Release Date: August 31, 2023 (North America)
Developers:  Otomate
Publishers:  Aksys Games
Platforms:  Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

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Norn9: Last Era includes four different story segments:

PRELUDE – are events that happened before all the espers boarded the Norn ship.

CONCERTO – are after-stories that continue from the best ending of each character’s route in Var Commons. It consists of four-story parts:

• Prologue – which recounts the aftermath of the first game
• Moonlight – the main after-story, in which problems arise and the main characters must resolve them
• Sunburst – primarily portraying slice-of-life events that occur before or after Moonlight’s events, showcasing cute moments between the heroine and her love interest.
• Epilogue – serves as the conclusion to the after-stories.

FUGUE -is a re-telling of the routes in Norn9 Var Commons from the perspectives of the love interests.

FANTASIA – is a “What If” story that unfolds while all the espers are traveling aboard the Norn ship. An incident from both the real and dream worlds has caused chaos on the ship, and all the espers work to resolve this comical situation while being chibified.

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ART AND MUSIC

Artist/Illustrators:	Teita (Character Design), Satoi (Chibi), Karin Suzushiro (Illustrator)
Scenario Writers:	Ayane Ushio (Main), Nikai Ninomae
OST:	Akiyo Toda, Ono Takamitsu, rino, Keisuke Ishitani, Hiroshi Usami, Naoyuki Osada (Composers), Yanagi Nagi (vocals),
BGM:	Kevin Penkin, Shota Kageyama, Hiroki Ogawa

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MAIN CHARACTERS

Since this is a fandisc, you’re free to play in any order you prefer, without worrying about plot spoilers.

The game forces you to start with the PRELUDE, which are events that occurred before the espers boarded the Norn ship. After finishing the PRELUDE, you should be able to pick and choose whatever story or segment you prefer playing. I started with FUGUE first, as it has been years since I finished the first game in its entirety. This way, I was able to refresh my memory regarding the details of each route’s conclusion in Var Commons.

There are no specific route orders implemented by the developers, and I don’t believe the after-stories spoil each other either. So, feel free to dive right in and start with your favorite boy first! As for my own route order, 😄 I got lazy and just followed how the LIs were presented on the game’s MENU screen which is: Kakeru → Senri → Masamune → Natsuhiko → Sakuya → Itsuki → Akito → Ron → Heishi.

Walkthroughs:

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NOTE: Please be aware that the contents below consist of spoilers from the first game: Norn9 Var Commons.

KAKERU

Story Enjoyment: 8/10
Fan Service: 8.5/10

Kakeru grew on me in the fandisc, and out of Koharu’s harem, his after-story was actually the one that I enjoyed the most. I especially liked how Kakeru’s character was fully fleshed out, which compensated for his lackluster plot in the first game. I loved how the story utilized Kakeru’s strengths in this fandisk too, emphasizing how smart he truly is, which I believe was downplayed in Norn9 Var Commons, due to the whole ‘brainwashing‘ plot device. His POV in FUGUE really did him good, that he’s now become my fav. ship for Koharu! Ha!😂

I think this is also one of the after-stories with a decent amount of fanservice (aka sexy times *cough*). So I appreciated that as well.😂 I’d say, my opinion of Kakeru has completely changed, which is quite surprising! I believe I was in denial about this during the first game due to how clunky Kakeru’s route was. But I’ve somewhat overlooked what a good partner he is to Koharu. I think Kakeru is the most in love with Koharu among her harem, and this fandisk essentially proved how he’s genuinely a reliable LI who will prioritize Koharu above all else. Not that Masamune and Senri wouldn’t, but to me it felt like Kakeru is always willing to go above and beyond for Koharu’s sake, even outside his designated route, no questions asked.

SENRI

Story Enjoyment: 7/10
Fan Service: 6/10

I wasn’t too crazy about Senri’s after-story, ngl. I loved Senri x Koharu pairing; they were, in fact, one of my favorite ships in the first game. However, I can’t quite put my finger on why his after-story left me somewhat underwhelmed. It could be due to the prolonged and seemingly unnecessary drama with Akito, which managed to dragged out his CONCERTO story. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I have to admit, how their little conflict was resolved was really heartwarming so I can’t really complain there.

