ServeTheServant

Fan demand may not be as strong on some of these titles as you may think. Koihime Musou wasn't a particularly large success. MangaGamer has maintained that Shin Koihime Musou would cost way too much to localize internally. There's a fan translation group currently working on SKM and MG has said that they're open to officially releasing that translation if it's any good, but they probably can't turn a profit if they do that game normally. At least, they believe they wouldn't. 
Also, keep in mind that MangaGamer is only one part of the equation here. The original developers and publishers of the Japanese games have a larger say in the matter than MG in a lot of cases. That's why MG is releasing Beat Blades Haruka this month instead of Rance, that came from AliceSoft who did not want to license out Rance, a very important property to them, as their first venture into the western market. I can only speculate, but I imagine Propeller wants the Steam money, so that's why Pygmalion and Tokyo Babel were licensed instead of Evolimit. These decisions aren't made randomly. It's very likely that Evolimit simply wouldn't make as much money as those two. 
Regarding Oretsuba, MangaGamer has already commented on this. Like SKM, it's too long, and it also has a higher skill requirement for translation if they want to do a decent job. This is another title MG has claimed would not be profitable to translate in the current environment. Well, they said that a year or two ago, so maybe things have changed since then, but they aren't pulling our leg on this. This is what they truly believe, and they're probably right. Regarding Tsuriotsu, I don't know if anyone at MG has ever commented on that directly, but my understanding is that it's a title they actually do want to work on but there's stupid business nonsense holding it back.
With regards to Otoboku it's a sequel, and sequels rarely perform well, especially when the predecessor was pretty much panned and bombed. Otoboku 2 is by all accounts a FAR better VN, but it's also a very big risk because of the first one being shit. 
It's very important to have the correct perspective on these things. MG wields a lot less power and influence than you think they do and they can only do so much.
edit: Also, same with SP. But SP probably pushes the all-ages/Steam angle a lot more aggressively and ropes in everyone who wants to cash in on the Steam market that way. Also I like how you mention positively stuff like g-senjou no maou, which is an easy, already translated title instead of something new because Akabei Soft won't let SP pick a newer title yet, and Purple Software/Chrono Clock which is identical to the Propeller situation (nobody wants that game over Hapymaher), and also they got one of Yuzusoft's least-liked titles from seven years ago because it's the one that can go on Steam. SP is hardly pulling in the fan-favorites or making nothing but power moves like you make them out to be. They've made a few good moves, but so has MangaGamer IMO. You conveniently left out how MG just recently released a title in the renowned Liarsoft Steampunk series, or are going to release one of the most popular doujin titles ever soon with Himawari.

Both of you missed a pretty important line:
 
 

Summary I made with the stats I found interesting.
 
Survey demographics:
73% of respondents were male while 23.5% were female.
86% were between the ages of 18-30, with 62.5% being 18-24. 
Female fans skewed towards slightly younger, with 13% of female respondents being between 13 and 17 years old compared to 3.8% of male respondents.
 
Visual Novel Preferences
When surveyed about what respondents considered most important when deciding to purchase a visual novel, “story” and “art” were significantly the two most important factors, though art held more sway with women than men .
For men, the third most significant factor was erotic content, while for women it was the characters and relationship options (IE male/male, female/male, etc.)
Next down for women is genre, voice actors, and erotic content, but for men it’s characters, gameplay, and length.
Women greatly preferred the otome and BL genres, while men more strongly preferred nukige and slice-of-life genres (though nukige gains importance with age),
 
Visual Novel Age Ratings
44% of fans prefer the adult version over all-ages options.
30% just want whichever version is the original, unedited edition. 
The people who actually prefer all-ages options above others only makes up 4% of the market.
 
Favorite companies
07th Expansion OVERDRIVE Innocent Grey minori Navel Liarsoft Lilith MOONSTONE Circus ClockUp Titles people most want to see licensed by MG
Fate/Stay Night Majikoi series Baldr series Muv-Luv series Umineko no Naku Koro Ni Shin Koihime Musou Rance series Flowers White Album 2 Little Busters I'm actually kind of saddened that these were the titles people most want licensed.
Or rather, it was so predictable it's kind of dull.
 
Hard copies are for people with money that live in countries that don't have horrendous import taxes, Down pls.
 
Lastly: Where's my Onii-chan Sharing!?

Huge update!
 
Miyako QC is at 100%!

