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Visual Novel Community Thread: No Auto Read Required
- Thread starter Vylash
- Start date
I've been playing through Eliza and it's something else. Well-written, well-acted and superb presentation all-around. Also has solitaire!
Other good/popular ones are Ace Attorney Trilogy, Danganrompa, Higurashi, Planetarian, Muv Luv and Stein's Gate. There's also Doki Doki Literature club, which is free.
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My favorites over the last several years have been the Muv Luv series, House in Fata Morgana, 428, and the Utawarerumono games (not sure how good the PC ports are here though). They're all quite good!
Thanks! I already have all of these on Vita and PS4 and I agree!
Anyone got a solid story summary of the first two Utawarerumono games? Gonna check out Mask of Truth today. I've played Mask of Deception and seen the first anime but it's been quite a while and I need a refresher.
e: the game itself summarized MoD well enough, so onto another question: any way to keep track of my progress? I like knowing how far in I am. It doesn't look like the game's divided in chapters or anything like that.
e: the game itself summarized MoD well enough, so onto another question: any way to keep track of my progress? I like knowing how far in I am. It doesn't look like the game's divided in chapters or anything like that.
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There are about 25 story battle stages. Outside of the last few they're a bit more evenly spaced than Mask of Deception's.
Do you know how long Utawarerumono 1 is? I just finished the fight against
the general who thinks that Hakuowlo is his brother
I played that game like ten years ago, so not really, but after a bit of googling I got 25-30 hours.
The fight you describe happen around the mid-point of the game, judging by a list of all combat encounters.
I finished it earlier this month and it took me 13½ hours total.
Yeah, Mask of Truth isn't doing it for me either. I'm getting absolutely sick of all the wacky, horny, embarrassing slice-of-life hijinks, the art makes me groan and a lot of the character writing and dialogue is actively off-putting to me. The main storyline itself has been quite good and the gameplay is honestly fantastic, but they're getting bogged down by so much shit that I'll just drop this.
So now I'm wondering if there are still more VNs worth checking out on Steam? Excluding the following: Muv-Luv, Fata Morgana, 428, AI: The Somnium Files, Steins;Gate, the ZE trilogy, the AA trilogy, Raging Loop, Baldr Sky, the Danganronpa games, Higurashi and Umineko.
I'va already played most of these - Raging Loop, Baldr Sky and Higurashi are the only ones I have yet to check out (waiting for the last episode of Higurashi before diving in, as for the other two, just haven't gotten around to it).
If it wasn't clear from the post, I'm interested in good stories first and foremost and currently have a very low tolerance for exceedingly horny garbage and slice-of-life stuff. Nothing else really matters that much, can have gameplay or be straight up just reading, doesn't have to be Japanese, indie, higher budget, whatever.
So now I'm wondering if there are still more VNs worth checking out on Steam? Excluding the following: Muv-Luv, Fata Morgana, 428, AI: The Somnium Files, Steins;Gate, the ZE trilogy, the AA trilogy, Raging Loop, Baldr Sky, the Danganronpa games, Higurashi and Umineko.
I'va already played most of these - Raging Loop, Baldr Sky and Higurashi are the only ones I have yet to check out (waiting for the last episode of Higurashi before diving in, as for the other two, just haven't gotten around to it).
If it wasn't clear from the post, I'm interested in good stories first and foremost and currently have a very low tolerance for exceedingly horny garbage and slice-of-life stuff. Nothing else really matters that much, can have gameplay or be straight up just reading, doesn't have to be Japanese, indie, higher budget, whatever.
A few recommendations based on what I've played myself:
WILL: A Wonderful World / WILL：美好世界 on Steam
Become a god and help change the fate of people, even the world! In WILL: A Wonderful World, you will receive letters written by characters living in urban cities. By rearranging the order and combinations of sentences in these letters, you are going to alter the destiny of whomever that wrote them.
Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project on Steam
"Life is like a waiting room, except people don't leave in the order they enter." Narcissu is a thought provoking visual novel series about terminal illness, living, dying, and the relationship between those leaving and those left behind. There are no miracles, no heroes, no villains in this story.
Corpse Party on Steam
A group of friends unknowingly perform an occult ritual that traps them in an otherworldly elementary school. Here, the vengeful spirits of young children threaten their lives and their sanity, and the only hope of survival is to uncover the chilling details behind the murders of those trapped...
Analogue: A Hate Story on Steam
A dark visual mystery novel featuring transhumanism, traditional marriage, loneliness, and cosplay. Two pursuable characters. Five endings. Welcome to the future.
Heart of the Woods on Steam
A fantasy yuri visual novel filled with magic, fairies, and a ghost girl. When Maddie and her best friend, Tara, journey to a remote forest village to investigate rumors of the supernatural, they find a whole lot more than they bargained for.
Neighbor on Steam
Neighbor is an updated remake of a classic Japanese horror visual novel. Take the role of protagonist Yuuki Kae as she investigates the mysterious and terrifying events happening in her new apartment building. Fully voiced in Japanese, and localized to English for the first time!
