No-Hentai Visual Novel recommendations

[Evilsanta]

Well it looks like people have already giving alot of good recommendations that I can only endorse.

Let's see if I can contribute to this thread.

OT: I would recommend Sekien No Ingaknock. It's a steampunk dystopia mystery VN taking place in Ingaknock a place that rivals New Crobuzon(From Perdido Street Station)in shittyness. In does have some H content but it is not the focus and skipping is won't make you lose out on anything.

Also for the rest of you, Check out the escapist Visual Novel group for mor recommendations for good VN recommendations.

 

[Denamic]

Swan Song.
It has sex scenes, but they're rare and far from the point of the game. It's set in the ruins of a city in the aftermath of an earthquake so devastating that it's essentially the end of the world. Survivors are few and have to survive in a winter that's far longer and harsher than should be possible, with complete and utter silence from the rest of the world. No rescue; not even any radio contact.

The protagonists are a bunch of more or less normal people, but the great thing is how they change over the course of the story. Few games have made me feel as sad, and few games has made me hate characters as much as this game. It shows people being monstrously evil, yet makes it believable and even understandable because of the circumstances, and it is all the more unsettling because of it.

That VN scarred me in the soul. Just thinking about it make it hurt again...

 

[Black Reaper]

Steins;Gate and True Rembrance come to mind. I would have grabbed you by the collar and demanded you play Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and Cross Channel but they all have sex in them. You did say good exceptions and I can say that Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night don't have the sex as a focus. It's just... there. Being really bad in comparison to everything else...
Tsukihime's english patch comes with a no sex option, but I think the site may have 404'd. I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find a patch for Fate. Originally had one, but I found the sudden skip jarring. That and it broke my game.

The Realta Nua version of F/Sn doesn't have h-scenes, although from what i hear they are hilarious

I don't know of it counts, because it has h-scenes and stuff, but a guy translated Fullmetal Daemon Muramasa in his blog, but he skips the h-scenes, he didn't translate the game itself, it's like a very silent let's play that includes the dialog, some screenshots and occasionally a comment from the translator, it is quite good, i highly recommend it

It made me change the way i see Heroes, Justice, and Heroes of Justice amongst other things

You can read it here

And it was made by Nitroplus, the company that made Saya no Uta, Chaos Head and Steins;Gate

And while i haven't read it, Mahou Tsukai No Yoru is by the guy/company who/that made F/Sn and Tsukihime, so it should be good

 

[Bradmaster Flash]

Katawa Shoujo. Yes it has sex scenes, however, you can turn them off and there is only 1-2 sex scenes in a characters arc and those arcs are long. Me and my friends loved this novel. One of my friends completed every arc other than Rin's.

Agreed. It's a brilliant visual novel. It also has one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a game, so peaceful. You can also completely disable adult content in the options.

 

[SweetShark]

Glad to see so many good recommendations. Thank you all of you ^^

I just finish the game Analogue: A Hate Story and I think it is worth it to give it a try.
If you like the idea of collecting little by little informations about what happened in the Spaceship "Mugunghwa" and discover the mystery around it, then this game is for you. Also it is involving gameplay from text adventure games, but I will not spoil why is that.
Also it have a GREAT moment while you are playing that caught me off guard.
It was so great I must say.
Sadly the game is really short to comparison with other visual novels I played and you maybe get little bored after a lot of reading...
I give it 8/10.

Anyway I want also recommend another good visual novel. It maybe is short and linear, but it is free so you can try it if you like:

"Juniper?s Knot is a story told from dual perspectives: that of a demon and a boy. It begins on an autumn afternoon in a silent town."

There are still two other games from the same developers of the game "jupiter's Knot", but I didn't played them yet, so I can't still recommend you to play them. The games are:

"Cradle Song takes place in a desolate world. A world that has slowly deteriorated over hundreds of years.

But Nathan has no idea about that. His life revolves around trudging to school, listening to lectures, and walking home after having failed to ask Ciri out once again.

Many people live this way: hidden within Virtual Realities and completely unaware of the world outside... though they aren't there by choice.

Nathan and these others are special sorts of people. People referred to by laymen as "power users".

They have the potential to use supernatural abilities, thanks to a stroke of evolutionary luck. However, after Nathan's sponsored escape from his virtual world, he quickly discovers that potential does not always transition into reality. Out of all of his fellow escapees, he is the only one left powerless.

Now, with boundless possibilities before him, will Nathan embrace this new and unstable world, or will he be overwhelmed?

Real life starts now."

