Which ones have you read? I don’t wanna waste your time with something by a company or writer you tried before.
Not very many, I’m dipping my toe in the genre. I started reading both of Type-Moon’s major titles, Tsukihime and Fate, because they seemed to have a lot of action plus high-concept fantasy in them. They seemed well-written but still came off as a slog with the very gradual pace of worldbuilding and I bounced off pretty quickly anyway.
The ones I’ve actually finished are in the mystery genre and only arguably qualify as VNs: Phoenix Wright and Paranormasight. I don’t usually think of myself as a mystery fan but it seems to work especially well in a VN format plus some menus to inspect evidence.
All-ages/Minimal sexual content(relatively speaking by vn standards) that are actually short and readable.
Jouka no Monshou (1 - 1 1/2 hours)
A short Equilibrium fanfiction written by Gen Urobuchi that’s a pretty good introduction to the kind of writing you can expect from plot-driven, action vns. As someone who never watched the movie, it really felt like the writer had taken the movie’s setting and turned it into his own story. Perfectly standalone and understandable on its own. Any lore details that relate to the story get explained.
Jingai Makyou 2003 Comiket version (15 mins)
Though the version that was officially published later is an eroge, this version is completely sfw.
I had discovered this lost version of the game a year and a half ago. Its about 15 mins and contains only a brief dialogue before launching into its fight scene. Its a charming piece of doujin goodness. Won’t discuss much of the details since it’s so short.
Guilty Crown: Lost Christmas (2 1/2 - 3 hours)
Its a tie-in to the anime I never watched. Though I had no confusion reading it. Got a good amount of action once it hits its stride. My only problem is that I don’t like the character writing and I think the story is just generally juvenile. Though given what I hear about its source material, this isn’t innacurate. The action writing itself isn’t stellar, but its presentation and production values place it well above the competition and make up for that aspect. Just keep in mind that since they borked up the tech aspect of the english patch that you need to go through the game in a single sitting.
Eroge Section
Dra*Koi (2 1/2-3 hours)
Mostly a light-hearted comedy game with some lengthy action sequences between every act. The writing can be cringe-worthy, especially with its h-scenes. I’d you like 2000s era newgrounds humor writing – its especially, edgy in that juvenile, teenage way, you’ll find a nostalgic and enjoyable experience.
Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer (7-8 hours)
If you don’t mind reading stuff that has rather tough content warnings. I’ll state right here that this vn is what made me fall in love with the medium at large. It’s certainly cheesy and you could argue that the action scenes go on too long, but the storytelling man, the way its told and presented is fantastic. If you want that cathartic angst mixed in with some truly badass sequences, there’s not many vns that give you exactly that with little fluff.
Hope you find something that you enjoy in that list.
Edit
Something I just remembered is that Jouka no Monshou needs something to drop into the game to have it run. It runs on the nscripter engine. This here is the modern version of the engine that helps make it run better on windows 10. Just run the exe in the folder and enjoy.
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OK, it sounds like Nitroplus is the other specialist in actiony VNs as I see several of your recs are from that dev. I was already thinking of checking them out, but it wasn’t obvious which game to start with, as they’ve made a lot and none of them are standout more famous than the rest (except maybe Saya no Uta, which isn’t the kind of thing I’m looking for).
I’ll check out Jouka no Monshou first to get a taste of their style, thanks!
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i’ve already talked about other parts of it it in the games you played thread but nitroplus’ muramasa is really good with the action. i just don’t mention it cause i don’t ever have anything to say about that stuff, since i’m more of a murder and cruelty liker, than i am an action fan
also it is insanely long, i think running one scenario took me 20 hours maybe?
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Absolutely. My second favorite vn ever. I just didn’t reccomend it due to its length, and the fact that its one of those vns that’s so much more than simply an action game. You also only read it after you’ve read a few edgy eroge and gotten accustomed to the common elements they bring to the table.
Nitro+ is my favorite vn company, even if I don’t find myself enjoying their 2010s output so much.
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Higurashi is the best christian game of all times imo. It’s also got my respect for explicitly mentioning japanese war crimes.
It’s often too longwinded and it’s got far too many jokes about paedophilia . . . but it’s fun, it’s good, it’s earnest, it’s different, it’s an experience.
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i don’t get what you mean by christian, but higurashi is good
I saw this photo posted on twitter and it brought home how VNs have always demanded unreasonable amounts of patience
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Possibly slightly spoilery in regards to the tone of the series
The christian themes get very very strong by the last chapter and its accompanying author’s note, but it’s the good kind of christian (functionally equivalent to a sort of exalted secular humanism: life is important and to be cherished, no one is beyond redemption, etc). See also: Hypnospace Outlaw.
Relevant materials
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And also on a more surface level, much like Siren (which came about around the same time) Higurashi takes place in a remote community that follows its own local mix of shintoism, buddhism and christianity, hypothesised to be the result of a past missionary’s teachings blending with local folklore (irrespectively of what the actual history might be), and built around the idea of suffering, sacrifice and resurrection (mixed with a more buddhist cyclical reincarnation) to atone for humanity’s sins, and which has evolved beyond the idea of an actual sacrifice and instead reenacts it through a symbolic one (cotton stuffings), and it resonates with the structure and themes of the game itself.
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Paradise
Starting reading PIL/SLASH’s Paradise. A friend of mine calling it yaoi cannibal halucaust had me interested in checking it out. While the story hasn’t gotten intense yet, I think the initial character writing is at least keeping me entertained until shit hits the fan. (Which seeing some of the cgs, makes me sure it absolutely will.)
Shadows of Pygmalion
We’ve learned about the machinations of the setting and gotten to our first action sequence! It does not disapoint at all. Quite well-described. I hope we get at least a single route where we work together with the “evil” faction. Don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely shounen cheese.
I hope it keeps up this quality. Imagine getting a good yuri vn that isn’t simply romance.
Back from my travels. Read more of Paradise and Pygmalion.
Paradise thoughts:
This has been a bit of a nothing burger. The violence and intrigue honest to truly feel like a back seat to the romance. Its like, its more a vehicle to bring out these elements. And in terms of the gore… it’s gross but not cannibal halucaust levels. I’ve only completed Mitsugi’s route so far, but I honestly felt kind of annoyed with how drawn out the story started to feel. If this was actually like the movie there’d be a sense of pacing and tension permeating it all that I just didn’t feel. That, and the characters acted way too amically and aggreably. Nobody was hoarding food, or carrying around weapons, or seperating in smaller groups after people started dying. The only source of dissent were the characters that the game spent for about two thirds not even giving names.
Shadows of Pygmalion thoughts:
Ok. So my expectations on the mc’s fixation on purity with dolls and such was me reading too much into things. The story’s been so blaise about sex and non consensual stuff. I’d leave your morality at the door in that respect. (not to say its enourmously problematic) Its very much otaku-pilled. Anyways: onto the story! Its a chunni yuri. Emphasis on the Chunni part. There are many games that people call chunni but have the chunni aspect act as the
the side dish to the story.
Sorry I was rambling! The premise of the game is the there’s dolls that act as planet’s natural rejection of humanity’s destruction on the environment. The dolls cause direct chaos to society by sowing seeds of discontent amongst populations and indirectly causing chaos amongst humans. The job of the main characrters is to root out these dolls and destroy them to prevent them from causing more trouble. This the plot thrust of the story and is actually the main focus of the game! There is character drama and all that too, but it acts as a vehicle for the plot!~ I can’t believe someone like Mangagamer translated something so nakedly chunni~
Haven’t finished any of the routes yet but if it keeps this up it might be one of the better vns I’ve read!