History VisualNovel / ZeroTimeDilemma

* ObviousRulePatch: See NoFairCheating above. Also, in the timeline where all three teams vote according to Carlos' plan, [[spoiler:Zero places them in the decontamination rooms, where they're given a choice of pushing a button to kill the other teams.]]

** At the end of the healing room, you get treated to a whole minute's worth of staring at a big blue button, which the camera zooms in on every ten seconds, all while Sigma and Phi are trying to encourage/discourage Diana from pressing it.

* {{Railroading}}: Though you are usually free to jump to any unlocked fragment you want in any order, there are a few cases where you lose that freedom and are forced to continue into a single fragment to see the consequences of your decision from the previous fragment. This usually leads to a critical reveal if not an ending, and normal story flow resumes after it concludes.
* RandomNumberGenerator:

* [[StableTimeLoop Bootstrap Paradox]]: Several times.

[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from the top left: [[MsFanservice Mira]], [[PerpetualFrowner Sigma]], [[TheHero Carlos]], [[MsExposition Akane]], [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl Junpei]], [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Q]], [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Diana]], [[AxCrazy Eric]], [[InsufferableGenius Phi]].]]

* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler:Due to a StableTimeLoop, Phi was born in a timeline where an older version of herself had previously died, and was subsequently named after herself.]]

Like any other game in this series, this game is filled to the brim with spoilers, especially since its plot continues from where the end of ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' left off. As such, the probability that you will be spoiled by reading on any further is high. Consider yourself warned.

* OffModel: The animations are...awkward. Walking is poorly done, characters have small parts of their bodies clip through things, mouths movements for some characters are strange, and anyone interacting with something is greatly lacking in animation frames when it's shown.

* SchroedingersGun: The ''very first'' decision in the game is rigged. [[spoiler:The first time you choose, you'll win no matter what, to ensure you see the Payoff ending. After that, you'll lose no matter what, to ensure you see the entire rest of the game.]]

* MetaTwist: Unlike the past two games, this time [[spoiler: Akane is not behind the events of Decision Game at all; she really is just as much a victim as everyone else]].
** In the Zero Escape games, basically everyone has some sort of trait or elrment of their past that is revealed as a way to change how you see them. So it can come as something of a surprise that [[spoiler:Carlos has absolutely no secrets that he is withholding. He is exactly what he presents himself as:a firefighter who is doing everything he can to save his sister. The only "twist" is that he has extreme aptitude for SHIFTing, more than anyone else, but that's as much of a surprise to him as anyone else.]]

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Nobody, ''nobody'' is cruel to Gab. Ever. [[spoiler:Sean returns to the shelter after escaping because he can't stand leaving Gab (or Delta) behind. When Sigma and Diana are trapped and on the verge of ''starving to death'', Diana's first worry is "What about Gab?" And then we figure out Sigma already factored him into the equation. It makes Delta murdering him all the more monstrous.]]

** The way espers react to each other completely contradicts the previous game. Throughout the game, [=SHIFTers=] resonate with each other and become stronger in groups. This is the complete opposite of how it worked in ''Virtue’s Last Reward'', where stronger espers absorbed the powers of weaker espers to the point where they couldn’t even use them.

** To those who played ''VLR'', [[spoiler:choosing to not inject Q-team with Radical-6 seems like the obvious choice. Nope! That action directly leads to the ''VLR'' timeline.]]

** In the Dice Roll, the game is coded so that players are guaranteed to win on the third attempt. However, in ''LetsPlay/{{KZ}}'''s Let's Play of the game, he managed to roll the correct number the first time with what can only be described as absurd luck. This lucky move does not break the game nor change the following cut scene, but it does make it easier to follow down the story path.

* UpToEleven: The series' MultipleEndings. In the first game, getting to one particular ending was a prerequisite for the true ending. In the second, several of the various endings provided Sigma and/or the player with information that was required to unlock other endings. [[spoiler: In this game, winning the coin flip at the very beginning leads to "Payoff", an ending complete with credits that is displayed on your save file, after which you can go back and pick the other option. You are, in fact, guaranteed to win the coin flip on the first try no matter what you pick. Thus, you must reach this ending (which takes about 10 minutes of play time) in order to unlock ''the entire rest of the game''.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Eric, backstory aside, is the most normal member in the game's cast, having no special abilities and having no previous experience in a DeadlyGame. As a consequence, he easily loses it, especially when [[spoiler: Mira, the only person keeping him rooted, is dead. Furthermore, when he's threatening the others with a shotgun, his behavior is justifiable considering that he learned Sean is a robot and that the Sigma and Diana in his timeline is dead - he justifiably can't trust their time traveling claims.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Most notably, both Akane and Junpei went from brown in ''999'' to light purple here.

--'''Q''': Zero is... [[spoiler:YOU, Delta!]]\\
'''Eric''': Would you stop yapping, [[spoiler:Sean? That old man's name is Q!]]

