Is romance necessary?

[alden_0023]

Dude, I'm 17 and haven't even started dating. Visual novel seems to be the only salvation...

Haha.. I'm 18 and though I've dated someone once, as of the moment, I am losing interest.. It just seems so bothersome..

I hope real life would just offer choices like VNs do.. Then, life would be much more interesting ^^

[Steve]

Dude, I'm 17 and haven't even started dating. Visual novel seems to be the only salvation...

yep, don't even bother trying, its not wort the effort - you have more fun and emotions in VNs and those are effortless, especially with fuwanovel where you have it prepatched and preinstalled

And when my family asks me when do I plan on finding someone and starting new family and having kids, I just tell them that I am trying to save the world, overpopulation is one of the biggest problems on this planet and the only peaceful way to solve it by not producing additional living beings.

which means: VNs will save the world! (and lolis too )

[Kygrykhon]

I hope real life would just offer choices like VNs do.. Then, life would be much more interesting ^^

Actually, it does, it just that a choice costs much, much more. And sometimes there's no choice when we actually want to have them...

And when my family asks me when do I plan on finding someone and starting new family and having kids, I just tell them that I am trying to save the world, overpopulation is one of the biggest problems on this planet and the only peaceful way to solve it by not producing additional living beings.

which means: VNs will save the world! (and lolis too :P/> )

It's very kind of you to seek a peaceful way for it. But we already have wars.

[Steve]

It's very kind of you to seek a peaceful way for it. But we already have wars.

well its been a long time since world war and not even those manage to reduce population by that much, there still are wars but those do not have almost any impact on population growth in the large scale.

I'm not any historian but from what I know the only real way in history when population was actually reduced greatly were plagues (that could reduce whole population to half in few years) and huger.

here you can see the plague in 14th century and its impact.

Well not sure how we got to plagues now from romance but well :)/>

[Kygrykhon]

From that graph, it's even scarier how population can be multiplied from the year 1800 to 2000 than the plague that reduce 50% of population. Wars are not meant to reduce; only to control...

And steve, I think we're off-topic..

[俊 (Jun)]

yep, don't even bother trying, its not wort the effort - you have more fun and emotions in VNs and those are effortless, especially with fuwanovel where you have it prepatched and preinstalled :P/>

And when my family asks me when do I plan on finding someone and starting new family and having kids, I just tell them that I am trying to save the world, overpopulation is one of the biggest problems on this planet and the only peaceful way to solve it by not producing additional living beings.

which means: VNs will save the world! (and lolis too :P/> )

Then I will be your enemy, because I intend to have at least 2, or 3, MAYBE ANOTHER ACCIDENTAL 4 or 5. XD

Yo man, if I don't reproduce my dad's family name will be gone. D: (Unless my only recently married uncle, of 50 with someone of 30 is going to make babies hurr durr but I dunno, they live in a poor country)

Hmmm though I should really continue one of the VNs I've been playing.. too many of which there are still routes left that can't be left out. I'm thinking of Steins;Gate again.

Anyway, here's a question for everyone: In terms of romance, what would be your favorite character? (Of any VN)

[alden_0023]

Anyway, here's a question for everyone: In terms of romance, what would be your favorite character? (Of any VN)

Well, though I played only a few games, I'll say that I found a great deal of romance in Clannad, as well as Tomoyo Afterstory.. I guess you can guess who my favorite character in terms of romance is (*ahem! TOMOYO SAKAGAMI! *ahem!)

[Steve]

Then I will be your enemy, because I intend to have at least 2, or 3, MAYBE ANOTHER ACCIDENTAL 4 or 5. XD

Yo man, if I don't reproduce my dad's family name will be gone. D: (Unless my only recently married uncle, of 50 with someone of 30 is going to make babies hurr durr but I dunno, they live in a poor country)

I have my older brother for that xD

Anyway, here's a question for everyone: In terms of romance, what would be your favorite character? (Of any VN)

Well, it is hard deciding, I am in love with 2 girls (real love, trust me!), Kud from Little Busters and Mare from Hoshimemo, both are so awesome, but I will have to select Mare, because what she is.

