9-nine-:Episode 2

Developer: PALETTE | Publisher: Sekai Project | Release Date: 2019 | Genre: Casual / Visual Novel / Simulation | Website: N/A | Purchase: Steam / Denpasoft

9-Nine-: Episode 1 introduced players to the sleepy town of Shiromitsugawa and how it got a little bit livelier after an earthquake shattered a sacred shrine relic. This event unleashed powerful artifacts that began bonding with people in town, giving them supernatural powers. Unfortunately, not everyone used these new powers for good either, which resulted in a killer with the ability to turn people into stone making an appearance. This is where the story’s protagonist, Kakeru Niimi, steps up to investigate the artifacts and uncover the killer’s identity. Kakeru embarks on this dangerous mission at the behest of Sophie, an unknown life-form from a different world who claims to be part of an organization that manages the artifacts. However, the real reason for Kakuru’s interest in the artifacts is the involvement of his classmate Miyako and her determination to investigate the artifacts.

9-Nine-: Episode 2 is the second installment of the visual novel, but instead of being a direct continuation of episode one, it actually functions more like an alternative route. The story still picks up after some of the events in the previous episode, but this time, the emphasis is on Kakeru’s sister, Sora. Although Sora was part of the first episode, she was more of a peripheral character, but everything in this episode revolves around her. Kakeru is once again the protagonist, so the story unfolds through his eyes, but Sora rarely leaves his side. Episode 2 also recaps all of the essential bits of episode 1, so technically, it’s not necessary to play the first installment to understand what is going on. In fact, it initially feels a bit confusing to have the story focus on Sora, considering the events between Kakeru and Miyako in episode 1. However, the game already established that there are multiple realities in the world of 9-Nine, so it makes sense that this episode takes place in one that is on a different branch.

Episode 2 is once again set in the town of Shiromitsugawa, and this time, Kakeru encounters a cadre of evil users calling themselves “Rig Veda” while continuing his search for the killer. Through a series of events, Kakeru, his sister, Miyako, and the mysterious parfait-loving girl from the cafe where he always hangs out end up in their own opposing group. This conflict between Kakeru’s group and Rig Vega takes up a large portion of the story, but the game also focuses more on Sora’s power and the consequences of her using it. Miyako plays a much smaller role in this episode, but players learn a lot more about Sora, and the game also reveals more details about other minor characters like Haruka and Noa. The story unfolds rather slowly, especially given how short the episode is, but thanks to the brilliant writing and superlative translation, we were never left feeling bored.

With Kakeru and Sora spending much more time together in this episode, it also means more of the hilarious bickering between them. A lot of the dialog between the two is downright hilarious, and quite a few scenes had us laughing out loud.

Surprisingly, this even extends to the adult scenes, as twisted as that may sound. Yes, even though Kakeru and Sora are siblings, this episode features some adult content, provided players install the optional 18+ patch. This patch is available from Denpasoft for free and adds a couple of animated sex scenes to the game, as well as a few CGs featuring nudity. Even with the patch installed, the game still uses mosaic censoring for everything below the waist. The incest theme is pretty disturbing, but the game handles it in an interesting manner and with plenty of humor. Let’s just say that Sora is a complete goofball, and a particular scene featuring a paper bag over her head had us laughing way harder than we should have, considering what was happening.

Since Episode 2 takes place mainly in the same setting with the same characters, it’s no surprise that most backgrounds and character sprites are also reused. However, seeing as the artwork is by Izumi Tsubasu of SakuSaku: Love Blooms with the Cherry Blossoms fame, we are definitely not complaining. The game does feature plenty of brand-new CGs, along with some cute, super-deformed CGs and new animated sex scenes, so there are plenty of new visual elements. 9-Nine is also still one of the very few visual novels we have ever played to feature characters with sprites for the front and back of the characters.

Like the visuals, the tracklist for episode 2 is mostly the same as the first. Although only six new tracks are on the list, the old songs still sound good. The game also still features full Japanese voice acting for everyone, including the main character. This extends to the sex scenes, which makes them even funnier, in our opinion. The voice acting is brilliant and makes the interactions between Kakeru and his sister even more entertaining as neither holds back. 9-Nine-: Episode 2 again features dual language options, with a choice between Japanese, English, and Chinese text displayed on the screen. Also, there is a wealth of sound and dialog options to customize to your liking, and the whole user interface for the game is very straightforward and convenient.

Despite the taboo elements of 9-Nine-: Episode 2, we enjoyed the story more than in the first episode. This could be because the presence of Sora meant that there were a lot more humorous scenes this time around. However, the game still features more than enough serious scenes that reveal the emotional depth of the characters, as well as a couple of action scenes that are described engagingly. Episode 2 also doesn’t force players to play through everything twice to uncover the whole story and instead offers choices right from the start that lead to two different endings.

Everyone who enjoyed 9-Nine-: Episode 1 should definitely check out Episode 2 as well. Unfortunately, it still leaves players with a lot of unresolved mysteries that will no doubt only be revealed in future episodes. The incest elements will obviously not appeal to everyone, but the more explicit details can easily be avoided by sticking to the Steam version and skipping the 18+ patch. Overall, we enjoyed our time with 9-Nine-: Episode 2 and look forward to seeing what will happen in episode 3.