I've been wondering for a while why Episode 9 has this structure. To do this, I had to look back and remember past Episodes. And I'm back to Episode 5. In the game system I noticed, the first episode of the new season closes the main story arc of the previous Season and offers the player a new serious challenge.
When I talk about the main story arc, I mean the main arc - not Bella, Maya/Josy, Quinn and other characters that we are very interested in. I mean the Main Character arc. In the first season, this arc was joining the DIK fraternity, which was closed in Episode 5 during the Preps party. Throwing eggs at Tybalt was a kind of conclusion to this story arc. The main challenge of Season 2 we received in Episode 5 is the destruction of our mansion.
Also, the main story arc of Season 2 for our Tremolo was the search for an answer to the question - "Who am I?". The MC finally forms its views on life and decides with which girl to reduce its fate, or even remain alone. And what about Episode 9? The same summing up the results of the MC arc from Season 2. We see the consequences of the decisions made for ourselves (in matters of relations with girls) and we see how official relations begin with our LI. Or we get drama if we were an asshole and dated all the girls. Season 2 arc closed.
That is, Episode 9 behaves the same as Episode 5 in terms of game structure, and even throws up a new main challenge - Vinny. And then I understand that Vinny will be a very big problem. Plus, Episode 9 did a very good job of introducing the new character. Zoey performance was breathtaking.
And really, what's the best way to sum up the MC story arc and his relationship with the girls? This is a grand party that has been talked about for so long and that many have been waiting for. The DPC did a good job in this regard - he collected as many characters as possible(
Hello-hello, DLC Citadel from Mass Effect 3), and even came up with the representation of girls who were out of place there - for example, Isabella. Like narration, humor, dialogues, events, musical accompaniment, scenes - this is really the coolest party. I've always wanted to see what a big party would look like, but here the DPC overdid it a bit and didn't please a lot of people. I thought that it would take about 50% of the episode, but it turned out to be about 75-80%. And as a result, people who do not like free roams and want to continue the story as soon as possible rated it low. Although in my opinion it does not deserve a low rating, it is rather an emotional reaction of people who did not get what they expected - like the canonical Being a DIK, Episode 9 turned out to be very good, losing a bit to the masterpiece Ep.7 and 8.
Episode 9 gives a very different vibe - if in the above episodes I could shed a tear, then here I laughed more and caught the mood from Season 1, which was light and fun. A small advance along the story paths did not bother me - I understand that this Episode is the calm before the storm and is more about relaxing the player.
My personal criticism is that the party really could have been a bit smaller, and the three free roams are diluted with big flashbacks from previous events to give players a bit of a break from the sandbox. As a gameplay mechanic, it's not well implemented.
Also, something else bothered me. The lack of a full scene with Riona, although the last one was in Episode 7. This is a little unfair. And the rather strange storyline of the Jill arc, it feels like the DPC is trolling the player. But this is rather a subjective opinion and such things are simply "not my thing."
Was Episode 9 a masterpiece?:
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But was this Episode bad? Also no. It was definitely a unique gameplay experiment. but I hope it's a one-off, because in the future he needs to really focus on the story.
This is my final review after 8 playthroughs. I know it was a very long essay. And if you get bored reading all this tedious writing, here's a fun pic for bored readers:
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Looking back and summing up all the episodes, I rate them like this:
Episode 1 - 8.5
Episode 2 - 9
Episode 3 - 9.5
Episode 4 - 10
Episode 5 - 8
Episode 6 - 9
Episode 7 - 10
Episode 8 - 10
Interlude - 7
Episode 9 - 8.5
