Good Bishoujo games?

Visual Novel Community Visual Novel Talk
#1

I’m interested in story driven games (lots of substance too :slight_smile: ) with characters you can care about. While I do prefer a ‘normal’ (normal being in the real world, where the only thing certain are death and taxes) setting, I am willing to forgo that if it means a good story with engaging characters. So really at this point I’ll bet I sound like a broken recorder, so any suggestions? Hope it’s not too tall an order 8)
PS: I’d very much like a story with choices(that have actual consequences!) but I’d happily settle for one that doesn’t if it’s as good as Narcissu.

EDIT: All my opinions on these games are based on wikipedia’s synopsis.

1.Crescendo- Looks like a run-of-the-mill standard visual novel (not that it’s a bad thing), heard good things about it though.

2.Figures Of Happiness-Has a pretty unusual theme, head quite a few people mention it.

3.Piece Of Wonder-Evolutions? Phoenix? POKEMON?!? Seriously though, looks to have potential and as usual, comes recommended.

4.Hourglass Of Summer-This one actually looks quite good. Albeit funky with the whole time travelling thing but heard it’s liquid gold from the people who played it.

5.One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e-Before you guys jump on me for saying this looks boring, I’m a rookie and know next to thing about this stuff. It got lots of mention though, and I’m left wondering if it’s any good.

6.Heart De Room mate-Seems a bit tacky and fan-service(ey). It came up a few times as suggestions.

7.Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Makes You Dream-I took a liking to the art style of this. Please say it’s good.

8.Fate/Stay Night-Just put this in here because of several mentions. See no.6. It had better have a good story. Not into the whole magic thing.

8.Tsukihime-Death lines? O_o Uncertain how to feel about the premise.

9.Kazoku Keikaku-Heard it’s better than Hourglass Of Summer, and fond of it’s art style. Comes very well recommended.

10.Snow Sakura-I get strange bitter sweet feelings form this. Lots of people have only good things to say about this game.

11.CLANNAD-See 10, I hope it’s good. Sure looks that way. People seem to worship this game.

12.School Days-Seen the anime, me likey the characters. Is the VR(School Days HQ) any good? I know it hasn’t been released yet but I do know it is much like the original school days.

Please feel free to give me other VRs that fit the bill :mrgreen: Thanks guys!

#2

They’re heavily into the fantasy genre, but from the list my favorites would be Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night, which are the most story driven ones.

#3

Top 3 I’d recommend are Crescendo, Yume Miru Kusuri, and Kazoku Keikaku.

If you can stomach sci-fi, a couple of other really good games are Critical Point and Demonbane. But if you don’t like sci-fi, don’t bother with them.

#4

I’ve only played 1, 6, 7, 9 and 10. Listed in order of preference:
9) Kazoku Keikaku is a classic. Just like many classics it feels old. But it’s extremely good nonetheless. I think it fits perfectly to your preferences too. Also, Wakamoto Norio in a major comedic role.

  1. Crescendo has some very believable characters. It seemed to me like it was just trying to cover all kinds of fetishes at the beginning and I was worried they weren’t going to pull it off, but they did and I enjoyed it a lot.
  2. Yume Miru Kusuri was a very interesting tale with a somewhat interesting protagonist and all that, but I couldn’t sympathize with him at all. So, I didn’t like it much. There were some really powerful moments here and there, though. And I bet if you actually end up liking the protag you’ll probably love the game.
  3. Snow Sakura is quite a bit funny at times. A few Card Captor Sakura references here and there. Nothing much to speak of, but it was an enjoyable experience.
  4. A Heart de Roommate… Great ending! Too bad the rest 98% of the VN wasn’t funny, touching or interesting in any way.

Also if we’re including games outside this list, my all-time favorite game (which also has nothing to do with fantasy) is Kira Kira.

