The Visual Novel Thread

[Phoenix Wright]

I'm really bored, so I thought I'd create this thread. Review, recommend and troubleshoot here. Of course, as the OP, this post has to look a little attractive, so I'm gonna spice it up a bit. Some thoughts about some of the VNs I've played, coming right up.

Tsukihime:

 

 

Old, but awesome. Really, really awesome. Oh, and don't ever watch the anime for this. You'll regret the decision for the rest of your life.

 

Kagetsu Tohya:

 

 

Half-Sequel to Tsukihime. Has some genuinely funny moments, and one major storyline that's pretty good.

 

Melty Blood:

 

 

Oh man, what an idea. They took the characters from Tsukihime, and made a fighting game with a storyline. A f**king good one, at that. Beating G. Akiha on hard remains one of the highlights of my life.

 

Fate/Stay Night:

 

(I uploaded this just for you guys, because it's awesome, and there were no good quality vids of this on the t00b)

 

Not much to be said about this one. If you watched the anime and hated it, great! Now get the game and see what the real FSN is all about. If you watched the anime and liked it, I feel sorry for you. Get the game ASAP and play it, and you'll start hating the anime.

 

Fate route is okay, Heaven's Feel is okay/good, but Unlimited Blade Works is just frickin' epic win! UBW is worth the effort, trust me.

 

Chaos;HEad:

 

I watched the anime for this after finishing the game, and I thought it was a total trainwreck. I can't believe they took the hand thing right out of the story. Also, they didn't use this absolutely kickass OP.

 

 

Anyway, the game's very, very linear. There are two endings, and most of the choices are just for CG collection, lol. Good story, though.

 

Planetarian:

 

 

Very short read, it's not a Visual Novel, but rather a Kinetic Novel where you don't get to make any choices, just read. Still amazing though. Took me about two hours to finish, and I was completely engrossed in that post-apocalyptic world and the two characters in there the entire time. Amazing stuff.

 

Shuffle!

 

 

lol, that's the anime OP, btw. I'm playing this right now, because even though I found the anime to be very meh, there were a couple of characters in there that interested me enough to pick this up when the official translation came out. Will post my thoughts on this later.

 

Kanon:

 

 

Watch the anime for this first. If you like some of the characters (that are not the heroine) enough to want to know how their story ends, then this is worth picking up. Otherwise, it's pretty useless.

 

Story's a bit out there when it comes to the miracles and fantasy and stuff, but it's still very good. The main girl needs to go die, though.

 

Clannad:

 

Now then, I've saved the best for last.

 

 

Unlike Kanon, which was also a Key/VisualArts novel that was animated by Kyoto Animation, Clannad's VN has a lot to offer those that have watched the anime. The anime is absolutely fantastic, but the VN takes it to a whole different level.

 

This is a literary masterpiece that will, unfortunately, go unrecognized. Best story of all time, period. (IMO, of course) Anyway, great story, awesome characters, lots and lots of routes which gives it tons of replay value, absolutely top-notch music just makes this a ridiculously enjoyable experience. If you've read tons of VNs and haven't read Clannad yet, do it now! If you've never read a VN in your life, start with Clannad, you won't regret it.

 

-------

 

I'm going to start on Ever 17 once I'm done with Shuffle, will let you guys know how that goes.

 

Anyway, /end incredibly long-winded post. Post away, people! Let me know your favourites, or if you're interested in these games.

[Noctis]

Both of us can have nice time discussing about VNs here. But seriously, its hard to find VN fans outside Japan and Im interested in knowing if there is anyone else besides us in IVG.

 

As for me Im finally reading UBW which I missed (and shouldn't have). A bit short on time, but being able to carry it around in the DS helps.

[Phoenix Wright]

I'm sure there are a couple more around. Neku, for one, has a Tsukihime avy.

 

How far've you gotten in UBW, btw? Many people fall into Nasu's misdirection trap and believe Saber's the main girl of FSN. It was the same with Tsukihime and Arcueid. Rin's quite clearly the heroine in FSN, and UBW is her route (well, kinda). It's obviously going to be the best one.

