Virtue's Last Reward

[Libra]

I just got the Tenmyouji ending and it was beautiful. <3

I'm 34 hours into the game now and I think I have two more puzzles to solve, so I'm guessing it shouldn't take that long to get all the other endings (so far I only have two; Dio and Tenmyouji).

 

[RayOfHope]

You didn't get the Dio ending yet? I thought that was the first one you're required to get, to start unlocking the others! Or is there another way? Or am I thinking of another ending?

That's the first one I got, anyway. It really sheds a lot of light on things IIRC. Although it probably raises more questions than the few it might answer.

 

[Manzanas]

I just got the Tenmyouji ending and it was beautiful. <3

I'm 34 hours into the game now and I think I have two more puzzles to solve, so I'm guessing it shouldn't take that long to get all the other endings (so far I only have two; Dio and Tenmyouji).

I hope you enjoyed the music that played during the final part of Tenmyouji's ending, many consider it the best and most beautiful piece of the game. Just remember to not look for the OST on Youtube or something like that yet, not only the comments section are full of spoilers, but the related videos may spoil a few surprises.

 

[Libra]

You didn't get the Dio ending yet?

Well, I said: "I'm 34 hours into the game now and I think I have two more puzzles to solve, so I'm guessing it shouldn't take that long to get all the other endings (so far I only have two; Dio and Tenmyouji)."

So yes, I did get the Dio ending; it was the first one, actually.
---
What the... I'm trying to solve a puzzle in the Treatment Center but I accidentally switched to Easy and now this puzzle is telling me that if I don't succeed, then "you are a failure and we are very disappointed in you". Ah ah ah, that is brilliant!!!

 

[Manzanas]

What the... I'm trying to solve a puzzle in the Treatment Center but I accidentally switched to Easy and now this puzzle is telling me that if I don't succeed, then "you are a failure and we are very disappointed in you". Ah ah ah, that is brilliant!!!

Actually, the game tells you that even if you're playing on normal. If you play on Easy, there will be a few extra bits of dialogue in which the characters mock or get angry at Siggy. But it's better to save that for later and complete the puzzles on normal during your first playthrough. You're in the room with Tenmyoldi and one of the girl, right? Can't remember which one was

 

[RayOfHope]

xD Apologies for misreading your post. I feel blind now.

 

[Libra]

Actually, the game tells you that even if you're playing on normal. If you play on Easy, there will be a few extra bits of dialogue in which the characters mock or get angry at Siggy. But it's better to save that for later and complete the puzzles on normal during your first playthrough. You're in the room with Tenmyoldi and one of the girl, right? Can't remember which one was

Clover. And ah, I wasn't sure if it was because I was on Easy but I'm quite sure it's the first time a puzzle has told me I'm a failure, haha. I'll probably replay the puzzles on Easy later for the extra dialogue.

 

[Libra]

I'm currently on my way to the Alice Ending (well, from what I've seen, I'm assuming it's that one). I'm 39 hours and 30 minutes into the game and have unlocked four endings so far; K, Dio, Tenmyouji and Clover. The Clover one was rather weird. I was expecting what happened, so it's not that I was surprised. More that it seemed... well... weird, compared to the other endings so far. But it was interesting to find out more about her. (Side note; I now understand better why people keep saying one should play 999 first. But it's not something you have to do, because the game explains things rather well.)

Spoiler: Anyway, my updated flow chart so far

Only listing the ones I haven't completed yet:

Director's Office (mystery of the two-headed lion)
Whatever is to the right of Tenmyouji's End (need to go back and vote differently there)
Warehouse A (five minutes of life)
Whatever will be to the right of the result of the above lock (also need to go back and vote differently there)
Clover - Game Over (not entirely sure, but looking at the flowchart it makes sense)
B. Garden (currently doing that one)
Infirmary (who planted the bomb)

So I think I'm rather close to completely finishing the game. However I'm going to have to check if I got all the puzzles on Hard and that I got all the secret files. There was at least one room (can't remember which one) which wouldn't let me open the safe a second time (because the story advanced) so I couldn't get the secret file there.

