Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: Kowareyuku Machi to Kanojo no Uta

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: Kowareyuku Machi to Kanojo no Uta 絶体絶命都市3 -壊れゆく街と彼女の歌- Zettai Zetsumei Toshi Surii - Kowareyuku Machi to Kanojo no Uta
JP Cover AS Cover KR Cover
Alternate Names	절체절명도시 3 -무너져가는 마을과 그녀의 노래- (Jeolche Jeolmyeong Dosi 3: Muneojyeoga-neun Ma'eul gwa Geunyeoui Norae) Disaster Report 3 SOS: The Final Escape 3 Raw Danger 2 Disaster Report 3: A Town Approaching Ruin and Her Songs Disaster Report 3: A Fading City and Her Song
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	JP: Irem JP:Granzella (digital re-release)
Release date(s)	JP/AS: April 23, 2009 (physical) KO: April 24, 2009 (physical) JP: May 13, 2010 (digital download) JP: July 29, 2015 (digital re-release)
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
CERO	B
GRB	12

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: Kowareyuku Machi to Kanojo no Uta (Japanese: 絶体絶命都市3 ー壊れゆく街と彼女の歌ー, City in Pure Desperation 3: A Town Approaching Ruin and Her Songs, ZZT3), also unofficially known as Disaster Report 3, is a PSP survival action-adventure game developed by Irem released in 2009. It is the sequel to Raw Danger! and the third game in the Disaster Report series. Discounting City Shrouded in Shadow, it is also the only game in the series to be in Japanese only, although, for some months, it was released to Asia and South Korea, both versions being packaged with a translated instruction sheet and Korean translation guidebook respectively.

Gameplay

Set in the end of March 2011, the player takes the role of a college student, a boy named Naoki Kousaka (or a girl named Rina Makimura), who was riding a high-speed bus to Central Island, in the hopes of starting a new life there the coming April. While travelling through a connecting undersea tunnel, his (or her) bus is hit with violent shaking, causing it to overturn and render them unconscious. The player would then awaken several hours later to the grim result of the accident, realizing they are in the midst of an earthquake.

Now they must survive the catastrophe using wit, physical prowess and luck, rescuing other trapped survivors along the way, on top of finding a way off the island.

Unlike Raw Danger!'s protagonists, the storylines of Kousaka and Makimura will not intersect with each other. Instead, players will go through the same general plot after choosing either student, although they both have their own unique interactions with characters, collectible compasses and costumes, and, upon a second playthrough, epilogues. Players could change the protagonists' names before starting, but their new names, along with attached honorifics (on every occasion) or sentence particles (when introducing themselves), will be clipped or muted from dialogue.

Naoki Kousaka: 19 years old, in his first year of college. He has high movement speed and health, but is prone to stress.

Rina Makimura: 18 years old, in her first year of college. She moves slower and is weaker than Naoki, but is less prone to stress. Collectibles in her story tend to be hard to obtain, though.

Replacing the Thirst and Body Temperature gameplay systems from the previous games is a Stress (ST) meter, which will increase from the protagonist experiencing various tragic or bleak situations, such as finding dead bodies, inhaling smoke/gas, getting hit by water or fire, fall damage and so on. Stress will gradually peg itself to the Health (HP) meter over time, which will eventually prevent the player from running, along with obscuring their field of vision and for them to easily die.

The player can recover their HP through First Aid Kits, food and sitting at benches, the last option granting full recovery, in addition to acting as save points. Also, stress can be reduced by drinking, seeing hopeful/comforting events, or listening to songs, among other methods, although none of these will restore HP.

Furthermore, the player can develop one of three personality types depending on what they do or say throughout the game, affecting their stress sensitivity:

Please note that, where applicable, the types will be listed as technical translated term/EN Patch term first.

1. Passionate/Ardent (Japanese: 情熱型, jounetsu-kei): Acts mainly on feelings as opposed to thoughts. The person will become more easily stressed, but can get soothed from hearing songs faster. ST recovery from items remains the same.
2. Calm (Japanese: 冷静型, reisei-kei): Unfazed by sudden occurrences, preferring to instead coolly think things through. The person becomes harder to stress, but ST recovery from songs or items is impaired.
3. Nervous/Timid (Japanese: 臆病型, okubyou-kei): Wary of escalating situations, habitually responding with discretion. The person becomes horribly vulnerable to stress, but can relieve ST from items faster. Recovery from songs remains the same.

During the story, the player will find two other female survivors, Saki and Ayami, to interact and build relationships with, affecting the ending. At the end of the story, Ayami will fall off the roof of a tall building towards the sea. The player can try to save her or let her die. Letting her die will lead to a normal bad end. Trying to save her will also lead to a bad end if the player has negative or neutral relationships with both girls, the player dying along with Ayami. Saving her with a positive relationship will lead to the both of them being rescued by helicopter or boat, depending on which girl they have a better relationship with. There are also bad endings where the player can choose to leave the island early alone, or sacrifice themselves to let their companions escape.

