Visual Novels General Thread

[Ayaya]

Do you know what a visual novel is? Do you play them? Then discuss it here! Maybe write a review, recommend people to a title you think is good, or check out the titles mentioned here and give VN a try!

Here are some of the titles that I've played:

Spoiler

Click the links for information on them
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Clannad (I cried a lot)
- Ever17
- Umineko no Naki Koro ni (Still playing this. Just started Chiru)
- Starry*Sky~In Spring~
- Hakuouki
- Ace Attorney Series
- Danganronpa
- Zero Escape Series (999 & VLR)

I'm currently playing Shikkoku no Sharnoth. The mini-game is annoying but the story promises something good. What about you? Want to share your thoughts on the VN you've played/currently playing?

 

[Alienfish]

Yes, I do play too many of them. I have a few on Steam, and Fate/EXTRA on my Vita(it's alright tbh but not worth of getting really).

My favorite right now is that planetarian~the reverie of a little planet.

Can't wait for Higurashi to get on Steam.

Also, Sakura Spirit was incredibly good, considering how explicit it was on Steam

 

[The Peanut Butter Fish]

I have only played the Pheonix Wright trilogy, but those are amaze balls.

Spoiler

 

[Ayaya]

Yes, I do play too many of them. I have a few on Steam, and Fate/EXTRA on my Vita(it's alright tbh but not worth of getting really).

My favorite right now is that planetarian~the reverie of a little planet.

Can't wait for Higurashi to get on Steam.

Also, Sakura Spirit was incredibly good, considering how explicit it was on Steam

Oh Fate series! I actually played F/SN but since it's an R18 game, I didn't mention it in OP lol. I haven't tried Fate/Extra though and not really interesting in trying it

Might try that next since it's made by Key, I've heard good things about planetarian.

Same! I marathoned it 2 years ago and it was a fun experience. The game is chilling but it also has its humor. I can't wait to see how people would react to it.

I checked out the reviews for Sakura Spirit on Steam and it's hilarious lol. It has positive reviews so I might give it a try in the future

 

[Alienfish]

Yeah I want to try the other Fate games, EXTRA is just bad.. that fighting system nope.

Yes, it's really good and I love the characters and the storyline so much ;o And I like stars..and that Jena thing is interesting.

I watched some of the Higurashi anime while in high school, I liked it but it got too many sidestories so I kinda gave up so I hope the game will be neat

Yes, get it. If not for the pron, for the fun

- - - Post Merge - - -

Talking about Kadokawa Shoten, it's a shame they failed so bad with Demon Gaze. I loved the artwork and characters but their immense love of making the grinding way worse than Diablo II and making you fail pretty early just made me drop it too early.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Best one I ever played was Narcissu 1st & 2nd(I wish they'd put 3rd on Steam). I cried literally during the playthroughs ;_;

 

[Megan.]

I love visual novels~
I've read Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni, a little bit of Rose Guns Days, Chaos; Head and Clannad. I'm currently playing If My Heart Had Wings and I'm gonna read Rewrite sometime soon. c:
Umineko is by far my favourite, it is just amazing. <3

 

[Libra]

Oooooh, definitely a thread I'll be keeping an eye on!

I've played some of the Ace Attorney titles (such as Dual Destinies) and Virtue's Last Reward (one of the best games I've ever played <3).

I'm looking for other visual novels for the 3DS, but not having much luck.

I know there are games for the PC, but eh, I'm already enough on my PC at work, so I like games I can play on my 3DS.

 

[Peisinoe]

I PLAY DATING GSMES!!!!

 

[Silversea]

I'm not familiar enough with this classification to know if I've played any that could be considered a visual novel.

 

[DJStarstryker]

I'm not familiar enough with this classification to know if I've played any that could be considered a visual novel.

Phoenix Wright series, 999 and Virtue's Last Reward, Danganronpa series, Hotel Dusk/Last Window, Trace Memory, and the Corpse Party series are the ones most people are familiar with.

I like visual novels a lot, but considering how much I read regular books it makes sense. I've watched the Danganronpa anime, but haven't actually played the game. I'm buying a Vita and some games, and when it gets here I'm going to play it finally. Also looking forward to the second game too, since none of that is covered in an anime yet.

Has anyone here played Stein;s Gate? I've only watched the anime for that too. I wondered if the visual novel has stuff that's not in the anime.

 

[Ayaya]

Oooooh, definitely a thread I'll be keeping an eye on!

I've played some of the Ace Attorney titles (such as Dual Destinies) and Virtue's Last Reward (one of the best games I've ever played <3).

I'm looking for other visual novels for the 3DS, but not having much luck.

I know there are games for the PC, but eh, I'm already enough on my PC at work, so I like games I can play on my 3DS.

Unfortunately, 3DS isn't really the market for visual novels Most VN are made for Vita (though only a little has been localized) so you'd find more VN there, like Danganronpa. If you don't mind NDS games instead, I have some titles I could recommend:

Spoiler

- Time Hollow
- Trace Memory
- 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (if you haven't played it yet)
- Hotel Dusk: Room 215
- Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (Sequel to Hotel Dusk)
- Lux-Pain

Not sure whether you'll like these titles or not but they're mentioned pretty often among VN fans.

I PLAY DATING GSMES!!!!

I TOO!! (I'm gonna finish Hatoful Boyfriend tonight)

I'm not familiar enough with this classification to know if I've played any that could be considered a visual novel.

