Why YOU Should Be Playing A Visual NovelWhy YOU Should Be Playing A Visual Novel

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We’ve all heard about these grand stories, that are more often than not too big for an anime adaptation to cover with a measly twelve or thirteen episodes (looking at you Danganronpa), called Visual Novels.

Going to need some water for that burn.

I’m here to tell you why these stories are worth your money, hard drive space, and of course, your time. This is coming from someone who has played all these titles to an extent, so I’ll try to make it nice and simple for you.

-Story-

If My Heart Had Wings/ MoeNovel
 

 First thing’s first, story is a key component to any Visual Novel, and boy do they make that clear. If you’re worried that you’re not going to get your money’s worth with a visual novel. Not to worry, most visual novels are at the ready to deliver a story that’ll keep you busy for at least fifty hours, you read correctly, FIFTY hours of story down to the tiniest detail. They’ll explain everything and make sure there’s a purpose for every little conversation you’ll encounter. Honestly, even with my first visual novel, I felt a connection being established more and more between me and all the characters, and by the end, I’m left with something magical. It’s come to a point where even a visual novel absorbs me so much, that I actually feel like I’m part of the story being self-inserted through the main character’s eyes, that I would phase out and remember that I’m still living a life on the outer half of my screen. I’ve never felt that with anime, and that’s what really makes it more attracting. Every. Single. Time.

-Music-

Persona 4 Golden/ Atlus

While not as noticeable, but equally important, the music comes in. From my perspective, the music delivers the tone of every scene, it’s an indicator of what kind of scene you’re getting yourself into. While in the traditional scenario, it’s just a simple way to not make you feel awkward as you’re clicking away the text boxes every few seconds, but where it truly shines are in those moments where you know something important is going to happen. Whether it’s a sad memory or an incredible battle brewing, the music does the job to get you in the mood and even more into the scenario you’re witnessing. Anime does the same thing with their shows, without a doubt, but after playing visual novels, this writer is convinced it feels more intense through a visual novel where you’re making the choices.

 

-Replayability-

Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!/ Minato Soft
 

One issue I see commonly these days with huge, big budget games is the issue of replayability. You go through quite the journey, lots of trial and error in between you and the glorious end credits that signify your completion. You celebrate and treat yourself to something good as a reward. Now, would you go on that journey again? This writer here believes there’s a sort of magic when you beat a game for the first time, that you really can’t replicate through a second playthrough of all the same things you just experienced, even if it’s a tad harder and more stuff is available to you. Visual novels understand this, and that’s why they have, what we refer to as, routes.

Fanmade route chart for Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! S

You beat the main story, and obtained the main girl? Excellent! Now, do you ever wonder what’d it be like, if you picked another girl instead? With the exception of core dialogue, visual novels intend to create a unique experience with every route available. You could even find some details about certain characters that you wouldn’t even be able to find had you not taken the specific route. And with unique endings for each girl, you get to feel that magic over and over again.

 

-Recommendations-

    

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc/ NIS America

If everything you’ve read so far has been to your liking and has piqued your interest, allow me to introduce you to a couple great visual novels to get you started. If you own a PlayStation®Vita system, you have quite the few options, believe it or not. As pictured above, the Danganronpa series has always been kind and dear to deliver you a story that’ll drop your jaw with its twist and turns, so give that and Goodbye Despair a try! Of course, I can’t go on without introducing Danganronpa’s predecessor, and that is of course, Virtue’s Last Reward (sequel to 999 which is also recommended, available for people with a Nintendo®DS System or a DS Emulator), that tells a more gruesome tale and more endings that I could even keep track of. Last, but not least, is Persona 4 Golden, shown above in the Music section of the article, for its amazing soundtrack, but don’t get me wrong, there’s also an incredible story and an amazing cast of characters, it’s without a doubt one of the must play for PlayStation®Vita owners. Also for fans ofSteins;Gate expect the visual novel to drop for the system in English later into 2015 (Also available for the PlayStation®3 system).

It’s without a doubt that the PC has the biggest library of visual novels available. I mean, this writer here hasn’t even completed them all yet, so with that said, I’ll try to recommend what I’ve played so far. Let’s start with the ones you can actually obtain legally on Steam, I’m talking, of course, about If My Heart Had Wings, which delivers an amazing story that’s bound to give you the feels, so grab a tissue box and click away! My other recommendation, also available on Steam, is NEKOPARA Vol. 1 while not as long as the previously mentioned visual novels, this one in particular holds a place in my heart for a cute story, and an even cuter set of characters, it’s worth checking out.

Next up are the fan-translated ones, while it is free and not an official release, people worked hard to deliver these couple of games I’m about to say to the English-speaking crowd. I’m talking about Grisaia no Kajitsu and Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! Both possibly being one the greatest experiences I’ve had when it comes to visual novels, and I wouldn’t have experienced it, thanks to the individuals behind the translation patches. So when you have the time, visit their respective websites, and drop a simple donation or even say Thank you!

With that said, I’m thankful for YOU reading my very first article, let’s do this again sometime.

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