#5

Crescendo, YMK, Hourglass of Summer, Tsukihime, and Fate/Stay Night are must plays in my book. Snow Sakura and Figures of Happiness are also good, just not as good as the aforementioned.
Other story driven games I highly reccomend are the following:
Sharin no Kuni Himawari no Shoujo and its fandisc
G Senjou no Maou
Demonbane
Phantom of Inferno
Da Capo 2
Kara no Shoujo
Soul Link
Ever 17: Out of Infinity
9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors

#6

-YMK
-Kana Imouto
-ef
-Yuno
-eve
-DESIRE
-Suika
-Exodus guilty(?)
-WAB
-Muv Luv series
-Saya no uta
-Swan Song

#7

Unfortunately, some of the recommendations from you guys while interesting, are non-existent on the J-list shop (eg.Tsukihime, Hourglass of Summer, Swan Song, Fate/Stay Night-It’s there but only in Japanese with no English subtitles whatsoever. Among some others) The ones I definitely plan to get is School Days (what can I say, the characters in the anime really made it for me and I want to make the end less… violent), Kazoku Keikaku, Saya No Uta(It’s only a pre-order now though and comes bundled with another game. No complains from me though :smiley: ). Kind of on the fence about Crescendo though, heard some characters weren’t really fleshed out and the game was pretty short.

#8

I loved “Heart de Roommate”, there is very little sex in it until near the end, but that’s okay. The game plays like an anime series, with the main character being forced to disguise himself as a girl and live in the girl’s dorm. The situations are fun and funny, the characters different enough from one another so they don’t blend together, (not all B games can claim that) and the ending is beautiful. HdR is one of my top 5 B games, but you have to go in expecting a mostly light hearted romp … if you want something heavier, then this won’t be for you, at least not through most of it.

Why has no one mentioned “Kana Little Sister”? This is a game that will tear your heart out and leave you hunched over your computer board weeping like a school girl. The saddest, most touching story I’ve ever played. Mind you, if you’re afraid of the Incest subject matter, (though it is handled very tastefully in here) then you might want to use a walkthrough so you get a non-Kana ending; the game is worth playing either way, however.

Then … Crescendo is a beautiful nostalgic game set in the last week of high school. It brings back all those memories from your school years, or gives you some better ones if yours - like mine - weren’t that great. (though I can still relate to that last week, saying goodbye to your friends and clubs theme) My personal favorite path was with the bad girl, but most all of them were very nice. (I think the sister path was my least favorite, actually, and I wouldn’t have expected that)

“Snow Sakura” was also a great game with some fabulous characters, very light hearted and amusing, well worth the ride from start to finish. My only problem with this one was the first half of the game is pretty much the same for every path, so replayability can get boring until the relationship branch.

YMK has some disturbing moments in it, which I found quite interesting, but be aware - especially if you romance the shy, bullied girl. I never actually finished the romance with the class president, as she never really interested me, but both of the others were full of some very interesting moments and revelations. This is a game you simply must play at some point; I won’t take no for an answer. :wink:

#9

Why does that matter?

#10

Would you go for a dollar when there was a thousand in reach? It’s like having to settle for a less interesting character (in my opinion of course) just because it was more developed and could give you a ‘fuller’ or so to speak story. The fact that it’s short doesn’t help much either… That said I’m probably still going to give it a try.

#11

No idea what that has to do with this…

A simple google search will show otherwise.

#12

The perils of lazy quoting at work. :stuck_out_tongue:
Anyway, a simple google search will not show any easy legal way to get those, fuji…

#13

It’s not a problem since J-list advertises those!

#14

Ah, I misunderstood you fuji, I thought you were referring to my statement that some characters in Crescendo weren’t really fleshed out. Apparently you were talking about fan translations? It’s late and my brain is all fuzzy. Anyway, I’ll look around and see what I can find.

#15

??_?

#16

From your list in the first post, I’ve played only the following games:

  • Snow Sakura: standard school comedy, funny, nice characters. I’d give it a 7/10.

  • Yume Miru Kusuri: quite dark in theme and atmosphere, talks about three girls with serious problems and how you help them reach a better life. I’d give it a 8/10.

  • Tsukihime: it’s just me (really, just me), but I didn’t like the game. Fact is, it’s the last Type-Moon title I came in contact with, so I found it too similar no FSN and Kara no Kyoukai. If you play this first, it will probably be the other way around. I’d give it a 6/10.

  • FSN: really, really good, but also really really long (40+ hours, maybe 50+). The story it’s all about combat and magic, so if you don’t like the genre you should probably search for something else. Still, one of the best VN currently available in English. I’d give it a 9/10.

You should also check out Demonbane (JAST), and Kira Kira and Kara no Shoujo (Mangagamer). There are many good games coming in the next months, too - Yumina and Saya no Uta are definitely two games you should check out, and School Days, My Girlfriend is the President and Eien no Aselia should be good too.

