LostPomegranate

I second what Clephas said really. Personally I'll play each route in every VN I read out of curiousity and/or to be able to experience it in its entirety. With Tsukihime specifically it's set up so that the info you learned in the first route is applicable in the next - especially considering it has an enforced playing order. I would also mention some VNs have a "true route" or "true end" that is only visible if you've completed most if not all of the others. Again though, you bought it, read it however the hell you want to. As long as you're buying the game and supporting the developers, no one should really care how you read it.

Maybe I'm just made of stone, but Hapymaher didn't really make me emotional almost at all, but I can definitely see how it could make a lot of people emotional, so I'll add a bit to the review to warn people since it does also have the Nakige tag on VNDB at 2.0. I do feel that the normal end at least actually added something to the story. Bad end was pretty ignorable though. But I'm a completionist through and through. I'll clarify that a bit as well as a few other things I caught after rereading my review / thinking on Hapymaher a bit more. Thanks for your comment Clephas!

Hapymaher is an interesting read. It's a multi-route mystery with some really entertaining comedy bits throughout. Many people have called it a nakige, and I can definitely see where it could make a lot of people emotional, but it didn't really make me emotional almost at all. I think personally I may have just been distracted by trying to figure out what was going on at any given point in time to get emotional, so YMMV. Some parts are stronger than others, but overall it tells an entertaining story that manages to draw the reader in at various points, even if the major parts are foreshadowed well in advance. Overall I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a multi-route mystery or just a well told story. Systems in this VN are pretty standard. I do like to call out that they do let you do custom mapping of buttons, which is incredibly useful for me as I prefer using space bar over enter to advance text. BGM is pretty unique in that it doesn't just blend in and felt like it was actually adding something to the story rather than simply being there, as well as being memorable. I do feel that the BGM is probably in my top 5 or so and I feel like I will actually remember it for quite a while, which can't be said for most VN BGM's for me. The story is pretty obviously influenced by Alice in Wonderland, right down to the character designs. Characters are pretty straightforward but cute and memorable. Character designs are pretty good, my favorite among the Purple Software games at least. There's Yayoi, the upperclassman who acts as a sort-of advisor to the MC, Saki, the childhood friend / sister who enjoys tormenting the MC, Keiko, the underclassman who is stubborn and standoffish. Alice, the naive, energetic, sort of mysterious girl, and Maia the sadistic younger sister. There's also some support cast that are entertaining in their own ways. I personally found all the characters entertaining to different levels. I found Saki to be particularly adorable throughout the story. Yayoi was also fun - and is voiced by my favorite VA Kazane. Keiko I found to be a bit of a one note character personally. I won't go into details regarding the routes as they would be full of spoilers, but they were interesting and shared quite a bit of story between them with entirely different last chapters (8 chapters in the VN in total with a few intermissions). I found all the routes to be entertaining in their own ways, there were some emotional high - and low - points in the stories that are designed fairly well to get you involved in each heroine's individual history and story moving forward. I particularly enjoyed Yayoi's route personally, as it was the most relatable to myself, but I feel most people would probably enjoy Saki's route (among the three main heroines) the most. I liked Keiko's route less than the others, but that's probably partially because I was less of a fan of her character as she felt somewhat one note at times. In total there were 8 endings if you include the bad end, normal end, each heroine's route, and 1 true end at the very end of everything. Because of the shared scenes, each route you play through takes less time than the route before it (in most cases). Due to the nature of the mystery and shared scenes, if you're a completionist like I am, I think it's best to follow a recommended route order of Bad End > Yayoi > Keiko > Saki > Maia > Normal End > Alice > True End - although both the bad end and normal end are completely skippable and Yayoi/Saki/Keiko can technically be done in any order. I do think the normal end adds to the story, while the bad end won't be missed except by completionists like myself. My argument for the order of Yayoi > Keiko > Saki is so that you slowly find out more information without seeing it in a weird order and possibly getting confused, as I feel Saki's route has the most useful information in it (at least in my opinion). The order I followed was actually Yayoi / Saki / Keiko and I feel that Keiko's route then dragged a bit as I felt I already had most of the information necessary to keep moving forward. Ultimately I'd recommend Hapymaher to most readers, especially those who enjoy a well told story, multi-route mysteries, or a subdued nakige, especially if you're a fan of a mix of them. The BGM and systems were particularly strong suits in my opinion. Characters and routes themselves were solid without any obvious weaknesses or anything to complain about.