From the second playthrough onwards (i.e. beginning from Clear Data, not an empty slot), the game will show an epilogue after the end credits, provided that the player has finished the story; this could either depict their protagonist receiving an e-mail (from Saki only) or a letter (from Saki or Ayami) if they escaped the island. Otherwise, the epilogue will be of Saki reading out a post on her blog.

Characters

Saki Honjou

A nurse who retired to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. First trapped in the tunnel when the earthquake hits, she becomes the protagonist's primary companion, who can not only be interacted with frequently, but also serves as the source of the game's songs. The player can check how well their relationship with her is from how she sits with the protagonist on benches.

Ayami Hazuki

A quiet, reserved high school student who could not escape in time. She will not sit with together with Saki and the protagonist, and has only a few opportunities to interacted with.

Keisuke Hikawa

A police detective investigating the island's destruction, first encountered in an office seeming to have killed a man named Morita. He appears on and off throughout the story.

Youichi Ishizawa

A geologist who was publicly denounced by Hazuki and Morita for trying to warn others of the island's environmental flaws during its development. He tries to lead victims on Central Island to safety, along with keep them under control, until rescue can arrive.

Nobuteru Morita

First seen in a tunnel leaving a car crash, he is the Chairman of the Morita Group, another developer of Central Island. He is soon found dead in the company's office with Hikawa standing over his body.

Ryouko Honda

An editor for the Houto Weekly news organization, she heads down to Central Island alone to investigate Hazuki Construction and the Morita Group.

Natsumi Higa

A newly appointed teacher whose students were taken captive by hostile thugs.

Daigo Hazuki

The president of Hazuki Construction, one of the developers of Central Island, who is also Ayami's father.

Keiko Ishizawa

The daughter of Youichi who worked as a secretary for Hazuki Construction. She killed herself, reportedly after rumors pointed to her involvement with embezzlement.

Stages

Day 1

Undersea Tunnel - Harusaki Lagoon Line Inbound & Outbound Lanes

A tunnel linking Central Island with the Japanese mainland. The protagonist is forced to get out of the tunnel alone after the bus he/she is on crashes, leaving everyone else on board dead. Here, they later catch a glimpse of Morita, as well as save Saki, leaving just as the tunnel begins to flood.

Matsutani Intersection

Emerging onto Central Island here, the protagonist and Saki receive a rude shock from witnessing the true extent of damage dealt by the earthquake.

Matsutani South ~ Matsutani East

This area is first fled down through to get clear of falling cars and debris. Not long after that, Saki hums a song.

Umino Street

At this street, the road has been cracked up into a higher and lower level, the latter soon becoming a sea of fire.

Momokaki Street

A fire whirl breaks out close by, spinning around cars and other burning obstacles in the air that must be run from.

Hongou Building - Office

The protagonist and Saki settle down in this office for the night after braving the fire whirl. Their manner of sleeping depends on how their relationship with Saki is.

Day 2

Hotel High-Urban

Ayami is first met here. Although fine on the outside, the floors on the interior have broken down.

Lagoon Mall

The protagonist and Saki search for Ayami's medical treatment in this underground mall. It is ultimately lost after a gas leak causes the place to explode.

Toudai Street ~ Aoi Residences

Apartments and houses have crumbled around this locality. A mother and a child are found trapped behind a metal fence along the way.

Magoya Supermart

This supermarket on Toudai Street has fallen into disarray, with almost no goods left inside.

West Third Junior High School

Saki performs her first song at this shelter. It is here that Ishizawa notifies the victims of the island sinking, persuading them to leave.

Central Memorial Park ~ Maitsu Canal West & East Banks

Around here, heavy rain not only muddies the river water, but also intensifies the current, causing the ground to give way. A collapsed clock tower is later used to cross.

Near Lilies Bridge (Cen. Mem. Park Rest Area)

Saki breaks into song for a second time at this location, all the while gazing out at the sinking city.

Day 3

Central Island Municipal Hospital

The hospital where Saki used to work, now caved in and falling apart. Inside, the director has given up on escape, deigning instead to care for his terminally ill wife.

Central Island City Hall

The refugees taking shelter here have come under great stress, eventually turning violent.

Yanagi Residences

A collapsed neighbourhood the protagonist's party runs through to get away from the refugee mob.

Hazuki Construction Building

The refugees chase the protagonist's party into this collapsing building, where rescue helicopters would eventually arrive. Buildings surrounding the place are shown to still be standing when the groups enter the building, but afterwards, in the ending movies where the player is adrift, they have all sunken into the sea.

Glitches/Defects

The game contains several bugs, ranging from slightly odd to downright fatal, with its most officially recognized bugs being listed as follows, as well as a few defects. It should be noted that the bugs that prevented game progress and the ending count defect were fixed in the game's downloadable re-release.

Hotel High-Urban Bug

If the player did not call out to Ayami before going towards the staircase, then shout for the ladder to be moved later on, Saki will stand in place turning about herself instead of helping the player to move the ladder, preventing game progress. They thus will have to switch to a save from earlier on in the game, or restart altogether.

Magoya Supermart Bug

The game runs the risk of crashing as the player goes down from 2F to 1F, regardless of what, if anything, they picked up. After freezing for a short time, the game console will switch off. The bug could be detected from the character's (bare) hand glitching out. It is the most infamous bug for having no confirmed fix or clear way to avoid it.

