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There is something special about visual novels. Kind of a mix between a book and a movie, they are able to convey ideas in a totally different way.
I played through quite a few and hope to share them briefly in this blog with minimal spoilers.
Most of the greatest ones invoke various emotions and feelings as you go through the characters lives.
From hope to despair, sadness to happiness, anger to apathy, each visual novel has something to share within that impacts in a meaningful way.
Here is the list!
(in no particular order)
- Kana: Little Sister
+ Show Spoiler +
My very first visual novel. I was recommended this actually from someone touting it as touching and thought provoking. Going though the other visual novels I have played, I actually thought this one was not as great as I was told.
Synopsis: You have a sick sister, and you share taboo love for each other. Honestly that is all I remember. It was very long ago and my memory isn't too great
Touchy topic as incest is usually not very looked highly upon. This sort of relative/family romantic love is actually a great big part of many visual novels surprisingly. I am not sure why but it is...
Also this novel is rated mature with sexual content.
- Clannad
+ Show Spoiler +
Key is famous for publishing many romance VN and this is one from the famous trio: Air, Kanon, and Clannad
The only visual novel that I did not finish
I have already watched the anime before and I did not have the motivation to finish!
Only thing I know is that it is very very long with 6 different girls.
Synopsis: You play as a delinquent high schooler, who with a depressed lookout on life. With an unstable family household, you trudge along life meaninglessly. However, you meet a quiet girl on the way to school one day. And your life is changed forever.
For those who have seen the anime, it's nice getting to see the main character ending up with different girls instead of just Nagisa. You can see Fujibayashi sisters' unrequited love come true!
- Mirai no Kimi to, Subete no Uta ni
+ Show Spoiler +
A popular internet figure, Hatsune Miku is a vocaloid music program thing
This visual novel however was a piece of ****
Synopsis: You are an ex music performer. You find miku in the trash dump and take it home. Then random shit happens with attempts at a story and meaning
Ok, so my view on this is not that great, but seriously this was trash, absolute TRASH
Waste of time. ALMOST no character development, no real story, no meaning, no fun
It was just a way to draw in to the large miku fanbase and did so poorly.
Very very basic with no depth at all
- Symphonic Rain
+ Show Spoiler +
Another pretty fun visual novel. With a music theme based story and gameplay. This one found a special place in my standing.
Synopsis: You play as a Chris, a talented musician who plays the Fortelle, a keyboard-like instrument. Attending a prestigious music high school, you are looking for an accompaniment vocalist to for your final recital which is your graduation exam.
This visual novel actually has a game aspect to it. Although not very challenging, it is pretty fun pressing keys to notes of various songs that you perform in the game.
+ Show Spoiler + With different songs for different girls, it is varied and interesting. Only change I wish that was possible was increasing the difficulty of the note games. Since there already is different difficulty options, why not make the most difficult difficulty actually hard?
- Higurashi Naku Koro Ni + Kai
+ Show Spoiler +
I could create a blog for this one alone
One of my favorites, and fills the thriller genre very very well. There is actually almost no gameplay with this one, with only 1 or 2 actually choices you can make, that do not impact the game at all.
You just play though and take the story in.
Synopsis: You play as a new Transfer student in a rural town called Hinamizawa with mysterious backgrounds. The story is not focused on school, but rather what happens outside. With mysterious murders and disappearances, secret and hidden pasts, and supernatural and paranormal events, you try to figure out what exactly is going on.
Absolutely amazing, once you get past the outdated graphics, the story is fantastic, thrilling, and plain creepy in some parts. Although quite long and lengthy (and a bit disorienting), it is very fun with it all culminating up to a beautiful ending. One of the best novels I have every played.
- Chaos;Head
+ Show Spoiler +
This was quite lengthy visual novel, with flashy graphics and detailed art. Kind of over-hyped, I found the story to be lackluster and disappointing.
Synopsis: You play as a reclusive paranoid high school student, a hikkikomori. You discover a gruesome murder one day and try to solve what is going on as more mysterious events seem to surround your life.
Suppose to be a thriller/mystery novel, I found it not very thrilling or mysterious. First, I hate the main character you play as. And I thought depressed main characters were bad until I met this guy. The whole story is blown out of proportion and is very unbelievable. It tries way to hard to be this epic story that quite frankly is not.
- Tsukihime
+ Show Spoiler +
An action/mystery visual novel. Quite surprising how well action is portrayed. With it's many epic fights and battles, all with no video. Only minimal pictures and sound effects.
Synopsis: You play as Shiki Tohno, who is living his daily high school life, until he is called back to his original household in the Tohno mansion. He was sent away from his main home to a relative after a tragic accident. Why was he called back now? And for what reason was he sent away in the first place?
