To start, and for the sake of example, here's a recommendation from
the thread that spawned all of this by Freezer (Spinosaurus, at the time).
The sequel to 999: 9 Persons, 9 Doors, 9 Hours (a game that I
previously recommended), Virtue's Last Reward is about a college student named Sigma who is kidnapped and, when he wakes up, finds himself in a strange room with a mysterious girl named Phi and a strange bracelet on his arm. After seeking a way out of the room, he introduced to a cast of seven other characters, all of whom seem to be in a similar situation as Sigma. They are then greeted by a charismatic rabbit named Zero Jr. The rabbit tells them that they are apart of the Nonary Game, and the goal for the game is simple, open the number 9 door. How this is done is simple, a player simply has to flash their bracelet over the scanner when it displays the number 9.
The bracelets all of an initial value of 5, and to raise the value they need to complete trials with the help of two other members and then vote whether they want to Ally or Betray the player (or players, if their Bracelet says that they are a solo). If both the solo and the pair pick Ally, they gain 2 points. If they both choose Betray, they both gain no points. If a one chooses Ally and the other chooses betray, the traitor gains 3 points while the ally loses 2. Now, the logical solution would be that each time they are able to vote, everyone chooses Ally each time. After 3 votes, everyone would be able to get out all at once, right?
There's a catch, though. Well, two of them (if not more). The first of them is that the door only opens for nine seconds, only those who have nine points can enter (lest they die), and once the door closes, it closes for good. The second is that if someone's points reach 0 or below, they are injected with a lethal poison.
What this creates is an engaging and tension filled experience where the lines between cooperation and competition are blurred. When it comes down to voting time, VLR turns into a game of trust, and because of how well the characters are developed over the time that the player spends with them, this does incredibly well to make the player feel the weight behind the their decisions as if they were Sigma themselves. The game does well to portray the emotions of the characters, and the sadness or bonafide anger after they've been betrayed by someone they thought they trusted (and vice versa). It's that human element that truly makes that portion of VLR so engaging, but that is only a brief portion of the game.
Much of the game is told in Visual Novel format, so there's a good deal of text. Unlike the first one, all of the lines are voiced. The US version has included the well done dub that features experienced and fitting voice actors such as Laura Bailey, Liam O' Brien, and Travis Willingham. Both the US and European versions contain the Japanese voice acting, though the US version contains both English and Japanese. In comparison to the original, the characters are far more expressive than they were in the original game, and in place of the 2D sprites with fluid animations, Virtue's Last Reward uses 3D models. The game also uses pictures and short animated videos to show action on screen, so as to keep the player interested, and it spares no expense in doing so.
Despite the grim tone of the game, Virtue's Last Reward manages to be a lot brighter and more colorful than its predecessor, and it does so without disrupting the atmosphere. The characters also feel more human, often making jokes and acting as normal people would in such a situation that they're in (this is partially due to the lack of a time limit, unlike the first game, which gave them nine hours). With that in mind, the humor in this game can often times be laugh-out-loud funny, and it does really well in developing the characters.
Finally, there's the puzzles. Dear God, the puzzles. In 999, I had a hard time just beating the puzzles without a guide. I didn't manage, and I did use a guide. I decided against that in VLR, even opting to play on Hard Mode (which changes some of the extra rewards and disallows your partners from give you hints on when you're stuck). I can say without a doubt that this game's puzzles are not only much more difficult than those of the original, but also much more involved and fun as well. While there may be those of you out there who are thinking "Puzzles? I'll pass", I recommend against it. I'm not a puzzle fan myself, but VLR is just such an engaging experience that I actually enjoyed doing the puzzles (and it was INCREDIBLY satisfying when I figured them out on my own).
And, even with all of that, I've barely touched on what makes Virtue's Last Reward so great: the story. VLR has a story that I would easily deem the greatest in gaming (and one of the best in storytelling period, though that might be a stretch) in a heartbeat. The world of VLR is so detailed and so well constructed that it could pull pretty much anyone in. VLR does not simply try to be a game that the player will complete and put away, it was meant to be an experience that will stay with the player days, weeks, and even months after they play it, with an ending (or rather, many endings) that will hit the player emotionally and leave them wanting more. With each playthrough, the game gives the player just enough information to piece the story together and theorize about the big picture, something that will still be incomplete after going through all of the endings (which you will, you won't be able to stop yourself if you enjoy the game). I simply cannot recommend this game enough, and I feel that it is probably one of the most overlooked titles of all time as well as one of my favorites, definitely my favorite 3DS/Vita title. I'd even go as far as to say that it contends for being one of the greatest games of all time.
Digitally, the game's $25 dollars on the 3DS and it was previously free to PS+ subscribers, so please do yourself and Chunsoft a favor and buy this game.