 
All the routes and side routes have now been translated and QC'd. All that is left is to put them in a patch, and that shouldn't take long at all.
 
Look forward to it. 

Someone should make an anime where a demon has to kill a little girl, but ends up becoming her big brother instead, and the little girl calls him "Oni-chan."

That guy made mine too!

Merry Xmas! I like this hat craze, Fiddle helped add one to my pic!

Very well!
 

 
What a perfect fit!
 

Not sure if this is the right subforum to post this, but JAST is having a pretty good sale right now, up to 50% off, which brings a bunch of titles below $10.  Supposedly it'll last the whole week, not sure if that means til next Monday or just until the weekend.
 
http://www.jastusa.com/visual-novels-in-english.html
 
I think I have to pick up Steins; Gate at $22.49... Not sure what else though, I haven't played many JAST games.

...not sure I approve of this analogy. o_o

I should probably add to this thread rather than just posting pointless stuff, so here goes.
In that sense, h-scenes definitely have a negative effect on VNs - though I still wouldn't call it an one-sided negative effect. I agree with Zeno's idea of a 'mixed influence' in the way that the negative influence affects generally people outside of the niche group - not so much the ones inside of it, where you could argue it even has positive effects.
 
It's also probably unfair to blame the difficult approachability on h-content alone. People will find it weird for being Japanese already; the culture is different, with different standards and measures, and even if I take the erotic content out of the quesiton completely, I still think the general public will find it repulsive in one way or the other. In this way, perhaps the general public is to blame, not the medium itself?
 
I would also like to mention that judging h-scenes as a whole just on the bad examples (even if they are in the majority) is rather unfortunate. Sure, there are lots of VNs that have h-scenes just to fap, and there are story driven VNs with h-scenes shoehorned in so badly that they could do without them just fine - but there also exists VNs where the h-scenes are a very important, if not an integral part of the story/mechanics. Even if I disqualify euphoria for being a nukige through and through, there are other examples, like Subarashiki Hibi (where the h-scenes are used to portray just how crazy and bad things can get), Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi (where the h-scenes are an integral plot/concept point), or even the much more familiar Saya no Uta, which I would honestly rather read with the h content than without, too.
 
And just to make this clear, I am not a huge fan of h-scenes. I don't fap to them, and I generally have to fight the urge to skip them (and I sometimes do) - but I've learned that sometimes they just are good. Sometimes, they are just as important as the story itself. And even if they are complete trash shoehorned in just for the faps and cash-- if you got this far into eroge, which make up the majority of VNs, screaming about how inappropriate they are seems kind of silly to me. Also, let's be fair here, just as much as some people would like to deny it, visual novels aren't the only medium depicting sex out there. There are plenty of books, movies or even shows - and lots of those happen to be popular. I wonder why it's okay there, but not in VNs?

Okay then.
 
The idealization of the heroines in VNs tend to make them appear as likable as possible. Because if they aren't likable, who would play their routes, right? Now now, not all people play the routes based on the heroine's likability. Some just want to actually read what the game has prepared for them. For example, reading a route for the sake of completing a game. And there are those whose autism do not allow them to leave a VN with some routes not being read yet. I, for example.
 
But then again, the thread's topic is about the idealization of heroines and its appeal. Personally, I wouldn't give a damn about the heroine's purity and what not. It's the story itself that counts. I don't mind having a heroine with a crooked personality, so as long as her story is enough to explain what happened to her and give us a picture of what's currently happening to her. I wouldn't even mind ugly characters. You won't really see routes for ugly characters though, since, well, who'd buy a VN with ugly characters? That's the main selling point of a VN after all. I admit to looking at the art first before deciding to read a VN. However, what matters in the long run is not the art at all but the story.
 
Of course, we can't deny the effect of the idealization of heroines to a game's success in terms of income. A VN with good art tends to rake in a lot of money since, well, the heroines are beautiful. Since the majority of men have an acceptable amount of libido, they would generally choose to buy the VN with the better art. And of course, what better thing to do than give them perfect personalities as well! This will make the readers like the heroines, making them buy the possible fandisks as well. I just randomly assumed that. I don't have any data. But surely that should make sense. Why would you buy the fandisk if you didn't like the heroines? A reason like 'to read their epilogues' is acceptable though. As Clephas had said, this trend of making the perfect girls (lol powerpuff) is especially present in nakige/moege, both of which try to present their heroines to be as likable as possible. The only difference is that moege focuses more on "uguu~" and "kawaiiii", while nakige focuses on "omg why did this happen to the heroine she's such a good girl and yet ugh sdlsfdsifdsfdsfds" stuff. I think both are still achievable by flawed heroines though... But seeing that the main selling point of VNs are mostly the heroines, they tend to be perfect. Of course, there's always the brand name to back VNs up...
 
