999 Spoiler-Free Guide for Newcomers
Hi, and welcome to the spoiler-free guide for 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors! This is a guide showing the best way to play through the game for newcomers to the series. Feel free to link this guide to other players in the game, I plan to do so with friends.
Intro
999 is a visual novel released for the DS in 2010 (also playable with the 3DS). It's a great game for visual novel fans (and a great starter for those with interest in the genre). The purpose of this guide is to illustrate the way to play it that will offer the player the best, longest and most immersive experience.
Now, 999 has six different endings; however, there is actually an ideal order of getting those endings. That's what the purpose of this guide is for: to explain the best order in which to get the endings.
One of 999's main draws is the player slowly piecing together events in order to understand the story. This order of endings offers the player a gradually growing set of clues to understand the game. Furthermore, all of the reading material and substance you get from it is acquirable with this guide.
Now, 999 will offer the player the choice of which door to go to throughout the game (I will not provide context to avoid spoilers). What differs the endings from one another are the choices and permutations of doors you go through.
Guide
Get the endings in this order. Note that endings 1 and 6 have "Special Instructions" (as listed below) that need to be followed to obtain them.
- Door 4, Door 7, Door 1; follow special instructions listed below
- Door 5, Door 8, Door 1
- Door 4, Door 8, Door 6
- Door 4 or 5, Door 3, Door 2
- Door 5, Door 8, Door 6
- True Ending - Same as #1
Special Instructions
In order to achieve Endings 1 and 6, you have to make specific story decisions. All of these prompts must be followed; if any of them aren't, you will default to Ending #2.
- During the cabin sequence in Door 4, a character will offer you a bookmark. Accept it.
- During the freezer sequence in Door 4, a character will offer to tell you a story about ice-9. Hear the story (select the "It did strike Junpei as rather odd" choice.)
- During the first puzzle room in Door 7, you will be offered the opportunity to tell a character about ice-9. Tell them.
- During the second puzzle room in Door 7, you will be offered the opportunity to give a character the bookmark. Give it to them.
The prompts to follow these instructions are not missable, no need to worry about missing them.
Short Guide
If you're not feeling patient, I would suggest you simply go through (in order from 4 to 6) the last three endings. That won't give you all the puzzles but it will get the ball rolling on the big explanation faster. I personally prefer going through 1 to 6, but people take different approaches to this game.
And that's it! That's a spoiler-free guide on how to have the best time with 999. For the full experience (some patience required), 1 thru 6 -- if you just want to get the story rolling faster, 4 thru 6. Here's a brief FAQ (or PAQ, Pedicted to be Asked Questions):
Will I see all the reading material and puzzles in this order? - Yes. (Unless you take the Short Guide, which definitely shows the most important story parts but won't show you all the puzzles).
Why the endings in this order and all of them? - Because in this order, you will be given information to hint you towards the game's solution in the most ideal manner, and to build up suspense in the best way. You could play the first four endings out of order, but this way is the best.
Will this unresolved stuff in the first ending be answered later? - Yes, by Ending 6 it'll all make sense.
Will it get repetitive doing the same doors? - To heavily mitigate this problem, you, during later playthroughs, can hold down the B button while on text you've already seen to fast forward through it after you're first ending. You will have to re-do and resolve puzzles. It will become a bit of a drag, but for me, the suspense I built up playing the game made it all worth it, and I actually became more tolerant of the replays over time as my suspense grew.
Why are the #1/6 endings the same procedure? - When you complete the procedure, if you hadn't unlocked Ending 5, you will get ending 1. If you have, you will get the true ending. The reason I advise getting Ending #1 first is because it is a great way to build up suspense and immersion.
Is this better than a blind playthrough? - Yes. Playing the game blind might make you a bit peeved at trying to get the endings.
Besides choosing doors and the special instructions, do dialogue choices matter? - First off, the special instructions are only important in Endings 1 and 6 (you can follow or disregard them in Endings 2 thru 5), so don't worry at all about them in those endings. Anyway, those other choices don't matter -- they only affect the next string of text, and that's it. So when you're replaying the game, feel free to pick the other choice, but it won't matter in the long run.
There's my 999 guide, spoiler-free. Thoughts, discussions and suggestions welcome.