#17

Check out Yume Miru Kusuri for starters…
Also, Family Project/Kazoku Keikaku, haven’t played it yet; but it is probably what you’re looking for.

If you’re loving them, and want to try some action get G-senjou no Maou/Devil on the G-string next… (available currently at j-list at a high price) The setting is real world with a great story… (an excellent fan-translation is available)

And, from MangaGamer, you might see if KiraKira or Edelweiss interests you.
If you like dark detective stuff, check Kara no Shoujo.

EDIT: just browse this thread and choose the best sounding novels… you probably can’t go wrong :smiley:

#18

Arcticpulse, it seems we have the exact same tastes when it comes to visual novels. I’ll weigh in on the titles brought up in this thread that I’ve fully completed and offer a few links to authentic copies of the titles that are still on the market.

Crescendo

  • My personal favorite Visual Novel, outranking Fate / Stay Night, Phantom of Inferno, Family Project, and countless others (seriously, I’ve lost count of how many I’ve finished). Although a single playthough is on the short side (you can earn almost any ending in about 4 hours), the characters are down-to-earth and realistic, and their plights are easy to empathize with. Odds are quite high that you’ll be choking up by the end. Completing Kana ~Little Sister~ is a prerequisite to fully enjoying Cresendo - there is an extended homage in Kaori’s route that will very likely make you cry. This title isn’t for everyone; if you have a low tolerance for drama, you might want to look elsewhere (since you enjoyed Narcissu, I’m sure this one is right up your alley).

Kana ~Little Sister~

  • A rite-of-passage title among the visual novel fans that easily earns its place on many Top Ten lists. Countless titles shamelessly attempt to rip it off, but none have succeeded - and their failures have led newcomers to label the original as trite and cliche without even knowing what it’s actually about. Kengo Yonekura’s art style doesn’t sit well with me at all, but the story and characters more that make up for it. The spiritual predecessor to Crescendo (created by the same developers, though not the same authors or artists), Kana is renowned for bringing the most manly of men to tears. Romeo Tanaka later went on to write Yume Miru Kusuri, Cross Channel, and Family Project.

Figures of Happiness

  • Another of my favorites that examines what it means to love someone as well as what we really mean by the word “soulmate”. A few people have complained about the odd art style (I’m not one of them). The main characters are incredibly well-fleshed-out; unfortunately, some of the characters are clearly tacked-on. Although the game is sold out, it has been re-released as a digital download. If you’re lucky enough to find a physical copy somewhere like Amazon or eBay, pick it up!

Piece of Wonder

  • An amateur visual novel / strategy RPG hybrid with low productions values that somehow managed to recruit high-profile voice actors. I was severely underwhelmed by this title; the characters were relatively cliche and only one of the routes actually felt worthwhile. The art is passible, but the battle graphics are downright atrocious (comparable to Team 17’s original Worms). Not recommended.

Hourglass of Summer (Alternate link)

  • I wouldn’t say it’s “liquid gold”, but the game is quite good nonetheless. Since Hirameki no longer exists, you’ll have to rely on Amazon or eBay to grab a copy. You’re in luck - while scalpers were charging $60-$100 for the game before, a handful of people are offering new copies for around $10-$20 (see the above links).

Heart de Roommate

  • A visual novel styling itself like a harem anime sitcom (think Tenchi Muyo or Love Hina). Personally, I think it’s quite overrated - the characters are one-dimensional and the “twist” ending is rather formulaic (not to mention an untranslated line leads quite a few people to think the epilogue is a lot more depressing that it really is). The “next-episode trailers” aren’t translated, either. I wouldn’t say it’s not worth checking out, but there are many better titles out there.

Yume Miru Kusuri

  • Calling this title just “good” is a disservice; it’s a truly remarkable piece of fiction well-grounded in reality. Easy-to-relate to characters, a story that grabs you by the heart, and appropriately farm-and-fuzzy or heart-rending endings. Some of the sex scenes feel a little excessive, but, even then, they’re justified in the story since they flesh out the characters’ thoughts at that point in time. From the author of Kana, Cross Channel, and Family Project. You can check out the official English demo here.

