Remember when bunnies were simply cute and fluffy? Me neither. Let's Play Virtue's Last Reward!

You can't trust anyone. One wrong step, one bad choice, and you're dead. If you win, you live. If you don't, well...you don't. This is the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. Solve puzzles, make alliances, let virtue guide you, and you just might see another sunrise—but remember that Zero III is always watching, eager to send you to your last reward.

Hi, I'm Ashurei, long time lurker and first time LPer. Nice to meet you all! I'll be giving you a taste of Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, a sort-of-but-not-really sequel to 999. Although knowing the story of 999 is not essential, it does help, as there will be references to it in VLR as well as some returning characters. If you haven't played it or seen/read an LP of it, feel free to go do so. I'll wait.

Welcome back! First of all, please enjoy the opening of the game, which is a nice combination of intrigue, scalpel-waving and suspiciously dead-looking people. Like its predecessor, VLR is a visual novel with 'escape the room' puzzles. Also like its predecessor, there are generous helpings of ketchup. See all those people lying in a pool of ketchup? Them peeps sure love their ketchup.



We're partners. That means we share a destiny.

This will not be a blind LP, but given how the game works it's probably better that I do this with full knowledge of what to expect. You'll see what I mean once I explain a bit more about the mechanics. So why do this LP? I really enjoyed slowly unravelling the mysteries in VLR, and I wanted to share a bit of that with you. I will warn you right now that you will get absolutely no closure from this thread. In order to get the 'true end', you are pretty much required to see all the other possible endings. Of which there are 20. I will not be doing that here for obvious reasons.

Choices you make in the future influence the past.

Before I get the LP rolling, I'd like to point out a sweet little feature VLR has, which is this nifty flow chart below.



It maps out the branches of the game, and allows you to jump back to any stage that you have already played. That means there is no need to replay right from the beginning, and less of a need to spam the skip button. An invaluable feature, not only for full game completion, but for another feature VLR has, which are locks.

In some routes, you will run into the VLR version of Gandalf (it's more of a black 'to be continued...' screen than a wizard screaming 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS') which doesn't allow you to proceed until you gain certain information from playing other routes. Had this been a blind LP, you would've been treated to me flailing about on every route until I played the entire game trying to find aforementioned information and running into more locks instead.

Anyway, time I shut up and start this thing. Please stand by.

Warning. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is rated M for f-bombs, character death, and the protagonist being a perv.

On December 25, 2028, the world was suddenly reduced to nothing but a sequence of flashing images that took a certain LPer several tries to screenshot.



The story had yet to unfold, so these flashing images held little value beside the depressing fact that in 16 years time, we still will not have hovercars.



Also not a hovercar.



Our handsome(?) self, in our not-hovercar.



The rain, presumably falling on our not-hovercar.



On the bright side, the not-hovercars of the future have plenty of leg room. On the not-so-bright side, we're being gassed.



Can be a hovercar if you squint.



Definitely not a hovercar.

Ahhhh, this! I loved 999 and plan to get and play VLR myself once I can locate a copy, but that means I'm going to have to strive very hard not to follow this too closely even though I want to... I'm so weak against my own curiosity and spoilers in general that this is more of a dilemma than it should be.

Anyway, regarding that first point, the screenshots are a little big. You could probably stand to halve the size, especially since the game's naturally text-heavy. Right now, it takes up about three-quarters of my screen, which will make consecutive dialogue shots heavy going, unless you're intending to summarise a lot.

...Not that I'll be here to see it... Maybe I'll just skim a little? oh who am I kidding

Ahaha, this LP shouldn't spoil the game for you too much. After all, you'd still have 19 or so other endings to see plus the ~*~*secret*~*~ ends. I know how you feel though, I couldn't put the game down until I completed it; it is so very bad for the weak-willed, especially due to the locks. Are you planning to get the 3DS or Vita version? I got my copy for free from a promotion on Amazon, which was awesome.

