Looking for a darker VN with strong characters.

[yukipo]

Hello.

 

My interest in visual novels has really been rekindled after reading Steins;Gate on a whim after ~ 1.5 years of ignoring them, and I'm looking to keep that momentum going a bit.

 

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a VN with darker themes and fleshed out characters who will make me want to emotionally invest myself in them (whether it be positively or negatively). My only other needs are that it be translated to English, playable on a PC (Windows 8, 64 bit) or a PSP/Vita, and preferably lacking in "excessive" (non-storydriven) H content.

 

A list of the novels which I have already finished can be found here: http://vndb.org/u31245/list. I guess I would classify many of those as having dark themes in some way or another, but my preference would be for something closer to Kara no Shoujo or Saya no Uta, though I would not be averse to a lighter read in a Symphonic Rain type mold.

 

Thanks for reading and/or sharing any thoughts!

 

(Hopefully there's enough information here to help.)

[Heizei_koukousei]

You should check out Swan Song and maybe Corpse Party

[BookwormOtaku]

Grisaia no Kajitsu has its dark moments in the later parts of the routes, though it starts out fairly light hearted and remains that way for a while

[Decay]

I would say maybe Sekien no Inganock. The atmosphere they build in that game is thick and intense, and it's a good read. There are maybe a couple extraneous sex scenes but they're pretty short and non-gratuitous. 

[JustThisOne]

Umineko and Muv Luv trilogy (Extra kind of sucks but you can skip it)

[Life]

I would consider Higurashi and Umineko two good ones.

[Zalor]

You should check out Swan Song

 

I second Swan Song. Swan Song's characters are exceedingly well developed and whats more interesting is that the story is told through multiple perspectives. So we get to see characters develop through there own perspective, and then later see them from the perspective of another character. The use of this literary technique was very well executed, as is every aspect of the writing. Swan Song also provides a rather grim out look on humanity, so it definitely qualifies as a dark VN. Couldn't recommend it enough.

[Undying]

kikokugai and demonbane.

 

 

kikokugai I havent played fully yet but for the bit I did it seem like a very dark story with a strong protag, demonbane is Cthulhu mythos with mechas. 

 

 

 

[yukipo]

Thanks for the many helpful replies!

 

Swan Song seems very promising from the comments here and the synopsis on VNDB. I think I will give that a whirl first since that kind of setting really tickles my fancy, and it's one of the few I wouldn't have any preconceived notions regarding.

 

I will definitely be giving the rest a look in the future as well. Grisaia and Muv Luv in particular I've heard great things about from a few friends, though their allegedly super long common routes put me off from ever pursuing them (perhaps ironic from a LB/Rewrite fanboy, but oh well).

 

As a slight aside, would Umineko/Higurashi be worth reading even after watching the anime for both? I know anime rarely (if ever) does a VN justice, but both feel like they might fall flat a bit the second time through unless it's significantly different.

 

(Ninja editing to say... Swan Song is great thus far. Thanks again for the recommendation!)

[Kimanor]

Europhia....

 

 

I think. Never actually tried it, but I heard it is, well... dark.

[Silvz]

As a slight aside, would Umineko/Higurashi be worth reading even after watching the anime for both? I know anime rarely (if ever) does a VN justice, but both feel like they might fall flat a bit the second time through unless it's significantly different.

Yes, read the VN's. Umineko is almost a new "everything" compared to the anime. Seriously, you can even delete the anime from your mind 

[Funyarinpa]

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is coming out in less than a week.

 

 

You read Virtue's Last Reward but not 999?!

 

http://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_DS_ROMs/9_Hours,_9_Persons,_9_Doors_(U)/51427

 

(Use Desmume)

[Narcosis]

Swan Song should pick your fancy. That said, english readers are missing on most of the greater works. There are titles like Muramasa, Kajiri Kamui Kagura and Dies Irae (to name a few) which topple everything else in terms of really dark themed stories with fantastic characters and fleshed out settings. Unfortunately, they are still available only in japanese and that won't change for a very long time (apparently, Jast might have picked up Muramasa, but there's no new info when do they even plan to start working on it).

[Clephas]

The more complex the setting and writing, the less likely it will get a translation.  Muramasa... we'll be lucky if Jast doesn't just drop it. 

[Decay]

Muramasa was never officially picked up by jast, just a translator there said he wanted to do it. He's a highly capable translator who is perhaps one of the few in the community who could do Muramasa justice, but it's such a big project and this is JAST we're talking about. I'm talking about Makoto, the guy who translated Hanachirasu, Saya no Uta, and some other N+ titles. According to TLwiki he translated Muramasa's common route before he was roped in by jast but he's been doing Django instead since and who knows what else (probably touching up Hanachirasu for official release, maybe they'll announce Muramasa after those two are out sometime next decade).

[Ominous]

You played Virtue's Last Reward, but not 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors? Oh, you really need to get your hands on it. In my opinion, the first game is much more satisfying than the second, and the protagonist is damn funny, especially when it comes to his monologues when you randomly select objects in the room you're in. Also, you should really check out Cross Channel some time. The story, at first, starts out rather lighthearted, especially because the protagonist is a huge insensitive goof, but it later turns dark, and it keeps getting darker. I really can't say any more now. You should really take a look. ^^

[edwd2]

the triple K

[Decay]

the triple K

A lot of Light's stuff qualifies, but none of them are in english.

[Clephas]

There is no one who could do them justice... KKK makes Muramasa seem easy and Dies Irae is about on the same level for difficulty.  I could see a localization of Vermilion (another Light dark fantasy VN) working, but anything more difficult than that is going to either require a lot of time or a lot of money (or both) to get a translation worth reading.  I might, personally, be able to do Dies Irae if I was getting paid for it... but the thought of doing it for free makes me want to choke on my own terror-infused bile.  There is only so much stress and long hours I can take without getting paid, lol. 

[SanadaShadow]

I thought G-Senjou was pretty dark. Daibanchou had its moments where you could pick your ally and the one you didn't pick ended up with a horrible fate. Otherwise, I can't think of anything that isn't mentioned yet. Would NGE count...? I'm not sure, really.

[Decay]

There is no one who could do them justice... KKK makes Muramasa seem easy and Dies Irae is about on the same level for difficulty.  I could see a localization of Vermilion (another Light dark fantasy VN) working, but anything more difficult than that is going to either require a lot of time or a lot of money (or both) to get a translation worth reading.  I might, personally, be able to do Dies Irae if I was getting paid for it... but the thought of doing it for free makes me want to choke on my own terror-infused bile.  There is only so much stress and long hours I can take without getting paid, lol. 

How would you say Senshinkan compared difficulty-wise?

[SanadaShadow]

I've been doing some poking around in an old games folder, and found a copy of Divi-Dead. I'm not sure about its classifications, as it may not be a VN. It's just a really old eroge horror game. It's also NSFW for GORE and PORN, some of which is important to the story. I ran a quick search on google and found out about this shit.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/2579-the-top-10-horror-visual-novels

Divi-Dead is apparently top-10 tier.

 

 

...

KARA NO SHOUJO is the #1 horror VN.

[Decay]

lol at that, divi-dead is total shit.

 

... and School Days? Really?

[SanadaShadow]

Well, it had those Psycho-Sekai endings.

[Blizzard884]

Swan song and Aiyoku no Eustia