Retro Visual Novel Thread

[Anonymous No.8820189]

A thread for the discussion of retro visual novels and date sims

Big news! Tokimeki Memorial for the SNES now has an English translation released in March 2022!
Link: https://www.translated.games/snes/heartthrob

[Anonymous No.8820370]

I've only played a few visual novels. One that I recall enjoying a lot was Narcissu (2005, so just barely /vr/ by the board's new standards).

I'm not really a big fan of visual novels like Tokimeki Memorial where you have to manage a bunch of little things, I enjoy visual novels more when they're a bit more straight forward in their structure. With this in mind, are there any visual novels /vr/ would recommend for me?

[Anonymous No.8820375]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqSkdqD4v3E
Found this, could be considered Key's first de factor works while they were still called Tactics.

[Anonymous No.8820380]

>>8820370
>visual novels like Tokimeki Memorial where you have to manage a bunch of little things
>I enjoy visual novels more when they're a bit more straight forward in their structure
You enjoy visual novels. Tokimeki Memorial is a dating sim. They're two completely different genres.

[Anonymous No.8820482]

>>8820375
I played One a few year's ago. It was pretty good as I remember it. The plot was pretty touching

[Anonymous No.8820930]

>>8820189
any good retro Visual Novels I should start with? I'm a zoomer who's only played Hotel Dusk and Danganronpa

[Anonymous No.8821117]

>>8820930
I really really enjoyed Pia Carrot although it's more of a date sim. It's very lighthearted and I really found all the characters enjoyable in their own way.
Then there's also Castel Fantasia 2 which is a Fire Emblem visual novel mix and ToHeart 2 for the PC which is more eroge

[Anonymous No.8822395]

Doukyuusei 2 translation when

[Anonymous No.8822480]

>>8820930
It feels incredibly cool to read if you're okay with extreme content

[Anonymous No.8822485]

>>8820189
>>8821117
>>8822395
None of there are visual novels. The first two are simulation games and the latter is a point-and-click adventure game. I'm sick of people calling everything a "visual novel".

[Anonymous No.8822515]

>>8822485
>A thread for the discussion of retro visual novels and date sims
your point is invalid

[Anonymous No.8822520]

>>8822485
Oh fuck off. Semantic, pedantic queer.

[Anonymous No.8822537]

>>8822485
ToHeart 2 is a visual novel literally. To Heart is what invented the "visual novel" name and popularize the style format.

[Anonymous No.8822561]

How does /vr/ rate Shuffle! ?

[Anonymous No.8822603]

>>8822537
i've been looking for a site to download toheart 2 at for the last 30 minutes

please help i am retarded thank you

[Anonymous No.8822607]

>>8822515
dang what a qt pie

[Anonymous No.8822620]

>>8822537
>To Heart is what invented the "visual novel" name
ToHeart was the 3rd game from Leaf with their "Visual Novel" brand name
But I think you may be right if you mean ToHeart was the game that got anglos using that brand name as a genre name

[Anonymous No.8822643]

I seriously hope you guys don't read translated VNs.

[Anonymous No.8822650]

Hm, might as well ask this thread.
There are 3 GBC ports of VNs:
To Heart: http://mydocuments.g2.xrea.com/html/gb/thgb.html
Sizuku: http://mydocuments.g2.xrea.com/html/gb/szgb.html
Kizuato: http://mydocuments.g2.xrea.com/html/gb/kzgb.html
These require files from the original discs to compile. Can anyone figure out how to do this properly?
https://archive.org/details/LeafToHeart
https://archive.org/details/Sizuku
Can't find a copy of Kizuato with the same files, one of the others may be incorrect.

[Anonymous No.8822705]

>>8820930
YU-NO is essential. Avoid the remake or either of the anime adaptions.
Eve Burst Error is good but the only complete translation I'm aware of was made in the late-90's and about every 10th-20th line of dialogue contains a reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. That's not an exaggeration.
Famicom Detective Club II is also essential. The first game sadly hasn't been translated yet as far as I know.
Metal Slader Glory is good. The super Super Famicom remake has not been translated so you'll have to settle for the Famicom version where every sound effect sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
Snatcher is the most famous one. It's overrated but still good.
Policenauts is fun if you like buddy-cop stories.
There are about 8 on the Mega Drive which are all meant to act as supplements to Phantasy Star II. They're worth playing if you liked that game.
There's one on the Famicom based on Akira. I haven't played it but people seem to like it.

