A community to discuss visual novels with other fellow members
Never played one? No prob, here's some recommendations that can be great start for beginners of the genre:
-VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
-Pyre
-The Silver Case
-Long Live the Queen
-13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Danjin44
GETT ITT)
If you're willing to plunge into a more "classic" style of VNs, one that doesn't shy away from being interactive books, feel free to try one of those:
-Steins;Gate
-Higurashi When They Cry ch 1-8
-Umineko When They Cry Questions & Answer arcs
-The House in Fata Morgana
-Wonderful Everyday: Down the Rabbit-Hole (+18 and Censored Steam version) -YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story (+18 and Censored Steam version)
Broke? On top of that, an exemplary citizen that would never, ever, consider downloading pirated software? Or maybe just not in the mood to spend any money on this?
Fear not my child, because there's some you can get for the best price of absolutely nothing
-Katawa Shoujo (+18) -Narcissu 1st & 2nd
-Doki Doki Literature Club
-Higurashi When They Cry Ch 1 (temporary giveaway until we get an effective Covid-19 vaccine, in other words, not much longer hopefully)
I probably will someday, if anything because its a classic.
I'm just with one foot behind because his stories usually become ludicrous halfway through.
I probably will someday, if anything because its a classic.
I'm just with one foot behind because his stories usually become ludicrous halfway through.
So, just reinforcing Ch 1 of Higurashi is currently free, and probably not for much longer.
I've been reading the series and i highly recommend people should at least try it out
Nice thread. The only VNs I played before are Ace Attorney Dual Destinies and Virtue’s Last Resort. I’m gonna play Zero Time Dilemma after I finish Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology. And then maybe I’ll get Jake Hunter.
Nice thread. The only VNs I played before are Ace Attorney Dual Destinies and Virtue’s Last Resort. I’m gonna play Zero Time Dilemma after I finish Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology. And then maybe I’ll get Jake Hunter.
I really recommend trying the first chapter of Higurashi too.
As i said before its currently free to own forever, so you can just take it and leave it in your backlog until you decide to try it one day.
I really recommend trying the first chapter of Higurashi too.
As i said before its currently free to own forever, so you can just take it and leave it in your backlog until you decide to try it one day.
How long does it take to beat? Both the first chapter and the whole game. My main concern nowadays isn’t games themselves but how little time I manage to free up to play.
How long does it take to beat? Both the first chapter and the whole game. My main concern nowadays isn’t games themselves but how little time I manage to free up to play.
Just the first chapter should be quite short, i suppose somewhere between 10 to 20 hours, really depends on how fast you read.
However, the entire novel is composed of 8 chapters in total and i suppose the entire thing can take more than 100 hours.
I should mention though that there is basically no gameplay, so even if the entire thing is long, it isn't necessarily wasting your time with side-content, gameplay segments or anything of the sort. Its pure linear storytelling, pretty much a sound novel.
Also, each chapter is sort of a quasi-self-contained story*, and this makes it really easy to manage your time with it.
You can for example finish ch1 in a few nights, then start ch2 a month later without feeling lost or anything since its kinda of a new story altogether.
*basically each chapter starts over the story as if nothing from the previous chapters actually happened, though there are certain "connections" you can make between them where the events of one arc can be explained by whats revealed in another arc.
Aokana Extra2 released in Japan a few days ago. It's a Misaki fanfics sequel. Hopefully NekoNyan picks it up so we can get an english version, loved Misaki and Aokana.
Never thought I would try, let alone like these kinds of games.
Saw AI: The Somnium Files on Game Pass without realizing what it was, had a revelation several hours in that it was a visual novel. Ended up sticking with it and loving it.
Now this year I have played through AI: The Somnium Files, Danganronpa, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Danganronpa 2, with plans to start The Nonary Games trilogy and complete the Phoenix Wright trilogy.
All those games aside from Phoenix Wright I've gotten through Game Pass, very surprised to say the service has ended up being a great cheap way to get into the genre.
I really want to try 13 Sentinels as well, I've heard great things, currently looking forward to the Somnium Files sequel as well.
