Try The Silver Case and its sequel The 25th Ward for truly crazy, mindbending stuff. Music by Masafumi Takada (No More Heroes, Killer7) and Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill).
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Visuals Novels : Where to Begin? The Genre's Best ?
- Thread starter Arsic
- Start date
Ace Attorney 1-6 (2 and 4 are the weakest but they're still decent games)
Zero Escape Trilogy (999 and VLR are fantastic, ZTD was very underwhelming. Great puzzles tho)
Zero Escape Trilogy (999 and VLR are fantastic, ZTD was very underwhelming. Great puzzles tho)
As a counterpoint, it was the first "pure" VN I had finished though. Meaning the first without any added on gameplay elements like the ZE and DR series. So I think people can enjoy it even if they aren't familiar with a bunch of VNs and they're style. They do have to have a fair bit of patience and a willingness just to read a bunch because it's one of those with no voice acting so people have to get really engaged and pay attention a bit more than with say Danganronpa.
Edit:
As a devil's advocate point of view on Zero Escape 3: Zero Time Dilemma, after hearing endless criticism and putting it off for years, it turned out to be better than I expected. I felt a little bad that I watched a complete playthrough, but I couldn't justify spending twice as much time or more on the game as I had very low expectations and equally low free time. What I got though was a somewhat uneven, but also very touching at times wrap up. And I got an idea for a fanfic that'd fix the most egregious holes and although I gave up writing it I've got a perfect headcanon ending now so the game's somewhat lame cliffhanger doesn't bother me anymore. š
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I've never actually seen the anime, but I can see how it would be good. The game feels very episodic. Comes with after story too.
i'm just saying that fata morgana would not probably be a good experience for people new to the genre. they'd probably want to try like A.I. or 999 first
Yeah I get where you're coming from, no worries. I was just offering a counter perspective based on my own experiences, but you're absolutely right that 999 and AI (and DR depending on their propensity for anime silliness) are better starting points for the average gamer, as for one thing, they're actually games! š
Edit:
Also, nice avatar! We could all use more Dougie in our lives. I'm looking forward to Wisteria!
OP
OP
How did you even come to this conclusion based off of my posts?
Visual novel games arent RPGs by nature, and I did mention loving 13 sentinels which is far more rpg than anything listed in the entire thread so far.
I have completed P5 with over 120 hours and P4. LOVE a good JRPG, and have played a vast majority since I started playing them 25 years ago at this point.
I just am candid with knowing what holds my interest. I don't need another back log game that started off cool then I never come back to it. Even DQXI in the jrpg category I grew dull of. Too much text to take in story beats loses me these days. Fully voiced isn't a must but a majority voiced is ideal.
It sounds like though 999 and AI are the two I should go for based off of what I've read though.
$60 for AI right now on steam. But winter sale is right around the corner!
Lots of people are going to recommend you a lot of classics in the genre like Umineko, Muv-Luv Alternative and The House in Fata Morgana, etc.
They may be good to great VNs but they are terrible visual novels to start with for beginners because they take way too long to read (over 100 hrs each for Umineko and Muv-Luv and over 40 hours for fata morgana) and there is little to no gameplay, like not even making choices.
The time investment is so long that it is unlikely that you'll make it to the end. I haven't been able to finish the latter two and the first one is just so long I won't even try.
I do enjoy 90s VNs because at least they have exploration and the visuals are better, but there's the typical horrible anime tropes with terrible treatment of women so I can't recommend them.
In terms of beginner friendly visual novels, I'm playing through 428:Shibuya Scramble right now and loving it and think it could be a good choice.
Pros:
- 25-30 hours to complete: That's still too long IMO, but hard to find good shorter experiences in the genre.
- Stand alone story: The zero escape, danganronpa and ace attorney series are good because they have more gameplay, but will end up being a huge time commitment if you want to play every game in the series. I haven't played AA, but for Zero Escape and Danganronpa it feels like a requirement
- Live action screenshots: No anime is a huge plus for me, might be a minus for others, but I don't like the modern anime aesthetic
- No sexualized underage characters: This shouldn't have to be a pro, but when it comes to VNs it's super rare
- Choices actually matter: Treating each chapter as a puzzle to get each character to the end makes it more engaging
Cons:
- Skipping text you've already read isn't as smooth as in most other VNs, usually you can skip to within a few screens though so it's not a huge issue
- Doesn't seem to be a big variety in music so far
- No voice acting: It's a plus for me because I read faster than characters speak their lines so I always end up skipping anyway
Time to go back to playing it now.
