Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

This article is about the second video game in the series. For the series itself, see Zero Escape.
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

The game's North American cover art.

North American box art, featuring the characters Phi (left), and Sigma (right)
Developer(s) Chunsoft[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Kotaro Uchikoshi
Artist(s) Kinu Nishimura
Writer(s) Kotaro Uchikoshi
Composer(s) Shinji Hosoe
Series Zero Escape
Platform(s) Nintendo 3DS
PlayStation Vita
Release date(s)
  • JP February 16, 2012
  • NA October 23, 2012
  • EU November 23, 2012
Genre(s) Visual novel, adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward[lower-alpha 2] is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Chunsoft and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi. It was first released in Japan on February 16, 2012 and in North America and Europe later that year, for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. It is the second installment in the Zero Escape series and a direct sequel to the 2009 game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (commonly referred to as 999).

The story follows the player character Sigma, a college student who is abducted and forced along with eight other individuals to play the "Nonary Game," which puts its participants in a life-or-death situation. As the story progresses, Sigma discovers his ability to transport his consciousness through time and experience different timelines to the one he initially chose, which he uses to find an outcome in which everyone can survive. Like its predecessor, Virtue's Last Reward follows a branching storyline that concludes in one of 24 different endings based on decisions made by the player. The gameplay alternates between progressing through the game's narrative via extended cutscenes and navigating and completing puzzles in escape-the-room scenarios.

Development for the game began in response to 999's positive reception in Japan and North America. Virtue's Last Reward uses 3D models for the characters and environments as opposed to the 2D illustrations present in 999, as well as full voice acting available in both the Japanese and English languages.[lower-alpha 3] The script was written by Uchikoshi, who also served as the lead writer for 999. Aksys Games and Rising Star Games localized and published the game for their respective regions.

Upon release, Virtue's Last Reward received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed toward the story, characters, and voice acting, with some criticism towards the game's puzzles. However, the game was not commercially successful, which led to the development of its sequel to be put on indefinite hiatus. The third game in the series, Zero Time Dilemma, was later announced to be in development at the 2015 Anime Expo with a tentative release date in 2016.

Gameplay

A screenshot of an Escape room. The room contains a metal contraption with a safe, while the game cursor hovers over a fire extinguisher.
The game's Escape sections are shown from a first person perspective. Players can turn the camera freely, and use the cursor on objects or places they want to move to. In the top left, the currently selected item in the player's inventory is shown; they are able to use it with objects in the room to solve puzzles.

Virtue's Last Reward is a visual novel adventure video game,[3] in which the player assumes the role of a college student named Sigma.[4] The gameplay is divided into two different sections: Novel and Escape. In Novel sections, the player progresses through the storyline and converses with the non-playable characters.[5] As with most visual novels, the gameplay of Novel sections require little interaction from the player, as these sections are spent reading the text that appears on the screen which represents either dialogue between the various characters or the inner thoughts of Sigma.[6] During Novel sections, the player will sometimes be presented with decision options that affect the course of the game, such as which puzzles the player faces and the fates of other characters. The most frequently recurring decision is the Ambidex Game, a prisoner's dilemma in which an individual or a pair of individuals must enter an elevator and choose whether to 'ally' or 'betray' the individual or the pair of individuals they are pitted against. The choices the participants make affect their bracelet points; if the two opponents both choose 'ally', each individual gains two points; if the two opponents both choose 'betray', no one gains points; and if one opponent chooses 'betray' while the other chooses 'ally', the opponent who chose 'betray' gains three points while the other opponent loses two points. Participants who gain nine points are able to escape, while those who reach zero points are put to death.[7]

In between Novel sections are Escape sections, which occur when the player, along with other characters, find themselves in a room from which they need to find the means of escape.[8] To accomplish this, the player is tasked with finding various items and solving puzzles within the room, reminiscent of escape-the-room games.[9] The player is able to pick up items and combine them to form new objects necessary to solving a puzzle.[10] In each Escape room, a safe can be found, which can be opened with two passwords. One of these passwords gives the player the key needed to escape from the room, while the other grants access to a hidden folder that provides the player with additional backstory or other supplementary information.[11] If the player finds a puzzle too difficult, they may switch the puzzle's difficulty level from hard to easy, where the characters offer more specific hints.[4]

