To fans of Visual Novels...

[Rariow]

So, after reading all the fuss about Katawa Shoujo, that Visual Novel that was getting famous for being really, really good and for the controversy it caused due to the fact that you were dating girls with disabilies, I went through and played through it.

I've gotten through only one of the possible paths, Lilly's, but it's hit me right in the feels. It's an amazing experience, and I finally understand why people like this particular genre that I've never really "gotten". I'm planning to go through the rest of the paths once I get over all the emotions this VN has managed to shake up in me, but, much like the theme of the story in Lilly's path, I know this game won't last forever. I really want to get more engrossing, deeply, deeply moving experiences like this one. So, being a newcomer to the genre, (Katawa Shoujo being my very first VN) I want to ask people more experienced with it:

Could you please reccomend me some more VNs as good (or better) as Katawa Shoujo? Whilst I feel a romantic theme would work best with the genre, it's not neccesary. Also: Where exactly does Katawa Shoujo lie on the scale of VNs? Is it extraodinarily good (Sure felt that way to me!)? Is it barely mediocre? What kind of quirks (Apart from the obvious disability thing) does it have that I shouldn't consider "normal" for the genre?

In short: What are your views on Katawa Shoujo as a Visual Novel, and, knowing that it's now on my top 10 favourite gaming experiences of all time, where can I find an experience similar to it?

 

[ChupathingyX]

I've finished about 14 VN's which isn't much and personally KS ranks lower than most of them.

Personally, I think KS serves as a good entry point and is solid for the most part but with the exception of the disability aspect and sex scenes that aren't stupid there isn't much it has done that hasn't been done better. However, one thing it has done well is increase attention to VN's which will hopefully lead to more support for English translations.

As for recommendations, I would like to first point out that there are plenty of action, sci-fi, fantasy, psychological/horror etc VN's and that they aren't just restricted to romance (though they almost always feature it). There are also VN's that feature SRPG gameplay and other forms of gameplay. The Visual Novel Database [http://vndb.org/] is a good place[footnote]Keep in mind though that the ratins are a bit skewed due to taking popularity into account and which VN's have and have not been translated - take it with a grain of salt.[/footnote] to get information and the VN's can be sorted by user rankings, popularity and tags which is useful for finding specific genres that you may like.

 

[shrekfan246]

Katawa Shoujo was my first Visual Novel as well, actually.

One I really liked, partly because one of my hobbies is playing the guitar, was Deardrops. It's a lot longer than KS, and a fair bit more light-hearted, but for the most part it's well-written, with amusing quirks and well-rounded characters. It does have the romantic theme, as well, much like KS.

For one that's completely different, if you've got a 3DS or Playstation Vita you could check out Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, which is a long VN with a widely branching story-line and some amazingly difficult puzzles.

Other than that... I haven't played many VNs, sorry. :/ But I'd classify Katawa Shoujo as pretty good, for what it's worth.

EDIT: Also, in a way Persona 3 (especially the PSP version) and Persona 4 can be considered a mixture of JRPG and Visual Novel. It's closer to JRPG, but still worth checking out in my opinion.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

If you liked Katawa Shoujo then you should check out Kira Kira. It's probably the best VN I've read in the romance genre since Katawa Shoujo. It's much more light hearted as well.

 

[TehCookie]

I downloaded it when it was finally complete, and I still haven't played through it yet. I just have a hard time getting into them on my computer, I have a ton downloaded but the only ones I've played on PC STEINS;GATE (would recommend) and GC: Lost Christmas (only good if you watched the anime). There are a few localized games like Arksys games Blazblue and Persona but neither of those have the same moving writing. Hakuoki is a PSP game which I personally love, but it's also an otome game.

Though I've heard good things about Kira Kira which is probably the closest to Katawa Shoujo, and Type Moon's works are also popular if you want to check those out.

 

[VanQ]

There are plenty that are worth a go out there. Here's a really good chart to take a look at. It's a bit big so I'll spoiler it but I've tried about 50% of this so far and almost all the ones I've tried I would recommend.

Spoiler

My personal favourites are all on that list too, make sure you start with the VNs in the blue section, they're the best place to start as they're easy to find and install and are more or less considered "must reads." If anyone is having trouble with any of them feel free to send me a personal message and I'd be glad to help sort out any issues.

In case anyone was wondering, the two I recommend from that list the most are MajiKoi and Hoshizora no Memoria. I know plenty of other VNs that aren't on that list that are worth playing as well so if nothing there takes your fancy you can shoot me a question about that too.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Arrrg where the hell do people download/buy this KS game anyway? It's not on Amazon! Fuck! I'm screwed! I just want to see what the hype's all about man!