Well that's it from me for now.

Well, that was predictable.  I'm just amazed we made it to page 2 before Okami started calling everyone perverts.
 
Off- topic... but aren't you supposed to throw out bread if there's any mold you can see, since the roots go deeper than the visible part?

Well, that was predictable.  I'm just amazed we made it to page 2 before Okami started calling everyone perverts.
 
Off- topic... but aren't you supposed to throw out bread if there's any mold you can see, since the roots go deeper than the visible part?

What if I hate stories and hate hentai scenes?

I think this is a fantastic idea actually. Too often I've wondered if I should hate someone and I didn't want to put in the effort to read their posts to find out if my hate was justified. This will save me a ton of time and allow me to properly target those that disagree with me. 


Okami, you are a fucking genius. 

Let's keep the discussion away from what kind of people enjoy h-content (as per the OP and to avoid beating a dead horse like was done in the other topic) and instead focus on their place and impact in VNs.
 
 
 
 
 

I have contradicting views on H-scenes, I haven't been able to work out if I'm in favor of them or not overall.  I do think they have a strong negative impact on VNs becoming popular in the west, as it becomes associated with the social stigma of porn.  However, at the same time it likely buoys sales in Japan and helps keep the industry afloat.  If a novel is being imported, I think having the option to disable is a good call, but completely excising them MoeNovel style is a dealbreaker for me.
 
I don't specifically read stuff for H-scenes, and quite like some VNs without them (ex. S;G, Clannad), but for the right novel I still believe a well done H-scene can add a lot to immersion. If you've accumulated personal investment in the character over many hours of gameplay, the eventual H-scene can be a lot more enjoyable than just porn or a nukige. The problem there is the number of poorly done H-scenes, which can serve just as much to detract from immersion.  Besides just plain poorly written cliche ones, I hate when a H-scene pops up for no apparent reason that doesn't fit into the narrative or mood properly.  Another pet peeve is how 99% of VN girls are virgins, in this mystical world where beautiful girls never date anyone else until the protagonist shows up -- not only is this ridiculous, but it also leads invariably to the worst cliche scene, ever, the standard virgin sex scene which seriously reads like copy paste from a template.
 
So I kind of just rambled, but I guess my overall opinion sways positive toward the ideal H-scene, but negative in terms of either poor implementation or effect on VNs status in society.
 
Edit: Another thing that I just thought of -- clearly just from this thread, there is a lot of variation in how people feel about H-scenes and their place in various VNs.  There doesn't really need to be a unified answer to how the community feels, as VNs aren't uniform in their inclusion of H-scenes.  There are all-ages titles, eroges built around the romance and eventual H-scenes, action VNs with scenes added in as an afterthought, and just straight up nukiges.  People will naturally gravitate to the titles that fit their own preferences.  As said above, I personally dislike shoehorned in scenes and nukiges, but those have their own audience.
 
The best possible approach is just to be tolerant as consumers, and realize this is small enough of a community that something so easily ignored shouldn't be a deciding factor in overall enjoyment of VNs.  On the translating/development side, providing options to meet the variable demand is ideal-- this is where the option to flag scenes off is the best practice, but even in absence of that variation can be created just by different developers releasing titles that fall into different categories.

It is happening. I'll send the pm on day 3, we'll have it decided by the 5th and discussion will happen on the 9th and the 21th.

Not sure if this is the right subforum to post this, but JAST is having a pretty good sale right now, up to 50% off, which brings a bunch of titles below $10.  Supposedly it'll last the whole week, not sure if that means til next Monday or just until the weekend.
 
http://www.jastusa.com/visual-novels-in-english.html
 
I think I have to pick up Steins; Gate at $22.49... Not sure what else though, I haven't played many JAST games.

Not exactly an image, but not sure where else to post this.  Cutest thing ever.
 

