Looking for some VN with gameplay

[Decay]

I can get bit of a picture thanks.

 

But... so do you hate them equally? Or do you hate one more than the other?

I hate Sengoku Rance more but that's just because of my personal tastes. Koihime Musou is utterly inoffensive because it's so boring. Whereas I strongly dislike Rance as a protagonist and most of the h-scenes. If I am to view them objectively, I can see why people with certain senses of humor or proclivities enjoy Sengoku Rance, but I can't imagine very many people enjoying Koihime. Well, whatever the case, you certainly shouldn't get it for the gameplay. Maybe get it for the comedy factor of seeing Zhuge Liang be some extremely nervous little girl who freaks out all the time.  If you're not a Three Kingdoms fan who can't appreciate things like that then there probably won't be anything to enjoy about it.

[RaaiK]

DanganRonpa 2 is coming out later this year, so it might be the right time to catch up.  Same goes for Corpse Party (BloodDrive coming out really soon), though only in Japanese (and on the Vita).

 

Since you played Sengoku Rance, why not try more games from the Rance series?

 

I've played Rance I , II, III, VI(Sengoku) until now, but I wanted a change of peace, some different characters/genre. Sadly, for the other games, I can't read Japanese so that's kind of... you know . Since the protagonist usually doesn't talk and there's a lot of text without voice, I'm going to miss a lot of the plot.

Daibanchou Big bang Age is a nice one to try out If you've played sengoku rance.

 

Hehe, I placed it really high on my "what to play next" list.  

How does   Koihime Musou rank with Sengoku Rance?

 

Sengoku Rance is like my favorite gameplay VN ever. Addictive combat and a hilarious MC. 

 

Sengoku Rance > Koihime Musou. While the character development in Koihime Musou is richer, but it's downfall would be the battle system, your enemy will do the same thing, again and again which makes it really easy and boring from a point. Also, the story in KM is linear, the same events are going to happen no matter which characters you develop your affection with, of course it's different at the last event depending on the 3 main ones. I enjoyed both Koihime Musou and Sengoku Rance, but I still have to finish the Isoroku Route on Sengoku Rance and I still enjoy the game at it's fullest.

 

A warning for Yumina the Ethereal. Has a big JRPG element, which means you will be grinding your level for hours in order to beat the boss fights....

-Yes, Tears to Tiara has gameplay. Kinda of a real time strategy/tactic

-Sekien no Inganock has mini games, if that counts

-So does Shikkoku no Sharnath

- War of the Human Tanks

- Princess Waltz (loved this one)

- Gadget Trial  (Hilarious)

 

That's all i can think of at the moment....

I got Yumina yesterday night and I've played it for 2-3h already, it's enjoyable. I did't mind the grinding in Kamidori, I don't think I will mind it here either but.. it gets really annoying in battles when they have the same dialogues when you use a skill. 

I will add the games to my list, thanks a lot!

[Funyarinpa]

 

 

999

Virtue's Last Reward

 

I cannot second this enough! (VLR is my all-time favorite video game, so...)

 

Also, it is just a JRPG with VN elements as far as I know, but Persona 4 Golden for PS Vita is critically acclaimed, just so you know.

[crunchytaco]

I hate Sengoku Rance more but that's just because of my personal tastes. Koihime Musou is utterly inoffensive because it's so boring. Whereas I strongly dislike Rance as a protagonist and most of the h-scenes. If I am to view them objectively, I can see why people with certain senses of humor or proclivities enjoy Sengoku Rance, but I can't imagine very many people enjoying Koihime. Well, whatever the case, you certainly shouldn't get it for the gameplay. Maybe get it for the comedy factor of seeing Zhuge Liang be some extremely nervous little girl who freaks out all the time.  If you're not a Three Kingdoms fan who can't appreciate things like that then there probably won't be anything to enjoy about it.

 

 

Ok, I was just wondering if spending that extra cash buying Koihime was worth it. If I don't enjoy it enough to play through it then it's a waste. I thought Kamidori was going to bring me the same enterainment as Rance but I ended up putting it off for 3 months before playing it again, and it wasn't even a bad game. From the sounds of it, this game sounds worse than Kamidori.

 

Speaking of people with certain sense of humor... I have to say I originally detested Rance-sama's personality. He was an acquired taste. Watching the old Rance anime made me appreciate his character growth in Sengoku a lot more too. 

 

I've played Rance I , II, III, VI(Sengoku) until now, but I wanted a change of peace, some different characters/genre. Sadly, for the other games, I can't read Japanese so that's kind of... you know . Since the protagonist usually doesn't talk and there's a lot of text without voice, I'm going to miss a lot of the plot.

