I finally set aside the time to read 9-nines episodes 4 in one sitting and I'm glad I did. I'll spare you my rambling and just say it's very good. Being the grand conclusion to the story, it's obviously the best one in term of writing. However, I've seen some opinions going around that you don't need to play the previous three episodes since they're their own separate routes and have little to do with the grand plot. I strongly disagree with this opinion as not only the first three provided the required context, and having knowledge of them made the payoff immensely more satisfying. The art and the voice acting were lovely, albeit the volume was a little quiet in some scene. The BGM were the weakest part, most were pretty unremarkable. The only exception was the insert song during the climax. And most importantly, I like all of the heroines. I have played a lot of visual novel more often than not I find myself invested in some routes more than the other, this one somehow managed to makes me care about them all equally.
Due to the episodic nature of the game, I was a little worried that they would have the last heroine, Noa do all the heavy lifting in resolving the entire plot. And it was true to an extend as she played a very central role
until the "false" ending. The twist was obvious, but the timing of it still caught me by surprise. I really like how they incorporated the chart into story telling. The catharsis I felt when reading the climax scene was off the chart, and while the villain's reveals weren't as shocking as other works that attempted the same before, it was woven seamlessly into the narrative with ample foreshadowing as part of the story instead of purely shock factor. The ending, as good as it was however, left me with mixed feelings.
Now, I said above that I like all of the heroines, but if I had to choose my favorite, it would be Miyako. However due to the narrative structure of the series, the first heroine got the shortest end of the stick . With the way it works and her route being the first, you don't really understood anything and resolved nothing, as it was mostly used to served as a foundation for later episodes. I also understand that this is Noa's episode and they can't have other heroines taking over her spotlight in the ending, but I wish I could have seen something since it was the grand ending and all, especially when
instead of just being other characters in Noa's route, the heroines came from their own route to lend the main character their strength during the final battle. Imagine my excitement when the game itself acknowledged this problem in the after credit scene and have you approached Miyako from behind. Then... title screen. Then I see they have an epilogue fandisk and it all make sense. Palette has definitely put themselves on my radar because of their works on this series. And whether or not they gives Miyako her well deserved ending in this fandisk will impact my goodwill towards their future titles going forward.
TLDR, here's my reaction to the ending summed up in one image.