Currently reading Hapymaher - it's a lot better than I expected from its premise / summary on VNDB. Since my last post I've read: Crescendo (technically a reread since I read it 20+ years ago, posted a review of it here), Canvas 2, Yandere, Aikagi and Aikagi After days (Fandisc), Tenshi no Inai 12-gatsu, Kanojo no Seiiki, and Cerulean Days. I'd recommend Crescendo to nakige / moege fans, Canvas 2 and the Aikagi's to moege fans although Aikagi is pure SoL fluff. Cerulean Days is a pretty good EVN that could've done a lot more with its premise but is still a serviceable mystery-sort of. Yandere - if you don't mind some pretty dark stuff - is so bad that it's funny at times, but it is pretty terrible don't get me wrong. And Tenshi no Inai is both interesting and has the most insufferable MC in a VN I've read recently. Leaf really has the craziest range in their development portfolio.

I originally read Crescendo nearly 20 years ago at the time of writing this review, and I decided to reread it. The only thing I could clearly remember going into the reread was that I got emotional during the first read. Well...it's still got it. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a well written pretty believable emotional story. There are some topics touched on that will upset some people. If you're sensitive to the following you may want avoid this VN: moderate to heavy spoilers very heavy spoiler Systems are about as standard as you'd expect from a VN that was released in the early 00's. The OST is actually really good and uses many Scott Joplin classical songs. Voice acting was also pretty good, especially given the age of the VN. Only frustrations really come from it being 640x480 so it's either in a small window or a weird full screen unless you upscale it yourself - which I would recommend doing using something like magpie if you have a larger monitor. The writing here is good with no real lulls in the story, so even though it's a 10 or so hour read, there's not really any wasted fluff reading. A lot of the story is told through flashbacks as the characters recall their time in high school as they (MC and some heroines) are graduating in a few days. I personally appreciated this storytelling method as it also helped give a sense of time passing through the various stories rather than everything just being done in a whirlwind 4 days. Characters are believeable in their motivations and actions, which brings weight to the story. I personally enjoyed every heroine, but they each had their flaws as well, which just made them feel more human. I'm not going to go into the routes themselves in detail as they would be difficult to discuss completely spoiler free. I don't really think there's any obvious outlier routes in regards to writing quality present in Crescendo, all of the routes are well written and have their arguments. For those of you wondering how sad it gets on the nakige / utsuge front to help you decide whether you want to read it: I'd recommend this VN to anyone who likes well written emotional stories.

Hello Lady - sort of? If you think Chris fits, then at least one if not all the heroines here will fit (except Hishia Mori in the FD)

Did you try leaving the DVD in while launching? The only error code I got was when I removed it.

It varies a ton for me...last week my wife was on vacation, so I read for 43 hours. So far this week I've only read about 7. I'm on medical leave at the moment, so I probably average somewhere in the realm of 25-35 hours / wk reading VN's though right now. I sort of dropped playing other video games almost entirely. On the extreme end in one 10 day period last year I read 110 hours (read G-sen, Making Lovers including FD and Kin'iro including FD). So my reading habits kind of vary pretty wildly, but I usually finish 1-2 VN's a week without too much trouble.

Currently reading Heart de Roommate Since last post, I finished SakuSaku's reread, read Secret Agent, Ninki Seiyuu, Majo Koi Nikki, Mashiro-iro Symphony, Mashiro-iro Symphony Sana Edition, Hello Lady Complete, and Koiiro Chu! Lips. I'd outright recommend all of them except Secret Agent (only to action or mystery fans, it's a bit short and the routes are a bit uneven), and Koiiro Chu! Lips (although if you're a moege fan I think it's worth a read). Reviews for all are up on VNDB.

The download version of the game - from DLSite and DMM at least - after being patched DOES require the disc to be loaded once. I can't say it with 100% accuracy because I haven't talked to every single person who bought GinHaru legally, but there have been quite a few people with this issue, it's mentioned on the VNDB forums and in multiple discord channels and I also experienced it myself. I even just did a complete fresh install to test it, and ran into the same issue again. It's a known issue that both translation teams that worked on GinHaru admit to. If you got it working without the disc, I'm happy for you. But many people have had this issue - if you could share where you obtained your copy from with the people looking to pick it up so they can avoid these issues, I'm sure the new people would appreciate it. Edit: I ran some more tests, it's the global.sav file for some reason, located in "D:\銀色、遥か_DL版ver1.04\StartData\GameData\data\savedata\global.sav". If you delete it with the English patch installed it requires the disc to be loaded in order to correctly write the global.sav file. The game WILL create a global.sav on first launch, but something inside the file seems to require the disc to be written properly in the English patched version. I tried again with another fresh install with my DLSite version but could not get the JP game to run even in JP locale (on Windows 11), but there's a possibility if you can get the download version of the game in JP to run BEFORE installing the English patch, that the global.sav file should be written properly and there might not be an issue. If someone could manage to test that theory I'd appreciate it. Or you could just ask for someone else's global.sav file. If you do run into this issue, I'd recommend hopping into Tsurezure Scans discord and someone can help you. 1.04 is the newest version of GinHaru, but the English patch will overwrite the tonework's patch, so it shouldn't matter which version of the VN you're running and there's no need to update it prior to installing the English patch.