Never thought I would try, let alone like these kinds of games.
Saw AI: The Somnium Files on Game Pass without realizing what it was, had a revelation several hours in that it was a visual novel. Ended up sticking with it and loving it.
Now this year I have played through AI: The Somnium Files, Danganronpa, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Danganronpa 2, with plans to start The Nonary Games trilogy and complete the Phoenix Wright trilogy.
All those games aside from Phoenix Wright I've gotten through Game Pass, very surprised to say the service has ended up being a great cheap way to get into the genre.
I really want to try 13 Sentinels as well, I've heard great things, currently looking forward to the Somnium Files sequel as well.
I watched a review of AI The Somnium Files last week and I'm really intrigued by it! I like the concept of entering someone's dream. Might get it on Switch when I'm done with my current games.
13 Sentinels is a masterpiece you MUST try, the story is on a crazy mind-blowing level, and the battle phases are quite fun. Plus you have the gorgeous Vanillaware art and superb soundtrack. Can't recommend this game enough.
Thank you. I checked my steam library and I actually own a few of those. Went through my physical collection and I have a few visual novels still in the plastic wrapper!
Thank you. I checked my steam library and I actually own a few of those. Went through my physical collection and I have a few visual novels still in the plastic wrapper!
These are the ones I've played and finished:
Doki Doki Literature Club
Song of Saya
Sweetest Monster
The Letter
Root Letter
Danganronpa Games
I own these and need to get around to playing them:
World End Syndrome
House in Fata Morgana
Kara No Shojo
If My Heart Had Wings
Crystalline
Death Mark
Stein's Gate
Raging Loop
I think the next one I play will be between Fata Morgana or kara No Shojo. I've enjoyed every one that I've finished; I think my favourite would probably be the Danganronpa Games, closely followed by Song of Saya.
These are the ones I've played and finished:
Doki Doki Literature Club
Song of Saya
Sweetest Monster
The Letter
Root Letter
Danganronpa Games
I own these and need to get around to playing them:
World End Syndrome
House in Fata Morgana
Kara No Shojo
If My Heart Had Wings
Crystalline
Death Mark
Stein's Gate
Raging Loop
I think the next one I play will be between Fata Morgana or kara No Shojo. I've enjoyed every one that I've finished; I think my favourite would probably be the Danganronpa Games, closely followed by Song of Saya.
I have played DDLC and Danganronpa from you top list. I can understand why you love Danganronpa. Maybe try Zero Escape? More puzzle-based, but just as much mystery with more thrilling aspects. Also has good music and english voice acting.
Also played World End Syndrome, Cyrstalline, and Steins; Gate.
World End Syndrome and Crystalline were okay I guess. I think Crystalline would have been better if it gave you more than one romance option (Kara ftw). That game is made by Pixelfade, I think Ace Academy was their best work personally.
Steins;Gate is a damn masterpiece, but I prefer the anime these days because it's shorter. I can't deign to replay a 50 hour visual novel when the anime adaptation is soooo good and is only 10 1/2 hours long.
I have played DDLC and Danganronpa from you top list. I can understand why you love Danganronpa. Maybe try Zero Escape? More puzzle-based, but just as much mystery with more thrilling aspects. Also has good music and english voice acting.
Also played World End Syndrome, Cyrstalline, and Steins; Gate.
World End Syndrome and Crystalline were okay I guess. I think Crystalline would have been better if it gave you more than one romance option (Kara ftw). That game is made by Pixelfade, I think Ace Academy was their best work personally.
Steins;Gate is a damn masterpiece, but I prefer the anime these days because it's shorter. I can't deign to replay a 50 hour visual novel when the anime adaptation is soooo good and is only 10 1/2 hours long.
Tbh in Clannad's case you're definitely better off playing the VN, because you can pursue each route to your heart's content. In the anime it goes almost strictly down the "true route" avenue.
Steins;Gate works better because of all it's routes are integrated into the story and they enhance the true route.
So, I see this thread is dead. Did all you guys get girlfriends or something?
