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I'm saying this without actually having read LB, but knowing a little about it, as I want to play it for some time. Starting from Clannad, Key games have individual routes for the characters and then, after you clear them all, you get the true route. It was like this in Clannad, LB and Rewrite, with After Story, Refrain and Terra respectively. So yeah, read every route you have available now. Follow a guide, because Key games have many silly choices that affect the game, so playing it blind won't work well. Then, after reading all possible routes, you'll have Refrain, which will "close" the story. As for the extra routes, I didn't know about them before this thread.

Sheesh, I already said the 3 EX routes unlock after Refrain. I heard they spoil Refrain too, so it probably wouldn't make sense to read them first.

If you mean heroine's as in those who end up with the MC, Hinamori Kagome -> Comyu (aggressive, sadistic, evil-ish). Nemu -> Euphoria (Cruel,Sadistic) If you don't mind it being side characters, read basically anything in the nasuverse. (Type-Moon) It's got ton's of cruel, sadistic and evil heroines.

That's one of the problems at the moment, in regards to what I wrote about earlier. It would be an entirely different thing, if we'd get completely uncut versions of the original games, but instead we often get badly translated, originally porn-filled games with said content removed completely for the english release, their stories left unchanged. Where's the point? The original notion was those were supposed to be porn games, not story-driven vn's with an added touch of erotic content. When you get games like these, you have all the rights to feel annoyed and blame devs for mishandling their games, all in order to reach out to a wider audience at the cost of their own name. It's only obvious a lot of fans will complain and lose their respect towards the developer in such case.

Doki Doki actually fulfilled a desire of mine that I thought could never happen.

I know there are different visual-styles of anime/manga. You got the Ghibli style and the semi-realistic one etc etc When we started development of the game for the picture seen below, we wanted to give it a unique look. Not just because we would (hopefully) gain more attention but also because I have never been a fan of something that is mainstream. But still, I am interested in hearing your opinion. If you were to play a 2D anime-game or watch an anime film with this style, would that be uncomfortable or ugly to look at in your opinion?

Most japanese animated media is very moe-ish. Rather than emphasizing cuteness of the character, your art is sharply defined and feels a little intense. That being said, a lot of the time different art styles can attract a lot of attention (For example, the art in fata morgana). I, personally really like the character sprites. Good Luck!

I've seen Nekopara called a nukige (a pizza delivery simulator) before. It's not. I mean, yes, the sex scenes are a big part of it. But there's too much attention paid to giving the girls real personalities and to the setting. They're more moege/ charage in my book. As such, they wouldn't be too bad without the H. Nekopara is not super great, without the art (and especially the animation tech) nobody would care. (The original Nekopara's trailers actually made a point of showing off the movement, because Nekopara was the first game to use the tech.) But it actually has good enough writing to be successful, where something like Neko-nin Ex Heart does not.

Anyway thanks again everyone will be following a guide from now on because there are so many choices in this game. Going to continue on tomorrow!

@Akshay Cheers for the answer. Vague is fine, I understand it is hard to give detailed responses without any spoilers. I was thinking of bailing on the VN if I am honest, but if it has your seal of approval, I will continue the VN. I get more hung up on this stuff than I should anyway =/

1. Yes, exactly this. It is easier to think that stryker is the main protagonist. However the game resolves it very well later on. When you finish the heaven/sky saga, you should fully understand. It also expands this in the steel.light sagas. You should be satisfied with how it is resolved. I thought they did it very well. 2. This VN is best enjoyed if you don't take it too seriously. They literally won't realise this unless they are told directly to their face. This is probably similar to no one realising who superman is when he puts on glasses. 3. Keep playing. THis issue is also explained. Overall Dengeki Stryker is one of my favorite VN's. However if you try to look to deeply, take it too seriously for things like these, you will lose a lot of your enjoyment. Some suspension of disbelief is necessary to appreciate this title. The first saga (playthrough) is the weakest but sets the development for the later ones. Also I hope you have the Cho Dengeki version of the game as it adds 3 new routes, all which are very enjoyable. I understand that I have been vague in my answer, however most of what you have asked is shrouded in spoilers. Finding out the answer to the 1st one can ruin your enjoyment of the game. It is really very good. Keep reading!

Yes, there is that, but apart from one case (and of course Rin since she's central to the story) I don't remember that they appear in Refrain, and the contents of their respective routes aren't referenced in it. The routes are not pointless but they're not essential for the core story.

Not necessarily. Their stories do tie in with Refrain, so I don't think it's fair to say they're separate. Major Refrain spoilers

Refrain ties the whole game together, and it's centered around the classic lineup of the Little Busters (Riki, Kyousuke, Masato, Kengo and Rin). If you look at the game's structure when you have finished it, the girls' routes are separate from the core, but there's a certain girl that makes a noteworthy appearance in Refrain. There are no argumental ties between the pre-Refrain routes and it, with the general exception of Rin.

They actually look more interesting now.

Um, yes, now that you say it I remember something like that.

The new three routes (Kanata, Saya and Sasami) allegedly unlock after Refrain, for clarification.

Euphoria is all about that, though you won't have an usual high school setting here. There is a very similar thread from few days ago requesting for tsundere heroines. You should go look into that. AND READ UMINEKO!

