VN against Loneliness

[WhyCantWeBeFriends?]

Hey guys,

i only played 2 visual novels before. Phoenix Wright when i was 13 and didnt know what VNs were, and last week i played Doki Doki Literature Club.

I was amazed how close the charackters grew on me, in contrast to other video games. As im currently in treadment for depression, and i really dont leave my flat very often i am alone a lot of the time. Im looking for a VN that can "cure" that loneliness a bit. Relatable Charackters that i will love and i want to get to know and a very immersive world. Id be very happy if you could help me find something. I cant read japanese, so it should be something translated.

I dont care too much for a specific Genre or Setting.

Thanks in advance.

Edited October 28, 2017 by WhyCantWeBeFriends?

[PapaRabbi]

Read Majikoi. The friendship dynamic there is really great and heartwarming

Edited October 28, 2017 by PapaRabbi

[NowItsAngeTime]

18 minutes ago, PapaRabbi said:

Read Majikoi. The friendship dynamic there is really great and heartwarming at times

Seconding this

[Nandemonai]

Let's see.  You want a strong cast of likeable characters?  And genre doesn't matter? In no particular order, there is Chrono Clock, Kindred Spirits, Steins;Gate (and the sequel S;G 0), Persona 3-4, Demonbane, Koihime Musou, Littlewitch Romanesque, Tokyo Babel, Princess Evangile (Konomi and Ruriko by themselves ought to work out well, some of the others are kind of bland), Chou Dengeki Stryker, and A Kiss For The Petals New Gen.

Oh, and if you like RPGs, then you should also check out Recettear and the Trails series (Trails in the Sky / Trails of Cold Steel - 1st 3, and 1st game of 3rd arc, are on Steam).

[Dergonu]

I also second Majikoi, it sounds like a perfect fit for what you're looking for.

[Benji Price]

Agree with Majikoi.

Maybe Da Capo III could also fit, taking:

Spoiler

The promise of reunion the characters made at the cherry blossom tree. 

Although you may not understand part of the story (which is very good regardless) without reading Da Capo I and II beforehand.

[mitchhamilton]

katawa shoujo. its about a young man sent away to a new school after months of feeling completely alone and discovers love and friends in the new environment. the art is nice, the writing is great and so is the music. the music is very soothing to the ears.

[Akshay]

All recommendations are in bold~

You have only read two vn's both which are not very traditional nor long. And neither have h-content.

Since you liked phoenix wright with its game play elements, fast pacing, and you want somewhat good development, try anything made by spike chuunisoft

i.e. Danganronpa, 999 (These are NOT heartwarming, nor do they combat loneliness, but as someone who enjoyed the phoenix wright series, this is something that you will probably enjoy.)

You liked doki doki, which was pretty unique among VN's

If you want some heart warming sweet stories (that are also reasonably short), go for nekopara, and corona blossom (both which can be played without h-content)

If you don't mind the h-content, and a VN quite a bit longer (easily 50+ hrs if you are just starting out) you must definitely try the above mentioned Majikoi (some of the best world building, immersive experiences). If you don't mind psychological problems, (though far far more developed than doki doki, try Grisaia (No matter the situation, I cannot recommend the non-h version)

If you want something more casual (slice of life/mostly happy),other than majikoi you could also check out Princess Evangelion (its not great to be honest though). If you don't mind a steam-punk type world, check out liar-soft titles like Gahkthun of the golden lightning (it is Dark, but there are several really nice moments. One of my favorite couples is from here)

Overdrive games try to blend a good amount of comedy and characters. Kirari's cuteness will take your loneliness away!

Try Kirakira or Deardrops. Dengeki Stryker is awesome as well.

If you are new to VN's, try to start with the smaller, more casual ones at first. When you are more comfortable with them as a whole move on to the bigger ones.

While you may be unnerved by the h-content in these VN's. (Assuming you didn't find VN's from ecchi anime/hentai). You will find that a lot of these are unbelievably good stories, so give them a chance regardless.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Akshay

[WhyCantWeBeFriends?]

