Can't believe I was beaten to a topic like this. Almost like y'all are muscling in on my turf!
...nah, in a genre like ours, the more the merrier.
And at least I can say that I didn't see this topic because I was actually too busy with a visual novel (Symphonic Rain).
RedEyesBlackGamer said:
I want to get into the genre. But I'm a little lost on where to start. The concept interests me greatly. Unfortunately, my knowledge of them is....I have none. I love RPGs and reading and the thought of a story I can enjoy and interact with is very exciting.
I was just wondering if someone had recommendations/stores/pointers that could help me get going. Any help is appreciated.
Well, from my experience, I guess the first thing is making sure you know what you're getting into. Or maybe that's just my paranoia talking. Managed to get a couple of people in the past to try visual novels, only to find they were expecting something totally different.
Still, I'll go out on a limb and guess that that's not a problem here. ^_^
<color=aliceblue>Fun fact: colored text makes for effective line breaks.
Anyway, I have a set five titles that I always recommend to people, and a number of others depending on their tastes. Springheel and Deskimus definitely hit on one of them, <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.223721-TYPE-MOON-Review-anniversary-Fate-Stay-Night>Fate/Stay Night, which is probably Type-Moon's magnum opus. Finding a copy is a bit of a challenge, and actually I wound up torrenting it; the English patch, at least, is <url=http://mirrormoon.org/projects/fate_stay_night>easier to find.
On the other hand, I usually wind up recommending <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128851-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Tsukihime>Tsukihime, Type-Moon's earlier work, to start people off. It's shorter and simpler (and more technically limited), but it's also far easier to find (there's a Tsukibako torrent that has it), I actually kinda prefer its story in some ways (probably because it was my first visual novel ever), and if it's a concern, it's <url=http://mirrormoon.org/projects/tsukihime>English patch has the option of installing without the sex scenes.
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. The main problem is that I'm still looking for another place to find it; my copy (the original, 18+ version) came off of a Hongfire thread that has since been deleted. <url=http://radicalr.pestermom.com/vn.html>The English patch and voice patches are easier to find, though, and I think I may be tracking down an All Ages copy of the game.
While there's not much shame (by my reckoning) in torrenting otherwise unavailable titles, there are a few really good ones with official English translations, including <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.135672-Neutral-Drow-reviews-A-Drug-That-Makes-You-Dream>A Drug That Makes You Dream. Barring the absolutely terrible Xchange, this was my first non Type-Moon visual novel, and the one that seriously got me hooked on the genre. If you're willing to spend money, it's the one I'd recommend most highly. It's also officially available in download format, if shipping cost or location is a concern.
http://www.peachprincess.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=P014&Category_Code= (mildly NSFW site).
And finally, far as I'm concerned, there is no way to talk about visual novels without bringing up <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206764-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kana-Little-Sister>Kana: Little Sister. It's more of a controversial title, but it's also basically the grandmother of all utsuge (depressing game) visual novels, and the closest I'd consider to required reading in the genre.
http://www.peachprincess.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=GC002&Category_Code= (mildly NSFW site)
<color=aliceblue>After all, even paragraphs can get wall-o'-texty at times.
So yeah, any of those five would be a good place to start, though for my part, I'd put Tsukihime, Kanon, or A Drug That Makes You Dream slightly ahead. And you've already been linked to the group, so my work here is briefly done. My apologies for the review plugs; I get pretty long-winded at times...but if that's not a deterrence, my other reviews (at the bottom of any of those linked posts) are always available.
Sweet, now I can get back to Symphonic Rain. <url=http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9773/sr10g.jpg>I just met someone new...