How do you feel about the Zero Escape series?

Are you curious yet?

Now that it has three games under its belt (999, Virtue’s Last Reward, Zero Time Dilemma), the Zero Escape series is kind of a big deal at this point. Okay, maybe it isn’t selling gangbusters on say, Layton-levels, but after nearly seven years of “what’s this franchise about?” questions, most people at least have some vague notion of its existence.

I was originally told back in 2009 that it was an “anime version of Saw,” which is sorta kinda apt and enough for me to check it out. While 999 didn’t grab me as much as others (for some it was life-changing) there was clearly something there, and I’ve been following along ever since. But that got me thinking about how other folks feel about it. You never really see anything about these games for several years, and then when a new one is announced, fans go apeshit.

At this point, our chances of a fourth game are slim to none. The third game was snatched from the jaws of defeat basically as a passion project, as Spike Chunsoft failed to succeed even in Japan. Despite this, the developer is still alive and well, with a new Danganronpa out this year, and three good Escape games under its belt.

I’d call that a win.