Tsukihime

  • The premise may sound odd, but trust me when I say this is an incredible visual novel. Think about it for a moment: a group of amateurs wrote a novel which spawned a series of spinoffs, two anime series, a manga adaptation, and allowed the group to become a successful commercial VN developer. Although I prefer Fate / Stay Night, Tsukihime is very well-written and easily recommendable. Good luck finding a copy, though - the game has been out-of-print for a long time.

Fate / Stay Night

  • Think Tsukihime with high production values and success that even Capcom and Aksys Games can’t deny. My #3 favorite visual novel to date, outranked only by Crescendo and Phantom of Inferno. Incidentally, the author, Kinoko Nasu, is clearly a Gen Urobuchi fanboy - the similarities in writing style are obvious (and awesome - Urobuchi is amazing when it comes to writing action scenes). At times thought-provoking, tear-jerking, and jaw-dropping, it’s easy to recommend to pretty much anyone.

Phantom of Inferno (Alternate link)

  • An well-written story about crime and redemption. It has spawned two anime adaptations, Phantom: The Animation and Requiem for the Phantom. Phantom: The Animation is a terrible OAV that misses the point of the story; Requiem for the Phantom, on the other hand, stays quite faithful to the source material and is all the better for it. My #2 favorite visual novel for the pen of Gen Urobuchi (who also wrote Song of Saya and Hanachirasu). You can buy the game together with The Animation at RightStuf, and you can watch the entirety of Requiem on Funimation’s YouTube channel (watch the first three episodes - if you like 'em, you’ll love the game).

Family Project ~Kazoku Keikaku~

  • A good but admittedly quite overrated sitcom (“The greatest visual novel of all time”? You’ve got to be kidding me…) that examines what it really means to be a family. Quite clearly the inspiration for Clannad. I’m anti-censorship, so if you would like to check this one out, make sure you Google the decensor patch (JAST’s censorship undermines a character’s feelings of desperation and hopelessness in a particular scene, which I feel is inexcusable). While Family Project is pretty good, Romeo Tanaka has written objectively better works like Kana, Cross Channel, and Yume Miru Kusuri; Family Project may be the most accessible of the bunch, but it’s by no means the best (it’s just the most popular…).

Snow Sakura

  • Another good visual novel sitcom; this one is, in my opinion, much better than Family Project. Likeable characters (for the most part), but the story is a tad too melodramatic at times. It’s worth picking up nonetheless.

The Devil on G-String

  • Great characters, great music, great plot twists. The fan-translators went the extra mile to turn one of the driest parts of the original story and turn it into one of the most memorable. Jun Fukuyama makes a great villain. The ending will definitely leave you thinking. Incidentally, winner of the Best Bishoujo Game award for 2008 (and deserves it).

Cogwheel Country, Sunflower Girl (Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo)

  • Spiritual predecessor to The Devil on G-String with Norio Wakamoto in a truly memorable role. If you can find it, it’s worth picking up.

Cross Channel

  • A thoughtful look at mental illness from the eyes of those afflicted by it. From the pen of Romeo Tanaka (…do I need to repeat what else he’s written by now? ^_^;). If you can find it, you know what to do.

Song of Saya / Hanachirasu

  • Song of Saya = Gen Urobuchi’s take on H. P. Lovecraft (translation: superb psychological horror). Hanachirasu = modern-day revisionist-history samurai drama with great action scenes and sophisticated characters. I think Saya is the better of the two, but both are worth picking up at that price.

Ever 17 - Out of Infinity

  • Great modern-day sci-fi story with likeable characters and an unforgettable plot twist. Too bad scalpers charge an arm and a leg for it (seriously, $180!?).

That should me more than enough for a start. I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth by commenting on a title I’ve never finished, but there are dozens upon dozens of titles I’ve completed I haven’t mentioned here. Feel free to ask me or anyone else here if you’d like details on a particular title if what you find on VNDB or Google doesn’t satisfy your curiosity.

#19

Here ($200 though, hahaha, consider using amazon+intermediary. From my point of view Sharin is worth $200 but you can definitely find it at a lower price)

I won’t give any recommendations because other people are probably more up to speed on what’s translated, but I totally second Sharin, G-Senjou and Cross Channel.

#20

That link is to… the fan disc right? You can get the main game for ($105) : Here also from Paletweb.

I actually made a request on Paletweb for the fan disc when it was out of stock… and they got it in! … For 200$… Needless to say it’s still up there and the price hasn’t changed ><