(minor spoiler from hoshimemo, only beginning you will know soon anyway

because she is shinigami and will remain loli for eternity, where as Kud will probably eventually grow up from her loli appearance

)

[InvertMouse]

Anyway, here's a question for everyone: In terms of romance, what would be your favorite character? (Of any VN)

Mine would be Narcissu Side2nd's Himeko .

Oh wait, she's dead

.

In that case, I'd go with Yuka from the same game. She's never dated anyone before, but she's actually one of the nicest people around. What a waste. Nobody in the community really talks about her, either!

[Steve]

Mine would be Narcissu Side2nd's Himeko :D/>.

Oh wait, she's dead :(/>.

In that case, I'd go with Yuka from the same game. She's never dated anyone before, but she's actually one of the nicest people around. What a waste. Nobody in the community really talks about her, either!

narcissu spoiler

too bad that is exactly why I will never read that, once I was looking at something on vndb and enabled the spoiler in tags and then I didn't notice that I left it enabled and few hours later I looked at nacrissu and saw that tag and was like... "damn, now I can never read it". For me spoilers ruin the game and take almost all the enjoyment from it

I don't even download the soundtrack before I finish the game and actually experience it, because it can lower my enjoyment of the music in that situation.

I just want something to erase my memory with if something like massive spoiler happens, I might invest to some drugs for those cases, maybe if I quickly take it I will not remember it later xD

[InvertMouse]

narcissu spoiler

too bad that is exactly why I will never read that, once I was looking at something on vndb and enabled the spoiler in tags and then I didn't notice that I left it enabled and few hours later I looked at nacrissu and saw that tag and was like... "damn, now I can never read it". For me spoilers ruin the game and take almost all the enjoyment from it :(/> I don't even download the soundtrack before I finish the game and actually experience it, because it can lower my enjoyment of the music in that situation.

I just want something to erase my memory with if something like massive spoiler happens, I might invest to some drugs for those cases, maybe if I quickly take it I will not remember it later xD

Aw, that's really unfortunate . If it's the same spoiler I've included, though, I guess it's not a big deal, because you find out about that in the game's first half hour XD. Really hope you'll still read it! It's a masterpiece.

[Kygrykhon]

Mine would be Narcissu Side2nd's Himeko .

Oh wait, she's dead

.

I thought it was a minor spoiler but WHAT!? Is there really no other way? T.T

[Clephas]

There's another topic on this forum discussing whether H-scenes are necessary. On that thought, I'm wondering if romance at all is necessary. For example, in Ever17, not all routes result in the protagonist getting into a relationship. Instead, the focus is more on writing a great story.

So, here's the question. When you hear that a particular VN has no romance, do you become less interested, remain neutral, or perhaps even become more intrigued?

Just another random thought. In VNs, if you choose girl A, I think it'd be cool if girl B could perhaps end up with another guy instead. For instance, say in Little Busters, perhaps if you chose Komari, Rin would end up with Kyousuke or something. That just means more happy girls, which I'm always up for. Is this something you guys would be interested in, or would you prefer not? This probably should've been in another topic, but I'm trying to not spam the board :P/>.

Thanks guys B)/>.

Mmm... you have a thing for NTR?

In any case, games without romance are extremely rare, period. For that matter, plots without some sort of romance are almost non-existent. Now, if you rephrase the question of whether it is possible for a VN not to be focused on romance... the answer is yes. There are some VNs that don't have a focus on romance, but rather solely on the story. However, these are by far in the minority (I can only think of one or two off the top of my head) and tend to be niche within a niche as far as players of the medium are concerned. In addition, they are almost all released on consoles. The fact is, relationship drama is one of the central elements of human behavior... and that makes games easier to sell.

[Steve]

Mmm... you have a thing for NTR?

Actually recently I stumped across something that could be called MMONTR or at least NTR online, http://vndb.org/v10221

You create your dream character and then anyone online can NTR her, do all kinds of stuff with her and then leave a message in her phone you can read.

As for me I hate NTR, if it has NTR tag even in the slightest I try to avoid it as plague (back to plagues huh?).

But I get why people might like it.

For me the relationship has to go through all the romance full of blushing and stuff and I want her just for myself

So NTR is just pain for me and even if I would be the one doing the NTRing, I wouldn't have the romantic awesome stuff before which is the best.

