Favorite Visual Novels or Visual Novel Series?

[Toa of Ponies]

So, I know not a lot of people like or can even stand Visual Novels because they....can't read or have a short attention span? But I really like them, and I'm sure some of you on the forums like them too.

Anyway, some of my personal favorites are:

The Zero Escape series: Nine persons Nine Hours Nine Doors was, really, the one of the first visual novels, and perhaps even games, I really fell in love with. It had a brilliant setting, brilliant characters and a wonderfully crafted story. It was also the second game that every made me "emotional" towards the end. I loved the second one, Virtues Last Reward, too. It was another brilliant story with brilliant characters. I just hope the final installment for this series comes out, as it has been put on hold because of "lack of Interest." Please check it out

Hotel Dusk: I love this game. I've only played and finished it recently, but it's great. The main character, Kyle Hyde, is one of my favorite protagonists ever. He's so "detective-y" its great. The story and Soundtrack is awesome too.

Ace Attorney series: Now, a lot of people think that Ace Attorney is a visual novel so I'll put it on here. Like 999, Ace Attorney is another one of those Visual Novels that I have fallen in love with, in fact, Ace Attorney is my favorite video game series.Ever. Sorry Pokemon. I love Mystery novels and "Whodunits", So its only natural that I love these games. There are no words to describe how awesome these games are.There is no words to describe how awesome you feel playing these games. If I did try to describe the awesomeness of the series, it'd probably do it an injustice. So I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway what are your favorites? Also, If anyone's played Time Hollow, can you tell me about it? I'm thinking of picking it up.

(Sorry if a topic like this already exists, I did check)

 

[Fatima Shadow Frost Witch]

I have Time Hollow(finished it ages ago)and it's really only good for a single playthrough(unless you plan on deleting the same save)in order to play the same thing from scratch

 

[HumanDawn]

My favourite visual novel series is definitely Ace Attorney. There wasn't a single game in the series that was disappointment, and each game had a really good final case with plenty of tension and developments. The main characters were all pretty good, the stories in each game were all very interesting and engaging to see play out and it has some of my favourite villains ever. The gameplay is also very original and still unique to this day. My favourite title is either Dual Destinies or Investigations. I liked how all the five cases in Investigations were all connected to each other with how none of them were "filler" cases, and how each case was filled with drama, suspense and action. The music in it is also my favourite, all the soundtracks were amazing to listen to. Dual Destinies had a less good story, but I loved the characters in it as well as the character development which Investigations lacked. The twists were amazing and the whole updated feel and polish of the game hardly made me feel frustrated. All the games are also good at being humorous without relying much on any perverted jokes, the characters are so good it's as if they write the jokes themselves.

My second favourite would be Zero Escape, which while it only has two games released with a third game having its development halted due to lack of interest in funding it, is amazing with its two games alone. The first game was amazing with its characters, story and gameplay but was sometimes a chore with having to do puzzles you've already done before to get the full story. I liked the idea of different routes leading to different endings and the twist in the end explained everything in a satisfying manner. I didn't like the big leap in fiction that much but it helped make a character have a lot of needed depth and the game a lot more interesting overall. While its humour was great, it was sometimes way too perverted and I can understand how that could turn off some people, although I don't agree that the game had a lot of gore. While it was scary at times and there were moments that wouldn't want to make you continue the game, it was more of a thriller than actual horror for me. All in all, the twists were all good and the true ending was very satisfying and nice. The sequel followed suit in quality but with better graphics and voice acting, removing the need to do the same puzzles again. It suffers from an evil cliffhanger which would remain bad if a sequel isn't announced, making it a bad final title for the series.

My third favourite would be Professor Layton. While the games get progressively better with more interesting stories with better gameplay with each new game, it still suffered from having a cast with mostly uninteresting and boring characters who would mostly serve as exposition. The main two characters are really boring, and only get any real depth until the third game which still doesn't make them interesting enough. The gameplay is pretty unique with its puzzles and everything else is generally fun, but if the characters aren't good enough then I'm not too interested or engaged. The puzzles are sometimes too hard but the newer games have a better balance with new kinds of puzzles that are more fun to do.

 

[farewell friend]

I love visual novels, though I haven't played many. My favorite visual novel category is otome, followed by mystery/suspense. I have the Hakuoki Demon of the Fleeting Blossom game, and I really want the Amnesia series (gotta keep studying Japanese so I can import it!).

I recently bough 999 on the app store, and I've enjoyed what little I've played thus far. It's got an incredible story. I also did play a good amount of VLR, but I never finished it. While I did enjoy it, I hated the puzzles. Guess I'm just lazy, but I don't like puzzles in my novels. I hope Aksys releases a puzzle-free version of VLR on the app store. I'll buy it.

I've played quite a few hidden object games from Big Fish Games; do they count? I enjoyed some of them immensely, and many have incredible stories and artwork.

 

[Muur]

Only actually played Katawa Shoju.

 

[Dr. Buni]

999, hands down. I also played a bit of Dangan Ronpa, but certain happenings in the visual novel put me off of it. It is pretty good, though.

 

[SobriquetP]

My all-time number one super favorite would have to be Analogue: A Hate Story.
From ahatestory.com:

Back in the 25th century, Earth launched a generation ship into deep space, with the goal of establishing the first interstellar colony. It dropped out of contact and disappeared, never reaching its destination.

Thousands of years later, it has finally been found.

Uncover the mystery of what happened to the final generation aboard the generation ship Mugunghwa by reading through its dead crew's logs, with the help of a spunky AI sidekick!

Two pursuable characters. Five endings. A dark visual novel that further extends the non-linear style of Digital: A Love Story in a mystery featuring transhumanism, traditional marriage, loneliness, and cosplay.