 

Hehe, I placed it really high on my "what to play next" list.

 

Sengoku Rance > Koihime Musou. While the character development in Koihime Musou is richer, but it's downfall would be the battle system, your enemy will do the same thing, again and again which makes it really easy and boring from a point. Also, the story in KM is linear, the same events are going to happen no matter which characters you develop your affection with, of course it's different at the last event depending on the 3 main ones. I enjoyed both Koihime Musou and Sengoku Rance, but I still have to finish the Isoroku Route on Sengoku Rance and I still enjoy the game at it's fullest.

 

I got Yumina yesterday night and I've played it for 2-3h already, it's enjoyable. I did't mind the grinding in Kamidori, I don't think I will mind it here either but.. it gets really annoying in battles when they have the same dialogues when you use a skill. 

I will add the games to my list, thanks a lot!

 

I need to finish Isoruku's route too! Argh! but I downloaded a corrupt Saved Game to beat the last battle in Kenshin's route. I didn't want to start over. It corrupted my entire game and I now I have to redownload it and beat first game all over. 

[Albedo]

It's not 18+ (in fact, they're very lighthearted) but the Galaxy Angel series have a decent real time strategy section.

[RaaiK]

 

 

Ok, I was just wondering if spending that extra cash buying Koihime was worth it. If I don't enjoy it enough to play through it then it's a waste. I thought Kamidori was going to bring me the same enterainment as Rance but I ended up putting it off for 3 months before playing it again, and it wasn't even a bad game. From the sounds of it, this game sounds worse than Kamidori.

 

Speaking of people with certain sense of humor... I have to say I originally detested Rance-sama's personality. He was an acquired taste. Watching the old Rance anime made me appreciate his character growth in Sengoku a lot more too. 

 

 

I need to finish Isoruku's route too! Argh! but I downloaded a corrupt Saved Game to beat the last battle in Kenshin's route. I didn't want to start over. It corrupted my entire game and I now I have to redownload it and beat first game all over. 

 

Awww, I know the feeling, happened to me as well when I first downloaded the Fuwanovel version and left my torrent on xD. I pulled a 20h Rance Marathon to finish the game, had 170~ days or so and the next day when i tried to start a New Game+ guess what? Woahahaha, had to start all over again xD. Also, I didn't know at the beginning that there were bonus routes and that you can't clear Isoroku and Kenshin and I used all my affection items again and again and again on them to try to get another purple event, silly me XD

 

It's not 18+ (in fact, they're very lighthearted) but the Galaxy Angel series have a decent real time strategy section.

Thanks! I will add it to my list! <3

[mitchhamilton]

There's Castle fantasia. http://vndb.org/v106

 

I had a hard time dealing with the main character but some of the gameplay parts were interesting so I still recommend it.

 

Also I agree with what Decay said about Princess Waltz. For me I felt the combat was kind of pointless. Like this one battle I did early on I was fighting this monster and won. Then once it took me back to the reading part it said the monster was still alive and was still causing havoc. What was the point in me fighting and winning then if it was just going to continue its rampage? Also I think before or after the monster battle I fought this girl, I won and she was still kicking and almost kicked my butt. Again, what was the point in me fighting if this was the result? Also there where sections to that game that was just soooooooooo long and I started to slowly not care about these "epic" moments that was going on.

[AnimalSoundss]

I wonder if there's a trainer for Yumina, I wouldn't mind cheating my way through it just to see the story. Some parts of the gameplay are fun but it gets so old after a while. Reminds me of Kamidori, fun at first but it expects you to grind too much to complete all of the quests. Except with Yumina it's not just side quests you have to grind for. If it's much easier in new game plus and there's no downside to it from the perspective of a first time player, I also wouldn't mind just using a completed save and doing that right off the bat. Can anyone confirm that?

 

I like Pulltop most of the time but Princess Waltz is just a game I can't get behind. I hate the action. I hate how inconsequential the gameplay segments feel to the story (it feels less like you're actually fighting the battles in the story, and more that you're just playing for the privilege of continuing the story, if that makes sense). And while there were parts of the story I liked, I think some of the plot twists were rote and the drama too contrived.