** Most of the game implies the Arc Number is 9, but near the end of the game, you find out the Arc Number this time around is 10. [[spoiler:Because there are 10 participants this time around, not 9.]] The most obvious use is that there is no Nonary Game this time around. Instead, it's the Decision Game... deci being the prefix meaning 10.

** At the very beginning of the game, when Eric wonders where Q came from, Mira offers the possibility that he's the result of a one night stand, and suggests he's Diana's child. [[spoiler: She wasn't exactly wrong about the whole idea.]]

* ObviousRulePatch: See NoFairCheating above. Also, in the timeline where all three teams vote according to Carlos' plan, [[spoiler: Zero places them in the decontamination rooms, where they're given a choice of pushing a button to kill the other teams.]]

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Junpei says this about Akane in the reactor. About an hour before [[spoiler: he proposes to her.]]

*** During the Decontamination Room Voting, [[spoiler:If you push the button as C-Team or D-Team and listen really carefully to Q-Team's dying screams, you can actually hear a fourth persson screaming with them.]]

* AnachronicOrder: Because the participants' bracelets are designed to wipe their memories every 90 minutes, the story is told in "fragments" consisting of these 90-minute intervals. These fragments are not always in chronological order, and their place on the overall timeline is only revealed at the end of each fragment. [[spoiler:And then the timeline itself changes towards the end of the game, to more precisely reflect the actual chronology.]]

** "Plaudite, acta est fabula": "Applaud, the play is over." The file translating this phrase also notes that it was previously featured in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''. Appropriately, Zero says this when D-Team, which contains Sigma and Phi, is executed (Phi being the one who said the line originally, in the ending where she gets 9 BP and escapes by herself, making it somewhat of an IronicEcho).

** "Audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat": "Both love and luck help the bold."

* HeadsOrTails: The premise of the first decision game. Zero promises to end the decision game and release the participants if they guess right on a coin flip. He really will let the cast go if they choose right. [[spoiler:Because his master plan involves the cast who chose ''wrong'' shifting into their bodies after experiencing all of the bad endings and retaining their knowledge]].

* HugAndComment: Akane's reaction to [[spoiler: Junpei proposing to her]]. Hug is reaction to fact itself, comment is made on the fact that [[spoiler: Junpei put the ring on the wrong hand]]

** In the same situation, [[spoiler:inputting “Me”, “Myself”, or “I” will give the message “You cannot commit suicide”, whereas entering "Q" will give the message “Please input Q’s name”, implying that the person who goes by "Q" ''is'' a valid target, and therefore that he's somebody other than the kid in the helmet the game has led you to believe he is. It also implies that the real Q is currently within shooting range]].
** Usually, if making a decision involves inputting words or numbers, [[TakeYourTime there is no time limit]]. [[spoiler: However, when Eric asks Q who killed Mira, you do have a timer; letting it run out will get you to the correct path.]]

* {{Irony}}: The whole purpose of the events of ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' was to train Sigma and Phi how to SHIFT. [[spoiler:In this game however, Carlos's group (and mostly Carlos) are the ones who do all the actual [=SHIFTing=]. The only time Sigma and Phi really do it is to remember all their memories from all their various lives in the game.]]

* LikeBrotherAndSister: Phi and Sigma; Diana even points out that they're in sync like siblings.

* MontyHallProblem: C-Team has an entire segment named after this, including ending with a modified version of this dilemma. Instead of 3 doors, Carlos must find the prize out of 10 lockers, but 8 empty lockers are revealed after the initial selection. The game picks the "correct" locker at the beginning of the segment, so like the normal problem, it's possible that the right solution still won't get you the mask.

*** [[spoiler:In one C-Team timeline, five people have died and Carlos learns about his ability to SHIFT. He and Junpei [[ThanatosGambit hatch a plan to have themselves get killed]] so that Akane can hear their own X-Passes and bring them with her to another timeline where they aren't killed. Unfortunately, the passwords are different in each history, as they're directly told when they try to input passwords from another. For their trouble, an enforcer in a Sean body is sent after them to batter them to death as punishment.]]

* GratuitousLatin: A total of 5 Latin phrases are uttered by Zero, either during bad ends or just before the executions. The game is also generous enough to translate them all in-game.
** "Destine fata deum flecti sperare precando": Fate, and the dooming gods, are deaf to tears.
** "Mors certa, hora incerta": Death is certain; its hour is uncertain.
** "Plaudite, acta est fabula": Applaud, the play is over. The game notes that this was mentioned a few times in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''.
** "Stabat mater dolorosa": The sorrowful mother stood.
** "Audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat": Both love and luck help the bold.
** Phi's brooch returns during one segment, including the inscription on it.
** One final phrase is mentioned: [[spoiler:"Vive hodie", or Live for today. It's the password to open the Force Quit box offered by the Apocalypse ending.]]