Along with Novel and Escape sections, the player is given access to a flowchart that allows them to immediately revisit or "jump" to any previously completed section without replaying the game from the beginning. This allows the player to transition to an earlier branching point in the story and choose a differing option that causes the story to progress in another direction.[11] For example, the player can jump to previously completed rounds of the Ambidex Game and ally with their opponent instead of betraying him or her, and vice versa. While there are 24 endings available,[3] many endings are initially inaccessible and must be unlocked by experiencing events or learning information in other plotlines. For example, if a particular plotline cannot progress because a required password is unknown, the player must jump to other plotlines and find it before returning to the original one. The player is thus required to jump often between the alternate plotlines in order to advance the game towards the ultimate ending.[11]

Plot

Characters

A drawing displaying the nine participants, as well as a rabbit.
The characters of Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. From left to right: Zero III, Luna, K (back), Quark (front), Tenmyouji, Phi, Sigma, Clover, Alice, and Dio.
Each character description is taken from the North American Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward website.[12]

Similar to its predecessor, Virtue's Last Reward features nine main characters who are all forced to participate in the Nonary Game by an unknown individual called "Zero". The player-controlled Sigma - a college student - is joined by Phi, a mysterious and intelligent girl; Dio, a rude and insensitive man; Tenmyouji, an elderly man; Quark, an energetic child; Luna, a kind and quiet woman; Clover, an unpredictable girl who also appeared in 999;[3] Alice, a powerful and focused woman; and K, a person who suffers from retrograde amnesia and wears a full-body, irremovable suit of armor with a voice changer. Along with the nine participants, Zero III, an AI who appears in the form of a CGI rabbit, controls the Nonary Game and explains the rules to the participants. Zero III is nicknamed "Zero Jr." by the participants to distinguish the entity from the human Zero, who is in turn nicknamed "Zero Sr."[13] Aside from Sigma, each character is fully voiced acted in both Japanese and English.[14]

Story

In 2028, Sigma is abducted and placed inside an elevator with a girl named Phi. Zero III appears on a monitor and informs them that they are participating in the Nonary Game and that they must escape the elevator before it falls. Upon escaping, they find themselves in a warehouse-like facility with seven other individuals: Dio, Quark, Tenmyouji, Luna, Alice, K, and Clover. All nine people were abducted and forced into the game and wear bracelets displaying the number 3. Zero III informs the group that nine individual bracelet points are necessary to escape the facility, and points can only be earned by participating in the Ambidex Game using the AB Room elevators.

At this point, the story begins branching into different timelines that can be experienced in any order, depending on the choices made by the player. While completing the first set of puzzle rooms, the participants learn of a pandemic caused by Radical-6, a virus that slows down its victims' cognition and drives them to suicide. Although dependent on a given timeline, the characters either discover the murdered body of an old woman or nuclear fusion bombs. Additionally, the pasts of the other players are explored: Luna is a humanoid robot, tasked with maintaining the Nonary Game; Tenmyouji willingly joined the game together with his adopted grandson Quark after being promised a chance to find a certain woman; Alice and Clover are Department of Defense secret agents tasked with stopping the religious cult Free the Soul; and Dio is a member of Free the Soul. Dio had murdered the old woman and took her place in the game so as to plant the bombs. In the timeline leading to the game's ultimate ending, Sigma defuses each bomb, while Dio is restrained and incapacitated.

The remaining participants proceed to the next set of puzzle rooms. As Sigma, Phi, and Tenmyouji complete their room, they uncover a holographic message of the old woman Tenmyouji has been looking for, Akane Kurashiki. Akane and Zero Sr. had developed the Nonary project to train Sigma and Phi to transport their consciousnesses through time. This occurs shortly thereafter, and this time, they subdue Dio before he can kill Akane. Akane explains that the game's dangerous elements were necessary to speed up one's brain to transport one's consciousness through time, and each participant was infected with Radical-6 to amplify this increase. The Nonary Game was designed so Sigma and Phi could experience multiple timelines and retain what they learn in each one. Sigma and Phi's consciousnesses are then returned to the present, where they find everyone has cooperated to acquire enough points to escape.

The group leaves the facility and emerges in a desert landscape on the Moon. The year is 2074 and most of humanity was killed by Radical-6 after it was unleashed by Free the Soul from a Mars mission test site in 2028. They re-enter the facility and discover a cold sleep pod. K explains that he grew up in the facility with Zero Sr. and Akane, and each person was brought to the facility to recreate the events that the two had previously experienced. Some were abducted in 2028 and placed in cold sleep until the Nonary Game began. The pod opens to reveal a clone of Sigma, who reveals that K is actually Akane in disguise. Depending on whether or not Dio murdered Akane in a given timeline, either Sigma's clone or Akane was occupying K's armor, a quantum superposition.