Welcome to the future.

Fantastic VN. Seriously, you all should check it out sometime.

The sequel HatePlus was also pretty good, but due to personal choices I cannot bring myself to start a second playthrough. o_o

Another really cool Visual Novel is XBlaze: Code Embryo on the PSVita and PS3. It is a super-prequel to the fighting game series BlazBlue and is unique in that the only control you have over the story is what random news articles you decide to read throughout it. It changes the events somehow. I honestly still have not figured it out yet and am still working on getting more than just the Childhood friend and Bad End routes. T.T

Lastly, a special shout-out to the upcoming port of Higurashi to steam. While technically a Sound Novel, I feel as though it will rank high on my list upon release. [emoji14]

 

[Almonds]

Ace Attorney series and most Otome games (dating simulations for girls). The Tokimeki Girl's Side series are the best as you can actually indirectly experience school life as well

 

[Username19]

My favorite visual novel of all time is Hakuoki Memories of the Shinsengumi, an awesome Otome game. A few other honorable mentions are Dangan Ronpa, 999/Zero's Escape, and Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters.

 

[----]

Phoenix Wright would probably be my favorite and I enjoyed the Visual Novel parts of the Persona series quite a bit

 

[Tyrfing]

The only visual novel series I've played is Ace Attorney, so my vote goes to that. My favorite out of all of them is Justice For All, because of the second and final cases. My entry into the series was Dual Destinies, which is admittedly a little disappointing going back to it (except for Blackquill).

 

[Username19]

Amnesia memories is another really good one and its getting localized for the vita this year too.

 

[ReturnofMCH]

ace attorney and dangaronpa.

 

[SobriquetP]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 Onikakushi is finally out on Steam!
Disclaimer: This is a very dark game and is most likely targeted towards an older, more mature audience.

For those who do not know, the series is labeled as a "Sound Novel" instead of a Visual Novel. For those who don't know the difference:

Spoiler

The term "sound novel" is used for the original Higurashi games, instead of the more proper term "visual novel", because, while the art may seem lacking and simple, the wide range of sound effects and music set the atmosphere for the reader. One notable sound effect used throughout the entire series is the chorus of higurashi, a kind of cicada, which is played at the main menu and throughout many scenes.

tldr version: While the story and music is amazing, the artwork is... lacking in some versions.

Plot summary from Steam:

Spoiler

The 58th year of Shouwa, early summer
It’s June, and the summer heat has arrived earlier than it does most years.
By day there are crickets, and by night there are cicadas.

We’re in Hinamizawa, a small village in the countryside.
There are fewer than two thousand people here. But every year, there is an event.

This event is a mysterious death.
(The series has run from 1979 to 1983)

On a certain day in June, someone dies, and someone else goes missing.
The series of deaths is connected to the upheaval surrounding the dam construction project.
A murder case that was covered up is being reenacted.
Is it a conspiracy? A coincidence? Or perhaps a curse?

Someone who was supposed to be there isn’t.
Someone who wasn’t supposed to be there is.

Someone who was alive last night is dead now.
And someone who is here right now isn’t alive.

So, there is no way to avert tragedy. There is no choice but to give up.
But don’t give up.

Only you can stand up to this.

Currently with only Ch.1, the series hasn't gotten AMAZING yet but I hope this is a sign that the rest of the series is coming to Steam! =D
*Fingers crossed*

 

[Username19]

Amnesia Memories was really good except for all of Toma's routes.

Code Realize is absolutely amazing! The story was really good on its own without the romance. The romance story line's are pretty cool though just because the bachelors are various old school fictional characters like Lupin the First and Victor Frankenstien.

Norn9 Var Commons was interesting. Not nearly as good as the two above just because the story was really disjointed. The game makes up for the weird story with all the route possibilities though. Three heroines to chose from with three eligible bachelors each with good and bad endings.

 

[Juliko]

I've only played two in my life: Ace Attorney and Katawa Shoujo. I love both. I haven't played any others, mostly because of lack of money and means of doing so.

 

[Poke Trey]

The Xblaze series, Danganronpa, The ace attorney series and Hakuoki is right up there alongside Amnesia

 

[Username19]

A few new VN this year for the vita that look promising.

Period Cube Shackles of Amadeus - came out yesterday and isn't bad so far. Its like SAO but with that MC as a girl instead. Its got its think close to 15 endings so what it loses with average storytelling it makes up for with amount of content. Plus the CG stills look pretty good.

Collar and Malice - The best way I can think of to describe it is murder mystery meets Otomate? That's what its page summary sounds like at least. The trailer for this one honestly doesn't tell anything about the game itself and just shows off the art.

Hakuouki Kyoto Winds - Out in like 3 weeks for vita. Its the same Hakuouki but with an additional 6 character routes!

 

[Silktree]

Zero Escape, Kyle Hyde (Hotel Dusk and Last Window) and Remember 11, in that order. Other visual novels and Japanese adventure games I like are Shadow of Destiny, Famicom Detective Club, Time Hollow, Danganronpa, Root Double and Root Letter (pretty much in that order). Also the PSP Corpse Party game, but none of the sequels.

For Steins;Gate I would just recommend watching the anime. The game and its sequel merely add some fluff.

 

[FANG-TAN]

Type-Moon visual novels by Nasu are still my favorites, even if he could get very heavy-handed with the text and metaphors. The world-building and intricacies of the magic system of the Nasuverse are always so detailed and intriguing, and the action is as good as the visual novel medium can get with only narrative decriptions, sound effects, and images. It takes a very good animation studio to do the action justice whenever they get translated into anime.