VN With A Story Like 428 Shibuya Scramble

[LemiusK]

Man, I still can't get over how awesome 428 is. It has the perfect blend of comedy, drama, action, and mystery all mixed together in a grounded modern day Japan setting while offering a diverse cast of interesting characters. It's like all the right ingredients just come together at the same time.

So yeah, I'm looking for another VN like that, English-translated if possible. Having many choices/endings like 428 will be a plus, but it's not necessary. What I'm really looking for (aside from the genres I've mentioned above) is something with relatable characters I could laugh and cry with, meaning it should have both tearjerking drama and comedy. The inclusion of action and suspense is optional, but again, it would be nice. Finally, I would really prefer if it's set in a realistic and modern day setting like 428; I don't really like stories set in medieval era or fantasy settings.

If you need more specific details, I would also like if the protagonist is a cop or a detective, or maybe someone who upholds a sense of justice. I really loved Kano in 428, especially how he was a dumb generic shounen hero deconstructed into something more realistic by the end of the story. This part of the recommendation is completely optional, however.

To summarize what I'm looking for: An epic tale of heroism and drama set in modern Japan with a diverse cast of interesting characters.

Here's a list of popular visual novels I've already played:

• Analogue: A Hate Story
• Clannad
• Corpse Party 1 and 2
• Danganronpa 1 (dropped the sequel)
• Fate/Stay Night
• Grisaia no Kajitsu
• G-senjou no Maou
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (technically, I watched the anime)
• Kanon (again, the anime)
• Little Busters
• Muv-Luv Extra/Unlimited
• School Days
• Steins;Gate
• Steins;Gate 0
• Umineko no Naku Koro ni
• Yume Miru Kusuri
• Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (AKA 999)

So yeah, most of the popular mainstream titles, I've already played them. Would love it if someone could recommend something along the lines of what I'm looking for. Thanks!

[Funyarinpa]

Suda51 games might be up your alley (The Silver case especially).

Kara no Shojo might be enjoyable for you as well.

Try out Higurashi.

[LemiusK]

5 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

Suda51 games might be up your alley (The Silver case especially).

Thanks. I'll give it a look. The graphics do look a bit dated though, and from what I've learned through reviews, the gameplay's rather clunky too.

I've already got Kara no Shoujo in my list. That's probably the first game I thought of when I was thinking of a multiple-route mystery.

Higurashi's a bit difficult to read through because most of the suspense and mystery, I've already learned through the anime. While the sound novel does present a few new bits of information regarding the characters, the lack of voice acting and a limited soundtrack made the experience rather dull. Yes, 428 also didn't have voice acting, but you could clearly see a very distinct difference in its presentation with its dynamic camera work that keeps things engaging, not to mention the live action imagery and even the occasional film footage. Still, I will try to give it another read in the future. Thanks.

[ciel_yuri]

5 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

Suda51 games might be up your alley (The Silver case especially).

Kara no Shojo might be enjoyable for you as well.

Try out Higurashi.

Kara no Shojo is what I was thinking too. Muv Luv Alternative is really where things might get interesting for you too. I wouldn't skip that if you bothered playing through Extra and Unlimited. I couldn't get into The Silver Case unfortunately. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention since I beat it over a long period of time, but I barely even understood wtf was going on. What stood out the most was a lot of wandering around trying to figure out where to go and a lot of cussing.

[ciel_yuri]

4 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

While the sound novel does present a few new bits of information regarding the characters, the lack of voice acting and a limited soundtrack made the experience rather dull.

You might wanna try it with the PS3 graphics and voice patch. It should make a huge difference in your case.

https://github.com/07th-mod/guide/wiki/Higurashi-Part-1---Voice-and-Graphics-Patch#how-to-install-the-patch-manually-for-windows-linux-and-mac

(Sorry for the double post)

[LemiusK]

11 minutes ago, ciel_yuri said:

 Muv Luv Alternative is really where things might get interesting for you too. I wouldn't skip that if you bothered playing through Extra and Unlimited.

