Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

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All X-Passes (SPOILERS!)
By Miral
A list of all the X-Passes in the game.

WARNING: contains massive spoilers. Don't use it as a walkthrough.
   
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Introduction
One of the central aspects to the Zero Time Dilemma game is the X-Door, the exit to the surface which only opens if six X-Passes are entered -- and each X-Pass is associated with one of the characters and is only revealed after they die.

Interestingly, in each different timeline of the game, the X-Passes are different, so each character ends up with several associated with them. And all of the passwords carry some special meaning for that character, typically special references to things that happen in this game or prior ones.

As such, this guide contains EXTREME SPOILERS. Looking at the passes themselves is reasonably safe (if you've just forgotten one when opening the door), but it's better to use the in-game LOG for that, both to ensure that you get the right password for the timeline you're in at the time (since they're different, and only the correct ones for that timeline will be accepted) and to avoid spoiling yourself on some of the story hints from other timelines.

There's another section afterwards that explains some of the password references, however. DO NOT READ THAT UNTIL YOU HAVE BEATEN THE GAME. Seriously, it contains ultimate spoilers that will ruin some of the game's best moments if you read them ahead of time.
Passwords
This section is somewhat spoilerish. Read at your own risk. They're in no particular order.

Name
X-Passes
Carlos
FIRE, SHIFT, HERO, DREAM, FIGHT, SAVE
Akane
CRASH, SIX, HEX, KEY, JUNE
Junpei
FIVE, RING, HATE, JUMP, DOLL, QUARK
Q
EYE, AGE, SELF, BRO
Mira
KILL, HEART, RIP, VIRGIN
Eric
FOOL, LOVE, LAKE, ICE, POOR
Diana
MOON, BIRD, MOM, BLUE
Phi
FUTURE, RED, TWIN, TIME, DEAR
Sigma
FATE, DAD, OLD, ARM, MILK
Explanations
This section is MASSIVELY MASSIVELY SPOILERISH. Do not read it until after you have finished the game.

Carlos
  • FIRE, FIGHT: He's a firefighter.
  • SHIFT: He learns about how to SHIFT in this game.
  • HERO, SAVE: As a firefighter, he's a hero. He also tries to be a hero during the game to save Akane & Junpei.
  • DREAM: He has visions of several alternate timelines, which help reveal important secrets. Might also be a reference to his sister, who is trapped in a dreamlike state.

Akane
  • CRASH, KEY: Akane is the leader of Crash Keys, which itself is a pun on her last name, Kurashiki.
  • SIX, HEX: Her bracelet number in 999 was 6.
  • JUNE: Her nickname in 999.

Junpei
  • FIVE: His bracelet number in 999.
  • RING: He's carrying around one for Akane.
  • HATE: (not sure about this one) He's much more cynical (and emo) than in 999 -- though not quite at VLR Tenmyouji levels yet.
  • JUMP, DOLL: JUMPYDOLL, from 999. Also "Jumpy", Akane's nickname for him.
  • QUARK: His adopted companion (grandson figure, though unrelated) in VLR.

Q
WARNING: even if you have ignored all the previous warnings, know that this one contains ultimate spoilers. Absolutely do not read until you completely finish the game.
  • EYE: Q is watching everything that happens in the shelter.
  • AGE: Q is over a hundred years old.
  • SELF: In several key scenes (and presumably throughout much of the game), Q is essentially acting as the player themselves, both as the viewpoint into the game world (using cameras throughout the shelter) and nudging characters to take actions that the player wants to try but they would not naturally do on their own.
  • BRO: Q is actually Brother, the leader of Free the Soul. Also, he's Phi's actual brother.

Mira
  • KILL: She is a serial killer.
  • HEART, RIP: Her serial killer name is "Heart Ripper".
  • VIRGIN: (not sure about this one) She hasn't been in love before.

Eric
  • FOOL: He certainly acts like it.
  • LOVE: He's in love with Mira.
  • LAKE: He dumped his little brother's body in a lake after his father killed him.
  • ICE: He works in an ice cream store. And the lake was ice-covered, since it was winter at the time.
  • POOR: He comes from a poor background.

