/vn/ - Visual Novels

Terms for newbies taken from some faggot named Rockmandash:

Kinetic Novel - Kinetic novels are visual novels without choices, so all you do is read.

Sound Novel - Sound novels is a trademark from Chunsoft. The term is the original word referring to novel type games. However "Visual Novels" became prevalent due to other companies using it in order to avoid the company's trademark.
This term later was known because of Higurashi, which used it because the sound was more important than the actual visuals, so they called it a sound novel. 07th Expansion's sound novels are essentially kinetic novels with a focus on sound to create an atmosphere.

Dating Sim - Technically, this term refers to simulation games focused on dating. However, this term is frequently used by English speakers to describe any romance-driven game, regardless of game mechanics used.

Eroge - An eroge (エロゲー or エロゲ erogē); is a portmanteau of the words erotic game. This is a blanket term for any game that includes NSFW content.

Nakige - A game that produces emotional catharisis (touching your heart, making you cry, etc), with a good ending.

Utsuge - Games that are made with the intent of making you depressed. More extreme than Nakiges

Moege - A VN where the focus is on moe (look it up if you don’t know it).

Charage - Sub-genre of Moege where the focus is on character development.

Nukige - A sub-genre of Visual Novels which focus on the erotic content.


Some other terms

Routes - The name that refers to a story line in visual novels. Non-linear branching story lines are a common trend in visual novels, and these branching story lines are routes.

Good-end/Bad-end - The ending of a route in a Visual Novel. Depending on what happens, it can be called either good or bad. (E.G. You get your head cut off = bad-end. You live together happily with a heroine = good-end)

Harem - A trope characterized by a protagonist surrounded by three or more members of the opposing sex who are usually love interests. Harem usually refers to a male protagonist with female love interests, while stuff with females with male love interests are referred to as reverse harems. This subgenre is extremely popular in the Visual Novel world because of how easily it is to incorporate branching stories to it.
Bishōjo (Bishoujo) game - This term designates any game involving a male lead dating pretty anime girls. The word "bishōjo" literally means "pretty young girl". "Girl game" and "gal game" are also used to describe this sub-genre. Not really used here in the west.

Otome game - This term designates any romantic game involving a female lead… so the exact opposite. Translated literally, Otome game means "maiden game". They are also referred to as a "reverse harem".

Boy's Love game - This term designates any game involving a male lead dating pretty anime boys in a homosexual relationship. "BL game" and "Yaoi" are terms also used to describe these games. This sub-genre is primarily geared toward a female audience.

1/11

G-Senjou no Maou (The Devil on G-String) [NSFW]

You play the role of Azai Kyousuke, the son of a legendary gangster infamous in the underworld. You spend your time listening to Bach, playing God at school and covertly working for your stepfather, a ruthless financial heavyweight. This idyllic existence is broken when two individuals appear in the city - a beautiful girl named Usami Haru with hair you could get lost in for days, and a powerful international gangster known only as "Maou". Almost without delay, the two begin a deadly cat-and-mouse game, bringing you and your friends into the crossfire. Plotting, political intrigue and layer upon layer of interlocking traps are the weapons in this epic battle of wits.


This Novel is easy to read because it has 8 routes: 4 good-ends and 4 bad-ends. There are two routes for every heroine.

2/11

Kodoku ni Kiku Yuri (Lonely Yuri) [SFW]

She gave her love, and tenderness.
First with a kiss…

It was first year in high school. The budding of summer.
Fusa Konno met a shut-in girl named Seri.
Persecuted by her yearning eyes, her heart opened…


This novel is extremely short and very atmospheric. It makes a good read and is a perfect example of a Kinetic Novel. It’s my own personal favourite.

3/11

Steins;Gate (Steins;Gate) [SFW]

The story of Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara and is about a group of friends who have customized their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them.


Very popular and very good, Steins;Gate holds a special place in a lot of peoples' hearts. It is of medium length.

4/11

Air (Air) [SFW]

Kunisaki Yukito's deceased mother left him with the doll and her last wish that Yukito look for the "girl in the skies" because it is his destiny to save her. Only half-understanding what his mother meant, Yukito has been traveling across Japan, vainly searching for this myth-like girl his mother told him about. His latest destination is a small, sleepy town where summer has just arrived; and his encounter with a young girl named Misuzu there sets the wheels of destiny turning….


Very depressing, medium-length VN. Good example of a Nakige. Also, it is worth noting that this game makes you play the routes in a certain order, so I recommend looking for a walkthrough.

5/11 From here on out, the VNs I introduce are very long and mostly complicated (Definitely recommend using walkthroughs for these.)

Rewrite (Rewrite) [SFW]

Rewrite is set in the fictional city Kazamatsuri where treeplanting and afforestation have caused the city to become overgrown with trees and flowers in much the same way that other cities are filled by buildings. However, while most of the city appears to be rural, there are many traditional city elements as well. While set in a modern setting, the city also gives off a strange sense of nostalgia. The basis of the story is set in a high school setting. The first half of Rewrite primarily consists of the characters interacting in many everyday, enjoyable scenes. The latter half, however, is more serious, emotional, and carries a sense of mystery to the plot. As indicated by the title, rewriting is the theme of the game's scenario. The tagline for the game is, "Could it possibly be rewritten, that fate of her's?".


