Digital Choose Your Own Adventure, for those of us old enough to remember those.
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Oh man, I remember reading every GIJoe and Mario one they had at the library. I definitely cheated though. I frequently backtracked and made better decisions that didn't end on pay 84 that says just, "Bowser ate you. The end."
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I score your tl;dr a "worth reading" on a count that the wall of text wasn't.
tl;dr yes.
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You have encountered an enormous horde of Hugs:
<(^.^<) <(•̀ω•́<) <(°Д°<) <(.°<) <(♥‿♥<) <(̿▀̿ ̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿<)̄ <(*¬*<) <(ಥ⌣ಥ<) <(×_×<)˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣<) <(ΦωΦ<) <(￣Д￣<) <(⊙ヮ⊙<) <(^.<) <(°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥﹏°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥<) <(≧σ≦<) <(・∀・<) <(=_=<) <(◠‿◠<) <(･｀ｪ´･<) <(Ծ‸Ծ<) <(ŏ̥̥̥̥∀ŏ̥̥̥̥<) (>･ω･)> <(◔ω◔<) <(∩_∩<) <(＠◇＠<) <(ㅍ◞◟ㅍ<) <(ꉺεꉺ<) <(•̀ᴗ•́<) <(◉ᴗ◉<) <(꒪Д꒪<) <(ˆ⁰ˆ<) <(・x・<) <(･‿･<) <(✘Д✘<) <(•ε•<) <(^‿^<) <(ʘʚʘ<) (ᵕ≀ ̠ᵕ ) <(•᷅д•᷄<) <(´﹏｀<) 〜(￣△￣〜) <(^▽^<) <(•᷄ὤ•᷅<) <(⌒∇⌒<) <(^-^<) <(‾⌣‾<) <(˘▾˘<) <(ﾟ∀ﾟ<) <(^o^<) <(ಠﭛಠ<) <(◕ヮ◕<) <(◐o◑<) <(Ｔ＿Ｔ<) <(^～^<) <(´ヮ｀<) <(˘ڡ˘<) <(´ε｀<) <(♥ω♥<) <(ˇ෴ˇ<) <(⇀‸↼<) <(^ц^<) <(๏⋏๏<) <(இ‸இ<) <(〃▽〃<) <(｡◝‿◜｡<) <(༎ຶ‿༎ຶ<) <(☼Д☼<) <(⊙︿⊙<) . . .
What will you do?
#1 :: let them hug you (possibly to death)
#2 :: run for all eternity
#3 :: hug back
#4 :: [ for this option, please purchase the Hugs of War DLC ]
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Visual novels don't have dlcs. They may sell extra editions that come with the ost in FLAC,hi-res cgs,etc. Maybe even limited time plushes/figures. But I've never seen or heard anything about a dlc like this.
Also,you obviously ignore them unless they start to get too close/annoying. Then just bet they're combustible,or use some other form of aggressive self-defence..
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Ah yes, the doctor of journalism coming to the rescue.
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I've doubted for a while whatever to put rewrite on the list,but I haven't played it myself and couldn't really tell whatever it's suitable here.
I thought guilty crown was based on a manga,not a vn. Did a search and turned out I was wrong,but I can't find an english patch anywhere. I'd put it on the list if you can could find it for me(and possibly write a short summary?).
I'll check Edelweiss now.
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Looked at the vndb for Edelweiss. Selected tags: "Male Protagonist","Perverted Friend","Only Virgin Heroines","Former All-girls School". First line in the description: "How hard would you study if a good GPA could take you to a sex paradise?".
Look,I'm trying to make people think visual novels are about plot,not about fucking whatever moves.
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Rewrite is kind of suitable imo, it's a VN from Key, like LB and Clannad. Guilty Crown VN is actually a prequel of the anime (did not read the manga, so i don't know if it actually tells what happened on the lost christmas).
And Edelweiss is NOT that type of VN (i don't actually like those). It does have a few ecchi scenes and one triple x scene per heroine but that is all (also you can turn them off.)
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I hope that atleast Rewrite makes it. I'm a huge fan of that one.
As for Guilty Crown, i don't really know about the progress of the patch (a group actually started one), but is playable via text hooker. I'll post again if i can find a trace of the patch.
About Edelweiss, you can just skip this one, but atleast try it. It's not nearly as "ero" as it described (yeah, i found that awful profile page on vndb..), instead it's kind of funny and comedic.It's like a light version of Cross Channel lol.
Also i want to add Umineko...but damn it's already on the list.. and mention Saya no Uta (didn't link because it IS dark and gory, but at the same time it's kinda unique).
Also good luck with the topic.(Saw the HUUUUUGE wall of replies down there lol)
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Thanks. Have you heard of/played Rewrite Harvest festa? amaterasu has it listed as their next project once they finish the current one. It says on one place its a fandisc and that it was written by the same people who did the original on another place. Also,is it a prequel/sequel or an expansion? Do you need the original game for it?
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Well, it's just the usual staff, like bento, onigiri and so on.
Maybe OP video will help you to make decision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69a6nWCrMFk
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Saya's already on the list :P
Couldn't find a complete translation for guilty crown,and this being an introduction to visual novels,making people read poor machine translations is not something I'm going to do. As for rewrite,how much do you need to know about the japanese culture to fully understand it?
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I posted that mainly because Clannad has about 300 hours in it.
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you remind me that , it had been a long time i haven;t play any VN since....i really can;t remember the name but it about a world, where angel and demon is all friendly and live together with us, a typical harem but very sweet, ahh hell, can;t remember it name just know it had been translate and sell, not fan-translate , and had been have anime about it,...that all i remember
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ahh , thank but i already able to find the translator and able to find it, it was SHUFFLE!
PS: what are you doing in here Komachi , ;), try to slack off your work again ? haha
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Not all visual novels are about porn. Also,visual novels are easier for some people to read because instead of giant walls of text you get it in small paragraphs,alongside visuals and music. And,of course,there's the point of make-your-adventure-adventure books being extremely limited and uncomfortable.
