Current Events > Steam Visual Novel sale on right now till the 14th

(+) Yeah! (+)

What to get?

Okay, I have to check that out.

EDIT: Screw the edit, topic went on so I just post anew

Can't you just watch someone click through the dialogue on Youtube?

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Can't you just watch someone click through the dialogue on Youtube?

Id like to support the devs with my monies.

What ones do you suggest? I like stuff like Umineko/Higurashi, Danganronpa, 999/VLR, Steins;Gate, Rewrite, Ai Somnium Files etc

i havent read anything else from Key. I did read Root Double but thought it was eh

Dropping some recommendations played on the VNs I already read:

Wonderful Everyday (not for beginners and pretty heavy and extreme)
Clannad (don't even try to 100% this without a guide)
The House in Fata Morgana (Top! The first arc may be a bit strange)
Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0
Aokana (It's fine, a bit overhyped I think)
Rewrite
Little Busters (much better than the anime)
If my heart had wings (defintily worth 3)

There are also dozens of other VNs I know are great, but had not the time to read them at all. Many will tell me that my list is lacking, that X and Y are missing, and that I should be ashamed to not include them.

They are right.

Bonus VN:
Narcissu. This VN is FREE. Always.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

What ones do you suggest? I like stuff like Umineko/Higurashi, Danganronpa, 999/VLR, Steins;Gate, Rewrite, Ai Somnium Files etc

i havent read anything else from Key. I did read Root Double but thought it was eh

If the art style doesn't disturb you, take a serious look at House in Fata Morgana

What's a good vn that isn't porn. I'm a delicate flower that prefers adventure stories or mysteries or sci fi or comedy with no porn in it.

I don't mind non porn fanservice though, I do watch anime. I mean I'm contemplating buying a visual novel.

going to shout out your turn to die here, it's free
similar to danganronpa but has actually good writing

You solve a mystery?

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

What's a good vn that isn't porn. I'm a delicate flower that prefers adventure stories or mysteries or sci fi or comedy with no porn in it.

I don't mind non porn fanservice though, I do watch anime. I mean I'm contemplating buying a visual novel.

If you don't care about your story being about Anime High School kids using all anime tropes they can find, try Rewrite.

Bit of everything, and no porn.

It's a romance?

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

It's a romance?

Ehhhh, not really.

There are the girls, and you "choose their route", and the protagonist and them end up together here and there, but it never really goes loveydovey romance.

If you would want romance I would not recommend it for that, and if you don't like romance, I would not say that you have to avoid it.

"I like you, so I want to be here for you <romantic hug and tears flowing>" is probably the most romantic thing you will find there.

But that's my oppinion who loves a good romance story. Someone who activly dislikes that may measure it differently.

I usually find romance boring tbh. The exception I guess is if I already like the characters because there was a cool adventure or a hilarious adventure. Then I get all sappy about the characters. I'm a sucker once I'm invested.

Has anyone tried this "Marco and the Galaxy Dragon" the sale is pushing?

Here are some that I'd recommend:

• Chaos;Head Noah - The first entry in the Science Adventure franchise. It's about a delusional shut-in being hunted by a serial killer who is on the rampage in Shibuya. Make sure you get the improvement patch from Committee of Zero.
• Steins;Gate - The second entry in the Science Adventure series. A self proclaimed mad scientist accidentally invents a time machine and decides to perform various experiments not knowing what sort of damage he's causing.
• Higurashi When They Cry - New kid Keiichi moves to a town in the middle of nowhere and makes a good group of friends but that all changes when he finds out about a murder that took place the year before. When he asks his friends, they start acting different around him. Are they in on it and is Keiichi next? Episode 1 is free. Make sure you get the 07th mod to improve the art.
• Wonderful Everyday: Down the Rabbit Hole - Not for everyone admittedly and you need a strong stomach for most of it but it's a delightfully strange journey. I'm wary of giving too much away but it's a VN that will leave a mark on you for better or worse.
• The House in Fata Morgana - A man arrives at a strange house with no memory except a maid claims that she's been waiting for his arrival. If he looks at the past eras of the house, he may rediscover his past.
• Raging Loop - A man accidentally winds up in the middle of a strange village where every night a werewolf will murder someone and in the morning, it's up to the villagers to decide who the wolf is.
• Little Busters! - It's a story about friendship at the heart of it and making the best of your time at school with people you care about so much.