Edit: Moving no voice acting to cons based on your comments.
They may be good to great VNs but they are terrible visual novels to start with for beginners because they take way too long to read (over 100 hrs each for Umineko and Muv-Luv and over 40 hours for fata morgana) and there is little to no gameplay, like not even making choices.
The time investment is so long that it is unlikely that you'll make it to the end. I haven't been able to finish the latter two and the first one is just so long I won't even try.
I do enjoy 90s VNs because at least they have exploration and the visuals are better, but there's the typical horrible anime tropes with terrible treatment of women so I can't recommend them.
In terms of beginner friendly visual novels, I'm playing through 428:Shibuya Scramble right now and loving it and think it could be a good choice.
Pros:
- 25-30 hours to complete: That's still too long IMO, but hard to find good shorter experiences in the genre.
- Stand alone story: The zero escape, danganronpa and ace attorney series are good because they have more gameplay, but will end up being a huge time commitment if you want to play every game in the series. I haven't played AA, but for Zero Escape and Danganronpa it feels like a requirement
- Live action screenshots: No anime is a huge plus for me, might be a minus for others, but I don't like the modern anime aesthetic
- No sexualized underage characters: This shouldn't have to be a pro, but when it comes to VNs it's super rare
- Choices actually matter: Treating each chapter as a puzzle to get each character to the end makes it more engaging
Cons:
- Skipping text you've already read isn't as smooth as in most other VNs, usually you can skip to within a few screens though so it's not a huge issue
- Doesn't seem to be a big variety in music so far
- No voice acting: It's a plus for me because I read faster than characters speak their lines so I always end up skipping anyway
Time to go back to playing it now.
Edit: Moving no voice acting to cons based on your comments.
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AI will likely get discounts soon
Afaik the nonary games is 30usd at steam now it includes 3 games (999/VLR/ZTD) 2 great games for 30usd is great
Steins;Gate is worth returning to at some point, it does eventually get pretty damn fantastic, but the first half sucks. It's a hard sell but you just have to kind of push through it lol.
As others have said, House in Fata Morgana, 999, etc.
As others have said, House in Fata Morgana, 999, etc.
yeah the disclaimer for nonary games package is that ZTD basically had the budget of a mcdonalds combo meal and the story/resolution is kind of a mess. it's "fine" i guess but really underwhelming for fans tbh
13 Sentinels is fairly kinetic, not really common for the genre so I'd recommend something on the shorter side, like Planetarian. It's available on iOS, and is only a few hours long.
After that, I'd say go for Raging Loop. The MC has voice acting, and the gimmick throughout is pretty interesting.
From there, I guess it would depend on the kind of VN you're looking for.
Fata Morgana if you want something absurdly good and emotional.
Cute guys -> Code Realize
Cute girls -> Aokana
Root Double is also good, though I thought it ran a little long and had waaaay too many flashbacks.
Danganronpa, Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, and AI Somnium Files are also more ADV games than VNs. They might give you the wrong idea about the genre. I also thought Somnium Files was pretty crap, don't play it.
After that, I'd say go for Raging Loop. The MC has voice acting, and the gimmick throughout is pretty interesting.
From there, I guess it would depend on the kind of VN you're looking for.
Fata Morgana if you want something absurdly good and emotional.
Cute guys -> Code Realize
Cute girls -> Aokana
Root Double is also good, though I thought it ran a little long and had waaaay too many flashbacks.
Danganronpa, Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, and AI Somnium Files are also more ADV games than VNs. They might give you the wrong idea about the genre. I also thought Somnium Files was pretty crap, don't play it.
Off topic, but is there anything like a visual novel book club on reset?
Huh, first I've heard of it, but looks neat. Will def take a look during the winter sale. Thx for reccomending it.
Huh, first I've heard of it, but looks neat. Will def take a look during the winter sale. Thx for reccomending it.
Visual Novel Community Thread: No Auto Read Required
Hello friends, welcome to the Visual Novels Community Thread! Built from the ashes of a fallen wasteland, this community was created to serve as a place of discussion for beginners and veterans alike. It's a new ERA, yes it is! No untagged NSFW posts in the thread, generally try to avoid...
www.resetera.com
The Silver Case and 428 are the two best VNs I've played.
