kotorizawa724 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I want to get into more romance VN/eroge but am very picky about art quality. I really like the art of all the tone work's games (e.g., Hatsukoi, Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai, Gin'iro Haruka, etc.), and I like the scenarios for those games as well. I thought these would be a dime a dozen but I'm shocked I haven't been able to find more games like this to my liking. I'm currently playing Windmill Cosmos' Ichizuna Kanojo to Koi Shitai (both Kyoka and Runa versions) and I LOVE the art for these games. Exactly what I'm looking for when I say something comparable to tone work's. Unfortunately, this company has only put out these two games so far (and the art of the parent company's games is not nearly as good imo). I would prefer a modern Japan setting, but really anything realistic is fine. I'm not really into fantasy, action, etc. But may be willing to make an exception if the art/romance is really good. I also don't need the games to be translated. I read VN for Japanese study and want to play the games in the original. Any recommendations fitting this criteria would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 34 minutes ago, kotorizawa724 said: I want to get into more romance VN/eroge but am very picky about art quality. I really like the art of all the tone work's games (e.g., Hatsukoi, Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai, Gin'iro Haruka, etc.), and I like the scenarios for those games as well. I thought these would be a dime a dozen but I'm shocked I haven't been able to find more games like this to my liking. I'm currently playing Windmill Cosmos' Ichizuna Kanojo to Koi Shitai (both Kyoka and Runa versions) and I LOVE the art for these games. Exactly what I'm looking for when I say something comparable to tone work's. Unfortunately, this company has only put out these two games so far (and the art of the parent company's games is not nearly as good imo). I would prefer a modern Japan setting, but really anything realistic is fine. I'm not really into fantasy, action, etc. But may be willing to make an exception if the art/romance is really good. I also don't need the games to be translated. I read VN for Japanese study and want to play the games in the original. Any recommendations fitting this criteria would be appreciated! It needs to be said that Tone Works is pretty much the only company that has ever done romance VNs as extensive and detailed as their games. It is the reason why they have such a solid following. In terms of artwork, 80% of all slice-of-life commercially-made games have that quality of artwork (it is pretty much standard for the course) post-2012. Except for nitpicking details, there really isn't anything to choose from. Komorebi no Nostalgica comes to mind, for sheer emotional impact and depth of the romance. However, it also has a philosophical aspect that some people might have trouble with, so I'll leave the choices to you. Haru to Yuki is also a good choice, if you don't mind it being generally somber in atmosphere. The romance is highly emotional but if you don't want a fantasy element in the story, you should go elsewhere. (more like this is if you don't mind it, otherwise I won't barrage you with suggestions of the same type) Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru, Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco, and Love Rec by Alcot are straight-out slice-of-life romances that draw out the emotions. Natsuiro Recipe is 'comfort food' slice-of-life romance based in a Japanese country setting. Any game by Clochette will have good romance and humorous character interactions, with various levels of fantasy or sci-fi depending on the game. If you are in the mood for tragic romance in a unique future setting, Sakura, Sakimashita is an excellent choice. It is based in a future where people discovered how to become ageless using genetic engineering, and where all humans have the right to become so. However, due to the appearance of a planet-destroying asteroid, the previously ageless 'tokoshie' people (including the protagonist and the heroines) are forced to face the reality of their own mortality, while they seek to make the best of the time they have left. Lovesick Puppies Izayoi Fortuna Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no LarryJimenez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kotorizawa724 Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, Clephas said: It needs to be said that Tone Works is pretty much the only company that has ever done romance VNs as extensive and detailed as their games. It is the reason why they have such a solid following. In terms of artwork, 80% of all slice-of-life commercially-made games have that quality of artwork (it is pretty much standard for the course) post-2012. Except for nitpicking details, there really isn't anything to choose from. Komorebi no Nostalgica comes to mind, for sheer emotional impact and depth of the romance. However, it also has a philosophical aspect that some people might have trouble with, so I'll leave the choices to you. Haru to Yuki is also a good choice, if you don't mind it being generally somber in atmosphere. The romance is highly emotional but if you don't want a fantasy element in the story, you should go elsewhere. (more like this is if you don't mind it, otherwise I won't barrage you with suggestions of the same type) Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru, Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco, and Love Rec by Alcot are straight-out slice-of-life romances that draw out the emotions. Natsuiro Recipe is 'comfort food' slice-of-life romance based in a