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

I usually find romance boring tbh. The exception I guess is if I already like the characters because there was a cool adventure or a hilarious adventure. Then I get all sappy about the characters. I'm a sucker once I'm invested.

Oh, shit.
In that case, yes, you will go full sappy, because of the personal drama involved.

Edit: Wait, maybe I got your wrong about that...

Not sure if this is now a reason for you to stay away from it, or grap it ASAP, but it's a VN by key.

They know how to hit your feelings hard. With a Sledgehammer.

Has anyone tried this "Marco and the Galaxy Dragon" the sale is pushing?

Never read it, but AFAIK it's pretty decent but somewhat average?

I mean, it's 5

In general, I can only recommend VNDB.org to check VNs out that interest you.

Trelve posted...

Higurashi When They Cry - New kid Keiichi moves to a town in the middle of nowhere and makes a good group of friends but that all changes when he finds out about a murder that took place the year before. When he asks his friends, they start acting different around him. Are they in on it and is Keiichi next? Episode 1 is free. Make sure you get the 07th mod to improve the art.

Speaking of that, I have watched like a few episodes of the old anime ages ago and don't remember much and played a tiny bit of the first chapter less ages ago, but I'm not really sure of the chronology of it all. I noticed two different 50ish buck "when they cry" bundles on the sale page. What do they contain exactly?

Karovorak posted...

Oh, shit.
In that case, yes, you will go full sappy, because of the personal drama involved.

I see. Like Stein's Gate for example, it was weird and had a lot of hilarious bits so when it got all dramatic at the end I had to pull the tissues out cuz my eyes got filled with tearsss ;_;

Not sure if this is now a reason for you to stay away from it, or grap it ASAP, but it's a VN by key.

They know how to hit your feelings hard. With a Sledgehammer.

I don't mind being emotionally manipulated if it's interesting.

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

I see. Like Stein's Gate for example, it was weird and had a lot of hilarious bits so when it got all dramatic at the end I had to pull the tissues out cuz my eyes got filled with tearsss ;_;

I don't mind being emotionally manipulated if it's interesting.

Then I think you will be fine.

Of course, I can't guarantee that it's going to be your cup of tea, and I can't say for sure how many tissues you are going to need.

Just be aware that it's a solid long read, so if you want to see everything, it may take some time.

What I bought so far v

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/9/AAfeQBAAEvA9.jpg

Ill be looking at the suggestions and will likely get more. What I got were from my wishlist.

I just read some steam reviews again, and it's sad that I still have to say that in 2023:

Before buying and playing, check the Community board or vndb.org if they have some fanmade patches available.

I swear to god, some steam releases are outright abyssal in their quality.

It would not be the first time that I go to steam, buy a VN, and then keep it at 0.5 hours playtime because I was reading it elsewhere.

AI_TechGam3FAQS posted...

What I bought so far v

Ill be looking at the suggestions and will likely get more. What I got were from my wishlist.

I don't know most of them, but this will definitly keep you busy for some time.

Clannad alone is quite a read.

And it you are interessted in the naughty NSFW stuff, you should check the NSFW section of mangagamer directly, instead of steam.

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

Speaking of that, I have watched like a few episodes of the old anime ages ago and don't remember much and played a tiny bit of the first chapter less ages ago, but I'm not really sure of the chronology of it all. I noticed two different 50ish buck "when they cry" bundles on the sale page. What do they contain exactly?

The main Higurashi series consists of 8 episodes. If you buy the bundle called Higurashi When They Cry Hou, you'll get all of them plus a bonus extra story in Higurashi Rei.

There's also Umineko When They Cry, which is a different story to Higurashi so avoid that for now.

AI_TechGam3FAQS posted...

What I bought so far v

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/9/AAfeQBAAEvA9.jpg

Some good ones there! Hope you enjoy them. Reminder to get the improvement patch for Chaos;Head Noah as the base translation is garbage.
http://sonome.dareno.me/projects/chn-patch.html

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

Speaking of that, I have watched like a few episodes of the old anime ages ago and don't remember much and played a tiny bit of the first chapter less ages ago, but I'm not really sure of the chronology of it all. I noticed two different 50ish buck "when they cry" bundles on the sale page. What do they contain exactly?

