Clephas

Damatte watashi no muko ni nare was the first of Ensemble's 'ojousama-ge', and it tends to get somewhat mixed reviews. Compared to some of Ensemble's more recent works, it is a good VN. However, it suffered from pacing issues in the heroine routes that bothered me greatly at the time. Bloody Rondo was 3rdeye's first game. It wasn't a particularly good chuunige, and it drew a bit too much from Draculius without having the kind of character depth that game had. If you are just playing one of the routes, Luna's is the only way to go. Gokudou no Hanayome is a really, really weird game. It is of a small genre of 'over the top setting' charage/plotge hybrids that were briefly common at the beginning of the decade. It was no better than decent, in my opinion (mostly because the protag was a total drag on the cast).

My pick would have been Evolimit or Tasogare no Sinsemilla. Subarashiki Hibi is a hate or love type of game... you either love Sca-ji's style or you hate it. I loathe it, personally. Every game I've played with him as a writer has left me feeling dissatisfied or outright depressed without the redeeming value of true catharsis. When I was doing my own VN of the Month, my way of doing things left me no real choice but to play his games, but I was immediately glad after that I would never have to play one of his games again.

Kicking Horse Rhapsody is a pretty standard comedy charage. It's nothing awesome, but it is pretty emblematic of the sub-genre at its best. Ushinawareta Mirai o Motomete is a true plotge that looks like something else on the surface. At the time, when I played it, I never anticipated that it would become a classic, but it did. I enjoyed it (though the details have faded with ten years of time), but I'll be honest when I don't remember much of what it was about. Venus Blood Empire is the last 'goddess' VB game before they transitioned to the style seen in Frontier, which has been used as a template for most VB games since. At best, it can be considered a decent story. However, it feels 'rougher' than later entries.

Everybody Loves Large Chests (the series) by Neven Iliev is probably the most horrifying dark comedy fantasy I've ever read. I laughed almost constantly throughout the first five books (what I've read) of this series... simply because it is just so far out there that it insulates you from the sheer horror of what is going on. This series is focused on the antics and life of an aberrant, sociopathic, homicidal and ever-hungry mimic (yes, the treasure-chest monster) named Boxxy T Morningwood (yes, that's its name, lol). It begins with the nearly brainless creature devouring a hapless adventure... and gaining a few levels and some intelligence in short order. I say intelligence, but Boxxy is pretty much an idiot savant with a gift for homicidal mayhem, torture, and somehow always making out better than it should have been able to. While Boxxy begins passively killing and eating 'tasty' adventurers and collecting 'shinies' in a dungeon, it quickly progresses to... doing the exact same thing (with added flair) outside the dungeon (well, with 'tasty' extending to just about everything along the way). This ever-hungry idiot savant is somehow one of the single most hilarious protagonists I've encountered... anywhere. Some of the things he gets up to (actually, most of them) are straight out of a Clock Up VN, and he only gets more horrifyingly evil as time goes on. Even though he does get more intelligent as he levels and evolves, his central interests forever focus on 'shiny' and 'tasty'. Let's be clear, if I didn't make it so above... Boxxy is evil. There is no redeeming value to him, despite what you might think of him at times. He likes eating things, collecting shiny things, and killing to level up. However, he proves that evil can be hilarious, if you know what you are doing.

I used to just blast through the entire VN and all its paths. Nowadays, I generally only go for the heroines I'm interested in.

Ouka Sengoku is a weird game full of non-killing swordplay, cute mascots, and way too many heroines. It isn't awful, but it can be a bit overwhelming if you are a completionist. Sacred Vampire never gets beyond decent because of certain incoherent aspects of the setting and a decision on the part of the maker to stick with the gakuen setup from beginning to end. Lovekami is the original on which a bunch of crappy sequels have come from (seriously, I don't know how they could have gone so far out of their way to ruin a perfectly good setting). Lovekami is an extremely solid plotge/charage hybrid with a number of excellent non-human/deity heroines from Japanese mythology (Sakuya and Iwana, Inari's bunrei, Tsukuyomi). Unlike its sequels, it isn't a cheap half-assed charage with a bunch of excess moe thrown in, which is probably why it pisses me off that those sequels exist at all. Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate is a pretty famous early-era charage that got a disproportionate amount of attention due to getting an anime. It isn't a great game, despite how it is pushed, but compared to a lot of the 'empty' charage that started popping up between 2014 and 2018, it is good. Kisaragi Gold Star is one of Saga Planets' less serious, more moe and character focused games. As such, it maintains a certain level of quality but doesn't leave me with anything special in the way of impressions. Personally, my recommendation for generalist readers is Lovekami. Sacred Vampire is fine if you want cheap, low-quality gakuen battle stories. Ouka Sengoku is good if you want moe battles and tons of heroines.