Akane explains that Sigma, as Zero, had developed the Nonary project after jumping from 2028 to 2074. Sigma created his clone, named Kyle, as a spare in case his body was damaged. The chief goal of the Nonary project was to transport Sigma's and Phi's consciousnesses, with all their future knowledge, to 2028 to prevent the Radical-6 pandemic; Dio sought to prevent this goal. Akane then attacks Phi and Sigma, transporting their consciousnesses to 2029. Sigma spends the next 45 years developing the Nonary project, while Phi is kept in cold sleep. In 2074, Sigma and Phi jump back to 2028 and infiltrate the Mars mission test site, but the events inside remain unknown to the player.

Development

Development of Virtue's Last Reward began in response to 999's positive reception in Japan and North America.[15] When promotional videos for 999 were released, Chunsoft noticed that a surprising amount of the comments for the video were in English. After analyzing the access logs, it was discovered that 70% of the comments were from English-speaking countries, which, according to Virtue's Last Reward's director Kotaro Uchikoshi, is an extremely rare occurrence in the Japanese game industry. With the realization that 999 was popular outside Japan, Chunsoft eventually decided that a sequel was justified.[16]

One of the biggest changes between 999 and Virtue's Last Reward was the switch from 2D illustrations to 3D environments and character models. While the original intent was to keep the art style from 999, the development team wanted to utilize the 3D features in the Nintendo 3DS. However, since the system had not been released yet, the team was under the assumption that the new features would require 3D character models. During the initial development phase, they wanted to use real-time rendering during the still frame shots that would occur during special events. However, due to how the game was programmed, pre-rendered images were used instead.[17]

Story and themes

"The theme of [Virtue's Last Reward] is of course global warming and environmental destruction. Just kidding, ha ha ha. But you see? Humans can lie without breaking a sweat. “Lying” and “betrayal”…these are some of the major themes in this title. However, the main characters in this game aren’t lying on a whim or for a joke. Each and every one of them has their own beliefs, purpose, and goals, and in order to stay true to those they will have to chose “betray.” I think the real fun in this game is trying to solve those mysteries."

—Kotaro Uchikoshi, discussing some of the major themes of Virtue's Last Reward.[16]

Many critics noted the drastic change between the suspense present in 999 and the more relaxed and exploration-heavy atmosphere in Virtue's Last Reward. Uchikoshi stated that the results of a Japanese survey indicated that players who did not purchase 999 thought it looked scary; he "didn't have a choice but to tone it down" for Virtue's Last Reward as directed by Chunsoft.[18] Uchikoshi worked alongside a sub-writer, who would help identify problems present with the story.[15]

When writing the game, Uchikoshi prioritized storylines over characters; he first designed a basic story, and then created the characters along with each of their backstories.[19][20] After deciding on the story and making the main character, he would look to get a balanced cast of supporting characters, in terms of genders, personalities, and ages represented; when making character personalities, he used the Enneagram of Personality as reference.[21][lower-alpha 4] An important thing to him when making characters was to create a mystery behind them, to make players curious about who the characters are and what their pasts were like.[20] Another important element was the use of misdirection: By deliberately making certain characters seem like bad people, he would get players to focus on them more, making it more difficult for them to see who the "real bad guy" is.[22] He aimed to not give the player character a strong personality, in order to make it easier for players to empathize with him. Because the Moon was one of the game's major themes, the character Zero III appears as a rabbit in reference to the moon rabbit in Japanese folklore.[19]

Several changes were made to the initial story of Virtue's Last Reward. During one scene in the game, Dio handcuffs Clover and Tenmyouji to a sink, which prevents them from participation in the Nonary Game (the punishment for not participating is death). Originally, Dio was meant to "do something even more messed up" to Clover, but the president of Chunsoft opposed this scene due to "ethical reasons", after which it was changed.[21][lower-alpha 5] In addition, the game originally ended with humanity dying out, at which point a character would go back in time and change the past so that the future would be saved. Uchikoshi later felt this ending was "a bit crisp and sudden" and inappropriate following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, so it was changed to be more positive.[23] Uchikoshi also considered including several scientific and philosophical theories/experiments, but that eventually were left out, including: "Dissipative system, Monty Hall problem, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, Toxoplasmosis, Folie à deux, Capgras delusion, Fregoli delusion, Sally–Anne test, and Project MKUltra."[21][lower-alpha 6]

