PlayStation Vita Critic Reviews

Norn9 is an intense, in-depth look at relationships and romance, and it's a really lovely, enjoyable expereice at that.

A great choice for anyone looking to start into the otome genre.

Norn9: Var Commons blends its otome/dating sim elements and science fiction plot with a good deal of skill, turning out a visual novel that can be enjoyed by a broad audience.

Norn9: Var Commons might not be the very best the otome genre has to offer, but it’s certainly up there.

Norn9: Var Commons proves another fine entry into this most obscure of sub-genres and possibly the most approachable yet thanks to its unique setting and themes. This is still a romantic adventure at heart, but this time, there is plenty of sci-fi to go with all of the love and romance that the genre is famous for.

Norn9 offers pretty visuals, a nice cast of characters and some interesting dynamics, but little more. The romance content should be its main draw, but it suffers thanks to the quantity-over-quality attitude, and the overarching plot is somewhat tepid. On the other hand, the bite-sized routes provide an ideal introduction for newcomers to the genre, and more experienced otome players will enjoy the replayability. It's not the best in its genre, but still worth checking out.

Aside from the above-average graphics and music, this game is as run-of-the-mill as it gets. I'm all in favor of seeing more localizations of otome/"girl's side" games, but not if they're mind-numbing swill like Norn9: Var Commons.

Somewhere, deep down, it has an intriguing tale of super-powered teens trapped out of time…but all you're going to get out of it, most likely, is a nap.

Norn9 is perhaps one of the less interesting in a recent burst of Visual Novels to hit the Vita, the story seems to take far too long to go anywhere and ends somewhat abruptly. The games main saviour however is the quirky Norn9 Quest mode, which was more interesting than the main games story.