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Yes, like xKomachi said, not all visual novels have porn in them. Albeit, many do, but there are also many that do not. Not too unsimilar from people misunderstanding the term doujinshi. Many believe and use doujinshi as a term for hentai manga, but it actually is a Japanese term for self-published works.
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Video game = interactive movie. Visual novel = interactive book.
So... if you want to make a movie, make a movie. There's no point in video games!
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"Visual Novels are just for people who want porn and really bad writing."
That's a widespread misconception. I'll dump this picture and ask you to read narcissu. I wouldn't spend 10 hours to write a post that will hopefully make people read shitty games.
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VNs are no where near video games. "Oh look I can click an arrow and the words change. Amazing!" Also I have better things to do then play terrible anime story books, like reading actual books. There never has and never will be a VN better then even the worst books out there.
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Skyrim:"Oh look! I click here and the pixels change color all across the screen!"
-I refer to anime here as a popular drawing style in vns,nothing more. There are visual novels with realistic pictures.
-Then think of it like reading an actual book. Seriously,give narcissu a try. The graphics are minimalistic,you can mute the voice,and the plot is unique. Set it to automatic and it will even "turn the pages" for you.
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But why would I want to read that VN? I hate anime and i'd rather just read a book. It would be a complete waste of my time if I decided to read it as i'd just spend the entire time taking the piss out of it's terrible story (which it undoubtly has).
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We all know that you hate visual novels, but you are presenting your opinion as fact. This is what we are having issue with.
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I'd argue about hating anime,but this isn't the topic. How can you tell a story is bad before you read it? Because it has some pictures with a drawing style you don't like? Say I take some good book and slap some pictures in it. Does that make the book's plot bad?
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You're comparing a form of media to a font. I don't know if you're just reaching at this point but let me try and explain. Anime in any of it's many forms has always been terrible I've seen enough of it to know that for certain. Nothing good has or will ever come from it ever.
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I'll stress this again:anime as discussed here is a drawing style. Nothing more. Visual novels are not an anime series. Also,I can say that I've read a huge amount of books that were terrible with no exception. That doesn't mean that every single book ever written is bad,nor does it mean producing a good book is impossible.
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I could understand if you said that you think that the anime drawing style is very ugly and you just can't stand it. I could understand if you said that alot of visual novels (or anime series,since you seem to stick to that) have a terrible plot and are just stupid. However,that doesn't mean that universally anything related to anime is bad. From my point of view,what you are saying is not much more logical than "if you stick a poster of an anime drawing on a can of beans,those beans are surely rotten and are disgusting".
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Why are you guys even replying to him anymore? It's pretty obvious that he's a shallow troll.
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I'm not good with identifying trolls,and I like to give everyone a second chance,so I'm giving him a chance as long as I think I might be able to change his opinion by a bit. If he's a troll,the only thing I can say is thanks for bumping this thread so many times,it has been a huge help.
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Did someone write a shitty love story about those beans? Do those beans look like little girls with heaving breats? Did the beans fuck there sister? No. I could also just remove the picture from the beans making them fine (if it for some reason bothered me to begin with). It's also the cocept of visual novels. They are all just tits, bad plots, awful art and terrible voice acting there appeal baffles me.
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You haven't read 100% of all visual novels existing. You can't tell whatever any visual novel is good or not before you read it. Thus,you can't say all visual novels are bad. I suspect you're going to say that you can judge a visual novel without reading it,because if the disk cover it is sold inside has a picture of some anime girl,that novel is surely bad. Ever heard of the phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover?"
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How about you actually take a look at narcissu? As far as I could tell from the few pictures that were in,the only important girl in the story is completely flat. There's almost next to no pictures at it,so you don't have to worry about awful art. It comes with an option to play without voices,so you don't need to hear the voice acting. From the day it hit steam greenlight,it took 31 days to get greenlit,and the steam community isn't exactly made of japanese guys. I hope that makes you consider the chance the plot isn't that bad. And no,the devs didn't promise a free key to anyone who votes,because the game is already free.
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I did actually google it and it got the same reaction as every other visual novel. A look of disdain and an immediate exit. I actually did have that Katawa game on my hard drive ages ago. Friend must have installed it as it's certainly something I never wanted on my hard drive.
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I doubt you'll approve of katawa shoujo,but I think that narcissu can make you change your mind. Maybe you won't find the plot as brilliant as I think it is,but it might make you realise not everything with an anime drawing style is bad.
Don't google it - try it yourself. 90% of what you probably saw in google is the fans reaction to this game,fan created pictures,etc. If judging a book by it's cover is bad,judging a book by it's fans is horrible. Here's a link to the download page of only the first narcissu. 90mb. We've been arguing since about 8 hours ago,so instead of keeping that up give narrcissu a try. I suspect this might turn into a flaming war if it keeps up,so if you have any more arguments,just dump them in a last comment and be done with it. Oh,and sincerely - thanks for all the bumps.
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I'm not sure why you keep bothering to argue with him. I gave up after his first reply to me. He has a deep irrational hatred of anything anime related - there's honestly no point in trying to change his mind. Everyone else is on your side anyways.
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I feel sorry for you ): but A+ for doing 'everything reasonable you could,' so here's [a cute cat!](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F9B7MrG9Vl8/T9uevPioqPI/AAAAAAAAACg/FQxPGkupdMk/s1600/cute+cat+pictures+(8)
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Why don't you get a girlfriend so you won't need interactive movies and books? Reading is for nerds anyways.
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VNs don't seem to be as popular nowadays as they used to be, probably explains the responses to your initial post. As for sources I'll throw in hongfire.com, they have download sources for a whole lot of releases from japan. Haven't been active there for.. 5 years now? maybe more. But I do remember it being a good source for VNs too.
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There are alot of sites like that one,but I tried to keep it newb-friendly and only list those who are actually about vns. I only made an exception for nyaa because unless you know how and want to mess with irc bots,darknet or usenet,nyaa is your best source to grab the newest releases. It also uses a much popular and simple format for downloading(Just try to download a series from darknet. Setting it up was way too hard for me,and I doubt people here would dump 40gb just download one visual novel).
