Visual Novels

[Kasuga Ayumu]

I would say the opposite actually. The 0 VN was such a discombobulated mess that it actually made me watch the anime, which was the only time I actually watched an anime of my own free will. It has some cool scenes, but overall you're just left with a bunch of loose ends and questions that didn't really need to be asked.

That's fucking hilarious because I felt like the anime had a shitton of questions that came up that are left unanswered and had some genuinely horrible pacing on its own. And to hear the actual game it's based on isn't much better is really funny to hear as a result.

 

[Peaches the Wonder Cat]

But really my thoughts on the game? It's definitely as good as people say it is, I had a ton of fun even with my prior experience with the plot and what would happen. Once I think I get through this and 100% it, I would definitely play Steins;Gate 0 afterward. (Yes, I saw the anime for that too. The anime is a mess, I hear the game is much, much better.) But even then, I might just replay the first game again and go for certain routes again, after all, why not, I had fun doing them the first time after all.

I remember reading for hours and hours, wondering where it was going to go, and realizing I was something like 1% through the game. Maybe it is a masterpiece but the pacing is terrible.

 

[Fcret]

I remember reading for hours and hours, wondering where it was going to go, and realizing I was something like 1% through the game. Maybe it is a masterpiece but the pacing is terrible.

That just sounds like every VN in my top 10.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

That's fucking hilarious because I felt like the anime had a shitton of questions that came up that are left unanswered and had some genuinely horrible pacing on its own. And to hear the actual game it's based on isn't much better is really funny to hear as a result.

The VN for 0 was alright. Mainly it was nice seeing the cast again, but it's nothing that you couldn't already derive from the original.

 

[ifunny pride world wide]

Also someone mentioned Muv Luv earlier in the thread and I wanted to check that out but I never got around to it. Judging by the reactions of others who have played it (not just the people in this thread), I'm guessing I'm gonna get sucker punched in the gut with some serious feels.

Yep. Only works if you read Extra + Unlimited before hand though.

Spoiler: TMI

I read it after I got sent home to recover from an overseas injury. Obviously my perception of the series is very colored by that time because it was cathartic for me.
The later half of Alternative had me in an embarrassing state until I finished it. That said, it seems to emotionally ruin people regardless of being a self inserting boot or not.

 

[SpellforceFan]

I have never played a visual novel, other than the Katawa Shoujo demo, just because it was at the time a "4chan made game", but I do like CYOA books and games. Are there any visual novels, where the protagonist isn't a retard? I don't mean they have to be hypercompetent, but from what I've heard they're most of the time either generic "good guys" that the teen reader would have easier time self-inserting as, or completely braindead, hot-tempered and relying on plot armor to survive. Setting doesn't matter, it can be fantasy, present day, various types of -punk, as long as I never have to question protagonist's intelligence.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I have never played a visual novel, other than the Katawa Shoujo demo, just because it was at the time a "4chan made game", but I do like CYOA books and games. Are there any visual novels, where the protagonist isn't a retard? I don't mean they have to be hypercompetent, but from what I've heard they're most of the time either generic "good guys" that the teen reader would have easier time self-inserting as, or completely braindead, hot-tempered and relying on plot armor to survive. Setting doesn't matter, it can be fantasy, present day, various types of -punk, as long as I never have to question protagonist's intelligence.

At worst VN protagonists are bland and romantically dense, having them be hyper competent is usually annoying since they appear outright superhuman than reliable.

Stein's Gate has the main character being a good balance between smart and fun.

 

[Fcret]

I have never played a visual novel, other than the Katawa Shoujo demo, just because it was at the time a "4chan made game", but I do like CYOA books and games. Are there any visual novels, where the protagonist isn't a retard? I don't mean they have to be hypercompetent, but from what I've heard they're most of the time either generic "good guys" that the teen reader would have easier time self-inserting as, or completely braindead, hot-tempered and relying on plot armor to survive. Setting doesn't matter, it can be fantasy, present day, various types of -punk, as long as I never have to question protagonist's intelligence.

Witch on the Holy Night. Sōjūrō is kinda retarded but it's due to him being the equivalent of a Japanese hillbilly coming to a 1980s Japanese city from a village in the mountains that was basically stuck in the 1800s. He's not dumb and he's actually quite perceptive about a lot of things, but he's also completely out of touch on social etiquette and modern technology. He's also very earnest and trusts too easily as a consequence of having come from a small, isolated community. Very unique character, and I think it's honestly the best incarnation of Nasu's "good guy mcgooderson" archetype because it feels a lot more natural.

Higurashi When They Cry is also good. The main protag Keiichi is a good guy generally but he also gets some very realistic moments of selfishness when confronted by certain things in the story.

And yeah, dittoing Steins;Gate.

 

[HexFag]

I have never played a visual novel, other than the Katawa Shoujo demo, just because it was at the time a "4chan made game", but I do like CYOA books and games. Are there any visual novels, where the protagonist isn't a retard? I don't mean they have to be hypercompetent, but from what I've heard they're most of the time either generic "good guys" that the teen reader would have easier time self-inserting as, or completely braindead, hot-tempered and relying on plot armor to survive. Setting doesn't matter, it can be fantasy, present day, various types of -punk, as long as I never have to question protagonist's intelligence.

Yeah most of the time VN protagonists at their worst aren't stupid, just kind of boring. Grisaia's protagonist is more or less a mentor who went through most of their serious trauma before the story takes place and helps the cast out with theirs. Muramasa's protagonist is somebody who comes to grips with whether they're really doing the right thing. The whole conflict of Muramasa for him is trying to find out what path is truly just.

I remember reading for hours and hours, wondering where it was going to go, and realizing I was something like 1% through the game. Maybe it is a masterpiece but the pacing is terrible.

