ABC Challenge (Visual Novel)
Just got this idea and I really want to bring it to life. This will hang out here… for as long as the other posts cover it up, I guess! The reason why I’m not making this profile-only is that I’d love to get some suggestions on what you all think I could read for every letter. I’ve been aiming for a year where I read at least a 100 VNs for a while now, so this might help speed it up :D
Rules:
- Each VN on the list must be finished within the year it was started. (I mean, do I really need to explain this one? Read fast or you’ll forget everything! This pretty much excludes all the longer VNs though.)
- One VN at a time, please! (Same reasoning as the previous one.)
- Omit “A” and “The” in names (Come on, that would be just too easy.)
- No chickening out! (Obviously. I’m trying to beat a backlog here.)
Missing letters: Q, Z
List is subject to change.
| # | Game | Achievements | Playtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 Lives 2021 Visual Novels | 100% (5 of 5) | about 1 hour |
| 2 | Aozora Meikyuu 2019 Visual Novels | 100% (1 of 1) | about 2 hours |
| 3 | Blind Love 2020 Visual Novels | 100% (6 of 6) | about 1 hour |
| 4 | Carpe Diem: Reboot Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 7) | 0 minutes |
| 5 | Darconika: The Cube of Soul Visual Novels | — | 1 minute |
| 6 | Empty Horizons Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 13) | 1 minute |
| 7 | Frisky Business 2020 Visual Novels | 100% (20 of 20) | about 6 hours |
| 8 | Galaxy Girls Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 23) | 0 minutes |
| 9 | Hatoful Boyfriend 2019 Visual Novels | 100% (16 of 16) | about 15 hours |
| 10 | It Comes Around - A Kinetic Novel 2020 Trades Visual Novels | — | about 1 hour |
| 11 | Jake's Love Story 2019 Visual Novels | 100% (12 of 12) | about 3 hours |
| 12 | Last Days of Spring Visual Novel Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 9) | 0 minutes |
| 13 | My Name is Addiction Visual Novels | — | 0 minutes |
| 14 | NEKOPARA Vol. 1 2020 Visual Novels | 100% (14 of 14) | about 5 hours |
| 15 | Osozaki 遅咲き Late Blooming - First Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 16) | 0 minutes |
| 16 | Pink Rage Otome 2019 Visual Novels | 100% (78 of 78) | about 4 hours |
| 17 | Russian Horror Story Trades Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 12) | 0 minutes |
| 18 | Sakura Spirit Visual Novels | — | 0 minutes |
| 19 | These nights in Cairo Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 24) | 0 minutes |
| 20 | Unhack 2 Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 14) | 0 minutes |
| 21 | Valentine Panic Visual Novels | 53% (8 of 15) | about 1 hour |
| 22 | Without Within 2 2020 Visual Novels | 100% (6 of 6) | about 2 hours |
| 23 | XBlaze Code: Embryo Visual Novels | 0% (0 of 39) | 0 minutes |
| 24 | You, With Me - A Kinetic Novel SteamGifts Visual Novels | — | 0 minutes |
I’ll post my suggestions in a hour!!
okay, first of all my friend, I’d like to premise this by saying that a goal of 100 vns in a year might be unfeasible unless you decide to focus on shovelware stuff. WHICH is obv not what I recommend, you will probably end with reading bad quality stuff and not retaining ANYTHING at all - trust me, I’ve been there with both books and vns.
But yeah, just a normal ABC challenge of 24 games is feasible.
do you have a vndb account?? that’s gonna help you immensely thanks to their user ratings and genre tags so you’ll know yourself what you’ll be heading into.
I’m not gonna suggest these titles based on length (sorry, i’m not gonna prioritise on shortness of titles) but on enjoyment/quality/classics. So, yeah, they’re all of various lengths - check vndb for approximate length.
omg i hope tsuper too turns up with her suggestions!
Also, I’m focusing this list exclusively on your steam games. If you want me to include other titles not on steam (that are free), please do tell!
fata morgana best vn
Analogue: A Hate Story by Christine Love
B
Cupid by FERVENT (i love this) / alternatives: Clannad (I guess if you want to spend 50+ hours here, dis a classic i have yet to start) or The Confines Of The Crown by Hanako
D
Everlasting Summer: this is pretty popular, i guess you should try it (it’s russian, i’m envious of russian vns fandom as a whole bc of reasons)
F
G-senjou no Maou - The Devil on G-String
Hate Plus (sequel to Analogue: A Hate Story), but also you definitely need to check Hatoful Boyfriend’s true ending. Other alternatives if you like yuri: Highway Blossoms or Heart of the Woods
Ignis Avis Venatio: okay, this isn’t really a recommendation from me, i have no idea how it is, it’s just that I was waiting for this title and then was surprised by the lack of ratings despite its cute art, i’m CURIOUS about how it is ;(
Juniper’s Knot (i love this)
K
A Little Lily Princess by Hanako (based on the book/movie if you know it) or Lynne by ebi-hime if you want something more mature (it’s kinda black swan)
Magical Diary by Hanako
Narcissu 1st & 2nd: you gotta finish this!! At least the first title if you haven’t already
Once on a windswept night (dis inspired by my fav vn which is fata morgana, so if you have a chance skip on this and go straight to buy fata morgana im not kidding) by ebi-hime or if you want to try out russian vns there’s One Day in London (but this is episodic, make sure to own it complete before starting it). Over The Hills And Far Away is cute and short too!
