Favorite Visual Novel Games? Why?

I thought this would be a great discussion, especially considering this is a forum for the development of one.

For me, I absolutely love Clannad. Not only is it very well written, but I can very easily relate to the main character and his situations, as well as his decisions in dealing with those situations. My absolute favorite part of reading it was how it could get really funny in one line, and the line right afterwards would suddenly be extremely sad. Everything in the game is executed perfectly, and I loved it thoroughly. Originally expecting an eroge, I left happy regardless. I don't regret it one bit.

I liked 999 as well. It was a great story, having both humorous and dramatic parts. It was definitely touching, but it just didn't relate to me as well as Clannad did. Phoenix Wright and Ghost Trick are the same here, in my opinion. Entertaining games/concepts, but didn't touch me as much as Clannad did... though all 3 of these games had a lot more "oh my god this is amazing whoaaa!" moments.

So, what about you guys? What is your favorite visual novel game, and why is it your favorite? What do you look for in these types of games?

Honestly I've only played Katawa Shoujo. I've been meaning to play Steins;Gate and Clannad, but eh. I did thoroughly enjoy KS though!

I haven't played any visual novels. I probably should, but haven't had the time to download or play any of these monstrosities. I'm not huge on anime either. Woo!

I'm going to have an unpopular opinion here. Kira☆Kira is probably my favorite. It has such a nice flow to it, and the sheer amount of CG blows me away every time.

Rainbow Wavedash wrote:I'm going to have an unpopular opinion here. [Only admins are allowed to see this link] is probably my favorite. It has such a nice flow to it, and the sheer amount of CG blows me away every time.

"[Only admins are allowed to see this link]" D:

Potentialing wrote:"[Only admins are allowed to see this link]" D:

That's no good. Fixed.

Rainbow Wavedash wrote:

Potentialing wrote:"[Only admins are allowed to see this link]" D:

That's no good. Fixed.

Ahh, there we go. Unfortunately, I've never played Kira☆Kira. In the near future, I'll definitely give that one a shot!

Mine would have to be G-Senjou no Maou. I finished it pretty recently.

It was perfect in almost every aspect. The writing was phenomenal, the music befit every scene it was used in, and, too, was perfect - with a good example being their use of Marche Slave.

Every character was unique (well, unique is an understatement for Usami), strongly constructed, and, first and foremost, interesting. You didn't just understand the character's archetype by looking at their hair - and some characters (namely Kanon) have something they'd only reveal if you went down their route.

The general construction and execution of the writing was perfect though. It's by far one of the best story lines (if not the best, I dare say) I've ever read in anything I've encountered.

Something I really enjoyed about it was that though it kept the player guessing at things (such as who Maou is), it wouldn't treat you as an idiot like too many stories do nowadays, it treated you as a generally smart human individual, even if you might be wrong.

Lastly, it was emotional. Dear god was it emotional. I cried so hard when I finished it, I can't remember crying that hard in years. I generally don't cry at much. It executed that so well.

Hello, with my first post i will say that my favourite VN is also Katawa Shoujo, but i have played a couple of others which are still fun, but the story and feels from KS beat them all by far, as you can probably tell by my avatar. Despite this i am currently looking forward to the release of Cradle Song by Dischan, Missing Stars by Somnova & this.

I've played through Rumbling Hearts, Katawa Shoujo. I loved KS to death and liked Rumbling Hearts.

I partially played through Deiz, not fully understanding what it was. That was shocking surprise. If you haven't played it, it's a lot like watching 'The Crying Game'. And if you haven't seen that, then watch it. Not with mom though.

Oh, and I did check out that pigeon dating game after cracked.com wrote an article about it. I heard that all hard drugs are illegal in Japan, but that game makes me think otherwise.

Regrettably, my itinerary usually prevents me from playing Visual Novels. Once, however, my younger sister insisted that I join her in a playthrough of Ever17: The Out of Infinity. It was a very charming experience. Perhaps I shall delegate my star pupil an assignment to look further into this subject.

