Norn9 - Var Commons: The Truth Route + Final thoughts

 

 

The so-called 'Truth Route' is not so much a true route as an opportunity to tie loose narrative ends and let us know what happens to Sorata, the genius boy with whom this whole mess started. Indeed, he was not forgotten, and neither was his elusive link to Aion, which was hinted at in the prologue. The android and her reborn creator find themselves falling in love with each other à la Chobits, which was an unexpected but quite lovely turn of events. Having the possibility to actively woo Aion instead of simply witnessing the birth of her relationship with Sorata would have made that epilogue even more entertaining; but hey, this is an otome game after all, and I understand Otomate not wanting to push the envelope too far by sneaking in a splurt of gal game action right at the end.

As I said before, Norn9 is my favourite otome game so far — and by far. This is the first otome game in which I love every single character and enjoy every single route; on top of that, my favourite routes are in greater number than in any otome I've played before — said routes being Natsuhiko, Senri, Sakuya, Akito and Heishi. I'll definitely replay at least those routes at some point, and most likely all of them: they all have their strengths and share of interesting moments and all bring something to the story and the overall atmosphere. 

 

 

Talking about the story, it's a darn good one. My taste in stories can be described in three words: simple, yet effective — and Norn9's story fits that description to a T. By choosing a simple base concept and dutifully sticking to said concept without trying to expand wildly on it, the writers managed to craft an elegant and striking story devoid of plot holes and paradoxes. Sure, one might argue that Norn9 is a bit light on the narrative side: were all the romantic fluff sheared and the main plot written down, said main plot would definitely amount to a short story rather than a novel — but hey, I'd rather read a terrific short story than a lousy novel.

 

 

Not only is Norn9 a pretty fine sci-fi story, but it can also be read as a metaphor for the tricky transition between adolescence and adulthood. Teenagers with their unique own special talent are being taken to an unknown place and expected to use said special talent in circumstances that have yet to be clarified, under the authority of yet unknown people: is this not totally a metaphor for joining the workforce and starting living as a self-supporting adult, using your strengths to make a living? Also, the risk of being exploited by the higher-ups and the challenging task of maintaining one's integrity while putting their special talent to good use are mentioned many times, and those are definitely issues anyone has to face on the job. There's no way of knowing if the writers wanted such a metaphor to come across, but it can definitely be read in Norn9's story.

And with that, dear fellow gamers, my paean to Norn9 comes to an end. It goes without saying that I totally encourage you to play that gem of a game, whether you're an otome fan or not. (Heck, I sure wouldn't describe myself as such, and yet I lapped up the whole thing from beginning to end.) Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!