A sub-genre of adventure games, visual novels are a form of interactive fiction that usually have very little in terms of gameplay but often focus more on extensive storytelling, character interactions, decision-making and branching narratives.
First of all, I'm not looking for dating sims. I'm looking for something with good characters and an awesome plot, something similar to Ever 17, which is so far the only visual novel I have played (and it is absolutely amazing). If it does have elements of a dating sim, I don't particularly care, that's good too, as long as it has a good story and interesting characters.
If you're interested in an older game, you should check out Snatcher. It's more of a visual novel than an actual game. It's one of Hideo Kojima's early games and has some nice Metal Gear easter eggs too.
@FancySoapsMan: I played 999 just before Ever 17, and I loved it. Somebody said that Ever 17 was similar to 999 so that's actually the entire reason why I started with this visual novel thing :)
@LordAndrew: Definitely get 999. It has unfortunately slipped under a lot of people's radar, and it's a really really good game.
This too! I've played all five Ace Attorney games, now having played through the first and second Ace Attorney game along with Apollo Justice twice! If you can get your hands on the first three, enjoy. They're among the best video games have to offer. The characters, stories, music... yes!
Look for games from the "When they cry" series These are Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. There is a website called witch hunt which will give you an english translation patch and more information on Umineko.
Planetarian - There's actually no "game" in this at all, but it's one heck of a story. It's by Key, the guys who made Air, Kanon and Clannad - really popular romance VNs. I'd recommend those to you, too if you're into straight-up romance/melodrama.
The thing about Planetarian is that it takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting and basically follows a scavenger who comes across this eccentric pre-apocalypse android girl whose existence was for greeting guests/narrating a presentation for a Planetarium (hence the titular character's name "Planetarian") who has essentially held her post despite the years and years of apocalypse and the Planetarium itself falling to disrepair. It's very short but I feel like it was a poignant, memorable experience! The only visual novel I actually went out of my way to digital download a JP version and find an English patch for.
@VelvetLore04: There are clean versions available. Besides, he just said no dating sims.
Higurashi and Umineko are supposed to be really good horrors stories despite the horrendous art work. Same goes for Saya no Uta but that's apparently got good art (also sexual content so be warned.) All of those are horror, the first two are also mysteries.
Devil on a G-string is a pretty good thriller with a great musical score. Again, it has sexual content.
Room 215 has already be said but it's great so worth mentioning again.
Try hitting up vndb.org. It's incredibly extensive and should let you find anything that tickles your fancy.
- Fate/Stay Night is the first thing that comes to mind. Has sexual content, though there are patches out there that actually remove them, iirc. I also maintain that the Heaven's Feel Arc of is the only one to utilize sex in more than just a gratuitous fashion out of all the VNs I have read. - Tsukihime. A great story, but it's worth noting though that the art for it is a bit, uh, poor. - Clannad. Is of the Romance genre, but I wouldn't classify it as a dating sim. Has some great characters. - The 4 Ace Attorney games are all great. Ace Prosecutor not as great, but still worth playing.
Huh, did the same people who did Kira Kira do Edelweiss? Those monkey-esque ears look really familiar.
A little update. I have finished Fate/Stay night, and while it's pretty good, it's not nearly as good as G-Senjou no Maou. That game is absolutely fantastic, I'm currently playing through it (chapter 2) and I'm loving it. It seems to break all of the traditional concepts found in visual novels. Kind reminds me of Death Note and Crime and Punishment a bit. Pretty awesome so far, I'd like to thank everyone who recommended it to me.
The writing in 999 is terrible but the story is great and VLR eschews a lot of the unnecessary flavor text in favor of animation. Can't recommend those two games enough.
The writing in 999 is terrible but the story is great and VLR eschews a lot of the unnecessary flavor text in favor of animation. Can't recommend those two games enough.
I also highly recommend those games. Though while it's true that VLR did streamline a ton of stuff, there is still an awful lot of corny fluff dialogue. But then again, that's part of the charm, I suppose.
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