After all, what could go wrong with a relaxing examination of human electronic dramas? Since first contact, I have always held great trust in the Japanese. Their culture is so polite and likable.

I'm not sure if I have a "gold standard" visual novel. But here are a few which I've really enjoyed in my years as a fan:

* True Love 95. For years and years, this was one of maybe four games in English with complex gameplay. (Right along with Thousand Arms, about two-thirds of the Harvest Moon franchise, and the freeware game Romancing Walker.) I admit that these days, the characters in True Love look oddly proportioned, and some of the gameplay is frustrating or obscure. But I finished about half the routes. Since my roots as a fan are in general video games, it didn't take much for me to appreciate complex romance games.

* Kana Little Sister. The first straightforward visual novel that I read, and probably one of the best that was available in 2003. Has problems with contrived drama, and some of the crucial decisions are kind of blind guesses. Still, it's memorable.

* A Midsummer Day's Resonance. Around spring 2005, I was becoming frustrated with fandom. It looked like there would be barely any more translated games... and I knew that visual novels were just as subject to Sturgeon's Law as anything else. But then I found the fan translation scene. AMDR was one of several freeware VNs that were translated by the people at Insani.org. It's an hour long story with no choices or gameplay. Not a hint of harem or NSFW content. While I had some complaints with the ending, I still thought the story was innovative and genuinely moving.

* Black Pencil. Oh yeah, and I discovered the western visual novel scene around the same time. A few dedicated people had already created and released freeware VNs. This was the first one that I really got into. I liked its life and death drama, and its minimalistic black-and-white aesthetic. Again, not a hint of harem or NSFW content.

* Sakura Wars (5): So Long My Love. Aside from licensed games and sports games, it was one of the last few PS2 games sold in English. I had been hoping for years that someone, anyone would release a translated Sakura Wars game. My expectations were so lofty that I admit that I was kind of disappointed. But it has a number of enjoyable aspects -- the over-the-top characters and plot, the walk-around-town game mechanics, and the mix of VN and strategy RPG gameplay.

* Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side. Again, I had been hoping for years that someone, anyone would release a translated Tokimemo game. Then a person known as Jjjewel and other people on the GBATemp forum started translating the first DS game in early 2010. Against all expectations, they released several fan translation patches, culminating in a complete and bug-free patch in less than a year's time. I found the gameplay sometimes frustrating, as there were few in-game explanations for how to progress or earn a good ending. Also, it was annoying to realize that the main character could not opt out of a relationship. Still, I managed to enjoy the game thanks to a couple FAQs. I liked several characters, as well as the four relationships between NPCs.

wolvenfire86 wrote:Oh, and I did check out that pigeon dating game after cracked.com wrote an article about it.

That would be Hatoful Boyfriend. A freeware visual novel was translated into English by fans, and some time later, an expanded version was released for sale on DLSite (for a modest price, and no need to use translation patches). I found it pretty entertaining. It's essentially a reverse harem story with a hot-blooded main character and a ton of absurdity. Furthermore, the writing gradually changes from a spamfic level of ridiculousness to surprisingly serious.

I haven't played most of the mentioned games, though I do have a few things to mention. Katawa Shoujo isn't exactly the most ideal visual novel, in my opinion. I have my gripes about it, but it has some great moments too. I also want to mention that I am currently playing Kira☆Kira, thanks to Rainbow Wavedash's recommendation.

gekiganwing wrote:* Kana Little Sister. The first straightforward visual novel that I read, and probably one of the best that was available in 2003. Has problems with contrived drama, and some of the crucial decisions are kind of blind guesses. Still, it's memorable.

I got the chance to play this one too. It is absolutely a great story, and it's also very appealing. I agree about the choices in the game being pretty vague, though. The true ending bothered me for a while after I got it. Pretty disappointing, and the game left me on a cop-out'ey note.

gekiganwing wrote:

wolvenfire86 wrote:Oh, and I did check out that pigeon dating game after cracked.com wrote an article about it.

