AngstyNarrator

He also wrote Planescape Torment, which is an RPG but has tons of dialogue and narration not unlike a book. It was even jokingly added to VNDB 7 days ago.

He also wrote Planescape Torment, which is an RPG but has tons of dialogue and narration not unlike a book. It was even jokingly added to VNDB 7 days ago.

Whoa! While I might not recognized the other writers, You mentioned just Chris Avellone among them. That guy usually only write stuffs for RPGs! 
Have you played the Infinity Engine games, Pillars of Eternity, Or Pathfinder Kingmaker by any chance?

Well in case you still didn't know it you can try Wizard's Climber in that it's about the VN where you raised the girl to be the best wizard, although beware that the gameplay is kind of difficult. Other than that, I seconded Romanesque and Beat series although beware that Beat series also come with some disturbing sex scenes. I hope that my recommendation here will be helpful to you.

Little Witch Romanesque 
It's one of the best raising VN sims out there in English and this is where Long Live The Queen got the idea in addition to the Princess Maker Series.
Some people say its even better than Princess Maker but you'll be the judge of that!
 
Shining Song Starnova
Shining Song Starnova: Idol Empire
Since they are all about idols and stuffs
 
Beat Blades Haruka
Beat Angel Escalayer R
They kinda feel like a simulation of sorts and an raising sim when you play them despite being an RPG...
 
You can also find other titles in VNDB
https://vndb.org/g40

I wanna read a visual novel that has segments where the player plays a simulation game where you increase stats. There must be significant amounts of uninterrupted story with ADV or NVL presentation with frequent narration, so stuff like Huniepop, Long Live the Queen, and the Persona series is out. 
Also my Japanese isn't the best so the game has to be translated if not in English originally.
 

The Rance games.

(sarcasm)

Very good. I finished the first route and I wonder what will happen next, though I already prematurely seen some (admittedly contextless) spoilers such as the fact that 
I hope that's not all of the major spoilers.

I generally enjoy them. Sometimes it does go a bit over the top but there are genuine issues in there that are interesting.

I keep hearing other people describe Clannad and stuff as "melodramatic teenage drama where high schoolers cry about petty shit".
Now I have no problems with drama or nakiges but I'm worried that the writing might be too cringey and annoyingly kitsch.
Can anyone here tell me their stance on how well executed the drama in Key games are?
 
 

Welcome to Fuwanovel and you can ask for VN recommendations if you need it. I hope that you'll enjoy yourself here.

Well I mean, KEY is popular because of its drama. But it wont be for everyone.
Might as well try Clannad, it's the most well-known KEY VN
Or try Planetarian for a very short experience to dip your toes in but will give you an idea on how the writer exectues things

Learning Japanese is something that might seem like a daunting task that will take forever, which probably scares off a lot of people.

However, it can actually be quite a fun experience depending on how you decide to tackle it, as it's possible learn it through reading visual novels and other media.
It's also quite likely that you will be able to get good enough at Japanese to finish a VN you've been hyped to play before it finishes, or even starts getting a translation, and once done, you'll still have plenty of other VNs  to read, that you might never be able to otherwise. 
For those interested in trying, I hope the guide here will help you with starting out and having a nice time.
 
(note: while it might tempting to do so after you've gotten some proficiency with reading, I'd advise against learning through translating, as it will be much slower than simply just reading more instead, as you'll now have to concentrate on both your japanese and english and the result will probably not be very good yet (translation is difficult).)
 

Yo yo yo!

Welcome! I like visual novels a lot, too. I hope you enjoy your stay!