Visual Novels - I have no idea where to start

[sunnydaleAlumni]

Clannad, Steins; Gate Elite, Danganronpa & The House in Fata Morgana have been mentioned. These are all fantastic.

 

Code Realize: Guardian of Rebirth & Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles are alot of fun. 

 

Chaos; Child, Root Letter, Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness are also very good.

 

There are also a few new ones...A Winters Daydream, One Night Stand, Raging Loop, World End Syndrome, Fatal Twelve, Death Mark, Spirit Hunter NG.

 

Some need a good walkthrough to get all story endings but all are worth playing. Vn's are one of my favorite genres. Hope you find something you like.

[starcrunch061]

22 hours ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

Visual novels are a completely unexplored corner of gaming for me and it looks like there are quite a few games now on the EU PS Store. Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could start? If there are one or two games/VN series available on the PS4, what would your recommend? It seems like a really cool genre of gaming that I'm completely disconnected from.

 

There's a ton of garbage out there. As far as a traditional VN, I think Stein;s Gate is the best one to start (I thought the sequel, Stein;s Gate 0, sucked). If you want a little more gameplay out there, I think Danganronpa is really good (as is its sequel, but you need to play them in order).

 

EDIT: Hatoful Boyfriend is hilarious...right until they go into boring VN dialogue slog. Amnesia: Memories might be the dumbest story I've ever read, but it's good for a laugh if you like the idea of your heroine being killed over and over.

Edited November 4, 2019 by starcrunch061

[DesmaBR]

I'd go with Ace Attorney Trilogy if you're just beginning.

 

Can be tiring playing all 3 in quick succession, and the second one isn't that good, but 1 and 3 are pretty amazing.

Those were my first VN's

[BlackSquirrell1]

I'm playing Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness and it isn't a bad game.  Nice story line, you actually care about what happens to some of the characters, and there are some nice guides out there so you don't play the same story over and over again.  I personally am not a big VN player, but this game should be on the "not a bad game" list.

[Crispy_Oglop]

Sorry it took me so long to jump back into this thread, work has been a time vampire recently. Thank you so much for all your recommendations, everyone! This really helps

 

I'm going to get to work on building a playlist, for end of 2019 / beginning of 2020. Seeing alot of Steins Gate being mentioned here. I looked it up online and to quote a famous TV space doctor, it has a great 'timey wimey' theme about it. I might start with this one, Danganronpa sounds interesting too. As does Utawarerumono. In fact pretty much most of what people have suggested sounds intriguing.

 

Time to start building a playlist, can't wait to give it a shot!

[Guardian_owl]

I actually really liked the direction Hatoful Boyfriend took at the end of the game, it was very unexpected. It is pure VN, the only gameplay is making choices that influence the direction of the story.

 

The Zero Escape Series is also a favorite, it's a hybrid of VN and escape room puzzles. Each game builds on the next one so make sure to play them in order.

 

One that hasn't been mentioned is the original Corpse Party for PSP that can be played on the Vita. That is a fantastic horror VN. The PSP sequel Book of Shadows dips a bit in quality, it's like half sequel and half side-quel as a good portion of it are events that are going on at the same time as the first game. I really did not like the 3rd game that was on vita proper, Blood Drive. Treat Book of Shadows as more of an addendum to the first game, and stop with the 2nd game,

 

Muv Luv had a lot of hype, but honestly the only really good one is the 3rd game, Muv Luv Alternative. It is also pure VN.

 

i didn't like The Bunker much, I found the story a little predictable and the main character annoying, but Late Shift, done by the same developer was good. Late Shift is also pure VN.

 

I would not recommend Burly Men At Sea. Wheels of Aurelia is also pretty lame as is Actual Sunlight.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Guardian_owl

[Sigma999]

On 03/11/2019 at 9:08 PM, Han_the_Dragon said:

I agree with @Wavergray, but start with Steins;Gate.