Perceptions of the Dead by Ithaqua Labs (i like this group, i think you own other stuff by them)
Q
Root Double -Before Crime After Days- Xtend Edition: this!!! but it is 50+ hours but it’s good
Six Days of Snow by ebi-hime: i l o v e!!!!!!! there are tons of titles by ebi-hime and you own enough of them, but yeah I definitely personally prefer her mature titles and not the slice of life ones
This World Unknown by ebi-hime (i’ve yet to play this)
U
Voices from the Sea: not really one of my favourites but if you wanna check the developer there’s this
X
Y
The Way We ALL GO by ebi-hime (i’ve yet to play this)
Z
there are some other good titles you own but decided to skim on them or i’ll never end this list. i straight on skipped bad stuff i didn’t like
vndb is your best friend to curate your library
1) I do have a VNDB account, actually! I wish I remembered how I got to know the site originally, but I’m pretty sure that’s how I learned of visual novels as a medium. You can find me under the username “amittesukku”. Some info might be slightly incorrect - I’m really struggling with reading multiple long VNs atm.
2) Obviously, I’m focusing on shorter titles to 1) beat my backlog sooner and 2) try to success with the 100 titles challenge + I hate seeing so many untouched titles because my mind just… turns them all into unused money and that feels bad…
3) Thanks for the recommendations! I feel like I’ll be able to start updating my list soon :>
I’m gonna piggyback off of Giselle’s post and fill in what letters she didn’t have play the house in fata morgana
BAD END - really goofy, goosebumps-y story that’s popcorn-flick silly
Danganronpa (if VN+ games are allowed) or Dream Daddy (if they are not)
Fata Morgana no Yakata - HA! IN JAPANESE, IT COUNTS!
Katawa Shoujo - it’s 18+, it’s not on steam, but I really liked it. My first Proper VN
Queen at Arms - was all right!
Umineko When They Cry - prepare to be reading this for EIGHT MONTHS
XBlaze Code: Embryo - this was… kind of interesting? Not BAD, just okay
Y
Zero Escape: the Nonary Games - If VN+ games are allowed.
Holy shit! That art is spectacular but it looks scary as hell - but!
yes!
Together we’ve done it!
Thanks for your suggestions! The reason I don’t have The House of Fata Morgana is because I’m aiming to get a hard copy somewhere down the line (or if it ever turns up in some sale/bundle, then get it - and not because it’s not worth its price, but because that’s pretty much how I get most of my games nowadays). Plus, I get that it’s really good, but… I’m also prone to Hype Aversion (TM), so I’d like to… hear less about it?
Also, I already completed BAD END, it was okay, but nothing spectatular, I guess? It still amazes me how I read it all in one sitting, I need that to happen more in my life.
Plus, anything that classifies as a VN by VNDB standards and is available on Steam is a good recommendation for me (I do have pretty much all of Steam’s “Visual Novel” category in my library/wishlist LOL).
fata morgana will come out with the collected edition on ps4 so if you’ve got it you can wait for that edition!!
Ah, hmm… I’d rather not. I have Hakuoki on my PS3 and it’s been… really hard to read it that way. If we’re talking about console releases, I’d rather get stuff for my Vita (although… lord knows I’m not making enough progress on those either :/)
I understand Hype Aversion (I am a chronic hype averter… but I am also the 1st person to not shut the fuck up about something I fall in love with. I would not like being my own friend)
They’re all just suggestions, of course! Enjoy your challenge c:
Actually, now that I think about it… yeah… yeah! Oh god, I wouldn’t like being my own friend too! (lol)
That I certainly will :> have been doing great with beating my backlog in general recently ^^
Amnesia: Memories
Bad End or Beach Bounce :]
Club Life
DUpLicity - Beyond the lies Never played, but wanna play!
England Exchange Never played, but wanna play!
Flower Shop - Either Summer or Winter or BOTH! - BC WINTER WOLVES! <3
Go! Go! Nippon - My first Trip to Japan - Bc we all love Japan and wanna know more, right? <3
Hatoful Boyfriend Btw I’m totally not in enrage mode after seeing Hate Plus there -.- Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
I… nvisible Apartment maybe?
J… uh, either one? No idea!
KARAKARA Never played, but wanna play!
Love And Order - WW what can I say? I love them <3
Mutiny!! Never played, but wanna play!