Hotel Dusk is probably better defined as a puzzle adventure game, but that's a tremendous experience as well.
Hotel Dusk is probably better defined as a puzzle adventure game, but that's a tremendous experience as well.
People saying stuff like Dangenrompa and Ace Attorney aren't being truthful cause those are not visual novels. They are adventure games. The best visual novel I've ever played (meaning a game that is all text and pictures) is 428 Shibuya Scramble. it is an amazing crime thriller that only gets better the longer it goes.
Games can be more than a single genre. Danganronpa and AA are adventure games and VNs. Other games like Utawarerumono and Eushully's games are both SRPGs and VNs. Some people even consider Blazblue a VN, though that's mostly due to Xblaze being part of the series.
It's legit the first sentence in the topic. Why comment if you're just gonna read the Title? This place shouldn't be Twitter.
Sorry if I sound aggressive but I'm kind of tired of drive-by posts like this, even if you had good intentions.
Having played only steins; gate and danganronpa 1-2 (but with 13 sentinels added to the backlog), I'd recommend both.
There is no peak of the genre, it depends on your preferences as a reader. there are a lot of fantastic VNs with great writing.
AI The Somnium Files is not one of them. it was really mediocre. Raging Loop was a much better story.
Be aware that not all the visual novels are the same. In the most traditional ones, the gameplay is reduced to a bare minimum (e.g., just making choices which influence the ending). Others, instead, have a more consistent gameplay (e.g., investigation in the crime scene, trials, etc.). If you like a type of visual novel, you won't necessarily like the other. But at the same time both of them are worth trying, in my opinion.
First of all, I would suggest you to start with non-traditional visual novels - go for the Ace Attorney 123 Trilogy, or the Zero Escape Saga (my first VN ever was Virtue's Last Reward, for reference). They have consistent plots, but at the same time you won't only read - you will have consistent gameplay sections as well. I you like them, next you may try traditional visual novels (you can check the Visual Novel Community Thead here for a huge number of suggestions), possibly starting with not very long ones. The best way to enjoy this genre is approaching it step by step. It became the genre I am currently playing and enjoying the most together with JRPGs with such an approach.
First of all, I would suggest you to start with non-traditional visual novels - go for the Ace Attorney 123 Trilogy, or the Zero Escape Saga (my first VN ever was Virtue's Last Reward, for reference). They have consistent plots, but at the same time you won't only read - you will have consistent gameplay sections as well. I you like them, next you may try traditional visual novels (you can check the Visual Novel Community Thead here for a huge number of suggestions), possibly starting with not very long ones. The best way to enjoy this genre is approaching it step by step. It became the genre I am currently playing and enjoying the most together with JRPGs with such an approach.
Everyone else has been giving great choices, but I'd also like to pipe up and say that Chaos;Child is fantastic and well worth reading - with the caveat that it's a slow burn and *very* graphic. Maybe wait until you have a few VNs under your belt!
I'm by no means an expert as I've only really played the usual suspects of Ace Attorney, Zero Escape and Danganronpa, but I can vouch for all of them.
Firstly, Ace Attorney. Specifically I recommend playing the first three games, which are bundled as the Ace Attorney Trilogy on various platforms (although I'm more fond of the sprites on the original DS versions). To explain the premise of Ace Attorney if you've never heard of it, you play as rookie-turned-legendary lawyer Phoenix Wright, a hero who takes on the seemingly impossible cases that no one else will, and fights to protect the innocent no matter the cost. Each game consists of four or five self-contained murder mystery stories, which are also connected by a main story. The mystery writing is excellent - It's dramatic, twisting and turning, and the way the pieces come together is always earned and satisfying. Most importantly however, it's interactive. Although you are guided along, you will need to use your brain and figure things out, which is really fun. If you're a fan of mysteries at all, I can't recommend it enough. In terms of story and tone, it's a good blend of comedy, drama and emotion, and is quite uplifting and positive overall. The original Phoenix Wright trilogy has probably my favourite overall story in gaming, and the third game, Trials and Tribulations, is possibly my second favourite game of all time, or at least somewhere in that range. Once you're done with the original trilogy, the rest of the series is... varying levels of good. Play them if you want more, but they're not as essential.