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hongfire stopped offering torrents a long, long time ago.
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That was my first too^^
Try to go for shizune,it ain't that much of a tearjerker,and it has at least one short-of-a-sex-scene I found.
spoiler Well,being bound to a chair and getting raped by your girlfriend isn't too much fun,but I guess it counts.
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Lily route had me absolutely break down in manly tears.
Best route of the game, I think.
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Dangan Ronpa is amazing, and if you don't want to wait for the "official" English version, you can read all of 1 AND 2 here. I recommend it heavily though it may take quite a bit of time to go through.
And if you're interested, they have already announced a spinoff TPS and a 3.
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Didn't know 2 existed. I can't play the first one on my laptop(horrible lags,this laptop is shitty),I'll try again when I have time. Link to the translation for the first is already on fuwan,but I got lost in the link trying to find the translation for the second one. I'd put it up if you can provide a direct link to the translation patch and a link to a torrent for the japanese(original) version.
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Oh no, I just linked a master reference list for the biggest LP-esque fan translations. I have no interest in actually playing it until the English version comes out.
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If you would click on the link, you would see that there are full, finished translations of the 2nd game!
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After taking a third look,my best guess is that you misunderstood what I meant by "translation" and linked me to a site that hosts the translated script. I was referring to patches that modify the game to display the game in english. If I'm wrong,please just make a clicky to the patch file.
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I didn't misunderstand anything. I just wanted to share a way to experience the visual novel (the topic of the thread) that is Dangan Ronpa. It's not like I posted a response to something you stated in the thread. In fact, I barely read the post itself. I just wanted to praise DR.
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Yes, I mentioned it in my first reply. I'm worried about them botching it, though.
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I only watched 2 episodes, was it really that bad? The animation was decent but they couldn't go as near as in-depth as the game did, from what I saw.
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Wait. The second episode is up? You didn't tell me!
Edit: Never mind. I'm retarded.
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Trying to cram a 50 hour game into 13 episodes (11 hours) isn't going to go that well, especially with a mystery series.
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As OP stated, the Ace Attorney games are more point-and-click adventure with VN elements rather than the other way around.
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Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme is vn waiting greenlight. Currently sold at least in desura with free demo.
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1.Still in alpha.
2.The Gender Bending in games is a concept that is almost exclusively developed around in japan. You still need to know where to look if you want it. I'm afraid the average sg forum crawler would still be in shock after finishing the game thinking "I have boobs." And that's without saying anything about mermaids,dog ears,and octopuses.
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You should check my VN collection on Greenlight:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=176383544
It is a complete list of visual novels on Greenlight. 24 titles in total, 8 of them have been greenlit, 2 of them already released.
Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos - greenlit and released
Fading Hearts - greenlit
Go! Go! Nippon! My First Trip to Japan - greenlit
Higurashi When They Cry - greenlit
Long Live The Queen - greenlit and released
Loren The Amazon Princess - greenlit
Narcissu 1st & 2nd - greenlit
War of the Human Tanks - greenlit
I hope that success of visual novels on Greenlight will bring more titles to the Steam. Maybe even something like Clannad, Ever17 or Steins;Gate will be released on Steam.
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I had a look at it while writing this thread. Go! Go! Nippon is something I think you'd need to know a bit about japan and love it's culture to enjoy. There are hundreds of games on steam greenlight,so unless they're either greenlit or titles I get recommendations about,I wouldn't list it because most games who are on steam greenlight right now could take years to actually be released. Also, a lot of titles there are not purely visual novels which I'm avoiding in this thread. But hey,nice job managing this collection - I'm sure some steam freak who enjoys visual novels loves you for making it.
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Yes there are hundreds of games at Greenlight, but only 24 of them are VN of any type. But hey, 33% of these titles have been greenlit. There is no other genre at Steam Greenlight with such success rate. I'm sure it is just a beginning of VN expansion on Steam. :)
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Already had narcissu,dysfuctional systems and higurashi on the list. Long live the queen,war of the human tanks and loren The amazon princess feature too much gameplay elements to be listed here. As for fading hearts,It fulfills those requirements,but I'm doubtful about whatever the story is really excellent enough to be listed here,esp. since it's a dating sim.
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There are two more titles on Steam:
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
Magical Diary
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That doesn't make them not visual novels o_O Loren, Magical Diary and Long Live The Queen most certainly are, at the very least. Cherry Tree High Comedy Club is closer to a traditional American adventure game, but I could see a case being made for it.
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For people who don't have the attention span to go through a whole novel, may I suggest Twine stories? They're usually quite a bit shorter, and a lot of them take more creative risks than VN's. Ctrl-f "list of hyperlink-powered games" on this site for a good list.
I haven't seen 999 (it's on the DS) mentioned yet, it's a pretty good VN with lots of mind screws. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is also good (and also on the DS).
Also, I believe the current fan translation of Fate/stay night removes the NSFW scene and replaces it with a scene from the PS2 port (which was completely SFW).
If you just can't see yourself playing a visual novel but you like JRPG's, maybe you should give Persona 3/4 a try. It's especially clear in the portable versions that it's more of a VN with RPG elements than the other way around.
EDIT: Also, Cherry Tree High Comedy Club on Steam is kind of a VN. Ish. Maybe.
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This post is only for games which have a windows version(or have been emulated),so that most people who come here can make full use of the thread. I debated for a while whatever cherry gets in or not when I wrote the steam part,but I fear it has too much gameplay elements.
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DS has pretty great emulation right now, I believe.
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I can't classify Hotel Dusk as a visual novel,sorry. I see it as more of a point-and-click adventure.
As for 999,the plot seems to have some unexplained holes in it. Also,when it comes to listing emulated titles,I want to make sure there are a bunch of people who actually emulated the game and played it without any(or only negligible) bugs,and I'm afraid 99 just doesn't come to my standard..
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I can't remember any major plot holes in 999 that would ruin the game experience. For a story like that (I won't explain further to avoid spoiling), I thought the narrative was wrapped up very well.