There's a few different "when they cry" stories, this is basically what the series is:

Higurashi When They Cry
This was described above and I don't want to spoil it much, but basically it's about a new kid on the block who gets caught up in a murder conspiracy on a small rural town. The game takes place over 8 chapters which all have weird names but they are in chronological order. Steam sells them as separate titles but they are all part of the one story in the same visual novel. You can't skip any.
If you don't mind a bit of spoilers, I can spoil how the story is structured chapter by chapter.
It's a groundhog day type murder mystery. At the start of each chapter, the story "resets" and you see the same few days play out, with different events cumulating into a butterfly effect of sorts resulting in drastically different outcomes. This takes place over 8 chapters where by the end you'll have learned everything about the mystery.

If you look it up in steam you will see this:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/9/3/AAfAHXAAEvBp.jpg

Again I can never remember the real names but they are numbered for convenience. There is also Higurashi When They Cry Hou, which I think are side stories and not important. I heard there is one specific side story which is really good but I haven't read it.

Edit: I realise now that "Hou" is a bundle/rename of the main game, and Rei is is side stories?

Umineko When They Cry
This is the second entry in the "when they cry" series. It's set in the same universe as Higurashi, but it takes place in an entirely different location with entirely different characters. You can play this without having played Higurashi, but if you played Higurashi first you would get more value out of it.

This one is set on a private island own by a rich businessman. Their family is visiting them to have a family meeting about inheritance once their father passes away. A storm rolls over the island and they are isolated from the outside world. During this storm, people are murdered one by one. The structure is similar to Higurashi if you read that spoiler block.

This is split up into "Question Arcs", and "Answer Arcs":
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/9/4/AAfAHXAAEvBq.png
Question arcs come first (they are chapters 1-4), and answer arcs come second (chapters 5-8). here is also "Umineko: Golden Fantasia" which is some random fighting game that got made for some reason.

Higurashi and Umineko are both IMO, but they tend to drag on in some parts. But in the parts where it's good, they get really fucking good. Some of the most memorable characters and stories I've ever read TBH. The music and sound are stellar and as memorable as the story.

Ciconia When They Cry
This was to be the third entry in the When They Cry series. Chapter 1 is out on Steam now. I think due to covid, it got put on hiatus. I don't know when future chapters are coming out. I haven't read it myself, but it's probably good given that Higurashi and Umineko are also good. Chapter 2 is coming out eventually but got delayed due to Covid I think and now the author has some contracted work he's committed to (silent hill I think?). After that he will resume work on this, but for now it's incomplete as a series although chapter 1 itself is done.

Anyway, Higurashi and Umineko are absolutely fantastic IMO although they are a bit flawed

Karovorak posted...

If the art style doesn't disturb you, take a serious look at House in Fata Morgana

I think I got this a while back but haven't read it yet.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

I think I got this a while back but haven't read it yet.

Then you should read it even more.

I truly love the story and the narrative style of this VN.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

I think I got this a while back but haven't read it yet.

I recommend it. It's one of the few VN I've read but it was really good.

It start out boring as hell though, (ok that's a lie the prologue was ok but the first chapter...woof. It's all worth it later.)

Ryukishi07 the GOAT

Flowers tetralogy. Easily one of the best yuri VNs

Lilycle Rainbow Stage. Comfy slice of life yuri VN

Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition

Rewrite is the GOAT

The House in Fata Morgana is very likely my favorite game ever. It's superb.

There's a serious lack of Paranormasight recommendations in here. That game is very recent, but it flew pretty far under the radar. Super fun mystery VN with some Zero Escape vibes. It's a bit short, but it's a really fun ride and it's quite cheap.

Ace Attorney is always good for the two people in the world who haven't played that, too.

TheWizardOfOrz posted...

I recommend it. It's one of the few VN I've read but it was really good.

It start out boring as hell though, (ok that's a lie the prologue was ok but the first chapter...woof. It's all worth it later.)

Yes, the first arc is a bit full of thoughts like "Why should I care about them again?" and "Why am I listening to some strange story inside a story?" but the build up over time is great.

There is reason why this VN is somehow unknown and recommended as fuck at the same time.

There is no anime or other games behind it, as Steins;Gate or Fate have by now, and it isn't free or memeable as Doki Doki Literature Club.

The day I bought the VN spontanously on a gut feeling was a good day (I truly do this way too often), and there is a good reason why Fata Morgana is recommended by so many.