Lastly, there's a website called The Asenheim Project which as a lot of old VNs that you can play in your browser. But most of them are terrible porn games that are usually more gross than anything else. Full of weird fetishes and body parts that never look quite right. All that being said, Desire and Three Sisters Story are alright, if more than a bit tedious at points. True Love might be worth playing if like Tokimeki Memorial. There are probably a few other good ones on there if you're willing to dig through the trash.

[Anonymous No.8822824]

For me, it's Artoria Pendragon, King of England

[Anonymous No.8823089]

wondering what a venn-diagram would look like between VN/datingsim-enjoyers and GF(female)-havers

[Anonymous No.8823228]

>>8822824
My king.

[Anonymous No.8823413]

>>8820375
>>8820482
I liked One a lot, but there's a big difference between the routes.
Akane's route is great, and the tsundere's route is pretty good, but the route with the childhood friend was sort of off-putting.
I don't remember any of the others very well.

[Anonymous No.8823427]

>>8822620
>But I think you may be right if you mean ToHeart was the game that got anglos using that brand name as a genre name
That was Tsukihime. The artist who worked on that game (Takeuchi) was a fan of Shizuku, so he incorporated random elements from it into Tsukihime (the writer, Nasu, never even played it). Calling the game a "visual novel" as an homage to LEAF was one of them.

The funny part is a LOT of the early Type-Moon guys came from the LEAF fan community because of it. The guy who did the original Tsukihime manga was originally a pretty major LEAF doujin writer. The guys who made Melty Blood did LEAF doujinsoft fighting games. I believe one of the ghostwriters on Fate/Hollow Ataraxia was also some random LEAF doujin writer that Takeuchi liked. 07th Expansion, of Higurashi fame, also got their start doing art for the LEAF tcg. Rena was originally an OC they made for it, but liked enough to work into Higurashi. LEAF was a big fucking deal in the late 90s doujin scene.

[Anonymous No.8823429]

Has anyone here before tried Kanon? I'd like to know what other people think of it because it's a personal favorite of mine. Also Eve Burst Error is based.

[Anonymous No.8823441]

>>8822603
I got the x-rated uncensored version from a torrent... works well, had no issues with it. I'm seeding it now if anyone needs it. Look up the torrent name on piratebay or something
Also there's always websites like erogedownload if you are patient enough to download part by part

[Anonymous No.8823447]

>>8823413
>I liked One a lot, but there's a big difference between the routes.
that's why it's great. it adds replay value.
The route with the blind girl was pretty good too. my personal favourite desu

[Anonymous No.8823462]

about 100% match as we're all able to successfully use the experience we learn from games in real life :^)

[Anonymous No.8823464]

>>8823462
meant for >>8823089

[Anonymous No.8823690]

me on the left

[Anonymous No.8823719]

>>8822643
you think we should learn Japanese just for some shit tier VN writing? cringe

[Anonymous No.8823745]

FVNBVN
https://youtu.be/PTB8TuOH1v0

[Anonymous No.8823806]

>>8820189
Does the SNES version have a hidden shmup like the PC Engine and Saturn versions?

[Anonymous No.8823904]

>>8823806
it has some mini-games during the special events in the story but I never got the shmup at least. maybe it's only for certain girls' routes

[Anonymous No.8823913]

>>8823806
>>8823904
I had a giant robot fight on a beach and it ruled

[Anonymous No.8824047]

>>8822705
>The first game sadly hasn't been translated yet as far as I know.
the remake on switch WAS, but it got very slightly censored because its an official translation, so it had to go through the censorship pipeline :(

[Anonymous No.8824148]

>>8823806
On my playthrough I remember a few RPG sections and the cultural festival athletic minigames.

[Anonymous No.8824353]

>>8823806
unfortunately no

[Anonymous No.8824401]

>>8824148
>>8824353
Darn, the PCEngine and Saturn versions each have a hidden brand new new shmup in them, Force Gear and Psyth. M2 even put Force Gear in the Turbografx mini as a secret game.