I absolutely love this visual novel. Mysterious and thrilling, with a supernatural yet realistic setting. Very nice characters each with their own qualities and faults that make them unique and loveable. Each character has their own back story as well that loops in very nicely to the main character and the story. I highly recommend this one to anyone. This is also rated +18 with sexual content.
- Kanon
+ Show Spoiler +
Another Key visual novel. This one, I played though entirely although I have already watched the anime.
Synopsis: You play as a high school student who transferred to region where you spent your childhood. However many things are vague as it has been very long since you left. Can you unearth your memories from the past to figure out what you have lost?
I really enjoyed this one. The winter scenery gave it a kind of ethereal winter wonderland feel, and who doesn't like snow covered trees! Again, many different routes with different characters. I personally enjoyed Shiori's arc the most. And it was the most sad 
Another interesting thing to note is how Nayuki is your cousin and she is also one of the girls to explore. Seeing a pattern here? I don't know the specifics on Japanese marriage laws but I'm pretty sure that this isn't exactly promoted. Nevertheless it happens so I'll just take it as it is.
This VN came with 18+ and an All Ages version. I played the 18+ and it was meh. The sexual content was just slapped on and almost intrusive. I would actually recommend the All Ages version as I believe it will flow together better.
- Yume Miru Kusuri
+ Show Spoiler +
You can find more detail about this in my Blogs!
Synopsis: You play as Kouhei Kagami, a high school student who lives an uneventful life. He is studious as he does not want to be a bother to his foster parents and his younger sister and lives an apathetic life. He rarely socializes and doesn't bring attention to himself in school.
So this is actually a visual novel with emphasis on explicit sexual content. That doesn't mean the story is any less good! It's just there is a lot more of it embedded in the story. I loved Aeka's story with all the sadness and hint of madness. If you are able to overlook (or enjoy...) the content, I would recommend this one!
- Cross Channel
+ Show Spoiler +
Ahhh saved the best for last 
Synopsis: You play as Taichi Kurosu, who attends Gunjo Gakuen, a high school where students with a high Adaption Coefficient determined by testing, are gathered to be helped/isolated. However, something strange happens and Taichi figures out that he is caught in a time loop where a single week is repeated. Determined to fix and restore broken relationships, he sets out to make things right.
Phenomenal visual novel. Although very confusing at first, as you begin to understand what is going on, everything starts clicking in. Quite possible the most influential one as well. Delving into issues that are human, it taught me tolerance, reality, and sympathy. I am definitely going to create a blog soon going into the details of this VN. This is also 18+ with sexual content.
And there is my list!
Thank you for everyone that stayed 'til the end!
Also if anyone wants to see a detailed review of any of the visual novels above,
I will be happy to post another blog
 
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where's hatoful kareshi. there's literally nothing that can compare to it
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Where's Fate/stay night ? 
Anyways, nice list, man. I will have to read some of those when I have the time.
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I still haven't gotten around to finishing Yume Miru Kusuri yet. I did the brown haired crazy girl route, and it was WAY out there. I got halfway through the white haired girl route until I realized she was crazy in the exact opposite way and I put it down. The story was good, just a little too insane for my tastes, but hey, that's the whole point of the game after all.
Clannad...good gods Clannad. I made the mistake of watching the anime first so I already knew about how everyone would react and got bored on my 3rd playthrough. T.T But "long" doesn't even cover it. I bet there's 100+ hours of story there if you do it right. Impressive as hell from a VN. Really wishing I hadn't watched the anime first, I bet I would have enjoyed the hell out of it.
I'll definitely be marking down Cross Channel to check it out when I have the time, that looks insanely interesting. I also have Kana, but haven't gotten around to playing it yet, I might make that my next project. >.>
To add to this list a few you can try (not going to write full synopses for them, as you've likely heard of them) --
Katawa Shoujo -- It gets a little flack for its writing, but I really enjoyed it myself. I think it got to the point where so many people called it overrated that now it's *underrated*. The Adult Content is there (can be disabled), but the feels man. So many feels. Also, it's free, but with production quality better than a lot of pay novels I've played. There's a whole TL thread dedicated to it -- http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=303622
Fate/Stay Night -- I really enjoyed the VN, and I actually played it before watching the anime, which I think made it better. 3 full routes to explore, and also easy to die, which I appreciate, seeing as there's not really any challenge in a VN to start with. Both a 13+ and an 18+ version to work with,
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story -- This one is short. Very short. As I recall, I finished it the first time in a couple of hours. And it's freeware, which has all the things that come with that -- the art's not spectacular, no voiceovers that I remember, there's no 18+ content, etc etc, but the story is interesting and makes you feel completely like a weirdo while playing it. You play as a teacher who has a class full of students, and have access to their e-mail and their social media, and in typical creeper fashion, you check up on it as the game goes along. As you go along in the game, new E-Mails and FB-style messages pop up, and you're actually forced to read them before you move on with the plot. You feel completely like a creep while doing it, but the game's totally worth playing. No 18+ content here as far as I remember. But it's worth going through once, and you can't beat free. >.>
...dammit now you've got me in the VN mood again. bbl playing Kana. >.>
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Hah yeah there is a lot I haven't read!
