One's story revolves around Kouhei Orihara, the main protagonist, who suspects that at some point his current life will change while living a peaceful daily routine. Due to this, he begins to seclude himself in the Eternal World, a world within his mind. The game's main recurring motif is a focus on the Eternal World, a mystical alternate space which is never clearly explained, and the details of which are unknown.
Reviews View More
Reminded me a lot of the musical Cats. I would give Cats a 3.5 though.
Akane my beloved.
It was nice I liked it, Akane and Misaki were the standout routes with all the others being pretty similar in like for me except for Shiina's which I didn't like and the ps1 route which was bad.
It was nice I liked it, Akane and Misaki were the standout routes with all the others being pretty similar in like for me except for Shiina's which I didn't like and the ps1 route which was bad.
One of the most cozy games of all time. Lovely characters, simple but enjoyable story, and one of my favorite VN soundtracks I've listened to. A perfect game for a rainy day.
Maeda's routes are a mixed bag with his usual faults, but the world view of the Eternal World is solid and results in some wonderful monologues from Kouhei, the protagonist.
Hisaya's are the best part, especially Misaki and Akane's, the latter of which I think should be saved for last.
The PS1 exclusive heroine now has her route translated, too -- it's not very good but it's cool to finally read ONE's dark history.
Maeda's routes are a mixed bag with his usual faults, but the world view of the Eternal World is solid and results in some wonderful monologues from Kouhei, the protagonist.
Hisaya's are the best part, especially Misaki and Akane's, the latter of which I think should be saved for last.
The PS1 exclusive heroine now has her route translated, too -- it's not very good but it's cool to finally read ONE's dark history.
(played w/ H scenes removed, only Misaki's route)
Absolutely not the best but the route I played was charming enough that it surpassed my expectations.
Absolutely not the best but the route I played was charming enough that it surpassed my expectations.
Coming off of Moon., my expectations were fairly low. Looking at One from the outset, there wasn't much that interested me. The setting fit more with the Key staff's usual romps, sure, but it was that exact fact that turned me off so much. Moon. showed me that they could have done more, but reverting to what sold at the time is disappointing to my own tastes. But, keeping an open mind, I dived headfirst into solid fucking concrete.
Mizuka's route is offensively bad. I can't even begin to describe how many boxes it ticks off on person-to-person emotion-to-emotion crimes it commits. The entire route is centered around the protagonist abusing the girlfriend he confessed to on a game that the boys had played on him. In every single way she is emotionally battered throughout the events of the game, and this escalates to her being physically and sexually abused. And even despite that, she still comes back to him, like a stockholm'd animal. It's disgusting from every level. It falls below anything Moon. had to offer, even if I didn't actually see any of that described or shown in One (might have been my version of the game). And then, on top of that, the plot centering the game feels the most wrong here. It's just there because it has to be, and for no other reason. It doesn't serve the relationship whatsoever. There are no reedeming qualities here. I don't know what Maeda was thinking when he wrote any of this. If this was standalone, it'd be an easy 1/10.
Rumi's route is a standard fair. Almost too standard, it comes off as trite, and just there for the sake of it. And it's funny, too, because the chemistry they have in the common route completely disappears due to her becoming more "girly." There's lots of elements here that are problematic in that regard too, but I'd rather not dive into it. The protagonist actually acts like a normal human being and isn't outright an irreedemable assholely cartoony villain, so I guess that's good. The plot, again, is present here, but at least it's placed in a way that doesn't feel awkward. Though, as is a running theme with this game, the ending is good, but the post-credits scene ruins it. This is the best of Maeda's routes in this game by a mile, but it still isn't good by any means. 4.5/10.
Akane's route is good. And it surprised me, too. Coming off of the previous two routes I fully expected absolutely nothing. Another game with some interesting characters squandered by the structure, plot, and terrible writers. But, no. Hisaya showed me that at least he could pour heart into this soulless piece of garbage. Although, I say only "good." Because Akane herself isn't that much of an interesting character, it's more the events surrounding her, and how it ties to the plot emotionally. It was more scraping the surface for the other two Hisaya routes rather than actually bringing things out of me. Weirdly enough, however, is that this is the only route where I can actually accept the post-credits scene. Both elements work, and only here. 6/10.
Misaki is easily where the game peaks. It isn't a particularly high peak, because as is a running theme with both Moon. and One everything is underdeveloped, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. Off the bat in the common route Misaki's interactions were my favorite, but them showing a different more emotional side to her was something I didn't expect, and then using that to wring a couple tears out of me was more than enough to sell me. It taking place mostly on the rooftop, helping the atmosphere, and the descriptiveness of the text feeling slightly heightened really elevates it from the rest of the game. Her development is short, but it's sweet. But once again, good ending, and the worst post-credits scene. Not that it's any different than the others, but that taking in the context that it happens, and the development of Misaki, it doesn't make sense. Thank you, Hisaya, for saving this shit. 7/10.
I expected a lot from Mio's route, and sadly those expectations weren't met. This route didn't play as much into the emotional factor that she couldn't speak, instead going into past meetings as children, and mementos from that as is common in romance games. It was underwhelming only for the reason that the previous route was great. Same post-credits ending problem. 5.5/10.
Shiina's route. Oh boy. There's no way to sugarcoat this, it's grooming. Child porn. She's a fucking middle schooler, canonically underdeveloped, and acts half her age. Jesus Christ. Maeda, what the fuck. 1/10.