Localization

As with 999, Aksys Games localized Virtue's Last Reward for its North American release. Nobara Nakayama translated the game text from Japanese to English, which was then localized by editor Ben Bateman.[24] Bateman later stated that overcoming various translation issues was one of the hardest aspects of editing Virtue's Last Reward. Although Uchikoshi had written the game with the English language audience in mind which avoided several plot-related translation problems, a few jokes did not translate well, or at all, and had to be changed for the localization. Additionally, there were two characters who "talked like animals" in the Japanese version of the game: Zero III, who added "-usa" to the end of its sentences, which is the first half of usagi (the Japanese word for "rabbit"); and Sigma, who added "-nya" (the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound cats make) to the end of his sentences whenever he talked about cats. Bateman solved this by writing rabbit and cat themed puns.[25] Another major challenge for Bateman was keeping track of the story moments from each branching path. It was important to know whether information regarding each character had been revealed yet to the player, as this would ultimately affect the word choice and attitude of each line of dialogue.[24]

For voice casting, the studio sent the localization team a list of people they thought might fit the roles, along with short reels for each actor, and the producer chose one for each role. Once the actors had been chosen, Bateman wrote the voice direction, which were short blurbs the voice actors saw next to the line they were supposed to say, so they would know how to perform it.[25] While the North American version of the game allows the user to select either Japanese or English audio tracks, the European version, which was released by Rising Star Games, only features the Japanese audio track.[26]

Music

The score for Virtue's Last Reward was composed by Shinji Hosoe, who had previously composed the score for 999. Many of the songs from 999 were remastered with the higher sound capabilities of the 3DS and Vita, and contain industrial and drum and bass sounds.[27] Reviewers noted that the score showcased a darker and more emotional side to Hosoe's work.[28] On April 19, 2012, the soundtrack for Virtue's Last Reward, titled Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV Zennin Shibou Desu Soundtrack was released on website CD Japan. The soundtrack contains 33 tracks, spread across two discs, and is nearly two and a half hours long.[29] Disc one is titled "Escape Side," and contains every song played during the Escape sections, while disc two, "Novel Side," contains every song played during the Novel sections. The soundtrack is bookended by the song "Virtue's Last Reward," with an orchestral rendition as the first track in disc one, and a piano rendition closing out the album in disc two.[27]

Promotion and release

On December 14, 2011, the Japanese animation studio Gonzo released an original video animation for the game, which was later re-released by Aksys Games, dubbed in English, on October 19, 2012.[30][31] The video serves as an introduction to the game, showcasing the characters as well as the basic Ambidex Game rules. Along with the video animation, a Flash game was produced for Virtue's Last Reward and made available on the official Japanese developer website. The gameplay of the untitled Flash game has the player try to open a metal door by quickly clicking on it. As the door begins to open, Clover is revealed on the other side, and the player begins clicking on her breasts.[32] Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku found the flash game perplexing, stating that "as it is pretty much the antithesis of everything presented in Virtue's Last Reward, I truly wonder how this flash game is supposed to convince anyone to play the full title. Perhaps it's just due to a PR department following the old adage: 'sex sells'."[32]

The game was first released in Japan on February 16, 2012.[2] During its initial week of release, the 3DS version sold 9,307 copies while the PlayStation Vita version sold 6,538 copies.[33] The game was released in North America on October 23, 2012, and in Europe on November 23, 2012; this was the first Zero Escape game to be released in Europe.[1][34] People who pre-ordered the North American version of the game through Amazon.com received a replica of the bracelet that the characters wear; a similar pre-order bonus had been given out for 999.[14] The bracelets would later be purchasable through the Aksys Games store, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross and Hurricane Sandy relief.[35]

Shortly after the game's release, players discovered a game-breaking glitch in the North American 3DS version. Saving the game in specific Escape sections would corrupt the saved game data, forcing the player to restart the game from the beginning.[36] In response, Aksys Games recommended that players avoid saving during Escape sections.[37] On August 26, 2013, almost a full year after the game was first released in North America, Aksys Games announced that the glitch had been patched in the Nintendo eShop version; some players, however, continued to report that the glitch still existed.[38]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings87% (3DS)[39]
86% (Vita)[40]
Metacritic88/100 (3DS)[41]
84/100 (Vita)[42]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1UP.comA-[9]
Destructoid9.5/10[6]
Edge7/10[43]
EGM9/10[5]
Eurogamer7/10[44]
Famitsu34/40[2][lower-alpha 7]
Game Informer8.75/10[46]
GameSpot8.5/10[4]
IGN9.5/10[47]

