Alright, back to the visual novel gulag. I’ve avoided them for a while but this one at least feels historic, in a sense. Never 7: The End of Infinity originally released in 2000 in Japan and was previously only available to Westerners via a fan translation. Now KID’s effort has been remastered for today’s consoles and with an official English version.
The story takes place during a summer seminar on a remote island. Makoto Ishihara is with a handful of other teens intending to spend their time relaxing. He’s there because he’s spent most of his time being a truant but I don’t see much education going on. Unfortunately, the week begins with a terrible vision. He sees a girl die before his eyes and the premonition turns out of to be true. So the time away is spent with a mix of leisure and sleuthing as our protagonist tries to avoid the ghastly fate. On top of this, the teens are stranded for a week due to a cyclone delaying their return to the mainland.
Never 7: The End of Infinity tries to strike a delicate balance between adolescent hi-jinks and the impending calamity. I think it mostly succeeds with the creeping dread coming in slowly over the week. Once the peril has become apparent, it takes centre stage as the more trivial activities slide into the background.
There’s a sci-fi element to things. Makoto’s vision aside, time itself seems caught in a loop. The hope is that somehow the group can break the chain and continue past the 7th day. It’s easier said than done with only one other character truly knowing of the time constraint. This adds quite a lot of mystery to the proceedings and it can take a few loops before a conclusion is reached.
The pacing helps build relatively well. The first week is all about getting to know the characters whilst specifically focusing on Yuka, the girl who meets her demise in Makoto’s dream. She is a bubbly girl who enjoys tennis and cannot hold her drink. She’s seen as the leader of the group and definitely takes charge with the initial activities. Haruka is a quiet and mysterious girl that definitely struggles to break the ice.
Outside of these characters, there is also a few that work around the town that become part of the group. That opens up more locations for scenes to play out and you get to see more of the island. Naturally, your relationship with the female characters is tracked. This doesn’t have to mean in a romantic sense but seems to focus more on how friendly or trusted you are. As with most of these games, the relationships can feel a little sudden. I will say the one with Yuka does feel earned and during her route you spend a lot of time with her.
Once it becomes apparent they’re stuck in an infinite loop, the repeated weeks take less time to complete, focusing more on how to break the cycle. I like this change of urgency and it gives each passing day a sense of importance. There’s a nice build to things and it grabbed more than I was expecting. Of course, you’ve got other routes to pursue and a true ending to go for. The game makes it explicit that there’s more to uncover.
Visually, things have received a big overhaul. There’s new backgrounds, new character portraits and it certainly looks brighter than the old Dreamcast version. It’s still, at it’s heart the same visual novel but the new art assets give it plenty of life. There’s also been an upgrade to the soundtrack which is very lively. It helps cement the two competing tones whilst not sounding out of place. Voice acting is present, although it’s very limited to a few words.
These improvements do make the game look more modern but it’s still firmly within the visual novel framework. Characters and scenes are mostly static and I’ve never felt that really makes the best of use of games as a medium. Even with the scenes going on, I tend to be focused on the written dialogue. The first-person perspective means not getting to see yourself in scenes and that can be a little disconnecting.
I think Never 7: The End of Infinity is an interesting point for the visual novel genre. At 24 years old, there’s a different feel to the more modern counterparts. Dialogue options feel sparse, although that’s more down to the larger script. It feels like I have less agency but I also didn’t find choice paralysis to be an issue.
Never 7: The End of Infinity is a peculiar look back at the genre’s earlier days. Branching narratives haven’t really taken shape so there’s less of an impetus on choices dictating the direction of the story. The newer art assets provide brighter, clearer imagery, although the dialogue remains mostly untouched. There’s not much to remake or remaster but that does result in a purer experience.
Summary
For a game sold old, it doesn’t stand out against the contemporaries of the genre. Granted, visual novels tend to stay in their lane. Never 7: The End of Infinity proposes an interesting premise and manages to deliver a story that is engaging whilst managing to juggle the teen tribulations with genuine peril. I think the sci-fi element does help quicken the game’s pace and the new art assets, whilst simple, do provide a colourful backdrop.