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"Why June can't play sudoku?"
Seriously? You think that's a plot hole? Most of the other things listed there are gripes the poster has against the game, not plot holes.
I never said there weren't any plot holes. There just weren't any major ones that ruined my experience of the game.
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I haven't read it myself,so I can't comment on that. I've assumed that the sudoku had something to do with the plot(e.g. Jude got challenged to a match but declined without any proper reason),and its possible that I'm wrong. I know I'm a bit biased,but I just want to make sure this post is the best I can do to make visual novels a bit more respected,so anything with a scent of being half-bad makes me run away.
Can I get your comment on whatever this plot is too similar to ever17?
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Ah, I see now why you think there are plot holes. The sudoku thing is an important part of the plot, so I cant say too much without spoiling. Let's just say that she was 7 years old and was forced to finish a difficult sudoku puzzle in 10 minutes (the first time around I couldn't finish it in 10 minutes, so what chance does the average 7 year old have?). If you havent played 999 - you're really missing out. It's by far the best game on the DS imo. I'm not sure how all of the great reviews for the game haven't managed to convince you.
I only played the first couple of hours of ever17, so I can't comment on that.
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There are next to no people I trust in giving me recommendations for games,more so for visual novels. I look at games myself and judge whatever worthy of my time. I judged 999 as "worth checking out if I have tons of spare time and finished reading other stuff",and I think I'll get to it by the mid of summer break.
Also,I don't have a ds. I was thinking recently about buying one but I'm still reluctant because I'm not sure how many titles I'd enjoy are there,where can I get them,etc. Most of my knowledge in this subject is only for pc releases,unfortunately,and finding sources I trust is going to take me alot of time I don't have :<
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Some good titles for DS:
999
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Radiant Historia
You can play them all on emulator.
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Sooo... you don't like receiving recommendations, yet you give them out yourself and you ask for them in your giveaway....
I think you're being just a bit hypocritical :P
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Not at all. Everyone but me aside from selected people is a complete idiot so they can't make any recommendations. My semidivine humble self is one of the only humanlike being able to post good recommendations.
As any good semidivine being should do,asking the lowly humans for their opinion makes them feel like their existence is of some worth and preserves peace which leads to more visual novels being created.
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I don't question it,but I'd really appreciate a series that would,say,give someone fire magical powers then have him suffer fourth-degree burns when he tries to create a fireball because being able to cast fire doesn't mean you automatically get high fire resistance. I'm not saying 999 isn't good,I'm questioning it's place with what I consider the best visual novels.
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I would categorize your none of your selections as VNs. Hotel Dusk is most definitely more of a point-and-click adventure with some spotty VN elements. In Persona do you spend more time on the RPG elements or the story? I would most definitely say the former. I don't think it fits very well with the idea of a VN - think of it more as an the name suggests - an interactive book. So you have the novel elements as the main portion of the game. I think a good way to distinguish a visual novel with a game with visual novel elements is to ask yourself the question: could this game be turned into a book if you only stripped out the text? Persona? CTHCC? Hotel Dusk? Not really.
999 fits the mold more, but may still be missing some required things.
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The definition of a visual novel varies by person to person. I usually take a looser definition than most (and have gotten a lot flak for it before). Visual novels are still a fairly young medium, and while there are pieces that are undeniably VNs (Clannad, Fate/stay night, AIR), works that include more gameplay (Digital: A Love Story, 999, Hotel Dusk) find themselves in the awkward position of having too much gameplay to be considered "true" VN's, and too much reading to be considered "true" video games.
So whenever people ask me about good VN's to play, I usually suggest those first. For people who are used to playing games, I think it's a better introduction to the medium. I know that many of my friends coming from video games would be bored if I gave them Clannad (300 hours, anyone?) and told them to play through it because they're not familiar with the the intricacies of playing a VN (paying attention to details, interpreting characters, and, even though it sounds silly, keeping track of the foreign-sounding Japanese names). The games that aren't strictly VN's or video games are a good bridge between the two: they're shorter, keep attention better, and introduce concepts that are very helpful when reading the "proper" VN's.
tl;dr, I have a loose definition of what constitutes a VN. I also suggest games that a lot of people wouldn't consider VN's because I feel they provide a better introduction to the genre of VN's than just throwing a long VN at them that will probably not hold their interest.
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I wouldn't really consider VNs to be a "young" medium, unless you consider all video games in general as young. I mean, I think there were proper VNs back in the 80's.
I do agree with most of the rest of your post. Pure VNs are not really a great introduction to this genre. You really have to start with the hybrids.
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The two I recommend to people who are new to visual novels are katawa shoujo and narcissu. I believe visual novels at their core are about plot; Those two have a great plot and as such they're a form of a test: If you enjoyed them,congrats,you now have a whole genre of new games to explore. If you asked yourself "but where's the gameplay?",then visual novels are just not for you. Now,I'm not saying those hybrids don't have a place; People who miss having a bit of plot in their game and people who miss having something to do other then clicking to advance the text and occasionally making a choice both appreciate these kind of games. However,I personally think of those hybrids as a new genre - kind of like you wouldn't use borderlands as an example for the fps genre nor the rpg genre,its very hard to classify,but that doesn't mean it isn't good. Some of them are good,some of them probably deserve much more recognition than they get. But this is a thread for introducing visual novels,and not those hybrids.
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whoa god damn, stopped reading halfway to say u got me interested and im bookmarking for future reference :3 ty!
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Shame so few people knew any to mention in your giveaway. As for me, well...
I'm a deviant and you don't want to know what few NSFW VNs I've played.
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Nothing like that. But the series does have a bus of sin.
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Just look up the X-Change series, and be disturbed.
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Be disturbed? Search for a manga by the name "Beethoven". I could give better examples,but this one is short and there's no dialogue. Now suggest me a visual novel that made you make the same face as this manga did.
P.s. I should probably mention it is NSFW and that some brain bleach is recommended for the average person.
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People I know are disturbed by it.
They are wimps, but still.
