Discussion Have you ever played a Visual Novel?

[Asarii]

I really want to play Amnesia, which is an otome game released in August. The situation is pretty unique in that you start out in a relationship with one of the guys and actually work to develop the personality of the protagonist. However, I'm pretty intimidated by the fact that there are way more bad endings than good.

 

[Zeltrax]

I think that you should take the bad endings as a form of experience. And like me, give it many hours
of thought why this had to happen and how all the factors affect that end. I just find it interesting.
Besides having so many bad endings and then a good ending, that feeling..

 

[Asarii]

You're more optimistic than I am. Now that I think about it, having more bad endings will be a good challenge to be careful with the choices I make throughout the game. It seems that the right answer is quite ambiguous in visual novels which is good! A game that is too easy to beat is no fun.

 

[phio_chan]

Someone has tried reading/playing a visual novel titled Katawa Shoujo?
A friend of mine, a boy, read that visual novel and he said it is good. He, who is not a fan of reading novels and not a fan of shoujo.

I gave it a try for few minutes yesterday, the beautiful music was the first thing I enjoyed. Graphic, not much, but not bad either. I wonder about the plot, though.

 

[Zeltrax]

I have KS on my comp, i just downloaded it a week ago
and really, I've played the demo(which covers up to a certain part) and it's not bad at all, at least for a fan-made game.
I want to play it as soon as I'm done with umineko, it seems interesting enough.
Uh, but I got to remember to turn the ero scenes off(or maybe not..) because I'm not sure I want to see them.
The girl that is closest to me atm is the one with that loves running but lost her foots..

I thought the graphic was okay(except for the background) for a fan-made game..its pretty good.

 

[phio_chan]

Ero scenes? And there is even an option to turn it off? I thought it is rather a calm, peaceful, and pure VN.

Either way, what bugs me so far is how I feel the letters are a bit too small, and with loads of texts in each wall, I feel a bit lazy reading it. Unlike Umineko with its huge fonts, makes it easier to read. ^^;

 

[Asarii]

I yanked this Gameranx article from aramatheydidnt: Are Otome Games the Next Big Thing?

Otome games will most likely not be a financial success due to the fact that video games are still perceived as being for men only. However, I've seen a sizable amount of English-speaking otome fans in online communities so I'm sure they'd be delighted. It's great that a new genre is making its way around the globe.

 

[phio_chan]

I finished Katawa Shoujo this afternoon. Faster than I thought, even with all my pauses along the way. By finished, though, I meant the completion was only as far as one of five heroines provided in the story. I'm not sure if I will re-play the series and to see what the outcomes would be through other characters, considering how I just finished one and that I couldn't really imagine things could be much different if I had chosen another girl along the plot. Still, it was a great journey. It taught you how to respect and appreciate life more, because you were luckier than these people who had disabilities.

As for another visual novel to try... My long-life debt to finish Umineko still haunts me here, but I'm thinking to try another visual novel too. :P Reading how everyone says Ever 17 is great, I might give it a try.

I yanked this Gameranx article from aramatheydidnt: Are Otome Games the Next Big Thing?

Otome games will most likely not be a financial success due to the fact that video games are still perceived as being for men only. However, I've seen a sizable amount of English-speaking otome fans in online communities so I'm sure they'd be delighted. It's great that a new genre is making its way around the globe.

Interesting. I didn't know that there are visual novels aimed for girls too; not that I played visual novels a lot, but so far they seem to be neutral or more towards men. That being said, I share Asarii's opinion about this. Also, from reading a back, it seems like visual novels would always have the erotic part. As much as it could be something interesting, perhaps it is also the cause of such low attention?

 

[Asarii]

Interesting. I didn't know that there are visual novels aimed for girls too; not that I played visual novels a lot, but so far they seem to be neutral or more towards men. That being said, I share Asarii's opinion about this. Also, from reading a back, it seems like visual novels would always have the erotic part. As much as it could be something interesting, perhaps it is also the cause of such low attention?

The reason why I think otome games are becoming immensely is because of the success of Hakuouki- it made the genre mainstream in a way. A growing number of otome fans = demand for more otome games to be made.

I do think that erotic scenes are probably one of the reasons why visual novels are less likely to be released overseas. There are definitely sex scenes in Western games as well, but those aren't as graphic as the ones in visual novels. There's also the mindset that violence (e.g. Grand Theft Auto) is acceptable in entertainment while anything sexual is still controversial. On the other hand, the gaming industry is probably going for otome games because it's usually rated no higher than R-15.

 

[Ruciful]

Hakuoki series is a popular one. It now has it's own anime series, OVAS, and movies.
Recently for Valentines Day, a North American version was released(No english dub).
The guys are really pretty ha. It was a lot more reading than I thought but still fun.
http://www.gamestop.com/psp/games/hakuoki-demon-of-the-fleeting-blossom/97906

 

[Asarii]

I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that Hakuouki is the most popular visual novel game at the moment. It has two seasons of an anime adaptation under its belt as well as a manga series. The popularity might also attribute to the fact that Japanese fans already know the "characters" through historical figures; being familiar with the names and situations will make it easier to dive into the story.

 

[In Flames]

I've seen a few anime adaptions from Visual Novels. Including: Fate/, Clannad, Chaos;Head and recently Steins;Gate. As for playing any visual novels, I've started playing through Clannad and Steins;Gate.

 

[Asarii]

I've seen a few anime adaptions from Visual Novels. Including: Fate/, Clannad, Chaos;Head and recently Steins;Gate. As for playing any visual novels, I've started playing through Clannad and Steins;Gate.

I forgot that Steins; Gate was based on a visual novel! The anime most likely took the safest route so it'll be interesting to see what other options there are for the ending.

 

[wintercry]

I know No R-18 but School Days should be fine, right. It's a famous one, afterall, I'm surprise no one ever mentioned it.

 

[phio_chan]

I forgot that Steins; Gate was based on a visual novel! The anime most likely took the safest route so it'll be interesting to see what other options there are for the ending.

I heard so too. A friend who played the visual novel told me that there were so many different kind of endings to the original plot as we made each choice. That is actually one of the best points of a visual novel. An anime based on such kind of story would be rather boring since we will have to stick to one kind of ending. In Steins;Gate specifically, something 'wilder' perhaps would be better. :P

I haven't been playing visual novels for so long. Last time I played Katawa Shoujo, and I haven't tried new ones at all. Too time consuming, unfortunately.

 

[Asarii]

I heard so too. A friend who played the visual novel told me that there were so many different kind of endings to the original plot as we made each choice. That is actually one of the best points of a visual novel. An anime based on such kind of story would be rather boring since we will have to stick to one kind of ending. In Steins;Gate specifically, something 'wilder' perhaps would be better. :P

I agree. A lot of gamers don't seem to take visual novels seriously, but this type of game involves a lot of careful planning: one seemingly insignificant action can drastically alter the outcome of the game. What's special about Steins; Gate is that you watch the anime, become interested in the game it was based on and find out just how difficult it is to make everything work "right".

 

[Doraku]

I didn't know this thread exist

Before I went to college, I used to play a lot of VNs, Little Busters, Fate/SN, Clannad and others. I think what makes me interested in VN was because it is such a unique concept, I really like how the story may have several alternatives ending and there are a lot of surprises ahead if you don't make your plan meticulously. Unfortunately the last time I played a VN was 3 years ago due to RL business (and it's just time consuming, like phio said), I might play Steins;Gate and Robotics;Note just to find out the alternative outcomes.