On first launch the patched VN still requires a CD - past first launch it does not. I believe at this moment that is still the latest version of the patch.

I think Sorcery Jokers https://vndb.org/v16337 probably fits what you're looking for. The romance is - mostly - contained to the after stories, and there's a decent amount of action and mystery going on. I definitely found it interesting.

https://vndb.org/v?q=&ch=&f=042gen4owin0380NL80Tl80X0D1281NM81NN&s=24w is a narrowed down search on VNDB for "English" "On Windows (PC)" "Romance" "Slice of Life" and "Protagonist with a Face" and should eliminate yuri/yaoi. From that list I'd outright recommend Gin'iro, Haruka https://vndb.org/v18778 and Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai https://vndb.org/v14265 they are arguably the two most pure love slice of life romance VN's out there, but both of those don't really showcase the protagonist's face much, if I remember correctly Gin'iro's protagonist shows up more in CGs than HoshiOri's does. On the "provisional recommendation" list would be Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki https://vndb.org/v10304 protagonist here even has a sprite, but the story is more into fantasy and the story quality varies by route, but it also has what I'd argue is the best imouto route in any VN I've read. This is assuming you've already tackled some of the more popular ones like Majikoi, Fruit of Grisaia, and Kin'iro Loveriche.

Thanks for this post, I do see it helping people. There are some things I want to call out though - please utilize images that have no people in them (stock photos are exceptions as those people consented to being in the stock photo), or properly blur the image / people. It's an issue of consent if the image is used in a commercial property and could get you in trouble. Also worth noting anything with brands have the copywright issues, even brands you wouldn't think of much, such as a University. Another would be if an easily identifiable building has a tie to a company - for example if shot from the front Comerica Park (baseball stadium in Detroit) is reconizable and Comerica (bank) would likely not agree to being seen in a visual novel. This one is due to it possibly being seen as that company supporting or endorsing what they are shown in. I personally think a lot of this is ridiculous, but as someone who has worked in the hiring / firing for large multinational corporations, they really do see everything like this as an issue and will take action as they are incredibly risk-averse.

Keep in mind Nukitashi has a Steam version that cut it down from 40+ hours to about an hour or two at most...so where there's a will, there's a way. But yeah, it'll probably be ridiculous on Steam.

Almost all new laptops will run VN's and movies without an issue - but I'd recommend Windows / Microsoft as you'll run into compatibility issues with VN's and Mac's / Apple's. Usually the only issues with movies is having the right program / codecs, but that's solved by software. Regarding VN's, the best way to be completely sure would be to print off recommended specs of a few and take it to the store with you and ask the employee, or you could ask on reddit or discord with some more details like your budget, what screen size you'd prefer, etc. If it helps I think the general type of laptop you're looking for is known as a "Multimedia laptop". You could even get away with a true budget laptop if you don't plan on using it for more than 2-3 years and don't mind it being a bit slower / less multitasking ability.

Currently re-reading SakuSaku (Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki) to write a review for it. Not the best, but a perfectly serviceable moege. Since my last post I finished re-reading GinHaru, read KoiKari (disappointing, but I expected this cause I'm not a AsaProject fan), read Amanatsu - surprisingly good pure fluff SoL VN, if you liked Fureraba, Making Lovers, or Sugar Style's humor, it's written by the same person but lacks nearly any drama - and if it counts I read Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai - Rikka to Anata no 1-Shuunen Kinen, Icha Love Birthday (it's literally 15 minutes long).