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If you like horror and gore, have you considered the ones made by Innocent Grey? I believe Kara no Shoujo is the only one that's been translated to English, but the rest are very good as well if you can read Japanese.
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I used this to help get me started after playing Katawa Shoujo and surprisingly ending up to like it. Now im not a big action VN kinda fan and i dont like the RPG hybrid ones, but the ones i circled are good in my opinion. Especially Little Busters and Clannad.
(If for some reason you cant see the picture, Katawa Shoujo, Clannad, Little Busters, Yume Miru Kusuri, G Senjou no Maou, and Muv Luv)
As for some additional ones not in that picture (feel free to try them all it seems like a pretty decent guide)
I have played ReWrite which was pretty good but not as good as its made out to be (I do enjoy Key though, they make some killer VNs it seems)
Grisaia no Kajitsu (which is probably the best vn ive ever played and you'll love it if you liked KS)
School Days (which is kinda weird in that its like... videos but not, idk its hard to explain) pretty good although i think it only really had 2 routes
Shuffle which was okay, kinda boring and uninteresting compared to the other ones
Just for some heads up the NSFW (hentai) novels out of those are
Little Busters (if you get the EX version aka Ecstacy or however you spell it, normal version is clean i believe but EX version adds additional content/routes but also 18+ content)
Grisaia No Kajitsu (has like 2-3 sex scenes per route and usually a nudey scene or 2)
Katawa Shoujo (obviously lots of sex and pervy stuff, though i do believe they are skippable/removable entirely)
Yume Miru Kusuri (not too many if i remember, but still a few sex scenes)
Shuffle (again, not a whole lot, i think 1 or 2 sex scenes?)
School Days (pretty graphic sex and theres numerous ones)
G Senjou no Maou (a few sex scenes but i dont think they're too often)
Muv Luv (theres only 1 or 2 sex scenes i believe, but theres a few nudey scenes randomly)
The rest including Clannad, ReWrite, and Little Busters normal Version are completely SFW.
For help finding new ones, i used vndb, was really useful.
Edit: also forgot to mention that yume miru kusuri has some uhh... lets just say less than acceptable things going on in the first half and it will seem like a disgusting pervy sick thought simulator at first but it will suddenly stop doing that at one point and turn all emotional on you, it wont even feel like the same game.
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i dont know, i thought it was pretty interesting to see how his "job" played out and affected the routes.
G senjou wasnt that appealing to me, but ill be damned if LB and Clannad werent some of the best VNs (both by Key, who are awesome and pro at VN making)
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You should check other visual novels from Key.
Kanon
Air
Planetarian Chiisana Hoshi no Yume
Tomoyo After It's a Wonderful Life
Rewrite
All of them have English translation.
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i played rewrite read what i said lol, the first thing i did after clannad was look up the dev (key) and see what else they made. Forgot to mention i played tomoyo after and bleh didnt like it very much it was a bit to sex sceney for me, and wasnt very enjoyable. I also heard it was an RPG hybrid thing later on which i dont like. Planetarian didnt seem like itd appeal to me, and kanon and air i hate to say this cause this is a stupid reason for not wanting to try them but they look kinda old/dated. In addition I have another big text guide which rates everything (how i found some of the VNs i said) and Air and Kanon were not rated very highly so i didnt feel like getting them.
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There are visual novels of many kinds - learning to decide what could possibly interest you and what not is a skill that can't be worked around simply by looking at some score some people posted. They may not like some things that you would find brilliant.
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I considered linking to this picture while I was making this guide,but I think it's hard to tell if you'd like to try a game just from a picture and some tags. Plus,I'm really trying to avoid anything with sex - In Katawa and in Swan song most scenes felt to me like they should be there and that they are a part of the plot,but many,may other visual novels who are otherwise good just seem to slap in a sex scene or two,make a cover that doesn't represent the game at all and sell it as a common eroge(=visual novel,usually in a dating sim style,with a focus on sex).
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trust me the ones i mentioned, the sex is "meaningful" except for the few nudey scenes. Its sort of become like a standard for good VNs they just have to have it in there, probably to appeal to the fat horny neckbeards or something. (i like how you said KS has meaningful scenes even though the spoiler shed scene is fucking ridiculously pointless to me lol)
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While certainly could have been left out,it helps establish the notion that emi tries to establish/maintain the relationship through sex and not through emotion/being open. It makes the impact harder when you realise what your relationship is.
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"they just have to have it in there, probably to appeal to the fat horny neckbeards or something."
I wouldn't call them fat horny neckbeards,but yes,it's slapped into a lot of visual novels. This thread is for those few vns who managed not to fall in this trap,and once people finish reading them,and if they decide they want more,this picture would be a perfectly valid thing to show them.
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It's hard to explain without writing walls of text,but I'll try to give out the most important points:
"Copyright" as of today has no meaning to me whatsoever. I believe the way it is used is disgusting.
Alot of those games are only sold in hard copies exclusively at japan,which is why I didn't have links to most of the paid vns I listed. You'd have to use a service in japan that would send it to you,which involves quite a lot of hassle,not to mention the fees. If you don't want to do that,you'll have to suck extreme prices. For example,saya no uta which has a official english release can be bought@mangagamer for 25$ with a digital download. Rewrite can be imported from japan@j-list for 110$,and you don't want to know how much of that actually gets to the dev. See the difference?
I buy games because I want to support whoever made this awesome game,not because I want to "legally own them". This is also why I'd buy try to buy at least one official plush/keychain/etc.,instead of the cheaper and often more customized fan-made ones. If I just wanted to save my money but cared about "legally owning it",I could buy a used game from someone.
You'd be surprised at the amount of pirates who buy games at steam. Because it's more comfortable than pirating. Like the maker of fuwanovel said,steam has outcompeted piracy. Unless visual novel makers decide to make a reasonably comfortable way for us western gamers to buy their games,I don't think they should get our money,even if they make awesome games.
Some people(like me) don't live in the us nor in japan,and porting a game from japan to the us then to your country means you might sometimes have to pay(at least in my country) about 200$ just for tax/fees. I'm sorry,but I won't pay over 200$ when the dev gets 10$ from that.
