Class of '09: The Re-Up

Class of '09: The Re-Up is basically an expansion pack to the original rejection sim, dropping you right back into the chaotic drug fueled life of Nicole during her senior year of high school. It's not a sequel but a new set of stories that run parallel to the first game and it's like the dev knew we weren't done with this gloriously dysfunctional girls. You're once again stepping into the shoes of the most socially realistic yet absolutely toxic female protagonist, navigating the world of the late 2000s, complete with all the edgy humor and Myspace references. The whole vibe is incredibly specific and they say if you grew up anywhere near that era, it'll hit you with a wave of bizarre nostalgia 'cuz seems people actually used to act like this.

The writing here is where the game really shines, even if it still sometimes feels like a double edged sword. The dialogue is snappy, crass and packed with so many oneliners that you'll probably catch yourself quoting it without even realizing it. The humor remains really really dark, covering everything from drug abuse to suicide pacts and it does not hold back, it's the kind of comedy that walks a tightrope between being genuinely hilarious and just plain uncomfortable and whether it lands for you depends entirely on your tolerance for edgy shock value jokes, but what makes it work is how natural it all feels, the characters talk like actual teenagers or at least a very dramatized version of them, and the voice cast absolutely kills it.

The narrative structure is a bit of a shift from the first game, trading quantity for quality in terms of its endings. You've got fewer routes, only seven endings compared to the original's fifteen but each one is significantly longer and more fleshed out. A part of the game is this common route that eventually branches off into longer more detailed storylines and while it's less of a tangled web of choices, it gives each narrative more room to breathe and get really absurd. You'll find yourself in situations like helping a girl relapse into bulimia by being the worst possible person, entering an abusive lesbian relationship as the abuser or literally whoring yourself out on MySpace just to avoid a retail job, and it's all delivered with this deadpan seriousness that makes it hilarious and deeply messed up at the same time. It's less about figuring out a complex flowchart of decisions and more about just strapping in for the ride and seeing how far Nicole's sociopathy will take her this time.

Visually, the game keeps that blend of anime style with realistic photo backgrounds, which gives it this grounded yet stylized look that fits the period piece vibe perfectly. The character designs are kinda distinct but capture the fashion of the era and the UI elements like the notebook paper textbox and the sidekick phone used for choices add a ton of personality. The animations are pretty simple, mostly just characters sliding on and off screen but it works well enough since the game is essentially an audio drama with a visual skin. Once more, the real star of the show is the audio with every single line being fully voiced and the timing of the dialogue being manually set to make the comedy land, which is a clever touch that makes it feel more like watching a show than playing a game. It's clear the dev focused a lot on making the audio experience top notch and it really pays off because the voice acting and sound design are easily some of the best in the visual novel genre.

Download

So, since you're clearly still here, I assume you wanna get this running on your 3DS, here's the download rundown. If you're not a technophobe, just smash that download button below and grab the .CIA file, it's literally that simple, but knowing how lazy you people are, you'll want the QR code method so you can just point your camera at the screen and let FBI do all the heavy lifting while you sit there picking your nose. The install's gonna take forever, so maybe go touch grass or stare at the progress bar until it's done. Once it finally hits 100% and the install finishes, I, Nicole, will appear on the HOME Menu like some sort of reward for not fucking up a basic task. At that point, you're free to dive into a world of terrible decisions, drug deals gone wrong and emotionally ruining everyone with a pulse, because that's apparently your idea of a good time. Now get out of my face and go ruin your own virtual high school experience, it's what you deserve.