Spread the joy, I signed.

Sakura Bitmap is a standard charage of the era, when there was still a modicum of actual drama and storytelling in charage heroine paths. As such, it isn't a bad choice for fans of such. Fortissimo's original version suffers from a massive number of issues (not the least of which the lack of actual paths for the heroines despite the choices for those paths existing). Battles are actually good, but the story tends to be meh because of that. Later versions were much better.

Suzukaze was the game that turned Whirlpool from a mere curiosity to a relative powerhouse in the charage/plotge hybrid niche. It has a decent story, strong heroines, and a well-defined (if somewhat overly moe) setting. Indigo... just isn't available. That sucks. It looks like a straight-out Tsukihime copy, so I wanted to play it... but I can't find it for sale on any site.

Tasogare no Sinsemilla is one of those games any generalist plotge VN lover needs to play at some point but probably will never be a priority for anyone. It is an excellent game, but that is only if you happen to have a taste for the type. Vestige is an outright kusoge. I remember Nanapuri in a really general fashion. It was decent but doesn't go any further than being decent, despite some good action scenes. Para-sol is an extremely esoteric chuunige. I can't recommend it for the average chuunige fan, but for people with an eye for weird stuff, it is awesome. Make sure you have all the updates installed, though, since the initial release is only two-thirds of the game. Despite it being a lolige (and yes it is a lolige) if you cut out all the ecchi/H-scenes, Gothic Delusion would be a first-class game. Unfortunately, lolige are universally vomit-worthy.

Otoboku 2 is much, much better in quality than the first game, incidentally. Tiny Dungeon's first game is worth a look, even if you don't have time for it now. Consome is one of those weird games that I can't pin down my feelings for. On the one hand, I liked a lot of the heroines, and on the other hand, large swathes of the story were incoherent. Soranica Ele needed a lot more action, less obfuscation.

Sengoku Koihime Sengoku Hime 5

If we are adding in anime, then Noir is my suggestion.

Shugotate (secret heroine) Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana (atonement and salvation of others at cost to one's self is the focus of the main path) Ikusa Megami Zero- Floral Flowlove- Protagonist sees no worth in himself and believes the only way he can be worthy of the man who saved his life is to protect the main heroine without seeking anything in return. Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai- Protagonist protects the village in atonement for his friend dying as a result of his mission. Tokyo Babel-

IMV is MTLed, not localized, so it is essentially untranslated. It is a great sequel to IMZ and prequel to IM and IM2. Tsumibukaki Shuumatsuron is an excellent conclusion to the Akagoei trilogy. Acchi Muite Koi is considered a classic charage, and it is pretty good, for what it is.

Harumade Kururu Sakura, Moyu (oddly enough) Silverio Vendetta and Trinity (both have some really nice plot twists) Nanairo Reincarnation Tasogare no Sinsemilla Tsuisou no Augment Yurikago yori Tenshi Made Haru to Yuki Baldr Skydive Hello, Lady End Sleep Sakura, Sakimashita

I'm kind of annoyed no PC version immediately... I don't have a Japanese PS4 anymore, and I never had a Japanese Switch.