MASAMUNE

Story Enjoyment: 8/10
Fan Service: 7.5/10

Okay, Masamune’s route in the first game was completely mishandled. It’s probably the reason why most folks didn’t really like him or care about him in Var Commons. I’m guilty of the latter and initially did not care about his character. But wow, his FUGUE really explained his story in the first game fairly well. All the things that confused me in Masamune’s route were finally given proper closure, and I couldn’t be any happier.

I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed his Sunburst after-story with Koharu in CONCERTO. It’s so refreshing to see them together, just doing their own thing without The World meddling in their personal lives. Moreover, I loved how the PRELUDE started with Masamune’s POV. Seeing his neutral perspective on things aboard the Norn ship made me empathize with him more, and I simply adore how Masamune gives off these dad vibes, trying to break up fights and control the outrageous shenanigans caused by the other espers in the ship. It serves as such great comic relief!😆 Additionally, Masamune gets a lot of good raps in Natsuhiko’s route.

NATSUHIKO

Story Enjoyment: 8/10
Fan Service: 8/10

Natsuhiko’s FUGUE story was really interesting because unlike the other LIs, half of his POV unfolded outside the Norn ship. So it doesn’t feel like there were any apparent repetitions of the first game, as we aren’t privy of the occurrences leading up to his abduction of Mikoto. Natsuhiko’s backstory was also expounded really well. It was enjoyable witnessing in detail the things he went through with The World, his pent-up feelings and the driving force that made him rebel against them.

I was expecting a lot of fanservice (aka spicy scenes) in Natsuhiko’s route, given how indulged we were in the first game (laughs).🤭 Sadly, there wasn’t quite enough of it here— how unfortunate!😭 Nevertheless, I did enjoy seeing a clingy drunk Natsuhiko in his CONCERTO after-story. I also loved seeing a lot of Ron and Setsu interactions (in FUGUE). This trio’s outrageous dynamic, really tickled my funny bone that I consistently look forward to their banter whenever I see them together on screen.😂

SAKUYA

Story Enjoyment: 8/10
Fan Service: 6/10

Sakuya drinks respect-Mikoto-juice. In fact, he drinks it too much that he winds up tipsy on respect and, ends up cockblocking Mikoto’s advances towards him.😭 Idk if I should be happy or disappointed but the constant ‘holding back’ because he doesn’t want to tarnish Mikoto’s purity, even when Mikoto seriously wants the D, was kinda funny to me. I was laughing and crying at the same time. Boyyyy, Just give it to her already!!😭🤣

On another note, in his after-story, I really wish it could’ve gone without the silly conflicts in CONCERTO’s Moonlight segment. I just didn’t really care about the whole “World” and Aion plot anymore. I did enjoy Sakuya’s Sunburst story, and his POV in FUGUE is the highlight of his route because, honestly, it explained the conflicts (that he went through with Mikoto) better, in comparison to his original route in Var Commons.

ITSUKI

Story Enjoyment: 10/10
Fan Service: 9.5/10

This route is everything! Probably my favorite in this entire fandisk. Firstly, his FUGUE route explained so much in detail about why that dream segment in Var Commons happened. All these years, I was thinking that Itsuki was just being himself, having fun instigating fairytale dreams on the Norn ship. When in actuality, the whole dream charade served a purpose!😱 It was incredibly satisfying to finally see everything explained from Itsuki’s POV.

His CONCERTO after-story had the most *cough sexy times* fanservice , because just like Kakeru he just wants to bang his wife all day.(cackles)🤣🤣🤣This is also one of the after-stories that didn’t dwell too much on “The World,” and to me, it was a breath of fresh air, cause honestly, I’m getting tired of the whole “World Reset” narrative. Just give me goofy fluff with characters being their silly selves, which is essentially what I expect when playing fandiscs. And Itsuki’s route delivered everything I wanted.🥰

AKITO

Story Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Fan Service: 8.5/10

Akito was my favorite ship with Nanami in the first game, and I don’t think that changed in the fandisk. He’s still the best! Now that he and Nanami are living together, their dynamic is even more enjoyable, and their everyday banter is soooo cute. I believe one of the main reasons I enjoyed this route so much was its significant focus on Nanami and how it developed her character even more. Delving into her past explained a lot about why she behaves the way she does, and it was truly heartwarming to witness her and Akito overcoming difficult situations together. I just love these two so much!