 

[Libra]

After you finish VLR, you should give "999" a chance, it's a good game.

I might do this if I find the game for a price that's not too expensive. I was lucky that there was a sale for Virtue's Last Reward a while ago, so I only paid 12.49 EUR. I've been looking for a used copy of 999 but the prices are at least 25 EUR or more and I don't think I want to spend that much even though I'm sure it's a great game.

I hope you enjoyed the music that played during the final part of Tenmyouji's ending, many consider it the best and most beautiful piece of the game.

Yeah, it was absolutely beautiful. The music in this game is well done; I really enjoy listening to it. It's one of the few games that I actually play with the volume on. Most other games I play without any sound.

 

[Manzanas]

...

Ahh, you got Potassium's ending? A lot of people consider it one of the most shocking and confusing endings, by the way, I hope you wrote down that code. Yeah, I didn't really enjoy Clover ending... it was more weird than spooky. Besides, I don't know if you noticed but Clover's ending is spoiled by the introductory video that play every time you start the game (The one that play before the Main Menu screen). That's one of this things I disliked about the game (and 999 too, if you ever get it, skip and don't watch those videos because they only spoil important segments of the game).

Indeed, music is good, but in my opinion, the soundtrack of 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors was superior to Virtue's Last Reward's. By the way, many of the tracks you're listening while playing are borrowed from 999.

Anyway, keep playing and have fun.
Remember to stay away from spoilers, Alice is worst character and Dio is your friend.

 

[Libra]

I seriously LOL'd at your gif.

I wrote down all codes, yes. So far I haven't needed any yet, though. But I should be able to continue now with the Director's Office. The credits are currently rolling and I think I just got the Luna End. Before that I got the Alice one. I don't think it'll take more than a few hours to finish the game. I thought the parts after the locks would be longer, but it's a lot of reading and not doing anything (by which I mean; it's not like you're solving a puzzle), so that might explain it.

Clover's Ending was indeed spoiled by the introductory video (and it's the same thing as the trailer, so yeah, I'd seen it). So I had been expecting it because one) I knew it would come up at some point, and two) it was also (partially) explained in other timelines. But still, compared to the other endings it was just weird. There was also one thing I wondered about in this ending, namely; what happened to K? He is not shown. We can assume that Quark will sleep for all eternity in the pod (poor kid), but what about K?

Other than that, while I understand the locks and such, I also find it to be confusing at times because I go back to a timeline and can't remember what has happened or has been said. Must be an age thing, ha ha.

[EDIT]
And I was wrong; it's not Luna's Ending I just got, it's Sigma's. See; that's what I mean with getting confused and not knowing what has been said and done and such.

 

[Manzanas]

...

I too was wondering where he was during Clover's ending. Don't worry, most of your questions and doubts will be answered as you continue.

Oh, you're not the only one, every piece of fiction that involves time-traveling or something like that can be very confusing.

If you got Siggy's ending, that means you can access the Director's Room computer now, I envy you, I remember going through that ending for the first time... it's definitely one of the highlights of the game. Grab yourself your favorite snack and drink and enjoy it, cause it's a lengthy one.

 

[Libra]

I got Quark's Ending and was surprised because seriously, a large part of this game is "Where is Waldo Quark?" and it had kinda slipped my mind that yes, he'd have an Ending as well.

Got Luna's Ending and it was so sad! Also long, yes, but definitely worth it! She's probably my favorite character in this game.

Also got Alice's Ending and had a "you're kidding, right?" moment there. Not what I had been expecting. This game just keeps surprising me.

Anyway, I've got eight endings, but I have a lock on the path to the ninth ending (because oops, where the heck is bomb number zero?), so I think it's going to be a bit longer than I had originally thought.

Too bad the third game got canceled; I'd definitely would have bought it.

 

[Manzanas]

...

The Quark ending got me by surprise, too. The little guy is barely with you, so it's easy to forget about him.

Luna's ending is easily one of the most beautiful endings in the whole game. And one the greatest Mind Screwdriver, too.

What surprised you about Alice's ending? Was it Dio being the one who planted the bombs?

Lock 10 is unlocked for you now, by the way.