This is the third game in Crystalia's series based on a world where a sport has grown up around using spiritual swords and a prequel to the original game, Kizuna Kirameku Koi Iroha. For those who haven't played the other games, I can say that you might or might not get more out of this game by playing the others first, as playing the original spoils you on the winner of the tournament and a few other issues. On the other hand, this game also fills in a lot of gaps on characters from the original, such as Miyako and Tsubaki. I'm going to come out and say this outright... this game is probably the best of the three. Why? The more obvious reason is that the battles are generally better quality than the other two games. However, the larger reason is the way it is structured. Ninety-percent of the game is actually a straightforward seishun drama based around a class of talented dropouts and a teacher protagonist. Romance doesn't change the outcome, and actual heroine paths are actually in the 'omake' section of the game, rather than being the main focus. This comes as a trade-off. For those who want romance to be the central element of their VNs, this game will probably be a disappointment. However, if you like seishun drama with fierce competition and lively interaction between the characters, this is a first-class game. The protagonist, Murakaki Iori, is a member of the JSDF's Tenju Tokka unit (wields Origami and Tenju as part of their tactics), and he gets pulled for a side mission involving educating a class full of talented individuals who normal teachers can't seem to handle. Iori is, on the surface and for the most part, a good-hearted and hotblooded teacher with a true belief in acting in the best interests of his students and treating them equally. However, he does have a somewhat traumatic past and that past isn't ignored during the story. Takamine Setsugekka is your classic 'aho no ko', also known as the 'idiot child' or 'airheaded' heroine. She wields a close-in style wielding a ninjatou and hand-to-hand combat, and she starts out at the lowest point of all the heroines in terms of skill. She occasionally, when hurt or driven to rage, goes berserk and wields immense power, but in this state she is easy to handle for an appropriately skilled opponent. Typical of this kind of story, she grows the most in skill as time goes on. Suzakuin Momiji is, on the surface, a competent and cool swordswoman who focuses on taking apart her opponent's style and habits until she can predict and lead them down the path to destruction. She wields a long katana similar to that of Sasaki Kojirou from Fate/Stay Night. She is Tsubaki's (from the original) eldest sister. However, behind the scenes she is a lazy young woman who can't be bothered to pick up her own trash or get out of bed if she isn't forced to. In all honesty, the first time I saw her chugging non-alcoholic beer (apparently, when at her family home, she goes for the real stuff) with sashimi in her other hand, I fell in love, so I favored her from the beginning (yes, I'm a bit weird sometimes with my heroine preferences). Kuki Asahi is the younger sister of Iori's best friend and former rival, Kuki Takahisa. From a very young age, she has been in love with Iori, but for some reason she has grown up into a very yandere-ish Iori-worshipper who will ruthlessly act to protect her hold on him. Her preferred style is 'iai-battou', a defensive style where the user counters their enemies with draw-slashes. Emotionally, she is perhaps the most volcanic of the characters, though I imagine some will say Setsugekka is. Tobe Ririmu is a gyaru swordswoman who has a rather unique style that is very-dance like, combining Tenju illusions with unusual steps with a difficult to predict rhythm. In all honesty, I felt bad for how this game treats her toward the end. While she has a strong presence throughout much of the game, that presence fades almost to nothing due to the events of the tournament near the end. In a very real way, she is a character that existed solely to provide emotional firewood for certain events near the end. She is something of a free-spirit, with a desire to combine fashion with Jindou, designing combat costumes and Origami skins. In many ways, she is like your typical 'slightly delinquent-like child' character, especially when it comes to dealing with teacher-student issues.

Unusual Romance Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa (Eiri path) (has unusual beginnings) Akeiro Kaikitan (Velvet) Tokyo Babel (Lilith) Hapymaher (All except Saki, who should practically already be married to him, lol) Komorebi no Nostalgica (Fluorite/Flow path) Adult Romance Nanairo Reincarnation (policewoman path) Hataraku Otona series (all adult romance) Hataraku Otaku no Ren'ai Jijou (all) Relationship with a powerful reason Ayakashibito (Suzu) (Also unusual and forbidden romance) Comyu (Kagome) (also unusual romance) Bullet Butlers (Selma) Evolimit (Shizuku) Draculius (all) Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no (All Main Branch routes) Inochi no Spare (Warning: Only one sad ending, utsuge) Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana (Extremely powerful reasons in this game) Forbidden Romance Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier (Sakamoto Ryouma/Iori path) Konata Yori Kanata Made (Kris Route) Yurikago yori Tenshi Made (Tae Route) Jingai Makyou (Kaze no Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono route) Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai (Princess route, Shizuru route) That's about as much as I can list off the top of my head

