VNs I’ve played ranked
Based off games that are tagged as visual novel on this site. Notes are only made for games that I really care about enough to make a note on.
35 Games
By far the VN with the most depth and messaging on this list, only rivaled by its sequel right below it. There are so many different things one can write about when attempting to analyze this story and I don’t feel nearly confident enough as a writer to even tackle reviewing this behemoth. Maybe expect a very lengthy review in the far future? Other than its story, it has my favorite VN ost and phenomenal art direction. Once again, in these aspects the only game that comes close is The 25th Ward. Both of these titles are artistic achievements and are must plays.
1
Is in many ways an expansion of The Silver Case. In some aspects it treads the same ground already covered, but then diverges extremely strongly. Both The Silver Case and this title are, to an extent, about illuminating Suda’s fears for the future of a society bent on modernization and reaching utopia at the cost of disregarding human lives and relationships, but both games go many different directions showing these ideas and attempt to cover all aspects of modern life. Like with The Silver Case, I may try to make a review that goes slightly more into detail.
2
Represents all 3 routes. This is the VN that really got me a lot more interested in VNs. I actually played The Silver Case before this, however this got me far more interested in the “traditional” VN format and structure. The game is thematically solid and though it most certainly has weak spots in pacing and plot I adore it.
3
One of the most simply pleasant VNs. Even if you took away the core narrative of Bazett and Avenger I absolutely loved most of the slice of life scenes, primarily due to the fact that I already really enjoyed Stay Night and its cast. All this combined with the core narrative and it just comes together so well. This and 25th Ward are perfect examples of perfect sequels to the original work. Also the side content is a lot of fun, really wish more VNs had little mini games like this game does.
4
Probably the only Ace Attorney game that actually has a theme in its core narrative and it’s executed so well. The cast is phenomenal, even the new characters, the ost is probably my favorite in the series, and Miles Edgeworth is my favorite Capcom character ❤️.
5
My opinion of this game has soured slightly over time, but it is still a phenomenal experience. Strung together beautifully with its visuals and soundtracks, I can’t help but feel that its core narrative doesn’t quite reach the heights of other titles. Some aspects of the story, primarily in the finale feel kind of rushed and maybe even unnecessary at times, but it still has a strong narrative overall. I also feel this game is quite weak thematically but maybe I’m already due for a reread.
6
This isn’t even a VN but backloggd (or imdb) seems to think it is so it’s here I guess
7
Representing Quesiton Arcs/first four chapters. These first four chapters are solid at best, the horror and mystery aspects shine brilliantly but they are primarily reserved purely as build up for the answer arcs which cuts their potential of being full fledged narratives short.
8
A decently solid story, it’s actually quite strong thematically but in its basic narrative it’s paced extremely quickly and most of the character writing is quite mediocre. Only really one character is not completely shallow in my opinion. A longer remake with more emphasis on more characters retaining the themes of this game could actually work out quite well.
9
Represents the first three Ace Attorney games. This trilogy is really an all time classic for me…they were my very first VNs and for a long while this trilogy and other Ace Attorney titles were the only VNs I played. These games aren’t the greatest things ever made, they don’t have super complex themes or ideas and there a number of inconsistencies and things like that present in each game, but they are still uber enjoyable even after having read through many other better works. They’re simple but they know that and focus on being enjoyable experiences rather than life changing. And even then they’re still life changing to some degree, I very likely would not enjoy the VN medium as much as I do if I had not experienced these titles.
10
Has some beautiful moments that rival those in the original game for me, but is overall mostly additional story to the original merely adding more to the backstory of some characters.
11
Genuinely not sure why this game is labeled as a VN but Last Window is not when they share the exact same storytelling format and gameplay. You can read my Last Window review I stringed together in 10 minutes for more details on what I think of the two games.
12
Extremely good first half, very middling second half.
13
14
24
5 Comments
backloggd does not label persona 5 as a VN, so it is not here @AntitoxinZero
@pkd2 how the 80 hour yap session isn't classified as a VN is beyond me
@AntitoxinZero to be frank, none of the persona games are visual novels at all. p3 and p4 are only here because they are labeled as such.
the Suda dick riding is crazy.
AntitoxinZero
1 month ago