Haha, just kidding lads ;-)
I've been in a VN mood lately, so I've been reading some complete trash. I read through the Muv-Luv series (Extra, Unlimited, Alternative) up to about the half-way point of Alternative. I strongly do not recommend these at all. Quick review of Alternative: (no real spoilers but I'm tagging it because it's wordy)
The #1 problem this has is with pacing. The scenario itself is interesting enough but every compelling part is sandwiched by a few hours of circular monologues and dialogues... the writers can't just introduce a dilemma for the main character, nor can they omit unimportant details in a scene; instead, they repeat the same key points over and over again, they have conversations that go nowhere but last fucking forever, seemingly in the interest of making sure the player 'gets' what the writer is trying to say. All of this repetitive noise trains the reader to skim aggressively, and also bores them to tears, so by the time you do get to an impactful scene you're not in a state to immediately understand what is happening... the event drips into your consciousness and thus loses its immediate impact.
In general there's a problem with over-verbosity. At some point in the story there's a training mission, you get a lengthy briefing of the three rounds of the event and their rules, but only the final round is portrayed— why even have the first two rounds and why then describe them? It doesn't make any sense. That entire scene could have been cut in its entirety. The novel is drowning in superfluous text like this.
We also have the usual sci-fi folly of abusing a scientist character to justify events using hokey pseudoscience and wildly speculative reasoning that goes far beyond what could be reasonably inferred. It doesn't help that she's the worst character in the story. Fuck Yuuko.
Takeru is also a particularly unlikeable protagonist and his writing is completely inconsistent. At times he's extremely perceptive, and at other times he seems mentally-challenged and misses the most obvious of hints. He'll find his convictions in one scene and then turn into a feeble, pathetic character in the next... they do this intentionally at one point but it happens unintentionally too, over and over again. Besides all this, he spends an inordinate amount of whining, and because this game is written how it is, this means thousands of lines of Takeru going "Noo! Fuck!! How... could this happen..." "Nrrghhh!!! If only I hadn't... no..." and the like.
Also, seriously, can we ban VN writers from doing lengthy monologues of the main character speculating on a scene that just happened? STOP! The reader speculates on this stuff on their own! They don't need the character to speculate for them! Jesus Christ!
I own these and need to get around to playing them:
World End Syndrome
House in Fata Morgana
Kara No Shojo
If My Heart Had Wings
Crystalline
Death Mark
Stein's Gate
Raging Loop
Kara no Shoujo is good. The sequel is better. They aren't great murder mysteries exactly but they're thrilling and the second game to my memory (it's been like... four years or so?) has an impeccable translation and is exceptionally well-written in general, but is also more tame than the original.
Raging Loop is difficult to rate. It's good, until it isn't. I'd still recommend it... ish.
Still gotta read House in Fata Morgana. I bought it way back and it's been sitting around. IIRC someone told me it is mostly enjoyed by women and that turned me off quick-sharpish. It's highly-rated on VNDB which is usually a guarantee that the novel in question will suck ass but I'm willing to give it a chance, some time.
Also need to read Stein's Gate. I watched the anime a few years ago but I should read the VN... I prefer reading.
My personal recs:
Planetarium: Short VN about a guy scavenging for supplies in a ruined world, comes across an android in a planetarium and agrees to fix the projector for her. I have a soft-spot for a story that provides a narrow window into a much wider world, and this one has a heavy emotional impact without forcing anything— it just presents you with ideas and lets you take in the implications. If you don't cry at the projection scene you aren't human. I'd recommend this especially as a first VN. It's short, it's cheap on Steam and it's essential reading imo. Oh yeah, there's also an anime adaptation. It's not terrible but they show more of the world and I feel like that's a mistake.
Saya no Uta: Another short VN. Your guy gets into a car accident and suddenly the entire world appears to consist of blood and gore. The only person who appears human to him is a girl who sneaks into his hospital room... I have less to say about this because I read it ages ago but I'm due a re-read so maybe I will some time? I have yet to see someone who doesn't like this, anyway.
