The Zero Escape trilogy is a classic and should come to the Nintendo Switch. All three games are masterpieces in their own right, and the final game in the series, Zero Time Dilemma, won our 2016 Game of the Year award. That’s beside the point though. 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward are masterpieces as well. The series began on a Nintendo portable system, the Nintendo 3DS, so it’s only fitting that the series comes to Nintendo’s hybrid console/portable console, the Nintendo Switch. The games are made for handheld systems, yet having the option to play in high definition on your TV is also a nice touch. There couldn’t be a more perfect way to experience the Zero Escape trilogy.
A remaster of the original 999 game with voice acting has already come to the PlayStation 4, packaged with Virtue’s Last Reward in the form of The Nonary Games. Zero Time Dilemma has also come to the PC and the PlayStation 4 in high definition. This shows that the games already exist in high definition and can be played as a console experience. Though the series began on handheld and is truly a handheld experience, there’s something special about playing it on a TV in high definition. The 3DS is the ideal way to play the game, but on the Switch, you have the option of choice: you can play it on handheld mode. There are some parts in Zero Time Dilemma that are rather pixelated on the Nintendo 3DS, and it makes it very difficult to make one specific puzzle out. It requires a guide because it is unreadable. Given that the games have voice acting, a system with a good sound system such as the Nintendo Switch is optimal for the games, along with a high definition screen in both handheld mode and docked in TV mode. It’s not only that though. The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular systems of all-time. One of the greatest gaming experiences of all-time, the Zero Escape Trilogy, deserves to be experienced in the best way possible, and that would be on the Nintendo Switch.
Zero Escape is a masterpiece. All three games work together so well and while Zero Time Dilemma may be the weakest of the three, it’s still one of the best games on the 3DS, which speaks to the quality of the game. The Nintendo Switch would be the optimal way to experience the trilogy, so why not bring it to the Switch? The HD versions for all three games exist. It may be ported with some tweaks, but that’s okay. The series is so good, and it would expose a whole new generation of gamers to the Zero Escape Trilogy. 999, Virtue’s Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma all have something unique to offer. The puzzles can be difficult, but are incredibly rewarding. Shinji Hosoe’s musical score for all three games, especially his piece “Morphogenetic Sorrow”, is in a class of its own. The voice acting is fantastic, especially the new voice acting in 999 in the Nonary Games. The games are all set to be ported to the Nintendo Switch in one package.
Nintendo and Spike Chunsoft, make this happen. Fans will buy it up, and more importantly, you’d be introducing the games to a brand new audience. There’s limitless sales potential for such a pertinent franchise in the adventure genre. The games redefined what a visual novel could be, and given that Kotaro Uchikoshi’s Ai: The Somnium Files came to Switch, Zero Escape should as well. It’s Uchikoshi’s masterpiece and his life’s work. Uchikoshi is one of the greatest developers of our time. His games deserve the best treatment possible. Zero Escape deserves to be on the Nintendo Switch.