Visual Novels -- Awesome?

[Clo]

Has anyone ever played one? I've played two and I loved them both. Katawa Shoujo is the best of the two, and even though it is hentai, I actually thought it was well-written and I enjoyed the characters (edit: hentai is awesome ANYWAY). My favorite was Rin, I thought her story was very sweet and poetic. Plus, I like talking about this game with parties of nerds: "DID YOU EVER PLAY THAT GAME WHERE YOU SCREW DISABLED GIRLS?"

I also played To the Moon and the graphics were very SNES, but the storyline was also very sweet and sad and interesting.

Now I am a visual novel fan, but I don't have time to play them anymore. Which is sad, but alas.

Visual novel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_novel)

Katawa Shoujo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katawa_Shoujo)

[Flying Mullet]

Sounds like an updated take on "Choose your own adventure" books.

[Clo]

That's sort of what they are. And they are awesome!

Some of them do have mini-games though. I believe To the Moon did.

[Laddy]

I'm not a huge visual novel fan, but I do play them if they're any good and I'm open to suggestions.

I'd like my visual novel game with stronger gameplay elements, though. Maybe with some RPG-like stats that you raise that allows access to new events and storylines. :p

[Agent Proto]

If you enjoy visual novel games, you might enjoy Hotel Dusk for the DS, but it's not exactly a dating sim game like the game you might be referring to. :p It's still awesome though!

[Laddy]

999 is maybe the best game on the DS, so that and Hotel Dusk are awesome suggestions.

[Shauna]

Phoenix Wright is also considered a VN, so yeah. With Hotel Dusk and 999 in this genre, I think they're pretty good. xD

I have yet to try one of the ones that never leave Japan though, and can only be played via precisely 1 million patches. Don't know if I have the patience for that noise, though.

[Freya]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6m8ubbKOn1r3ubimo1_500.png
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6m8ubbKOn1r3ubimo2_500.png

I love VN's! One of my favorites and one of the only legit english translated games that isn't hentai is Yo-jin-bo (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.223230-LadyRhian-reviews-Yo-Jin-Bo-The-Bodyguards-a-Visual-Novel). It's cute and actually really funny and for some reason in feudal japan they make a lot of pop culture references....

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9edwrQUsy1r2lagso1_500.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8qiycb1tS1r75cwvo1_500.png

[krissy]

999 is the best
does it count?

[ShunNakamura]

Another non-hentai Variant available in English with RPG elements is Aselia the Eternal (http://www.jbox.com/product/jast002). Gameplay wise it is better than Utawarerumono, though the latter can be much more difficult(I have yet to beat Utawarerumono on the most difficult setting).

However, if you are into the ones that are just choose your own adventures for computers without the gameplay elements of Aselia, you should try Family Project (http://www.jlist.com/product/GC033). It is AWESOME. I think it might even be better than Fate/Stay Night(and I really like that one!) and more importantly it has a legitimate English version unlike Fate/Stay Night.

[Quindiana Jones]

I respect any medium of entertainment that, when discussing titles, requires the [forgotten word] "non-hentai". xD

Note: Bloody presque vu. Help me remember what I mean.

[Citizen Bleys]

descriptor?

[Quindiana Jones]

Nah, pretty sure it's a "pre-" word. Like prefix, but bigger.

[Clo]

....prefacing...

[Quindiana Jones]

No, of course not.

But anyway. I think visual novels, when done well, are pretty cool. I'm no expert on the topic, though. Any other recommendations?

[Ultima Shadow]

Visual Novels are like... pretty much the best thing ever.

...and I'm terribly disappointed that neither Umineko, Tsukihime nor Clannad has been mentioned yet. :colbert:

...so I'll just mention them all instead. Like I just did. Read them. All of them Also, Fate/Stay Night. Read that one too. Tsukihime and FSN got some hentai scenes, but Umineko and Clannad are "safe". Hentai scenes are NOT valid reasons to avoid Tsukihime and FSN though. :colbert:

[Quindiana Jones]

Where can I get them? I'M SUCH A NOOB. :(

[Ultima Shadow]

For the ones I mentioned... you can either try finding some site from which you can buy/import the actual games... or you can just "be a pirate, yarrr!" :shifty:

...the later is probably much easier. Google the right words, and it shouldn't be too hard to find some good stuff. And all of them also have fan-made english patches, which should be easy to find and are legal to download.

[ShunNakamura]

Where can I get them? I'M SUCH A NOOB. :(
Well if you want a 'legitimate' copy the links in mine to J-List/J-Box can net you a download/disc for only 30 bucks! Heck if you are into Yaoi J-List even has one of those. Or if you like racing games they have some dating-sims/VNs with racing gameplay elements. Yeah someone in Japan decided that racing games weren't good enough, they needed some hentai! Actually since this is Japan we are talking about they have probably added hentai to just about everything.


However, if you want to play one of the ones that aren't yet officially translated like Fate/Stay Night or Utawarerumono or etc you are pretty much limited to importing and fan patching or pirating and fan patching.

[Lonely Paper Star]

I've played Phoenix Wright, 999, and Theresia on the DS and Ever17 on PC. My friend keeps telling me to play Kana Little Sister but I haven't gotten around to it.

I LOVE 999 and will play it over and over. Not dismissing the others, though. They're all pretty good. :D ... And Ever17 is by the same writer as 999, so that was my main reason for playing it.

[Clo]

I'm intrigued about 999. Why is it so good?

[Laddy]

Think Professor Layton meets Saw.

[krissy]

it's just really well written, great cast, and great music and tension.

[Jiro]

Because it excels in all of the areas important to a visual novel