And

"Dysfunctional Systems is an episodic visual novel chronicling the life of Winter Harrison. Having long become comfortable with her utopian society, Winter is surprised to learn that there are other worlds in other planes of existence.
These worlds are quite different from hers, ranging from troubled, to dystopian, to futuristic or fantastical.
However, they are all riddled with problems that, if not resolved, may adversely affect her home world. She is chosen to become a "mediator", charged with the maintenance of order in these chaotic planes, and so enters a vocational school for training.
Episode 1 details her second shadowing of a seasoned mediator, only a few weeks into her first year. She and her mentor enter a world seemingly much like their own, except for this issue of "poverty" with which Winter has difficulty understanding..."


I hope to enjoy them. Cheers!!!

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

snip

I'm well aware of that, but I don't know if it will be easy to get.

 

[Black Reaper]

snip

I'm well aware of that, but I don't know if it will be easy to get.

There's a guy on youtube called Xerblade who recorded the realta nua version, that's how i read F/Sn, since my computer can't actually run it
Its not the best way to read it, but it's there

And when i say he recorded the Realta Nua version, i mean he recorded(as far as i know) everything, he has a bad end playlist(with tiger dojos), he recorded all the normal ends, all the alternate responses you can get by picking certain dialog options, and even the extra you get by getting 100 percenting it

Captcha:many wishes

Edit:He also recorder Tsukihime, all five routes, all bad endings, and all the Ciel-Sensei lessons plus Kagetsu Tohya and its Ciel Sensei lessons, i don't know if he 100%ed Kagetsu Tohya, but he has 131 videos in his Kagetsu Tohya Playlist

And he also recorded the Mahou Tsukai demo, and i imagine he is going to record the full game when it comes out

This guy is a fucking hero

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

snip

I'm well aware of that, but I don't know if it will be easy to get.

There's a guy on youtube called Xerblade who recorded the realta nua version, that's how i read F/Sn, since my computer can't actually run it
Its not the best way to read it, but it's there

And when i say he recorded the Realta Nua version, i mean he recorded(as far as i know) everything, he has a bad end playlist(with tiger dojos), he recorded all the normal ends, all the alternate responses you can get by picking certain dialog options, and even the extra you get by getting 100 percenting it

Captcha:many wishes

He has my respect forever.

 

[GabeZhul]

@SweetShark: I am not sure you should be focusing on OELVNs that much. Let's just say that the ones you brought up are practically the top tier OELVNs out there while the rest is practically crap, and in the large scheme of things even those would be only above average plot-driven VNs at best.

 

[SweetShark]

@SweetShark: I am not sure you should be focusing on OELVNs that much. Let's just say that the ones you brought up are practically the top tier OELVNs out there while the rest is practically crap, and in the large scheme of things even those would be only above average plot-driven VNs at best.

I am not focusing only in English Visual Novels.
I just found this games very interesting and I wanted to share with you.
Also even I did said I want to play No-Hentai Visuals Novels, right now I play the game "Tsukihime".
After I finish this I have plans to play the sequel of 999 on N3DS.
Then I think will start with..............I just realised many Hentai games have really good stories.
The next games is "Kara no Shoujo"

Again, I break my rule........but I heared really good words for this one.
Also the sequel coming out really soon, so I think this give me areason to try it.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I quite liked Deardrops. It's in the same vain as other Overdrive games like Kira Kira, about a band coming together and their exploits/characterization.

The music is phenomenal too.

You'd be best served by the all ages version though, as there's 1-2 sex scenes per route. I still queue up the soundtrack now and then...and the theme is my ringtone. >.>

Also, if you haven't given it a shot, Katawa Shoujo is pretty awesome too. You can even turn off sex scenes in the menu.

 

[GabeZhul]

@SweetShark: I am not sure you should be focusing on OELVNs that much. Let's just say that the ones you brought up are practically the top tier OELVNs out there while the rest is practically crap, and in the large scheme of things even those would be only above average plot-driven VNs at best.

I am not focusing only in English Visual Novels.
I just found this games very interesting and I wanted to share with you.
Also even I did said I want to play No-Hentai Visuals Novels, right now I play the game "Tsukihime".
After I finish this I have plans to play the sequel of 999 on N3DS.
Then I think will start with..............I just realised many Hentai games have really good stories.
The next games is "Kara no Shoujo"

Again, I break my rule........but I heared really good words for this one.
Also the sequel coming out really soon, so I think this give me areason to try it.

KnS is a good one. I personally haven't read it (not my taste), but I practically only heard good things about it, and MG is apparently translating the sequel AND Cartagra as well.

Also, you should stop calling them "hentai games". You don't call romantic novels with a descriptive sex scene "porn books" either, do you?
Either say "eroge", which means it's a game with erotic content (not necessarily a VN), which carries less of a stigma, or just call them visual novels and drop the pretentse about sexual content altogether. The only time you should ever worry about sexual content is when it comes to nukiges (sex-focused games that are little more than an excuse plot stringing together h-scenes) and VNs specifically centered around sexual content (most stereotypical boy-with-a-harem-of-random-schoolgirls VNs). In the case of most translated non-nukiges h-scenes are either an important aspect that enhances the story (rare), or something you would skip over anyways, so you should not worry about them at all.