[neku]

What. I didn't know this existed. ;-;

 

To add to that list -

 

 

 

 

 

You guys should really check these out. Saya no Uta ****'d me up for days x_x Utawarerumono is on PC as well. I just put the ps2 intro cos its better.

 

Oh btw in case ya guys didn't know Type-moon's remaking Tsukihime <3 It's releasing next year iirc. Hopefuly, now Tsukihime gets an anime. I never did get how such an awesome VN never got an anime :|

[Phoenix Wright]

You guys should really check these out. Saya no Uta ****'d me up for days x_x Utawarerumono is on PC as well. I just put the ps2 intro cos its better.

 

Oh btw in case ya guys didn't know Type-moon's remaking Tsukihime <3 It's releasing next year iirc. Hopefuly, now Tsukihime gets an anime. I never did get how such an awesome VN never got an anime :|

 

Yeah, I heard about Saya no Uta. Been holding off on it for quite a while now.

 

I started on Ever17 yesterday. Seems awesome so far, and that OP is sweet. I can't wait for the Tsukihme remake, tbh. If Takeuchi's character designs manage to look anything like his recent work, the game's gonna look gorgeous.

 

And massive LOL @ the anime gag. Good times.

 

[Nemo]

noob here, whats the difference btw an anime and VN ?

[Keyofx]

noob here, whats the difference btw an anime and VN ?

I think they're games that you watch more than play. I could be wrong though.

[neku]

LOL I was gonna post the same pic but got lazy ;-; You play battlemoon wars?

 

You should read Phantom of inferno too. It's not nearly as popular as it should be.

 

Also Rin's anything but the heroine for FSN which is really sad cos she's my fav </3. I hate how Fate and Heaven's Feel routes are about Saber and Sakura but UBW is about Archer @_@ Also Heaven's Feel is kinda like the true end considering the sequel, hollow/ataraxia follows up on it, as does battlemoon wars. So I'm guessing that makes Sakura the heroine :V

[neku]

noob here, whats the difference btw an anime and VN ?

 

To put it simply, novels with pretty pictures :v Some of them have gameplay elements, like role playing or card battles. And as the protagonist you get to make choices depending on which you can get one of many different possible endings.

[Phoenix Wright]

LOL I was gonna post the same pic but got lazy ;-; You play battlemoon wars?

 

You should read Phantom of inferno too. It's not nearly as popular as it should be.

 

Also Rin's anything but the heroine for FSN which is really sad cos she's my fav </3. I hate how Fate and Heaven's Feel routes are about Saber and Sakura but UBW is about Archer @_@ Also Heaven's Feel is kinda like the true end considering the sequel, hollow/ataraxia follows up on it, as does battlemoon wars. So I'm guessing that makes Sakura the heroine :V

 

Yeah, I have. Bloody awesome. And I'll get to PoI sometime. Should really get myself a MU premium account.

 

Rin got shafted in the sense she didn't get a route exclusively for herself, but that is canceled out by her strong presence in the other routes, though. Sakura and Saber are non-existent in each other's routes, but Rin is, and is a pretty central character throughout the plot. And since HF was all about tying up all the loose ends in the plot and bringing the story to completion, it'd be strange if the sequels didn't follow up on that.

 

Also, lol @ the thought of Sakura being FSN's heroine. The Nasu-verse is a massive collection of parallel universes anyway, so I'll just believe what I want to.

[Phoenix Wright]

Oh, and a Sacchin route is confirmed for the remake, right? Can't wait for that.

[Noctis]

noob here, whats the difference btw an anime and VN ?

 

VNs are completely different than an anime. They are basically novels with pictures and where you can make important choices as the hero to influence the outcome of the story.

 

Also, lol @ the thought of Sakura being FSN's heroine. The Nasu-verse is a massive collection of parallel universes anyway, so I'll just believe what I want to.

 

Definitely not Sakura.

 

Anyway, where did you guys get the full translation for Clannad? Baka Tsuiki has been showing its status as 99.99% for a while, but I couldn't find the files.

[Phoenix Wright]

YGPM.