Anyway I have to recommend Persona 4 and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Ace Attorney being a pure VN and P4 being this Visual Novel/JRPG hybrid.

Don't worry, it's DEFINITELY more of a VN than JRPG in my opinion, seeing as the first two hours is text scrolling "press X to continue." I can never get bored of those opening two hours though... The gameplay is really fun and DOESN'T have random battles! You can literally run past all enemies in a dungeon up to the miniboss/boss. Then you get instagibbed because you are underleveled but still! You don't have to grind either, it has an anti-grind mechanic and it's totally awesome.

I'm going through SMT Nocturne/Lucifer's Call at the moment and it reminded me how much I dislike random battles.

Pick up Ace Attorney though, it's really fucking good. Just please, drop all of your knowledge of Courtroom etiquette as none of it applies to this game. People can get really up in arms over it when they can't just let go.

Basically it's a logic puzzle where you pick out lies in a witness' statement and figure out the (extremely complex and roundabout) case as you go on. You have to make sure your client isn't found guilty of murder each case, when there's always a metric ton of evidence and witnesses that saw him do it. Funny thing is they are always innocent. Some other person involved with the case did it and pinned it on them.

The different prosecutors are awesome and all the characters are well written. Even if there's the one character who is intentionally annoying. Intentionally annoying is still annoying Capcom!

There are investigation sections between trials where you gather more evidence to break up the pace so it's not one big trial after trial. People would agree that although the investigation sections are the less popular parts of the game overall, the game's pacing would be incredibly fucked up without them.

If it inspires you to become a lawyer, don't forget that you can't shout Objection! as loud as possible and point at the prosecutor IRL. It doesn't get you very far XD

The order is:

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
PW:AA: Justice for All
PW:AA: Trials and Tribulations (best game in the series btw)
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

There's also a spin off game about Edgeworth that's pretty good. It feels a bit off when he's objecting outside a Courtroom though in my opinion.

 

[Iron_will]

Arrrg where the hell do people download/buy this KS game anyway? It's not on Amazon! Fuck! I'm screwed! I just want to see what the hype's all about man!

http://katawa-shoujo.com/download.php

It's free, yeah.

Spoiler

My personal favourites are all on that list too, make sure you start with the VNs in the blue section, they're the best place to start as they're easy to find and install and are more or less considered "must reads." If anyone is having trouble with any of them feel free to send me a personal message and I'd be glad to help sort out any issues.

And this, this I pretty much agree with. Especially with Yume Miru Kusuri and Saya no Uta. I can guarantee you similar amount of feels from these two.

And from the second list, I highly highly recommend Muv Luv and Muv Luv Alternative.

You'll need to read through Muv Luv first though to really get the full impact. That might or might not be a good thing depending on you. You'll see what I mean if you read it.

See, here's the thing, you'll be reading through Muv Luv: Extra which is the first part of Muv Luv when you first start it. You'll have to complete at least the main two heroine routes before you can get to the second part of the story, Muv Luv: Unlimited.
For Unlimited you can just finish anyone's route and move on to reading the best part, Alternative.

I highly recommend playing the routes of your favourite girl for both before starting up Alternative. I feel like I should've read through all of the routes for both Extra and Unlimited before I read Alternative, myself.

I can never go back and do that now...

Alternative was really something man.

 

[VanQ]

Snip.

YMK was my first ever VN and is still one of my favourites and Saya no Uta is one of those make or break games. Sometimes it will enthrall a person and make them want more from VNs, like it did me and sometimes it'll scare them away for good. I've been meaning to get around to Muv-Luv but my friend always calls it

Spoiler: Seriously, DO NOT CLICK THIS SPOILER IF YOU WANT TO BE UNSPOILED FOR MUV-LUV

Everybody Dies: The Game

And for that reason, I'm both curious and hesitant. I may give it a shot once I'm done with MajiKoi S and KamiDori: Alchemy Meister.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Snippity list

Dear sir or madam, whilst your list is very much appreciated, I can't shake the feeling that playing any other VN after Katawa Shoujo would be being unfaithful to my waifu Hanako.

 

[Legion]

Katawa Shoujo is the only one I have actually played, and to be honest, as much as I like it, I don't really have any desire to try any others out. It's easily one of my favourite "games" I have played in the last couple of years, but it's not the fact it's a Visual Novel that made it appeal to me, I just happened to be recommended it specifically and happened to really enjoy it.

 

[VanQ]

Snippity list

Dear sir or madam, whilst your list is very much appreciated, I can't shake the feeling that playing any other VN after Katawa Shoujo would be being unfaithful to my waifu Hanako.