What is an OELVN?
OELVN is an acronym that stands for Original English Language Visual Novel. If you're on Fuwanovel, you know what a visual novel is already. An OELVN is just that, but it's native language is English. An OELVN can be a commercial product, but a lot of them are actually free-to-play.
Why are you making this list?
Recently, I had to read an OELVN for the Fuwanovel review team. As someone with very little experience with that area of visual novels, I took to looking around the forums to get inspiration on what to read. Not surprisingly, there wasn't a real resource to be found on Fuwanovel that provided an excellent jumping point into that area of the medium. This was later brought up during brainstorming with the visual novels discussion moderating team and that provided me the impetus I needed to start this list.
What is this List?
As the title implies, this list aims to provide information on OELVNs that might be worth reading to you as a fan of the medium at large. I hope it'll be a good jumping point for those in the Fuwanovel community who want to read OELVNs, but don't know where to begin. As well, I hope it might also spark some curiosity for those who might have little-to-no interest in OELVNs.  This will be by no means a comprehensive list. It is one put together through the generous input of a handful of Fuwanovelers and through other resources and reviews that I could find on the internet.
What do you mean by 'notable'?
This is not an exact qualification. I'm taking titles that have interesting sounding narratives, favorable critical reception, or professional quality production value and putting them together in a list that will hopefully be of interest to those interested in starting to read OELVNs. Some titles on this list will be commercial works, others will be free.
Why are you writing this list?
It's true that I myself have very limited experience with OELVNs, and I'm not the most comfortable putting together a list like this that doesn't rely heavily on personal recommendations, but it's a good chance for me to maybe discover new things to read as well as share what I find with the community.
 
Now, without further ado...
 
 
 
The Fuwanovel List of Notable OELVNS

 
Air Pressure by Bento Smile
Notable Tags: Only a Single Heroine, Multiple Endings, Lots of Choices
This one is really short, but it has impact. Saying anything more might ruin the experience for you, it might be better to make the connections yourself.
Where to play: Kongregate (online), Official Site (download)
 
Analogue: A Hate Story by Christine Love
Notable Tags: Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction
If you keep up with visual novels, you're likely at least marginally aware of Christine Love and her works. Analogue: A Hate Story is an interesting work, putting you (the player) in the seat as a character in the novel, unraveling the grim details of what befell the crew of the Mugunghwa. If you are finding yourself put off by the art, you shouldn't let that stop you. It is an excellent story, with an interesting narrative device, that will likely leave some lingering feelings after all is said and done. You can find a demo here. The game has a direct sequel, Hate Plus: ~Mute's Golden Days~.
Where to buy: Steam, Desura
 
Autumn's Journey by Apple Cider
Notable Tags: Otome Game, Fantasy
This is a short one, clocking in at around an hour. The story and setting isn't my cup of tea, but it does have excellent production values. The art has a very professional luster and the music is excellent. There's really no downside to trying it out, it's free and the time commitment is minimal.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Bacchikoi! by BlackMonkey Pro
Notable Tags:  Shounen AI, Yaoi, Baseball Club, Lots of Event CGs
For those of you that enjoy boy love. This looks to have a really clean presentation. A bit pricey, particularly the uncensored version.
Where to buy: Official Site 
 
Bermuda by InvertMouse
Notable Tags: Linear Plot, Protagonist with Voice Acting
This is a visual novel crafted by our very own InvertMouse. It's fully voice acted, looks good, and has some pretty cool design choices for a visual novel. A demo can be found on his official site below.
Where to buy: Official Site
 
Cave! Cave! Deus Videt by We Are Muesli
Notable Tags: Lots of Choices, Minimalist Sprites
This looks pretty esoteric and weird, inspired by the works of Jheronimus Bosch. Might be worth a read if you're into that sort of thing.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Cinders by MoaCube & sakevisual
Notable Tags: Female Protagonist, Fairy Tale, Multiple Endings
Cinders is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, one that places an emphasis on the choice of the reader. The art assets look very nice and have a storybook charm, but there's some mixed reception. From what I can tell, it's on the short side. You can try a demo here.
Where to buy: Steam, Official Site
 
Clannad -The Past Path- by Scope Games
Notable Tags: Fan Fiction, 80's, Early Branching Plot, High Amount of Bad Endings
I haven't played this one, but I thought it would be worthwhile to mention it. It's an unofficial prequel to Clannad made in the Ren'py engine. It's free and the developer's site says it takes between 5-10 hours to 100%. Be warned, it does contain spoilers for Clannad.
Where to download: Ren'Ai Archive
 