Yeah, it truly is a shame the game flopped in the east. Thanks, Japan!

 

[Libra]

What surprised you about Alice's ending?

Spoiler

Well, Dio killing himself is one thing. I guess it makes sense but even so, when it happened, I was surprised for a few moments. Then the ending itself, with the whole place blowing up. I guess I should have known that was coming as well, because Sigma sees it sometimes when remembering images from other storylines, but still...

The problem I'm having is the jumping I mentioned. Quark's Ending surprised me because - oh hey, right, he has an ending as well - but also because - hey, Quark is alive! - followed by Alice killing herself and then wham; end!

This game messes with your mind; it's absolutely brilliant. <3

The only thing that sometimes makes me roll my eyes, though, is that nine seconds isn't that long. Yeah, I know that they can't use nine "real" seconds because they wouldn't have enough time, but seriously, some of the things that happen (talking or trying to stop someone from leaving through the Number Nine Door) take so long that I expect the door to close before someone can go through. Except nope; they somehow are able to make it. I can only guess that the actual opening and closing of the door itself takes far longer than nine seconds and that that explains the window of time.

Yeah, I know; details, but when it's Dio, I want the door to close already and preferably on him, you know?

 

[FriendlyVillager]

I just finished the game today and i'm really upset cuz i don't think they'll make a sequel, so i'll never know what happens in you-know-what during you-know-what

 

[Ayaya]

I've beaten this game months ago so I can't TL;DR about it anymore even if I want to... There's so many to discuss!
For now I'll just say that my favorite character is Luna and I'm a bit disappointed that this has less suspense than 999, but the story makes up for it.

 

[Libra]

I just went through all the puzzle rooms again and made sure to input all the passwords on Hard. As it turns out, I'm missing three passwords for the secret files (the Infirmary, the B. Garden and the Laboratory), so I'll have to do those puzzles again. What's interesting is that the game at times stops you from leaving the room if you've just input the passwords, but haven't done anything else. I got stopped in a.o. the Treatment Center because I hadn't put Quark in the pod. But the game pretty much does what you should have done and after a lot of pressing the A button, you can leave the room.

Anyway, I'll be doing those three puzzles later today and then I should be good to finish the game (I know there's one final puzzle (the Q one, whatever that'll be), but that should be it).

 

[Libra]

Finished the game and I think my brain just exploded...

 

[Manzanas]

Finished the game and I think my brain just exploded...

I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as almost every player who completed Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward did. It's a pity we will never find out how the story continues... we'll never see Phi in a swimsuit, either.

Here's some interesting trivial facts you might not know...

Spoiler

-In the original script, Dio was supposed to do "something very messed up" to Clover according to Uchikoshi during Luna's Path. But executive meddling demanded that scene to be rewritten.

-Most people, me included, were actually surprised to find out Dio was the Big Bad of the game. During my first play-through, before The Reveal, the only thing I could think was "This guy is so OBVIOUSLY evil that it's OBVIOUS that he's not the villain". He was such an jerk during the whole game that you'll expect that he'll eventually redeem himself sooner or later...but nope, turns out he's a total ass.

-Remember when Dio picked "Ally" when playing against Luna in the first round? I think the creator confirmed that he did it because he thought she was beautiful. There's also the fact that, during that time-line, his assassination attempt on Akane failed and he KNEW there were at least two persons who were aware that he was a intruder, so he had to keep a low profile and play it easy until he could plant the bombs.

-You asked what happened to K during Clover's ending. It's never explained, but many people just assumed that, because it was impossible for him to commit suicide with the small scalpel thanks to his armor, he just went to another room searching for an object to off himself with.

-In some endings, Quark is doomed to spend the rest of his life, which isn't very long to begin thanks to Radical 9, inside the pod.

-Have you deciphered what "MILKELOVI?", the password used in the Director's Office in Luna's Path, means?

-The golden files give an answer to one of your earlier concerns: "How can the characters talk SO much during the 9 seconds the Number 9 Door is open?". The files say that the 9 seconds begin the instant the door is completely open, that means that the characters have some some additional seconds for dialog while the door is slowly opening and closing.