Never7

So this visual novel just got an English Translation very recently

It's the first of the Infinity series before Ever17 and Remember11

It's decent so far but nowhere near the other 2 so far.

I finished Yuka's route and it was ok though I wasn't fond of her character.

Doing Haruka's now and I like her way more than Yuka.

So far with the way the plot goes it seems like a toned down mix of Ever17 and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

Has anyone else started yet?

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Well, as the translator, there's nothing I can really say, except that I'm glad you like Haruka more than Yuka, as she's my favorite character and I'm rather disappointed that so far, most of the people I've come across don't seem to like her, so I'm glad you have a different opinion.

Yeah, this game is nowhere as good as its sequels, but I wouldn't write it off. It's still got good moments, and the Cure Route is the part that I would say makes the game worth playing through, as it reveals some things that are crucial to the rest of the series.

Huh I figured she's be the type of character that would be the most popular (like Tsugumi in Ever17)

but I guess not huh. Who are most people's favorite (if there's a conensus)

anyway I finished Saki's and on "Part 2" of Kurumi's

and I'd say Kurumi and Haruka are easily my favorite characters but choosing who I like more is kinda hard at the moment.

Also yeah Im pretty hyped for the Cure route, since with the way people talk about it, it's like teh Coco route of Ever17

edited 28th Aug '12 4:38:18 PM by superangelo128

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So, I've gotten started now. Finally. I'm going to be doing the Haruka route first since she seemed more interesting than Yuka, who so far is kind of annoying me. Well, I guess she might be okay. I'm not really looking forward to Izumi.

For play order I suppose I'll do Haruka -> Yuka -> Saki (Looking forward to this) -> Kurumi -> Izumi. Though there's not really a great deal of flexibility on that, I suppose.

Looking forward to Saki but not Yuka eh

anyway you have to do Cure to unlock Izumi

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Saki kinda seems like a bitch. Makes her potentially more interesting though.

I keep thinking Haruka is a clone of Tsugumi. The ages don't really match up though and their behavior isn't very similar. Plus, Haruka was written before Tsugumi. Still.

Edit: Though Kurumi and Haruka's ages don't work either. Hopefully that gets explained.

edited 1st Sep '12 9:41:07 AM by Arha

^How do the ages not match up? Tsugumi was born in 1994, Haruka was born in 2000.

Having finished this, I'd say that Yuka's was my favorite path. Kurumi's had some interesting elements but was a little rough in terms of pacing at points, Haruka's felt mostly redundant being played after Kurumi's, Saki was okay (Seemed like a bitch before playing her path, but was a bit better afterward).

Izumi Cure was a little underwhelming in the shocking-reveal department, but that's because I'd been spoiled to certain aspects of Never7 a few years back. The ending still managed to keep my attention.

Izumi non-Cure was rather amusing, but I wouldn't think of judging it on the same scale used for judging the preceding paths.

One thing I noticed during this was how hidden the reveal from final path seems to be until you actually come across it. Ever17 and Remember11 were pretty blatant about the fact that you don't know everything yet during the early game, but the Never7 plot-twist pretty much answered questions that the player didn't think were questions to be asked in the first place.

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Because Tsugumi would have been cloned after the car accident in my idea, which occurred in 2006.

Also, why is Haruka older than Kurumi? That's weird! Don't answer that.

Makes sense. I'd only been considering whether or not it was possible to be a clone of Tsugumi. I hadn't considered the idea of thinking of whether or not a clone could be made after that incident where people might have extra incentive to clone her.

(Spoiler only if one hasn't completed at least one path): One thing that bugged me about the Haruka-clone reveal was that everybody acts as though it's completely bizarre that Saki might have issues with clones: Apparently, nobody remembers that they were only legalized about 10 years prior. It would make sense for everybody to think that Saki was wrong in her views, but it shouldn't be unthinkable to them that some people still hold views from before then)

On a random side note, Saki's TIPS entry states that she's a student at K University. Given that Never7 was the first game in the series, it's probably a stand-in for a real university (Possibly Kyoto University, given that the TIPS refers to it as "top-class"), but the first time I saw a reference to that in the game, my thoughts were "Another Kyumeikan student?"

edited 1st Sep '12 12:48:59 PM by muninn

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I don't know where the TIPS section is.

I haven't gotten to Saki's route yet but I'm guessing that the fight scene in Haruka's path was actually Saki meaning 'I've apologized countless times for stealing that bell' but I guess I won't know for sure for awhile. Dunno what's up with that bell yet either, of course, and I'm sure I won't for a looooong time.

I don't think Never7 has in-game TIPS. To view them outside of the game, look in your game directory for "./manual-en/tips.html", then enter whatever passwords you've obtained into the fields at the top.

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Oh, I see.

I suppose Makoto has premonitions and people are being so informal because of some kind of time loop shenanigans and people retaining impressions if not memories.

I hope there's more to Okuhiko thinking Makoto is a scumbag than just not wanting competition. He makes for a fine jerkass but his hostility begins before that.

I suppose in general this series is good at making me curious about what's going on. I just hope Never 7 answers these questions unlike Remember 11, which was an unsatisfying jerk of a story.

Part of the reason Okuhiko has such a low opinion of Makoto is because the latter never bothers with classes beyond a minimum effort *

and skips whenever he can get away with it. It's the first time those two have met, but they're already aware of each other by reputation, and Okuhiko lets that guide his interactions a lot more than it should. (Also, he's a jerkass)

(Basically, Makoto's a college-aged version of Okazaki Tomoya without the daddy-issues and friend-trolling)

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Hmmm the setup for the story is a little strange. Wouldn't be surprised it this was a dream world or something. If that guess is true then this story would be rather similar to Little Busters in a way.