That would be Hatoful Boyfriend. A freeware visual novel was translated into English by fans, and some time later, an expanded version was released for sale on DLSite (for a modest price, and no need to use translation patches). I found it pretty entertaining. It's essentially a reverse harem story with a hot-blooded main character and a ton of absurdity. Furthermore, the writing gradually changes from a spamfic level of ridiculousness to surprisingly serious.

... and suddenly, I have an urge to play this. Too bad I'm working on Kira☆Kira now.

............so how 'bout that Phoenix Drive? Joking aside, I actually love the artstyle in it. I'm not even talking about the sex scenes, either! That artist is awesome!

Last topic I want to bring up. Have any of you played Snow Sakura? It's a great localized visual novel. It's very funny, and can quickly become depressing in a single sentence, much like Clannad. I should mention, though, that the sex scenes are actually tied to the story. If that bothers you, then you may as well pass up the game.

I've only read a few VN's, but out of all of them my favorite was Fate/Stay Night (UBW route). Other VN's I've read are Clannad (Saw the anime first so only completed one route), Katawa Shoujo (100%'ed), and Narcissu (Finished). I want to read Planetarian, Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer, and Little Busters in the unknown future.

rockmanll wrote:I've only read a few VN's, but out of all of them my favorite was Fate/Stay Night (UBW route). Other VN's I've read are Clannad (Saw the anime first so only completed one route), Katawa Shoujo (100%'ed), and Narcissu (Finished). I want to read Planetarian, Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer, and Little Busters in the unknown future.

Planetarian's pretty good. You should check out Kanon, though.

I still need to play Kira☆Kira, but I keep getting sidetracked from other things, like music and homework. ^^;

Potentialing wrote:

rockmanll wrote:I've only read a few VN's, but out of all of them my favorite was Fate/Stay Night (UBW route). Other VN's I've read are Clannad (Saw the anime first so only completed one route), Katawa Shoujo (100%'ed), and Narcissu (Finished). I want to read Planetarian, Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer, and Little Busters in the unknown future.

Planetarian's pretty good. You should check out Kanon, though.

I still need to play Kira☆Kira, but I keep getting sidetracked from other things, like music and homework. ^^;

I'm delaying reading Kanon, Stein;Gate, and a few others because they all have an anime adaptation that I hear are very well made. Can't decide if I want to read it first or watch it first, I'm using this guide for recommendations.

If you have not yet read Tears 9, 10 for iOS or Android, then you should do so. It's not bad. Not much in terms of visuals, and I don't remember much about the music. It looks like a harem story for about five minutes... but then it takes a sharp right turn, and the story is actually about more realistic and challenging topics. Overall, I recommend this visual novel, but I have a major complaint. Do NOT read the following spoiler text unless you are sure you want to be spoiled!

Spoiler:

Potentialing wrote:Last topic I want to bring up. Have any of you played Snow Sakura? It's a great localized visual novel. It's very funny, and can quickly become depressing in a single sentence, much like Clannad. I should mention, though, that the sex scenes are actually tied to the story. If that bothers you, then you may as well pass up the game.

I have a game disc of Snow Sakura. I thought it was okay but unremarkable. It's currently sitting around, collecting dust (like way too much of my video game collection, orz).

Oh god how does someone even decide, I'm more of a fan of the comedy ones but that hardly narrows it down. I could be nostalgic and say Shuffle! that was the first VN I read and the first anime I watched but I can't say it's my favorite after all the ones I've read since then. Honestly I can't really narrow it down, there was:
CROSS CHANNEL (The protagonist only thinks with his dick the whole time though)
My Girlfriend is the President
Amusement Park
DA Capo (too many feels though)
Clannad (also too many feels
Edelweiss (the whole damn point of the game is just hilarious)
Little Busters! (again with the feels i'm not made of stone)
Phantom of Inferno
Yume Miru Kusuri- A Drug that Makes You Sleep (damn feels)
And so many more. Really my favorite changes often So I guess for right now I'd say DA Capo.