 

I do need to start play Danganronpa myself, seeing that I already bought 3 on vita.. 

I also have the 3 games on Vita aswell and haven't played none so far although the 2nd is digital , i kinda wanted to buy a physical Vita copy to have all 3 on the shelf tbh. 

 

 

21 hours ago, DesmaBR said:

I'd go with Ace Attorney Trilogy if you're just beginning.

 

Can be tiring playing all 3 in quick succession, and the second one isn't that good, but 1 and 3 are pretty amazing.

Those were my first VN's

I loved the first Ace Attorney and played the 5th on 3DS first  

As for the 2nd , i left on stand-by on 3rd case,  i believe, for quite a long time ago , got stuck on how to progress if you can believe me :3 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Sigma999

[Han_the_Dragon]

3 hours ago, Sigma999 said:

I also have the 3 games on Vita aswell and haven't played none so far although the 2nd is digital , i kinda wanted to buy a physical Vita copy to have all 3 on the shelf tbh. 

Lucky.. I have them, but all digital

[Eraezr]

 

 

 

 

On 11/4/2019 at 6:50 AM, Ranari_Kai said:

A House in Fata Morgana.

 

 

I see this was released on the Vita but it is not on my PSN store. Is it JP exclusive?

[DEI2EK]

11 minutes ago, Eraezr said:

 

I see this was released on the Vita but it is not on my PSN store. Is it JP exclusive?

no it was released in NA too, LimitedRunGames localized and published it, maybe they either didn't publish it in Australia or it was banned?

[awf9495]

A lot of great recommendations. I think the Zero Escape series, Danganronpa series, and the Utawarerumono duology are all great places to start as they all incorporate actual gameplay elements besides just making a choice every now and then.

 

For pure visual novels, Steins;Gate is not only my favorite but I consider it the best time travel story I have experienced in any medium.

 

On a side note, if you have a 3DS or DS lying around, you might consider picking up Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (more a puzzle game with VN elements than vice versa).

[Guardian_owl]

 

4 hours ago, awf9495 said:

For pure visual novels, Steins;Gate is not only my favorite but I consider it the best time travel story I have experienced in any medium.

One of my favorite games with a time travel element is Radiant Historia, I was quite disappointed when the vita version of the remake, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, was cancelled.

Edited November 5, 2019 by Guardian_owl

[awf9495]

1 minute ago, Guardian_owl said:

One

One of my favorite games with a time travel element is Radiant Historia, I was quite disappointed when the vita version of the remake, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, was cancelled.

 

Funny you mention that, as I just finished up Perfect Chronology on the 3DS with the true ending over the weekend.  As a story, Steins;Gate is still a personal preference but Radiant Historia was great.

[Han_the_Dragon]

2 hours ago, Eraezr said:

 

I see this was released on the Vita but it is not on my PSN store. Is it JP exclusive?

 

1 hour ago, DEI2EK said:

no it was released in NA too, LimitedRunGames localized and published it, maybe they either didn't publish it in Australia or it was banned?

Australia is part of Europe (in this context), not US. 

 

The game wasn't released in Europe, as far as I'm aware. And the LimitedRunGames physical release was limited, not sure how expensive a physical copy would be nowadays. 

[Hanzoadam]

Zero escapes are great

 

Danganronpa 1 was great, 2 was good but I kinda lost interested at 3

[MandA60VISE]

Looking at your trophy list you have some TellTale games and even the old school point and click games. If you enjoyed those visual novels are basically their next door neighbor.

 

My personal favorites are:

The House in Fata Morgana

999 and VLR from Zero Escape

428: Shibuya Scramble

Steins;Gate

 

If you have a DS or 3DS (or emulator) there's a lot more options open for you.

 

And a lot of old PS1/2 JRPGs are basically hybrid visual novels.