Lastly,I personally will only pay for a game if its good,and I can only tell if a game is good after I played it.
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i was gonna say this, and while i agree with the pricing being absolutely outrageous and stupid, you should leave people to be able to find these VNs on their own (wink wink, "download") but as is, this is STILL technically piracy no matter how wrong the companies are
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I'm fully aware of it being piracy. Because of the above I support pirating those. People who click the links under the paid section are aware it is piracy,so why not save them some time and give the links? Also,if it wasn't clear enough,I don't believe piracy is morally wrong.
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im surprised its not in the FAQ, i think the way they justify it is "we arent allowed to talk about stuff which violates the steam terms of use" or something like that, im just trying to save you a warning. I know you cant talk about piracy here though
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well, suit yourself. We cant talk about using VPNs or proxys to get around restrictions, Piracy, anything that steam doesnt approve of or gets around their system. I love this post and im glad someone finally started talking about VNs on here and id hate to see it get deleted for something stupid like this.
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Quite a lot of posts mentioned using proxies/vpns to get around restrictions lately. Just to drop one,the assassin's creed/watchdogs for 1.5$ thread was very popular and I didn't see any mod going around banning people for mentioning it. The mods here do an outstanding job closing threads that break the rules,so I'd be very surprised if none of them saw this thread yet.
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if it required a proxy/vpn, mod should have closed the thread and possibly suspended the creator. Some are pretty harsh and i know one that is really ban happy. So id be careful man, whats it gonna hurt taking the dl links out? just be safe, link the wiki or vndb page or something
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I appreciate your concerns,but the fuwan links serve as more than just means of piracy - they hold a nice representation of each vn,with links to various related websites where you can find more info about it,a free commenting section,status on ongoing translations,as well as troubleshooting games and offering means to emulate non-pc games. As for the ban happy mod.there was also a thread about this some time ago,but I don't think I've hanged around the forums enough to know who you're talking about. The two mods I see around the most(namely thejadefalcon and rinarin) have my utmost respect and if one of them shall decide that my handling of this thread is a reason for a ban/suspension,I'd accept it.
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TL;DR? Free game 1, Free game 2, read the thread if that got you interested.
Judging by the comments on my part in fotixcember,it looks like alot of people never hear of vns,or have a confused view about them. So,I decided to create a short thread about it. If you found this useful,give me a hug :)
Small wall of text incoming. Some spoilers included. I'm not a native english speaker so expect some errors here and there.
A visual novel,vn for short,is a type of game with a strong emphasis on plot. How strong varies by game,some include rpg elements like leveling up,some puzzle like,well,solving puzzles,and some games marketed as visual novels are in the purest form of plot - text. Classic visual novels,and the one I'll mainly talk about in this thread,usually feature spirit graphics with occasional cgs and video clips,and some soundtracks. If you haven't realised it by now,at core,a visual novel is essentially a book played on a pc(/ds/ps/whatever) with some additional elements. But why not just read a book?
Well,here we get to the most notable(imo) feature of visual novels: They're not just a book with a good plot. They are a book where you directly effect the plot. Remember when in fable you had to decide whatever you save your sister,or kill her and get the almighty big sword of epicness? Well,a visual novel is a story where you get to make choices like that,but instead of the only thing changing being some old dude's comment about you,your choices change the entire plot. Example: choosing how much of your character's free time goes to hanging out and how much to studying can later turn out to whatever your character gets developed as a lifeless nerd,a waiter at a local restaurant,or a drug-addict dropout. Choosing whatever you try to stop the bank rubbery can make you the hero of the day and give you some connections with the bank manager,or make your left hand nonfunctional.
If you read all that and you're still not sure whatever you like it or not,just give one a try - it can't hurt.
A small note - as most visual novels are made in japan,you can expect anime-like drawing style for the spirits. If the japanese voices annoy you,it's possible for most games to mute the voice acting(if exists) via the in-game menu. Sometimes there are sliders for individual voices,so you can make it so you'll only hear your character's voice or no one's. All games suggested here have a full,decent quality english translation.
Here's a list of my personal recommendations. I wrote the descriptions myself so sorry if they're a bit messy. Everything is playable on windows,and has a full english patch available. I tried to pick only those who can be fully played without knowing anything about japan or it's culture,and only those which play more-or-less like a traditional visual novel.
Free(links are to download page):
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story - Popularity: ranked #200. Bayesian rating: ranked #2812 with a rating of 6.43. Length: 2 - 10 hours.
This vn is about how your first year as a teacher works out. Poke into your student's social life and build or destroy their relationships. ~40mb,win/mac/linux.
True rememberance - EGS Score: 75 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #48. Bayesian rating: ranked #65 with a rating of 7.95. Length: 2 - 10 hours.
Urban magical-realism setting. You're a doctor specializing in curing terminal cases of pandemic depression. You live in a closed city made only for doctors of your kind and patients of this specific disease. You'll get to know some interesting patients and learn a bit about yourself. This one has a very good plot,but has a fixed path(you make no choices). ~67mb,windows only.
Narcissu - EGS Score: 82 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #23 and #72. Bayesian rating: ranked #100 with a rating of 7.76 and #97 with a rating of 7.77. Length: 2 - 10 hours each.
I can't say much about this without spoiling. Downloading this comes with Narcissu 1 and Narcissu side 2nd. Narcissu 2nd is a prequel to the first,but it's recommended you read the first one before it. ~240mb,win/mac/linux. Fixed path(you get no choices). One of the best visual novels to be ever created imo. Greenlit in 31 days. For the first Narcissu,there are two version you can choose when playing: a voiced and an unvoiced version. There are 3 different english translations for the first narcissu and 2 for the second one.
Katawa Shoujo - EGS Score: 67 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #11. Bayesian rating: ranked #72 with a rating of 7.92. Length: 10 - 30 hours.