Japanese country setting. Any game by Clochette will have good romance and humorous character interactions, with various levels of fantasy or sci-fi depending on the game. If you are in the mood for tragic romance in a unique future setting, Sakura, Sakimashita is an excellent choice. It is based in a future where people discovered how to become ageless using genetic engineering, and where all humans have the right to become so. However, due to the appearance of a planet-destroying asteroid, the previously ageless 'tokoshie' people (including the protagonist and the heroines) are forced to face the reality of their own mortality, while they seek to make the best of the time they have left. Lovesick Puppies Izayoi Fortuna Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no Thanks for the quick (and detailed) response! This is great and I will look into these. Speaking to your first sentence, why is it that tone work's is kind of in a league of their own? I've heard others express this opinion before, and I find it baffling that no company has attempted to compete with tone work's' style? (I've also heard that tone work's is kind of in bad shape right now and has no prospective games on the horizon . . . is that true?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 32 minutes ago, kotorizawa724 said: Thanks for the quick (and detailed) response! This is great and I will look into these. Speaking to your first sentence, why is it that tone work's is kind of in a league of their own? I've heard others express this opinion before, and I find it baffling that no company has attempted to compete with tone work's' style? (I've also heard that tone work's is kind of in bad shape right now and has no prospective games on the horizon . . . is that true?) It needs to be understood that the mainstream of romance/slice-of-life as a genre (often referred to as moege/charage in the case of JVNs) are games that run around ten to twenty hours for a native reader. To put that into perspective, Tone Works games, to complete all the paths, are expected to hit 40 to 60 hours depending on an individual's reading speed. Because of the size of their games (which meant more cg artwork, more lines written, more development time, etc) it cost them more to make them than the rest of the industry. In addition, mainstream readers were not necessarily interested in extensive heroine routes that run well into adulthood. This meant fewer sales and a longer development cycle. Making things worse is the collapse of the JVN market that began around 2019 and was massively accelerated by Covid-19 (and the financial impact it had on the people who normally bought those games) and you have a post-Covid JVN market that has MAYBE three non-nukige VN releases per month (there are times when it is only one)... and most of those are not comparable with games before covid in most cases. To further put that into perspective, at the height of the JVN market, it wasn't uncommon for nine or ten non-nukige VNs to get released in a single month. They wouldn't necessarily be good, but there was usually something worth mentioning coming out. Tone Works went silent shortly after it made its final release (a repackaging of Hoshi Ori) halfway through the epidemic, and it hasn't done anything since. A lot of companies suffered a similar fate during the epidemic, making final releases then going quiet, their sites vanishing or lacking any activity whatsoever as their parent companies likely made hard decisions to cut staff and projects to save money. Edit: There is hope for the company itself, since its parent is still alive. However, I wouldn't hold out much hope for the original staff as a whole, as they were probably let go or redistributed to its other subsidiaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kotorizawa724 Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 22 hours ago, Clephas said: It needs to be understood that the mainstream of romance/slice-of-life as a genre (often referred to as moege/charage in the case of JVNs) are games that run around ten to twenty hours for a native reader. To put that into perspective, Tone Works games, to complete all the paths, are expected to hit 40 to 60 hours depending on an individual's reading speed. Because of the size of their games (which meant more cg artwork, more lines written, more development time, etc) it cost them more to make them than the rest of the industry. In addition, mainstream readers were not necessarily interested in extensive heroine routes that run well into adulthood. This meant fewer sales and a longer development cycle. Making things worse is the collapse of the JVN market that began around 2019 and was massively accelerated by Covid-19 (and the financial impact it had on the people who normally bought those games) and you have a post-Covid JVN market that has MAYBE three non-nukige VN releases per month (there are times when it is only one)... and most of those are not comparable with games before covid in most cases. To further put that into perspective, at the height of the JVN market, it wasn't uncommon for nine or ten non-nukige VNs to get released in a single month. They wouldn't necessarily be good, but there was usually something worth mentioning coming out. Tone Works went silent shortly after it made its final release (a repackaging of Hoshi Ori) halfway through the epidemic, and it hasn't done anything since. A lot of companies suffered a similar fate during the epidemic, making final releases then going quiet, their sites vanishing or lacking any activity whatsoever as their parent companies likely made hard decisions to cut staff and projects to save money. Edit: There is hope for the company