[Anonymous No.8824952]

>>8824401
Kek that's based. They probably had to scale down the 16-bit version. Remember, this came out in late 1996 which is pretty late on the Snes lifespan

[Anonymous No.8825901]

Any of you played Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel? or any other Eva game?

[Anonymous No.8825926]

>>8824401
they also have twinbee for the computer club

[Anonymous No.8826597]

>>8822395
Nigga, that's Doukyuusei 1 you posted, what the fuck?

[Anonymous No.8826616]

>>8820189
>snes
>not the ps1 version

into the trash it goes.

[Anonymous No.8826690]

Does anyone know this game? Remember that sometime ago we had a PS2's visual novels thread but I don't remember anyone talking about this one.

https://cdromance.com/ps2-iso/akai-ito-english-patched/

[Anonymous No.8826914]

>>8826690
I'm also curious about this one. I saw it on that site as well.

[Anonymous No.8827938]

>>8823719
You do realize if you learn Japanese, you can read ANYTHING you want in Japanese, right?
I learned Japanese almost exclusively from reading eroge and now I'm enjoying everything from trading card games and light novels to haiku and classical literature. I'm even talking to Japanese people in real life.
If anything, visual novels are one of the best ways to learn Japanese because you can study both the text and the audio.

If anyone in the thread is interested in learning Japanese, I really recommend the EMIT trilogy by Koei. It's a short science fiction story written for use in English classes in Japan. Because the story was written from the ground up in both Japanese and English, the translation is excellent.
You can read through for the first time in English and then come back and reread it a few times in Japanese. Back when I was starting out I must have read it something like a dozen times.
It's a good story even outside of it's value as a textbook, so even if you aren't interested in learning the language right now I still recommend it.
It's available on just about any platform you could want, from SNES to Saturn to PC-98 to Windows to Playstation.

[Anonymous No.8827961]

>>8827938
I'm looking to learn Japanese so I'll keep it in mind. Thank you for sharing <3

[Anonymous No.8828190]

Which games have titty monsters? I could never love a flatty.

[Anonymous No.8828553]

>>8827938
There's nothing that's worth reading in japanese. Any translated games are enhanced by the english translation over the retarded jap writing.

[Anonymous No.8828567]

>>8827938
Cool rec, thanks!

[Anonymous No.8828762]

>>8828190
Season of the Sakura has Reiko and Shoko

[Anonymous No.8829483]

>>8827938
True, being able to play the whole PC-98 and PC-FX libraries full of qt 90s anime tiddies is the biggest motivation in life one could get

[Anonymous No.8829604]

>>8829483
What game is this? and is there other console versions?

[Anonymous No.8830634]

>>8829604
DOKIDOKI Vacation for the PC-98. Not really sure if it came out for DOS in western machines too

[Anonymous No.8830803]

>>8823806
force gear is so fucking good. wish that got a full pce game

[Anonymous No.8831320]

>>8830634
Oh wow the windows version is also on DLsite. It doesn't have the soul but at least it's something. It's also from Cocktail Soft. Nice thanks for the rec.

[Anonymous No.8831613]

>>8820380
>Tokimeki Memorial is a dating sim
Well now you've piqued my interest.

[Anonymous No.8831953]

>>8829483
wrong

[Anonymous No.8831979]

>>8831613
>>8820380
>Look at me guys, I'm standing up to labels, I'm such a rebel

[Anonymous No.8831994]

>>8823427
sucks that nowadays barely anyone appreciates their games, it seems like Uta is the only one that gets any attention. TH2DT was a blast with all the references to past works. Because of it I started Filsnown, it really does feel like an indie DQ but damn the music slaps

>>8823429
I used to adore it, though on re-reading I find it a bit boring
plus, the premise that you go on one girl's route and meanwhile the others are somewhere freezing to death and miserable is rather absurd. Lastly the VN doesn't have Sugita who makes the MC much more likeable
Fantastic OST though.

[Anonymous No.8832023]

>>8823427
That's what I like, I like when early works clearly influence new trends and when creators make homages to previous things they liked. The medium back then felt like it was part of a grand continuity that kept building on itself. Nowadays there is no sense of importance or maybe I'm just elderly.

