Zero Time Dilemma: Aksys Games explains how Skip Text works

If you read previous reports about Zero Time Dilemma, you already know that the usual novel sections from previous Zero Escape games have been replaced by “cinema sections”. Instead of walls of text, the story will be told via animated cutscenes. Those will be fully voiced, and players will be able to disable/enable subtitles.

On their blog, Aksys Games give more details about that particular aspect of the game. The subtitles work/behave just like regular subtitles: they appear immediately, and don’t type out like in the previous Zero Escape games. That means the Skip Text function doesn’t work the same way in Zero Time Dilemma.

But first, here’s what hasn’t changed: you will be able to skip previously read text just like in 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward (during the cinema sections). But Zero Time Dilemma also introduces Skip Text for new lines: that’s what the little arrow at the bottom right of the screenshots is about — it shows that you can skip text.

But there’s a catch: the Skip Text feature is tied to camera movement, and not necessarily individual lines. After all, subtitles are tied to animation and voice, so it wouldn’t make sense to make them display faster. That’s why the game makes you jump to the next camera move instead of the next line when you use the Skip Text feature.

What this means is that, while it’s definitely possible, you’re advised against using Skip Text for new lines, as you’re bound to miss important lines. Of course, you can still go read the log for anything you may have missed (and at any time), but you will not be able to watch them “live” as cinema scenes cannot rewind. As for previously read text, it will be skippable even when Skip Text is turned off.

Zero Time Dilemma (3DS) comes out on June 28th in Europe and North America, and June 30th in Japan.

Source: Aksys Games