Release OrderRecommended
0 / 3 playedThe order the games came out, and the recommended play order. Each sequel builds on twists from the one before it.
- 1 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Start here. DS original from December 2009; the Nonary Games remaster adds voice acting and a flowchart.
- 2 Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Direct sequel with a flowchart for jumping between branches; ends on a cliffhanger.
- 3 Zero Time Dilemma Finale. Playable out of order through fragments, and built to resolve the threads from both earlier games.
Chronological Order
0 / 3 playedStory order. Only useful on a replay; first-timers should stick with release order.
- 1 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors First in the story as well as on the shelf.
- 2 Zero Time Dilemma Set between the first two games.
- 3 Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward The endpoint of the story. Play it last despite the earlier release year.
About Zero Escape
Zero Escape is Kotaro Uchikoshi's trilogy of visual novels about nine captives forced through deadly escape rooms and branching timelines. Release order is the play order, since Zero Time Dilemma sits between the first two games and its reveals only land if you arrive with the knowledge the series parceled out in release order.
Good to know
Zero Time Dilemma is set between 999 and Virtue's Last Reward, so the chronological list below reorders the same three games. The 2017 Nonary Games bundle pairs remastered versions of the first two games and remains the simplest way to buy them.
