What is the best Visual Novel you've ever played and why?

[Ayana]

Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai~ is the 'best' Visual Novel I've played, as well as it is my favorite work of fiction in all of Japanese media. This is a story that I'm mainly personally attached to, since at the time of my reading it (this was my 6th VN), the resulting paradigm shift helped me out spiritually-wise, pulling me out of my seemingly perpetual comfort zone and allowing me to take control from there. Aside from the personal reason, SubaHibi has an inherent trait of ingenuity with its seamless blending of an abstract ideology into a narrative structure, meaning the story will end up being seen differently by different people yet the ingenuity shown from it stays the same. Due to my mindset at the time, I approached the story as a 'puzzle' as I had with everything else, so I ended up greatly appreciating the intricacy of the plot and its various connections to the theme presented. With that I suspect people who approach the story the same way will enjoy it just as much.

TL;DR: I love SubaHibi like I love my favorite stuffed animal and icecream.

[storyteller]

As if we expected a different answer from Ayana.

 

I have a hard time picking favorites here. I love Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no, but it had its flaws.

Ever 17 was mostly the shock value from the reveal. The rest was fairly average and repetitive.

The others... nothing in particular jumps out as being my "favorite".

 

If I simply go by how often I replayed a game, I'd probably say Otoboku 2 was the one.

[Chronopolis]

@lucio, nice to hear, but regarding my last one, i suggest you start with ikusa megami zero & then work yourself through the rest of the series, as its a non standalone title, you would miss agood bunch of the overall plot without doing so. still liked said title the most storywise and would be overjoyed if a remake were to be announced

 

edit: forgot "Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no" in the ultimate love categoria, which i personally ranked as high as sekai de ichiban.

& in terms of to die in peace, or so he thought "Fukai ni Nemuru Oujo no Abaddon"

Lot of interesting titles, thanks for listing them.

[Conjueror]

Subarashiki Hibi because it's the best piece of fiction ever written by man.

[Decay]

Hatsuyuki Sakura because of 

admins, please make this a real emoticon, tia

[bogdankl]

if you want a serious read go for g senjo no maou it's by far the most engaging story i ever read<the main route at least>, if you hate hentai well key stuff is held up pretty high<i had a lot of fun in little busters even if i only read a few hours>

 

if you wanna read a dumb nukige i recomend going for immouto paradise or Goshujin-sama Daisuki <now that i think about it, surprisingly enough i read very few nukiges>

[MasterTreecko]

I really liked Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney because of the episode's mysteries and puzzles, the soundtracks(especially Pressing Pursuit theme) and the trial especially when you need to use his bracelet to perceive people's habits when they're lying.

Aside from that, I also loved how the characters in If My Heart Had Wings struggled to make their glider fly, the love story between Kotori and Aoi, and the character Hat the duck.

[Loze]

YU-NO. Everything I looked for in a vn, nostalgic 8-bit music and art.

[Funyarinpa]

YU-NO. Everything I looked for in a vn, nostalgic 8-bit music and art.

 

Currently playing this and I recommend this game also

[Decay]

YU-NO. Everything I looked for in a vn, nostalgic 8-bit music and art.

Not even remotely close to 8-bit on either front, but yes, the music and art are both really good in a semi-retro way.

[LinovaA]

TL;DR: I love SubaHibi like I love my favorite stuffed animal and icecream.

 

And butter.

 

admins, please make this a real emoticon, tia

 

We are currently lobbying for at the moment. Please standby as we shake the very foundation of Fuwanovel.      

 

 

 

Now, for me to actually contribute to this. The best visual novel I have ever read is Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai~

 

SubaHibi is something... special. Even if I still don't understand it fully (because lol, I suck)... I do at the very least understand the base message. It can be summarized as a simple command by a certain philosopher, and I must say... the way it is presented is so profound that it left me in a four week void that is still going as I type this post.

 

All I can say, is that I can't wait for the translation. I want people to experience this masterpiece who otherwise could not before due to the language barrier. I will be rereading it again when the patch comes out (even though I will be rereading it in Japanese again xD). I feel like rereading it will be extremely beneficial to my understanding of it as a whole.

 

Oh yeah, and Yuki is the best thing to happen to protagonists of VNs since... ever. Just saying. Well, rather, I think she is JUST as awesome as Asagiri Kaito from Akatsuki no Goei. xD

[Josephl64]

 

I haven't played this so i have no idea if it's good, the game sounds good the way you explain it, but isn't it heavily focused on rape?

There's quite a bit of rape in the Rance series, but you will get a decent amount of consensual as well.

[yvetox]

I highly appreciate stories,that teach me something-be it new useful knowledge,moral principles or just plain opening of your own emotions to yourself.

With this regard I list:

1.MLA couse of its unbelievably good explaining of war horrors.Ive had some of childish prejudices,such as "war is fun",or ''in army you can disobey orders if you want"-that thing gonna beat out of you all that shitty stuff,and also help you to appreciate every moment of your peaceful life.

2.Swan song-best vn in terms of characters realism-clearly explaining you how people can fall,and why our society have rules and not anarchistic.