The Litrpg genre has a bunch of subsets, from the gamelit (characters are actually in a game) and portal fantasy (go through a portal to a game-like world) to Wuxia/xanxia style cultivation and anime-style harem setups. William D Arand is an interesting writer... He is definitely on the harem side of things, because all of his protagonists end up with a harem of women who are both devoted to him and end up running his life, as well as being deadly, amoral and more than a little crazy. Most of his books are based in the multiverse of his 'Selfless Hero' series, and the protagonist of that series is involved peripherally in all of them. Happily, there are no actual sex scenes in his books (I say happily because a lot of harem fantasy writers tend to make sex scenes take up two-thirds of the book), and most of the girls react realistically (jealousy, murderous impulses, etc) to the situation even if they end up accepting it. One girl, in particular, strikes me as being one of his favorite archetypes, even if she is always low in the girls' hierarchy in each series. In the Selfless Hero, it was Alexia, the goddess of thieves and assassins. This type of character is the 'psychotic monster yandere' type, with a side of a need to be dominated. Normally a girl like this would be relegated to enemy status, get killed early on conveniently, or otherwise cause massive problems. However, he seems to like building into his protagonists a wide degree of tolerance for a number of heroine types. Heck, Felix (Super Sales on Super Heroes series) has a girl who kills one of the other girls on a daily basis (the other girl creates clones of herself) simply out of jealousy and with permission from the other girl... and soaks her sheets in the other girl's blood and eats her flesh... and he is perfectly at ease with her. Overall, his books have a rather dark charm to them, with just enough in the way of 'moralistic' heroines to provide a baseline for you to realize how out there some of the other heroines are, lol.

Karenai sekai to owaru hana

Ayakashibito (translated)- Doesn't have harem elements, except for one of the endings in Tonya's path, but there are no real meaningless scenes in the game, and while the endings aren't happily ever after, they are good in the sense that the characters are still moving forward with life (even if that life is a bit violent). Exception is one of the Suzu endings. Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana (Untranslated)- I recommend this game for pure feels, since you'll probably end up crying through two-thirds of the game, with the last part (centered around the individual routes) is happy in comparison. Evolimit (untranslated)- Great story, great characters, plenty of manzai-style comedy, and great action. Also great feels. Generally an exhilirating game to play, one threesome ending. Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier (untranslated)- This is a steampunk version of the bakumatsu (Meiji restoration) era focused around Okita Souji. If you avoid the true history routes (Hijikata and Kondou) then the endings are pretty awesome. The downside is that, if you choose either of the two other 'arcs' one of the heroines will die (both die in the true history). All endings in the 'new history' arcs are threesomes and are excellent. Draculius (untranslated)- One true ending and one joke ending. This game has a really great atmosphere, good story and a great cast of characters, with decent comedy. Also, the true ending is a harem ending and the joke ending is a threesome. Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no (Being translated)- I recommend this one despite a lack of comedy because, if you stick to the 'main school' routes, there are almost no 'wasted' scenes, despite the game's length. All the scenes go to enrich the characters or the routes, without exception. Each of those three routes is beautiful in its own way, for differing reasons. Komorebi no Nostalgica (Untranslated)- Again, no wasted scenes, despite being SOL-heavy. I seriously recommend this game if you have any interest in sci-fi and sentient AI heroines, and the setting of this game is unbelievably well-made. Humor is mostly character-based (Akira in particular often ends up being a running joke). Yami to Hikari no Sanctuary (untranslated)- Excellent story, interesting characters, and a fascinating alternate view on certain aspects of culture that tend to get lost in the shuffle. There are no wasted scenes, but there are a number of 'normal' or 'bad' endings in addition to the main heroine endings, which are generally good, if not perfect. Oh, and the protagonist is inhumanly badass, lol. Tiny Dungeon (series, untranslated)- Recommend this for old-style harem, slapstick humor, and good story. It does have somewhat more SOL than the others on this list, but it is good humorous or ecchi harem sol, so it generally works out pretty well. This series is actually a straight-line of sequels as a single story, despite each game having an 'ending'. I could keep going, but I need to go get dinner, lol.

Didn't find anything romance-school from 2000-2010 that matches those visuals.

Narita Shinri isn't really a match... he's an arrogant pervert who cares nothing for common sense, but he isn't really sarcastic. He just seems naturally sarcastic because of his somewhat narcissistic tendencies. Shinsou Noise is a kusoge. These are the games that I think have protagonists that match your criteria. Yurikago yori Tenshi Made Electro-Arms (Think Shirou from Dies Irae as the protagonist) Akatsuki no Goei series (same writer, and Kaito has some of the same qualities... and there are actually real endings for this series) Sora no Tsukurikata Hi no Nai Tokoro ni Kemuri wa Tatenai

About 40% of all VN heroines? Too many VN protags are vegetables who have to have the girls pour their love onto them to get them to come to life, lol.