Death  Rule: lost code by MESI Games
Notable Tags: Multiple Stories, Battle Royale, Third Person Narrative
Haven't played this one, but it's a death game story. The premise will probably either remain interesting or be very tiring for you by now. Might be worth checking out, it's free.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Digital: A Love Story by Christine Love
Notable Tags: Linear Plot, 80's, Internet
This is the spiritual predecessor to Analogue: A Hate Story, made for the NaNoRenO. It employs a similarly unconventional storytelling approach as Analogue: A Hate Story, with the narrative entirely unfolding through BBS conversations in the late 80's. It's a cool concept, the story is engaging, and it's free. If you plan on reading A Hate Story, consider reading this one first as some aspects of Hate Story will spoil the ending to Love Story.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Doki Doki no Obama by Chris Sommer
Notable Tags: Parody, Politics
This might seem like a joke suggestion, but I promise this game is actually fairly amusing. It's obviously not the most high-brow political satire, but it has more to it than you might actually expect. Try it out, it's free and pretty funny.
Where to download: 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest
 
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story by Christina Love
Notable Tags: LGBTQ, Teacher Protagonist, Adolescent Romance
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story is the spiritual sequel of sorts to Digital: A Love Story. One isn't necessary to understand the other however, so you can think of it as a stand alone work.  
Where to download: Official Site
 
Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos by Dischan Media
Notable Tags: Science Fiction, Female Protagonist
This is the first episode of the Dysfunctional Systems story, with the second one slated for some time this year. I adore the art style of this game and you can't really go wrong with the price point of $4.99.
Where to buy: Steam, Official Site
 
Jisei, Kansei, Yousei by sakevisual
Notable Tags: Murder Mystery, Superpowers
This is a trilogy about a teenager with the power to relive the final, dying moments of corpses. The games look nice enough, has a pretty decent premise, and from what I can tell, get progressively better as the series progresses. You can find a demo on the official site below. Also available for iOS.
Where to buy: Official Site
 
Juniper's Knot by Dischan Media
Notable Tags: Kinetic Novel, Multiple Protagonists, Demon Protagonist, Shota Protagonist
Another NaNoRenO game, this one is a story told from two different perspectives. The art is very slick and you can't go wrong with the price tag of free.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Katawa Shoujo by Four Leaf Studios
Notable Tags: Slice of Life, High School, Disabled Heroine
This one doesn't need any introduction. It's probably the most high-profile OELVN. Chances are you've already played this one, and if you haven't, you probably need to look no further on this list to find what to read.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade by Marcel Weyers & Lostwood LLC
Notable Tags: Episodic Story, Cyberpunk, Dark Fantasy, Dystopia, Bloody Scenes
An interesting premise and setting. It's an episodic game, with the 1st episode being free. They seem to be currently trying to fund the final episode.
Where to download/buy: Official Site
 
Long Live the Queen by Hanako Games
Notable Tags: Raising Simulation, Medieval Fantasy, Female Protagonist
It's hard to put into words just exactly why I enjoyed this game as much as I did. The art quality varies, topping out at alright and the music is pretty generic and forgettable. The "gamey" aspects of it lose value after a single play through. Reading it was fun though. Collecting all the ways the princess can die in an achievement collecting like fashion has a certain morbid charm to it and the setting is surprisingly grim. You can find a trial version on the official site below.
Where to buy: Steam, Official Site
 
Loren the Amazon Princes by Winter Wolves
Notable Tags: Medieval Fantasy, Fantasy,RPG
This is something of a visual novel/RPG hybrid, though. The RPG elements are a bit bland and the combat interface leaves a lot to the imagination, but it looks good, has an alright story, and it does have elements of character creation if you're into that sort of thing. The big downside is that the bundle that includes the dlc is a bit on the pricey side.
Where to buy: Steam, Official Website
 
Nicole by Winter Wolves
Notable Tags: Otome Game, Mystery, Raising Simulation, Dating Simulation
This one isn't really my kind of game, but it's worth mentioning. It looks kind of like your standard otome dating sim, but with the plus of having some great looking art assets. I've read that the writing is kind of cheesy, which could be a plus or negative depending on your tastes. On top of it all, there's supposed to be a yuri version of the game released at some point. You can find a demo on the official site below.
Where to buy: Steam, Official Site
 
