9-nine-:Episode 1

A very heart touching game to me and a 10/10. (very expensive though)

This game simply does not fail for me. I've heard complaints that its episodic nature can drive people away and the sheer length of it (I clocked in 61 hours total across all 5 games at the end) means its a pretty big time sink, but its worth it. Every single episode had something to offer and built off each other. My short little review will contain no spoilers, just purely speaking off how I feel about the episodes themselves. I also personally did not play with any patches for the H-scenes, though I have heard that at least one of them does play a role in the story? I didn't notice any missed story beats though and 9-nine- can be enjoyed entirely through without any worry.

EP1 7/10: The weakest episode as it spends most of the time simply explaining the world, but that doesn't mean its bad. Its the introduction, its merits are already there. It does a good job of putting you in and keeping you in. Miyako as a character is also very nice, though my least favorite one by proxy. This doesn't mean she's bad though, just other characters are just that much better.

EP2 10/10: This is the episode that really sold the series for me. The character arcs gone through this one are amazing and id argue this is the best episode only tied with episode 4. Sora as a character was always really funny since episode 1 and their banter simply does not quit throughout. A very enjoyable episode for me and tied with my favorite.

EP3 9/10: Though my 3rd favorite respectively, this episode does not drop the ball in terms of story. if anything it drags you further in. I haven't mentioned this, but there are a-lot of twists in the series. This one by far having the most of them. This part really fueled me through it and I found myself getting hyped for it. Haruka as a character also is really sweet and her interactions with the MC felt really heartwarming.

EP4 10/10: As I said before, this episode is tied with my favorite by far, this episode felt like the longest one in a good way. To begin, this is the climax of the story of course, they do a good job of making it truly feel like an intense point. In the effort of not spoiling I shall say no more, but this episode accomplishes its job extremely well. Noa as a character is also one of my favorites, her interactions with the MC are also majorly sweet, and I enjoyed all their little interactions with each other.

NEWEPISODE 6/10: Left me wanting more, but that's because I simply didn't want to let the series go. An excellent sendoff to the story and caps off each individual characters arcs very well, and I mean ALL of them with the exception of one. I don't have much to say about it, it speaks for itself really.

This series as a whole takes me back to a time when I was young, sitting in my room looking up anime series on YouTube. It brings back a sense of nostalgia to me for times passed, I loved it and I think it imparted something deeply on me. Again, amazing story, 10/10.

not the most groundbreaking vn i've ever read, but it was fun and cute. i got through it in a couple days at a leisurely pace. i'm definitely invested enough to buy the other 3 chapters if they go on sale. i think the biggest crime is that it tries to do a little too much with the time it's given, and doesn't do the best at juggling it all. i would still recommend it though if you want something easily digestible. obviously can't speak for the rest of the games in this series, but i've heard nothing but good things about them so i have high hopes.

9-nineシリーズ第一作です。

導入としてとても素晴らしい作品でした。設定がとても面白く、なによりヒロインの都がかわいい。能力モノが好きな人、都がかわいいと思った人はプレイして損しないと思います。

This is an introduction to a great series, however readers should complete the entire series to fully appreciate it. Miyako Best Girl btw.


7.5/10

9-nine-:Episode 1 is a great mix of moege and plotge which is something that is rarely pulled off well. The production values are top notch with incredible art by Izumi Tsubasu. The soundtrack is really good as well, Yonekura Chihiro kills the vocals for both the OP and ED. Kakeru is a interesting protagonist with many questions still left unsolved about him and his future; Miyako the main heroine for episode 1 is a good character with many of her positive traits elevating the interactions between her and Kakeru allowing for fun dynamic banter.

Episode 1 has to be treated as a setup route/prologue, many of the questions you have about the world, the main mystery and "artifacts" will remain unresolved since this route is mostly to create a backdrop and develop the main cast. Still as a setup its quite enjoyable and not too long either. Also while the Japanese prose are far better, the English translation does a solid job (if a bit dumbed down) so long as you download the patch that removes some of the odd localisations for instead romanizations that make more sense.

The art and music is very nice, but the writing is the standard anime affair. If you're a fan of that flavor of trite adventure romance, then give it a shot.

Successful characterization (Miya is soooo freaking cute)
BUT WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO PLACE AN H SCENE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ENDING MUSIC?

Great story and production values all the way up to the end, where I didn't really enjoy the cliffhander ending.

Good

I am writing this before reading any further episodes of 9-Nine-. There are also a ton of other reviews and information out regarding this title, so I'm just going to make this short.

9-Nine- Episode 1 is unfortunately a victim of being episode 1 in a multi episode story. There's a whole lot of information presented here, and not much of it pays off in this episode. I can see where they're likely going with a lot of it, but it just drags this visual novel down quite a bit with it. It also ends in a very anticlimactic scene pre-credit roll, and post-credit roll has another scene that is just "To be continued" fodder.

I'm not a big fan of visual novels, even those in series like this, that can't stand by themselves very well, and 9-Nine- Episode 1 falls well into that mold. Because of that I can't recommend Episode 1 to anyone unless your intention is to read the further episodes. I am also hoping and assuming with that recommendation that there is payoff for some of the information and hints in a further episode.

My first review was for episode 2, but I feel like I should write is here too as it applies to the series as a whole.

Stop reading reviews and play the whole series already. The voice actors are awesome (really, they all worked on pretty big VNs and Anime) and the plot keeps getting more interesting on each game.

I also suggest to avoid skipping episodes, it's not just subtle references, they're meant to be played one after another. It's not a spoiler right? The title explicitly says Episode 1.

A really awesome chuunige by Palette. It has really pretty art, nice refreshing music, and a good plot that will leave you wanting more. It also has live2d h scenes (freaky)
Nothing more to say than miyako is great and I can't wait to see more Sora.