Negligee Never played, but wanna play!
One Day in London - although you need DLCs to complete this one
Purrfect Date Never played, but wanna play! or Pyrite Heart
Q?
Root Double!
Sword of Asumi
These Nights in Cairo Never played, but wanna play!
U…nhack? :]
V… oices from the Sea?
Without Within Never played, but wanna play!
XOXO Droplets :D
Yozora Rhapsody - bc it’s sitting on my ABC list and waiting for me
Z?
Yeah, I’m totally doing this! \o/
H you already have a bunch of people rooting for different H’s but Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 Onikakushi
O One small fire at a time (was surprised by how much I liked this)
T The Way We ALL GO (really liked this too)
I’d love to play Higurashi ASAP, personally, but since I don’t have all the installments, I think I’ll wait until then, or I risk falling out of the loop before I get to the rest. The Way We ALL GO, however, is one of the handful of VNs I’m still mad at myself for not reading yet… it’s ebi-hime’s VN, for goodness sake! ><
Wow you certainly have a list of stories to read. I think this is a good idea to have. Nice to a see a few stories I’ve read myself in your list as well and a few just recently. Since you say you’re interested in others opinions I’ll go through and give something for each letter from what I’ve read
Well I’m done. Had to skip a few letters since as it got later on I hadn’t read most of them. I tried going for stories that you either finished the 1st one or games with sequels to help get you to the 100 games. Also tried suggesting smaller games while also putting out longer games for a different variety in length and generally those types ended up my favourites. Unless stated otherwise they are all one’s I’ve read and enjoyed myself to a certain extent
Amnesia Memories: It’s a bit of a longer title so depending on your reading speed it could take around 20 hours but it’s personally one of my favourites.
Book Series - Alice in Wonderland: For myself it wasn’t the best but its short and was interesting to see how the actual story was wrote. According to the reviews it seems to be a good copy if you are looking for that.
Cafe 0: You played the 1st one so why not the sequel since it’s a much better version then the original
Duplicity: I haven’t read the other D stories you have so this is the best I can choose but I still only suggest this for the fact I enjoyed it rather then putting it for the sake of it
East Tower: This should be the last of that creator. I picked this for the fact you want to complete 100 stories and east tower can get rid of 4. They are also short so it shouldn’t be to much to go through as long as you don’t mind reading them.
or
Everlasting summer: This is a weird longish story but its one that keeps you hooked. I suggest this one if not east tower for my next suggestion
Frosty Kiss: This is the sequel to Everlasting Summer. It is also very tiny to make up for everlasting summer being around 15 hours
G-senjou no Maou: I haven’t actually read this but I’ve been planning to since I’ve heard its very good but also long
Hatoful Boyfriend: If there’s not a serious reason you haven’t finished it I suggest reading both if you dropped it since you don’t like it then prepare for my lie
or
How to take off your mask: Yep I lied. It’s not the end of this one creator. I really enjoyed this story and its a much needed improvement for art and story. Plus it has a sequel so 2 for 1 or 3 if you have the newest one.
Idol Michiru: I can only suggest this if you own part 2. Knowing the grisaia series would also help but since it’s a spin off you don’t really need to know about it however having part 2 is needed.
A Kiss for the petals: Haven’t read any of those K’s stories so lets just class this as K since some people ignore A and The in titles. If not this would also make a good A title as well since its short and sweet.
Lucid9: How about some love for a free game. It’s on the longer side but also has an alright story considering other free games I’ve read are pretty much short and terrible
Nekoparas: Just like with the others I mentioned you have 3 of them from what I can see so why not them. They aren’t the shortest but not the longest either. I think they a good read so go for 0 (the shortest) and see if you want to continue
Pyrite Heart: Another shortish story with good story. It is a romance story like pretty much all the others I suggested but there’s not much of it.
Sound of Drop: A longish story with plenty of bad ends and death! Nothing that gory though but still worth the read
The Sword of Asumi: Was looking for a plain t story but you don’t have many and the ones you do I haven’t read however Sword of Asumi is another one of my top favourites that I actually brought it twice.
Wow, thanks for the suggestions! You really worked on that list :D and you reminded me of that rule I wanted to put in, but ultimately forgot - no names starting with “the” (but if they have to be, then omit the “the”).
Well I certainly wish you luck with your goal its a big one. I totally get the make sure you finish it in a year thing I need a rule of finish it that week since as soon as I pause my stuff for even a little its over!
I get that! That’s why I will be debating if Hatoful Boyfriend is still a valid option - I’ve logged in about 40 minutes last year when I started reading the common route, but I made the mistake of saving at a scene with the teacher’s sprite in the classroom, which apparently is one of the places you shouldn’t save if you want your save to work later (oops). So I got angry and had to put it off for a moment. I only started getting actual endings when I came back to it this year… decisions, decisions…