Underrated Visual Novels

[Nyanko]

Higanbana is underrated imo, but this could be because of the visuals. I also think Remember11 is a bit underrated, not looking at vndb here though. If we talk about vndb I can name more overrated titles than underrated.

[SanadaShadow]

Utwarerumono's battle system is not a good one.  It is a basic srpg system, without the benefit of being able to grind between battles to get underleveled characters to where you want them.  Considering the heavy focus on story in a VN/srpg, they would have been much better off just giving everyone the same amount of exp every battle, rather than focusing it on those who did the damage and killed the enemies.  That would have allowed you to keep a full party of characters without adding in the need to grind.

 

TtT's battle system is basically a partial and half-assed rip-off of the Growlanser series, without the benefit of letting you alter the course of the game through how you act/win your battles.  As such, I mostly saw the game's faults when I played it. 

 

Leaf's penchant for stealing battle systems imperfectly is easily its worst habit, and I honestly think its games are overrated, not underrated.

 

Okay, this looks like it's mostly just hate posts. Although I do agree about TtT's battle style being half-assed, even many games nowadays use exactly the same style. Doesn't mean they're bad, just means they thought the design worked well.

 

Utawarerumono, on the other hand, was good as an SRPG. It did something quite unique, by combining SRPG with VN. So far, the only other game like that I've played is Fire Emblem. If that can be considered a VN. In any case, although I loathe Leaf's emphasis on sexual relationships, everything fitted into the story and you actually got the feeling that you were the one doing everything, that you were the one who was making these victories happen. And it's not too far from the truth, either. I've always hated seeing action scenes in cute little CG in every VN I play. I feel that, if I had control, maybe, just maybe, I would never be foolish when he is. I would make the better decision, and see where it led me. I wouldn't hide when I could run. I wouldn't run when I could fight. I would do it right. Which is why Utawarerumono worked so well with me.

Of course, it helped that you had the feeling of choice.

And the cute heroines.

So cute. Except when they fornicated.

[Decay]

There are a ton of VN SRPGs, and Fire Emblem isn't one of them (it's not a VN). The most popular one to be translated to English is Kamidori Alchemy Meister. There's also Eien no Aselia/Aselia the Eternal, in english, with the sequel getting a translation. There aren't really any other noteworthy ones in English but there are a whole lot of them in Japanese. 

[SanadaShadow]

Yeah, it's that part that always gets me. I forget that there are VNs that aren't in English. Ugh. In any case, I have played Kamidori before, so yeah.

 

Incidentally, why isn't FE a VN? It seems to fit most of the qualifications, after all.

[InvertMouse]

What is and isn't a VN is pretty subjective. It's like the whole what is a video game discussion. Some might think FE is mostly about the strategy gameplay, so it's not a VN. Others might differ .

 

I too enjoyed Utawarerumono quite a bit. Not sure how well it was received and so it might not be underrated I guess.

 

We all talk about Little Busters, Rewrite, Clannad etc but nobody talks about Kawana Misaki from ONE! That's my pick for underrated B).

[Life]

We all talk about Little Busters, Rewrite, Clannad etc but nobody talks about Kawana Misaki from ONE! That's my pick for underrated B).

One was made before Key though. Whenever people see something by Key, they forget what Jun Maeda did before Key. Definitely underrated.

 

I would think that FE is not a VN because most people (and even the game itself) focus on the gameplay rather than the story. I know quite a few people who play FE but don't even care about the story at all. 

[Decay]

It's not about the percentage of story content to gameplay. There are VNs with less story content than Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem is not written like a novel, simply put. All of the text is dialog or internal monologue. Visual Novels actually have to be written like a novel, at least that's how most of the english community sees it.

 

I swear we've been having this conversation a lot lately.

[SanadaShadow]

And I swear I've seen officially recognized VNs just like Fire Emblem, but without the strategy.

[Darklord Rooke]

Why is everybody so eager to classify everything as a freaking Visual Novel? A few people are starting to get pissed that VN fans are coming in and claiming all the games, especially adventure fans. 

 

Most JRPGs have stories delivered in the ADV format, especially older ones, but they're still RPGs. You seem to forget one of the core components of JRPGs these days is the story.

[SanadaShadow]

What, so I'm the only one who liked FE's story?

In any case, I'm not trying to classify FE as a VN, I'm trying to understand why there are other games like it that are classified as VNs. I mean, does it need to be announced by the company that it's a VN for it to be a VN?

[Zakamutt]

OH MY GOD YOU RUINED MY GAME BY CALLING IT A VISUAL NOVEL

[SanadaShadow]

What do you even mean?

[Zakamutt]

I was not replying to you, but to Rooke, being somewhat facetious. I advise you to peruse the post atop your previous and enlighten thyself in the intricacies of the situation.

 

I haven't played the fire emblem series so idk.

[Darklord Rooke]

@Zaka: In the west, people identify games which interest them via the gameplay. Tags like RPG and VN are an important tool for people to understand what the game is delivering to them. VN fans coming in calling everything a VN is annoying. For example, if I look up a list of RPGs I would be unable to find Kamidori Alchemy Meister on that list, even though it's an RPG. I have to hunt under VNs to find them, even though it's not a VN. What's the result? VN fans complaining about Kamidori's gameplay, and RPG fans not being able to find a game which would interest them. I would have thought the crowd of people saying 'everybody only plays this for the tactical combat' would have been a giveaway, but looking at VNDB obviously not. Placing it as a VN just irritates people because it confuses them.

 

@Sana: Rule of thumb - games usually carry elements of more than one genre. Why? Because the core component of visual novels is the story, but it's also one of the components for an adventure game, AND an RPG. So, if the only core gameplay in the game is the 'reading' so to speak, then you may have a VN. But if the core gameplay is reading + tactical RPG combat, then you have a tactical RPG (Fire Emblem) because 'story' is an integral part of the RPG genre. If you have the core gameplay as reading + exploration + solving puzzles, congratulations you have an adventure game (Phoenix Wright.)

[SanadaShadow]

YES!! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE!

Don't that drive the point home, huh?

Never7 was fantastic, and though I was skeptic when I first played it, by the end of the first route I was glued to my seat, unable to stop until I fainted at the computer. I'm proud to be one of the people who played it before Ever17. I feel like Remember11 and 12Riven need some honorable mention here too. Code18, though...

[SanadaShadow]

Code18 is the black sheep of the Infinity Series. Also, this is why tell people to play C;H/S;G before R;N.

[SanadaShadow]

...I guess walkthroughs exist for a reason.

[SanadaShadow]

Isn't it possible to use an emulator?

[Decay]

Not for the xbox 360, no.

[SanadaShadow]

There are also ports for the PS3 and PSV, although I've never tried searching for either as an emulator (I already own them, after all).

[SanadaShadow]

Huh. I wonder... I heard about a team that ported games from consoles to PCs, but maybe we could get that kinda work done here?

 

Oh, and we also have the anime.

[SanadaShadow]

That's cool and all, but how do you make a thumbs up icon on FuwaForums?

[SanadaShadow]

Uh, no. 2 creepy 4 me.

[Zykiel]

Utawarerumono, such a great story and style with awesome characters and setting. Combines sci-fi and fantasy perfectly and i feel like it doesn't get enough attention.

[Snowtsuku]

Utawarerumono, such a great story and style with awesome characters and setting. Combines sci-fi and fantasy perfectly and i feel like it doesn't get enough attention.

 

To be honest I want to play it but playing VNs with RPG elements is not really my thing. Even if I play them they are usually at the end of the queue.