History VisualNovel / NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors

* ActorAllusion: In the ''Nonary Games'' port, Ace is voiced by Creator/RichardEpcar, who uses a voice similar to [[Franchise/LupinIII Daisuke Jigen]], which becomes more promient when [[spoiler:he wields the golden revolver like Jigen's weapon of choice, is shown to be very unscrupulous in general (while lacking Jigen's heroic traits) and in the "Safe" ending calls the late Clover a "[[CharacterCatchphrase bitch]]".]]

** [[spoiler:The solution to the safe puzzle is 14383421. Multiply this by 9 and you get 129450789, the true number of each character's bracelet.]]

** In the 2nd Class Cabin, Santa while on the subject of why he hates the number 4 comments that he thinks 9 is a far better number because it's not a 'lameass middle number'. [[spoiler:His bracelet's true value is 9, being one of the masterminds behind Zero. Him also hating the "Love, Faith, Hope and Luck" analogy tied to four-leaf clovers also foreshadows that he would likely associate it with one of the worst days of his life for a while since Akane died in the incinerator, rendering those four terms moot.]]

** In a bit of genius, during the Safe ending, [[spoiler:you end up with the password 14383421. According to an interview with WordOfGod, he chose that because, if you multiply it by nine, you get 129450789... the actual numerical value of everyone's bracelets.]]

* CodeName: Every character except for Junpei and the 9th Man adopts one, though technically [[spoiler:Clover isn't using a code name either.]] To wit, in numerical order: Ace (1), Snake (2), Santa (3), Clover (4), June (6), Seven (7), and Lotus (8). As it turns out, [[spoiler:June doesn't count either, as she's actually Zero.]]

* CodeName: Every character except for Junpei and the 9th Man adopts one, though technically [[spoiler:Clover isn't using a code name either.]] To wit, in numerical order, Ace (1), Snake (2), Santa (3), Clover (4), June (6), Seven (7), and Lotus (8). As it turns out, [[spoiler:June doesn't count either, as she's actually Zero.]]

** [[spoiler:Clover kills Junpei for his bracelet, as it, along with hers and Cap's, would let her escape through door 9. It turns out the 0 bracelet doesn't actually have the number 0 on it, but 6, meaning his death would have been wholly unneeded.]]

** The "True" Ending is, of course, an EarnYourHappyEnding. Quite literally too, as you can't possibly get it in your first playthrough. [[spoiler: Although how happy it actually ''is'' is in the eye of the beholder.]]

A sequel titled ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' (in the original Japanese, ''Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV Zennin Shibô Desu'', or roughly, ''Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die'') was announced for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita in August 2011. It was released in Japan on February 16, 2012, and released in North America on October 24 2012. It was released in EU territories and Australia the following month.

In February 2014, it was announced that due to low sales in Japan, production for the trilogy's last game was being put on hiatus. Fans responded with a successful [[http://www.facebook.com/operationbluebirdze3 Facebook campaign]] to show support for the series. In July 2015, the third game in the series, ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', was finally announced for the 3DS and Vita, to be released in Summer 2016. In June 2016, a [[https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/741171506827255808 Steam]] and [[https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/741287790130909185 Vita]] release of ''999'' have been teased and, on Halloween in 2016, [[http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/10/31/fight-for-survival-in-zero-escape-the-nonary-games-out-next-year-on-ps4-ps-vita/ a remastered bundle with VLR]] was confirmed for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, Vita, and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for release on March 24, 2017.

* GridPuzzle: The true route ends with such a puzzle. In the original UsefulNotes/NintendoDS release it's a sudoku[[note]]in the later re-releases it's a number-base puzzle[[/note]] that needs the console to be [[ParadiegeticGameplay held upside-down]] to be solved. Since the bottom part of the screen represents Junpei, it means that it's him who is cracking the puzzle instead of TheProtagonist Akane (who is in the middle of a nervous breakdown due to the impossibility of the challenge and the previous reveals).

** In the 2nd Class Cabin, Santa while on the subject of why he hates the number 4 comments that he thinks 9 is a far better number because it's not a 'lameass middle number'. [[spoiler:His bracelet's true value is 9, being one of the masterminds behind Zero.]]

