zero time dilemma

Phi’s Dilemma

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following story contains spoilers for Zero Time Dilemma

Synopsis: Phi finds herself in a rather awkward position when Diana asks her for a favour – babysitting.

The harsh ringing of Phi’s phone stirred her from sleep. Instantly awake, she switched her bedside lamp on, put on her glasses and grabbed the phone, assuming it was an emergency call from work. Who else would be calling her at 5 o’clock in the morning?

Not that she minded, though. The only reason she was taking the day off was because Akane had found her asleep on her desk and insisted that Phi was overworked and needed a break. Phi was never good with just “relaxing.” But now it looked like something had come up, and they needed her help. Continue reading →

Zero Time Dilemma – It All Began With a Snail

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

zero-time-dilemma

In another timeline, this game does not exist. Due to the poor sales of Virtue’s Last Reward (which I wrote a review of previously), the third entry in the Zero Escape series was pretty much dead in the water. The odds of it ever being made were virtually nonexistent. Fortunately, this is not that timeline and thanks to outcry and support from a dedicated fan-base, director Kotaro Uchikoshi was able to bring this project to life and properly conclude the series.

This was one of my most anticipated games of 2016, but I held off playing it due to hearing rumours of a re-release of the first two games being made. Those rumours were true but I wasn’t able to actually play it until late 2017 when the Vita version finally got released in the EU. With those games under my belt, I immediately went into Zero Time Dilemma with high expectations and plenty of concerns. While reviews for the game were mostly positive, there were still a tonne of fans that outright hated it, even claiming it retroactively ruins the entire series. And after playing it… well, it left enough of an impression to make me write this review.

So is Zero Time Dilemma the worthy conclusion it was hyped up to be? Or would it have been best if it never existed at all? Continue reading →

Favourite Moments in Fiction #10 – D-Team’s Force Quit Scene (Zero Time Dilemma)

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoiler for Zero Time Dilemma

Team_D

If you played Zero Time Dilemma, you already know what I’m talking about and why I enjoy this scene. Granted, it is stupidly cheesy but even though I’ve only experienced the game very recently, it instantly wormed its way into a special place in my heart.

First, some context (not all the context, though, because we’d be here for much longer otherwise). The Force Quit Box – which can be used to end the Decision Game that the main cast have been forced to play – has been opened thanks to the efforts of C-Team and Q-Team. All that’s left is to activate it, which falls to D-Team – Diana, Sigma and Phi. But the box needs two specific items placed in it to do so, with the only clue to what they are being “Each is a mother’s memento.” Now, if you’ve not played the game, this is where it gets weird. Continue reading →

Ten Anticipated Games of 2016

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

Well, 2015 is officially over, and what a year it has been for the world of videogames. We had a lot of fantastic titles released in the last twelve months; fans of The Witcher were treated to a fantastic third title that showed that DLC didn’t have to be terrible, Nintendo made a successful jump into the world of online-shooters with Splatoon, and the Internet found a new favourite game ever in the form of Undertale. Continue reading →