Thank you all very much for your time and effort, i really appriciate this!

@Nandemonai i played persona 4 and 5 and loved them didnt come to my mind that they could be VNs though. I have Steins:gate for ps3 lyring around somewhere... maybe thats a good start for a more exciting VN.

@Akshay Thank you very much. You put very much effort and thought into your post I dont really mind the H scenes, from time to time it seems "weird" to me that a lot of VN seem to be pure and then have H scenes, but who am i to judge. i can still skip them if i dont like. So many people here recommended Majokoi, but Grisaia sounds REALLY interesting, too. I think ill choose between these two for now thanks again <3

 

[URV]

I would also recommend Little Busters! Some other Key titles such as Clannad and Rewrite might also work, though do note that all of these might reportedly make you a little bit sad at some points.

Edited October 28, 2017 by URV

[Nandemonai]

Steins;Gate is pretty much exactly what you said you wanted: great characters that you'll really get to know over the course of the game.

H-scenes are a thing, though.  Of the VNs that I listed, Steins;Gate is all-ages (I mean, it's on Playstation).  Tokyo Babel is also all-ages.  All the others, except 3, are h-games, but also have a non-H version available.

Koihime Musou is a huge game, so even though H is a pretty small part of it overall, there's still a lot of it.  Kindred Spirits is so tame that it could be put on Steam 100% as-is with no censorship, but it's technically adult.  And Demonbane is really low on H as well.  Those are the 3 I mentioned that don't have a non-H version.  I have no idea if that matters to you or not.

[WhyCantWeBeFriends?]

@URV I watched the Clannad Anime a year or so ago and loved it. Though it confused me that in the second season there was more a less a VN-Mechanik "build" into the story. I think id like to read something ive never read before. Rewrite looks interesting too. That wont make my decion easier. Thank you!

[Akshay]

39 minutes ago, WhyCantWeBeFriends? said:

from time to time it seems "weird" to me that a lot of VN seem to be pure and then have H scenes,

Yes. A lot of the VN's h-content can be very abrupt. This is exceptionally bad in key VN's (Kanon, Air)  works, where they can be talking about furniture, and then randomly compare the spilt water on the floor to the beauty of a girl, and then have random sex. It actually kills the mood. Thankfully, most Key releases, nowadays are without H.

The first and only censoring I am grateful for.

Majikoi's h has a lot more buildup and is better than most as far as h goes. The protag has a certain fetish however.

In grisaia some of the h is actually relevant to the plot. 

Overall I liked grisaia more, but that's mostly because I'm a sucker for that kind of plot. I like deep psychological issues, and the writing is really good.

Majikoi undoubtedly has the better world though. And the slice of lifey interactions, and friendship based themes are also far stronger here, They are both unbelievably excellent VN's, so check out both of them. The order doesn't really matter.

39 minutes ago, WhyCantWeBeFriends? said:

I played persona 4 and 5 and loved them

Personally I thought, Persona 3 had the best story. (Minato ftw). If you haven't played it but liked the other two I strongly recommend you check it out.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Akshay

[WhyCantWeBeFriends?]

That sounds even funny But it would kill my mood too, yes.

 

I think, from what i read and saw ill choose Grisaia first (i really dig the art style, too). Ill let you know how i liked it!

 

Thank you very much again

[Akshay]

5 minutes ago, WhyCantWeBeFriends? said:

 

I think, from what i read and saw ill choose Grisaia first (i really dig the art style, too). Ill let you know how i liked it!

Nice. Make sure you play the UNRATED version. The steam version has censored more than porn. It has removed significant amounts of dialog, jokes and implied innuendo, all which made the VN far more interesting to read. (this game is easily 50+ hrs long with a very long common route. It only gets truly amazing after you have read the actual routes)

Their are 3 parts Kajitsu, Meikyu and Rakuen.

The second part ends on a cliff hanger so don't read it unless you have acquired a copy of the final part. 

The first part is fully self contained and can be read alone.

It is also the best part~

Happy Reading!