 

Really? I thought some of the battles were pretty good! I mean, it was fairly easy to win once oyu knew what to put your stats into, but still....reading the VNs was fun and the battles were well written, so having that game be in the mid of it helped the player feel like more of a part of the battle, imo. Yea some of the story was predictable, but not right away. All in all I liked it, even if it was a bit cliche

[AnimalSoundss]

There's Castle fantasia. http://vndb.org/v106

 

I had a hard time dealing with the main character but some of the gameplay parts were interesting so I still recommend it.

 

Also I agree with what Decay said about Princess Waltz. For me I felt the combat was kind of pointless. Like this one battle I did early on I was fighting this monster and won. Then once it took me back to the reading part it said the monster was still alive and was still causing havoc. What was the point in me fighting and winning then if it was just going to continue its rampage? Also I think before or after the monster battle I fought this girl, I won and she was still kicking and almost kicked my butt. Again, what was the point in me fighting if this was the result? Also there where sections to that game that was just soooooooooo long and I started to slowly not care about these "epic" moments that was going on.

 

They were there to make you feel like part of the battle. It wouldnt have been epic if you just immediatly won after the card battle, so they wrote out the ending parts. No, they weren't completely necessary for the VN, but I still enjoyed the card battle for what they were

[mitchhamilton]

They were there to make you feel like part of the battle. It wouldnt have been epic if you just immediatly won after the card battle, so they wrote out the ending parts. No, they weren't completely necessary for the VN, but I still enjoyed the card battle for what they were

 

 

Still its pretty annoying how the game is like "Alright! Time to kick some butts with our battle system. Yay you won! Now watch the enemy still be alive and have it go on for what feels like hours."

 

I wouldn't have mind if the battle system was taken out of the vn in favor of just describing it. Well maybe a little but its better than having a battle system that makes the player seem useless.

 

Anyway I'm not saying the battle system sucked entirely, I just don't like how it doesn't really make much of a difference to the story. Like Decay said, it just feels like an unnecessary tool to continue the story.

[Decay]

They were there to make you feel like part of the battle. It wouldnt have been epic if you just immediatly won after the card battle, so they wrote out the ending parts. No, they weren't completely necessary for the VN, but I still enjoyed the card battle for what they were

Well then they completely failed at doing that. I didn't feel like I was a part of the battle at all. I think that kind of abstract card game is a really bad fit for the game's story. I mean, you could go into the fight at a disadvantage according to what's happening in the story, then you completely crush the opponent, and when the game returns to the story you're still at a disadvantage and struggling. It's really, really weird. Like I said earlier, it doesn't feel like you're actually participating in the fights at all, you're just playing some weird abstract minigame that's irrelevant to everything for the right to continue reading the story.

[mitchhamilton]

There's also Duel Savior. http://vndb.org/v309

 

It's a 2-d fighting game. You can use a controller for it.

[Darklord Rooke]

If I am to view them objectively, I can see why people with certain senses of humor or proclivities enjoy Sengoku Rance, 

 

People enjoy Sengoku Rance for the solid Turn-based Strategy gameplay. The story bits are just icing on the cake for some, or bits to ignore for others. It's like Kamidori, the story was terrible but people play it for the gameplay. Both aren't actually VNs, but people choose to call them such so I suppose we should go with the flow.

 

Also, it is just a JRPG with VN elements as far as I know, but Persona 4 Golden for PS Vita is critically acclaimed, just so you know.

 

Dating sim elements.

[Albedo]

Well then they completely failed at doing that. I didn't feel like I was a part of the battle at all. I think that kind of abstract card game is a really bad fit for the game's story. I mean, you could go into the fight at a disadvantage according to what's happening in the story, then you completely crush the opponent, and when the game returns to the story you're still at a disadvantage and struggling. It's really, really weird. Like I said earlier, it doesn't feel like you're actually participating in the fights at all, you're just playing some weird abstract minigame that's irrelevant to everything for the right to continue reading the story.

 

I thought the card game was neutral at best, didn't take me out of the story or make me more interested in it.

[AnimalSoundss]

Still its pretty annoying how the game is like "Alright! Time to kick some butts with our battle system. Yay you won! Now watch the enemy still be alive and have it go on for what feels like hours."

 

I wouldn't have mind if the battle system was taken out of the vn in favor of just describing it. Well maybe a little but its better than having a battle system that makes the player seem useless.

 

Anyway I'm not saying the battle system sucked entirely, I just don't like how it doesn't really make much of a difference to the story. Like Decay said, it just feels like an unnecessary tool to continue the story.

 

yea i understand what you mean. Making the battle system where it flowed more with the story would have been nice. Even if you were fighting one of the princesses and got her to half health, then the VN part picked up from there with her only damaged would have flowed better with the story. Still, i enjoyed the system and actually beating them at the card game was fun, even if not entirely accurate story wise.