itself, since its parent is still alive. However, I wouldn't hold out much hope for the original staff as a whole, as they were probably let go or redistributed to its other subsidiaries. This is excellent context; thanks! Though also quite sad. Do you see the JVN market making a recovery in the coming years? I really hope tone work's releases another game at some point! (Though I still need to get around to Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou.) Speaking of nukige, are there any worthwhile looking into that meet the criteria I mentioned? Obviously the romance depth is not going to be the same, but they can be light fun too. I have played one of Frill's games before (the one about the baseball manager) and I liked the art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Nukige that are also worthwhile romantic-wise: Erect; Sakura Iro Quartet; Prima Stella; Sara Sara Sasara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kotorizawa724 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 On 1/3/2024 at 12:49 AM, Clephas said: Nukige that are also worthwhile romantic-wise: Erect; Sakura Iro Quartet; Prima Stella; Sara Sara Sasara Thanks! I looked these up (along with your previous recommendations) and I noticed that several, if not most, of these 10+ years old. Do you have a preference for older JVN, or are newer ones not considered very good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 41 minutes ago, kotorizawa724 said: Thanks! I looked these up (along with your previous recommendations) and I noticed that several, if not most, of these 10+ years old. Do you have a preference for older JVN, or are newer ones not considered very good? No, it is more that nukige that actually have something approaching a romance story stopped existing shortly afterward. The two 'umbrella genres' only became more and more strictly split as time passed. There weren't that many hybrids in the first place, but at some point they just started specializing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryJimenez Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) On 1/2/2024 at 7:24 AM, Clephas said: It needs to be said that Tone Works is pretty much the only company that has ever done romance VNs as extensive and detailed as their games. It is the reason why they have such a solid following. In terms of artwork, 80% of all slice-of-life commercially-made games have that quality of artwork (it is pretty much standard for the course) post-2012. Except for nitpicking details, there really isn't anything to choose from. Komorebi no Nostalgica comes to mind, for sheer emotional impact and depth of the romance. However, it also has a philosophical aspect that some people might have trouble with, so I'll leave the choices to you. Haru to Yuki is also a good choice, if you don't mind it being generally somber in atmosphere. The romance is highly emotional but if you don't want a fantasy element in the story, you should go elsewhere. (more like this is if you don't mind it, otherwise I won't barrage you with suggestions of the same type) Soshite Hatsukoi ga Imouto ni Naru, Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco, and Love Rec by Alcot are straight-out slice-of-life romances that draw out the emotions. Natsuiro Recipe is 'comfort food' slice-of-life romance based in a Japanese country setting. Any game by Clochette will have good romance and humorous character interactions, with various levels of fantasy or sci-fi depending on the game. If you are in the mood for tragic romance in a unique future setting, Sakura, Sakimashita is an excellent choice. It is based in a future where people discovered how to become ageless using genetic engineering, and where all humans have the right to become so. However, due to the appearance of a planet-destroying asteroid, the previously ageless 'tokoshie' people (including the protagonist and the heroines) are forced to face the reality of their own mortality, while they seek to make the best of the time they have left. Lovesick Puppies Izayoi Fortuna Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no Thanks for explaining in brief, I appreciate you for giving us your time Edit: I must recommend everyone to read it thoroughly, it is very informative. Edited April 12 by LarryJimenez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4n_11 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 On 1/2/2024 at 1:59 AM, kotorizawa724 said: I want to get into more romance VN/eroge but am very picky about art quality. I really like the art of all the tone work's games (e.g., Hatsukoi, Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai, Gin'iro Haruka, etc.), and I like the scenarios for those games as well. I thought these would be a dime a dozen but I'm shocked I haven't been able to find more games like this to my liking. I'm currently playing Windmill Cosmos' Ichizuna Kanojo to Koi Shitai (both Kyoka and Runa versions) and I LOVE the art for these games. Exactly what I'm looking for when I say something comparable to tone work's. Unfortunately, this company has only put out these two games so far (and the art of the parent company's games is not nearly as good imo). I would prefer a modern Japan setting, but really anything realistic is fine. I'm not really into fantasy, action, etc. But may be willing to make an exception if the art/romance is really good. I also don't need the games to be translated. I read VN for Japanese study and want to play the games in the original. Any recommendations fitting this criteria would be appreciated! If you find some good english ones recommend em to me, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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