An Inevitable Pitfall?

[meru]

I, for one, decided to start each game without a walkthrough, finish the route I naturally arrived at via the choices that came naturally to me, and then -- on subsequent playthroughs -- to use walkthroughs if I wanted. This fits my play-style because it 1) allows me to avoid spoilers in the walkthroughs; 2) dive straight into a game with little-or-no foreknowledge; 3) explore; and 4) not know very much about how long the game is, or what its pace is like. I enjoy the magic of exploration, and the VN medium allows for a lot of both. (This approach is definitely the minority as far as VN players go, though, but it makes me happy! <-- what you should strive for when looking for your own play-style)

That is exactly my play style too!!

I don't worry about 'true' routes and 'bad' routes because I aim to play them all anyway. I always think it's interesting where my choices lead when I make them without any guide at all. Then, after finishing that first time, I go back and use a guide to get the routes I'm most interested in, and then keep using the walkthrough to complete the whole game.. I always have to complete it, I'm a perfectionist like that ^^;

Also, as some people have said, the 'bad' endings can be some of the best, especially in things like School Days XD Well.. if you like gruesome endings that is..