The feeling is unfounded. The only thing that would make you "unfaithful" to your waifu is to get another waifu. The list is full of good reads and iirc Hanako like reading. You have no reason not to try some.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Snippity list

Dear sir or madam, whilst your list is very much appreciated, I can't shake the feeling that playing any other VN after Katawa Shoujo would be being unfaithful to my waifu Hanako.

The feeling is unfounded. The only thing that would make you "unfaithful" to your waifu is to get another waifu. The list is full of good reads and iirc Hanako like reading. You have no reason not to try some.

Damnation, you have turned logic itself against me! You shall rue this day!

 

[xshadowscreamx]

im very new to visual novels,i was watching a let's play of kana my little sister and was getting pretty involved despite the commentating,(then again i got used to it and seem to subconsciously bond with the commentator) 'and well i have not seen her playthrough to the end becouse there isent any available yet or ever.

but my question is where do i go to download these games, or a good youtube channal to watch playthrough's.

EDIT: it seems to the best way to play them is to legitimately buy them.

 

[maninahat]

I've played a few, and I disliked Katawa Shoujo, so perhaps I won't provide the best guide. I prefer more interactive VNs, especially those by Christine Love (titles Analogue: A Hate Story and i'm sorry babe it just ain't your story). Those are the ones I recommend to people who dislike video novels for their general uninteractive, sluggish, and flowery nature.

As far as I'm concerned, if a VN is going to include player choices, it counts as interactive fiction, or rather, a game. So ones with better gameplay and more player involvement are preferable than ones with one arbitrary decision every twenty minutes. On the flip side, I might prefer the novel aspect more if it was delivered more than one sentence at a time, and without a static picture of a girl taking up 90% of the screen. If you're going to be picture driven, at least depict more than just a picture of a girl, whose expression only changes once every thirty seconds or so.

 

[Entitled]

Also: Where exactly does Katawa Shoujo lie on the scale of VNs? Is it extraodinarily good (Sure felt that way to me!)? Is it barely mediocre? What kind of quirks (Apart from the obvious disability thing) does it have that I shouldn't consider "normal" for the genre?

I've read quite a few VNs. In my experience, the most unique parts of KS come from the fact that it's original english written (which makes the writing style much more fluent than any translation could be), and also culturally western. For example, there is a different sense of humor in Japanese stories, slightly different moral expectations, different idealized behaviors. If you watch lots of anime, or play JRPGs, you know what I'm talking about.

Also, Japanese VNs would be more likely to accept the role of the VN medium as an otaku niche matter of factly. For example, their "eroge" status usually means that there are full hardcore hentai fucking scenes, with on-screen coitus, gallons os sperm, and lines upon lines of sex noises written down (and acted out, if voice acted). Even if it's an otherwise beautiful well-written romance story, or if it isn't even that, just a mystery adventure whatever. Just because it's tradition.

It's very different from western way of how 4leaf was trying to be more classy about them, as if trying to prove something to a wester audience about VNs being serious art.

Also, KS was relatively easygoing and plot-free compared to some others, in that even the bad endings are only about breaking up and feeling sad. I don't want to spoil anything specific, but most Japanese dramatic VNs bad endings involve lots of crying in the blood-splattered snow, and then even some of the good endings as well.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I've been meaning to get around to Muv-Luv but my friend always calls it

Spoiler: Seriously, DO NOT CLICK THIS SPOILER IF YOU WANT TO BE UNSPOILED FOR MUV-LUV

Everybody Dies: The Game

And for that reason, I'm both curious and hesitant. I may give it a shot once I'm done with MajiKoi S and KamiDori: Alchemy Meister.

Spoiler: Muv-Luv

It isn't as grimdark and depressing as people make it out to be.

The general setting isn't exactly what you'd call "optimistic" but it doesn't constantly shove in your face how terrible it is to live there. There are plenty of fun times to be had with the characters and they have downtime in between killing aliens and training missions. Just be warned that Extra tends to be quite a slog and most people are turned off by that more than anything else in Unlimited (which for the most part is very light hearted compared to Alt) or Alternative.

 

[Entitled]

There's Fate/Stay Night for some real world slash fantasy

That is, "real world/fantasy", NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH "real world slash fantasy"


By the way, other than the above mentioned Kira Kira my personal recommendation would be "ef - A fairy tale of the two". It has heart-achingly beautiful art and music, and it's somehow similar to Katawa Shoujo.

Also, it's about a series of separate couples, so it reads more like a novel, and less like a... you know... dating sim, with you picking a waifu like a dinner from a menu.