I guess I could pick the one that bored a hole in my brain that I will never forget But I can't say I enjoyed it it just horrifies me, that would be Taimanin Asagi (Basically 3 hours of violent rape scenes) The story would have been good if you could remember what the hell the story was by the end of the horrifically violent rape scenes.

Utawarerumono was the most crushing VN I ever played (crushing in the "ow my heart hurts this is so sad" way), but it's not a very standard visual novel and it's not the best thing ever. KS is probably my favorite. I've been through KS, Utawarerumono, FS/N, Shuffle!, Wanko to Kurasou (uncomfortable other societies!), watched Umineko no naku Koro ni...that's about it I guess.

Also everyone here should watch AnoHana and respond about it. ;-;

ctrl+f, looked up Sengoku Rance, no results. I am disappointed.

Hands down my favorite VN was Sengoku Rance, it had an amazing story, challenging battle system, long replay value, and the H was top tier imo. It was like a legit jrpg with boobs, whats not to like?

madokahybrid wrote:Utawarerumono was the most crushing VN I ever played (crushing in the "ow my heart hurts this is so sad" way), but it's not a very standard visual novel and it's not the best thing ever. KS is probably my favorite.

I always wanted to try Utawarerumono, but cant afford it at the moment. The anime was awesome and I wanted more. KS was great though

LTG wrote:ctrl+f, looked up Sengoku Rance, no results. I am disappointed.

Hands down my favorite VN was Sengoku Rance, it had an amazing story, challenging battle system, long replay value, and the H was top tier imo. It was like a legit jrpg with boobs, whats not to like?

Sengoku Rance is amazing, but that would be my favourite Eroge, not Visual Novel, it goes to the game side more than the VN side.

My favourite 5 VNs are:
1 Fate Stay Night: The character development, the story, the amounts of win, epic battles, comic situations, mistery, in summary it has everything except well written ero scenes.
2 Umineko no naku koro ni, the mistery, the instrospection in the characters behavior and thoughts, the endless battle against the illusions, the music, and my mind being destroyed by the twisted ways that the events are unfold in the history make this VN my number 2.
3 Saya No Uta This VN left a great inpresion on me, i read it in one night and it blew my mind, it's a visual novel with gore, rape, cannibalism, But even with that altogether, in it's very core it's a love story and a very deep one.
4 Muv Luv Alternative an epic visual novel with mechas, lots of action, great charactes, amazing twists of plot,romance, it has everything to be in my top 3 but there was a particular scene that left so much rage on me that i can't bring myself to put it in my top 3.
5 Swang Song: Not your tipical VN, this one focuses in the strenght of mind and the difficulties of surviving an apocaliptic scenario in Japan, great twists of plot, character development and a different aproach to the tematic of visual novels.

LTG wrote:ctrl+f, looked up Sengoku Rance, no results. I am disappointed.

Hands down my favorite VN was Sengoku Rance, it had an amazing story, challenging battle system, long replay value, and the H was top tier imo. It was like a legit jrpg with boobs, whats not to like?

Sengouku Rance is a H-Game, not a VN.

You really can't class the two together.

It's good, to be sure, but one can't group H-Games/eroges and VNs together. You play them for completely different reasons, though both can be good in their own right.

euphoria by clock-up

It does what a good story does.

Have a simple premise and make it immerses you in the resulting complexity.

Acrylia wrote:I haven't played any visual novels. I probably should, but haven't had the time to download or play any of these monstrosities. I'm not huge on anime either. Woo!

You can 100% finish a few in less than an hour if you know what to look for.

Bible black infection for example took me 15 minutes blind.

Ceresbane wrote:

Acrylia wrote:I haven't played any visual novels. I probably should, but haven't had the time to download or play any of these monstrosities. I'm not huge on anime either. Woo!

You can 100% finish a few in less than an hour if you know what to look for.

Bible black infection for example took me 15 minutes blind.

Bible Black... That works be an h-game, not a visual novel correct? They tend to be much shorter.