RE: Alistair by sakevisual & Mugenjohncel
Notable Tags: Otome Game, Dating Simulation
Once again not exactly my kind of game, but the description makes it seem charming enough. The art looks decent enough, it's free, and its on the short side. Might be worth checking out.
Where to download: Official Site
 
Sunrider by Love in Space
Notable Tags: Science Fiction, Mecha Combat, Starship Combat, War
I'm currently playing through this one myself at the moment. The game looks nice in some select areas, but it is lacking in others and you may find certain 3D elements to be incongruent with the rest of the game. The story doesn't really seem that exceptional yet, but the game play is pretty decent and it's easily available on steam for the low time price of free.  
Where to buy/download: Steam
 
That Cheap and Sacred Thing by carosene
Notable Tags: Female Protagonist, Kinetic Novel, Science Fiction
This one comes in at around an hour and I found it surprisingly touching. It has some pretty interesting (if common) themes, but they might seem a bit underdeveloped due to the length of the game. Nevertheless, it's a cool setting with a story that's worth the read. Check it out, it's free.
Where to download: Lemma Soft
 
The Dandelion Girl by /jp/ project
Tags: Literary Adaptation, Time Travel, Kinetic Novel, Science Fiction, Adult Protagonist
This is a literary adaptation of a short story by Robert F. Young. It seems to have a decent reception. If you're into that sort of thing, check it out: it's free!
Where to download: VN-Meido 
 
The Elevator by Cyanide Tea
Notable Tags: Adult Protagonist, Detective Protagonist, Slice of Life
This is a free game that seems to be about a relatively simple, human story. I'm looking forward to setting aside the time to play it.
Where to download: Official Site
 
The Knife of the Traitor by Clua
Notable Tags: Female Protagonist, Mystery, God Hero
I included this on this list because of how interesting this title looks. The game's art and sense of style is eye-catching, the synopsis is very curious, and it's free and short. On the whole it looks like a charming title that's worth to try out.
Where to download: Lemma Soft
 
The Royal Trap by Hanako Games
Notable Tags: Proactive Protagonist, Otome Game, Intrigue
This one looks interesting. The art is decent, I actually hear the story is pretty good, and a premise of playing as a well-bred lady whose job it is to mold a prince into marriageable material is an intriguing premise. Throw in some court intrigue and I think this one is worth a look.
Where to buy: Official Site
 
The 39 Steps by The Story Mechanic
Notable Tags: Literary Adaptation, Interactive Adventure Game, Protagonist with Voice Acting, Crime
This is a curious title that never shows any of the characters on screen, but in its stead it's fully voice acted. An interesting concept. It is based on a book, which has a number of movie adaptations. From what I've heard, it's very faithful to its source material. 
Where to buy/download: Amazon, Steam
 
Witches & Woodlands by Jan-Poo
Notable Tags: Parody, Fan Ficion, Metafiction, Kinetic Novel
I thought this might be of interest as this is a free Umineko fan parody. From what I've heard, it's actually pretty funny.
Where to download: Official Site
 
X-Note by Zevia Inc
Notable Tags: Otome Game, Multiple Route Mystery, Murder Mystery
It's an interesting synopsis, looks pretty good, and the few reviews I've found for it seem to be in agreement that the story is at least solid, if not good. There is a demo available on the site below.
Where to buy: Official Site
 

 
Some titles you might want to keep an eye out for in the future:
Exogenesis - this one has really caught my curiosity.
Lucid9
Huniepop - I'm far more excited for this one than I probably should be.
Queen At Arms
Violet Hill
Waxwing
 
Notable sites, tools, and resources:
Planet EVN - a regularly updated blog about OELVNs
Lemma Soft - discussion and development boards for visuals novels, datings sims, and story based games.
Ren'Ai Archive - archive games made with the Ren'Py engine, a free software engine to build visual novels. Be weary, there's a lot of stuff in there that ranges from not-so-good to shit.
Steam: Visual Novels
Visual Novel Database
 
Change Log:



 
 
This list will continue to be a work in progress. I'm looking to further expand on it as I discover new titles and new games are released. If you have any suggestions on something to add or would like to point out something I glaringly missed, feel free to do so. Once again, this isn't a definitive, comprehensive list. It's not a list of 10 out of 10 games. They're "notable." You might find them interesting as fans of visual novels, you might even love them, but your mileage will vary.
 
Credits: My thanks to Rooke, Ryechu, InvertMouse, and Down for their input in putting together this list.

A steins;gate discussion without me? impossibru!