Sound of Drop - fall into poison - on Steam
Nestled in the heart of Tokyo, the quaint little aquarium, Manten Aquarium. Numerous urban legends have arisen from here. On the night of the full moon the waters turn to blood and man faced fish lurk within.
planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~ on Steam
In time for the 10th anniversary since its original release in Japan, planetarian is an engaging and emotional visual novel from legendary game studio, Key. A sub-brand of VisualArts, Key are also famed for creating Kanon, AIR, CLANNAD, Little Busters!, Rewrite, and Angel Beats!
Eliza on Steam
Eliza is a visual novel about an AI counseling program, the people who develop it, and the people who use it. Follow Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey as she reconnects with people from her past, gets to know the people of Seattle who use Eliza for counseling, and decides the course of her future.
Not on Steam, but free on Itch:
soundless - A MODERN SALEM IN REMOTE AREA - by milk+ visual
—Despite all the singing around her, her world was soundless.
milkplus.itch.io
And I haven't read the following, but they are high on my to-read list and should match your criteria:
Dry Drowning on Steam
Dry Drowning is a psychological investigative visual novel set in a futuristic dystopian city. Follow the story of Mordred Foley, unscrupulous private detective haunted by his dark past, and look into a series of macabre serial killings inspired by Greek mythology.
Murder by Numbers on Steam
Solve Pixel Puzzles to find clues. Use those clues to interrogate witnesses. Work your way to the truth... ...and uncover the mystery of Murder by Numbers!
SeaBed on Steam
SeaBed is a yuri-themed mystery visual novel told through the perspectives of three separate characters: Sachiko, Takako and Narasaki.
A few recommendations based on what I've played myself:
WILL: A Wonderful World / WILL：美好世界 on Steam
Become a god and help change the fate of people, even the world! In WILL: A Wonderful World, you will receive letters written by characters living in urban cities. By rearranging the order and combinations of sentences in these letters, you are going to alter the destiny of whomever that wrote them.store.steampowered.com
But get the translation by Haeleth for Narcissu 1st and 2nd here, as the one that Sekai Project secured the rights to is utter shite. You can stop after those two free parts, but Himeko's Epilogue, Zero, the second story in Sumire, and a short story in two parts (1980 and 1993; told across Epilogue and A Little Iris) are all excellent.Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project on Steam
"Life is like a waiting room, except people don't leave in the order they enter." Narcissu is a thought provoking visual novel series about terminal illness, living, dying, and the relationship between those leaving and those left behind. There are no miracles, no heroes, no villains in this story.
Corpse Party on Steam
A group of friends unknowingly perform an occult ritual that traps them in an otherworldly elementary school. Here, the vengeful spirits of young children threaten their lives and their sanity, and the only hope of survival is to uncover the chilling details behind the murders of those trapped...And if you like that one, then the sequel gets even better.Analogue: A Hate Story on Steam
A dark visual mystery novel featuring transhumanism, traditional marriage, loneliness, and cosplay. Two pursuable characters. Five endings. Welcome to the future.
Heart of the Woods on Steam
A fantasy yuri visual novel filled with magic, fairies, and a ghost girl. When Maddie and her best friend, Tara, journey to a remote forest village to investigate rumors of the supernatural, they find a whole lot more than they bargained for.Neighbor on Steam
Neighbor is an updated remake of a classic Japanese horror visual novel. Take the role of protagonist Yuuki Kae as she investigates the mysterious and terrifying events happening in her new apartment building. Fully voiced in Japanese, and localized to English for the first time!Sound of Drop - fall into poison - on Steam
Nestled in the heart of Tokyo, the quaint little aquarium, Manten Aquarium. Numerous urban legends have arisen from here. On the night of the full moon the waters turn to blood and man faced fish lurk within.planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~ on Steam
In time for the 10th anniversary since its original release in Japan, planetarian is an engaging and emotional visual novel from legendary game studio, Key. A sub-brand of VisualArts, Key are also famed for creating Kanon, AIR, CLANNAD, Little Busters!, Rewrite, and Angel Beats!Eliza on Steam
Eliza is a visual novel about an AI counseling program, the people who develop it, and the people who use it. Follow Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey as she reconnects with people from her past, gets to know the people of Seattle who use Eliza for counseling, and decides the course of her future.
Not on Steam, but free on Itch:
soundless - A MODERN SALEM IN REMOTE AREA - by milk+ visual
—Despite all the singing around her, her world was soundless.
And I haven't read the following, but they are high on my to-read list and should match your criteria:
Dry Drowning on Steam
Dry Drowning is a psychological investigative visual novel set in a futuristic dystopian city. Follow the story of Mordred Foley, unscrupulous private detective haunted by his dark past, and look into a series of macabre serial killings inspired by Greek mythology.Murder by Numbers on Steam
Solve Pixel Puzzles to find clues. Use those clues to interrogate witnesses. Work your way to the truth... ...and uncover the mystery of Murder by Numbers!SeaBed on Steam
SeaBed is a yuri-themed mystery visual novel told through the perspectives of three separate characters: Sachiko, Takako and Narasaki.