G-senjou no Maou: Longer VN about some kid with a yakuza dad and also Usami Haru, an aloof wannabe-detective who transfers to his school and is searching for the enigmatic "Maou". I'm not selling it with this description but I love Usami and the narrative is gripping. The only real issue I have is that the final chapter fucking SUCKS. I still recommend it but god damn.
Some obvious choices too: Danganrompa (2 is my favourite but I like 'em all), I'm actually less of a fan of Ace Attorney but Great Ace Attorney 2 was very good (1 was shit tho lol), 999 is great but it's the only recommendable Uchikoshi VN imo (Remember11, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward and AI: The Somnium Files are tolerable but stay the fuck away from Ever17, it's overrated trash)(Oh yeah, it's godawful but it might be worth playing through Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma just to see that infamous plot twist lol)
Saya no Uta: Another short VN. Your guy gets into a car accident and suddenly the entire world appears to consist of blood and gore. The only person who appears human to him is a girl who sneaks into his hospital room... I have less to say about this because I read it ages ago but I'm due a re-read so maybe I will some time? I have yet to see someone who doesn't like this, anyway.
I mean, it's a horror story, it would be expected to be horrific. The whole point is that it provides an extreme example of moral relativity; it portrays the effects of circumstance by way of disgusting, vile imagery.
Sure, I wouldn't recommend it to a child, but I thought we were all grown-ups here... and it's not like it's *that* gross...
But if you want something that is wholesome and beautiful than read Planetarian instead
Getting a Switch for my birthday this coming month. My wife's had one since 2018 ( I bought it for her on our 3rd Anniversary) and really wasn't that interested until recently. Then again, that's how I've always been...4 or 5-years into a console's life and I buy it. Anyway, I'm seeing many VN recommendations online but I'm not into playing some VN as a high school student...if you get the point.
Any recommendations for VNs on Switch which lean more into suspense, thriller, adventure. I haven't played one in like 10-years.
So, I see this thread is dead. Did all you guys get girlfriends or something?
Haha, just kidding lads ;-)
I've been in a VN mood lately, so I've been reading some complete trash. I read through the Muv-Luv series (Extra, Unlimited, Alternative) up to about the half-way point of Alternative. I strongly do not recommend these at all. Quick review of Alternative: (no real spoilers but I'm tagging it because it's wordy)
The #1 problem this has is with pacing. The scenario itself is interesting enough but every compelling part is sandwiched by a few hours of circular monologues and dialogues... the writers can't just introduce a dilemma for the main character, nor can they omit unimportant details in a scene; instead, they repeat the same key points over and over again, they have conversations that go nowhere but last fucking forever, seemingly in the interest of making sure the player 'gets' what the writer is trying to say. All of this repetitive noise trains the reader to skim aggressively, and also bores them to tears, so by the time you do get to an impactful scene you're not in a state to immediately understand what is happening... the event drips into your consciousness and thus loses its immediate impact.
In general there's a problem with over-verbosity. At some point in the story there's a training mission, you get a lengthy briefing of the three rounds of the event and their rules, but only the final round is portrayed— why even have the first two rounds and why then describe them? It doesn't make any sense. That entire scene could have been cut in its entirety. The novel is drowning in superfluous text like this.
We also have the usual sci-fi folly of abusing a scientist character to justify events using hokey pseudoscience and wildly speculative reasoning that goes far beyond what could be reasonably inferred. It doesn't help that she's the worst character in the story. Fuck Yuuko.
Takeru is also a particularly unlikeable protagonist and his writing is completely inconsistent. At times he's extremely perceptive, and at other times he seems mentally-challenged and misses the most obvious of hints. He'll find his convictions in one scene and then turn into a feeble, pathetic character in the next... they do this intentionally at one point but it happens unintentionally too, over and over again. Besides all this, he spends an inordinate amount of whining, and because this game is written how it is, this means thousands of lines of Takeru going "Noo! Fuck!! How... could this happen..." "Nrrghhh!!! If only I hadn't... no..." and the like.
Also, seriously, can we ban VN writers from doing lengthy monologues of the main character speculating on a scene that just happened? STOP! The reader speculates on this stuff on their own! They don't need the character to speculate for them! Jesus Christ!
I know this is a few months old but...
