The FLOW Chart in The Nonary Games version of 999.
The FLOW Chart is a game mechanic that is used to jump to any point in the game without having to restart the game from the beginning or having to replay any completed escape rooms. It shows every possible route in the games and is useful for showing what hasn't been completed by the player yet (though some routes are not initially shown to avoid spoiling them).
The flow chart is used in Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma. It is not present in the original DS release of Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, though it was added in both the iOS remake and the remaster of the game included in the The Nonary Games bundle.
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors[]
A part of the Flow Chart in 999: The Novel.
The original DS version of the game lacked a flowchart; in order to play through a different permutation, the player would need to replay the whole game from the beginning. While they could hold down the right button on the D-Pad in order to speed through previously read text, they could not skip puzzles. This was a common complaint of the game, and it is possible that this criticism inspired the creation of the flowchart in Virtue's Last Reward.
A flowchart was available in 999: The Novel for iOS. The arrows on the chart allow you to choose which door you take in order to obtain a certain ending, without having to replay that segment. The letters represent different points in the story. For example, "P" represents the prologue and "Q" represents a split in the story in which you choose a numbered door.
The remaster of 999, known as Zero Escape: The Nonary Games, includes a flowchart. This now prevents players from needing to replay the entire game from the beginning and re-doing the escape rooms to earn the different endings. The FLOW Chart allows the player to re-visit escape rooms and novel sections and re-do their decisions in them. The FLOW CHART judges the player based on the last decisions made. The chart also shows which requirements for unlocking the True and Safe endings are or are not met.
Virtue's Last Reward[]
Virtue's Last Reward's flowchart shows all the possible paths to complete all the different endings. The flowchart marks escape rooms, beginnings of novel sections, in-game locks and important information. The only difference is that this flowchart maps Sigma's jumps that he makes throughout the game.
In all endings except Clover's and Dio's, the player, en route to that ending, will encounter at least one "To Be Continued" message -- these messages are marked by a black lock on the flowchart. Until certain sections of the story have been seen, the player will not be able to bypass these locks and will stop at that To Be Continued. Once the player has met the condition the lock on the FLOW Chart will turn green and be accessible again. (The "To Be Continued" message will be skipped if the player already completed the necessary section).
Additionally, there are some non-lock stonewalls the player meets, such as requiring certain passwords/passcodes in certain routes (information verbally told by another character) in order to bypass those stonewalls. If the player were to pull the code off the internet, they'd be able to pass through the lock as intended, but this isn't recommended because it is absolutely not the recommended -- or intended -- playing order.
A very in-depth fan-made version can be found here.
Zero Time Dilemma[]
The global flow chart.
Another view of the global flow chart. Team D is blue, Team Q is green and Team C is red.
- Main article: Floating Fragment
Zero Time Dilemma features a global flow chart intertwined with a new fragment system. The global flowchart is shared by all three teams. Each fragment has a smaller flowchart. By clicking on a certain section, you can view that specific cutscene if it has been completed already.
If a player is stuck, they should:
- Ensure they have all four execution results, displayed in the top left. You should have seen all three teams killed by exploding collars.
- Every time a vote decision section is played, the game checks the most recently given votes in each of the three vote decisions to determine which execution to play, if any. For example, suppose you have just seen C-team executed. You replay C-team's choice scene and vote for Q-team. You will then see C-Team's Execution Again because Q-team and D-team's current votes are still with C-team. If you then replay D-Team's choice scene and vote for Q-Team then you will see Q-Team's execution because they now have two votes. If you cannot get a particular execution, replay all three vote decisions, choosing a combination of votes that will lead to it.
- There is no cut-scene for "nobody being executed" but the thumbs-up icon on the flowchart will highlight. This is necessary for some parts of the story.
- To see all executions quickly play in the following combination:
- First betray the suggested pattern as C-Team: vote C for Q, D for Q, and Q for C (Q-C-Q). This should trigger Q-Team's execution.
- Change D's vote to C-team and see C-team's execution. (Q-C-C)
- Change Q's vote to D-team and see no execution (Q-C-D). This should light the thumbs-up
- Change C's vote to D-team and see D-team's execution. (D-C-D)
- Ensure they have gotten the "don't press" outcome for each team's Decontamination Room.
- Check you have played all available sections, even obviously bad endings. Unlike VLR, bad endings can unlock content in ZTD.
- Check for ? or lock symbols turning into !s on the global flowchart.