Duly noted, I'll go fiddle around with the resizing right now. I do plan to summarise or write out the dialogue for the times when the scene doesn't change, but I might as well reduce the amount of loading the page takes. o uob

I don't have a Vita, so it'll be the 3DS version for me! And wow, that's one awesome promotion. I've been having trouble finding copies in stores over here since they're either all sold out or still awaiting more stock, so I might have to resort to Play-Asia soon.

The new size looks great, by the way!

That's me, by the way. Sigma me. Sigme?







It's not our not-hovercar, that's for sure.

Girl: Isn't that obvious?

Girl: ...

Sigma: Um... hello?

Girl: ...

Sigme, you should probably try to be a bit more polite. And not bombard the girl with questions that she most likely cannot answer.







Questions such as those ones. Predictably, the girl continues to consider Sigme unworthy of anything more than dots.

Sigma: You always this friendly, or did I kick you while I was sleeping?

Faced with more silence, Sigme gives up and turns his attention to the elevator controls. He decides to approach them the same way I play Mortal Kombat - mashing buttons uselessly.

Girl: I'm plenty friendly.

Sigma: What?

Girl: I said I'm plenty friendly.

Sigma: Hey, looks like you can talk after all.

Sigme! We have established contact! Don't blow it now!



I give up.

Sigma: Hm. Well, could be worse, I guess.

I know, right? She could have said something like you're both stuck in a booby-trapped elevator in the bowels of a top-secret government facility where they conduct grotesque human experiments! Hahaha, how silly.

Disturbing foreshadowing aside, tell us your name already, Girl!



You poor thing. I wouldn't wish that name on anybody. Oh wait.



That's us. Champion of the obvious.



Sigme can't recall meeting her before, and the girl still known as Girl confirms that they haven't met prior to this moment. She just... knows it. Sigme isn't satisfied with her reply and continues doing what he does best - bombarding her with questions that she cannot answer.



Girl, I know Sigme can be annoying, but that's offensive to grandpas.

Girl: Look, I just don't know, all right? It's just kind of... there. Like... I looked at you... and some part of my brain just said, "That's Sigma."

Okay. We've well and truly established who Sigme is. Now how about you? Who are y—



Whatever the thing is, it's not you. Now give us your na—

Girl: See? You've got one too. They're pretty much identical...

Sigma: Y-Yeah... Yeah, you're right...

Topic successfully changed. Girl, you so sneaky. But boy, do we have a manly arm.

I hope you'll be able to get a copy soon, Tewi! Do you know about the saving glitch on the 3DS version? Just wanted to warn you so that you don't lose your future saves.

Oh good. Image size problem solved, now to resist taking screenies of every single screen. ; u;

Aww yesss. I forgot all about this game, and loved watching through 999. I really wanted one of their promo watches for a while ;(.

Can't wait to see how this goes!

So guys, what do you think these mysterious bracelets are?



Brilliant insight as usual, Sigme. Any attempt to get them off prove fruitless, and they don't seem to have any clasps. They do, however, have some buttons that Sigme is quick to press, only to have as much success as with the elevator buttons. So what does he do?



You never know. Maybe if he does it often enough something different will happen.

Girl: There's something on that screen over there.

Well, I'll be.

Sigma: Wha...What the hell is that?

Girl: A rat?

Zero: It just seems silly to have a big old chit-chat right now, sooo... I'm gonna give you a game to play!

Zero: And I'm calling it... The NONARY GAAAAAAME! AMBIDEX EDITIOOOOON!

Zero: There's more to it! Lots more! But if I told you now, that'd be cheating. So hurry up and get out! I'll be waaaaiting!

What could possibly be more important than a game?

Zero: This elevator you're in... It's gonna fall in a few minutes. Waaaaaay down. So you better get moving.

Zero: I'll see you later. Have a nice trick!

Sigme, wrong reaction. Observe Girl for the correct reaction. The rabbit just said that you are about to plunge to your death. You know what that means~

Last I heard, they were selling the promo watches for $20 or something so you might still be able to get one. c:

Ooh, Virtue's Last Reward.
Sadly, my copy of this game still hasn't arrived, and I really don't want to be spoiled for anything so I'll avoid this thread for now.
But I'll be back to check this out when I've played through it. :)

I'm not going to be covering the escape the room puzzles, but I will explain a bit about how they work. What you'll find in every escape room is...

