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5 Visual Novel And Text Heavy Game Recommendations — 23 Comments

  1. I read Steins;Gate in English back when it was released, and even if you have already seen the anime, it is well worth it. There is quite a bit of content not included in the anime, and it’s amazing!

    • That’s one of the best parts about most games that get adapted into an anime, you get to experience multiple endings and pick a favorite!

  2. Warning:
    -For those who want to play Steins;Gate is Japanese, the choice system is pretty confusing. Never go blind. Never.
    – Grisaia’s ecchiness is a BIG minus for me, and it is distracting. Do yourself a favor and buy the VITA version. Or even the android version, since it’s based of the console port.
    I read Visual Novels. A lot. VN are one of my main motivations for learning Japanese, and I believe that this article is a bit lacking.

    So here are my personal recommendations, with estimated stars:

    Axenael : 2 Stars. Don’t worry, this seems tough, but it’s really EASY, and the plot is fantastic.

    Saya No Uta : 3 Stars. Kind of a horror game.

    Clannad : Can’t believe you missed it. 3 Stars.

    999 and VLR : 3.5 Stars. The story is amazing, probably my favorite VN.

    G Senjou No Maou : Probably 3-4 Stars. Amazing plot and twist.

    Shari No Kuni : Mixed feelings. When it’s good, it’s REALLY good, but it has it’s down times. 3-4 Stars.

    Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) 1,2,3,4,5 : Amazing series. Nice plot is “easy” vocabulary. 3-4 Stars.

    Planetarium : 3-4 Stars.

    Baldr Sky

    Reading all these visual novels put me in a – state of intense happiness and self-confidence-.

    …the list goes on, but these are some really good and relatively easy VNs to get you started.
    Alternatively, if you want EASIER VNS, go here :
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KnyyDt7jimEz-dgeMSKymRaT2r3QKBPm9AzqZ6oUWAs/pub

    • Thanks for the recommendations.

      I have heard great things about clannad, I’d really like to check that out. Also I love plot twisty games so I’m definitely going to have to check out G Senjou No Maou.

      • If you really like twisty games, and don’t mind some game-play, I’d suggest playing 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward , rather than G-Sen. They start off simple, but start adding layers of mystery. The series is REALLY spoiler sensitive, so tread carefully.

    • I actually did a double take when I realized this was a guest post AND it wasn’t yours! :D

    • Yeaaaaaah, love for G-Senjou! I also read that one when it was released, and yeah absolutely agreed, that plot is fantastic.

    • “For those who want to play Steins;Gate is Japanese, the choice system is pretty confusing. Never go blind. Never.”

      So since I literally just got this game (in Japanese, yes), could you elaborate? lol

      • Visual Novels require you to make choices, and your choices determine the ending you get. Steins;Gate has a phone system, i.e. you’ll be using your phone to make choices most of the times. If you want to complete the game, 100%, you need to do some really specific things in the VN (miss any one, and you’d have to restart the game). So I would recommend using a walkthrough (攻略 in japanese).

        • Ah, well, that seems pretty typical then, lol

          Personally, I usually just go in blind the first time I play a VN, then use a guide to get the specific endings.

          • Yeah, by going blind I meant trying to get true ending on your own, without walk through. It took me 2 hours of doing nothing but watching skipping text to get to true ending, and another 3 hours for all the extras.

  3. I’ll have to add some of these to my list at some point. Thanks for the suggestions =)

    I picked up Chaos;Child a little while ago (the most recent game from the studio that made Steins;Gate), but haven’t had a chance to play it yet. It’s the first game I’ve seen with a Cero Z rating, so I guess we’ll see just how brutal it is >_>

    And yeah +1 on Clannad based only on having seen the anime.

    • A “Z” rating? I didn’t even know that they had that? What is it rated that for?

      Make sure to leave some of your recommendations as well! I know you’ve played some good ones.

  4. i like playing vns too,they have both voice and text to help me improving both skill.

    good ones i’ve read are

    Tsuisou no Augment 2 stars;every route has drama

    Amairo * Islenauts 3 stars;ez and nice slice of life

    evolimit 4 stars;i’m playing this one atm,fighting scenes are amazing

    • Yes, that’s my favorite part of VN’s is that they have plenty of reading along with good voice acting.

  5. I’ve already mentioned it here once, but: Code:Realize. It’s a dating sim (of the otome variety), so the romance aspect is definitely important, but there’s an interesting story to go with it. It’s set in steampunk Victorian-era London, the plot is heavily focused on alchemy and it touches on quite a few intriguing topics. I got strong Fullmetal Alchemist vibes from it (though maybe it wasn’t -as- good, but then again, what is). There’s drama, there’s action, there’s comedy. And airships!

    Honestly, I’d recommend it even to people who aren’t all that into dating sims.

    I’d rate the difficulty at three stars.

    • I’m currently playing Starry Sky in Spring (an otome game) and it’s a lot of fun. Though plotwise there’s not much exciting happening, so only play it if you want to chase after cute guys.

      Difficulty is probably 2 stars.

  6. I looove Persona 3. I need to own that game, I keep getting it illegally and then I have something go wrong with it.

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