all 8 other contestants kill Eric.
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Jun 1, 2020 00:27
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Jadecore posted:It's basically not a secret. You can see Mysterious Cloaked Figure's nails in a couple of shots, most specifically after Diana gets shanked. They were in the lounge when the killing started happening
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Jun 1, 2020 00:54
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Super Jay Mann posted:They were in the lounge when the killing started happening Yes, they were in the lounge in Ward D, all three wards have their own lounge. The mystery is how our totally mysterious unknown cloaked figure got there.
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Jun 1, 2020 00:57
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I'm learning videogame design just so I can edit this game and make an ending where all 8 other contestants kill Eric. Uchikoshi going all Bethesda on us and relying on modders to do some important stuff.
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Jun 1, 2020 01:30
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Gab is the key to everything.
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Jun 1, 2020 01:56
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wologar posted:Gab is the key to everything. He sees all, says nothing.
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Jun 1, 2020 01:58
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Truthkeeper posted:Yes, they were in the lounge in Ward D, all three wards have their own lounge. The mystery is how our totally mysterious unknown cloaked figure got there. Do we have a map of this place?
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Jun 1, 2020 02:11
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Quackles posted:Do we have a map of this place? Each team has a map of their ward, they were in the first segment for each team, the buildup to the execution vote.   
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Jun 1, 2020 02:25
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 There was also this image in the update before those, that has all three connected on one image. Looking at it, it's pretty weird that Zero would give them a map that points out the vents this explicitly. In the last two games everything was planned out and known in advance by Zero, but the Gab vents here just feel, dunno, too obvious?
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Jun 1, 2020 02:31
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Truthkeeper posted:Each team has a map of their ward, they were in the first segment for each team, the buildup to the execution vote.
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Jun 1, 2020 02:34
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Polderjoch posted:
Man, this map looks wack. Notable interesting things: • All three lounges are the exact same shape - not mirrored or anything • Why's there that gap between the left and right branch wings of Ward C? Zero is a terrible architect. • Big circular thing in Ward C and pillar? in Ward D. What are they?
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Jun 1, 2020 02:44
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 Looks like we're going back to C-Team, this time in the Infirmary. I don't really remember this one real well, looking forward to playing it again. Did Zero build the shelter, or make use of something that was already there?
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Jun 1, 2020 04:29
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DKII posted:Did Zero build the shelter, or make use of something that was already there? Yes.
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Jun 1, 2020 04:35
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DKII posted:Did Zero build the shelter, or make use of something that was already there? I mean, good real estate with pre-owned death traps is so hard to find these days...
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Jun 1, 2020 04:39
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I'm learning videogame design just so I can edit this game and make an ending where all 8 other contestants kill Eric. Doing God's own work.
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Jun 1, 2020 05:05
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DKII posted:Did Zero build the shelter, or make use of something that was already there? I heard through the grapevine that Zero and the Saw guy are best friends
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Jun 1, 2020 05:09
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DKII posted:Did Zero build the shelter, or make use of something that was already there? This is an interesting line of thought. Akane used a preexisting structure, complete with death traps, (Building Q from Cradle's Nonary Game) for her Nonary Game, whereas Sigma built Rhizome 9 from scratch, which he also lived and worked in, but purpose built to eventually hold the Ambidex Game in. This Zero claims to be using a preexisting structure, a bomb shelter, but he hasn't said whether or not he legally owns it, if he built it, or where it came from. We've seen some high end technology built into it, even stuff Sigma isn't familiar with. A lot of what we've seen thus far suggests that this might be an existing shelter that was converted over for the game model. If he bought out something like this legally, Zero is a man(?) of substantial wealth. Of course, 999 established that Akane bankrolled her game by cheating at stocks with her psychic powers, so he could be pulling something similar. Still want to know what was up with the instant death button in the healing room.
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Jun 1, 2020 07:53
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Truthkeeper posted:Still want to know what was up with the instant death button in the healing room. Zero II thought it would be funny.
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Jun 1, 2020 08:10
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This should be obvious from last update, but the X-Passes are a quick way to figure out what timeline you're in. Even if you don't check the flowchart (you can access is as soon as you load a fragment to see where you ended up), remembering the passes from the chainsaw fragment and seeing them repeated in the crossbow fragment will tell you that both take place in the same reality. Since this is a reality where D-team died (likely in the execution vote), there is no corresponding fragment for them. Similarly, for the healing room, there should be a fragment for Q team with the same X-Passes that'll get Eric killed. So we have a least one more Eric death to look forward to. (Mira wanted to use the Gab vents to enter ward D, but they were to small for her. So she used Eric's head as a battering ram. Q didn't notice, he had found some interesting books in the library.)
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Jun 1, 2020 08:19
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Quackles posted:Zero II thought it would be funny. Gotta hand it to them, it was. https://twitter.com/dril/status/831805955402776576?lang=en
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Jun 1, 2020 08:41
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ZTD... I kinda despise ZTD. Not because of the structure of the game essentially keeping 2/3rds the cast from interacting, though that's part of it, not because of Eric, though that's a bigger part of it. Ultimately it comes down to this. Why are we doing these puzzle rooms? Zero never listed any condition like "If you don't do the puzzle rooms, you'll be killed." and you'd think, since the memory drug, that'd need to be restated in each room so they know what to do. There's no benefit to finishing them, there's no reward or other positive. They're not moving through the facility to seek an escape, they aren't earning cards to vote with, they aren't doing anything in these rooms that demands they need to "Seek a way out" other than... regaining access to the limited ward they're stuck in? Like, despite this being a death game where 6 people must die, it feels entirely deflated for me because in 90 minutes, you'll be knocked out and even if you wake up in the same room it doesn't mean anything. The participants have no need to actually progress, especially since if anything, it's in your best interest to wait and let the other teams kill themselves off. It all ultimately feels pointless, even knowing how the game goes. Would it have killed Zero to say "If you don't complete the puzzle room, you will all be executed"?