** Not too important, but when you look at the lights in the 1st Class Cabin, Snake looks surprised until Junpei clarifies where they are. [[spoiler:Light is Snake's real name.]]

** Back into the beginning of the game, Junpei wonders if Zero, the man who kidnapped all nine players, could actually be [[spoiler:not a man]].

** Alluded to when Santa mentions his dislike for the number four. In the English version, Junpei asks if it's about the Four Horsemen; clearly in the original he just thinks Santa is superstitious.
*** It is probable that the reason Santa hates the number four [[spoiler: is that Snake used four-leaf clovers in the first Nonary Game to encourage the other players to have faith, and by the end of the game his sister was dead.]]

* TheStinger: The ''very last scene.'' [[spoiler:They've escaped the Nonary Game, and everyone is driving off through the desert, trying to make sense of everything that's happened... and then a strange, vaguely Egyptian, woman shows up in their path.]]

* FairPlayVillain: Despite putting bombs in everyone to keep them in line, Zero makes sure to keep things fair in the Nonary Game, such as giving Snake extra information about the game to make up for him being blind and at a disadvantage. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that the last part of the game was designed to save everyone from the start, but in the end, was entirely designed to get revenge against the four creators of the previous game. Everyone else who wasn't targeted is free to go, alongside an SUV with a full tank to get out of Nevada.]]

* ProperlyParanoid: Seven suggests using codenames to conceals as much information from Zero as possible in case he tries to use that as leverage to any of the participants like threatening their families for example. [[spoiler:Zero did threaten Snake into not revealing he and Clover were in the previous Nonary Game by threatening to blow up Clover's bomb if he did so, via the braille card left to him.]]

** Junpei can hold onto this firmly depending on the player's actions.

* MoonLogicPuzzle: Averted, unusually for the genre. You may have overlooked an item and need to re-examine an area more thoroughly, but you'll be able to solve everything. This is actually lampshaded in the dialogue: in one of the endings, Lotus points out that the puzzles were always fair and never required resorting to instinct. The fact that the game runs itself is discussed in one narrative segment. You may want to keep a notebook close by, though, as some puzzles require memorizing multiple sequences of random data (e.g., compass directions) or translating letters.

* VigilanteInjustice: [[spoiler:In the Axe ending, Clover snaps and kills Santa and Seven in revenge for her brother's death since their numbers were the only ones which could open Door 3 as well as June who tried to protect them, then kills Junpei for good measure. Not only was Snake actually alive, none of them were responsible for the dead man in the Shower Room in the first place.]]

* BlingBlingBang: In the storage room behind Door 1, there's a loaded golden revolver provided so one player can threaten others with it. [[spoiler:Ace steals it in the "Safe" ending to drag Lotus around at gunpoint and Santa does it instead in the "Coffin" and "True" endings by holding June hostage, but it's later revealed they staged the incident as part of their plan and to avoid revealing their bracelets' true values.]]

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: A creepy variant in the Axe ending: [[spoiler: Clover (the smallest character) kills Seven (the largest character and a trained cop), Santa (who was armed with a gun at that point) and June, using only the aforementioned hand axe.]]
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: The Saturn elevator conversation mentioned in HurricaneOfEuphemisms.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
** {{Invoked|Trope}} for everyone except for Junpei. Doubles as MeaningfulRename as the names are themed after the bracelet numbers.
** Actually, [[spoiler:Clover]] is exempt too since [[spoiler:it's revealed in a flashback that her name is actually Clover.]]

* PlotCouponThatDoesSomething: There is exactly one of these in the game. It's required to unlock the True Ending.

* PointAndClickGame: You have to use the stylus to move around the puzzle rooms and interact with items. It's in first person perspective.

* UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat: [[spoiler:Is the final door in the incinerator a 9 or a q? If you go the "Safe" ending, it's a 9. If you go the "True" ending, it's a q.]]

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Akane and Santa make a getaway in the True Ending, with Junpei and the other Nonary Game contestants chasing after them,]] setting the stage for a number of plotlines in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''.

** The achievement for getting the Submarine ending in ''The Nonary Games'' is [[spoiler:"[[Music/TheBeatles We All]] Die By a Music/YellowSubmarine"]].