Hikami's route... is not even a route? It barely exists, barely anything happens. It provides clues on the plot of the game... but it isn't anything you couldn't figure out yourself at this point in the game anyway. There's hints that they wanted to actually go the romantic way for the route, but it doesn't happen. It also just ends. Abruptly. And nothing is really explained at the ending. I'm not even giving this a score, honestly.
Overall, you may have noticed I don't mention the protagonist much, and that's because he's basically just a self-insert. Maeda writes him as an outright asshole, Hisaya writes him as a more dense, confused, but when he realizes the fact, loving character. The common route depicts a mix of both, making me suspect different scenes were tackled by either writer.
On that note, the lack of cohesion is apparent even going to the route order. There is no true route, no ending. You end the game on whichever route you do last. So, I played based on order of appearance, and since Shiina and Hikami don't appear unless you look for them, that's how it ended for me. To prevent my mistake, I suggest:
Mizuka > Rumi > Shiina > Mio > Hikami > Akane/Misaki
Originally published at Limbo Channel as a double review with MOON.
Mizuka's route is offensively bad. I can't even begin to describe how many boxes it ticks off on person-to-person emotion-to-emotion crimes it commits. The entire route is centered around the protagonist abusing the girlfriend he confessed to on a game that the boys had played on him. In every single way she is emotionally battered throughout the events of the game, and this escalates to her being physically and sexually abused. And even despite that, she still comes back to him, like a stockholm'd animal. It's disgusting from every level. It falls below anything Moon. had to offer, even if I didn't actually see any of that described or shown in One (might have been my version of the game). And then, on top of that, the plot centering the game feels the most wrong here. It's just there because it has to be, and for no other reason. It doesn't serve the relationship whatsoever. There are no reedeming qualities here. I don't know what Maeda was thinking when he wrote any of this. If this was standalone, it'd be an easy 1/10.
Rumi's route is a standard fair. Almost too standard, it comes off as trite, and just there for the sake of it. And it's funny, too, because the chemistry they have in the common route completely disappears due to her becoming more "girly." There's lots of elements here that are problematic in that regard too, but I'd rather not dive into it. The protagonist actually acts like a normal human being and isn't outright an irreedemable assholely cartoony villain, so I guess that's good. The plot, again, is present here, but at least it's placed in a way that doesn't feel awkward. Though, as is a running theme with this game, the ending is good, but the post-credits scene ruins it. This is the best of Maeda's routes in this game by a mile, but it still isn't good by any means. 4.5/10.
Akane's route is good. And it surprised me, too. Coming off of the previous two routes I fully expected absolutely nothing. Another game with some interesting characters squandered by the structure, plot, and terrible writers. But, no. Hisaya showed me that at least he could pour heart into this soulless piece of garbage. Although, I say only "good." Because Akane herself isn't that much of an interesting character, it's more the events surrounding her, and how it ties to the plot emotionally. It was more scraping the surface for the other two Hisaya routes rather than actually bringing things out of me. Weirdly enough, however, is that this is the only route where I can actually accept the post-credits scene. Both elements work, and only here. 6/10.
Misaki is easily where the game peaks. It isn't a particularly high peak, because as is a running theme with both Moon. and One everything is underdeveloped, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. Off the bat in the common route Misaki's interactions were my favorite, but them showing a different more emotional side to her was something I didn't expect, and then using that to wring a couple tears out of me was more than enough to sell me. It taking place mostly on the rooftop, helping the atmosphere, and the descriptiveness of the text feeling slightly heightened really elevates it from the rest of the game. Her development is short, but it's sweet. But once again, good ending, and the worst post-credits scene. Not that it's any different than the others, but that taking in the context that it happens, and the development of Misaki, it doesn't make sense. Thank you, Hisaya, for saving this shit. 7/10.
I expected a lot from Mio's route, and sadly those expectations weren't met. This route didn't play as much into the emotional factor that she couldn't speak, instead going into past meetings as children, and mementos from that as is common in romance games. It was underwhelming only for the reason that the previous route was great. Same post-credits ending problem. 5.5/10.
Shiina's route. Oh boy. There's no way to sugarcoat this, it's grooming. Child porn. She's a fucking middle schooler, canonically underdeveloped, and acts half her age. Jesus Christ. Maeda, what the fuck. 1/10.
Hikami's route... is not even a route? It barely exists, barely anything happens. It provides clues on the plot of the game... but it isn't anything you couldn't figure out yourself at this point in the game anyway. There's hints that they wanted to actually go the romantic way for the route, but it doesn't happen. It also just ends. Abruptly. And nothing is really explained at the ending. I'm not even giving this a score, honestly.
Overall, you may have noticed I don't mention the protagonist much, and that's because he's basically just a self-insert. Maeda writes him as an outright asshole, Hisaya writes him as a more dense, confused, but when he realizes the fact, loving character. The common route depicts a mix of both, making me suspect different scenes were tackled by either writer.
On that note, the lack of cohesion is apparent even going to the route order. There is no true route, no ending. You end the game on whichever route you do last. So, I played based on order of appearance, and since Shiina and Hikami don't appear unless you look for them, that's how it ended for me. To prevent my mistake, I suggest:
Mizuka > Rumi > Shiina > Mio > Hikami > Akane/Misaki
Originally published at Limbo Channel as a double review with MOON.