Yep, way ahead of ya. Currently at Chapter 9 of the story. It's not bad, though the lectures can get a bit tedious, and any conversation with Kouzuki can just drag on and on with infodump. Still, the twists and turns are good.

 

3 minutes ago, ciel_yuri said:

You might wanna try it with the PS3 graphics and voice patch. It should make a huge difference in your case.

https://github.com/07th-mod/guide/wiki/Higurashi-Part-1---Voice-and-Graphics-Patch#how-to-install-the-patch-manually-for-windows-linux-and-mac

Oh yeah, I forgot about the voice patch. Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

Edited November 6, 2018 by LemiusK

[ciel_yuri]

2 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Yep, way ahead of ya. Currently at Chapter 9 of the story. It's not bad, though the lectures can get a bit tedious, and any conversation with Kouzuki can just drag on and on with infodump. Still, the twists and turns are good.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about the voice patch. Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

I'm actually playing through it myself for the first time too! I'm in chapter 8. This game is way longer than I was expecting! I really didn't expect things to get this gritty either. These last couple chapters really got to me. Last night I decided to take a break and play something else before bed, because the prior night I was having weird depressing dreams from playing it nonstop haha.

[LemiusK]

1 minute ago, ciel_yuri said:

I really didn't expect things to get this gritty either. These last couple chapters really got to me.

Yeah, no kidding. I was actually taken by surprise by the end of Chapter 7 as well. I knew there would be casualties since it's a war, but damn, it got brutal.

[ciel_yuri]

6 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Yeah, no kidding. I was actually taken by surprise by the end of Chapter 7 as well. I knew there would be casualties since it's a war, but damn, it got brutal.

That was all a total surprise to me. I like how it affected him character development wise, but now I'm pretty scared going forward. After that there was something that Kouzuki said that made me extra weary. I don't remember the exact words, but something like "we're going to be entering hell together" or "death will be nice after what we're gonna go through from here on out" or something?... Regardless, after the mostly easygoing stuff from Extra and Unlimited this is quite the ride.

Do you actually know how many chapters they have in store for us? I tried a quick internet search but nothing came up and I'm too afraid of spoilers to dig deeper.

[LemiusK]

1 minute ago, ciel_yuri said:

Do you actually know how many chapters they have in store for us? I tried a quick internet search but nothing came up and I'm too afraid of spoilers to dig deeper.

Yeah, I tried to do a search and came up with nothing as well. I think there's probably 10 chapters, maybe. It feels like I'm almost hitting the end. I did read that Chapter 9 and 10 picked up the pace more than Chapter 8, so I'm guessing that means that the real battle against the BETA is going to start there.

[ciel_yuri]

2 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Yeah, I tried to do a search and came up with nothing as well. I think there's probably 10 chapters, maybe. It feels like I'm almost hitting the end. I did read that Chapter 9 and 10 picked up the pace more than Chapter 8, so I'm guessing that means that the real battle against the BETA is going to start there.

That's what I was thinking too, but I'm playing on PS Vita and there's a lot of hidden trophies left. It normally unlocks one at the end of every chapter and even if I keep a spare for beating the game that would mean there was 15 chapters . That seems overly long, but they haven't been giving them for anything else like other games do.

[LemiusK]

1 minute ago, ciel_yuri said:

That's what I was thinking too, but I'm playing on PS Vita and there's a lot of hidden trophies left. It normally unlocks one at the end of every chapter and even if I keep a spare for beating the game that would mean there was 15 chapters . That seems overly long, but they haven't been giving them for anything else like other games do.

Hm. Well, there are a couple of other "routes," so I'm guessing those trophies are for those, though I wouldn't really call them "routes" since there are probably minor differences between each girl you pick. I assume this because I picked Ayamine and there still isn't really much involvement with her, so I'm guessing your choices don't really have as much of an impact as in the previous games.

[ciel_yuri]

I see. Thanks . The choices haven't really done anything different so far so I hadn't really considered that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for going dragging things off topic. I should probably talk about this stuff in the "currently reading" thread. When it comes to your recommendations I feel like there's something I'm forgetting. If I think of it I'll let you know though. (I haven't finished it yet, but Ever17 is modern day, sort of sci-fi / technology based, and full of mystery if you think you might want to look into it. It's by the same writer as the Zero Escape series if you liked that.)

