I want to get into Visual Novels.

[Evilsanta]

Appreciated snip

Will they run on Windows 7? I see all the way to Vista.

I can confirm that they run on pretty much anything. Some require applocale or setting the locale to japanese, but that's not a huge problem.

That is my other problem. I am not computer-savvy. I get the feeling I'm going to spend hours trying to get the games to work. DOSBox was a pain to learn how to use.

It's not that hard to figure out. Just google it and you will find a guide.

Oh...And my contribution would be Snow Sakura it's rainbows and sunshine on crack!
Seriously thouhg it's slice of life/comedy.

 

[Hurray Forums]

I've yet to play Clannad, myself. I have, however, played and loved <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163769-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kanon>Kanon, Key's earlier work. Going by the discussion in the usergroup, it's not only far shorter than Clannad, but it sounds a lot less angsty, as well...still pretty sad, at times, but not overwhelmingly so...at least, until <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O7O5ale-Pc>this song imprints in your mind.

Unpopular rant opinion incoming: Kanon's "super ultra sad" route is FAR better and FAR more sad than Clannad's despite not trying near as hard. Clannad's is unsubtly telegraphed(seriously, a giant neon sign saying "Tragedy Strikes in 5,4,3..." would have been less obvious), happens to a character that I found boring, unlikable, and cliche, plus it's pretty much directly caused by the characters' own stupidity. Finally, the tragedy that occurs in Clannad has been done to fucking death, it's not so much beating a dead horse as beating the dirt the dead horse has been buried in for centuries, Kanon's was at least somewhat unique and had drama and meaning stemming from said uniqueness that made it interesting.

Long story short: No tears were shed, no lesson was learned, no meaning was found, I just sighed when I realized this crap was the dramatic climax of a story that had taken 50 billion hours to finish.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Long story short: No tears were shed, no lesson was learned, no meaning was found, I just sighed when I realized this crap was the dramatic climax of a story that had taken 50 billion hours to finish.

I remember you mentioning that in the group a while back, yeah. I still suspect I'll wind up disagreeing.

I feel like i should add some contribution to this thread, so here it is [http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4614/visualnovels.jpg], shamelessly stolen from wherever. Also, as Deskimus pointed out, there's a usergroup and we're very friendly. Most of us.

Ooh, some things I don't recognize, thanks!

Luckily, I think I'll be buying a DS soon...

Appreciated snip

Will they run on Windows 7? I see all the way to Vista.

I'm not much of a computer person myself, either, so I wouldn't see why not...though I'm glad some more tech savvy people have already answered. ^^;

In any case, if you get one via download, installation will likely require a disc-mounting program (like Daemon Tools or PowerISO) first and foremost...unless you have CD/DVD-RWs to spare. I've helped people through installation of games before, so I'm available via PM if you need.

Applocale is a good thing to have, as well, though the only thing I've needed it for so far is Tsukihime Plus-Disc.

 

[Gigano]

I think Drow and Poiumty pretty much covered a wide variety of good potential starters. I went with "A Drug that makes you Dream" (Yume Miru Kusuri) as my initiation into the genre, after reading the user review on it, and I would certainly recommend it.

Will they run on Windows 7? I see all the way to Vista.

I've actually just upgraded from Vista to Windows 7, and all my visual novels works just fine. As mentioned, you'll still have to use AppLocale [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=8c4e8e0d-45d1-4d9b-b7c0-8430c1ac89ab] for those few which require it, but it installing it is 3 clicks, and using it as easy as opening it and browsing to the program you wish to start with it.

Be sure to generally put them in compatibility mode for Windows XP though (right-click the .exe file, choose properties, then compatibility), as there can be various technical hickups with older Visual novels on later systems.

When you install a VN that requires AppLocale, you'll sometimes have to temporarily switch your system region to Japanese during the installation (this doesn't change the system language). A guide can be found here [http://blog.wentoday.com/?p=346].

...and that should about cover any technical OS issue you might have to face to get them to run. Bear in mind that the AppLocale and system region change during install isn't necessary for the vast majority of Visual Novels translated into English (I've encountered 2 so far), so generally putting them in XP compatibility mode is all it takes.

 

[WildSeraph]

A guy called Cleril makes RPGs, and quite a few of them are very Visual-Novel-y. They're a bit more like a classic RPG than most VNs, so they're actually quite good for newbies to the genre. If you want to try out the games, you can join his Escapist group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Cleril-Calamity-Studios].

 

[Chibz]

Check out Disgaea Infinite for the PSP. Very best I've seen.

 

[springheeljack]

ha I beat all you guys to the punch
I almost forgot I wouldnt be able to call myself a self respecting fan if I didnt mention Galaxy Angel its is a really fun visual novel that has a very well made eng patch http://bmw.seiha.org/index.php
Its a really hard game(impossible) to find so I would recommended obtaining by other means

 

[The Madman]

I feel like i should add some contribution to this thread, so here it is [http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4614/visualnovels.jpg], shamelessly stolen from wherever. Also, as Deskimus pointed out, there's a usergroup and we're very friendly. Most of us.

Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory count as 'visual novels'? Whodathunkit, the anime disliking western rpg guru which is myself has played an enjoyed a 'visual novel'? Go diversity!

 

[mireko]

I tried that too, once. I tried Tsukihime, Higurashi and Umineko.

I can't remember what happened after that, but I was allegedly found stapling Nscripter to a dead goat in my basement and setting it on fire while tearing my hair out. What I'm trying to say is make sure there aren't any goats in your neighborhood, or you'll end up with animal cruelty charges.

[sub]They won't be able to prove anything, though.[/sub]