Let me get one thing straight: I completely revere 999. It was my game of 2010. It has it's flaws, but it offers a story unlike any other game. A story so good, it will make you forget anything not so great about the game. So when I heard there was a sequel coming out, I was absolutely thrilled. And when I played Virtue's Last Reward (which isn't a great title, I have to say), I saw how much this game is similar to 999... starting with the flaws. First of all, the 3DS version is busted. Overflowing text, frame rate drop, corrupted saves (including one that nobody had before and that cost me a 28h save file) and glitched puzzles. The VITA version seems like the one you need to get. Also, the game switched from 2D anime-like art to 3D, and doesn't do a whole lot with it. I mean, the 3D art doesn't look bad at all, but neither did the 2D art. It just seems like a weird decision. The puzzle are also weirdly inconsistent. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes just dumb. But then, you're gonna ask, why do I like this game so much if it is that flawed ? The writing, simple as that. Virtue's Last Reward, like 999, truly deserves the name of visual novel. The story is really the high point of this series, but I can't really talk about what makes it so good without spoiling it, which would make playing the game useless. Unlike 999, the game makes getting all the different endings a lot easier by enabling you to travel directly to the branching points in the story. And believe me when I say you'll need that, as getting all 20 endings are mandatory in order to truly finish the game (I admit, half of them are game over screens, but they are all unique and still fun to get). And you want to completely finish that game. There is a payoff. And it's so crazy, it's probably going to melt you brain. It melted mine. Overall, it feels kind of weird to love a game that much, but the best part about the game isn't really the game. Still, Virtue's Last Reward is an absolute must if you own a 3DS or a VITA, and a good reason to buy one if you don't.