[InvertMouse]

Clephas, I've never really played an NTR game so I'm not sure~ Not everyone's played 250+ games . I imagine it'd be an awful experience, though. Although, that would only work if the writers do an excellent job of making you care about the girl first. I would love to see it done right to a point where I really feel something. If anyone has titles to recommend, feel free to share . Though let's be honest, finding time to play VNs is a real challenge for me.

steverowland, I would rather not do the NTRing, either XD. If it's going to be romance, anyway, I prefer ones where there's no competition and just all love. The generic "this girl and I are meant to be" type of deal B).

[Steve]

steverowland, I would rather not do the NTRing, either XD. If it's going to be romance, anyway, I prefer ones where there's no competition and just all love. The generic "this girl and I are meant to be" type of deal B)/>.

yep, that's pretty much my attitude as well (and that's why I don't want any realism that would contrary to that in VNs xD)

How would I fell about a girl I truly love (so Kud[lb] or Mare[hoshimemo]) being NTRed? I would probably hate it so much I would just uninstall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCOfYnPdOcI

[fuzzion]

I don't think that romance is completly necessary if there is things to weight up for it like an amazing story but personaly I think I would feel a little sad if there was no romance at all.

Funny thing as I though romance was boring before and now it's the best thing I know. >.<

But personaly for me visual novels are created so it feels like you're connecting with the other characters and bond with them which make the whole feeling of the games amazing and if you remove the strongest bond (love) I think it would be less enjoyable for me but I don't know about the rest.

To the random thought. I would hate it if someone else hooked up with my favorite girl on an VN and would probably keep me from playing other routes as I would be a little jealous to be honest so I wouldn't really like it. It's fiction so everything should be perfect and the girls are only there for you :)/>

Steverowland I'm pretty much thinking the same, I've date some people but I don't really bother anymore. Ofcourse I won't say no if I find someone I truly like but I will leave that to chance as I'm very happy with the emotional stimulation I get from VNs and I would say that I'm a happier person after I started playing VNs.

Anyway, here's a question for everyone: In terms of romance, what would be your favorite character? (Of any VN)

For this question... I would go for my little devil Ilya from fate stay night. I'm soooooooo sad that she doesn't have a route.

My friends who have only watched the anime calls her a crazy bitch and don't like her. I say fuck them

[InvertMouse]

Nice Uninstall song there Steve XD.

fuzzion, yeah. It is true that seeing the bonds between characters will make any story appealing. Of course, that can be friendship and not romance. In fact, friendship is often more refreshing, because romance can often be forced in tales. Just some random thoughts :)/>.

I tell my friends I want to marry Himeko. They tell me she's dead. I say fuck them too B)/>.

[fuzzion]

Nice Uninstall song there Steve XD.

fuzzion, yeah. It is true that seeing the bonds between characters will make any story appealing. Of course, that can be friendship and not romance. In fact, friendship is often more refreshing, because romance can often be forced in tales. Just some random thoughts :)/>/>/>.

I tell my friends I want to marry Himeko. They tell me she's dead. I say fuck them too B)/>/>/>.

Yeah I feel that friendship can also be a very strong bond if it's done correct just like romance even though I think romance will probably always be my favorite.

I would say that clannad, majikoi and little busters are games who really have done the "friendship" part great.

But there are a lot of different bonds that I have felt strongly, some when I didn't really feel any "romance" feeling but still felt like they were really close. Would say it was some sort of blend between family, friend and romance. Strange thing anyways it's hard to explain.

[solidbatman]

I see it this way. Romance in a VN is like icing on a cake. There are some cakes that just aren't good without icing, while other cakes don't need icing to be delicious. Same with romance, certain story types don't necessarily need it while others have to have it. So, no it is not necessary in all cases. Ok, done with my terrible analogy. I'll go sit back in my corner now.

[Permagate]

Romance is not necessary. But if I have to choose between romance should exist or not, I will choose the former cause love makes the world goes around. Regarding NTR, I have no qualm reading that, but it tends to be a hit-or-miss approach. If written wonderfully, it can incite a depressing plot that is heart-wrenching. Though so far, the fictions that I really like the NTR element are in fanfiction or manga, I haven't found a good NTR VN yet (maybe Biniku no Kaori in the future).