It is a PS Vita game, one of the only good ones out at this time which also explains why it’s a top seller but if you want to get technical it is an anime as well because there is an OVA for it. Virtue’s Last Reward is a story driven game of the mystery/puzzle persuasion and is the second in the Zero Escape series following 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors; an amazing Nintendo DS game of the same genre.
The story follows a unique timeline which splits at certain points allowing you to make important decisions more than once. Of course what makes it so brilliant is that if you make a decision you don’t like you can simply jump back to that point in time and pick the other choice. What’s beautiful about this is that the character you are controlling Sigma is also aware of this and after making a decision which may result in his death or the death of others he can jump back in time and make a different decision. I’m a nutter for a good time travel/ alternate dimensions story and this is a perfect example of those things.
But a good story is always held together with good characters and those characters which are pictured above aren’t your average anime harem. They all have hidden secrets and you’re interactions with them are important for you and everyone else’s survival. In the end what I’m getting at is that getting to know them was a pleasure and a very rewarding experience.
I spent exactly 33 hours and 33 minutes, hence the title playing this game over the last two weeks (Which explains my absence) and during that time I was forever trying to find answers for questions the game posed. The kicker is that while trying to get answers I just ended up with more questions. Piles and piles of questions that would drive a man insane if he couldn’t find time to play the game as much as I did. Question after question built up until the breaking point at the end where you are met with an explosion of answers causing an overload of information so satisfying I had to put the game down and sit in silence to comprehend what had just occurred.
Case in point. See the guy/girl with the mask in the image above. The whole game you want to know his/her identity and then when you discover the truth it just poses more questions which nullify the answer you just received.
So all in all I’d say go play it and anyone who has played and finished it should be my best friend because you good sir/madam have outstanding taste in storytelling.
Best… Vita Game… Ever <3
By: Altsune on November 17, 2012
at 6:57 pm
Agreed! Did you 100% it?
By: AceRailgun on November 17, 2012
at 8:57 pm
Not yet! XD Still love it though
By: Altsune on November 18, 2012
at 1:49 am
Tell me when you do. I could talk about the ending for days.
By: AceRailgun on November 18, 2012
at 9:26 am
I really wanted to play 999, but was never able to track down a copy. I might get this if I ever end up buying a Vita.
Are the characters meant to be visually reminiscent of anyone else? One of them looks a lot like Yoko, and the thing on the left almost looks like something from Summer Wars.
By: Yerocha on November 17, 2012
at 7:51 pm
The rabbit on the left does look a lot like something from Summer Wars now that you mention it. I read in depth about how the design came up with the characters and he never mentioned Summer Wars or Yoko so I reckon it’s just a coincidence.
999 is damn cheap now days and you should be able to pick it up on a lot of gaming sites or you could try amazon/ebay and see if it’s there. It’s pretty important to play 999 first because Virtue’s Last Reward has a lot of callbacks in it.
By: AceRailgun on November 17, 2012
at 9:02 pm
999 was super pure awesomeness. I heard of a successor coming out so it’s this.
From what you said, it sounds like another puzzling twists of plots just like 999, and that sure count me interested. Aside from the stories, how’s the gameplay though? 999 uses a “escape room/prison” style of gameplays and it fits well with the theme they used. Or is it full interactive text without any gameplay? (kinda doubt it though). I played Time Hollow on the DS just recently and it’s another game with time travel theme, the gameplay for that is awfully simple though, so simple it’s almost non existent.
By: Kai on November 17, 2012
at 9:18 pm
Well if you’ve played 999 then I’d say the puzzle/gameplay part of Virtue’s Last Reward is the same as that if not better. It has way more puzzles than the first on did too which is good. Sure there is a lot of text scenes but it is broken up enough to not get repetitive.
By: AceRailgun on November 17, 2012
at 10:07 pm
Agghhh, curse my inability to save money and get a Vita! Reading “The story follows a unique timeline which splits at certain points allowing you to make important decisions more than once.” in your post made me want to play this game. I, for one, am a victim of bad decisions. A game allowing me to at least satisfy my “go-back-to-time-and-make-things-right” desire seems really great.
That aside, the art style is quite good.
By: ruoani on November 18, 2012
at 12:48 am
Having the ability to undo bad decisions is great and made the game so amazing. Save all your money for it because I’d say it’s worth it.
I quite like the art too, It has that unique feel to it like all the girls aren’t flawless and the guys are just muscle monsters which a lot of anime art tends to do. They have character is probably the best way to put it.
By: AceRailgun on November 18, 2012
at 9:25 am
One of the best Vita games definitely. I’ve got all the bad endings so far. Haven’t really had any good endings yet. Will finish the game when my semester is over.
By: Rei on January 1, 2013
at 9:28 pm
Good luck with it. I’ll say now that the good endings are worth waiting for. Make sure you let me know when you’ve finished it.
By: AceRailgun on January 1, 2013
at 9:39 pm