What are you playing?

[Decay]

Using the route chart as your primary guide and occasionally consulting the simple text guide on the wiki tends to be good enough.

[XReaper]

yoah for fucks & your sanitys sake do start using a walkthrough, as it will definitely be worth so doing it. there are simply too many occasions where one mistake can be futile, means getting on a different route, missing stuff like jewels & important conversations., especially when u only have one save slot & them numbers of jewels are beeing pretty limited, too.
after finishing the individual routes, when the real deal starts u can stop using one, as it will be pretty straight forward

[Vokoca]

All this is somehow making me want to try YU-NO without a walkthrough, just to get lost in it... at least for a playthrough or two.

[Zantax]

Fucked up in YU-NO.

 

Just restart on that save. You should keep progress, that is you should still have all items you got. Not sure about bonus jewels, but I think you keep them as well. I had to restart twice on my playthrough even though I was using walkthrough, because that VN is a bitch ;p

[XReaper]

@vokoca, its pretty pointless, all you get is beeing lost in the shits, missing jewels, which you need if getting into a bad ending, whereafter u need to reload or playing everything from scratch (the scene where u end up at the ruins) if not having saved every few minutes.

[nohman]

I wrapped up Komomo's route in Hoshimemo. It was definitely the stronger route when compared to Asuho's. I'm hoping Kosame's route will fill in the remaining gaps I have about everything. Komomo's route almost seemed like both of their routes in a way, so I'm also a little worried that it won't have as much of an impact with the impending overlap. I'm moving onto Kosame next.

 

Thanks to the overabundant use of the pronoun game, the big twist in the route was pretty much plainly telegraphed halfway through. I can't imagine a way around that though.

[Satsuki]

It seems like Love Rec's scenario writer just finished Skyrim. The "arrow" joke is just everywhere. First Nori, now is Hitomi.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I just took an arrow in the stomach."

Translation: "I'm hungry."

[AaronIsCrunchy]

YU-NO sounds pretty painful, to be honest. Not sure I wanna play it if it's this much ballache.

 

Still working through Ageha's route on If My Heart Had Wings. I seem to have reached a wall of H-scenes

[TexasDice]

I'm hoping Kosame's route will fill in the remaining gaps I have about everything. Komomo's route almost seemed like both of their routes in a way, so I'm also a little worried that it won't have as much of an impact with the impending overlap. I'm moving onto Kosame next.

You'll be pleasantly surprised and at the same time somewhat disappointed.

[MrBanballow]

Ongoing VNs...

999, because Zero Escape 3 is coming!!

Ame no Marginal, because I loved Narcissu!!

Not a VN, but a good story regardless...

Dreamfall Chapters: Book III

[Suzu Fanatic]

YU-NO sounds pretty painful, to be honest. Not sure I wanna play it if it's this much ballache.

 

Still working through Ageha's route on If My Heart Had Wings. I seem to have reached a wall of H-scenes

 

Bleh, Ageha's is by far the worst in the story imo. Might be due to the poor TL and editing - but it just wasen't my thing. Kotori though - now that was a good story.

[ExtraMana]

I'm playing Muv-Luv: Alternative with an Xbox 360 controller, tis good.

And nope I didn't play Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited first. Watcha gonna do about it. 

[XReaper]

@mana, then you´ll miss a good bunch of the story, especially when missing unlimited.

[Decay]

I'm playing Muv-Luv: Alternative with an Xbox 360 controller, tis good.

And nope I didn't play Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited first. Watcha gonna do about it. 

Your loss.

[ExtraMana]

@mana, then you´ll miss a good bunch of the story, especially when missing unlimited.

I read the manga it was nothing but cheap fanservice.

[XReaper]

yo regarding xtra thats right, but unlimited its like the groundwork for alternitive, so yeahh...have fun

[ExtraMana]

yo regarding xtra thats right, but unlimited its like the groundwork for alternitive, so yeahh...have fun

Seriously the manga of unlimited was just elabourate setups to rip the female characters clothes off. If I remember right it starts the fan service on page one with some totally random nudity. It doesn't strike me as plot heavy.

