Comments on: The Melancholy of Visual Novels

By: Joanna

Joanna — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:04:09 +0000

“Your average 20-something expanded audience female”
ouch. stereotype much? I've been a proud gamer since childhood and now i'm a twenty-something female. Your statement stings a little. But I get it, girls don't game as much as guys.

I'm a fan of point-and-click adventure and visual novel games, so I'm really enjoying the influx on the DS right now
I bought LifeSigns thinking it's a doctor sim too. But it does have operations so I didn't feel too cheated. It's “visual novel” aspects were a little weak a have to say.

By: Nekobo

Nekobo — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:12:40 +0000

I'd love to play the Higurashi DS game. It'd be cool if someone translated it. There are Tsukihime ports for the PSP and DS. But yeah, I agree…digital distribution is the way to go for visual novels.

I'd definitely buy visual novels if they get localized. Preferably on portable systems, so I can play them while lying on my couch or bed, just like how I usually read books.

By: Nika

Nika — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:47:20 +0000

First thing I see when opening the site: Vampire knight. Completely forgot that I wanted to play that. And this looks interesting, and that, and… Damn you, I should have never followed that link.

Well ok, Majority of them are eroge. there ^^
It amuses me that Garnet Cradle has an 18+ tag while a lot of (all?) other games are at least as explicit.

By: ToruHideo

ToruHideo — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:08:55 +0000

http://zepy.momotato.com/2008/04/16/number-of-e...

^Considering that nowadays it seems there are more eroges being released each year than normal games in Japan, I don't think it's wrong to say the majority of them are really porn games.

Of course I don't know how accurate those numbers actually are, but they don't seem to be wrong seeing there are always a lot of eroges being released each month, as you can see here:
http://erogamescape.dyndns.org/~ap2/ero/toukei_...

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:23:48 +0000

Speaking of "Anata wo Yurusanai", it really has the least interaction among the above games, so that part could be boring because it really feels like you're mostly reading, and the very few choices you make don't make much of a impact, unless you choose a wrong one and bring to a game over.

The look is special enough because the design was done by an artist who illustrates for a fashion magazine, instead of an anime character designer.

I suppose the above factors make the game even more niche than the other regular visual novel / adventure games for it to be localized here.

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:29:38 +0000

Keep in mind that there's already manga being published on WiiWare.

Princess Ai is out in Japan, and if I'm not mistaken, there has been talk of make these downloads available in the U.S. Nintendo Shop Channel. That could result in some very interesting synergy among the “otaku” installbase.

By: Nika

Nika — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:01:21 +0000

I have to agree that the DS would be the best platform to bring visual novels into the western world. I like your line of thinking when you talk about that “DS Novel Series”. Something like that might actually work.

And games like Time Hollow, Lux Pain and Ace Attorny show that, at least as long as there is some sort of interaction besides reading text, there is a chance for visual novels here too.

By: Nika

Nika — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:58:14 +0000

1. True, but there are a huge amount without any erotic scenes as well.

2. There are various games that border on the line of visual novel and something much more interactive. Developers are trying to add elements of other gernes as well. Many incorporate RPG elements, and recent examples like Hotel Dusk, Time Hollow, Lux Pain and now Last Bullet show that there can be more to them than just clicking away text.

3. Can't argue here actually.

Visual novels aren't just targeted at otaku's though. Anata wo Yurusanai is an example of a game being targeted at young women, and Akai Ito was aimed at normal teens I think? (and looking at it's sale numbers, did quite good). I fact, I think that most visual novels that aren't dating sims do not target otaku.

By: MadMirko

MadMirko — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:50:04 +0000

I don't believe size limits imposed per title on the respective download platforms would always limit visual novel games. After all they are perfectly suited to an episodic form, just like point and click adventures (Sam & Max, Strongbad, etc).

That said, I'm a fan of the genre, despite being mostly what people nowadays call a “core gamer”, and I don't see why the genre could not succeed outside of Japan. It's just a matter of cultivating the market, making more people aware that its even there.

By: Nika

Nika — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:46:08 +0000

I wouldn't say majority, but that aside:

It is true that a lot of them are dating-sim (Hgame or not) but outside that there are a good amount of other visual novels too. And a lot of dating-sims aimed at girls (otome games) are so pure they hardly even feature a kiss. I think these kinds of games might have potential actually.