Girl: A square metal box. Looks like a safe.

Sigma: Yeah. I wonder what's inside...

Girl: Something someone wants to keep safe. What else would you put in a safe?

Sigma: Well what do you think it could be?

Girl: A cracker.

Sigma: What the hell's so important about a cracker?!

Girl: Okay... How about a tie deposit box?

Sigma: A...a what? What does that even mean?!

The goal is to solve the puzzles in the room to obtain two codes to unlock the safe. One code yields a file which contains supplementary facts and background information, and only serves to give the story some added depth. You don't need this to progress in the game, but it's still a nice feature. The other code gives the key to escape the room, along with some other items which vary depending on the room. Once you've obtained a safe code, it is stored in your archives and you can refer to it at any time.

Although I won't be LPing what I do in the escape sections of the game, I will be posting some of the dialogue because they are hilarious and show parts of a character's personality that you might not otherwise see during the visual novel sections.

Girl: This is some kind of mouse icon!

Sigma: It's a rabbit! How many times do I have to tell you?!

Oh my god, I love the dialogue. What the hell, Girl?

The hatch in the ceiling opens. Sigme, like a gentleman, tells Girl to climb up on his shoulders. She stares at him suspiciously and doesn't move.

Girl: I knew it! You sick bastard!

They've just met, and Girl knows him way too well already.



It's too late, Sigme. Give it up.



Think unsexy thoughts, Sigme.

Girl: Fine.

Unsexy. Thoughts.

Girl: And I'm certainly not going to give you the satisfaction of making me climb. So, kneel.

Sigme does so, but unfortunately for him, he won't be touching any bare thighs today. Girl uses him as a boost and leaps straight up, landing gracefully on the roof of the elevator.



No bare thighs, but I sort of got a panty shot. Without the panties. Sorry, Sigme.



No wonder she was so evasive about her name. Girl is Superman.

Virtue's Last Reward!!!!!!! I'm playing it right now! I'm so excited, definitely watching this thread.

Sigma: ...What the heck are you?

Welp. So much for that theory.



I didn't even get the chance to think of those yet. Spoilsport.



I'm slightly worried that you think you can be mistaken for ramen.





We determined that from all the screens where you were referred to as Girl, girl formerly known as Girl.

Phi: It sure doesn't look like an elevator shaft. Some kind of warehouse, maybe. Or a hanger...

Sigma: So we were in an elevator that doesn't... elevate.

Phi: Yeah. It wasn't going to go anywhere...

Zero III is a dirty rotten liar.

Hm, what's that over there?

Phi: They're all wearing bracelets. Probably safe to assume they're trapped here too.

Sigma: Right, well, let's go say hi, then!

Hopefully you will make a better first impression than you did with Phi, Sigme. The first thing you said to her was, "Gah!"



Hey! Hey! Hey, listen! That necklace is not a top, lady. What are you thinking.



Sigme logic. They're wearing bracelets like we are! They're trapped like we are! Obviously they know more than we do about the stuff none of us know about! Seriously lady, what's with that necklace.

Woman A: I haven't been out here much longer than you.

Sigma: Oh... yeah... I got in my car... I went to start the engine and then there was this white smoke...

None of you guys have hovercars, either? This future sucks.

Woman B: The smoke seems to be some kind of general anesthetic. When I woke up, I was in one of these "elevators."

Sigma: All five of you were in one elevator?

Unlike Phi, these people are forthcoming with their names. It turns out Alice (Woman A), Luna (Woman B) and Tenmyouji (Old Man) woke up in their own elevators. Quark (Young Boy) shared an elevator with...



The Mr. Fabulous of the game.

Phi: Say. That. Again.

I don't think Sigme has forgiven her for the grandpa thing.

Thanks for stopping by and watching, everyone! Nothing makes me happier than knowing that the LP is interesting enough for your attention. o/

How far are you into the game, Alko Boom? You can giggle in anticipation with me on the events to come. o uo

I've just started the game so I haven't even gotten the first ending yet. However, I watched a LP on Youtube so I know some of the events. And yes, I will giggle with you when that happens.

