Usually visual novels are not something I spend my afternoons on, but a little coy peer pressure can sometimes push me out of my comfort zone. There's never something that can't have a fun spin on it when you're with the lads, earlier this year was a golly good time with the likes of Angels with Scaly Wings and I Wani Hug that Gator!.
I stumbled upon 9:22 alone though, I then entertained the idea to read it alone. Like any good piece of thriller media I'd opine that it is better to enjoy it by yourself so you could take it and process it with minimal distractions.
I typically avoid furry VNs, or most VNs in general as I established. They usually put too much emphasis on the romance aspect and it is especially wanting when it comes to authors struggling on whether or not to make it a dating simulator. It is a shame considering that there can still be good stories in those, but they often seem to be undermined by a character relationship that I personally could care less about.
At least that's what I hear from another friend who is really into the bloody things. Not to shame on him though, he's a cool guy.
This one however, 9:22, is actually quite a unique tale. It wastes no time in establishing the characters, seeding the mystery, and taking a seemingly simple idea and deconstructs it into tiny little pieces, ultimately making it sensibly complicated. It lays out every piece of the puzzle throught the narrative to which the protagonist carefully puts back together, but not without its challenges. This is my favorite aspect of any good thriller story.
Chapter after chapter only left me with more questions, it is a level of intrigue so daunting that I even doubted the main character in the middle of it. Maybe he really was crazy, maybe the substances he was taking might have gotten the better of him, negatively influencing his resolve. Maybe his newfound buddy did something to him. Or maybe he just needed a good night's sleep.
If the VN had ended on 0.9 perhaps the author would have left us with one of the greatests cliffhangers of our time, or perhaps a very well elaborated open ending for fans to theorycraft for many years to come. I have never felt a sense of anticipation for a visual novel before, it is remarkable what good writing can grant, I would even consider it impactful. It is not often that I give something like this such a quality.
The final update eventually did come out and that alone is an achievement that the author should be proud of, not many others manage to tie up loose ends for projects like these. I can confidently say the ending still left me with questions, but at least it was satisfying enough to me, the protagonist managed to accomplish something completely unexpected after all, complete with foreshadowing.
Though I do have some criticisms. I do not like that some events go out of sequence just to then bounce back to continuity either immediately, or way later on. It confuses me considering the plot already demands that you keep track of each succession and occurrence as they happen, especially given how precarious the events are.
I get it that by design we the readers must be as confused as the protagonist given we are in his shoes, but I feel like there is a better way of handling it by keeping it all in order. There is still enough here to twist the mind of the reader without having to splice one timeline over the other, but in the end I suppose it might just be a my personal inconvenience.
The somewhat immature scenarios involving the college juvenile raunchy life is not my thing either. But they are coming from the perspective of a teen lifestyle from the late 2000s, in a backwater corner of America no less. So at least it is not out of place, it is rather appropriate, even.
I can still emphasize with that aspect despite having comparably faint experiences with it when I was Spencer's age, I have at least heard many stories from my friends which claim to have gone through similar phases through their own early years. I can then still affirm that it makes the story feel that much more real.
Anyway, these have been my thoughts, opinions, ramblings, whatever you name it. 9:22 is a one of a kind visual novel that perhaps everyone should take a dip into, and maybe they'll find something in it that could potentially put them to think throughout the waking hours. There is nothing quite like it, and I once again hope that the author is greatly filled with pride for the outstanding work he has done here.