* GroupHug: D-team does it in their "force Quit" segment after [[spoiler: Diana realises that Phi is her daughter.]]

** The Rec Room [[spoiler:gatling-gun trap]] seems impossible, as you need to roll three die to get all 1's, which as Akane explains only has a 0.46% chance of happening. Fortunately, the game is kinder than it may seem: play this scene all the way through 3 times, and on the 3rd time, you will automatically get all 1's. However, this includes a potentially nasty InterfaceScrew, since if you don't allow the scene to play through a second time, but instead (quite reasonably) quit and reload when you see the bad ending starting up, the game does not record the failure and you will have practically no chance of passing the trap.

** Almost every answer to Eric asking Q [[spoiler: at shotgun-point who killed Mira]] will turn out to be incorrect. Only two solutions will work, neither of which the player is likely to guess right away: [[spoiler:either enter that you don't know (which is not helped by the fact the game won't mind you write that without an apostrophe), or don't answer the question and let the timer run out. A savvy player might assume they just need to find the information from another segment to figure it out, and then get frustrated when there are no new segments to play, nowhere else in the series is the answer "I don't know".]]

* HeadsOrTails: The premise of the first decision game. Zero promises to end the decision game and release the participants if they guess right on a coin flip. He really will let the cast go if they choose right.

** One of Junpei's X-Passes is "Quark". Quark is a character from ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' who's born a good few ''decades'' after the events of this game.

*** In the Study, we can see a wall of the contestants, dramatized as different figures: Akane is a moe Nendoroid-like figure, Sigma is a nutcracker, etc. Pressing the "STATUS" button on the menu will bring up a list of who's alive and who is dead using these figures. [[spoiler:Note that Q doesn't have an icon in the STATUS screen while there's is a doll for Sean on the wall.]]
*** During the MexicanStandoff in the same room, you're given the choice of who to kill. If you put in "me" or "myself", it tells you that you can't commit suicide. [[spoiler: If you put in Q's ''name'', it tells you to input Q's real name. But wait, didn't it say you couldn't commit suicide? And it won't accept "Sean" ...]]
*** When Eric accuses Q of [[spoiler:killing Mira]], you have the option of flat out saying Q was responsible. If you do, however, Eric says "That's clearly impossible!" [[spoiler:since from Eric's point of view you're accusing a disabled old man of murder.]] If you answer "Me" or "Myself", Eric yells "I knew it!"

** In the same situation, [[spoiler:inputting “Me”, “Myself”, or “I” will give the message “You cannot commit suicide”, whereas entering Q will give the message “Please input Q’s name”, implying that Q is a valid target, which all but says that Q is a different character from the kid in the helmet that you’re lead to believe is Q, along with suggesting that the real Q is nearby]].

*** [[spoiler:D-Team tries to bypass the X-Door entirely by blowing up the door in the Decontamination Room. Zero makes sure this doesn't work by putting the unconscious Q-Team on the other side, meaning that D-Team would kill them if they blew up the door.]]

* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay:
** Eric, backstory aside, is the most normal member in the game's cast, having no special abilities and having no previous experience in a DeadlyGame. As a consequence, he easily loses it, especially when [[spoiler: Mira, the only person keeping him rooted, is dead. Furthermore, when he's threatening the others with a shotgun, his behavior is justifiable considering that he learned Sean is a robot and that the Sigma and Diana in his timeline is dead - he justifiably can't trust their time traveling claims.]]
** Just as with previous installments, the game loves bringing up and explaining various real thought experiments and statistic puzzles. One in particular in ZTD is the Monty Hall problem[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Monty Hall problem (named after a gameshow host who popularized it) gives a person 3 or more doors. Behind one door will be a prize, behind the others are nothing. The player selects a door, then the host will pick one more door, then discard the other door(s) The discarded doors cannot have the prize behind them, so it's either the door the player initially picked, or the door the host has selected. While logically, one might think that the odds are now 50/50 between the doors, statistically, you are more likely to get the prize if you switch to the other door.[[/labelnote]]. You are given 10 doors, one of which has a gas mask that you need to not be killed by the poisonous gas filtering into the room. After the Monty Hall problem is explained in game, you go through it. Now a savvy videogame player (or one who paid attention to the explanation given moments earlier) might think that success is guaranteed if you choose the "right" option. However, like the Russian roulette game elsewhere in the game, the location of the mask is is truly random, and it is possible to pick the statistically more probable answer and still get an empty locker, leading to the group's death. After all, the Monty Hall problem only increases your chance of getting the prize, not guarantees it.

* WhamLine: Par for the course - this is a Zero Escape game, after all:
--> '''Q''': Zero is... [[spoiler:YOU, Delta!]]
--> '''Eric''': Would you stop yapping, [[spoiler:Sean? That old man's name is Q!]]