My experiences with VNs/ADVs etc have been limited to what’s been translated into english so far…
But after buying and playing Utawarerumono, Phantom of Inferno, Ever17 … soon to be playing F/SN, Yume Miru Kusuri, Tsukihime, and preordering Family Project and Princess Waltz… (Oh I also have Kana, Crescendo and Narcissu to play)
I’ve had nothing but great experiences with these games so far…
And I’m wondering how many more are out there, on this same level of goodness?
Can somebody give me some suggestions on games that are as enjoyable, popular, or classic as these?? or … Basically, what are your favorites?
Oh and you might have guessed I prefer the well crafted sci-fi/fantasy/action rather than a believable school drama; but don’t let that stop you…
One ~ To the Radiant Season is probably the only equally good game available at the moment. The art is from 1998 and it definitely shows :P, and there are a few WTF moments in the storyline, but in most other respects it’s excellent.
There are several translation projects in progress for (imo) games on a similar level, eg Clannad, G-Senjou no Maou, Kanon, Narcissu 2 and Quartett!, but none of them have firm release dates yet.
For the top tier (by Japanese popular opinion), there’s Eve Burst Error, although copies might be hard to come by. That game ranks on the same level as the ones you’ve already played: Utawarerumono, Phantom of Inferno, and Ever17.
As you might expect though, few titles are held in as high of an esteem (you’ve been experiencing the best rated ones period), although others have certainly been well received.
I’m going to add Nocturnal Illusion. It’s probably towards the low side of the upper tier of story games … but I do feel it belongs in that category.
It is very old school … No VA, translation rough in parts, old school game design, old school graphics … but it’s a very well put together game, in all respects, and it’s got one of my all-time favorite game soundtracks even outside of b-games. Plus, it’s dirt cheap.
I’d also recommend Critical Point. It’s less good, but still good.
Oh wow thanks for the recommendations Ignosco!
I had been wondering if it was worth getting One ~ To the Radiant Season or not… The art style is different than what I’m used to, but if it’s as good as you say…; and regardless I’ve been curious about it for a while.
And I didn’t know anything about Quartett! except the translation team’s teaser page. It looks very interesting, but I didn’t know it was a great one as well …!! Will probably pick this up.
And of course I’ve heard Clannad, Kanon [I see Air isn’t included?] mentioned but I’ve never read up on it, except that it looked like an above average life/school drama. But, I guess I can’t ignore the world forever, I probably should see what everyone is talking about, especially since Kanon is such a nice low price…
G-Senjou no Maou? Now there’s something I hadn’t heard of… A new one that’s coming out? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZGqSfTRqvU&fmt=18 - Demo Movie 3
Looks like it might be pretty interesting… Will have to research~
Eve Burst Error… The same one that released in english? [Heard there was a remake.] I’ve been curious about playing this for some time now, I’ll have to keep looking for a hard-copy of this one~ Too bad it’s not still being printed/released in english!
Thanks for reminding of this one~
offtopic :
It seems to me like ADV/VNs etc should continue to make small amounts of money over a long period of time, because unlike popular games that rely on, the latest and greatest graphics or whatnot which are usually short lived. VNs are usually mostly art and text based. Stuff like that should be sold like books, purchaseable for many years to come…
Yes, I’m “attempting” to learn Japanese lol But, I’m going to need a lot more experience with the language before I can proudly say I can speak, read and understand it. Once I get into a habit of using the language every day, maybe in two years time I’ll be able to play non-translated games with dictionary assistance among other things…!
As for dark content, I don’t know any limits. But, whether I enjoy it or not is a totally different thing. I’m more of a champion of virtue than one who lops off British’s head and casts armageddon… [ultima reference, where did that come from, sorry lol] But, yeah if there are some amazing dark or evil games I’m all for trying it. But assuming it’s in Japanese it will be a while before I can possibly enjoy it~
I have heard Nocturnal Illusion recommended once before… Ah yes, I remember hearing it described. Dirt cheap?? Hmm… I searched for it on Amazon and ebay but no luck…
It did come up in an abandonware search, but I am uncertain about that.
And I’ve been meaning to pick up Critical Point for a long time. I’ve only mentioned my favorite VNs so far, but I’ve bought a lot of other ones as well. Critical Point is a nice price as well~
Interesting… that one’s only 10$ as well! If it’s as good as you say, then I’m in gaming heaven lol
And no, I’m not limiting things to just the english games. I mean I probably won’t be able to play them for another couple of years, but one of my original points of this thread is to know what else is out there, that I should look forward to in years to come. [and maybe pick them up before they become hard to find…]
How very odd. It looks like the Milky House Memorial Collection just disappeared. I can’t find it anywhere, and the place I found with a direct link to the item in the J-List catalog gets “item not found”.
well I too have relegated what time and energy I can to the noble language . Im beat but for now 2 recommendations . first Saiminjutsu 2 created by black rainbow - while only in jpn looks to be an excellent piece of erotica featuring a mind control fetish and incest subtheme. The second Gore Screaming Show by Black Cyc . Lancer X will vouch for it and it has been called an incredible mystery plot. If you still want more proof search for the OP . Youcanfind italmostanywherean letmetellyouthiswill compellyou
Well, if you don’t limit yourself to english games, then I think there are some games so far missing - and if you wouldn’t have asked for VNs then there even would be plenty of games missing.
