In general, I enjoy visual novels, even replay some of them 3 or 4 times. But the reason I replay 999 and play for the first time VLR in this collection is the same reason which I play some of the Level-5 games:
1. To see the limits of absurdity that the plot can reach
2. Like Level-5, Spike Chunsoft made games that are my guilty pleasures.
What I find most interesting about both games is how they explore the dynamics that most visual novels follow: The ramifications in history caused by the decisions made by the players. And it is integrated as the main motive of the plot and how it is played with this idea. I think it is more successful on VLR than in 999. In the case of 999, the path we choose through the game only serves to reveal more or less of the plot (in fact, it can happen to you as it did to me the first time I played it and end up with 2 or 3 endings and that's it) and the different interactions they can have with the characters. In the end, how this interrelate with the plot seems to me much less forced than its sequel, but also with much less sense.
Actually, the feeling I have is that throughout the game the different characters expose you to different themes and facts that are relevant to the plot in such an unnatural way that it shows the poor writing and cohesion that everything has, and no wonder the sequel decided to move on to full sci-fi. At the same time, I don't find the characters particularly interesting or charismatic (like every Spike Chunsoft game, they try to do likeable characters). And the story it's a mess with too much exposure to justify the last quarter of the game. The gameplay? Well, just the same of other novel-puzzle DS games, nothing special.
As for VLR, is a more pretentious game and one with more ups and downs. The general consensus is that it is worse than 999, even so I like this one more.
The extent of absurdity in the plot and the situations the characters are led to are worthy of stopping and thinking whether you are dreaming or something. But in a strange way, everything makes much more sense within the absurd. The decisions here are less arbitrary than those of 999 and narrative more logical. It is also much more fun to reveal parts of the story piece by piece and use them to continue on the other paths, gradually getting a bigger picture. However, each one of these paths are character focused and fulfilling them is necessary to beat the game. And some of the characters here may be less important to me than those in the previous game (I also find some more interesting).
For the other aspects of the game I don't have much more to say, it just carries over bad habits from the previous one (more exposure, of course).
At the end of the day, I don't think both games tell you anything, not even a bit. They are just empty games of any meaning that take advantage of the graphic novel format to experiment with it, but that's all that's left, in an experiment that like the nonary game doesn't end very well.
1. To see the limits of absurdity that the plot can reach
2. Like Level-5, Spike Chunsoft made games that are my guilty pleasures.
What I find most interesting about both games is how they explore the dynamics that most visual novels follow: The ramifications in history caused by the decisions made by the players. And it is integrated as the main motive of the plot and how it is played with this idea. I think it is more successful on VLR than in 999. In the case of 999, the path we choose through the game only serves to reveal more or less of the plot (in fact, it can happen to you as it did to me the first time I played it and end up with 2 or 3 endings and that's it) and the different interactions they can have with the characters. In the end, how this interrelate with the plot seems to me much less forced than its sequel, but also with much less sense.
Actually, the feeling I have is that throughout the game the different characters expose you to different themes and facts that are relevant to the plot in such an unnatural way that it shows the poor writing and cohesion that everything has, and no wonder the sequel decided to move on to full sci-fi. At the same time, I don't find the characters particularly interesting or charismatic (like every Spike Chunsoft game, they try to do likeable characters). And the story it's a mess with too much exposure to justify the last quarter of the game. The gameplay? Well, just the same of other novel-puzzle DS games, nothing special.
As for VLR, is a more pretentious game and one with more ups and downs. The general consensus is that it is worse than 999, even so I like this one more.
The extent of absurdity in the plot and the situations the characters are led to are worthy of stopping and thinking whether you are dreaming or something. But in a strange way, everything makes much more sense within the absurd. The decisions here are less arbitrary than those of 999 and narrative more logical. It is also much more fun to reveal parts of the story piece by piece and use them to continue on the other paths, gradually getting a bigger picture. However, each one of these paths are character focused and fulfilling them is necessary to beat the game. And some of the characters here may be less important to me than those in the previous game (I also find some more interesting).
For the other aspects of the game I don't have much more to say, it just carries over bad habits from the previous one (more exposure, of course).
At the end of the day, I don't think both games tell you anything, not even a bit. They are just empty games of any meaning that take advantage of the graphic novel format to experiment with it, but that's all that's left, in an experiment that like the nonary game doesn't end very well.