Very, VERY long VN. Lot’s of secrets and replayability.

6/11 Grisaia no Kajitsu (Le Fruit de la Grisaia) [NSFW]

Mihama Academy - on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree.
Whatever the circumstances behind its establishment, Mihama Academy is at present home to five female students, all with their own reasons for "enrollment." For better or worse, each girl has established a routine obliging of her current situation; life moves at an idle, yet accommodating pace within the walls of Mihama.
Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome?
And in the first place, just who is Kazami Yuuji? While the true nature of the "job" he is wont to alight to at the most haphazard of moments remains shrouded in secrecy, one thing is for certain - his encroachment upon the quiet orchard known as Mihama Academy will prove itself momentous in one way or another. And of course, one cannot discount the possibility that perhaps Yuuji himself carries the weightiest past of any of the students…


Became very popular recently because of it’s recent anime adaptation. Sometimes heartbreaking and an all-around lovely story. Very simple branching story but still quite long.

7/11 Clannad (Clannad) [SFW]

Although in his third year of high school, Okazaki Tomoya does not pay too much attention to school. His classmates are worried about him, but his best friend does not mind.
He does not want a girlfriend but he does not realize that he is popular with the girls.
However, his life changes when he meets a girl on the way to school…


Chances are you’ve heard of it before. It has quite a few endings and a couple adaptations (both offical and unofficial). Also, if it matters to you, you can buy this VN to read on consoles.

8/11 Fate/Stay Night (fsn, f/sn) [NSFW]

—-The one who obtains the Holy Grail will have any wish come true.—-
The Holy Grail War.
A great ritual that materializes the greatest holy artifact, the Holy Grail.
There are two conditions to participate in this ritual.
To be a magus, and to be a "Master" chosen by the Holy Grail.
(The experience as a magus is not questioned if one has the aptitude)
There are seven chosen Masters, and seven classes of Servants.
There is only one Holy Grail.
If you wish for a miracle.
Prove that you are the strongest with your powers.


Extremely large fanbase who love this extremely large series. The Fate/Stay series is very good but can be somewhat overwhelming. Recommended to use a walkthrough because it can be quite complicated.

9/11 Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! (Do Love Me Seriously!) [NSFW]

Kawakami City is famous for its strong dedication to its samurai ancestors. A strong fighting spirit is always valued and it's even an important factor in succeeding in school there. Yamato, a second year student from Kawakami Highchool is always with his close friends (4 boys and 3 girls). They have known each other since they were young and have done loads of things together. They have many other friends, but this seven people is a close-knit group, they even have a secret base where they meet… With the new semester, they welcome two girls into their group and shortly after things start to change…


Lots of routes in this one but does have a true ending. The translation project took place on the fuwanovel forums (http://forums.fuwanovel.org/index.php?/topic/6556-majikoi-translation-project/).

10/11 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (When they Cry) [SFW]

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa, which has a population of approximately 2000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser, usually him.) Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro-sama. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro-sama. In each story arc, he or one of his friends become paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.


If horror’s your thing, this is for you. The art is a little weird but there has been a remake that redid the art and music.

11/11 Little Busters (Little Busters) [SFW]

Riki was a child when his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. What saved him was a group of four kids calling themselves the Little Busters. They took Riki out and played with him during his time of need. He really enjoyed being together with them, and his grief gradually faded away. Now in his second year of high school they still hang out, fight and live together, and enjoy their school life.

Little Busters! contains several mini-games, including a baseball practice game and a duel battle system.


In terms of size, Little busters is one of the biggest on this list. It has quite of few routes and quite a few secrets and can be played for days and days on end without being completed.

12/11 Chaos;Head (Chaos;Head) [NSFW]

Takumi is a high school student. He is withdrawn and is not interested in 3D things. In his town, a mysterious serial murder case happens and people get panicked. One day, when he chats on the internet, a man suddenly contacts him and gives him a URL. He goes to the website and finds a blog image that suggests a next murder case…. On the next day, it really happens….

I labelled this as "NSFW" but it has no sexual content. It does contain gore, however. It is set in the same setting as Steins;Gate and is a murder mystery.

13/11 Kimi no Nagori wa Shizuka ni Yurete [NSFW]

One year after the release of Flyable Heart, Unison Shift: Blossom released a spin-off starring the most popular heroine, Shirasagi Mayuri. Unlike it’s predecessor, Kiminago is more of a romantic drama, focusing on Mayuri’s relationship with Shou, and their struggle to have her family approve it, considering how their backgrounds are radically different. The story can be divided into two parts: the high-school daily life, and the mansion. Most of the game happens in the latter.

Similarly to its source material, Kiminago starts with Shou, a teenager with a huge appetite, being invited to a prestigious high school after saving her from an assault in the street. Atracted by the free meal plan that came with the invitation, he decides to go as soon as possible. And as he crosses a bridge, he comes across a beautiful girl staring at the horizon. Her mysterious gaze, and her intense beauty instantly captivates our protagonist. After a small conversation, she soon guides him throughout the school, and thus, the story begins.

Full review here: https://koshokunayaneura.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/kimi-no-nagori-wa-shizuka-ni-yurete-review/