Lapsed OJLVN Fan

Five officially translated editions of VNs published before 2005: * Knights of Xentar, published by Megatech Software, based on the Elf game Dragon Knight 3. I tried it years ago, and don't remember much. * Season of the Sakura, published by JAST USA. Didn't care for the adventure game style interface, but liked some of the story. * True Love '95, released by Otaku Publishing. Not my favorite, but it was a decent substitute for Tokimeki Memorial gameplay. * Graduation, released by Mixx (later Tokypop), based on Sotsugyou 2. I bought the disc when it was on sale at Rightstuf, but I don't remember much about it. * Snow Drop, released by Peach Princess. I read it, but I only recall a few events. Five unofficial translations: * Maison Ikkoku ~Omoide no Photograph~ for PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16). I like the original comic, but I haven't set aside time for the licensed game. * Tokimeki Memorial for Super Famicom (SNES). I'm glad that a patch has been finished, but I don't like the interface or pacing as much as TokiMemo Girl's Side. * Bloody Bride - Imadoki no Vampire for PS1. It was published in an era of instruction manuals, so I think it expects the player to learn the gameplay right away. * Love Hina Advance for GBA. Notable because it's short, and some of the timed choices seem justified. * Koisuru Oukoku for Windows. This life / career simulation game wasn't all that memorable.

In my opinion, it's rare to see any romance game sold in English. Anything praiseworthy has often buried under porn-without-plot titles, and there have been too many translations which barely showed an effort. Furthermore, companies and fans have thrown around terms such as "hentai game" and "dating sim" quite a bit. The first term is especially inappropriate when discussing worksafe titles, and the second is inappropriate when discussing stories which don't have any simulation elements. So yeah... this is why I was shocked when the original Hakuouki VN was released in English, rather than just the animated spinoff, *and* on a console. I heard about the Sakura Wars franchise as far back as 1998. After waiting over a decade for any iteration of the games in English, I chose to purchase the localized version of Sakura Wars V on the day when it was released. (I get the impression that only a handful of other fans bought it.) Even though I found the experience to be somewhat of a letdown, I'm hoping that Iwakura Productions will finish its fan translation of the first Sakura Wars game in the near future.

I decided to call myself Lapsed OJLVN Fan. Here are a few reasons why: 1. I became active in translated visual novel fandom in the early 2000s. Some experiences such as Snow Drop were enjoyable. Others were disappointing. I eventually regretted buying Tokimeki Check-in and a few other titles. 2. Over a decade ago, I began to explore the freeware VN scene. Some of what I found was really impressive. I skipped the stories which didn't sound interesting. 3. About five years ago, I gave up on computer games. At the time, it seemed like the balance between computers and consoles was changing. I got the impression that it would be just a few months until consoles would become extinct. Because of this, I have read almost no computer games in the last few years. 4. In the last year, I have enjoyed a few VNs on consoles. However, my interest level has been slowly decreasing. I have begun using the admittedly cynical term "OJLVN" to describe translated stories, especially ones which I do not find personally appealing. I may not often have time to post here on Fuwanovel. However, I will strive to be active.

A short, free PC title called Nuign Specter was created in 2012. It's described on Tvtropes.org as a video game which tells a story through actions, and with only two lines of text. The site considers it to be a visual novel. I'm not sure if Nuign Specter will match up with other people's definitions of visual novels. However, it's a story driven computer game which is not meant to challenge the player's skills.