I need a recommendation please

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

To get a sense of what I’m looking for I’ll explain. I’ve always played these games for the storyline more than the scenes. My first game was Yume Miru Kusuri and I must say it’s still my favorite. The reason being is that after the first few choices the story branches into completely different paths. I thought the X-Change franchise was pretty interesting but 1 and 2 seemed pretty repetitive when unlocking after the first character. After unlocking Asuka I went to unlock the other girls and realized it’s pretty much the same storyline up until the end.

I guess the question I’m asking is: What’s a game that isn’t so repetitive?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

#2

Crescendo might be the sort of game you’re looking for. Whilst there is one event near the end of the game which is common to all of the scenarios - after the first day, the paths all diverge, and have their own unique stories. The focus of the game is mainly on the storyline - at most there are two H-scenes per playthrough.

If you don’t mind playing a non-ero game, I’d highly recommend Ever 17 as well - although each girls’ route takes a while to branch off, and certain events are common to more than one path, it’s got an exceptionally good story.

#3

If you’re playing these games for the story, buy Ever17.

#4

Alright, thanks for your input. I guess if I was just in it for the scenes I wouldn’t mind the same storyline over and over again. Crescendo sounds like a good game. I’ll check it out. Maybe Ever17 after.

#5

Well if its good story there are quite a lot.

X-change Alternative is a better title in my opinion than the other three. That is mainly due to the fact that the “girl” is not as frustrating as Takuya.

Hitomi is quite story driven and it is easy with the branch system to get through the game with minimal trial and error, (it keeps track of your stuff so that you can get things done. But the ending is kind of long so you’ll have to slog through that.).

Private Nurse and Heart De Roommate both are superb if you like the story. They both branch out fairly well both both sides will have similar scenes.

Bible black may be a bit too extreme for you… (yeah… a pretty good story but the H-scenes go… yeah…)

Yume Miru Kusuri is definitely a beautiful game. :slight_smile: I’m glad you picked it out as your first.

Anyone know anything about Lightning warrior Raidy or something? I would probably want to check that game out but I don’t know how good it is… :slight_smile:

#6

Second the recommendations for Ever 17 (even though I haven’t played it yet), and the Angel Smile titles (Heart de Roommate, Private Nurse, Figures of Happiness).

If you like strong story in your game, play Nocturnal Illusion. It’s dirt cheap, and (assuming you make the obvious choice) you can get all the endings on one play through. (Once or twice, you’ll get asked a question like “which one of us do you like better, A or B?” while they’re both present – gee, that’s a hard one :slight_smile: Be warned NI is very old school, because it is a very old game; as I understand it, it was one of the first b-games to be more than a sexfest (yes, THAT old).

I would also add that Hitomi is a dark game, so I haven’t played it.

You might also like Brave Soul, it’s different. An RPG. There’s also Pretty Soldier Wars (the other RPG that just came out).

Critical Point actually has totally different explanations for what happens, depending which path you end up on. (That is, the overall story is different! There’s still a ‘main path’ though, and it’s pretty obvious why when you play.)

Doushin I have yet to play, but it has an interesting branching plot structure.

Games that are NOT recommended, given your description: Snow Drop, Little My Maid, all 3 of the GC series (Kango, Horny Bunny, and Come See Me Tonight), and Tokimeki Checkin!. While many of these games I like, they suffer from a repetitive structure.

#7

I love the details you guys are giving. It helps make my decision a lot easier. I enjoyed Heart de Roommate the first time but about 3/4ths of the “episodes” are the same in each path you choose.

I’ve heard good things about Bible Black but I think you’re right about it being extreme. I don’t mind the scenes at all, but it just seems to sex oriented.

Brave Soul also caught my attention in the past and with the recommendation I might try it out. Doushin was an interesting game because the first time you play through it it’s really confusing but there’s a path that really disturbs me.

Thank you so much for the details. I plan on getting a few games now and hopefully I’ll enjoy them. For the sake of conversation though, does anyone else hate picking a path when it’s something along the lines of: “Laugh at the girl who fell” or “Give the girl a hand”? I really hate those kinds of choices. Then again, I really hate the rape scenes even though it’s just a game. It highly disturbs me.

P.S. Yume Miru Kusuri was indeed a beautiful game Yashamaru. It was simply amazing.

#8

Another title that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Kana - Little Sister. The story is very beautiful, moving and sad, but most of the game remains the same between playthroughs (the years leading up to adulthood play very similarly and there are only two main story branches). This is balanced out by the endings, most of which are quite long and fulfilling. Being a relatively old game, it’s a bit on the short side and has no voice acting, but it contains of the best explorations of life and death that I’ve seen.

#9

Kana and Ever 17 would have to be right up there with Yume Miru Kusuri as strong story driven games.

But out of all the games I have played, none diverge the way YMK did. The paths are not totaly distinc once you split off like in YMK.

Ever 17 gets close, but it’s more of splits off then comes back, when you try different options, until the final “true” path which feels completely different.

Crescendo should not be missed either, as the paths vary quite a bit on it, and the “true” path is completely different as well.

I just ordered Chain and Private Nurse, I’ll post back once I give them a whirl.

#10

I’m agreeing with Kana - Little Sister, that’s a brilliant one.

If you want to go old school, True Love 95 (if you can still find a copy somewhere)

If you can also find a copy of Divi Dead (and can ignore the terrible translation issues), that’s another great one.

thinks Little My Maid was also very cute and had a great story.

#11

Yume Miru Kusuri was a great one.

Though some of these have already been mentioned I’d like to add my voice as well.

Ever 17 has to be my favorite. Very, very story driven, has a total of five paths, and although they do have plot carry over, there are a lot of twists and changes that build up more and more to the ‘true ending’ which you have to unlock by completing both ‘good endings’ for both of the male characters.

Crescendo was good, the stories diverge enough that it’s easy to enjoy replays. It also has another path which is unlocked after getting all the good endings.

Yin-Yang X-change Alternate was by far a lot better then the 1-3 of X-change IMO. If you didn’t much care for 1-3, still give Alternate a try, the story and humor are worth it.

The Sagara Family has a pretty laid back ‘funny’ sort of story too it. Although it’s a bit more heavy on the H, it still held up well enough story wise.

Hitomi is a bit darker in story when compared to the ones I listed above, but the plot and path divergence is interesting enough and makes it worth the look.

Private Nurse has a great deal of atmospheric feel to it and the story is certainly worth it. The only complaint I really had with it was the main character’s childish attitude gets a tad annoying at times. Still well worth it however.

Kana, admittedly has a very well done story, but for me it was just far too sad. Still very worth a look.

#12

I’m afraid I’ll have to disagree there. Granted, I never got all the endings … but the game’s story just isn’t that good. Parts of it are awesome … but those parts are few and far between. Also, the OP originally said he did not like repetition, and LMM is highly repetitive, to the point the game includes a disclaimer saying “you will notice some scenes are repeated. This is part of the game’s story, and is not a glitch.”

LMM is quite cute and I did like the 3 girls (never did get Hime or the green-haired one’s paths), but it does not meet either one of the dude’s criteria.

#13

Just finished my first playthrough of Private Nurse, and it’s a definite must-play.

#14

I would have to say pass on Chain if you want replay value. Apparently there are no multiple endings or branching story (like the description on the box, blatant typo there). The story is pretty good, but the hentai is kind of just tossed in there.

#15