[LemiusK]

Just now, ciel_yuri said:

(I haven't finished it yet, but Ever17 is modern day, sort of sci-fi / technology based, and full of mystery if you think you might want to look into it. It's by the same writer as the Zero Escape series if you liked that.)

Yeah, I've tried that, but I'm one of the minorities that find it difficult to complete Ever17 due to its very slow pacing (and I completed Umineko, so that's saying something). I had to drop the VN twice now and I haven't even gotten through the first route yet. Oh well. I was thinking of picking it up again in the near future.

Another VN I'm thinking of picking up again at the same time is Grisaia no Meikyuu, though I've put this on hold for an entirely different reason. The first Grisaia was a solid experience (Michiru best gurl), but real life interfered back then, so I had to put off Meikyuu for a while.

[ciel_yuri]

4 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Yeah, I've tried that, but I'm one of the minorities that find it difficult to complete Ever17 due to its very slow pacing (and I completed Umineko, so that's saying something). I had to drop the VN twice now and I haven't even gotten through the first route yet. Oh well. I was thinking of picking it up again in the near future.

Another VN I'm thinking of picking up again at the same time is Grisaia no Meikyuu, though I've put this on hold for an entirely different reason. The first Grisaia was a solid experience (Michiru best gurl), but real life interfered back then, so I had to put off Meikyuu for a while.

Ever17 has been moving kinda slow, so I can't really blame you. Hopefully, something happens soon for me to hook me in. (I've mainly been neglecting it due to Alternative.)

I don't actually know much regarding Grisaia no Meikyuu, but judging by the first game it's probably a safe bet. (I still need to finish that too, but unless another route changes my mind, I'd certainly agree on Michiru)

It should be interesting to see what other people recommend. The kind of games you're looking for I'm interested in myself.

[WinterfuryZX]

11 hours ago, LemiusK said:

So yeah, I'm looking for another VN like that, English-translated if possible. Having many choices/endings like 428 will be a plus, but it's not necessary. What I'm really looking for (aside from the genres I've mentioned above) is something with relatable characters I could laugh and cry with, meaning it should have both tearjerking drama and comedy. The inclusion of action and suspense is optional, but again, it would be nice. Finally, I would really prefer if it's set in a realistic and modern day setting like 428; I don't really like stories set in medieval era or fantasy settings.

 

EVE: Burst Eror.

[LemiusK]

3 minutes ago, WinterfuryZX said:

EVE: Burst Eror.

Woo, that looks rather interesting. Thanks!

[WinterfuryZX]

9 hours ago, LemiusK said:

Woo, that looks rather interesting. Thanks!

Yeah the translation is awful, tho.

[Clephas]

Killer Queen maybe?  For translated, anyway. 

[onorub]

If you ever decide to learn japanese, track down the spiritual predecessor for Shibuya Scramble, Machi.

[Funyarinpa]

44 minutes ago, Clephas said:

Killer Queen maybe?  For translated, anyway. 

Are we thinking of the same, second-half-is-dedicated-to-the-protagonist-being-a-literal-pedophile Killer Queen? 

[Guest]

People already recommended what I was going to, so I'll Just pass here to say play Cartagra before KnS It makes the latter even more enjoyable.

[LemiusK]

3 hours ago, onorub said:

If you ever decide to learn japanese, track down the spiritual predecessor for Shibuya Scramble, Machi.

Well, I never thought 428 would ever be translated one day, but now look where we are. lol People have already been clamoring for a Machi translation on Steam, so, hopefully someday.

[Mobotium]

Chaos;Child

[LemiusK]

1 hour ago, Mobotium said:

Chaos;Child

I REALLY wanted to play that one, but people kept saying I have to play Chaos;Head first, because Chaos;Child spoils the story of C;H and what's really going on in there. But I'm still waiting for Chaos;Head Noah to be translated first, so... yeah.