Kotaro Uchikoshi is one of a few select creatives who has permanently imprinted my brain structure. While I brought this up in my review of his early attempts at genre mashup in Never 7, I didn’t have much space to explain his exact appeal in great detail because it was so different from what I’d come to expect from him. Even though the game was overall quite good, his creative voice felt more like a whisper in that title.
In contrast, Ever 17 is Uchikoshi screaming at the top of his lungs. Based on a rewritten Xbox 360 remake, this version credits multiple co-writers who can’t hope to obscure his signature stylings. The story is a hodgepodge of sci-fi concepts united by a narrative that plays with perspective and how the player perceives their role. It’s not the cleanest game on his resume. Later titles would improve much of the work done here. But it still stands as a thematically rich, mind-bending experience worth diving into.
The game starts following the perspective of Takeshi Kuranari, a college student visiting an underwater theme park called LeMu with his friends. Unfortunately, it isn’t long after he enters that the entire place starts flooding, and he ends up trapped inside. He soon groups up with excitable middle-schooler Coco Yagami, the mysteriously terse Tsumugi Komachi, AI tour guide Sora Akanegasaki, park rescue worker You Tanaka, and an amnesiac boy simply referred to as “the Kid.” While the facility is stable enough to last a week before collapsing, there are no signs of rescue, the escape pods are gone, and flooding has rendered much of its infrastructure unstable. The group must make their way through LeMu, repair it as necessary, and search for an escape vessel before their time runs out. And if that isn’t enough, they’re faced with interpersonal drama, inner demons, and the looming mystery of what trapped them inside.
Ever 17‘s premise is much more tense and gripping than its predecessor’s on an immediate, visceral level. The lighter moments occur between scenes where the characters risk their lives to keep LeMu intact enough to survive. Whenever a situation that requires waiting pops up, the cast tries to take their mind off the situation by having as much fun as possible under the circumstances. These scenes are usually goofy and contrast with the high stakes of their predicament, but don’t overstay their welcome. They help to develop both the characters and their relationships. And when the situation gets bleak, the tone locks in and doesn’t let up.
In terms of genre, Ever 17 retains the same “make choices to get the girl” choice structure as Never 7. It’s usually quite clear which choices will advance which routes, although the occasional important choice seems a bit too obscure.
As is custom in this genre, hitting the credits in only one route only presents a small part of the story. After completing a route with Takeshi, the option to play from the perspective of “the Kid,” is unlocked. The player then experiences a version of the LeMu incident that steers the plot differently from Takeshi’s route. Once you’ve completed every route for both characters, one final route is made available for access, and it defies any description that I could give, even if I didn’t care about spoilers. Since the script is based on a remake, there are changes from the original PC release of the game, so any die-hard fans should keep that in mind.
Ever 17 thrives off seeding bits and pieces of information throughout every route, which hints towards a larger mystery. It raises several questions that give way to some absolutely wild plot twists, each feeling satisfying and earned despite how bizarre they are in concept. Some reveals are clever because the game spells them out early, but does so in a way that the player is unlikely to notice until later events call attention to them. Even though the game maintains the same general structure as its predecessor, not every route ends in romance with the girl it centers on. Of course, most of them still do; some might even rub you the wrong way by the end. Thankfully, even the ones that do end in romance make sure to balance their romantic elements with the greater plot.
As for play order, while Never 7 isn’t required reading for Ever 17, the former’s major plot twists are referenced in the latter, tying them together as a loose duology. If Never 7‘s casual vacation vibe is still too dull for you, you can skip right to Ever 17. What they do share is a similar level of depth. Ever 17 touches upon very abstract themes, explained using a combination of real-life science and sci-fi concepts to interrogate ideas of self-worth, identity, player agency, fate, and what makes something meaningful or worth moral consideration. Each central girl feels isolated by a part of their identity, with their arcs being resolved by accepting their humanity despite this and taking control of their life. This concept comes back in the final route in regards to a character whose role in the plot may not be evident to the player even though they’ve been there throughout the whole experience. Even if the twists might remind fans of other Uchikoshi games, there’s enough uniqueness here to stake out a distinct identity.
The presentation in Ever 17 has also seen a step up. Even if LeMu has some reused environment art for different areas, the setting of an underwater theme park is still fairly unique. There’s always a sense of tension, whether the characters are goofing off or have just escaped a sticky situation. You never feel like the cast is entirely safe, and the entire park feels like it could collapse without warning. The character art is also strong, conveying the cast’s personalities well, whether in character sprites or event graphics.
Vocal performances are excellent all around, with Yuu Asakawa as Tsumugi and especially Soichiro Hoshi as Takeshi standing out as the major highlights of the cast. Both actors have to play their characters with tremendous variance and nuance, especially given later reveals. It’s a testament to their talent that they pull it off and make it look easy. That’s not the only strong point of the audio, either. The soundtrack enhances the mood of every scene, whether the characters are taking in the serene beauty of the ocean or fighting for survival. Takeshi Abo also composed for Never 7, and his work here shows significant improvement.
Sadly, another thing Ever 17 shares with Never 7 is typos. Commas after ellipses, improper capitalization, and spelling errors are just as prevalent here. Some lines are self-evidently incorrect, especially with vocal performances for reference. The translation team has some of Uchikoshi’s collaborators from prior projects on board; in my experience, none were anywhere near this messy before. Regardless of where the fault lies, the script still desperately needs correction.
Other minor issues mainly pop up in the home stretch. The script is rife with redundancy, albeit not as much as Never 7. The same happenings will pop up in different routes with just enough changes to justify reading them, but not enough changes to make them engaging. One should stave off the instinct to fast forward through the whole thing.
This is particularly noticeable in the final route. The glut of redundancy results in both odd pacing and a tedious read. It does not help that some characters feel auxiliary. Their motivations and backstory details are given offhandedly right at the end. A short story is even unlocked after the final ending to fill in unaddressed gaps. Even if none of these gaps are so significant as to make the main story terrible, it would have been preferable to include them at appropriate moments in the main story.
Ever 17 is weird. It’s a conventional survival story told in a very unconventional way. Its tone can turn from laid-back to dire on a dime and its traditional gal game structure gives way to some of the most shocking rug pulls you’re likely to find in any piece of fiction. If you can sit through some repetitive text and a lot of typos, you’ll find a truly special experience from one of gaming’s most under-appreciated talents.