Officially translated as "disability girls". One of the newest additions to the best visual novels list,with a number of different routes to try. spoiles the first chapter-> You're the average boy till it's discovered your have a heart disease. You're sent to a school for disabled teens like you where medical assistance is always available. /spoiler Possibly NSFW,depending on what choices you make. There's also an option to disable sex scenes and it doesn't feel like something is missing..~420 mb,win/mac/linux.
Not free(links are to vndb):
Planetarian ~ Dream of Little Star EGS score: 80 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #14. Bayesian rating: ranked #46 with a rating of 8.11. Length: 2 - 10 hours.
Futuristic post-apocalyptic setting. A short vn about finding a robot from before the world turned to it's apocalyptic state. Buyable for ~44$ at amajon.jp, ~70$ at amazon.com, Installation guide, English patch.
Swan Song EGS Score: 86 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #42. Bayesian rating: ranked #85 with a rating of 7.83. Length: 10-30 hours. NSFW.
A deep story about a post-apocalyptic world with alot of different options to choose(sometimes the wrong decision is a game over,sometimes it affects the plot)and human interactions/emotions in it. Recommended to those who have time and want a complex story. Available as digital download from DLsite.com or Getchu.com for ~10$. The group who did the translation is still recovering from their previous site being offline so there is no official page linking to the translation,but I managed to find the translation file,uploaded by the group's programmer. Mediafire clicky
Saya no Uta - Saya's song. Popularity: ranked #3 with a score of 80.18. Bayesian rating: ranked #28 with a rating of 8.37. Length: 2 - 10 hours. NSFW.
Magical-realism setting. A horror vn about a man trying to live after an accident makes his brain see the world in a twisted way. NSFW,Features bits of gore,rape,violence. Buy it english-prepatched for 25$ at JAST USA,digital download available.
Sekien no Inganock - What a beautiful people. EGS Score: 82 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #39. Bayesian rating: ranked #67 with a rating of 7.93. Length: 10 - 30 hours. NSFW.
Supernatural-realism setting. You live in what was once supposed to be utopia. A city fully independent on anything else. Something went wrong,and now people walk around with wings on their back or a snake for their body. It's not exceptional in any regards but if you love fiction you're bound to be sucked into this story. Available from JLIST for 70$. Translation patch available here - you want the Sekien no Inganock -what a beautiful people- Fullvoice ReBORN Patch. Direct link.
Steins;gate EGS Score: 90 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #18. Bayesian rating: ranked #2 with a rating of 8.98. Length: 30 - 50 hours.
One of the most known titles in the visual novel world,spawned several adoptions. A young mad aspiring to be a mad scientist slapped some stuff into a microwave then discovered it can effect time. Choices in this game are not made in traditional form but rather as you progress(by responding or not responding to calls,messages,etc). Explores physics of time and possible theories. Available from [JBOX for 55$]. An english patch is only available for iOS,and has been only partially ported to the windows version. Fuwan has a working full windows pre-patched version but the sources are not clear. An english version should be released by the end of the 2013-2014 winter and can be preordered for [40$].(http://www.jbox.com/product/SG001). A limited edition is available for 60$,also from JBOX.
Done with the list and want more? Here are some vns I haven't read yet,but planning to when I have time:
Dangan ronpa - Popularity: ranked #66. Bayesian rating: ranked #37 with a rating of 8.23. Length: 10 - 30 hours.
A gameplay-enhanced visual novel. 15 students who excel at different things get thrown into a game where they must kill someone to get a chance at getting out alive. A trial will be held after each death - if they are found guilty they will be executed and the game goes on. If the murderer is found innocent,he will be free to go and everyone else will die. Has no official windows release,but the psp version can be bought from [Amazon.com for 30$] and a detailed guide for applying the english translation and running the game on psp/emulating on windows is available here. A pre-patched version including the JCPSP emulator is available from fuwan.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru - Translates to "When Seagulls Cry"(parts 1-4) and "When Seagulls Cry: Breakdown"(parts 5-8). EGS Score: 80 out of 100 and 92 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #16 and #34. Bayesian rating: ranked #9 with a rating of 8.71 and ranked #19 with a rating of 8.50. Length: 50+ hours EACH.
Depending on your point of view,Supernatural-magical or realism setting. A series of murders is taking place in a mansion on a closed island. A women claims she did it through magic. You try to prove her wrong,solving a possible solution to those only with logic. I can't say more without spoiling it. It's a great game for all those who love mystery and believe in logic even when it seemed like reality just ignored physics. Parts 1-4 buyable for 25$ at Mangagame,and parts 5-8 for 31$. English patch for parts 1-4,English patch for parts 5-8. Also see Umineko Tweak,an extra patch to add voice acting and make the game much more pretty using ps3 graphics. Tweak for 1-4, Tweak for 5-8.
Fate/Stay Night - EGS Score: 90 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #1. Bayesian rating: ranked #4 with a rating of 8.86. Length: 50+ hours,the word count is more than the Lord of The Rings trilogy. (lightly)NSFW.
I've seen the anime adaption,and it was amazing. Didn't get around to reading this because I don't have enough time. Supernatural setting. A boy with a peace-at-any-price personality gets thrown into a mage's competition who want to win at any cost. Character development is a strong point in this one. English translation available here. Last copy can be bought from amazon for 4$,a little pricier copy can be bought here if you miss it. Are you laughing yet?
Extra titles(suggested by other people,I can't personally vouch for those - links to vndb,scores coming soon):
Clannad EGS Score: 90 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #7. Bayesian rating: ranked #3 with a rating of 8.88. Length: 50+ hours.
Buyable at JBOX for 75$. Translation patch - you want the full voice ddl. Direct link.
Never 7 the end of infinity EGS Score: 72 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #143. Bayesian rating: ranked #461 with a rating of 7.10. Length: 30 - 50 hours.
Grab the download edition for 10$ from gameliner.jp. Here's a translation of the buying process, and here is a guide for installing. English translation and some troubleshooting by tlwiki esp. note how to translate videos and how to re-add music to the game. Se fuwan troubleshooting if for extra help.