Wow, thanks a lot! That's quite a list, wasn't expecting this much. Deciding where to start is going to be easy, at least - it looks like I already own WILL: A Wonderful World. I'll have to install it out one of these days.
No problem.
But I'll just append a warning about WILL:
It seems pretty light-hearted at first, but some story lines get pretty dark and that goes double for the bad ends.
Oh, and you might also be interested in The Silver Case and its sequel:
The Silver Case on Steam
The Silver Case – the debut title from world-renowned developer SUDA51 has been fully remastered and localized to English for the first time ever!
I would recommending checking out Raging Loop, based on what you wrote it's probably what you are looking for. Higurashi and Baldr Sky are definitely not what you are looking for on other hand, especially Higurashi is infamous for its long ass slice of life scenes while Baldr Sky back-loads all its slice of life scenes in one massive terrible scenario in the back half of the novel, and it's also weird of full cringey "NTR doujin tier" scenarios for the first part of the story (The writing regarding the romances is honestly some of the worst I've seen which it's a shame because the main heroine is good).
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Oh yeah? That's unfortunate, I was definitely looking forward to Higurashi. Well, I guess I'll know what to expect when going in, at least. If it ends up being too much, so be it, but the episodes are cheap and the premise is intriguing so I'll give it a chance at the very least.
As for Baldr Sky, maybe most of it being contained in a single scenario will help? I mean, I'm no stranger to skimming or even straight up skipping parts of visual novels lol. I've played enough to realize that sometimes, the fluff really is just fluff and nothing of real worth is lost if it's skipped. The way you describe it makes it sound really fucking weird, though. I thought Baldr Sky was supposed to be a somewhat serious cyberpunk story?
Even better, I love dark stories!
There are a bunch of slice of life moments through the novel, but they are (No spoilers don't worry) 1) Flashbacks 2) Rather short and essentially happen here and there. The writing also doesn't linger too much on stuff and moves fast from scene to scene. Then before going into the final route the game essentially forces you to re-read all flashbacks in linear order in one scenario called "Reminescence", which is like 1/2 of the second game in term of script. You can (and should) CTRL through most of it, but it's quite a massive block.
Gotcha, thanks for the heads up. It doesn't sound that bad, thankfully. Like you said, I'll just fast-forward through most of it if I ever get around to playing the game.
NISA plz start doing VNs :(
www.siliconera.com
Yoru, Tomosu Announced by NIS as a New Horror Visual Novel for PS4 and Switch
NIS announced a new horror visual novel for PS4 and Switch called "Yoru, Tomosu" that is set in a girls' academy with a strange past.
www.siliconera.com
NISA plz start doing VNs :(
Yoru, Tomosu Announced by NIS as a New Horror Visual Novel for PS4 and Switch
NIS announced a new horror visual novel for PS4 and Switch called "Yoru, Tomosu" that is set in a girls' academy with a strange past.
NISA: What's a VN?
That Disgaea thing you tried once... late in the PSP cycle... >_> (I guess Sakura Wars counts too)
Guess that was them too (and yes, I did forget about it). Kind of weird that out of all the properties they own already, they went on a VN based on an anime of all things.
Same developer as My Girlfriend is a Mermaid, if you've played that one.
I honestly feel that this and the Jack the Ripper vn could do well over here. I think both titles have more appealing art than several of NISA's other releases, there is a market for horror vns on consoles, and there is interest in fiction about Jack the Ripper.
Hey guys what are some Visual Novels you would recommend on the Switch? Right now I'd say I'm looking for mystery type stuff.
For the record I've played:
- AI The Somniun Files
- Ace Attorney Trilogy
- VA11-HALL-A
- Watched the Steins;Gate anime so I'm not too interested in the VN version right now
For the record I've played:
- AI The Somniun Files
- Ace Attorney Trilogy
- VA11-HALL-A
- Watched the Steins;Gate anime so I'm not too interested in the VN version right now
Raging Loop and Worldend Syndrome might be what you are looking for. Depending on how much mystery you want, Code Realize: Guardians of Rebirth's overarching plot is about a mystery though the title does have a focus on romance too.
I got the demo for Worldend Syndrome so I'll be trying that out now.
Raging Loop I heard good things about but the artstyle really turns me off.
What are you looking for? Dating sims, sci-fi, horror, otome, bl?
On the top of my head: Ever17, 999, Raging Loop. They don't have any erotic parts, and the last two are easy to get (Both are on Steam).
That one is waaaaay too long for someone that's just starting out. I'd recommend 999 which still has some gameplay.
That's a game changer, DS version of 999 is clunky but the best way to play (remasters changed some things). I highly recommend you start with that one.