According to wikipedia:

A visual novel is an interactive fiction game, featuring mostly static graphics, most often using anime-style art or occasionally live-action stills (and sometimes video footage). As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels.

If a game has little gameplay, has a lot of text/dialogue, and you spend most of your time reading texts while playing it, then it would be considered as a VN.

I like visual novels a lot, but considering how much I read regular books it makes sense. I've watched the Danganronpa anime, but haven't actually played the game. I'm buying a Vita and some games, and when it gets here I'm going to play it finally. Also looking forward to the second game too, since none of that is covered in an anime yet.

Has anyone here played Stein;s Gate? I've only watched the anime for that too. I wondered if the visual novel has stuff that's not in the anime.

Congrats on getting a vita! Dangaronpa is a great game, I played both and I love it. I highly suggest avoiding spoilers before playing the second game, especially the spin-off game Another Episode.

While I haven't played S;G yet, VN usually has more content than what the anime could cover, so there are likely some parts that are not included in the anime

 

[mdchan]

I'm only familiar with more "amateur" ones. The only visual novels I've played are ones made with the Renpy engine, and the only one I've played is a series by sakevisual called "Jisei".

Oh, but I did make my own using Renpy! It's not a long game, and more of a story...and I know my shading was really bad and the backgrounds are awful, but that was two years...erm, nearly three, ago.

Doing the art and writing the story was fun, but it reminded me how much I hate coding.

 

[FancyThat]

I've only played Hakuoki but I really enjoyed it. I brought collectors editions on 3DS and PS3 and they came with lovely extras as well. I'm thinking about getting 999 as it sounds very good and something I'd like.

 

[Alienfish]

Yeah, Steins;Gate looks nice.. isn't there a few on Vita..? Japan only obviously but looks nice.

 

[azukitan]

Titles I recommend (most, if not all, contain hentai so look these up at your own discretion):

Swan Song (underrated but sooooo good <3)
Cartagra (prequel to Kara no Shoujo but the sequel isn't as good imo??)
True Remembrance
Sharin no Kuni
G-Senjou no Maou
Anything written by Ryukishi07
Saya no Uta (Nitroplus is awesome. Period.)
Ever 17
Steins;Gate
Tsukihime

I might be the biggest VN nerd on TBT, sooooo

 

[Libra]

If you don't mind NDS games instead, I have some titles I could recommend:

Spoiler

- Time Hollow
- Trace Memory
- 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (if you haven't played it yet)
- Hotel Dusk: Room 215
- Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (Sequel to Hotel Dusk)
- Lux-Pain

Not sure whether you'll like these titles or not but they're mentioned pretty often among VN fans.

Thanks for the list, I'll search for some more info later. I've been debating on getting 999, but I've already played VLR and the problem is that I can't find the game for a decent price. The other titles don't immediately ring a bell, but I'll check them out later and hopefully I'll find them at a decent price (which can be something of a problem, unfortunately).

 

[Ayaya]

-snip-

That reminds me that I should put a Lemma Soft link in the OP too, lots of good visual novels there and most are free!

That's amazing! o: I'll try the game later since the it seems interesting. I've always dreamed of making a VN but the skills needed to make one are skills I don't really have ^^;;

I've only played Hakuoki but I really enjoyed it. I brought collectors editions on 3DS and PS3 and they came with lovely extras as well. I'm thinking about getting 999 as it sounds very good and something I'd like.

Yeah, I'm glad Aksys included those extras, they're pretty sweet. Not much game includes extras/collector's edition nowadays, even though the original game in Japan came with a few nice ones. 999 is one of the best VN in NDS, I highly recommend trying it

Yeah, Steins;Gate looks nice.. isn't there a few on Vita..? Japan only obviously but looks nice.

There's actually a lot of VN of via but most are Japan only... The VN market on the west seems to be improving so hopefully we'll get more of them localized!

-snip-

Well hellooo <3 Saya no Uta was one of my favorites as well (I didn't mention it in the OP cause it's an adult game lol) it was one of my first VNs and it really blew my mind. I played it censored so I got to avoid some disturbing scenes, but I loved the concept and the mind****ery. I also want to try Kara no Shoujo but my backlog is already long ;_;

Have you tried/heard Kimi no Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi? The game is still in Japanese but the experience the game brings is a must-try to any VN fan heh

-snip-

Yeah... The games I mentioned are pretty obscure and hard to find, but I hope you'll find them at a good price! Out of the list, I'd highly recommend getting Hotel Dusk first, if not 999. 999 is definitely a must-try if you liked VLR, it has more horror and I was disappointed that they toned it down in VLR It also has ore humor to balance the horror, and IMO Junpei is a lot more hilarious than Sigma xD If you have an iPhone, they have a version without the puzzles in the app store.

 

[Alienfish]

Yea, there are a few in the West, mostly for PSP though I think, Vita is a bit slow so far but getting better

 

[Libra]

The games I mentioned are pretty obscure and hard to find, but I hope you'll find them at a good price!

No such luck, unfortunately. However, I have an old iPhone somewhere, so I might try 999 in the app store. It would be without the puzzles, but I'm more interested in the storyline, anyway, so that could work! Thanks for the advice! <3

 

[FancyThat]

Yeah, I'm glad Aksys included those extras, they're pretty sweet. Not much game includes extras/collector's edition nowadays, even though the original game in Japan came with a few nice ones. 999 is one of the best VN in NDS, I highly recommend trying it

I think I will buy it , it's only ?14.99 on Amazon UK.