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In 1999, Kotaro Uchikoshi entered the game industry by creating 3D models for the promotional video game Pepsiman. Now he gets to write and direct his own ideas as one of the leading developers of visual novels and adventure games. For fans of sci-fi and puzzles who love nothing more than a mind-boggling twist, Uchikoshi’s games are second to none. With the recent release of AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, there’s no better time to look back at its criminally underrated library of games.

While Uchikoshi worked as a freelancer on several adventure games, his first major claim to fame was directing and writing 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors with developer Chunsoft. The game follows Junpei, a college student who gets trapped on a sinking ship with eight other people. Junpei must solve a variety of puzzles to escape the ship, while dealing with the secrets and subterfuge of the people around him, and a variety of complicated sci-fi concepts. The game is split between a visual novel-style mode in which the player reads texts and views character sprites, and the puzzle mode, which allows for an interactive environment.

999 was a milestone for the adventure game genre, combining great writing and storytelling with clever, difficult puzzles. It turned out to be the blueprint for many of Uchikoshi’s future games. Each of them contains elements such as a large cast, complicated pseudoscience and plot twists that rock the entire storyline, all features that were prominent in 999. Although a commercial failure in its home country of Japan, the unexpected success of 999 in North America made up for it. clearing the way for a direct sequel, Virtue’s Last Reward.

Virtue’s Last Reward takes the basic ideas from 999 and increases them to eleven. It focuses on Sigma, yet another college student who is trapped in a facility with eight other people and must solve puzzles to escape. The game features several improvements, including 3D graphics instead of 999’s pixel graphics, full voice acting in Japanese and English, and an even more complex story. 999’s branching paths had six endings for the player to watch, while Virtue’s Last Reward has a maximum of 20. With this more complicated story comes, of course, even more incredible plot twists that will make the player’s head spin.

To this day, Virtue’s Last Reward is often regarded as Uchikoshi’s magnum opus, and for good reason. The jump to 3D graphics allowed for even more complex puzzles that included the ability to view objects from all angles. In addition, the longer running time of the game allowed the writing to flourish, with more complex characters and plot elements. Fortunately, for modern players, 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward are bundled in The Nonary Games. This collection features remastered versions of both games with some improvements, including full voice acting for 999.

Although it was a critical success, the commercial failure of Virtue’s Last Reward left the series in an uncertain state. Fortunately, an outpouring of support from the North American fanbase allowed the trilogy to come to an end. Zero Time Dilemma was released in 2016 and had a unique gameplay structure that allowed the player to experience the plot in the wrong order and put together the overall timeline. While not as critically successful as its predecessors, it was nevertheless received as a worthy conclusion to the trilogy.

The three games together make up the Zero Escape trilogy, which has become one of the most acclaimed adventure games in recent memory. It is often favorably compared to Ace Attorney and Danganronpa, two other adventure game series credited with popularizing the genre in the West. Moreover, they established Uchikoshi as one of the main developers of adventure games. While he would eventually leave Chunsoft to pursue other opportunities, his contributions to the company didn’t stop there.

In 2019, Uchikoshi and Chunsoft released AI: The Somnium Files, a brand new independent property. The game focuses on Kaname Date, a detective who must solve a murder mystery by pursuing the dreams of suspects and witnesses. The game built on the 3D graphics from the Zero Escape series, leveraging the extra processing power of newer consoles to provide a streamlined, anime-esque style. The puzzles eschewed the more complex approach of the Zero Escape trilogy in favor of more bizarre, unconventional puzzles that took full advantage of the dreams they took place in.

Somnium Files does away with many of the disappointing aspects of the Zero Escape trilogy, such as the overly complex and lengthy explanation. The characters are more rounded and sympathetic, with particular praise for the relationship between Date and the AI ​​that accompanies him, Aiba. The puzzles can be difficult due to the lack of logic, but it is only appropriate for a game set in dreams. Finally, it has arguably the best plot twist yet in any of Uchikoshi’s games – one that’s well foreshadowed and understandable, yet still makes you look at the entire game in a different light.

Although initial sales were disappointing, strong word of mouth managed to earn Somnium Files its well-deserved recognition. In 2022, it would get a sequel in AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, in which many of the elements from the first game were taken and expanded. The plot is more daring and centers on two different investigations into the same case six years apart. Fortunately, the puzzles are much more understandable without sacrificing the dreamlike logic. It is a more than worthy successor to the original title.

Uchikoshi currently leads Too Kyo Games along with other developers such as Kazutaka Kodaka, of Danganronpa fame. Their first major game, World’s End Club, came out in 2020 and Uchikoshi is currently working on their next adventure game, Tribe Nine. While Uchikoshi’s games have a strong following, they still lack the recognition and appreciation they truly deserve. Zero Escape and Somnium Files contain some of the best stories video games have to offer, and they should be recognized by more people in the gaming community. It is worth checking out the wild ride provided by the great works of Kotaro Uchikoshi.

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