I have to admit, when I first saw Woman A Alice When She's Not Ten Feet Tall I perked up a bit.

Then I remembered that, in 999 the woman who wore almost no clothes turned out to be an old lady.

So I'm going to be cautious and instead tentatively lust for Girl and Woman B, until we found out how broken they are and/or what terrible human beings they are.

Let's check out everyone's mysterious unremovable bling!











As you can see, those with PAIR on their bracelets (Sigme and Phi, Dio and Quark) were together in their elevators, while the ones with SOLO were alone. What do the colours mean? What does the 3 mean? Most likely it has to do with that game Zero III mentioned...





As expected, pulling the lever on the left simply gives an ERROR message, and forcing the door does nothing. Unless someone has a tank in their pocket, that door's not going to open. Sigme, completely disregarding what the others just told him a couple of screens ago, turns to the trippy-looking doors.

Quark: I told you already. Each one's got a digital lock on it. We can't pick the lock, and we can't break down the door.

Quarky, you've got to go easy on Sigme. It takes several repetitions to get anything through his thick skull.



How dumb Sigme can be?

Luna: Are you... are you saying there's still someone in there?

Alice: I can't say for certain, but it does seem strange. Maybe we should go take a look?

Despite banging on the door and yelling, there is no response from the last elevator. At a loss, Sigme and co. focus their attention on the elevator itself.

Luna: Is that some kind of card reader?

Quark: There's one next to each door...

Sigma: We should be figuring out what's inside this thing. Anybody got a key card?

Highly doubtful, but everyone digs through their pockets anyway. Surprise surprise, no key card. Or anything else, for that matter.

Dio: Maybe there's no one in there.

Sigma: No! There is. There's gotta be...

Dio: And what makes you so sure?

Sigma: Huh? Uh...well...

Suddenly, the hatch on the elevator swings open.



When in doubt, jazz hands.

Quark: Look! It's opening! There was someone in there!

SUPERMAN. FOR REAL THIS TIME.This might be an actual panty shot with panties in it if so I'm sorry for everything.



Real superheroes wear togas.

You have no idea.

Oho. Seems like some of the captives know each other.

Masked Man: She was like that when I woke up. I really wouldn't worry, though. She should be all right.Her breathing is steady. I believe she is only sleeping.

Tenmyouji: Then she hasn't woken up since they kidnapped her.

Masked Man: Ah...kidnapped? Begging your pardon but... I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean.

Masked Man: ...Where are we? And... who are you?

It looks like we have another Sigme on our hands.

Sigma: How about you tell us who you are first.

Sigma: You leap out of that box dressed like some kinda robot, carrying an unconscious girl, and we've only got your word that you didn't make her that way. I think you owe us an explanation, pal!

...Seven?

Masked Man: I don't remember. I don't remember...anything. I have no idea where I am, who I am, or even what day it is.

Masked Man: If you happen to know any of those things, I would very much appreciate it if you shared that information. Not knowing one's identity is...vexing.

He has the same English VA as Theodore from P3P, so I keep imagining it's Theo under the Iron Man suit. Dio, on the other hand, sounds like a trashtalking Akihiko.



Mr. Fabulous has obviously played 999.

Dio: How are we supposed to take you seriously when you're wearing this...this... This robot suit! We can't even see your face! Are you going to tell us someone forced you into that thing?

Masked Man: I assume so? It seems the most reasonable explanation.

Tenmyouji: You look pretty calm for a man who doesn't know who he is.

Masked Man: "Look"? That's an odd choice of words. I'm wearing a mask. How would you know how I "look"?

Tenmyouji: Ah... You know what I meant, ya smartass.

A groan shifts the attention away from Iron Man for a moment.

Clover: Where...are we...?

Everyone is Sigme!

Clover: What...? No...no, that can't...

Those familiar with 999 would understand why she's acting so freaked out. The girl has the worst luck in the universe. And obviously Alice has had some influence in Clover's new... taste in clothing.