It's hard not to go looking at the Never 7 page. I guess I'm a spoiler hound.

Edit: Drawing possible connections is fun. Like the idea that the boat and the shrine being so old and decrepit means they're linked. For a VN that kind has some questionable writing and isn't very exciting it seems to be catching my interest rather well.

edited 1st Sep '12 10:12:38 PM by Arha

Kurumi's route is really not impressing me that much. He just returned to the beginning again so I guess it can still get better, but for now it's kinda meh. I actually ended up enjoying Yuka's route. Well, even if Kurumi doesn't get any better there's still Cure after this. Even if it is called Izumi Cure and I don't like Izumi.

Edit: Makoto is kind of creeping me out this time.

edited 2nd Sep '12 11:32:59 AM by Arha

Hmmm Izumi's info dumping is matching up with a theory that I had that Makoto was somehow deciding stuff like what Izumi had planned to make for dinner but since I don't think I'm very far into the Cure route yet then I guess I was probably wrong or had the incomplete answer.

Woops. I kinda meant to edit my last post. I don't even like to double post but now I've triple posted. Bad Arha.

Well, whatever. Mind you, the full theory as elaborated by Izumi doesn't make any sense.

Yay Tsugumi is referenced in the tips, though not by name.

Hmmm I have little desire to do the final Izumi route or Cure B.

edited 3rd Sep '12 6:53:46 PM by Arha

Cure B will only take you a few minutes. All you have to do is make 2 different choices on Day 4 and Day 5.

^^ The final Izumi route is basically the Visual Novel equivalent of a gag-OVA that studios make after their series concludes (ie. Angel Beats, Eleven Eyes). It's amusing, but you're not missing any major developments from not doing it.

edited 4th Sep '12 5:19:00 PM by muninn

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Aaand I'm done with everything yay

Overall it wasn't bad but E17 and R11 were definitley better (Ever17 had a better balance between good characters/routes and mind****s while Remember11 didnt have any stick out characters but its story was so mindblowing and over-the-top that was great the whole way)

most of the routes were fine but didn't really stick out (since a bunch of them were basically typical romance/drama/slice of life VN stuff with only a little of cool Infinity mysteries and most of the cast was pretty forgettable)

However for me Never7 was definitley worth reading for Haruka's route and the mandatory Cure route. Haruka's since she's probably my favorite Infinity series character now and her development is great (Even not in her route though mostly in her route), and Cure for the awesome plot twist.

Speaking of plot twists I liked the majority of the big ones with my favorite being Makoto's and his (possible) delusions being the main mind**** of the whole story

There were a few that I was confused/didn't sit well with like

How DID Yuka and Makoto get back on April 7th on the 2nd time? Literally everyone was surprised and had no idea and it was never explained (I think?)

AND

Kurumi 'time travelling' for 3 years where she doesn't age is kinda weird and goes against the whole delusion theme. It seemed like it was trying to take over the (original) 'time travel' theme.

Character rankings Haruka > Kurumi > who cares Route Rankings Mandatory Cure= Haruka > who cares (though I like I said the rest are fine the top 2 are definitely above the others)

Infinity series rankings (of what I've read) Top 5 Characters 1.Haruka Higuchi- good development great personality all around and getting over the clone stuff and her finally getting along with her "real" sisters was heartwarming... though hell her getting along with anyone is heartwarming

2.Sara Matsunaga- naturally she knows the hacker and doesn't afraid of anything but really was just a fun character all around

3.Tsugumi Komachi- personality isn't always the greatest though when it's great it's great. Has a lot of interesting twists concerning her.

4.Kurumi Morino- not particularly special compared to other characters of her archetype but still a decent character and has some good moments I feel bad about her scar story =((

5.Hotori Suzukage/Keiko Inubushi - mostly to her ridiculous unpredictability

2-4 are pretty close though, was tempted to put You as well

Top 5 Plot Twists 1. (R11) both pairs of 3 point Mind/Body Swap involve FETUSES in Kali's womb. Makes rereading a lot more fun to see how they affected both times/places and just the concept of it is just so ridiculous it's amazing, I guess this one wasn't confirmed 'in-game' though the heavy hints and the confirmation after it came out makes it count for me

2. (E17)The fact that somehow Takeshi and Hokuto's routes are in two different YEARS and they somehow recreated the situation similarly enough to mind**** the reader, admittedly this was one of my theories when going through but it was nice to see the way it played out.

3. (R11) In Kokoro's route towards the end you escape the avalanche and find.. a beach that wasn't there to being with WHHHHAAAAAA sure it was explained (and continued) in Satoru's route but the mind**** seeing it the first time was great

4.(E17) Tsugumi being Hokuto and Sara's mom, mostly for the heartwarming reunion

5.(N7) The fact that Makoto could have possibly created a bazillion delusions within each other is an awesome thought

edited 5th Sep '12 8:31:35 AM by superangelo128

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^ The Kurumi thing is there to make a plausible second solution. You can believe Izumi Cure's explanation or you can believe Yuka route. Actually, Yuka route also has to be at least partially correct.

I didn't really like the Cure route twist much. It doesn't stand up well to examination except in that it links to Ever17 and apparently Remember11.