Next, Danganronpa, which can be thought of like Ace Attorney's darker and edgier cousin. The premise of Danganronpa is that in each game, 16 high school kids are trapped in some location and forced to play a sadistic killing game, where the only way to return to the outside world is to murder a fellow classmate without being caught. It's again split into several murder mysteries, but what's interesting about Danganronpa is that every victim and killer is one of the 16 characters you know from the beginning. In terms of tone, Danganronpa is a bleak game - don't go into it expecting it to be a cheerful experience. Imo 2 is the pinnacle of the series, and another of my favourite games of all time. 1 is pretty good, while V3 is more divisive (personally I don't like it).
Finally, Zero Escape (AKA 999, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma). The gameplay of the Zero Escape games is in the form of escape-the-room puzzles, and although they're good for what they are, they're far from the main draw. These games are all about the story. In the first game, 999, you play as an ordinary college student who is abducted and awakens on a cruise ship with eight other people, where you are then told by the mysterious mastermind that you only have nine hours to escape before the ship sinks and you all die. I went into 999 with high expectations but what I got was far beyond anything I could have imagined. Again, another one of my top favourite games of all time. Virtue's Last Reward is similarly excellent, but unfortunately the third game is widely agreed to be not very good.
Bonus: I've also played AI: The Somnium Files, and although I liked it and am glad I played it, I wouldn't consider it essential.
Bonus 2: Just going to let Matthewmatosis shill Ghost Trick for me - he sums it up better than I ever could.
Firstly, Ace Attorney. Specifically I recommend playing the first three games, which are bundled as the Ace Attorney Trilogy on various platforms (although I'm more fond of the sprites on the original DS versions). To explain the premise of Ace Attorney if you've never heard of it, you play as rookie-turned-legendary lawyer Phoenix Wright, a hero who takes on the seemingly impossible cases that no one else will, and fights to protect the innocent no matter the cost. Each game consists of four or five self-contained murder mystery stories, which are also connected by a main story. The mystery writing is excellent - It's dramatic, twisting and turning, and the way the pieces come together is always earned and satisfying. Most importantly however, it's interactive. Although you are guided along, you will need to use your brain and figure things out, which is really fun. If you're a fan of mysteries at all, I can't recommend it enough. In terms of story and tone, it's a good blend of comedy, drama and emotion, and is quite uplifting and positive overall. The original Phoenix Wright trilogy has probably my favourite overall story in gaming, and the third game, Trials and Tribulations, is possibly my second favourite game of all time, or at least somewhere in that range. Once you're done with the original trilogy, the rest of the series is... varying levels of good. Play them if you want more, but they're not as essential.
Next, Danganronpa, which can be thought of like Ace Attorney's darker and edgier cousin. The premise of Danganronpa is that in each game, 16 high school kids are trapped in some location and forced to play a sadistic killing game, where the only way to return to the outside world is to murder a fellow classmate without being caught. It's again split into several murder mysteries, but what's interesting about Danganronpa is that every victim and killer is one of the 16 characters you know from the beginning. In terms of tone, Danganronpa is a bleak game - don't go into it expecting it to be a cheerful experience. Imo 2 is the pinnacle of the series, and another of my favourite games of all time. 1 is pretty good, while V3 is more divisive (personally I don't like it).
Finally, Zero Escape (AKA 999, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma). The gameplay of the Zero Escape games is in the form of escape-the-room puzzles, and although they're good for what they are, they're far from the main draw. These games are all about the story. In the first game, 999, you play as an ordinary college student who is abducted and awakens on a cruise ship with eight other people, where you are then told by the mysterious mastermind that you only have nine hours to escape before the ship sinks and you all die. I went into 999 with high expectations but what I got was far beyond anything I could have imagined. Again, another one of my top favourite games of all time. Virtue's Last Reward is similarly excellent, but unfortunately the third game is widely agreed to be not very good.
Bonus: I've also played AI: The Somnium Files, and although I liked it and am glad I played it, I wouldn't consider it essential.
Bonus 2: Just going to let Matthewmatosis shill Ghost Trick for me - he sums it up better than I ever could.
999 is great. VLR really turned me off with how hard it leaned into the anime tropes, didn't bother finishing it because of that.
Uh, what? Phoenix Wright, Dangan Ronpa and Zero Escape are all closer to an adventure game than To the Moon is. What's your basis for deciding the latter are visual novels but To the Moon isn't?
If you liked 13 Sentinels, you'll love the Muv Luv trilogy. The first game is incredibly generic and definitely a barrier, but once you go through it you'll appreciate why it was generic. It had to be so the things that happen further on the series hit harder.