Gloria Inari Bug

Upon entering the building, the player will need a rope to climb down a deep hole. While the rope is normally obtained by knocking it down from some rubble, examining the rope ahead of the hole may disallow the player from ramming the rubble, preventing game progress.

Pure Desperation (Zettai Zetsumei) Grip Compass

The booklet that came with the physical copy of the game mentioned that the player would be able to obtain a Zettai Zetsumei Grip Compass, but no such collectible can be found. As would be discovered later, this compass was cut during the game's production, and the booklet could not be rectified in time to address this change. Subsequently, a public apology was issued on the official website for the discrepancy.

Ending Uncounted

The game keeps a total tally of 9 endings across both Kousaka and Makimura, but the one where they escape on their own (by boarding the helicopter at Aoi Residences) will not be counted as part of the ending record.

Legacy

Neither Agetec nor 505 Games showed interest in, let alone acknowledgement of, localizing ZZT3 for the West, presumably in light of Raw Danger!'s poor sales numbers, along with growing contempt of Westernization, which had become characteristic to the Disaster Report series up to that point. As such, ZZT3 would turn into a highly sought-after import title for niche gaming fans and DR fans alike, with the anticipation that it might be officially localized, but this prospect would be for naught. Later on, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami would hit in March 2011, causing Irem to cancel almost all of its video games in development on top of an erasure of all its ZZT-related documentation, virtually diminishing its relevance to the Western gaming market.

This forceful removal of Irem's products came about because executives at the company considered the resulting political atmosphere in Japan too erratic to keep on producing games based around disasters, which was compounded by how events in the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami mirrored plot points depicted throughout the Disaster Report series to that stage. Such a standpoint would lead to Irem receding to pachislot simulator distribution, simultaneously cancelling the constantly delayed Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4: Summer Memories, and pulling reprints of ZZT1 ~ ZZT3 from sale. Accordingly, the digital downloadable version of ZZT3, along with its demo, was taken off the PSN store, reducing ZZT3 to a rarity or collector's item until the game was re-distributed by Granzella in July 2015.

Fan Translation Patches

US English (2022, last updated 2023)

A group of dedicated ZZT/DR fans would start an effort to translate ZZT3 into English in March 2013. Due to the translation team meeting with various technical challenges however, the most notable of which was being unable to insert the English script for a long time, the patch would only be completed almost a decade later in July 2022, retitling the game, "Disaster Report 3: A Fading City and Her Song".

Similar to Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories, the patch would retain the game's Japanese setting, in addition to the original Japanese audio, but with a few key differences in the translation:

• The Eastern name order (Last name first, first name second) is used for character names. Therefore, if one wanted to rename their protagonist to something more "Western"-sounding, they would need to follow said name order as per the prompt screens for the new name to display properly.
• Common honorifics including (but not limited to) "-san", "-kun", and "-chan" were kept. Also, whilst honorifics in a familial context were translated (e.g. "Ojii-san" to "Uncle"), a few that were used as terms of deep endearment between friends were not.

The patch also includes several improvements, such as applying fixes for the aforementioned defects, and a built-in fix to allow the game to be played on PSP emulators, PPSSPP and Adrenaline, past character selection.

Chinese (circa 2010-2011)

ZZT3 was translated earlier by Chinese retrogaming communities into Traditional Chinese, being followed later by a Simplified Chinese version (TC: 絕體絕命都市3 -步向毀壞的城市與少女之歌- /SC: 绝体绝命都市3 -破坏的城市与她的歌- ), but in a severely unfinished state; although all dialogue in the story was translated, a number of system messages, all the game's menus, and epilogues remained in Japanese. Moreover, none of the CG movie subtitles were translated. Nonetheless, the patch would generate enough attention and interest from Chinese fans for a Simplified Chinese translation of ZZT2, which would come out in April 2011.

Trivia

• Three characters from Raw Danger! reappear in this game (albeit under different names), with two being met in the main story. The third one can only be found in a multiplayer quest.
• Out of all the DR/ZZT games, ZZT3 carries the most CERO content warnings for three themes: Sexual expression, violence and criminal activity. Conversely, it also holds the lowest content rating with a rating label of "B" (suitable for 12 years and up).
• This is the first game in the series whose Japanese version uses the translated term for "run", hashire (走れ), instead of the previous games' loanword, "dash" (ダッシュ). This change also extends to the controls setup.
• For the Japanese version (and Chinese patches), if the player changes even one character of their protagonist in this game, no part of their name will be voiced regardless of if their first or last name was unaltered. This wasn't the case with ZZT1 or ZZT2.
• Unlike the other games in the series, this games uses a more anime-esque artstyle for its graphics instead of semi-realistic models to draw in appeal from a wider, younger audience. This notion is further emphasized by the game's use of anime-centric voice actors rather than regular people with adequate voice-acting experience.
• This is the only game in the series where neither the jewel thief nor Masayuki Sudo appear. A protege of Sudo's is encountered midway through the story, however.