I have Little Busters installed but haven't gotten around to read it
Been busy with other stuff
and again it's a personal list, not like a top list
That Miku VN was god awful ;_;
and yeah Yume Miru is really crazy lol
And you should definitely check out Cross Channel
I heard a lot about Fate/Stay Night but haven't played it
I heard it's kind of similar to Tsukihime or related?
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Seconding Muv-Luv trilogy, Fate/Stay Night (with Realta Nua added content!), Little Busters, and Katawa Shoujo
In case there weren't enough suggestions yet, also going to add Ever 17, Sharin no Kuni (18+), and Steins;Gate
My top recs from those would be Muv-Luv, Ever 17, and F/SN in that order
If you have a Nintendo DS, 9-9-9, Ghost Trick, and the Ace Attorney series are great too
Glad you also enjoyed Yume Miru Kusuri, Kanon, and Tsukihime :D
Kana really made a big impact on me back in the day, but I guess I've also had trouble going back to re-read it now after going through more modern stuff.
Cross Channel sounds really interesting now, I'll have to look into it - thanks for the heads up!
Regarding some of the others that have been mentioned:
I've been stalled on Saya no Uta and Tomoyo After for several months now mainly due to lack of time. So far, seem pretty decent, from what I can remember.
I tried reading the Higurashi VNs in the past but had trouble getting into them since I'd already watched the anime (kind of like your story with Clannad?). Should probably give them another shot at some point.
Edit: My list: http://vndb.org/u27930/list
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@Ushio
Kara no Shoujo, I really didn't find that good...
Some noteworthy VN that went unmentioned:
Planetarian, Swan Song, Forest (and anything by Liar-soft really but Forest is easily the best), Kira☆Kira, and anything by Nitroplus if you want to foray into whole action genre which is one of my best preferred genes.
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I know some people may hate me for saying this, but try G Senjou no Maou. For some reason, I found this to be the best VN I ever played. I cried more tears than I did with Clannad.
And for some reason, I think that Crime and Punishment would make a badass visual novel.
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No mentions of Umineko? That series has literally the greatest soundtrack in entertainment, has an awesome cast of characters, a great mystery, and a fuckton of emotion.
Also, Muv-Luv is amazing, Ever17/Remember11/999+VLR are awesome as well.
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On April 16 2013 09:41 ArcticFox wrote:I still haven't gotten around to finishing Yume Miru Kusuri yet. I did the brown haired crazy girl route, and it was WAY out there. I got halfway through the white haired girl route until I realized she was crazy in the exact opposite way and I put it down. The story was good, just a little too insane for my tastes, but hey, that's the whole point of the game after all. Clannad...good gods Clannad. I made the mistake of watching the anime first so I already knew about how everyone would react and got bored on my 3rd playthrough. T.T But "long" doesn't even cover it. I bet there's 100+ hours of story there if you do it right. Impressive as hell from a VN. Really wishing I hadn't watched the anime first, I bet I would have enjoyed the hell out of it. I'll definitely be marking down Cross Channel to check it out when I have the time, that looks insanely interesting. I also have Kana, but haven't gotten around to playing it yet, I might make that my next project. >.> To add to this list a few you can try (not going to write full synopses for them, as you've likely heard of them) -- Katawa Shoujo -- It gets a little flack for its writing, but I really enjoyed it myself. I think it got to the point where so many people called it overrated that now it's *underrated*. The Adult Content is there (can be disabled), but the feels man. So many feels. Also, it's free, but with production quality better than a lot of pay novels I've played. There's a whole TL thread dedicated to it -- http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=303622Fate/Stay Night -- I really enjoyed the VN, and I actually played it before watching the anime, which I think made it better. 3 full routes to explore, and also easy to die, which I appreciate, seeing as there's not really any challenge in a VN to start with. Both a 13+ and an 18+ version to work with, don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story -- This one is short. Very short. As I recall, I finished it the first time in a couple of hours. And it's freeware, which has all the things that come with that -- the art's not spectacular, no voiceovers that I remember, there's no 18+ content, etc etc, but the story is interesting and makes you feel completely like a weirdo while playing it. You play as a teacher who has a class full of students, and have access to their e-mail and their social media, and in typical creeper fashion, you check up on it as the game goes along. As you go along in the game, new E-Mails and FB-style messages pop up, and you're actually forced to read them before you move on with the plot. You feel completely like a creep while doing it, but the game's totally worth playing. No 18+ content here as far as I remember. But it's worth going through once, and you can't beat free. >.> ...dammit now you've got me in the VN mood again. bbl playing Kana. >.>
Ooooh man Katawa Shoujo. I've done so many things without batting an eye in the virtual world. So many, many things I've done. Not one tear was ever shed for the burned masses of Spec Ops: the Line. Never once did I flinch as I perforated my friends in Mass Effect.
