To be completely honest I've never owned an M rated game before this game. I am pleased to say that my bridge from T to M could have gone better with this impressive Visual Novel game.
Let's start off with the story. We meet Junpei, who was abducted mysteriously onto a sinking ship with an unremovable watch with the digital number 5. On the ship are 8 other people all wearing watches with different numbers (1-9.) Their captor is the enigmatic Zero, who kidnapped them to participate in the Nonary Game, a game in which all 9 must go through doors and exit a door with a 9 on it in 9 hours lest they all perish from bombs in their stomachs or the inevitable sinking ship.
The story is rich, dark, gripping, every corner lies a twist. Though the puzzles are rather short and repetitive as you play through the game multiple times you'll grow to love them. Boasting a total of 5 different endings, the results range from everyone dying to everyone but one escaping. The characters themselves range from Junpei's childhood crush to a blind man. Most of them seem kinda bland at first but as their characters are flushed out, the story becomes much more darker. Just remember, not everyone is what they seem to be. If you loved the Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton series figure this game to be a fusion of both but much more darker. It's more of a pick your own adventure game than it is a puzzle game as majority (about 90%) of the game is text. The puzzles are somewhat challenging, but after solving them once you'll know how to solve it if you stumble upon it again.
The games sounds and music are very dark which suits the whole feel of the game. Though even the most tender of background music has a dark tinge to it almost remorseful. You'll be pleasantly surprised how much more tense the music will make every dark corner, every shadowy hallway, and dimly lit room seem. Buckle up, you'll be in for quite a ride!
Nonny's rating: 9/10. The nine I gave isn't an intentional joke, it really is a great game to end the DS era. If you play it, you won't be disappointed and is one of my top 10 DS games. It'll keep you up at night and will keep you on the edge of your seats/
Nonny's tip: Avoid door three. It will force you to a certain ending which you could do better without, but you can if you're seeking the submarine ending.
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Now that's Capsuled strategy!