Clover appears to be as okay as she can be in this situation, so back to Iron Man. Are you sure you don't know who you are?



Luna concludes that Iron Man probably has generalised amnesia, a type of memory loss in which sufferers retain knowledge such as language, social common sense, memorised facts, abilities they've learned, etc. but lose everything that has to do with themselves.

Luna: Most research suggests that it's mainly psychological, not physiological, but in very rare instances it has been shown to result from severe head trauma.

I'd hate to meet your ex, dude.

Dio: Bullshit! This guy's obviously full of it! Don't tell me you're actually buying this?!

You guys are all smarter than Sigme so I don't need to tell you that Clover's bracelet is also a green PAIR. I don't need to, but I did anyway. Force of habit from spending so much time around Sigme.

Speaking of Sigme, what's he up to?



Trying to force open another obviously locked door. Of course.





Sigme barely has the time to utter more than a "Huh." before Quark and his short attention span draw us away from the doors to the ketchup on the wall.

Luna: I'm... not sure what that's supposed to mean.

Sigma: Maybe it's saying that a pair of milkmen decided to become comedians?

You have got to be kidding me, Sigme.





I have no words, Phi. Let's ignore Sigme for now. Anyway, turns out "two milkmen go comedy" is an anagram for...



Why does that sound familiar?

Tenmyouji: Seems like somebody was expecting us, doesn't it?

Sigma: Yeah, but... Where are they? Pretty rude to invite somebody over and not even offer them a drink.

Phi: True.

Dun dun dun.

See, now, I would be completely sold on the idea of hot, barely dressed legal-age Clover...

Seriously, both of them belong on a street corner in Vegas.

...Maybe that's where they were before they were kidnapped

How could I not know this game existed this is awesome THANK YOU!
I loved 999 and I feel like I forgot everything so now I will be playing it while I should be studying \(^o^)/
And once again I am reconsidering buying a 3DS... nghhh



Too bad we aren't Phi though

Honestly, that makes more sense than the truth. Cannot. Get. Over. Pseudo-top. My theory is she glues it to her boobs. How else does she keep it perfectly in place no matter what she does?

She's too smart to be the protagonist. Buy it buy it buy it buy it buy it.

Where?! I want one!

Ah, my apologies. They were available from the Aksys site around mid-November, but looks like they've been taken down. I'm so very sorry for getting your hopes up. :C

Awww, it's ok. I can live without them.

Also I just got my first true ending, Clover's.

Hear that? That's the sound of tiny saplings of camaraderie being utterly decimated by the callous foot of suspicion.



Which sounds a lot like the maniacal giggling of a virtual rabbit.



I hope you're happy, Phi. Those saplings never stood a chance.



Not helping, Zero.

Zero: Although things are starting to get exciting... Eee he he he...

Mr. Fabulous is not amused. So not amused that he tells a rabbit to face him like a man.

Dio: Of course I don't! You're some kind of CG rabbit or something, probably. That's not what I meant, though!

That would simplify things, yes.

Zero: Weren't you listening to Phido? She's clever, you know.

Sigma: Then... you're saying...

Why won't anyone think of the saplings?!

Zero: Zero is the one who built me, of course. So I guess that makes one of you my parent!

Zero: Now, are you a mommy or a daddy...? Ah ah ah! That would be telling! He he he...

Zero: I mean, obviously. I don't even have a body... I'm just the...facilitator for this facility. I just do what I'm told to do!

Luna: And what do you...facilitate?

Zero: Didn't I say? The game, of course! It's my job to make sure it runs smoooooothly.

Worst luck ever.

Hmm. Is it wrong of me to immediately suspect Alice because of the White Rabbit imagery?

Probably.

Hmm.

Well, with the mindset of a Mafia Player, I'd probably guess Dio is the bad guy, since he's the one trying to seize initiative and look innocent by standing up to the rabbit most openly.

With the mindset of someone who played 999 and saw the twist on who Zero was last time, it would be Phi, or if they're trying to top the bizarreness of the last twist, Sigma.