[Anonymous No.8832191]

What was that Retro VN that was released in English that was set on on a Moon Base/Space Station? I can't remember the name.

It was written by a Gundam writer if I remember correctly, and had branching paths and was pretty bizzare, one of the routes had a cutesy anime girls head transplanted onto a hulking black man's body.

[Anonymous No.8832927]

>>8823429
Honestly loved the 2006 KyoAni adaptation, but haven't played it yet due to the patch being a bit old and triggering a false positive with my anti-virus (I know I can let it through, I'm just schizo and retarded.)
So I'm personally holding out for a Win10 patch to get released or to get a WinXP computer or something. Honestly hoping if a Win10 patch gets made, that it lets me exclude or turn off H-Scenes
Next best case scenario is that Key gets off their ass and gives us a steam release of Kanon so my lazy ass can download and buy that shit.

[Anonymous No.8833146]

>>8822520
On that subject, what are some good gay games, preferably male, not yuri?

[Anonymous No.8833149]

>>8832927
Modern Anti-virus will "trigger" with anything that's not in their databases. It's safe.

[Anonymous No.8833151]

>>8822705
>Full of weird fetishes
Post about it on >>>/trash/ . I'm sure you can form an active general discussion from it.

[Anonymous No.8833203]

>>8827938
I'm using duolingo for the kana and it just seems too easy since the correct answers are right in front of me. I use anki very rarely, and I really should.

[Anonymous No.8833298]

>>8820189
Only Legends know what this game is

[Anonymous No.8833887]

>>8822705
Cheers for posting that website. You're the real MVP

[Anonymous No.8833890]

>>8833298
For me it's Mayumi Kamijo, my slutty 90s waifu

[Anonymous No.8834119]

>>8823429
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it. The Mai/Sayuri route was a bit of a screaming mess, and handled much better in the 06 anime.
The next Key release, Air, is pretty good as well. The Kano/Minagi routes do feel a bit tacked on, but the Misuzu route is pretty good. And the true route is great with the Summer arc being one of, if not the best route Key have ever put out.

[Anonymous No.8834130]

>>8831979
It's not even a label thing. One is a stat management game and the other is a book with images. Saying they're the same genre is like saying Captain Commando and Super Mario Bros are the same genre because they both have screens that scroll to the right.

[Anonymous No.8834143]

Are there any notable retro yuri VNs

[Anonymous No.8834145]

>>8834130
The further you go in the simulation series the closer they become to visual novels and stat gambling takes a backseat. Happened to princess maker

[Anonymous No.8834152]

In case someone is interested, this site talks about the firsts stages of eroges and "vn"s and contextualizes quite a few classics of the genre.
If you can read Japanese check it out: http://www.kyo-kan.net/column/eroge/index.html

[Anonymous No.8834206]

>>8834143
I feel you. I wish there were more.

Check out X-GIRL for PC-98's DOS. Not "yuri" in the purist Japanese meaning but lesbian/レズ. Also great cyberpunk worldbuilding.

[Anonymous No.8834228]

>>8834152
>>8834206
For something more "modern" but still retro by /vr/ standards two well known ones are Shojokyuu and Sapphism no Gensou. The latter one by Liar-soft, the ones who later released Yuri Spirits on the Roof and Evermaiden.

[Anonymous No.8834232]

>>8834228
meant for >>8834143

[Anonymous No.8835389]

I still think the art created in some visual novels are amazing given the limited color palette and colors that could be displayed on-screen. Without all the limitations now, the art should be more engaging, but it is still kind of stiff and doesn't seem to have the same impact as it did back then to me.

[Anonymous No.8836656]

>>8835389
Are those for MS-DOS? I can't see

[Anonymous No.8836832]

>>8836656
All are for Windows, though Raidy and PSW AD2048 are remakes of PC-98 games.
Brave Soul is a legit fun ARPG with loot and AI controlled partners.

[Anonymous No.8836856]

>>8820189
>april 4, 1996
I want to go back...

[Anonymous No.8837845]

>>8836832
Interesting... VN RPGs... is there an English version or patch available?

