A Visual Novel Appreciator starting a Blog
by
, 01-01-2015 at 05:34 PM (1668 Views)
Well now, 2015 has come around and I think I'll be using the opportunity of being in a time of gathering new resolve and motivations to do stuff to make a little blog of my own.
Memorable doesn't even begin to describe this
See mainly last year in particular I've been discovering the medium of visual novels for myself. I have a few well-known titles under my belt now but I will still gladly expand on that. I have a list of visual novels I'd like to read this year, and I imagine it will only grow instead of getting smaller the more I read.
Now some of you might be asking yourself what the hell a visual novel even is. As if I haven't already spammed this on the forums enough times, here's a quick rundown. A visual novel is basically the combination of novel, film, anime and game into one. It is mainly experienced through reading, but is supplemented by background music, visuals, character portraits and sometimes voice acting. The game element comes in through branching paths usually in the form of choices. You can more or less control the way the story progresses every now and then. Put all that together, you got a visual novel.*(Note that visual novels without branching paths are sometimes also called "sound novels" or "kinetic novels")
Example of a choice that completely changes where the story goes
The most commonly known example of a visual novel is the Phoenix Wright series, though those games include more gameplay and puzzle solving than most visual novels do. Nonetheless, they are a very good introduction to visual novels and can give a good feel of what reading one is like.
But the world of visual novels streches far beyond Phoenix Wright. The vast majority of the visual novel classics have never been localized in any English-speaking countries and are still stuck over in Japan, something I find to be a shame considering how much of them are absolutely amazing and stories I could recommend to anyone.
Some visual novels have stark constrasts between very lighthearted and very dark
So what about this blog? Well as I said, I have a list of visual novels I'd like to read sooner rather than later and so I thought I'd blog about them as I go. If you're unfamiliar with the medium, don't worry about that. I'll just speak of my experiences going through the storylines. I'll be careful to mark spoilers for those interested in going through the visual novels themselves. Once I finish a visual novel, I will then write my overall thoughts in a review.
My first entry on my To-Read-List was "G-senjou no Maou" (The Devil on G-String), and I finished it earlier today. One heck of a start for 2015, I might say! I will write my thoughts on that particular visual novel in a review shortly, before I get caught up on the next item on my list. I might also throw in a review of a visual novel I've already finished every now and then.
My current To-Read-List for 2015 is as follows:
- Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo
- Katawa Shoujo
- The Muv-Luv trilogy
- Da Capo I and II
- Ever17
- Saya no Uta
- Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two
- Kanon
- Air
- Little Busters! Ecstasy
- Rewrite Harvest Festa
- Angel Beats! 1st Beat
This is the list of all the visual novels I've read so far. I keep it up to date.
To a happy year 2015!