Those are usually the best ones. There's something in VNs where the time setting up is usually always worth the massive payoffs unless they REALLY REALLY FUCK THINGS UP.

The VN for 0 was alright. Mainly it was nice seeing the cast again, but it's nothing that you couldn't already derive from the original.

I liked the VN for 0 and one of the non canon endings were so legitimately good I thought it was the true ending. I also like Maho more than Kurisu but that's a hot take.


Also I'm currently reading Sumaga right now and it's great if not extremely weird and meta. It's also funny which is rare for VNs outside of maybe Muramasa and Axanael. I really hope JAST/Nitro+ figures out what the fuck is holding up the English translation for it because it got announced all the way back in 2010 and apparently the script had been finished for years.

 

[SpellforceFan]

Witch on the Holy Night. Sōjūrō is kinda retarded [...]

Skipping that one then.

Higurashi When They Cry is also good. The main protag Keiichi is a good guy generally but he also gets some very realistic moments of selfishness when confronted by certain things in the story.

Is this the one where kids horribly mutilate/kill each other, blaming it on a fictional sickness/gas leak, and then for some reason a local god that's a little girl gets involved?

Grisaia's protagonist is more or less a mentor who went through most of their serious trauma before the story takes place and helps the cast out with theirs. Muramasa's protagonist is somebody who comes to grips with whether they're really doing the right thing.

Grisaia seems like something right up my alley. I'll skip Muramasa for the time being, since I just uninstalled Nioh 3 after being fed up with the japanese bullshit in the game (I know, japanese bullshit in a japanese game set in japan and featuring japanese people, who could have expected that?).
Not even gonna touch Steins Gate, I have two nieces who were obsessed with the anime, and I honestly wanted to strangle both of them.

 

[Fcret]

Is this the one where kids horribly mutilate/kill each other, blaming it on a fictional sickness/gas leak, and then for some reason a local god that's a little girl gets involved?

That's the normgroid oversimplification of the plot from memes about the (very flawed) anime adaptation. The actual story of Higurashi has little to do with gratuitous violence and more to do with the mysteries of the town and contending with an unreliable narrator to piece together an actual timeline of events. Most of the violence happens off screen because showing it to the reader would completely ruin the mystery. It's also dripping with atmosphere.

Just as an aside - A cardinal rule with VNs is that anime adaptations are often a regurgitated normie-friendly form of the story. Characters tend to be flattened down and flanderized because actually devoting time to characterizing them would take too long in adaptation form. There are characters I've found insufferable in anime adaptations that I came to absolutely love when I read the source VN.

Basically you should think about it like the difference between the LotR books and the Peter Jackson movies. The movies are fine and honestly probably the best that can be expected given the source material, but the books are a fundamentally deeper and more rewarding experience where characters and plotlines that were ancilliary on the big screen actually get to shine.

I'm not saying you should immediately go out and read Higurashi or Steins;Gate but I would be very careful about basing your entire perception about a series that has an anime adaptation from social media. Most people talking about a series are going to be talking about the anime adaptation and in most cases you're going to be getting a cut-down perspective on an already cut-down perspective about the story.

 

[Billy the Adult]

I have never played a visual novel, other than the Katawa Shoujo demo, just because it was at the time a "4chan made game", but I do like CYOA books and games. Are there any visual novels, where the protagonist isn't a retard? I don't mean they have to be hypercompetent, but from what I've heard they're most of the time either generic "good guys" that the teen reader would have easier time self-inserting as, or completely braindead, hot-tempered and relying on plot armor to survive. Setting doesn't matter, it can be fantasy, present day, various types of -punk, as long as I never have to question protagonist's intelligence.

I haven't been able to get through much myself yet, but I will say Apathy - Midnight Collection is probably the closest I've seen a VN get to a CYOA. Though it is old, and I can't tell you for sure if the protagonists are retarded.

Those are usually the best ones. There's something in VNs where the time setting up is usually always worth the massive payoffs unless they REALLY REALLY FUCK THINGS UP.

Any examples? Would love to hear.

 

[Nobody In Particular]

Skipping that one then.

Soujuurou is good retarded. Kinda like a Tarzan type character.

 

[Poop A Loop]

Skipping that one then.

Soujuurou is good retarded. Kinda like a Tarzan type character.

For the first hour you just kinda wonder why Soujuurou is so dense and then it becomes charming and funny because it pisses off his housemates when they try to insult him. It strangely works very well.

It's like when you're told not to tell a woman that she looks unhappy, but Soujuurou does it all the time and gets away with it because he genuinely wants to know what's going on instead of figure out if he should avoid the landmines lol.

 

[StMaryPiper]

How do I undo the autism this bear and franchise has given me?

 

[HexFag]

How do I undo the autism this bear and franchise has given me? View attachment 8574918

Depends. Do you like V3's ending or do you hate it?

 

[StMaryPiper]

Depends. Do you like V3's ending or do you hate it?

Overly meta garbage why?

 

[Fcret]

I made a bit more progress on Dangit Grandpa and man the controls are absurdly annoying. The silencer mechanic just feels incredibly fiddly and I'm kinda getting tired of the Ace Attorney-like leaps of logic required to get the story to progress.

At least you can easily save and reload midtrial and the music is bangin'

 

[GenociderSyo]

Overly meta garbage why?

You are safe then and are cleaned from the curse.

 

[Fcret]

I've figured out the focus gauge in Danganronpa and am now slightly less annoyed about the controls. I thought that the timing on the silencer mechanic was really tight given all the animation delay but it turns out you're just supposed to use focus.

I stand by my position that this game would benefit immensely from like, actual interactive tutorials instead of making you read a bunch of disjointed text and then executing what you read in the middle of a trial.