Visual Novel Discussion Thread

Good entry-level VNs are True Remembrance, Narcissu + Narcissu Side 2nd, and Planetarian. All three of them are relatively short and straightforward, and are easy to get into even if you never read a VN before. Of those three, I'd recommend True Remembrance, because Narcissu's atmosphere is too one-sidedly depressing (it's about the activities of terminal patients) while Planetarian doesn't have a sufficient cast of characters (there is only one character, besides the protagonist who isn't even shown or voiced).

If you like emotional stories that would make you cry, Key's VNs are very good. The ones I'd really recommend are Clannad, Little Busters!, Rewrite, and Planetarian. Clannad and Little Busters! are both much better than their anime counterparts imo, but they're also really long. Both of them are high school slice of life VNs with romance sprinkled in on some routes. Of the two, Clannad is far longer (over ten routes!) but it does an excellent job of ensuring that every route is at least somewhat decent (while the better routes are just amazing). Little Busters! is more inconsistent though, with some routes being quite disappointing, while others are really great. The main route in Little Busters! is probably my #1 favorite VN route ever. If you just want to check out how Key VNs are like, I would suggest simply trying a Clannad route (or a few) and decide whether they suit your tastes. If you want to invest in the time and effort to complete an entire VN, then imo Little Busters! would ultimately be more satisfying, but I would suggest reading both Clannad and Little Busters! if you can afford to do so.

Rewrite and Planetarian are both Key VNs, but they're really different from other Key VNs. Planetarian takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting (very un-Key-like) with the protagonist interacting with only a single character. Rewrite is about protecting the environment on a global scale, with international organizations being involved and such. Rewrite is actually quite an oddball from Key VNs, being more action-oriented and less of a tearjerker. Rewrite still has traces of the strong emotional themes that Key is so famous for, though.

If you want a short high school slice of life VN, I'd recommend Symphonic Rain. It's not as good as the Key VNs imo, but it's quite short (5 routes, but each route is really short). It's a good choice if you want to read an entire high school slice of life VN while not wanting to invest in the time and effort that the big Key VNs demand. Symphonic Rain also has a music minigame where you have to press buttons to play their respective notes as they arrive on a musical score sheet, but you can skip the gameplay aspect of it entirely if you want.

If you like mysteries and want to try figuring stuff out as you read the story, I'd recommend Ever17: The Out of Infinity, and some 07th Expansion works, most notably Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Kai) and Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Chiru). Ever17 is a medium length VN (with five routes) that probably won't seem very impressive until the final route. I can't really leak much details about Ever17, but it would probably be a good read if you like piecing clues together or otherwise enjoy getting mindblown by the result. If you played and liked 999, then you'll probably like Ever17.

As for Higurashi and Umineko, both of them are really long. Both of them are 100% linear with no branches (except a final choice in the end of Umineko) so for Umineko to be almost as long as the entirety of Clannad (with all of its routes) should indicate how enormously long it is. Both of them are still very good though, and are among my favorite VNs I have ever read. The mysteries are very well designed and really encourage readers to think hard as they go through the story. Even if you're not a mystery nut and just want to read a good story, Higurashi and Umineko are both excellent, and cover various other themes that should entertain you. In fact, I would recommend Higurashi and Umineko to pretty much everyone that is willing to invest a good chunk of time into a single VN. Umineko is my #1 favorite fictional story ever and Higurashi contains my #1 favorite VN scene ever. Also, imo both Higurashi and Umineko are far better than their anime counterparts (DEEN keeps wrecking adaptations). Only half of Umineko has been adapted into an anime btw.

If you like sci-fi or enjoy seeing scientific ideas being implemented into a story, I'd recommend the Nitro+ VNs, most notably Steins;Gate and Chaos;HEAd. Both of them are really exciting and the stories are really well designed, especially Steins;Gate. Even if you're not a science geek, you should still be able to understand all the relevant information in Steins;Gate and get hooked into it once it picks up the pace (which, admittedly, takes quite some time, because character development and story set-up phase is like, half the whole VN). Both Steins;Gate and Chaos;HEAd are kinda long, but they're nowhere near Clannad/Higurashi/Umineko levels. The protagonists for both Steins;Gate and Chaos;HEAd are really well-designed characters too, with Steins;Gate having my favorite VN protagonist ever. Also, the anime adaptation of Steins;Gate is the only complete VN-to-anime adaptation that I actually like, so if you don't want to read the VN for whatever reason, the anime should be sufficient for you to experience the story. The VN is still much better, though, so I'd suggest reading the VN instead if you are comfortable with the VN medium.

Chaos;HEAd, on the other hand, has a really awful anime adaptation (another DEEN failure). The VN is really good though, but it's intentionally designed to be quite a mess. It's much harder to understand, and would probably be perceived as utter nonsense if you can't grasp what's going on. Also, please be warned that Chaos;HEAd contains quite a moderately high level of gore, if you decide to read it.

If you like stories with cool fight scenes in a fantasy setting with a thoroughly designed supernatural system, I'd recommend Rewrite (which I already spoke about earlier), or a TypeMoon VN like Fate/Stay Night or Tsukihime. I don't actually like Fate/Stay Night that much (yes, I find it to be too overrated) but I won't deny that it has awesome action sequences. My main issues with F/SN are on how some of its events are really ridiculous, its horrible pacing (it's sometimes joked as being a VN about cooking!), and on me not being able to stand the protagonist at all. Fate/Stay Night is still better than its DEEN anime adaptation though. Thankfully, ufotable recently started adaptating two of the three F/SN routes (with half of Unlimited Blade Works already aired) and they're doing a really good job so far, imo. Considering ufotable's reputation of making very good Nasuverse adaptations, I would honestly just suggest watching the ufotable adaptations of F/SN instead of reading the VN.

Tsukihime, on the other hand, does not have a proper anime adaptation (that DEEN abomination does not exist). Despite being shorter overall, it still suffers from F/SN's pacing issues, though not quite as badly. I also personally prefer Tsukihime's story over F/SN. I really liked the VN, but the art and music were really disappointing. Still, though, it's supposed to be getting a new remake, so it might be better to just wait for that. Also, do note that both Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime have lewd scenes in their original version. Both of them have All-Ages releases, however.

If you like thrilling stories with exciting battles of wits, then I would strongly recommend G-Senjou no Maou. It has a really cool villain that plays dangerous mindgames to carry out his intricate plans while the "Hero" (note: not the protagonist) tries to stop him. It feels like Light vs L, except without supernatural components like the Death Note. It gets to the point where I really couldn't put it down once the main event for each chapter begins, until the chapter break. The main route is five chapters long (short-medium length) but the three middle chapters branch off into side routes focused on each of the remaining heroines. These side routes aren't really bad, but they pale in comparison to the main route. I would seriously recommend reading the main route, at least. Also, note that G-Senjou no Maou contains lewd scenes, but there is an All-Ages patch that can eliminate them.

Another VN by the same author of G-Senjou no Maou that I would recommend is Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo. It's about a setting where law is based upon deterrence and criminals are assigned obligations for their crimes. It's a really interesting VN about how people relate to society and stuff. It doesn't have side routes though, with heroine slice of life stuff being incorporated into the three middle chapters of the main story, while the exciting mind games and political intrigue are mostly focused on the final chapter. I'd actually recommend this VN to just about anyone. However, Sharin no Kuni contains lewd scenes while there are no patches that can clear them from a translated version of the VN. The only way I was able to read this was by relying on save files, prepared by a friend, to skip every single one of the lewd scenes.