[Anonymous No.8838445]

>>8837845
The 3 games are available in English, published by Jast. I've only played Brave Soul (it's good) and the first Raidy years ago (still a very simple dungeon RPG like the original and the PC-98 had far better ero-RPG like Branmarker 2, Filsnown or Legend of Rouge)
Haven't played the Youjuu Senki AD 2048 remake, but it seems to be universaly panned.

[Anonymous No.8839147]

>>8833298
oh boy, those were the good time, chiemi is my hentaifu

[Anonymous No.8839362]

>>8822705
Damn I can't get Yu-On to run no matter what I try. The English patch needs a specific version and it is not the correct one I can find. Tried applying the patch without validating the checksum and the file will not run. Anyone have a copy of the patched version or any idea where to look? Thanks for the recommendations anyways.

[Anonymous No.8841068]

bump

[Anonymous No.8841436]

Looking forward to trying the Evangelion visual novels this weekend. This anime is on my top 5 ever.
Need to see if I can find the windows version and english patch

[Anonymous No.8841469]

Are there any sci-fi/horror visual novels for PS2 that are in english or have an english patch?

[Anonymous No.8841997]

>>8841436
>Need to see if I can find the windows version and english patch
https://nyaa.si/view/773004
https://nyaa.si/view/772340

[Anonymous No.8842063]

>>8841436
>This anime is on my top 5 ever.
You haven't watched much anime, have you?

[Anonymous No.8842751]

>>8841997
cheers mate, you're the real mvp!

>>8842063
I watched about 30 different ones start to finish... but it beats the shit out of most crap that comes out nowdays that's for sure

[Anonymous No.8842787]

>>8842063
>You haven't watched much anime, have you?

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[Anonymous No.8843365]

>>8842751
>it beats the shit out of most crap that comes out nowdays that's for sure
That's not saying much, NU-anime is garbage.

[Anonymous No.8844089]

>>8822650
I can't figure out how to playback or rip the music in 1997 ToHeart, what a shame

[Anonymous No.8844485]

>>8834143
>>8834206
There's also Fermion for PC-98

[Anonymous No.8846309]

>>8836656
No those are for Windows. For DOS, I remember some great ones that were for DOS/V which were by Leaf, Aquaplus, and TGL.

[Anonymous No.8847291]

>>8846309
>hentai game
>childhood
A+ parenting

[Anonymous No.8849314]

>>8847291
better a hentai game than uncle

[Anonymous No.8849682]

>>8832191
You have failed me /vr/, the name was Critical Point.

Teasing aside, this is a neat thread.

[Anonymous No.8850459]

>>8821117
>Castle Fantasia 2
I remember liking this and that the protagonist was fucking ridiculous and felt like a chad meme

[Anonymous No.8850781]

Why did Tom delete his posts about this translation in the twitter?

[Anonymous No.8851040]

>>8850781
you need Tesla ownership to see it

[Anonymous No.8851167]

>>8821117
I recently just started playing Pia Carrot again after first playing it in the late 2000s when the patch came out, the old copy of magic engine it needed to run back then was so shitty and was paywalled with a time limit. It's such a breeze to play now and all the girls are really cute with decent depth to their personalities, I just wanted some dating sim stat management fodder but it's much better than I remembered. Still wish you could fuck Milk though.

[Anonymous No.8851437]

>>8851167
Pia Carrot was the first game in the genre I played and it's still a nice memory of older times.

[Anonymous No.8851591]

>>8832191
Galaxy Angel perhaps?

[Anonymous No.8851765]

That one time PlayStation tried doing their own visual novels in Japan in the late 90s.

> Carol the Dark Angel by SYUFO (Shuho Itabashi)

> Space Adventure Cobra The Psychogun 1 & 2, and Galaxy Nights by Buichi Terasawa

> 2999 Game Kids by Kozy Watanabe and Rei Yumeno

> Buzzer Beater Zenpen and Kouhen by Inoue Takehiko

I'm very curious about these especially about what goes on in the 2999 Game Kids and Carol the Dark Angel standing out to me the most.

Both of them never really got any sequel books outside of the exclusive games.

Anyone familiar with these or know the premise for them?

[Anonymous No.8852403]

>>8850781
he deletes all of his tweets after 3 or 4 months iirc

[Anonymous No.8853352]

>>8850459
Being a true chad is getting the Black Knight ending. that's the chad option