Remember 11 the age of infinity EGS Score: 80 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #63. Bayesian rating: ranked #73 with a rating of 7.90. Length: 30-50 hours.
Buy from gameliner.jp for 15$. English patch. Installation and purchase guide same as Never 7.
Ever 17 the out of infinity EGS Score: 90 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #4. Bayesian rating: ranked #5 with a rating of 8.82. Length: 30-50 hours.
Last copy,english translated,available at amazon for 1$. Here's a translation update.
Tsukihime EGS Score: 86 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #5. Bayesian rating: ranked #23 with a rating of 8.45. Length: 30-50 hours.
English patch,Buy it from amazon for 4$.
Cross Channel EGS Score: 90 out of 100 from 3407 votes. Popularity: ranked #13. Bayesian rating: ranked #51 with a rating of 8.06. Length: 10-30 hours.
Buyable at amazon.jp for 100$. There's a version at amazon.com for 70$,but there's no mentioning whatever it is the pc version. English patch.
Little Busters EGS Score: 85 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #9. Bayesian rating: ranked #8 with a rating of 8.75. Length: 50+ hours.
Buyable from JBOX for 115$. English patch avaiable here - you want the Little Busters! Version 6.0 Complete English Patch,and the Little Busters! EXperimental EXtra Version 1.0 patch afterwards to add voice acting to side characters and word wrap.
Rewrite - thanks to MrSteeel and TrickZter for making this appear here. EGS Score: 81 out of 100. Popularity: ranked #19. Bayesian rating: ranked #11 with a rating of 8.68. Length: 50+ hours.
Buyable at JBOX for 110$. English patch available here.
Titles on Steam(links are to steam):
Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos
Analogue: A Hate Story
Hate Plus
Narcissu
Cinders
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When the Cicadas Cry) on Steam Greenlight
Sites worth visiting:
Fuwanovel Is a new,growing site with the target of "making visual novels popular in the west". Browse the site to find new visual novels that might interest you or the homepage for news and just released/about-to-be-done translations. The [forums] are a great place to ask in english about anything related to visual novels. A visual novel's page contains a short description about each visual novel,a game walkthrough,troubleshooting help, as well as a link to a torrent for an english pre-patched or patch-ready game,which is useful if you're having problems making your legit game work in english,or if you want to pirate it(note: pirating visual novels is morally different from pirating your everyday game,at least according to me).
vndb is the largest database of visual novels. Search a title,and you can see a little summary,some technical details,and available translations in different languages/whatever someone is working on a translation. Sometimes a bit outdated - fuwan often has more updated info about english translations,but vndb covers alot more titles.
TL wiki Can help you find completed translations to games you downloaded in japanese,and sometimes offers a bit of troubleshooting or extra tweaks you can apply to the game.
VNTLS is where you go to see whatever anyone is working on translation and the translation's status. Updates every saturday.
F.A.Q (will expand as more questions are asked)
Bump! Every bump makes it so more people see this and helps this thread not fall into the abyss of forgotten posts.
Discuss! What's your favorite visual novel? Ever heard of them before? Surprised they are not all about seducing little half-naked girls? Make the thread active.
Suggest new visual novels that you think should be here. Make sure they have an english translation,do not contain any strong gameplay elements,do not require any knowledge of japan/the japanese culture,and are generally suitable for beginners.
Some genres don't get a good representation in this thread. Here are some visual novels that caught my eye - Forest and Chaos;Head as a mystery mindscrew, True Blood,AKA Togainu no Chi as a candidate for action,Night of the forget me nots,AKA Wasurenagusa no Yoru as horror. Need opinions about those - I'd be grateful if anyone can read them and tell me whatever they're appropriate to be put here.
Write descriptions for the visual novels on steam and the extra titles. I haven't read those myself and I want something shorter and more clear than the vndb descriptions.
Tag the visual novels - I'm not really good at classifying anything into genres,so perhaps anyone who is can help?
`
Why are prices so high?
At time of writing you can substitute 100¥ for 1$. Prices for most visual novels are actually really cheap. Taxes and importing fees are horrible. For example,take Swan song - Price: ¥ 9,240 (tax ¥ 8,800) meaning from the 90$ that you pay 5$ actually makes it to the company. How much of that gets to the dev? Take fate/stay night for an extreme example. Digital download editions usually do not warrant tax thus are usually much,much cheaper.
My game freezes,crashes,doesn't start,black screen,etc.
See this page on fuwan. Also,if you downloaded it via a torrent that does not require installing - make sure your torrent client is not working,as it can make your saves disappear. I recommend copy-pasting it to another location and playing from there,as well as right clicking on the main folder and removing the read-only tag from everything possible. Solves 90% of all problems. If the problem persists,search fuwan for vn's page and known errors plus how to solve them will be at the bottom of the page.
It's too much just to get a game! Dead websites,broken links,and nothing in english. I'm used to steam doing everything.
I've done my best finding the links for shops and translations,in english whenever possible,and with buying and installation guides when not. but if you can't do it yourself, I'd recommend to download a patch-ready or pre-patched version from fuwan. I've added notes to games that are particularly messy to get working. Please consider voting for other vns that are in greenlight to make the future better in this aspect.
What's with all those scores?
Think of EGS as the user score from metacritic. Bayesian rating is a rating system allowing for more accurate score than a simple average. Popularity is how popular the vn is compared to others on vndb - this is not a definitive score so some visual novels share the same rating.
Why does the length vary so much?
It depends on your reading speed,as well as how many times you choose to replay the novel to discover new routes.
What should I read for a first pick?
I'd recommend Katawa Shoujo or Narcissu. If you prefer mystery/horror titles,go with Phenomeno. For a first purchase I'd recommend Swan Song because it offers great plot,length and is available for digital download for relatively cheap.
If you have anything good to add,just post it here,with a fuwan link if possible(vndb will do if you can't find it). I'll add it if it's awesome enough.
Oh,and for those of you who prefer their visual novels choices being whatever you fuck your little sister,your girlfriend,your girlfriend's little sister or all of them together,drink this. It makes your fapping up to 100% more efficient.
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