In the Western world, we are familiar with video game genres like first-person shooters, console RPGs, and puzzle games – games like Halo and the Final Fantasy series dominate the Western gaming market. However, there is one game genre that is relatively obscure in the West: the visual novel.
Visual Novel (VN) is a popular game genre in Japan, dominating the Japanese game market with its thousands of available titles. As the name suggests, the main focus of a VN is your story. They are typically characterized by their vivid anime-style artwork, juxtaposed with text, static backgrounds, music, sound effects, and voice acting. The game is minimalist: most of the interaction is achieved by clicking on the screen to progress through the story. A VN may or may not have decision points, where your decisions can affect the outcome of the story.
Most VNs are renai, or have romantic themes, usually in a school setting. In these VNs, you take on the role of a male character with one or more female romantic perspectives. The “otome game” reverses this role: a female character with one or more male romantic prospects. However, there are several VNs where romance is not the main focus; an example includes the Phoenix Wright series. The VN genre encompasses a variety of themes, including but not limited to: mecha, yaoi, and yuri (gay and lesbian relationships, respectively), magical girls, and medieval themes.
A large number of VNs contain hentai or adult scenes. A VN containing them isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in a romance-themed story, it can enhance the relationship between two characters. However, there are VNs where the main focus is on hentai, with an “excuse plot” to justify it. On the other hand, there are VNs without such content. Whether you choose to play an all-ages or adult VN, they can have equally great stories.
There is VN for both PC and video game consoles. if you choose to play a Japanese VN on your PC, you may need to change your system locale to Japanese or use AppLocale if you’re using Windows; otherwise you will get distorted text. However, there are translation groups that have translated various Japanese VNs into English.
A good way to get your feet wet in the VN scene is to play some homemade ones; there are many free VNs in English created with Ren’Py, a free VN creation software. When you’re ready, you can check out various Japanese professional VNs at the Visual Novel Database; Game demos can be found on the sites of their respective developers.
Visual novels can serve as a break from today’s action-oriented games. Try one out today – engaging storylines, vivid anime-style art, and captivating characters will keep you wanting to play more.