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Jun 1, 2020 09:20
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Well, of the three teams here, one (Q Team) is made up entirely of civilians who've never been in this sort of situation before and are, if anything, entirely too chill about this. It's entirely within reason to them that they could be killed if they don't play along. The other two teams (D and C) are playing along because it would be entirely reasonable to them to assume that Zero would kill them. After all, one third of those teams are random civilians (Diana and Carlos), one third have been in the same situation before (Phi and Junpei) and the other third are people who have put others in situations that could and did kill them (Sigma and Akane).
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Jun 1, 2020 09:49
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OddHaberdasher posted:Well, of the three teams here, one (Q Team) is made up entirely of civilians who've never been in this sort of situation before and are, if anything, entirely too chill about this. It's entirely within reason to them that they could be killed if they don't play along. I know, but with no actual... this isn't really a game, beyond the waiting game. It's waiting for the other teams to gently caress up and die because they're segregated Like let's take the Pantry. Junpei's butchered, and clearing it does 'unlock' a means to open the door, but having concluded it, what was the point? I feel like we've lost something with the premise of this game. I appreciate what Uchikoshi was trying to go for, but ultimately it just feels... like an excuse. I mean you could always argue that about the Zero Escape franchise, but... I dunno it's hard to put into words why this one just feels 'pointless'. Like... 999. 999's got the whole "We're trying to escape a ship" overarching drive, "Seek the No.9 door" and all that. We have a timelimit, we have a reason for progressing through the rooms. There is drive. VLR has it that if you don't enter the rooms, you'll die, and if you don't finish them quickly, then someone else could trigger the next round of voting and force you to abstain. Again, it's got a drive behind it. ZTD... Like, we've had one choice to actually influence the other teams, and every other room has either started with someone dead (Junpei) or only presented a threat to that team. It feels like having gameplay for the sake of having gameplay, there's no drive or rewards for going on. It just... it feels unneeded? Onmi fucked around with this message at 10:06 on Jun 1, 2020 |
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Jun 1, 2020 10:02
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OddHaberdasher posted:,one third have been in the same situation before (Phi and Junpei) and the other third are people who have put others in situations that could and did kill them (Sigma and Akane). Sigma fits both categories simultaneously.
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Jun 1, 2020 10:04
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Truthkeeper posted:Sigma fits both categories simultaneously. So does Akane, actually.
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Jun 1, 2020 10:12
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OddHaberdasher posted:So does Akane, actually. So I guess the moral is, being trapped and made to go through death games puts one in the frame of mind to set some up oneself. Does this mean Mira will be Zero IV?
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Jun 1, 2020 10:23
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If Mira was Zero IV, all routes would end with Zero killing the players.
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Jun 1, 2020 10:30
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Cloacamazing! posted:If Mira was Zero IV, all routes would end with Zero killing the players. You're right. She'd be better off as Junko Enoshima IV or something.
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Jun 1, 2020 10:58
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Quackles posted:Does this mean Mira will be Zero IV? EPSILON: Zero! Why are you doing this? ZERO IV: You'll understand once you've completed the game. Or rather, some version of you will understand. This version of you will probably be dead by then. LEPTON: Um... is Zero... drooling? MOMOTARO: It's not that I don't appreciate this whole death game idea - I mean, the whole setup is really elaborate and all, y'know? Reminds me of the time... (enter fifteen minute cutscene about an event that happened during his Yakuza days that illuminates key points of the plot in three other timelines where it isn't mentioned) SUNFLOWER: It's just... I don't... understand... the cards... ZERO IV: Can someone who ISN'T a wind-up doll that has to stop every two seconds to crank herself get to the point already? Don't know why I put her in this game and tried to pretend she was human in the first place. I mean, yeah, I've got a plan, but I really didn't think this whole thing out. SPIKE: It's these stupid games, man! (there's a loud noise as the camera cuts away, and the table is upside down) Why does every one of these escape rooms have card puzzles? ZERO IV: I like card puzzles. CLOVER II: And why are all of the cards the same suit? We got stuck in a time loop in that poker puzzle because it was impossible to get any hand but a flush, until we happened to get a straight flush! ZERO IV: Heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA MOMOTARO: She's cracking up. I don't like it. But I didn't hear him say that. None of us did. The next thing I knew, all of our heads were on the floor. I knew we would find the killer in the plaid cloak in another timeline, but I didn't care. I couldn't care. There was a more pressing matter on what was left of my mind in my final moments... Seriously, what was with all the hearts? GAME OVER
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Jun 1, 2020 11:19
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I'm getting worried by that speech about SHIFTing versus the Morphogenic Field, it's seeming like it's moving away from visions of parallel worlds (and thus, a reason to care about the incarnation of the characters that start the game) and moving towards The Prestige levels of multiversal murder that saps any joy out of solving the game and finding the "best" ending because you've just left a multiversal genocide in your wake. Though....since this is an interquel, in a game involving retroactive mental time travel and Kid Akane beaming back and forth, how much of this timeline murder could then be undone? And if they all branch off from an event that doesn't happen anymore did they actually not happen or did you just make a billion NEW timelines? Oof. There's those headaches again. This was way simpler on the not boat.
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Jun 1, 2020 14:45
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