[Ranari_Kai]

Another two VNs for this list:

 

Death Mark - It plays like a first-person point and click adventure with rpg-like battles. Its is a horror game similiar to the Corpse Party franchise. It has a really good story with an awesome twist at the end. If you're into freaky, messed up japanese horror in the style of Junji Itō, this one is for you. The sequel Spirit Hunter NG is also pretty good, though a bit weaker in my personal opinion.

 

Raging Loop - This one is pretty new. I didn't expected a lot of it in the beginning, but the story really gripped me after a while. I is (another) horror-story about a remote village which is is plagued by supernatural murders. It reminds me strongly of Higurashi no naku koro ni. Give it a try and just ignore the fact, that most people here on psnprofiles just play the game for an easy 15 minutes plat.

[awf9495]

Just wanted to thank all of those who recommended The House in Fata Morgana. Somehow, I totally missed this but after a bit of research, it is right up my alley and I will be purchasing it over the weekend.

 

Always love that feeling when a game comes out of nowhere and jumps to the top of the must-buy list.

[BinBinricecake]

Our world has ended (even better if you like gintama as Tomokazu Sugita is in the game!)

The Utawarumono games (Mainly VN but has fire like game play in between the vn segments)(note: all utawarumono games except zan as zan is a hack and slash that basically retells mask of deception)

[Jelly Soup]

Worth pointing out for people new to the genera and are wary about investing, if you've had PSN+ for at least the last four years, you have a small sampling pile waiting for you in your collection already. Would be a good way to get started.

[Crispy_Oglop]

Sorry I haven't had much time to post in here, as usual work has been mad recently. Based on some recommendations, I bought Steins;Gate, the Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc / Danganronpa 2 pack and Pheonix Wright. I read a little bit about the premise of Danganronpa and it sounded a little like the Battle Royale movie (which is one of my favourite movies).

 

There are so many recommendations in here i've actually made that list even bigger now ?

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Crispy_Oglop

[Razzee-P]

Steins;Gate and Ever 17 are too slow-paced for a beginner. You should start with Danganronpa or Zero Escape: 999.

[freddie1989]

Always on the hunt for new stuff myself but I presume the majority of these are not proper games in the sense of the word. They are just click along stories? There is a thread referring to Steins Gate as 'the perfect game' but videos online don't have any playing involved just reading. Do any of them even have some QTEs in etc?

 

[starcrunch061]

13 hours ago, Jelly Soup said:

Worth pointing out for people new to the genera and are wary about investing, if you've had PSN+ for at least the last four years, you have a small sampling pile waiting for you in your collection already. Would be a good way to get started.

 

That's assuming that you picked them up when available. Also, a few of those (including their best offering) were for Vita, if memory serves.

 

24 minutes ago, freddie1989 said:

Always on the hunt for new stuff myself but I presume the majority of these are not proper games in the sense of the word. They are just click along stories? There is a thread referring to Steins Gate as 'the perfect game' but videos online don't have any playing involved just reading. Do any of them even have some QTEs in etc?

 

Stein;s Gate is certainly a choose-your-own-adventure read. However, Zero Escape (which I consider in the VN category) has the choice element, but also an escape-from-the-room puzzle game. It's excellent. Danganronpa has its court sequences (and some suspect post-game nonsense). I haven't played Dangan3, but it looks like it has all kinds of crazy crap in it.

 

There's a pretty remarkable variety out there, at least among the best.

Edited November 20, 2019 by starcrunch061

[freddie1989]

19 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

Stein;s Gate is certainly a choose-your-own-adventure read. However, Zero Escape (which I consider in the VN category) has the choice element, but also an escape-from-the-room puzzle game. It's excellent. Danganronpa has its court sequences (and some suspect post-game nonsense). I haven't played Dangan3, but it looks like it has all kinds of crazy crap in it.

 

There's a pretty remarkable variety out there, at least among the best.

 

For me personally I think Telltale, Life is Strange is the kind of thing I can cope with story wise. If it is Japanese teenagers reading a story while not moving I will likely get bored.