Yumeiro Patissiere

Also worth mentioning: on VNDB if it is machine translated it is marked as such, for example on Aonatsu Line https://vndb.org/v24702 there is a machine translation patch for the trial Switch version of the VN, and a currently in work fan translation for the PC version, the machine translation is very clearly marked. On VNDB you can even set your settings to ignore machine translations, which is how I have mine set as they're almost never edited or looked at in any manner and therefore are incredibly hard to get through. Imagine the worst localization you've read and then double it and you'll get what a MTL is usually like. A lot of times if you can't find the link for the translation patch on VNDB for whatever reason if you ask in the discussions on there, or do some google-fu you'll be able to find it without too much trouble. This is really only applicable to those VN's that were translated by an anon or someone without a group where the google drive / mega / etc. link may be dead. To go into a bit more detail of what Clephas said, the average fan translation takes years, and frankly it's a relatively thankless job they're doing, and I can't say 100% aren't, but the vast majority are completely uncompensated for it. The hours put in are absolutely immense, and the translations are - usually - done by a team of at least 3-5 people who all have other commitments (school, jobs, etc.).

https://vndb.org/r110474 It hasn't released yet, still being QC'ed. You should really check VNDB for this stuff. The only way to legally obtain Tsui no Sora Remake is to buy the subahibi 10th anniversary, which I'm pretty sure it's on getchu at the very least. If you want to obtain it illegally then you'll have to ask on some other site, pretty sure it's against the rules here.

I know this thread is really old, but in case anyone with similar issues is still reading it: Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai https://vndb.org/v14265 and Gin'iro, Haruka https://vndb.org/v18778 are both pretty darn solid pure love slice of life stories. Some drama occurs in both, but nothing crazy, and they're a pretty good distraction and uplifting read really. Fair warning, they are long, even taking me around 55 hours each.

The best answer I can think of for you would be Tokyo Necro https://vndb.org/v13666. Dual protagonists (one female, one male, all love interests for both are female) and another Nitro Plus game like Saya. A rom-com / slice of life that might be worth trying out if you're REALLY looking to stretch your boundaries would be Sugar * Style https://vndb.org/v24320 it takes place in college, with the youngest love interest being an 18 year old freshman if I remember right...sorry if I don't. And the obvious answer if you enjoyed Huniepop would be Huniepop 2.

Currently I'm re-reading Gin'iro, Haruka and working my way (slowly) through Evenicle 2. GinHaru's full English translation finally finished, and I cannot recommend this VN enough to anyone who likes charage / SoL. Fair warning though, it is LONG (about 55 hrs for me). Total length it's about as long as Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai even though it only has 5 routes instead of the 6 present in HoshiOri. Longest route (excluding common) took me just shy of 13 hours, shortest just a bit over 9 hours. Since December though I've powered through: Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai, Sankaku Ren'ai, Sorcery Jokers , Walkure Romanze , Magical Marriage Lunatics, Koiken Otome, Study Steady (and the FD Icha Icha Study), Amatarasu Riddle Star, Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort, re-read Fureraba and Making Lovers, Tsujidou-San no Jun'ai Road, Harukoi Otome, re-read Majikoi before I read Majikoi S, Love Sweets, Evenicle, My GF is the President, and re-read IxSheTell in that order...I've had a lot of free time so far this year. Only ones I'd outright recommend (ignoring re-reads) to nearly anyone would be Daitoshokan, Walkure Romanze and Tsujidou, the rest all have their arguments, if you liked Majikoi read S, if you like SoL you should read Study Steady, and maybe Love Sweets or Koisuru, action Sorcery Jokers and Koiken Otome (maybe).

So my reading rate has slowed down and I started multiple VN's that I've stalled out on (Rance 6, Evenicle, Libra of the Vampire). But here is my Christmas (or Holiday) update But, currently I am reading Nukitashi - which frankly I did not have high hopes for and only started reading it on the recommendation of a friend, and I am pleasantly surprised. If you can suspend your disbelief about the premise itself and just enjoy the immense amount of dirty jokes / humor in it, it's actually a pretty good VN with a surprising amount of plot development in it. Since my last update I have also read Hello,good-bye (good multi-route mystery / thriller), Otome Domain (somewhat disappointing crossdressing story), Edelweiss (super hit or miss with its aged perverted humor, was a miss with me), Dracu-Riot! (good Yuzusoft title), and Sugar Style (<3 Smee's works).

So...currently I am reading KamiYaba (English title Kamiyaba: Dicking destiny on a dicey deadline) and have been for about a week now. The localization for this is pretty terrible...translation itself doesn't seem horrible, just every choice the translators made and their general grammar, spelling, etc. It reads too me like someone was translating out loud to dictation software and then never bothered to check what the software thought they said. But since my last post just shy of a month ago I have read Primal Hearts, Primal Hearts 2, Kimi o Aogi Otome wa Hime ni (or My Fair Princess), Wagamama High Spec, Ren'ai x Royale and Hatsukoi 1/1. Out of all of these I'd really only recomomend the two Primal Hearts and WagaHigh personally. And a few routes in Hatsukoi are really good, and the rest are worth playing if you're a huge tone work's fan (and I am), although it's frustrating at times. At the rate I am going, I am going to run out of (at least good) visual novels to read pretty soon...