I know the name and the first game make you hesitant on it, but please do yourself a service and play through those games. There's a reason why the third game Muv Luv Alternative is regarded as the best VN ever and the highest rated VN on VNDB.
Also don't look up anything about it online to avoud spoilers! In the first game you only need to finish the Sumika and Meiya route, that way the second game is unlocked. Once you finish one route, you can finish the other within a hour. Besides that you don't need to know anything else, you'll get the full experience from the second game onwards regardless of the choices you make.
I know the name and the first game make you hesitant on it, but please do yourself a service and play through those games. There's a reason why the third game Muv Luv Alternative is regarded as the best VN ever and the highest rated VN on VNDB.
Also don't look up anything about it online to avoud spoilers! In the first game you only need to finish the Sumika and Meiya route, that way the second game is unlocked. Once you finish one route, you can finish the other within a hour. Besides that you don't need to know anything else, you'll get the full experience from the second game onwards regardless of the choices you make.
What are the best horror ones? I enjoyed Saya, but thought the loli content was too fetishistic. I read a fascinating article on Euphoria and Maggot Bait, but I would never get within 20 feet of those games.
AI: Somnium is a really good choice with the caveat that it's expensive and rarely goes on sale. But it has alot of benefits, for one it's a really great story and it's chunky but not stupid-crazy long like some VNs are. The game is essentially fully voiced though the first person perspective means you are reading alot more thoughts than something like 13 sentinels whereby the vast majority of the text is spoken dialogue instead of reading descriptions and thoughts. The gameplay of AI is also unique and can be unintuitive but 100% the game and seeing all the route and content is easy and can be done w/o a guide in your hand.
I think Danganronpa's been mentioned before but it bears repeating because for one it seems to go on sale every other week. It's also much more of a game with actual deduction and some (stupid) minigames thrown in. It's the kind of game that's very easy to hate but very easy to love and it's hard to tell where you'll fall before you play it, it's a very unsubtle, blunt and "stupid but proud of it" kind of game with an amazing visual style.
Based on the content of the OP's post, I have a hard time imagining Fata Morgana is a good recommendation. It's a brilliant game, but if they struggled with Steins;Gate, I can't imagine FN being any better.
S;G is the holy grail of VN's for me, so please do give it another go, but maybe try another few titles under your belt first.
Haven't played AI but I've heard very good things, have also slept on the Zero Escape series but planning on trying it soon.
My recommendation, already mentioned numerous times in this thread, is DanganRonpa. I literally just finished V3 last night and I think this might be my favourite videogame series ever. Once it gets its hooks into you, its hard to think about anything else - I stayed up until 3am last night/this morning finishing the last game because I was just so engrossed.
I'm aware it has its detractors, that sometimes the investigations are a bit simple; its full of anime bullshit; the world-building stuff sometimes has holes on it. But for me, there's just nothing like it out there - it's dramatic and tense and absolutely brilliant and I think would suit you well if you're looking for an easier game to ease you into the genre.
S;G is the holy grail of VN's for me, so please do give it another go, but maybe try another few titles under your belt first.
Haven't played AI but I've heard very good things, have also slept on the Zero Escape series but planning on trying it soon.
My recommendation, already mentioned numerous times in this thread, is DanganRonpa. I literally just finished V3 last night and I think this might be my favourite videogame series ever. Once it gets its hooks into you, its hard to think about anything else - I stayed up until 3am last night/this morning finishing the last game because I was just so engrossed.
I'm aware it has its detractors, that sometimes the investigations are a bit simple; its full of anime bullshit; the world-building stuff sometimes has holes on it. But for me, there's just nothing like it out there - it's dramatic and tense and absolutely brilliant and I think would suit you well if you're looking for an easier game to ease you into the genre.
Most of the really good visual novels are going to require that you plough through some slow stuff at the start to get to the good stuff. steins;gate is like that. Fata Morgana starts REALLY slow, and doesn't really pick up until several hours in. They're both among the very best the genre has to offer.
The Silver Case has chapters which are aggressively oppressive and horror adjacent. I'd really recommend it.
Death Mark is entirely horror. I thought it was alright, a bit of the weird sexualised death imagery stuff though.
People also really dig Raging Loop. I've picked it up, but haven't gotten around to starting it yet.
Any of those untranslated VNs considered among the genre's best? Genuinely curious