* StoryDifficultySetting: The iOS version of the game removes all gameplay portions, keeping only the VisualNovel-style story.
* SummationGathering: [[spoiler:The "Safe" ending, after Junpei opens the safe and learns Ace's identity.]]

* TimeBomb: Invoked in the text, see above.

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Taking the counterintuitive and seemingly selfish option of going through Door 3 railroads you into the [[DownerEnding Submarine ending]] in most versions of the game. The iOS version doesn't even let you get that far and has a specific downer ending for it where [[spoiler:Clover drowns Junpei by injecting him with soporil]].

** One can be seen in one of the previews: [[spoiler:"Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer. Actually, I'm Santa". [[SantaClaus It's not what you might think]] [[http://fav.me/d3cq0wi before even playing the game]], and not what you'd think when you hear it even after playing it at first [[note]]Santa is NOT Zero, though he is helping her[[/note]]; [[ItMakesSenseInContext but it's just as shocking in its context]] [[note]]Junpei starting to reveal to everyone that Ace can't identify faces and what levels of bastardry Ace had committed since the start of the Nonary Game[[/note]].]]

* FlatCharacter: In the routes that have the most plot significance, the only one whose presence isn't really explained [[spoiler:with their connection to the previous Nonary Game]] is Lotus. She just kind of exists within her dynamic with Seven, to force splitting at times (see JerkassHasAPoint), [[spoiler:and her getting captured and being taken hostage by Ace in either major ending.]] The only way you can find any relation connecting her to the major MythArc [[spoiler:is to follow a deliberately stream-lined path that only goes to the Sub ending, that reveals her kids were part of the game.]]

The first game in the ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' series, ''Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors''[[note]]in the original Japanese: Kyokugen Dasshutsu Ku Jikan Ku Nin Kyū no Tobira?, lit. "Extreme Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors[[/note]], or ''999'' as it is sometimes known, itself plays as one part "escape from the room" games, one part ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' and one part story (though some self-labelled story segments offer the player numerous choice points). Decisions made during story and escape segments determine how events unfold and which characters will interact. There are several branching paths and [[MultipleEndings your decisions impact the ending]]. It was released on Platform/NintendoDS on December 10, 2009 in Japan, and on [[=iOS=]] on May 29, 2013.

The first game in the ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' series, ''Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors''[[note]]in the original Japanese: Kyokugen Dasshutsu Ku Jikan Ku Nin Kyū no Tobira?, lit. "Extreme Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors[[/note]], or ''999'' as it is sometimes known, itself plays as one part "escape from the room" games, one part ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' and one part story (though some self-labelled story segments offer the player numerous choice points). Decisions made during story and escape segments determine how events unfold and which characters will interact. There are several branching paths and [[MultipleEndings your decisions impact the ending]].

** Once the party discovers [[spoiler: Snake's body]], one of the grisly details Junpei notices is an open fracture on the corpse's left arm, [[spoiler:which at some point gives away that it's not Snake's body at all, as he has a prothetic left arm.]]

* CommonalityConnection: As the game progresses, it transpires that despite their different backgrounds, personalities and professions, 8 of the game's participants are all connected directly with [[spoiler:the first Nonary game experiment with Cradle Pharmaceuticals, two of the participants having designed and overseen the experiment, four of them being past test subjects, one of them having their children kidnapped to participate in the experiment and one of them being a detective who interfered on the Gigantic test site and helped the kids there escape]]. The sole exception to this is [[spoiler:the protagonist Junpei, who is only indirectly connected through having known test subject Akane as childhood friends and having given her a doll, with her attempt to recover said doll during their escape resulting in her getting recaptured and dragged into the ship's incinerator room to die if she couldn't solve the final puzzle though using the morphogenetic field Cradle Pharmaceuticals were trying to exploit... and it turns out that Junpei's inclusion in the second Nonary game is because he's actually [[LivingMacguffin the most important participant]] that it's all built around, as him being in that ''exact'' situation is what allows him to transmit the Puzzle's solution back through time to the twelve-year old Akane when she 'linked' with him through the field, thus necessitating present Akane to start the second game to [[StableTimeLoop re-create the conditions that enabled her past self's survival]] to avoid CessationOfExistance]].