Anyway, Akito’s Sunburst story was hilarious and very random….& I got a lot of cackles from it, so I’m not complainin’ one bit.🤣 Also, I love seeing Akito in his domestic housewife mode. If Masamune was Norn9’s resident dad, Akito would certainly be the mother hen.

RON

Story Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Fan Service: 9/10

As a Ron Muroboshi apologist, this fandisk was worth it for Ron alone!🤣(cackles) I loved seeing everything from Ron’s POV, so his route in FUGUE, to me, was absolutely enjoyable. What a crazy m*thf*r! LMAO But that is expected! So it’s really nothing new.😂😂😂 My biased opinion aside, I think his FUGUE route still wasn’t clear enough why Nanami suddenly had the hots for him. I was convinced it might be his well-defined pecs which he so confidently struts around the ship. Also, is it crazy that I kind of teared up during the final part of his FUGUE route? Idk… but something about him grotesquely pulling out his eye and is willing to go completely blind for Nanami touched me. 😳Then again, I’m biased as heck so….

Ron’s CONCERTO after-story was also quite intriguing, given that we start with a clean-slated Ron – this was after Nanami wiped out his entire memory. Getting some sort of background on what Ron was like before he crossed paths with Natsuhiko, added a nice depth to his character. While it didn’t entirely explain his bloodlust, I think that it offered enough for the writers to portray just how far gone Ron was already. And the decision to wipe his memory completely was the best choice for him and Nanami to go with in the first game. Plus, there was a dose of adrenaline-packed action in this after-story, which I fully enjoyed. All in all, a great route and a nice treat if you’re a Ron fan like me!

HEISHI

Story Enjoyment: 7/10
Fan Service: 6/10

Heishi’s POV in FUGUE was pretty much a retelling of his first route in Var Commons. I might have missed a few key points here and there, but I don’t think it was significantly any different from his story in the first game? Well, to put it more succinctly, nothing new was added that significantly piqued my interest.🤷‍♀️ It’s his after-story that I actually enjoyed a lot in this fandisk. It wasn’t anything grand, but I love how it was just him and Nanami traveling around and meeting a lot of people.

Without delving into any spoilers, I also appreciated how this after-story explained the seemingly random ending in his route in the first game, where he suddenly becomes a vagabond photographer and gets paid to travel around and take pictures.

FANTASIA

Fantasia was pure hilarious and unserious fun! To my surprise, this “What If” story even boasts its own common route, and you basically play as each heroine – that means there are three stories to unlock here. I think my favorite among the three was Mikoto’s because it featured a lot of Setsu appearances. I swear, this guy is a menace to society; his scenes had me cackling until I was out of breath.

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SYSTEM, EXTRAS, AND MINI GAMES

NORN9+LIFE

NORN9 + LIFE is a mini rpg where you play as one of the three heroines (and switch between them periodically). The gameplay involves exploring the Norn ship, interacting with characters, and earning tickets based on the randomized outcomes of these encounters. Positive interactions will earn you points, while negative ones will result in point deductions. This mini-game closely resembles the “NORN9 QUEST” in Var Commons, except that the randomized points are slightly more generous.

During my gameplay, I noticed that the LI aligned with the heroine you choose will almost consistently award you points, whereas characters with a more antagonistic disposition like Natsuhiko or Ron will sometimes give you negative points. Sakuya will always give you a positive outcome, regardless of the heroine you pick (because he’s a good boy lol) and Setsu is pretty much a red flag and will take as much points away from you ending the in-game encounter with a: “You’ve been chased by a pervert.” 😂😂😂 The tickets you earn from this mini game can be used to purchase and unlock additional content within the Norn9 Store section.

Norn9 Store

• More contents in the Norn9 Store will gradually unlock as you collect enough tickets from playing the NORN9 + LIFE mini-game.
• The “MUSIC” section of the MENU screen will become accessible only after purchasing the BGM Collection, available in the Norn9 Store for 150 points.