[hussien-11]

Playing Rewrite

I didn't expect to like it this much, but wow... I liked it a lot more than any other Key work ( though I'm not their biggest fan to be honest )

I finished Kotori's route today, I was very satisfied, this is as good as a visual novel can get. great storytelling with almost perfect pacing, complex characters and relationships, epic story

 

doing Chihaya next, then Shizuru ( what a cute character    ), after that Lucia and finally Akane.

[XReaper]

taking a break from innocent bullet & starting zombie no afureta, simply in need for something different right now,. picked it because i always getting spammed by its merchandise on twitter, also because it looks cool & is somewhat short, compared to others & me having a major headache from kyoukaisen jou no horizon aka technical whatoever stuff mixed with meta-astro-idk else physics paired with worlds history 0-9 x 1000 including all them dudes, names, heroes, meroes...aye its getting worse, so im off.

[Decay]

Seriously the manga of unlimited was just elabourate setups to rip the female characters clothes off. If I remember right it starts the fan service on page one with some totally random nudity. It doesn't strike me as plot heavy.

[nohman]

So, I'm gearing up to play Rewrite after I complete Hoshimemo - which is appropriate since, like Hoshimemo, it's another VN I was planing to play last year.

I was hoping to get some opinions on a recommended order for the 5 heroine routes, one that starts out strong, puts the weakest routes in the middle, and ends with the best route. Start (relatively) strong and end strong. Might be thinking a little too hard, but that's usually the way I try to spread things out to maximize my enjoyment.

[Decay]

There's unlockable routes in it so you have to follow that to an extent. I suggest starting with Kotori as it serves as the best introduction to the setting and it's not bad. Lucia's route is better and you can start with that if you really want. Shizuru and Chihaya routes are the weak links so stuff those in the middle somewhere and close out the heroine routes with Akane. Then there are the final true routes. 

[AaronIsCrunchy]

Bleh, Ageha's is by far the worst in the story imo. Might be due to the poor TL and editing - but it just wasen't my thing. Kotori though - now that was a good story.

Aye, I heard so I wanted it out the way first, but then I thought 'it might be alright, she's kinda cute at least'. No. Every time I think it's over, there's another one. I'm looking forward to Kotori's (and more Hat :3)

[nohman]

So, I completed Kosame's route in one go yesterday. My thoughts:

 

On the positive side, Kosame has a delightful character. You and Kosame's back-and-forth teasing in her route was rather cute. Also, the conflict shared between Komomo's and Kosame's route is conceivably more interesting on Kosame's side of things. Of course, in application Komomo's route ends up being more involved and is the one that actually has a mystery, but Kosame's resolution to not send herself off seems less tacked on than at the end of Komomo's route. Finally, compared to the other two routes I've read, Kosame's route had more picturesque, dramatic moments and my favorite CGs so far. Really captured that "ephemeral" feeling that Kosame has going for her. You borderline killing himself to see Kosame at the end there, though implemented in an extremely clunky way, was poignant. 

 

As for the bad things:

 

• The length, mainly. It went from budding romance to true love conquers all in no time flat. There wasn't a whole lot working up to it. Which really makes my next point all the more pronounced. 
• Kosame, whose greatest fear was having her true nature found out, kinda just carelessly let detail after detail slip out about what she is. It wasn't really believable given the rapport between her and You basically consists of the common route and a week spent cleaning up the Shrine together. Furthermore, this makes the pretend date she went on with You feel completely unnatural. She spent 7 years being completely guarded when it comes to relationships after all.
• Also, I feel like Komomo should have had a larger role in her route. You're largely left blind to how Komomo works out how to accept her sister's death,  there would've been a lot more dramatic pull if Komomo had a hand in helping her sister. It really would have helped flesh out Kosame's route overall, even if it would have had more overlap between the routes because of it.

 

Overall, I'd put her behind Komomo's route and ahead of Asuho. So far the general feel I have for the entire game is that I enjoy it on a base level as long as I don't think too much - which is (slightly) disappointed in a way, but it is what it is: which is mostly fun, cute, happy stories.

[hussien-11]

So, I'm gearing up to play Rewrite after I complete Hoshimemo - which is appropriate since, like Hoshimemo, it's another VN I was planing to play last year.

I was hoping to get some opinions on a recommended order for the 5 heroine routes, one that starts out strong, puts the weakest routes in the middle, and ends with the best route. Start (relatively) strong and end strong. Might be thinking a little too hard, but that's usually the way I try to spread things out to maximize my enjoyment.