Sigma. A mastermind. Bwahahaha.

Hey, after

anything's possible.

Warning. Infodump post ahead.

For the benefit of the uninformed, what is the "Nonary Game"?







Thanks, Iron Man! Back to you, Zero.



Aaaaaand how can we open it?

Zero: You see the bracelet? Of course you do.

The numbers on the bracelets (currently 3 for everybody) are called "Bracelet Points", or "BP" for the lazy.

Zero: One! The number nine door will only stay open for 9 seconds. When your time is up, it'll close automatically! So be careful.

Zero: Two! The number nine door only opens once. Once that hoppens, it's allllll over. It'll close for good after 9 seconds, so if you're not careful you could get stuck.

Zero: Three! Now, maybe some of you are thinking., "Oh ho... If my BP is too low, then I'll just have someone with enough BP open the door...and I'll just slip through when it's open..."

Zero: Well that's not gonna lapin! If you think you can be sneaky, well... Oh... I, um, really shouldn't say that yet.

Zero: All you need to know is that anybunny who tries to sneak out gets hit with a biiiiiig penalty.

Dying. From. Rabbit. Puns.







Ooookay. But how do we get BP? On a completely unrelated note, doesn't it look like Luna and Dio are having some kind of standoff with their finger guns?



Also known as the AB rooms, or the elevators. If you remember the time shortly before Clover and Iron Man made their appearance, we discovered that the elevator doors needed a key card to open. We also discovered we didn't have said key cards. So, where do we get them?



Also known as the trippy-looking doors. As Sigme proved to us several times by trying to open them, these are locked until a certain amount of time. The handy-dandy bracelets, as well as keeping track of BP, count down the time until the Chromatic Doors unlock.



To cut down on 38479288392483 screens, basically only three people can go through each door (the two members of one PAIR along with one SOLO).

Red + Blue --> Magenta
Green + Red --> Yellow
Blue + Green --> Cyan

Or, you could go the complementary colour route.



Red + Red --> Cyan
Blue + Blue --> Yellow
Green + Green --> Magenta

Heeeeey, Iron Man. What should we call you?



Mr. Fabulous is quick to jump at Iron Man's armoured throat again. HURR DURR THE AMNESIA IS A CAKE. I mean, a lie.

Dio: So?! What does "K" have to do with anything?!

K: I wish I knew. Sadly, I have no idea. Does it mean anything to you?

Dio: ...Asshole...

Zero. What have you done.

Sigma: What's the point of this game?! Why did you take us?! Where are we?! And—and who the hell is the real Zero!?

Unfortunately for Sigme, the one time he poses his questions to someone who might actually have answers, he is interrupted by...







Better luck next time, Sigme.

Dio: Fuck that! You can take your Lame-ary Game and shove it up your ass!

Dio: If you think we're just gonna swallow your psychotic crap and play along, you've got another think coming, you smart-ass little rodent!

Zero: ...I'm a rabbit...

Zero: If anyone is left outside after they close, they'll... They'll be penalized.

Dio: You keep saying that! What the hell is this penalty anyway?!

Zero: Well...

Oh. Is that all?

Zero: The first is an anesthetic called Soporil β. The other is a muscle relaxant called tubocurine.

Zero: Your bracelet also has a bunch of needles on the inside. If you break the rules, those needles hop out and inject you.

It sure beats exploding, at least. I'm looking at you, 999.

Zero: I guess you could say it'll really take your breath away! Of course, none of that will happen if you just follow the rules...

Down to business. Time to decide which door to go through. What are our options, Phi? Small words, please. Sigme is part of your audience.







What'll it be, ladies and gentlemen?

Option A. Go through the magenta door with Luna.
Option B. Go through the yellow door with Tenmyouji.
Option C. Go through the cyan door with Alice.

Tenmyouji is both old and a man, so he's out.
Alice, while not a man and fairly hot, might turn out to be old, and given the personalities the other girls have shown is probably highly unpleasant.
Therefore, let's go with the probably too quiet and nice to be real Luna.

Let's go with Luna, nicest girl ever.

You have no idea.