The ones that at least should have appeared here are:
Gin Iro (probably very difficult to acquire nowadays)
Gore Screaming Show (don’t be scared by that name - that was the mistake I made at first too!)
Triangle Hearts Series (There is a collection DVD that contains all three games plus the two toyboxes and a DVD-special scenario! Probably the best deal you can ever make!!!)
I wouldn’t want to oversell ONE, but in terms of completed fan-translations, it’s by far the best game you haven’t got yet. The age of the game does show, and it’s not as consistent as their future works for Key, but if something can make me laugh and cry…
For Quartett!, there’s a fair bit of information in Narg’s review from his old site.
There is an AIR translation project, but the initial translation is only 38% complete, and progress seems to be very slow. The Kanon and Clannad projects are (iirc) past the initial translation stage and are in editing at the moment.
And since this is a best of thread for English games, my favourite OELVN is Gakuen Redux. It’s a rather unusual work… it’s entirely black and white, with a very simple lineart style, zero dialogue, and a very small number of character sprites and CGs. Although some of the themes in the story crop up a lot in other games, Gakuen Redux deals with them in a very different (and probably a more realistic way) from most games I’ve seen. I guess that combined with the protagonist’s personality has led to a lot of variable reactions to GR. Personally, I think it’s outstanding, but I can’t really give an objective good/bad rating as a lot of it hinges on how much you can relate to the story.
Whee, someone else that’s played it. I think Gakuen Redux is the best released OELVN too… the length was perfect, I felt. Not too long, not too short (sadly, a lot of OELVNs are closer to the latter). The writing was great, too.
Well, I wasn’t, I was only listing games available in English. But, if you want!
#1 G-Senjou no Maou (may one day be available in English) #2 Syarin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo #3 Cross Channel #4 Kira Kira #5 Clannad (soon to be available in English) #6 Himawari (doujin) #7 Sekien no Inganock #8 SWAN SONG #9 Kazoku Keikaku (soon to be available in English) #10 Ever17 (available in English) #11 Ayakashibito (hopefully will be licensed! I mean, Bullet Butlers is shiny and all, but trust me, THIS is the one you want) #12 December when there is no angel (this is that Tenshi no Inai Jyuunigatsu thing olf mentioned. i just went with the english subtitle) #13 Kimi ga Nozomu Eien #14 AIR #15 ef -a fairy tale of the two- (primarily ‘latter tale’, here, but I’m marking the whole thing as one game just for the heck of it) #16 Narcissu -side 2nd- (doujin) (soon to be available in English) #17 Gin’iro #18 Tsukihime (doujin) (available in English) #19 Ashita no Kimi to Autameni #20 A Profile (doujin) #21 Fate/stay Night (soon to be available in English) #22 Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino (hopefully will be licensed!) #23 Magic A Ride #24 Haru no Ashioto #25 Koi no Bashi (doujin)
Being a top-25 list, a lot of extremely good titles didn’t quite manage it. But really, there’s not much difference… they’re all >9.5-point games anyway.
Feel free to turn this thread into a “best of” (favorites) list thread if you want to shout about your favorites~
@lancer-x, olf_le_fol
whew…! I’m going to be busy for a while looking these up…
Thanks for listing favorites [and mentioning games that may be translated] this has helped
G-Senjou no Maou is your #1?? Plus a possible translation is in the works? That’s good news.
@unicorn, lurker - “Gore Screaming Show (don’t be scared by that name - that was the mistake I made at first too!)” lol I’ve avoided it too because of the title, but now with a closer look; it sounds like fun :mrgreen: Thanks for the easy links Now if only I had some free change to go ahead for a large purchase…
@Ignosco - Gakuen Redux, downloaded! On the list to play now
And nice review for Quartett!, I’ll probably have to get this one…
@ Lexar: dont worry the game comes with optional Gore filtering levels, and you must watch intro/OP.
@: everyone else thanks for your list .
@ Lancer-X: I saw Kira Kira on himeya awhile ago and it looks amazing . do you know if Kira Kira curtain call is an expansion pack to the original or a completly new game as I was confused?
It’s a sequel. Dunno if I’m going to go for it; not a fan of sequels (ef was different, since a second game was planned from the start, and the story explicitly left incomplete).
Yeah, but like with all translation projects, don’t get your hopes up. A demo might come out soon, though…
Oh, and because these games are all so close together, it’s very possible for a new #1 to come out at some point. Currently, the most likely candidate is EDEN, but who knows…
If you liked PHANTOM OF INFERNO, maybe you should try another NITROPLUS erogames, like Deus Maquina Demonbane, Gekkou no Carnevalle, Angelo Armas, Jinga Makyou and CHAOS; HEAD. You know, it’s all about the BADASS protagonists! More about their games here.
Now if only I had some free change to go ahead for a large purchase…