Virtue's Last Reward received positive reviews from critics. In Japan, the gaming magazine Famitsu awarded the game a score of 34/40, with reviewers praising the intricate story and the flowchart.[2] In the West, aggregate-review websites GameRankings and Metacritic rated the Nintendo 3DS version 87% and 88/100,[39][41] and the PlayStation Vita version 86% and 84/100.[40][42] Virtue's Last Reward was the second highest rated 3DS game of 2012 and is tied for the eleventh highest rated 3DS game of all time on Metacritic.[48][49] It was also tied for the seventh highest rated PlayStation Vita game of 2012 on Metacritic.[50]

The story received high acclaim from critics.[4][5] Kimberly Wallace of Game Informer found that the game "adapts to every possible outcome, resulting in a branching tale full of suspicion and tension". She also lauded the plot twists, commenting on how "you never feel safe with anyone or certain about anything."[46] Heidi Kemps of GameSpot praised the storytelling, that the plot "immediately grabs you and rarely lets go, going from a creepy horror premise to interpersonal character drama to mind-blowing sci-fi concepts expertly".[4] However, Edge noted that the game lacked the shock value of its predecessor, and that "the threat of death by lethal injection is undeniably a less forceful motivator than wrist-mounted explosives".[43]

The cast of characters were also well received.[9][46] Bob Mackey of 1UP.com said that "despite the 'anime-ness' of a few characters -- along with an occasionally inconsistent tone -- Zero Escape doesn't have to work hard to get you to care about its cast".[9] Martin Robinson of Eurogamer appreciated the believable cast, and that each character is powered by real emotion.[44] The voice acting was also praised. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN called the voice acting "among the best performances I've ever heard in any game, period".[47] Tony Ponce of Destructoid wrote that "everyone has their moment to shine, to deliver a powerful performance that mere text couldn't hope to convey."[6]

While the Escape sections were generally well received,[4][6] some reviewers were critical of their awkward controls and difficult puzzles.[51][52] Austin Boosinger of Adventure Gamers found the puzzles to be dull and uninspired in their variety, but appreciated their connections to the scientific and mathematical themes presented in the game.[53] Mike Manson of Nintendo Life noted that using the 3DS stylus to turn was oversensitive, while John McCarroll of RPGFan echoed his views on the Vita.[52][54] Erren Van Duine of RPG Site was left frustrated by the lack of information given for some of the puzzles.[51]

Accolades

Virtue's Last Reward received several awards and nominations from gaming publications. The game was awarded Handheld Game of the Year from GameSpot, Best 3DS/DS Story from IGN, Best Handheld Exclusive from Game Informer, as well as Best Story and Best Graphic Adventure from RPGFan.[55][56][57][58][59] The game was also nominated for Best Adventure Game by GameTrailers, and Best Narrative at the 13th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards.[60][61] Gamasutra and Amazon.com placed the game within their non-ranked top 10 and 25 Best Games of 2012 respectively, while 1UP.com called Virtue's Last Reward one of their Favorite Games of 2012.[62][63][64] The game also received nominations for Game of the Year from Kotaku, Pocket Gamer, and GameSpot.[65][66][67]

Sequel

Main article: Zero Time Dilemma

In December 2012, Uchikoshi revealed over Twitter that a sequel to Virtue's Last Reward was in development.[68] He answered several fan questions, and confirmed that Junpei, Phi, and Luna would appear in the sequel.[69] Uchikoshi also confirmed that it would be the last game in the series, forming a trilogy, and that it would take place between the two previous games.[70] When no new information regarding Zero Escape 3 was published for the rest of the year, Uchikoshi stated that various matters were under discussion, and that he would inform the public of any new developments.[71]

On February 13, 2014 Uchikoshi revealed that Zero Escape 3 had been put on hold indefinitely, as the first two games had not sold well enough in Japan for the third game to be considered profitable.[72] While he had examined crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, Uchikoshi mentioned that the idea was not quite persuasive enough, and that he had sought out opportunities with investors and executives.[73] As a response to the news of the game's indefinite hiatus, fans of the series created Operation Bluebird, an online campaign to raise awareness of the series and support the development of Zero Escape 3.[74][75]

