Visual Novels in the west have changed a lot recently, but what hasn’t changed is the writing quality, shown to myself and many by the Zero Escape series. It’s going to be a little while before we get Zero Time Dilemma, but if you need something to fill that gap, Takumi Nakazawa’s Root Double will definitely do the trick.
Why do I say this? Before 999 & Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward, Kotaro Uchikoshi (The Director of Zero Escape) worked the Infinity series, a series that that shaped how many fans outside of Japan viewed the industry. This is because the second game, Ever 17 - The Out of Infinity, is well known in the west because of it’s amazing story, with reviewers calling it one of the best in the genre, myself included.
Now, back to Root Double - Before Crime*After Days. It’s a VN by Regista/Yeti which is currently being localized by Sekai Project and translated by Lemnisca translations (which probably has to be my favorite translation group out there, doing a great job on works like Killer Queen and I/O which was also made by Takumi Nakazawa).I have confidence this game is going to be just as great as the others because the Director of Ever 17 and the Infinity series as a whole is the person who made this which is really reassuring, and everything I’ve seen and heard about this, from the OP to other people talking about it, this game sounds great. If you’re interested, here is the plot summary:
The year is 2030. Business is as usual in the isolated research city of Rokumei–that is until several explosions suddenly go off in the nuclear research facility known as “LABO.” The city sends in “Sirius,” an elite rescue squad, to deal with the situation. But the situation only gets worse when LABO’s nuclear reactor melts down, sending the facility into lockdown–with members of Sirius and survivors still trapped inside. With lethal radiation leaking everywhere and not enough anti-radiation medication to last until lockdown lifts, the survivors make more and more grim discoveries. In their struggle for survival, in a deathtrap full of fire and radiation, they learn that doubt is their greatest enemy, and trust their greatest asset.
If you like what you’ve heard from this, as we speak, they are running a kickstarter for the game, which you should check out here. If you would rather not put money into a Kickstarter, don’t worry - the game’s coming out this March, so you won’t have to wait long before you can get your hands on it. You bet by then I’ll be playing this and will have my review near launch: this is a game I’m really looking forward to and it’ll be great for hyping up Zero Escape 3.