This is an early extra entry into my BlackBlog posts because I did not originally list 999 as one of my backlog games but I have been meaning to play it ever since my friend played it 2 years ago and talked about how amazing it was.

I am happy to say that he was right, 999 is a wonderfully amazing game. There are only a handful of times when a game has gotten me to truly care about its characters, story, and fiction to the point where after the game is complete I just want there to be more. I wanted to see what happens to the characters after the game said The End, I wanted to know more about the world, I just wanted more of anything. 999 was like reading a great book. When I finished it I was completely amazed at how genius the plot was and how great all the characters were that I just wanted it to keep going. I wanted their to be more revelations, more puzzles, more conversations, and more fiction. Even though the game is played on a fairly small DS screen I was completely absorbed within the world of 999 like I was watching a movie. And while some of the puzzles weren't that clever and the way the game forces you to replay them is a bit annoying, the story is so good that it was totally worth it to me. I felt so compelled to see how everything was going to turn out that I didn't even really mind any of the game's faults.

And the game's faults are totally worth putting up with if you want to experience one of the most well written stories of all time (in my opinion). I love plot twists, especially the Assassin's Creed II ending, but Patrick has often made criticisms about it the twist not being "fair" because the game doesn't earn it's twist. There was no opportunity for the player to see the twist coming because it wasn't relevant to the game until it happened. Now I understand what Patrick was saying and I agree. 999 earns its plot twists. At the end of the game when everything is revealed there are multiple "holy shit!" moments because the twists were sitting right there the entire time and were so well written and so clever that even though some of them are right in front of you there is no way you could have guessed them. There were even twists within the twists and there is so much that happens that it is just overwhelming in the best possible way. After reading through the Q & A with the game's writer found here I could not believe how perfectly the plot fits together. All of the parts where I thought there were plot holes that didn't make sense make perfect sense. In such a complex story, that is truly the work of a genius. I want to just keep writing about it and describing how amazing each one of the plot twists and story connections were, but there is no way I would ever spoil anything about this game for anyone because it must be experienced! I can not say enough good things about this game. If you love great stories, characters, and plot twists then this game is a must play. Even if you don't like touch screens or adventure puzzles, it is still worth it. The experience of 999 is something that is truly a masterpiece and I am very excited to play VLR.

Side note: If you have played the game and are confused at all I highly recommend reading the Q & A I linked with the writer Kotaro Uchikoshi. He cleared up any confusion I had and also explained things that made me feel even more amazed by how well written the game is.