 

Well then they completely failed at doing that. I didn't feel like I was a part of the battle at all. I think that kind of abstract card game is a really bad fit for the game's story. I mean, you could go into the fight at a disadvantage according to what's happening in the story, then you completely crush the opponent, and when the game returns to the story you're still at a disadvantage and struggling. It's really, really weird. Like I said earlier, it doesn't feel like you're actually participating in the fights at all, you're just playing some weird abstract minigame that's irrelevant to everything for the right to continue reading the story.

True enough. I know what you mean, and yes the card battles weren't exactly necessary for the VN, but i still thought it was fun. Yes it didn't go perfectly along with the story but to actually battle the opponent instead of merely reading it was fun, imo. Besides, there are a lot of VNs with gameplay elements that don't need them at all, it's just there for entertainment purposes. Well, each to his own opinion i gues

[RaaiK]

There's Castle fantasia. http://vndb.org/v106

 

I had a hard time dealing with the main character but some of the gameplay parts were interesting so I still recommend it.

 

Also I agree with what Decay said about Princess Waltz. For me I felt the combat was kind of pointless. Like this one battle I did early on I was fighting this monster and won. Then once it took me back to the reading part it said the monster was still alive and was still causing havoc. What was the point in me fighting and winning then if it was just going to continue its rampage? Also I think before or after the monster battle I fought this girl, I won and she was still kicking and almost kicked my butt. Again, what was the point in me fighting if this was the result? Also there where sections to that game that was just soooooooooo long and I started to slowly not care about these "epic" moments that was going on.

 

 

There's also Duel Savior. http://vndb.org/v309

 

It's a 2-d fighting game. You can use a controller for it.

 

Will try both of them soon enough ^^. 

 

So, I pulled up a list from all the comments into this thread and these are some or maybe all the English Translated VN with gameplay:

 

Utawarerumono

Koihime Musou

Rance 1, 2, 3, 4

Sengoku Rance

Kamidori Alchemy Meister

Monster Girl Quest 1, 2, 3

Yumina the Ethereal

Eien no Aselia - The Spirit of Eternity Sword -

Tears to Tiara

999

Virtue's Last Reward

Symphonic Rain

Daibanchou Big Bang Age

Sekien no Inganock (mini games)

Shikkoku no Sharnath

War of the Human Tanks

Princess Waltz

Gadget Trial

Galaxy Angel 1, 2, 3

Castle Fantasia

Castle Fantasia Renewal 2

Duel Savior

 

Playable with Emulator:

Corpse Party

Danganronpa

Pheonix Wright

[Albedo]

There's 3 Galaxy angel games, and Baldr Sky is not translated.

[Clephas]

I really suggest that you give up on seeing a lot of VNs with gameplay getting translated.  Their scripts (at least for the good ones) tend to be huge, and as a result, most fantl groups can't handle them.  In addition, most of the companies currently localizing VNs primarily do moege and/or nukige, with a few others thrown in for variety.  Seinarukana, Aselia, and Yumina are exceptions to the rule.

 

As proof of the burden on fantls.... the failure of the Daiteikoku project, which had huge community backing, as well as an enthusiastic team.  While that game is bigger than the Rance games, it is still smaller than other, equal or better quality VNs with gameplay out there.  Even with my Ikusa Megami Zero project, we'll struggle just to put out a partial, because of the sheer size of the script. 

[RaaiK]

There's 3 Galaxy angel games, and Baldr Sky is not translated.

Will edit it soon ^^. 

You're right, Baldr Sky is not translated yet, my bad xD. Searched on fuwanover and found it under novels, thought it's translated since it was on the list; https://fuwanovel.net/novels/baldr-sky-dive1-lost-memory

 

I really suggest that you give up on seeing a lot of VNs with gameplay getting translated.  Their scripts (at least for the good ones) tend to be huge, and as a result, most fantl groups can't handle them.  In addition, most of the companies currently localizing VNs primarily do moege and/or nukige, with a few others thrown in for variety.  Seinarukana, Aselia, and Yumina are exceptions to the rule.

 

As proof of the burden on fantls.... the failure of the Daiteikoku project, which had huge community backing, as well as an enthusiastic team.  While that game is bigger than the Rance games, it is still smaller than other, equal or better quality VNs with gameplay out there.  Even with my Ikusa Megami Zero project, we'll struggle just to put out a partial, because of the sheer size of the script. 