But this? This tiny little indie game, developed by some random people from 4chan? A tale about some high school kid who meets some high school girls and just lives his life?
That shit broke me. I was stuck in my bed for hours, bawling my eyes out.
That game was definitely something.
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You're a total animenerd, JSH. :D
I liked Clannad, but After Story made me angry. :/
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haha
Yo After Story was the best part of Clannad
;__;
I heard great things about Umineko but didn't get a chance to play it
Too many things to play
Also Muv Luv seems to get mentioned a lot
I've never heard of that one actually
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Why does no one like Rewrite The main plot is same author as YMK and Cross Channel too.
Only other one I've read that no one has recced already is Deardrops. Music based story with really good true route. I guess you can also read Phenomeno, translated by TL's very own Southlight
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On April 16 2013 12:50 KazeHydra wrote:Why does no one like Rewrite The main plot is same author as YMK and Cross Channel too. Only other one I've read that no one has recced already is Deardrops. Music based story with really good true route. I guess you can also read Phenomeno, translated by TL's very own Southlight
Oh really?
Does Rewrite have a crazy story line too then
it's Key novel though so can't be that weird
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On April 16 2013 12:50 KazeHydra wrote:Why does no one like Rewrite The main plot is same author as YMK and Cross Channel too. Only other one I've read that no one has recced already is Deardrops. Music based story with really good true route. I guess you can also read Phenomeno, translated by TL's very own Southlight
I've actually left that out deliberately since I felt KiraKira is better xD
I should try out the crossover sometime but I heard the team who developed it was skewed more toward Deardrops so meh
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On April 16 2013 13:22 JSH wrote:Show nested quote +On April 16 2013 12:50 KazeHydra wrote:Why does no one like Rewrite The main plot is same author as YMK and Cross Channel too. Only other one I've read that no one has recced already is Deardrops. Music based story with really good true route. I guess you can also read Phenomeno, translated by TL's very own Southlight Oh really? Does Rewrite have a crazy story line too then it's Key novel though so can't be that weird
Don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say I think the story is far superior to Cross Channel, and it's definitely the "weirdest" (I don't think this is the right word but whatever) Key VN. However, CC is more interesting in other ways especially with how many questions are left open-ended. I guess it's like, with RW you get all the answers hinted at and then revealed, which shows really good story writing whereas CC doesn't answer everything, leaving the reader to theorize, which is more interesting to think about along with the other themes.
On April 16 2013 13:53 Hesmyrr wrote:
I've actually left that out deliberately since I felt KiraKira is better xD
I should try out the crossover sometime but I heard the team who developed it was skewed more toward Deardrops so meh
I haven't read KiraKira so I can't comment on it but I did wonder why you mentioned KiraKira and not Deardrops haha.
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On April 16 2013 10:29 Hesmyrr wrote:
@Ushio
Kara no Shoujo, I really didn't find that good...
Some noteworthy VN that went unmentioned:
Planetarian, Swan Song, Forest (and anything by Liar-soft really but Forest is easily the best), Kira☆Kira, and anything by Nitroplus if you want to foray into whole action genre which is one of my best preferred genes.
You want to elaborate on why you didn't find KnS good? I thought it was a fun to read mystery story and that real dark fucked up feel was something I haven't experienced reading a VN before. The melancholy when you've finished it and return to the title screen with the music playing was astounding.
and @ JSH
I believe Tsukihime and F/SN share the same universe or something like that but the stories dont have anything to do with each other. If you meant related as in made by the same people then yes, they are both made by Type-Moon.
A little gripe about Katawa Shoujo is that it wasn't voiced so I couldn''t be bothered to read it. I don't know why but it really bothered me.
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Read through Kira Kira about a year ago, im halfway through clannad atm (have been for a while... motivation!)
Yo've interested me with that synopsis of cross channel... might give it a go!
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On April 17 2013 01:39 Ushio wrote:
You want to elaborate on why you didn't find KnS good? I thought it was a fun to read mystery story and that real dark fucked up feel was something I haven't experienced reading a VN before. The melancholy when you've finished it and return to the title screen with the music playing was astounding.
It's just my personal preference unfortunately. The plot just wasn't for me. I guess it is pretty decent to follow someone who likes detective -not mystery - genre, though I found the investigation part severely lacking and sometimes frustrating. The fact that I learned that there was pretty well-supported argument that the game plagiarized Natsuhiko Kyogoku's book Mōryō no Hako did not do any favours either.
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