Part 3: Execution

Part 3: Execution





We're picking blue again? I guess we'll see.



Very dramatic.

Music: Bereavement



Carlos is just as confident the second time around.



Oh, that's different.



The group is a bit more dismayed this time.

So what just happened? I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The first time you decide, you're always right, and you get the Sun End. The second time you decide, you're always wrong, and you continue with the rest of the game. Even if that means the result of the coin flip is different.

One of VLR's themes is about actions taken in the future affecting in the past. Where going back and making a different decision, also changes something else. There's something similar at play here, except this time, we didn't change our decision, and the past changed anyway! Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it for a simple cheat to get the player introduced to the game.

These scenes might make you think that you're being railroaded in this game and your choices don't really matter. While that's true here, later on it's really quite the opposite. Moving on....





No witty comeback for this guy. He's focused on the death part.

Again, if you guess red and you're incorrect, not much changes. Carlos is just as confident about the other color, and the previous line changes to:


Everything else from here forward is the same.



This guy is a little upset now for some reason.







Carlos isn't feeling too good about himself, either.

Hey, wait a second!







Still this guy. Don't worry, we'll find out who he is soon.



You should know already.





At least six.



Thanks for the clarification psycho.







The group is silent for a bit.



Before you begin, I'm going to need all of you to go to sleep.





Win or lose, they still get their memory wiped.



There's no point to telling you now. You won't remember anything in a moment...

This time Zero explains why he won't explain himself.



She's not impressed.





Another ceiling shot as the bodies fall.



No differences here.



Carlos doesn't say anything this time, just reaches out before also falling asleep.



Followed by the same fade to static and then blackness.

Music: Zero Times



I completely forgot that the game did an intro movie at this point. It's full of out-of-context spoilers that would be grossly over-analyzed in this LP format, so I'll be skipping most of it.



Here's the bad guy again.



Now we've really started the game.

Music: Sinisterness Phase 2



That's Akane yelling in the background. Carlos is apparently last to fall asleep and last to wake up.





One guess who's yelling at the creepy kid again.





It's not me...



This guy doesn't remember that he's already complained about the kid's head before.

Let it go, Eric.

Oh hey we finally got a name for that guy. Eric.



Mira...

The lady's name, I presume.







She says, oddly knowingly.



Oh, no reason. Might explode or something. (That may or may not have been an element of one of the prior games.)

You should listen to her.



I'll go into more detail on who these people are in the next set of updates.



That's what it was called a year ago.





We get another name for the last member of this group. Junpei and Akane also have a bit of a history.



The TVs blink on, starting with static.



More of this asshole. Time for a proper introduction, at least.

How are you feeling?

Who's this?

Music: CQD Ward BGM 2



The second Zero.

In 999, the villain was called Zero. In VLR, which actually takes place after this game, the villain (or at least the public face/representation of the villain) was called Zero III. Now we finally have Zero II.



That was Mira.









Recording or not, villains gotta monologue.



Her usual route led her to a fork in the road.





Changing the scene for nearly every line of dialogue is a great way to keep the viewer interested in the monologue while also forcing me to take more screenshots.

Surprised to see her, they asked, "Why did you come this way today?" This was her reply.



Ah, the snail again. Did it make everyone go extinct?



Murdered. They found her in some bushes along the left path.



Don't you think?

LP title reference counter: 2

I hope you were taking notes during that story.



Eric isn't going to pass the pop quiz later.



It's the same for all of you.





Hey, we know where we are now! Kind of.



Is that not where you last thought you were?

Music: Portentousness 2nd Mix







Meet C-Team, everyone.

Your leader shall be Carlos.



Carlos is very intent here.





As evidenced by the name, the leader is Q.



Is this a joke?

Q-Team is already dysfunctional.



Oh hey the other two characters are Phi (the woman) and Sigma (the man). They return from VLR.



That makes you the D-Team.

And the D-Team is here!



Diana doesn't seem so sure about being the leader.





Ninety minutes.





In VLR, the bracelet just straight-up provided a lethal injection, instead. This Zero wants to play with his victims more.





You will also forget everything that occurred in those past ninety minutes.



The characters aren't going to be able to help us out much if they're always forgetting everything that's happened. Guess we're on our own!



A watch. Pressing the buttons on each side simultaneously will display the time.



12:10...

Several people immediately try it out. 12:10 is just after the time in the Sun End. Accounting for the time Zero II has been talking here, the group probably woke up at the same time in either branch.



Zero II confirms that it's the same day as what we've been shown earlier, too.

The year turns over in less than half a day.





It's clearly marked with an "X".





The elevator is in the center of the map here. We're supposedly way underground, so he's probably right.















Reaction shots from all three teams here. Some interesting facial expressions on a few individuals.

In...blunter terms, if six of you die,





Music: Dcom (The Beginning)



Once that passes, it will automatically close. And never open again.

There was a similar one-time-use-only door blocking the exit in VLR. Though other conditions had to be met for walking through it in that case.







Quiet contemplation all around.



"How can I kill six people..."



How well do you know everyone here, Diana?

I'll give you one opportunity.



Have I mentioned yet that the game's tone is more like the darker one in 999 than VLR? Maybe even more so. And if you liked Clover's axe scenes in 999, well, you're in for a treat later. Consider that your content warning.





The team names of your newfound enemies will be displayed on that monitor.



Each team gets one vote.



The leader must submit it for the group.

Your deadline is 13:30.



Any team that hasn't voted before the time limit is up shall be penalized two votes.



Every member of that team...will be executed.

So, not voting is an automatic loss.

Here's another headshot of everyone thinking about what's coming up next.



















Let us begin.



The lives of you, me, and the human race hang in the balance.

The human race?



And we're back at the team select screen.







Each team has a new fragment to select.



One decision, two choices.



The flowchart has been filled in with the result of losing the coin toss and the scene that followed (appropriatly titled, "Execution"). There are three choices for what to do next.



So who do you want to meet first? Select the team to advance story.