3.Katawa Shoujo-if you ever thought,that disabled people is not like you-that VN gonna kick your ass for that.Also one of the most exciting h-scenes in all VNs(just my opinion).

4.Grisaya no Kajutsu-especially Amane rout.YEAH BABY-what starts as nukige easily transforms into something amazing.You will appreciate a lot in your life)

5.Majikoi(sic!)-if you ever feel down-use this to enforce hapiness.While its being very,VERY unrealistic,its fun,heroines are gorgeous,and its very entertaining.I used it to alter MLA depression,so its pretty useful.Despite her unserious positioning,that VN teaches you to be more flexible in mind,be more intelligent and calculating.Awesome!

 

Honorable mention:Clannad-it make me CRY,dont know i can before completing it)all other games from KEY wasnt that influental in terms of emotions,but thats just because ive completed MLA-srsly,i cant cry after that thing.

[Nerathim]

Coµ I'd say, for many reasons; the main one being the characters, especially Kagome and Gasai. This VN affected me personally and it really encouraged me in a lot of things, I never felt as free as I did after reading Coµ, the fact that it's really open to interpretations helped too. Rose Guns Days and Umineko are not too far away though.

[Godskrieg]

Difficult decision for me as there are two that I consider my favorites. Muv-Luv Alternative and G-Senjou no Maou. Why do I consider them my best? simple. Because they didn't only bring a tear to my eye (lots of novels to this to me), they made me weep like an overgrown man-child. I'm talking tears strolling down my face and watery nose sniffing. Muv-Luv did it more then once though, while G-Senjou only made me weep once (the end).

[Codesterz]

For me my favorite would be Muv Luv Alternative. The setting and world building were great. If you do decide to read it though I highly recommend playing Muv Luv Extra and Muv Unlimited first. You only need to go through the 2 main routes of Extra to unlock Unlimited and playing through 1 route of Unlimited is fine. I feel like Muv Luv Alternative just has a lot more impact if your read them first. They are no where near as good as Alternative, but if you can make amazing even more amazing, why not?

 

Runner up goes to G-Senjou no Maou. I really liked this one for the main 2 characters. The side routes range from decent to great but the main route is definitely the best. I loved the thriller aspects to this VN. If you haven't read this VN then be sure to give it a read also don't forget to read the epilogue, which I believe is after the credits. Been a while since I've read it so I'm not 100% sure about that.

 

Some other recommendations I can give would be...

-Grisaia no Kajitsu(good characters, and most of the routes are enjoyable. Sachi was my favorite. Has a nice mix of genres comedy, drama, romance, thriller)

-Comyu(most of the routes are really good except Ayaya her route felt like a joke IMO. My personal fav was Mayuki for the romance and 2nd to Hisoka, which oddly enough I kinda liked the bad ending more, for the feels I suppose)

-Swan Song(I really liked the setting and atmosphere of this one. Its overall very somber and kinda depressing, but a great read because of it.)

-Natsukumo Yururu(Unfortunately it hasn't been translated to English. It looks like a Moege based on it pic on VNDB. While it does start out like one after a few hours it turns into something else. Really enjoyed the mystery and setting of this one)

[himeragi]

fate stay night because of.. saber

[AaronIsCrunchy]

My favourite I've played so far is probably Narcissu. While Fate Stay/Night might be more exciting (which is runner up, alongside Higurashi and KS), there's something quite deeply interesting about the characterisation of the main characters that I just love. On top of that, the OST is absolutely amazing and the minimalist way it's presented is so effective.

 

And, it makes me cry. Which is always a bonus.

[akaritan]

Umineko, because of the likeable cast, great music, and intricate story. Saya no Uta and G Senjou are fairly close, though.

[ittaku]

Although it was a true "dating sim" rather than just a visual novel, True Love 95... because it was the first I ever played almost 20 years ago and exposed me to an artform and form of entertainment that ticked so many boxes for me that it created a passion for VNs and Japanese media/language that has not stifled since. Its character trait point system has been copied thousands of times since. I still play it every few years since it's a short game and brings back good memories.

 

Sure I've played VNs since that have moved me more since then, and To Heart 2 had so much appeal on so many levels that it created my desire to translate an entire visual novel myself so it would be the one that moved me the most, but I still have a soft spot for the now ancient TL95.

[ExtraMana]

Muv Luv is the best

Hyped for the official re-release on the PsVita.

[PeteN00b]

Probably World End Economia, I haven't seen a VN this great in years. The cast is pretty likable, and even the villains are kinda likable depending on the way you think about stuff. The story is really nicely paced as well, and it really teaches you the fact that'you only start to hold something dear once you've lost it' in huge detail, which is my favourite aspect of this story.

[Clephas]

My favorite is Evolimit... but the best one I've ever played is undoubtedly Dies Irae.

 

Why?  Just take a look at this:

 

[Deep Blue]

My favorite is Evolimit... but the best one I've ever played is undoubtedly Dies Irae.

 

Why?  Just take a look at this:

 

that monologue gave me goosebumps

[PeteN00b]

that monologue gave me goosebumps

I know right O_O