We already knew from promotional media that this is about Isaac Newton. Shuuji traveled to England with his childhood friend Yotsuko to find his missing grandfather, who was a famous scientist. Then all by accident, they activated a time machine while searching his study in Tenbridge University, were sent back to the past and destroyed the very apple tree that Newton got the inspiration for his law of gravitation from. An immediate screwup like this sounds like something from a comedy instead of a plot-driven story, but OK, that's trivial and I have no problem with it.
The beginning didn't leave me with a very good first impression. As soon as the game starts, we immediately see smoke and fire. This is a very important scene as it's the reason of this whole story. But instead of addressing the gravity (no pun intended) of the situation, they chose to focus on the accidental breast-groping instead. I don't find scenes like this to be so funny. It totally flops in fact. The only point of this scene is to get Alice's hostility toward Shuuji and establish her character as a tsundere, but the timing is poor. A story's first impression is very important. The readers can guess what they'll have to go through from the first scene. I almost dropped the game altogether when I thought I had to bear this for the rest of the game.
The protagonist Shuuji used to be interested in science, but gave it up and went to pursue a music career instead. But there's still an internal conflict within him and he eventually questions himself whether he wants to abandon science. I don't know why the writer ever gave him this background story, because this is never expanded upon extensively. He is also the most boring protagonist I've ever read. He's dense and incapable, not contributing much to the story if at all and sinking into obscurity. The ones that take decisive actions are almost always other characters. He shows growth and development over time but that's simply not enough to redeem his incompetence. Overall he does nothing except provide narration and PoV.
This game has a ladder branching system. Instead of all routes branching off at the end of the common, they branch off at different points, like Aiyoku no Eustia. The first heroine is Yotsuko, your childhood friend who has been with you from the start. She's a very smart scientist who doesn't show much emotions and has a weird habit; she can't resist measuring everything she sees. This is just a meaningless character gimmick though. Romance pacing is horrible. The ero scene comes so sudden you don't have time to react to it.
For me this character is a mistake. Shuuji and Yotsuko are always together and between these two she's always the smarter and the more active one. This reduces Shuuji to a mere background character. I think it'd be better to give her role to Shuuji instead.
Next girl is Lavi, a mad French scientist who does not care about morals when doing research. Always curious and always thinking outside the box, she is a very fast learner and is capable of understanding modern inventions very quickly. Her intuitive thinking often clashes with Yotsuko's methodical approach. Lavi's route is the single most important plot point to the historical conflict between Newton and Hooke. You are required to finished her route before playing Haru's, Emmy's or Alice's.
Lavi is objectively the best character in the game. She's the only character with significant development. She's interesting, unpredictable, and always in the center of plot progression. As a heroine, she's pervert and crazy. Don't expect normal vanilla moments here, just madness from the extreme end of the spectrum.
Next is Haru, a kind Japanese girl who came to Tenbridge to study astronomy. She's very excited to see Shuuji and Yotsuko because she's very curious about the state of Japan at the time (Japan was isolating themselves from the world at the time.) Of course, they couldn't reveal the fact that they came from the future.
In contrast to Lavi, Haru is the character with least development. She remains insignificant through most of the game except the moment when her role really matters to the plot. In fact this is true for most characters in the game, but especially true with Haru. Her route can be quite boring, but it's the safest route in the game, just a happy love story between a boy and a girl. Romance pacing is horrible though, similar to Yotsuko's route. If you like vanilla this is still not bad. Other than that, there's not much to say.
Next is Emmy, a kind and hardworking maid who loves potatoes very much. She cooks potatoes for every meal and cannot live without potatoes. Her reactions when she suffers mental shocks are hilarious. Putting the meaningless gimmick about potatoes aside I actually like this character. However, a great deal of her character already overlaps with Haru. I don't think it's a good idea to have two heroines of the same type at the same time.
Emmy's route is about her past and her relation with Newton. There are a few revelations that caught me off guard. This route can actually be interesting were it not for the fact that it's already way past the high point of the story. For me, that is the Newton-Hooke feud after Lavi's route. There's not much uncertainty toward the main issue about Newton's publication anymore. At this point it's very much a drama that is thrown in so that Emmy can have her own route. And have I said romance pacing is horrible yet?
Last route is Alice, a twintail loli tsundere. She is actually the one who will write the Principia. She's going under the name Isaac Newton because of gender prejudice at the time. A typical tsundere here. If you like the trait you'll probably like her. She's one of the better developed characters, maybe because she's the titular character who has the main plot centered around her.
Alice's route is purely about romance and sorting out personal feelings. All the romance up until this route feels like filler contents to provide ero scenes for other heroines, but her route is somewhat special. Romance pacing is not horrible anymore, and it is a very touching one. Nevertheless, Newton to Ringo no Ki's main focus has always been the Principia. As I stated before that problem is already 99% resolved; it's already way past the high point. This route doesn't build up to anything anymore. There's no excitement anymore toward the end.
Anyway, despite all the flaws, the ending is impressive and wraps everything up pretty nicely. But wait, there's still more. After everything's seemingly over, there's a new option that leads to Alice's after story. Those who don't like the bittersweet ending will finally be content to see Alice get the happiness she deserved. Now don't get me wrong. I'm also a happy ending person. But abruptly inserting a deus ex machina to please the audience like this, what's the point of all the drama in Alice's route after all?
I think this game is stuck between being being a moege and being a plotge. On the surface, these girls are definitely cute, but apart from using them to provide moe vibe, the writers utterly failed to develop them properly. They severely lack depth. Some only exist for certain plot points, before and after which they're totally useless. Romance buildup is almost nonexistent. Some girls that have been acting normal toward you just throw themselves at you when it's time for ero scenes, like some nukige.
About the story, it's probably this game's only saving grace. Even though it suffers from character development, the main plot is quite interesting and it has ways to engage the readers with suspense and emotions. If there are some faults though, it's the drop of intensity after Lavi's route, and the real after story ending that kills all emotional impact.
Overall, this game's story will keep you occupied while it lasts. But absolutely don't play this game for the heroines.