Edited October 28, 2017 by Akshay

[URV]

I definitely support going for Grisaia. I enjoyed a good portion of its comedy and characters, and it can have some fairly interesting plot past the common route. Enjoy!

[littleshogun]

Sorry for late coming here, but I think it's still no late for some recommendation here I suppose.

Anyway, as for relatable character I guess it would be very subjective matter. But if you need some VN with good casts, then I think both of Wagahigh and HatsuKoi should be a good picks. If you want a gameplay VN, then perhaps you could try both of Kamidori and Yumina the Ethereal. For the last recommendations here I could recommend something like Kara no Shoujo duology considering that it was like Phoenix Wright in term of investigation, although the ending might be too harsh for you though if you in depression treatment.

That's all for the belated recommendation here, and hope it would be help.

[Okarin]

I would avoid nakige, because depression can be tricky with sad scenes, and they're a-plenty in those games. For example, take Little Busters: the protag goes around solving the heroines' problems, and they're not nice.

I think you should focus on heartwarming stories, and they're plentiful in VNs, some have been mentioned.

[WhyCantWeBeFriends?]

@Okarin/ilittleshogun thank you both, too. sadness is not an issue for me more so a lack of feeling emotions. so maybe nakige isnt bad at all :D?

[FinalCloud]

I 100% get the feeling bro, but dont forget, VN's will not combat loneliness, only provide you escape from it. Enjoy your escape from it, but remember to confront it when you are up for it.

I would also give a +1 for Clannad and Clannad After Story

Edit: Nvm you already watched the anime, altho if you liked Tomoyo, there is an after story for her, which I hear is very good (altho I havent tried it myself, it is on my todo list!)

Edited October 28, 2017 by FinalCloud

[Guest]

I'm late to the party but here's my VN recommenations: DRAMAtical Murder (Heart-warming common route and a lot of good routes, Medium Lenght 10-35h, 35h if you're a slow reader), Tsukihime, have a impressive world and a lot of likeable characters, all the routes are pretty awesome (even though you may not like the fact that using a recommended route order for games like this is better to avoid spoilers and for the full understanding of the plot.) also if you're gonna read Tsukihime I recommend watching the Kara no Kyoukai movies first, since they're kind of a base to the Multiverse that Tsukihime belongs (Long Lenght 30-55h),  Fate/Stay Night a lot of world building, pretty awesome moments, VERY long routes (Easily 24h each) even though there are just three of them, I recommend reading Fate after Tsukihime since they share a setting, and Tsukihime introduce a lot of terms that would later used in Fate (Very Long Lenght 50h or more), want something shorter? try Sound of Drop, a short 2-11h Visual Novel about Mystery, the Mystery is kind of good and the interactions between the characters is also pretty decent, even though a recommend route order is better for the full enjoyment of the story. Want something easier to read withou much complexity you could try this 3h VN on steam called Trick and Treat - Visual Novel,  it's short and can be a easy Visual Novel to read for beginners. Want something that have romance? Try some Moeges and Charages like Dacapo, Dal Segno, Chrono Clock. Want a horror+Mystery series, Try the Corpse Party series. Want something very short? Try Charon Games like Mikoto Nikki, Mix Ore, Yanderella, Makoto Mobius (My fav), You, me and empty worlds, The Dark Side of Red Hidding Hood, Millefiori (Mix Ore Prequel), Shihori Escape and Tsukimi Planet.

[r0xm2n]

If My Heart Had Wings is high school slice of life comedy, that is pretty light hearted. Some of the flying scenes are breathtaking too, and so is some of the music. Has a patch for sex scenes too (if you're interested).

Grisaia no Kajitsu https://vndb.org/v5154 is a VN I will almost always recommend. It's also a high school slice of life, that is light hearted (at first). The characters and writing had me laughing a lot, and they are a pretty endearing lot. Bring some tissues though (you may need them when you read into the backstories of the other students, which can get pretty tense). Honestly, you may as well get the unrated version (or the patch). Game is fanservice and smutty enough even without it.