Also remember that most officially translated eroges are also nukiges (since that's what sells), so you should really be looking out for fan-translations. They also have much better TL quality as well.
That's all for now, have fun reading.

 

[SweetShark]

Snip

A, ok, I didn't knew this disturb you.
Yes, I know they are Eroge, but sometimes I forget to call them like that and I call them instead H-games. A mistake, I know.
Also first time I heared the word nukiges.

 

[The Lyre]

I know many visuals novel,but I don't want to have sex scenes [with some very good exeptions like Saya no Uta].

Honestly you're really crippling yourself there.

Most of the best visual novels I've read have had some sexual content.

I'm not really sure why - they're otherwise fantastic novels in their own right, with one scene per story shoved in rather awkwardly. I guess it's partially for marketing purposes, as an all-ages title probably doesn't sell as well in that niche market.

It's a bit of a shame really because it certainly attaches a stigma to what are, in my opinion, fantastic examples of storytelling.

That said, I'd just recommend you do what my friend always does - just skip through the scenes you aren't comfortable with. He absolutely adores Sharin no Kuni despite the nudity in it, he just pretends those scenes don't exist.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Right now I playing the visual novel "Analogue: A Hate Story" [I didn't finish it, so please no spoilers], and I though we need more visual novels like that.

I know many visuals novel,but I don't want to have sex scenes [with some very good exeptions like Saya no Uta].

Obviously I suggest all of the visual novels lovers to play the game "Ever 17".
Just....play it, you will not regret it.
Another good game is "999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors". Really good story and enjoyable conclusion.
I would like to suggest also the sequel, but I just bought it and I must play it first and see for myself ^^

DO you have other suggestions for visual novels like the above?

Seconding "999" and "Virtue's last reward". I greatly enjoyed both games.

Also, I've heard good stuff about steins;gate. Granted, I've only watched the anime adaptation, but if it's any sign, I'm sure the visual novel is good.

 

[Rariow]

Well, if you liked 999 then Virtue's Last Reward, its sequel is also pretty damn good. Pretty much anything in the Phoenix Wright series is damn excellent (With the possible exception of Ace Attorney Investigations, still haven't played that but I hear it's as good as the rest.)

Katawa Shoujo. Yes it has sex scenes, however, you can turn them off and there is only 1-2 sex scenes in a characters arc and those arcs are long. Me and my friends loved this novel. One of my friends completed every arc other than Rin's.

THIS. If I considered KS to be a proper "game", rather than something in between that and a book, I'd put it in my top favourite 5 games of all time. As an added bonus, the H-scenes can be turned off in the options menu (I personally didn't, so I don't know how it works, whether it's censored or skipped entirely). Plus, most of them are actually meaningful rather than simple fanservice, with (arguably) the exception of one in Emi's route.

 

[SweetShark]

I know many visuals novel,but I don't want to have sex scenes [with some very good exeptions like Saya no Uta].

Honestly you're really crippling yourself there.

Most of the best visual novels I've read have had some sexual content.

I'm not really sure why - they're otherwise fantastic novels in their own right, with one scene per story shoved in rather awkwardly. I guess it's partially for marketing purposes, as an all-ages title probably doesn't sell as well in that niche market.

It's a bit of a shame really because it certainly attaches a stigma to what are, in my opinion, fantastic examples of storytelling.

That said, I'd just recommend you do what my friend always does - just skip through the scenes you aren't comfortable with. He absolutely adores Sharin no Kuni despite the nudity in it, he just pretends those scenes don't exist.

Indeed, I know many Eroge have good stories.
My favourite of all I played is Saya No Uta. Heh, the exactly opposite of I am looking for.
However I want to play visual novel for the story and loose the immersion because of out of place H-scenes...

Imagine if the game 999 had H-scenes also.......How would you feel about it?

 

[The Lyre]

Imagine if the game 999 had H-scenes also.......How would you feel about it?

The same way I feel about most of my favourites VN's - I'd think it was unnecessary and somewhat out of place, but ultimately inoffensive and something I can just skip over and ignore.

It's what I had to do in Dragon Age and Mass Effect, but those awkward, poorly animated cutscenes didn't ruin my enjoyment of the entire game.

 

[EyeReaper]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. the greatest no sex vn of all time ever. I am of course talking about....

Spoiler: HATOFUL BOYFRIEND!

you will believe a pigeon can make you cry

 

[Marik2]

Heres a list of visual novels without porn

http://vndb.org/g235

Think the reason that lots of great VNs have a sex scene is cuz of the marketing and they have to tack it on otherwise people might not buy them. Like how multiplayer is tacked on into lots of games these days for fear of people not buying it.