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The sad fact about replaying VNs... is that VNs don't have replay value. That's not to say it isn't possible to replay a VN and enjoy it. With many of the more complex VNs, it is impossible to take in the entire thing on your first playthrough, so it is usually worth a second one. Others are so well-written or have such great characters that they are worth reading again and again. Yet others are just so much fun or are so funny (games made by Rosebleu, Lamunation, etc) that they are worth playing again and again. Last of all, there are those that are so unique that no other experience quite equals them. However, even amongst the best VNs, there are ones I've found that pale immensely after the second playthrough. In particular, games that are heavy on mysteries and rely on their hidden aspects for at least some of their attraction become much weaker on later playthroughs. As an example, one of my favorite VNs of all time is Hapymaher (VN of the Year 2013). This game has an emotional, psychedelic story, a unique style, and the single best VN soundtrack out there. However, whenever I attempt a third playthrough, my knowledge of certain aspects that come to light in the end and the fandisc ruins it for me. Oh, Keiko is still unreasonably sexy for a chippai character, Yayoi is still funny, and Saki's sadism+jealousy thing with the protagonist is still just as hilarious... but I always stumble at two-thirds of the way through the common route (otherwise known as the 'Week towards Christmas' chapter by some fanboys). This part is immensely funny and interesting the first time you play it through... but without being able to share in the mystery and surprise of the characters, it is unbearably dull, sadly. Every single time I go back into this game, I stop here. Another example would be charage, in general. Understand, as you know, I am not terribly fond of charage in and of themselves. I won't go so far as to say I hate them, because I don't. However, if it is the choice between a nakige, an utsuge, a chuunige, and a charage... I'll always pick the charage last. In a good charage, the slice of life and character interactions and development are the best parts of the game... but when it comes to replaying a VN, this tripod of specialties is a poor substitute for an interesting story. I have managed to enjoy replaying a few charage... but most I drop after one path (usually the one of the heroine I liked the most), simply because I feel fatigue from having to slog through the same slice of life scenes a second time. The Light at the end of the Tunnel However, there are some games that survive multiple replays well. Nakige, utsuge, and games that go for the emotions in general are the most obvious genres (that are mainstream). I can still go back to moldy-oldies like Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no for a good cry, and I can still devour games like Houkago no Futekikakusha without any trouble at all. Another type that survives well are well-designed comedic games... for example, Lamunation, with its endless humor (ranging from sex jokes to penguins enjoying Mexican beer), endures multiple playthroughs quite nicely, without paling much as long as you space them out. Comedy is comedy, and as long as you don't overdo it, it is possible to enjoy a good comedy VN multiple times without much fear of boredom. Games that have a strong protagonist. Perhaps the biggest reason many Japanese VNs are almost unreplayable is because of the 'average protagonist'. A strong, well-developed protagonist with his own unique flaws and personality can carry a game on his back through numerous playthroughs. Good examples of this are Asagiri Kaito from the Akagoei series, Shirasagi Hime from the Tiny Dungeon series, and Narita Shinri from Hello, Lady. Games that have an overwhelmingly unique cast of characters or setting. A unique setting or a cast of characters can be the difference between a boring failed attempt at a second playthrough and four or five enjoyable playthroughs. Some examples of these are Evolimit; Devils Devel Concept; and the Silverio series. (note: Chuunige are the most likely to fit this type, but the Majikoi games and the Shin Koihime series also fit into this). Conclusion In the end though, taste matters. If you didn't enjoy the VN the first time, you won't enjoy it a second time (with rare exceptions). If you don't like chuunige, you most likely won't enjoy DDC or Silverio no matter how many times you attempt to play them, and if you don't like horrible things to happen to your characters, you will never enjoy Houkago no Futekikakusha. I've known people who enjoyed all these games on a first playthrough, were able to enjoy a charage on a second playthrough, but couldn't enjoy these on a second one. So, while this is my analysis, it is not absolute, lol.

Now, I love nothing more than an interesting setting, and I'm tired of normal charage in general... so one of the biggest points that can be used to draw me into a charage is a crazy setting. Crazy charage settings are settings that have no possibility whatsoever of happening in real life or are so far outside of common sense that they are inconceivable as a real possibility to most people. This includes fantasy settings and sci-fi settings, but more often it includes a simple concept taken to an extreme. There are several types that have become common in the last ten years (common as in they've popped up at least five times in the last ten years in different companies' VNs). The Love City/School Setting This is the second most common crazy setting that pops up in charage. To be blunt, it is a setting where love and romance are encouraged as a part of the law or by school rules. In this setting, love, sex, marriage, and/or children are desirable outcomes and the 'system' in those settings goes to weirdly extreme levels of effort and expense to create the desired result. This can be seen as a part of other crazy settings (such as Kamikaze Explorer, where having children as a student was encouraged) or on their own (as in Love Revenge, where romance was essentially forced on the students by the school's new owner), but this particular crazy setting has popped up at least fifteen times that I can think of off the top of my head in the last ten years. The Virtual World Setting This is the most common sci-fi setting, often mixing with fantasy ones, where a virtual world (partial or complete) is put into place either in common use or as a part of the main characters' lives. This has a relatively low rate of occurrence for a crazy setting on this list, but it has popped up six times that I can think of in a charage in the last ten years that I can think of. Some where 'enhanced reality' types like Harvest Overray and others were 'jack-in' types like Hoshi no Ne Sanctuary. However, the key to making this list is that the virtual world element is key to the progression of the story, at least through the common route. The 'Get/got sent to another world' Setting This is the second most common fantasy charage setting. It can range from 'After I defeated the Dark Lord' types (Valkyrie Runabout is an example of this type) and 'school life somehow in a half-medieval setting' type to ones where the protagonist just shrugs and starts living with the heroines whom he just met (Unlucky Re:Birth). I've come across this six times from VNs made in the last ten years, and mostly they are fun. The 'Magical/mystical school' setting The most common fantasy setting. This can range from Alia's Carnival types where the school is the only place where the magic/mystical element is practiced to charage based in mystical worlds (Such as Racial Merge). I can think of about seventeen VNs that chose this type of crazy settings. The Cross-dressing Boy attends a Girl's School This one is... well, insane on so many levels. However, it is also the most common 'mundane' (non sci-fi, non fantasy) crazy setting. I can't count how many times this has popped up since Otoboku and Shugotate started the main trends of this crazy setting (for silly/weird reasons vs for serious reasons), but it is also one of my favorites, since you can usually enjoy the protagonist's antics as he tries to fit in... or fits in almost too naturally, as the case might be. My thoughts Crazy settings can often be amusing and add flavor to an otherwise trite concept (fall in love stories, which dominate charage), but some people are put off by them. Also, utilizing a crazy setting in a relatively believable fashion is a rare skill amongst charage writers, and many such games fizzle in the end. Nonetheless, I'll probably keep diving into crazy settings, if only to keep myself from going insane with boredom at all the dating and romance that dominate charage.