[Noctis]

Thanks!

[neku]

Yeah, I have. Bloody awesome. And I'll get to PoI sometime. Should really get myself a MU premium account.

 

Rin got shafted in the sense she didn't get a route exclusively for herself, but that is canceled out by her strong presence in the other routes, though. Sakura and Saber are non-existent in each other's routes, but Rin is, and is a pretty central character throughout the plot. And since HF was all about tying up all the loose ends in the plot and bringing the story to completion, it'd be strange if the sequels didn't follow up on that.

 

Also, lol @ the thought of Sakura being FSN's heroine. The Nasu-verse is a massive collection of parallel universes anyway, so I'll just believe what I want to.

 

Strong presence as a supporting character and Saber non-existent in Heaven's Feel? o_o Dark Saber?

The way she was killed by Shirou scarred me for life ;_;

And I didn't think any of the endings left any loose ends really.

 

But yeah, I guess FSN doesn't have a clear cut female lead. I guess they left it up for the fans to decide.

 

Man I forgot all about Sacchin. Would be interesting if they changed the story up a lil without f***ing it up. Maybe cameo appearances from other nasuverse characters.

[Phoenix Wright]

Strong presence as a supporting character and Saber non-existent in Heaven's Feel? o_o Dark Saber?

The way she was killed by Shirou scarred me for life ;_;

And I didn't think any of the endings left any loose ends really.

 

But yeah, I guess FSN doesn't have a clear cut female lead. I guess they left it up for the fans to decide.

 

Man I forgot all about Sacchin. Would be interesting if they changed the story up a lil without f***ing it up. Maybe cameo appearances from other nasuverse characters.

 

Rider had more screentime than Saber, so that really doesn't count.

And you just gotta know that any route where killing Saber leads to a good end and killing Sakura leads to a bad end is just f**ked up

.

 

And I was talking about the whole Avenger thing. Neither Fate nor UBW had anything to do with why the Holy Grail War was taking place, or why the Holy Grail was evil. HF cleared all that up.

 

How could you forget about Sacchin! Shame on you.

 

And Noctis, hurry up and play Clannad and Tsukihime already. Arcueid = good, Ciel = boring, but the Dark Side of the Moon arcs are just pure win.

[neku]

Rider had more screentime than Saber, so that really doesn't count.

And you just gotta know that any route where killing Saber leads to a good end and killing Sakura leads to a bad end is just f**ked up

.

 

And I was talking about the whole Avenger thing. Neither Fate nor UBW had anything to do with why the Holy Grail War was taking place, or why the Holy Grail was evil. HF cleared all that up.

 

How could you forget about Sacchin! Shame on you.

 

And Noctis, hurry up and play Clannad and Tsukihime already. Arcueid = good, Ciel = boring, but the Dark Side of the Moon arcs are just pure win.

 

I never said I liked Heaven's Feel D: As for the avenger thing, I wouldn't really call it a loose end. The ending would still be conclusive even if HF didn't exist as the explanation for the Grail war is convincing in those 2 arcs. It just expands on the story. Something like how Kagetsu expands on Tsukihime.

 

Meh, I really hope someone makes an english patch for hollow/ataraxia. There was a group in Beast's Lair that started but last I checked they'd been idle for a while.

 

And a VN fan that hasn't played Tsukihime? o_o Say it ain so >8/

 

Ya Ciel sux. I liked Arcued, Hisui and Akiha's endings the best. Kohaku was good but not as good as the other 3 imo.

[Phoenix Wright]

Been playing Ever 17 today, started with You's route. It's been frickin' awesome so far.

 

Kid annoys the f**k out of me, though. Memory and deductive skill fail.

[neku]

I need a new VN ._. Suggestions? One's that aren't already mentioned.

[Noctis]

This place dead? Finished Tsuikihime, Kagestsu Tohya, FSN, Utawarerumono and Tears to Tiara (meh). Clannad, Melty Blood and True Remembrance still going and started with Ever 17.

 

And VN fans might want to check out this site. Its a database which has information on all the translation projects, including the ones going on.