Kara no Shoujo is good. The sequel is better. They aren't great murder mysteries exactly but they're thrilling and the second game to my memory (it's been like... four years or so?) has an impeccable translation and is exceptionally well-written in general, but is also more tame than the original.
Raging Loop is difficult to rate. It's good, until it isn't. I'd still recommend it... ish.
Still gotta read House in Fata Morgana. I bought it way back and it's been sitting around. IIRC someone told me it is mostly enjoyed by women and that turned me off quick-sharpish. It's highly-rated on VNDB which is usually a guarantee that the novel in question will suck ass but I'm willing to give it a chance, some time.
Also need to read Stein's Gate. I watched the anime a few years ago but I should read the VN... I prefer reading.
My personal recs:
Planetarium: Short VN about a guy scavenging for supplies in a ruined world, comes across an android in a planetarium and agrees to fix the projector for her. I have a soft-spot for a story that provides a narrow window into a much wider world, and this one has a heavy emotional impact without forcing anything— it just presents you with ideas and lets you take in the implications. If you don't cry at the projection scene you aren't human. I'd recommend this especially as a first VN. It's short, it's cheap on Steam and it's essential reading imo. Oh yeah, there's also an anime adaptation. It's not terrible but they show more of the world and I feel like that's a mistake.
Saya no Uta: Another short VN. Your guy gets into a car accident and suddenly the entire world appears to consist of blood and gore. The only person who appears human to him is a girl who sneaks into his hospital room... I have less to say about this because I read it ages ago but I'm due a re-read so maybe I will some time? I have yet to see someone who doesn't like this, anyway.
G-senjou no Maou: Longer VN about some kid with a yakuza dad and also Usami Haru, an aloof wannabe-detective who transfers to his school and is searching for the enigmatic "Maou". I'm not selling it with this description but I love Usami and the narrative is gripping. The only real issue I have is that the final chapter fucking SUCKS. I still recommend it but god damn.
Some obvious choices too: Danganrompa (2 is my favourite but I like 'em all), I'm actually less of a fan of Ace Attorney but Great Ace Attorney 2 was very good (1 was shit tho lol), 999 is great but it's the only recommendable Uchikoshi VN imo (Remember11, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward and AI: The Somnium Files are tolerable but stay the fuck away from Ever17, it's overrated trash)(Oh yeah, it's godawful but it might be worth playing through Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma just to see that infamous plot twist lol)
Thank you for the recommendations. Already played Saya No Uta and loved it. Also played all the Danganronpa games. I have Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward but never played it so I think I'll go for that next. Cheers!
I wrote this for NaNoWriMo last year: https://arekks.itch.io/gas1 I just re-read it myself and while the first few scenes aren't that funny, I'm fully confident that everything from the Chinese restaurant onwards is the funniest shit ever
I want to write something for this year's NaNoWriMo too, I have a scenario written but I don't think I can write something as funny as last year's.
Are any of you all planning on writing something? I recommend Renpy https://www.renpy.org/
I mean, it's a horror story, it would be expected to be horrific. The whole point is that it provides an extreme example of moral relativity; it portrays the effects of circumstance by way of disgusting, vile imagery.
Sure, I wouldn't recommend it to a child, but I thought we were all grown-ups here... and it's not like it's *that* gross...
But if you want something that is wholesome and beautiful than read Planetarian instead
It's a well-respected VN for a reason. It has a lot of shock value to it.
I was mostly just trying to make sure people understood what it was. It's not exactly a fluffy or heartwarming story, which is what the medium typically is. So when you said "I have yet to see anyone dislike this," it made me scratch my head a bit.
I'm gonna to try to play more VNs next year. I have a ton of VN on Switch. The only one I played and finished was The House In Fata Morgana. Which was excellent. The story was so good, and it included the other 2 VNs in the collection. All 3 VNs are fantastic
Few months ago I beat interesting VN/adventure game - Chicken Police. It looks like noir game with animal/people mix as main heroes, where we play as a private detective.
Next year I am going to buy Death Mark or AI on PS4/NS.
Danjin44
GETT ITT)