The game’s UI and controls are also quite similar to Norn9 Var Commons, so if you’ve played the previous game, you should find it familiar. As for the localization, I noticed a few typos during my gameplay, but they were very infrequent and spaced apart. The game’s humor was accurately translated as well, especially in Setsu’s dialogues, so I tip my hat to the localizers for doing such a great job in that regard.😂👏

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TRAILER

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OVERALL THOUGHTS

It took me around 65-70 hours to complete Norn9 Last Era. 😱 For a fandisc, this game sure is quite lengthy and packed with so much content. I was kind of surprised by the number of hours I’ve actually put into this game. Typically, I breeze through otome fandiscs in 3-5 days, but this one actually took me two to three weeks to finish.😅 Though, I should note, that I wasn’t speed running the game or anything of the sort, and was purposefully taking my time.

On a general note, I really enjoyed this fandisk and would consider it better than the first game in terms of tying up loose ends, which I believe was the primary purpose of FUGUE and CONCERTO. This even felt more like a sequel than a mere fandisk, to be completely honest. I’m saying this due to the fact that it explored further on the previous plot points revolving around “The World,” the Islanders, and their implementation of the world reset. Unfortunately, I grew easily tired (and bored) of the whole “World” agenda; it just seemed so repetitive that I couldn’t muster any care for it anymore. Maybe I just craved more fanservice and slice of life moments for the main characters, which I think this game didn’t have enough.(laughs)😂

My unnecessary griping aside, what I truly enjoyed most about this game was witnessing the friendships among the three heroines. It warms my heart whenever I see my three favorite best girls bonding and interacting with each other. I just adore their relationship so much! Koharu, Mikoto and Nanami were superb, and even more so when their characters are given more depth. If we saw them grow in Norn9 Var Commons, they absolutely shined bright in Last Era. So, I was genuinely really happy about this.🥺😭💖

On another note, I was quite surprised that my favorite ships have drastically changed after playing this fandisc. Before, during my playthrough in Var Commons, these were my ships:

But now, after experiencing Norn9 Last Era, here are my somewhat new ships:

Nanami and Akito seemed like a solid couple to me. Akito is just truly an outstanding tsundere, and a very good fit as Nanami’s partner, so my support for this ship remained steadfast. I did find myself enjoying the pairing of Ron and Nanami in this FD, but I’ll admit it’s more of my guilty pleasure talking😂 (laughs).

Kakeru surprised me with his robust and cunning attitude that played off really well in his after-story, not to mention his unwavering love for Koharu, which became quite apparent even in other LI’s routes. As for Itsuki, he was actually one of my favorite routes in Var Commons, but he was only second to Natsuhiko which took the reign as best boy in the first game. But after playing this fandisk, it appears that Itsuki has finally taken Natsuhiko’s spot, which is quite surprising, even to me, considering that Natsuhiko had a great run in this FD as well.

I’m genuinely interested to know if other players’ favorite pairings have also changed, and how the after-stories influenced these shifts. Ha!

Character-wise, I think Ron is still my favorite out of everyone.😂 I appreciate that despite the lukewarm attempts of the writers to give him a redemption arc, he still remained a murderous scumbag by ♡heart, and I thought this consistency was a good call by the devs. I honestly believe that a character doesn’t necessarily need a redemption arc to be interesting; sometimes, being consistently cutthroat through and through can be just as captivating in fiction. Y’know what I mean!😏

My second favorite character is none other than Setsu, of course!😂 The ultimate degenerate king!👑 I’m surprised he still doesn’t have his own route. Tbh, He carried the humor in this game! I just can’t get enough of his unrestrained wildings and hilarious bdsm antics. It’s pure gold! As for the new characters, they didn’t really stand out to me that much, so I don’t have much to say about them.

Do I recommend this game? YES.
Norn9 Last Era remains an essential must-play for devoted Norn9 fans, and even for those who weren’t captivated enough of the first game; I believe Last Era might change your mind about the series. This fandisk delivered an excellent prequel-sequel narrative that not only fleshed out Norn9’s main characters but also expanded on the entire plot, as well as the intricate sci-fi universe of the game. I absolutely had loads of fun with this fandisk and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to both long-time fans and newcomers to the otome genre.

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