Well, I pretty much enjoyed Rance and Kamidori and thought there would be more awesome games with gameplay out there so I decided to ask around. The list is pretty big already and it's gonna take a while until I finish them. But you are right, it's a lot of work on the scripts of these games so I don't expect to see many more translated over the years.

Sadly, I know enough Japanese to hold a conversation but I can't read it and since usually the protagonist doesn't talk and choices are text as well, I'm missing a lot on VNs if they are not translated.

 

Hopefully the rancetranslations group will move fast and we'll get some of the newer games translated soon ^^

[Satsuki]

Lots of VN with gameplay have the interface and gameplay-related stuffs translated, and VNR can take care of the rest, so it should be fine, right?

[Decay]

"The rest" is pretty dang important and leaving it to machine translators is a crappy way to experience the games.

[Satsuki]

"The rest" is pretty dang important and leaving it to machine translators is a crappy way to experience the games.

Crappy but far more better than waiting till forever for a translation PJ.

[Clephas]

Generally speaking, yes there are plenty of excellent VNs with gameplay out there.  The Ikusa Megami series, which I'm currently marathoning (when I'm not working on the VN of the Month) - see my Random VN thread - is a spectacularly good rpg series.  Ouzoku and Shinobi Ryuu by SofthouseChara are great... Escude occasionally manages to produce something decent... 

 

The only problem is that those with excellent gameplay aren't necessarily well-written and vise-verse.  Kamidori has good gameplay, but its story is the second-worst amongst the games based in that universe (which include Meishoku no Reiki, Himegari Dungeon Meister, Madou Koukaku, the Ikusa Megami series, and the Genrin no Kishougun series).  Even Soukoku no Arterial, which got bashed a lot by the Ikusa Megami fanboys, is several levels above it in terms of story

 

Generally speaking, I'm all for people putting out interface patches, but hopefully we'll see more interface translations done by serious translators, rather than machine-translator-using lazybones and incompetents.  The VNR or translation agg/jparser methods are both valid shortcuts for those who are shaky on kanji but can understand Japanese otherwise.  Machine translations, as I will continue to shout out to the world until I start coughing blood, are absolutely, completely, and utterly worthless, though.

[Decay]

Crappy but far more better than waiting till forever for a translation PJ.

It really isn't. I'd rather not read a story ever than try to decipher a horribly butchered version of it.

[RaaiK]

Generally speaking, yes there are plenty of excellent VNs with gameplay out there.  The Ikusa Megami series, which I'm currently marathoning (when I'm not working on the VN of the Month) - see my Random VN thread - is a spectacularly good rpg series.  Ouzoku and Shinobi Ryuu by SofthouseChara are great... Escude occasionally manages to produce something decent... 

 

The only problem is that those with excellent gameplay aren't necessarily well-written and vise-verse.  Kamidori has good gameplay, but its story is the second-worst amongst the games based in that universe (which include Meishoku no Reiki, Himegari Dungeon Meister, Madou Koukaku, the Ikusa Megami series, and the Genrin no Kishougun series).  Even Soukoku no Arterial, which got bashed a lot by the Ikusa Megami fanboys, is several levels above it in terms of story

 

Generally speaking, I'm all for people putting out interface patches, but hopefully we'll see more interface translations done by serious translators, rather than machine-translator-using lazybones and incompetents.  The VNR or translation agg/jparser methods are both valid shortcuts for those who are shaky on kanji but can understand Japanese otherwise.  Machine translations, as I will continue to shout out to the world until I start coughing blood, are absolutely, completely, and utterly worthless, though.

It really isn't. I'd rather not read a story ever than try to decipher a horribly butchered version of it.

Lots of VN with gameplay have the interface and gameplay-related stuffs translated, and VNR can take care of the rest, so it should be fine, right?

 

It's been around 4-5 years since I discovered VNs, I used to play with ITH and Translation Aggregator, but gave up and decided to wait for translations since I was spending 30-60 sec trying to decipher a line which otherwise I would've read in 5 sec. Spending 3-4h only on the prologue ain't appealing at all. Just think about a scene where you only have narration for 20-30 lines, gosh, I'll start having nightmares if I ever see a line like this again: "Water trust it-chan, goes not *random kanji* her".

 

I'm not saying that I want only VNs with gameplay since I play and enjoy normal VNs as well. But from a time you get bored by just clicking when the story doesn't progress at the speed you want and having some gameplay you can shake off that boredom. 

 

Can't wait for all the Rance series to get translated xD, I became quite a huge fan after playing Sengoku Rance <3