Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Grows on you"

I picked up 999 on a whim more than a year ago, planning on taking it with me on vacation, but since I haven't really taken any vacations in a while, that didn't pan out. The game of 999 is based on a rather compelling story. Nine people are kidnapped, trapped in what they soon discover is a large cruise ship. They can only pass through doors with the appropriate number of people that corresponds with the number displayed on the door itself.

The gamer plays the main character Junpei, a college student who is just as confused as everyone else. The stages of the game are comprised of different decks of the boat being passable only after solving puzzles of varying sorts. Luckily, there is no time limit, truly, once the puzzle begins, allowing trial and error methods to work themselves out. The environments are simple, not overly graphical, making the finding of clues easier. The challenge truly is in interacting with the other characters in the game and figuring out what is going on. As the story progresses, it is clear that there is more to each character and why he/she was chosen to be in the game. I found myself frustrated as I played only because I couldn't get the answers I wanted when I wanted them.

I got close to the 'True Ending,' missing it by a hair's breadth for the final qualifying point. The cheats section of any site is a great way to have some idea. If you want to fly blind in this game, you may find yourself dumbfounded by some puzzles, but the answers present themselves in due course. The progression through the game was actually a lot of fun, but the excessive amount of reading could be considered a detriment to some gamers. If I had been on vacation, as planned, while playing this, it would have been much more engaging than playing while watching hockey games in the background. I don't know that I could give nothing, but glowing reviews for this game, expect that games with so many endings often frustrates me just because you have to replay the entire game to see them. If you have a DS or 3DS, this is a must play!