On March 18, 2015, Aksys Games launched the website 4infinity.co, which only consisted of a countdown timer. Fans began speculating that the numbers on the countdown timer resembled the "9" from 999's cover art, which led many to believe that the countdown timer would end with Zero Escape 3's announcement.[76] The countdown ended in July, coinciding with the 2015 Anime Expo.[77] During the Aksys Games panel, it was announced that the game was in development, and a teaser trailer was shown, which confirmed that it would be released in mid-2016.[78]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The game was originally developed by Chunsoft, who later merged with Spike to form Spike Chunsoft, two months after the Japanese release. In the North American and European versions of the game the developer is cited as Spike Chunsoft.
  2. ↑ The game was titled Virtue's Last Reward in Europe,[1] and Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV: Zennin Shibō Desu (極限脱出ADV 善人シボウデス, lit. "Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die") in Japan.[2]
  3. ↑ The European version only supports Japanese audio. See Localization.
  4. ↑ Question 66
  5. ↑ Question 30
  6. ↑ Question 36
  7. ↑ Famitsu‍'s total score out of 40 is composed of four individual scores; Virtue's Last Reward received scores of 9, 8, 9, and 8, totaling 34/40.[45]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Virtue's Last Reward". Nintendo UK. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "極限脱出ADV 善人シボウデス". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on November 23, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Lada, Jenni (February 28, 2012). "3DS and Vita both getting Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward". Technology Tell. NAPCO Media. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kemps, Heidi (October 25, 2012). "Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Patterson, Eric L. (October 23, 2012). "The Reward of Genre Diversity". Electronic Gaming Monthly. EGM Media LLC. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ponce, Tony (November 10, 2012). "Review: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward". Destructoid. Modern Method. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Schreier, Jason (October 18, 2012). "The Game That's Keeping Me Up All Night". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Escape - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward". Aksys Games. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Mackey, Bob (October 24, 2012). "Zero Escape Review: Choose Your Own Misadventure". 1UP.com. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Investigate - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward". Aksys Games. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Davison, Pete (December 11, 2013). "JPgamer: Another Number Nine". USGamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Cast - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward". Aksys Games. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  13. ↑ Chunsoft (October 23, 2012). Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Aksys Games. Level/area: Crew Quarters. K: From now on let's refer to the Real Zero, the one behind all this, as 'Zero Sr.' Which would, of course, make the AI 'Zero Jr.'
  14. 1 2 Carter, Grey (September 17, 2012). "Virtue's Last Reward Rewards Pre-Orders". The Escapist. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "AX 2015 Uchikoshi/Zero Escape panel". Aksys Games. YouTube. July 5, 2015. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Uchikoshi, Kotaro. "Behind Zero". Aksys Games. p. 1. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Virtue's Last Reward Director On Going 3D And The Future Of Visual Novels". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ "999 And Virtue's Last Reward Creator Chats About Suspenseful Visual Novels". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. May 29, 2013. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Director On Designing Characters". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  20. 1 2 Drake, Audrey (April 22, 2013). "Down the Rabbit Hole: The Narrative Genius of Virtue's Last Reward". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 Uchikoshi, Kotaro. "Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward – Q&A". Aksys Games. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ Nutt, Christian (January 11, 2013). "The Storytelling Secrets of Virtue's Last Reward". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  23. ↑ Szczepaniak, John (August 11, 2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers 1. SMG Szczepaniak. pp. 311–312. ISBN 978-0-9929260-0-7.
  24. 1 2 Lada, Jenni (April 5, 2013). "999 and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Interview: Aksys gets things done". Technology Tell. NAPCO Media. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  25. 1 2 Bateman, Ben. "Interview 3: Zero In". Aksys Games. pp. 5–7. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Only Has Japanese Audio In Europe". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. October 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  27. 1 2 Meyerink, Stephen. "Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV Zennin Shibou Desu Soundtrack". RPGFan. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  28. ↑ Kotowski, Don. "Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV Zennin Shibou Desu Soundtrack". Game-OST.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  29. ↑ Napolitano, Jayson (April 15, 2012). "Note Worthy 003: Diablo, Torchlight, Dragon's Dogma". Destructoid. Modern Method. Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die's Awesome Promotional Anime". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. December 14, 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
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