You've got to clear all routes before going into Refrain, that in this case is Rin1, Rin2, Komari, Mio, Kud, Kurugaya, Haruka, Kanata, Saya and Sasami. A mountain of reading, certainly. Beware that I only played the base version, without the 3 extra routes, but I don't think that they'll allow to leave them by the wayside. Refrain is the true route for a reason :3 With a guide you will quickly tell this kind of thing. Enjoy.

Well, you see... Little Busters originally had no H content, so there's that. I know there's the Ecstasy version, but I'm satisfied with the base game (and of course in the Steam version we're getting the Saya, Kanata and Sasami routes). All in all, I don't think there's anything to miss dearly there.

I second Kagome from Comyu. Sousou (and maybe some other characters) from Koihime Musou. Hmmm maybe Haishera from Ikusa Megami Zero but that is a heavily edited machine translation, and more story focused. This is more of a mention than a recommendation.

Didn't finish reading it yet but I think Edelweiss has a good amount a bros in it. It has a group of friends with some good friendly banter between them. Now that I think about that there aren't many games (at least amongst the ones I read) where the friends get the focus forr at least a little while. This and majikoi are the only ones that I can remember right now.

Well, this is probably not at the same level, but if it's enough for you to get verbally abused by your love interest Kaori from Ace Academy (warning - non-japanese voice acting detected) is maybe my favourite tsundere. Stays occasionally hostile even after becoming a couple. Has a super-sweet side, but basically never shows it in public and you can get smacked for minor things.

If nothing else, I suppose Rin would be the closest to the game's true heroine, but I wouldn't say she's the de facto romance canon. Refrain would be Little Busters' true route, and is mostly centered on friendship (I don't remember there being any romance). There are 3 bonus routes that unlock after Refrain which are now available for the first time with the Steam version. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. Little Busters is my favorite VN! Make sure you have a couple tissue boxes ready when you get to Refrain.

If she mellows with time, i guess its fine, but i don't mind if it goes all the way to down right psychotic :p, i also dig psychotic ones that get over protective of the protagonist and can go over board protecting him or getting revenge, here is somewhat of an example (even if comedic) of what i mean:

I wonder how extreme examples you're looking for? I guess it has to be something beyond typical Tsundere/Coodere archetype (ex. Sakaki from Grisaia - she starts pretty seriously violent, but gets much more approachable on later on)? I have a few favourite tsundere heroines but probably not anything extreme enough to count...

So, I finally finished Subahibi. And, well, it was a weird ending. I can't say I really understand what happened there, so I'll definitely need to reread some key moments of the VN. Overall, Subahibi definitely delivered on its hype. I need to let my thoughts and emotions settle for some time, but so far I'm pretty sure it's really the best VN I've read to this day.

Majikoi and bullet butler finally Arrived, and damn they artbook from bullet butler is fancy af.

That looks incredible <3 I like it a lot. Very good job with the uniform!

The guy in the middle reminds me allot of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. I think the art-style looks great, visually distinct from common visual novels and pleasing to look at.

But isn't it the same with pretty much every form of media nowadays? No genuinely great movie can beat Transformers and that recycled mess of a Star Wars episode we've got lately when it goes to profitability. But that doesn't mean good films aren't made - and that we can't see many of them in the same cinemas that get filled with people looking for mindless entertainment. A platform might be full if filth but still also host valuable products and give them more positive exposure they could hope for without it - I still think that's the case with Steam. It's not really a zero-sum game, because people watching/reading complete shit in most cases won't be that interested in more demanding stuff anyway. Most people on Steam won't touch the "Weeb crap" because of their biases (which, BTW, are not a new thing, more like decades old), but those with enough knowledge about Japanese media or enough curiosity will find their way to high-quality stuff as long as it's available. And that limited interest can make the effort of basic localisation and putting it for sale worth it - let's not kid ourselves, Western markets (and even PC market in general) are not a priority for JP developers and only affects their policies in minor ways. They won't all switch to producing Nekopara sequels because of Steam. But they might bring us more English versions of various products because of Steam. And really, is JP market that much better? Even the shitty western VNs like Sakura series only mimic what was popular for ages in Japan. There's ton of bad, questionable, laughably bad VNs and Dating Sims that sells tons of copies in Japan, it's just not what we, as admittedly a bunch of niche-audience snobs, focus on. :] I think Steam still allows it as long as the patch is only available off-platform and not linked in the game itself. If I'm wrong though it would be a huge problems for many VN publishers, that rely on this unlockable content to make any sales (even with some Japanese games - I'm not sure if the recently mentioned Nekopara would make any sense without Hentai scenes - if it does I would like to know BTW, because I've always though of these games as overly-elaborate set ups for porn segments :p).

I could tell from your VNDB, which is why i stopped. Nonetheless, the case of C;C is pretty peculiar as it goes to great lengths to maintain the theme's integrity and coherence. The route structure is a result of that, and it's only good if you care about the theme. Therefore, i can't fault anyone for disliking the routes. Over sky on the other hand, is as you said impeccable. It is a perfect 10/10. The structure was great with minimum downtime, and most of the scenes felt meaningful to the goal the story was heading to. It also manages to show managed to show the cast in this route as people, developing them throughout the route (save for Hana and Uki). You can just praise it tbh, there is nothing to complain about. I wrote my impressions on Choas;Child already, so doing it again feels redundant.

I've never managed to convert someone to an otaku online..... IRL, I actually managed to show some normalfags the joy of anime. It feels really good when they enjoy it.