VNs I finished in 2023 (Ranked)
I love VNs god damn it
6 Games
Amazing, the culmination of Aokana without the flaws of the main VN. Amazing dynamics between a lot of the characters (mainly between Masaya and Misaki, but the side characters like Shion and Shindou shine in it), and the FC matchs are even better than the main VN. I already loved Aokana but Extra2 just boosted my love for the series. I hope someday a real sequel following Extra2 will be released, I seriously think Aokana has insane potential as a series, it's possible to rise the scale of Aokana from amateur FC to professionnal.
Visceral and enchanting VN about the weight of wounds and how it can bound people's lives, solidified by a very solid cast, with Towa being the highlight. He is an absolutely phenomenal main character, following a main character in a VN never felt that special, that guy is scaring, fascinating, endearing, with a very realistic psychology. Amazing VN with my favorite final route of any VN I've read.
Rika and Mashiro were nice routes but nothing amazing to me, but Asuka and Misaki routes are excellent, intense sport, very good chara dev for both of them (especially Misaki who is a very relatable character with her anxieties and insecurities, it's rare to see a character this relatable in media to me). These 2 routes are magical in how they clashed with each other, given how shonen the Asuka's route felt since she's basically a female Goku, in contradiction to the more "grounded" Misaki's route showing the pressure of competition, the fear of not being good enough. Also a insane amount of beautiful CGs making Aokana such a pleasant read.
Mitsumi and Con Su routes were nice enough, but Kiriri and especially Iria route were amazing, with some amazing plot twists, a great main antagonist. Ethica is an amazing MC, Su'on is good but I don't love him (he has some really intense scenes in the end though). Also a very good setting even if a bit too cliched at times given how the VN is rooted in fairly stereotyped SF tropes at times. H scenes felt a bit useless a lot of times but it's not that much of an issue. Still an excellent VN despite the flaws and the fact that the VN is not that solid in its big picture.
I don't have much to say, it was cute with some really funny scenes, but the FC aspect was inexistant. I also didn't find the romance aspect that compelling.
First otome I've read, has some interesting ideas but the VN lack creativity given how it takes a lot of tropes but without being especially deep or unique in some aspects, the love interests were okay but their development is a bit weak since the VN is not long enough, it lacks details regarding all the love interests (especially Zenn who has an interesting backstory). The main character was interesting but she has no sprites and no dub so it was like she was hollow, and it was even more frustrating compared to eroge MCs since she's not a self-insert protagonist. Visually it's way too "pretty" for what it tells, so I never really felt the "despair" the characters were supposed to feel, and the scenes breaking the tone of the VN didn't help, which means I never really found the VN especially thrilling. The trials were decently fun at least, and the music is quite good even if too repetitive since there are too few BGM. I could have give it a 5 since the VN has some strengths, but the last segments were shameful. It was rushed, one scene on particular was cringe while having a contrived development, a lot of the minor characters have a superficial place in the VN (mainly Evelina), and the thematics were a bit superficial and basic. The reveals lore at the end lacked details, it felt more like an afterthought than anything and it was revealed like it was nothing. The VN probably lack budget at the end. Pretty forgettable VN overall in my eyes, even if I can understand otome fans loving it since it apparently breaks some stereotypes of the genre (mainly regarding the MC)