- Consider letting the time run out during some decision sequences. Also, the random number generator is heavily biased to take unexplored choices, so if a section involves random chance, replaying it will get the full range of results much faster than normal.
- Note however that for this to happen, you must allow the "negative" outcome to play through completely. You may skip through it if it is a repeat, but quitting and reloading the game will not increase the failure counter and the game will not favor the unseen options.
- The fourth option of "Who should Q kill?" cannot be gotten in the normal flow of play, but it is an easter egg which doesn't unlock anything else.
- It may be time to enter the Door of Truth in the Locker Room on a timeline near the right. It is easy to miss because it is the only key number in the game that is not explicitly announced as being a key number. On one path, another team will see some text written on a door - that door is actually the Door of Truth and the text is telling you what the code is. The code is displayed on the screen in a header title on one of the other paths. If you want to find out the code, visit the Locker Room article.
- It may be time to enter the Force Quit Box codes. The Force Quit Box codes are listed on its article.
Specific locks (besides codes) are as follows:
- Press the Button (C)
- This fragment will be unavailable until the button is pressed in "First Come, First Saved : C".
- Press the Button (Q)
- This fragment will be unavailable until the button is pressed in "First Come, First Saved : Q".
- Press the Button (D)
- This fragment will be unavailable until the button is pressed in "First Come, First Saved : D".
- Outbreak
- Choosing "Run Away" at the decision game results in a lock if the player has not yet played through "Radical-6" and chosen "Don't Inject".
- Apocalypse
- This fragment will be unavailable until the completion of "Carlos's Promise," which follows "Get Back".
- Reality
- This fragment will be unavailable until the following conditions have been met:
- In "Radical-6," choose both "Inject Radical-6" and "Don't Inject".
- In "Outbreak," get through the lock and see D-END: 1.
- In "Suppression," get the "Don't Press" game over.
- Execute C-Team in the execution vote.
- Start a fragment after meeting the first two conditions if C-Team was executed/"Don't Press" was reached before finishing them.
- This fragment will be unavailable until the following conditions have been met:
- Anthropic Principle
- The 99.537% Reality
- This lock will automatically unlock after clearing "Ambidex".
- Anthropic Principle (branch of "The Three Dice")
- This lock will automatically unlock after completing "Junpei's Plan," accessed after "Ambidex".
- The Boy and the Ring
- The lock following this fragment will automatically unlock after completing "Get Back".
- The 99.537% Reality
- Ambidex
- This fragment will be unavailable until the following conditions are met:
- Execute Q-Team in the execution vote
- In "Poison," drink the antidote.
- In "Fire," shoot a live bullet and a blank.
- After shooting a blank, drink the "Gift from Gab".
- In "Anthropic Principle," get both "The 99.537% Reality" Game Over and the "Anthropic Principle" non-game over cinema branch.
- In "Suspicion," get "Carlos's Sin" by accusing Akane.
- AB Game
- The third option will automatically unlock after choosing both "Ally" and "Betray".
- This fragment will be unavailable until the following conditions are met:
- Transporter
- The lock after "The Stranded Pair" will unlock when the following conditions have been met:
- In "Fire," choose "Don't Shoot".
- In "Control," choose the correct locker.
- Follow the fragments following "Ambidex" until "Search the Portrait".
- Continue after "I Don't Know" in "Pop Off" to "Yellow Door".
- The lock after "The Stranded Pair" will unlock when the following conditions have been met:
- Suspicion
- The lock after "Carlos's Sin" will automatically unlock following the completion of "The Boy and the Ring," which follows "Junpei's Plan" and "Ambidex".
- Pop Off
- The lock after "I Don't Know" will automatically unlock following the completion of "Search the Portrait" in "Suspicion".
- Door of Truth
- The lock after "The Six Bodies" will automatically unlock following the completion of the "Suppression" Don't Press Game Over.
- Get Back
- This fragment will be unavailable until "Door of Truth" has been cleared.
- Q
- This fragment will be unavailable until "Get Back" has been cleared. It also requires viewing D-Team's execution.
- Force Quit (C, Q, D)
- These three fragments will be unavailable until the following conditions have been met:
- Get the "thumbs up" execution result by ensuring that everyone survives.
- Choose "Don't Press" for the three segments of "First Come, First Saved" (C, Q, and D).
- These three fragments will be unavailable until the following conditions have been met:
- Final Decision
- This fragment will be unavailable until the three "Force Quit" segments have been completed.
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