[Visual Novel] Visual Novels, any and all info

[McLEMUR]

Hello!

I didn't find any real recommendations or reviews about Visual Novels for new people, so I decided to start a new topic about them(VN).

I'm really looking for any and all info, guides, websites, and tips that are related to VN, including but not limited to hentai games. (same information with more facts is welcome)

So, what I'm trying to do is to gather as much information as possible and become knowledgeable in the subject. (and if asked about VN this topic could be used as a reference)

 

 

 

So all who are passionate about such games gather up!

Thanks in the advance!

 

p.s. after finishing reading Dracu-riot! I had a sudden urge to play its Visual Novel, however I realized that I know zero to none about the subject or where to get any VN game (did find some info @vndb.org but that wasn't enough)

[Baal]

Well, I am not passionate about VNs but some time ago when i was looking for steins;gate vn i found Fuwanovel.org, hope that helps

[lemmingllama]

Try the Ren'ai forums. Has a whole pile of games and with new ones all the time. Also a great gateway visual novel is Katawa Shoujo.

 

Also as a tip, the best VN's are the mystery or the romance ones. Other genres don't really work as well. Also if you are going to do a hentai VN, don't unless it has a real storyline.

[† Emotional Outlet]

I will second the rec on Katawa Shoujo.

 

Are kinetic novels okay too?

 

Juniper's Knot (Free)

That Cheap and Sacred Thing (Free)

 

Some VNs I have enjoyed.

 

don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story (Free)

Digital: A Love Story (Free)

RE: Alistair++ (Free)

[text] (Free)

Analogue: A Hate Story ($10)

Cinders ($22.95)

Long Live the Queen ($12.95)

Magical Diary ($19.95)

Hatoful Boyfriend ($5)

 

And some sites.

 

sakevisual

Hanako Games

Winter Wolves

/r/visualnovels

Fuwanovel

 

Now, I don't know where you personally draw the line between "video game" and "visual novel" (the distinction made in the west is a bit different than how it is in Japan). I've seen a lot of back and forth on this, so it's up to you.

 

Dangan Ronpa. Ace Attorney. 999. Persona.

[Prosix]

If you want to play the dracu-riot VN, you have to wait for a while, because the fantranslation by staircasesubs (http://staircasesubs.com/dracu-riot/) is still in the works but nearing its completion (i don't think you can read japanese because you wouldn't ask otherwise or even be on this site which is more or less specifically for translated japanese media).

 

If you want, you can look into Grisaia no Kajitsu, the patch that translates it should come out in the next few hours. I can refer you to http://erogegames.com regarding that.

 

Furthermore it is always a good idea to start with the great classics like Fate/Stay Night, Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative, Da Capo, Shuffle (as you can see, all of those got animated). Or for something darker Saya no Uta, Higurashi - When they cry or Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The latter consists of two parts, chapters 1 through 4  generally known as the question-chapters and chapters 5 through 8 known as answer-chapters. I write this because only the first part got animated what makes watching the anime unsatifactory because it ends dead in the middle without any kind of resolution.

 

 

[Breathless]

Umm. I find that when playing a visual novel, it's better to dive into it. And what I mean by that is finish the route promptly. The biggest problem I found was that when I stopped a VN half way, it was very hard to get back into.

I thought FS/N was a good vsn, one of the only ones I played through each route multiple times.
Key also makes reaaaaally good visual novels. (Little Busters, Clannad, Kanon, etc.)
And then there's steins;gate. A bit heavy on the reading but totally worth it if you can make it through.

I would probably recommend starting off with the big-names until you find one that really shoots out at you, and than look for similar ones to that.

[Prosix]

The key novels, i forgot those (also rewrite for completion). Those and F/SN show that a good VN doesn't have to rely on H-scenes. Clannad has none apart from the Tomoyo Afterstory, Little Busters (all-ages) has Little Busters Ex (18+) which main point are the added routes and not the added H-scenes (they are just fanservice anyway) and F/SN also only has four which are totally skippable (and badly written to boot).

One more i want to add: G-senjou no Maou.

I also started to read Grisaia no Kajitsu now. It seems a bit on the lewd side, tits come out one to two hours in, other then that it makes a good first impression. You have 5 girls with destinctive and intersting characteristics and, what is the biggest plus for me, a protagonist who is anything but a whimp. Furthermore the group that translated it did top-notch work. They even edited the CGs and replaced onomatopoeias in furigana with the corresponding english ones.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Prosix

[idalarian]

I would recommend the Infinity series (primairly Ever17 and Remember11). I recently finished Umineko and I also loved the hell out of it. I'm gonna start Rewrite pretty soon too. Heard good things about it too.