Diana
  • MOON: Diana is the Roman goddess of the moon. Also references Luna from VLR, who was made in her image and named similarly.
  • BLUE, BIRD: The music box that looks like a bluebird in a cage, also seen in VLR.
  • MOM: Obviously, because she becomes a mother in ZTD.

Phi
  • FUTURE, TIME: Her consciousness came back from the future. We later also learn that she was born in the future and physically travelled (in a certain sense) back in time, and then forward again, in a similar but opposite fashion to her later consciousness SHIFTs as explained in VLR.
  • RED: She was the child in red. She also secretly has red hair.
  • TWIN: She is a twin.
  • DEAR: She is loved by many, especially Diana.

Sigma
  • FATE: He is trying to change the fate of humanity.
  • DAD: He becomes a father in ZTD.
  • OLD: His old consciousness has travelled back into his younger body.
  • ARM: His older self had lost both his arms and replaced them with bionic parts.
  • MILK: His last name is Klim, which is "milk" reversed.

The "X-Door" and "X-Passes"
Why the X? It's an eXit.

Another reason is that it's a hint that there are actually 10 people playing the game -- the 9 that you actually see on screen through most of the game plus Q, who is someone other than who you first think he is.

There's another punnish hint for this -- The Decision Game is not just called that because you're making decisions, but also because "deci" is the prefix for 10, similar to how the Nonary Game in prior installments required 9 people to play.
Afterword
Let me know in the comments if I've somehow managed to miss (or just misplace) a password, or if you have a better explanation for one of the meanings.

Also please try to use spoiler tags if discussing one of the really big spoiler passwords, just in case.

Credits
Thanks to NumberC for the ICE password explanation and an alternate description for CRASH KEYS.
Thanks to W-Cactus for Phi's RED hair.
Thanks to Nineteen Letters Long for an alternate explanation about Q's BRO status.
15 Comments
The5thHouse Mar 10 @ 12:54am 
You may have avoided talking about this because it's major spoilers, but Phi's X-Passes Dear and Twin imply that Delta still very much loves her, and she's his dear twin, even in the timelines where he kills her. I think it arguably adds some nuance to Delta's character, where even though he pretends like he's fine with killing all these people in various timelines to possibly save humanity, he indirectly shows remorse from it, indicating that he may be, to some extent, putting up a front.
Bartelmy Jul 18, 2021 @ 12:37pm 
MILKEVOLI isn't Sigma's password. It's Luna's.
Qiseichi Sep 16, 2019 @ 5:33am 
Klim is refferring to ‘K’ (Kyle Klim) in VLR.
PopolaUNK Sep 15, 2019 @ 2:26pm 
Actually I don't think Sigma's pass is milk cause his name is kilm, in vlr one of the lion passes is MILKEVOLI or I LOVE MILK, it wouldn't make sense to put I LOVE KILM since it opens the computer in the director's office so it's sigma's computer so i'd be weird to make your password I love myself
Ledox Feb 2, 2018 @ 12:48am 
This post was made a while ago, but is still interesting for me who is seeing it for the first time.
I love seeing all of the hidden meanings behind little things like this that these games love to do.
I never thought about the meanings of the X-passes aside from the ones with obvious meanings.

Thank you for making this.
Miral  [author] Jul 5, 2017 @ 1:30am 
"MILKEVOLI" is "I LOVE KLIM" backwards, so it's basically the same thing. :D:
Qiseichi Jun 4, 2017 @ 6:56pm 
Could the 'milk' for Sigma also be referencing the password K gives you in one of the endings? (milkevoli)

EDIT: In VLR
Qiseichi Jun 2, 2017 @ 8:46pm 
Another thing that might have another meaning. 'Jump' for Junpei could mean he also has the ability to jump to other conciouses or rather it could mean he is a SHIFTer.
Nineteen Sep 9, 2016 @ 9:34am 
Funny, I just assumed "BRO" was because he's Phi's brother and forgot about FTS. I guess its a double-meaning. Then again I guess you could say that the name Brother is supposed to hint that he's Phi's brother in the first place so its all kind of the same thing.

Also, I didnt know about the double-meanings behind "X-door" and "Decision Game." Mind blown.
My1 Jul 17, 2016 @ 5:17am 
dont iirc diana and luna even have the same voice actress?