Anyway, since that comment is off topic let me give you a "great" recommendation: Fallen Girl - Black Rose and the Fire of Desire

If you ever wanted a full on fetish work that's 99% gay, there you go (it has like, a very tiny bit of other stuff like tentacles but mostly yuri). It has it all (spoilers for NSFW reasons): BDSM, rape, mindbreak—those three are literally just the basic premise of the story—pet play, exhibitionism, aphrodisiacs, and a bunch of other stuff
Also, its English translation, the one that's being sold on Steam for ~$13, is what I presume to be a non-edited machine translation which makes it completely unreadable

OELVN really have nowhere near the length or production value of Japanese VN,

This is just outright false for so many reasons. From the reality that the majority of Japanese VNs have low production value and you are just thinking of the high profile ones, to the fact that VNs like Perfect Gold and Synergia exist in the EN realm.
When it comes to length I would say Japanese VNs average out at 5-12 hours. The really long plot driven ones or those with RPG elements being the exceptions actually. Yes, you will have your Lilycle with its 30 hours completion time or the Type-Moon stuff that is basically just the length of an actual novel series, but that is not as common as you may think. Oshirabu, Letters from a Rainy Day and Ne no kami are a lot more common.

Let me start by saying I don't read yuri exclusively at all so if you're talking strictly yuri works I understand that you feel they're 'competitive' but at the same time we're speaking different languages. I'm not saying Japan doesn't have low quality, low budget stuff either but 30+ hours is actually fairly average for het oriented moege and such with around 4 routes. Something like Subarashiki Hibi (Wonderful Everyday) which I brought up a few posts ago is easily 50+ hours. It is a masterpiece and has some yuri (and futa) but also more trigger warnings that I care to type out. Looking at charage that I read cover to cover on the MangaGamer sale right now Byakko and Hapymaher are both closer to 40 hours. And back to yuri Kindred Spirits on the Roof is around 30 hours as well. I don't think you grasp how long relatively normal VN actually are. I'll give you that Fate/stay night is a bit of an exception -- but it's also something like 70+ hours.

Ne no Kami died before its time, but keep in mind it is a doujin work; so was A Kiss for the Petals, though for Maidens of Michael (Sono Hanabira 11) they formed a proper company. Both may have been shorter individually but with episodic releases in mind. Ne no Kami ended up about 20 hours between both released games, Wanting Wings is around 20 hours for two games as well. With Sono Hanabira Maidens of Michael is about 20 hours, New Generation! is around 14 hours and there's like 18 other entries in the series waiting for you if you feel so inclined. And for the record Umineko was a doujin as well, and released as 8 episodes from 2007 to 2011.

I'm pretty sure "I just can't get into them" is a valid opinion, and while I'm generally always open to new shit to read I just haven't seen any OELVN that looked particularly intriguing recently. I'm not saying they're bad at all though, just that I haven't found anything to my taste. I might give Perfect Gold or Heart of the Woods a try, but I don't really like cyberpunk so Synergia is out. I like getting sort of lost in VN for a couple weeks at a time though, so the length of them is definitely sort of an issue... that goes beyond yuri VN as almost all OELVN seem to plateau at around 10 to 12 hours.

That scene isn't about Tara giving up. Like, it literally ends with Morgan saying that she'll get Maddie back and Tara responding "I know. If anyone can, it's you."
Also, that choice is not about "what should Tara do", it's "what should Morgan do." Each choice is made by Morgan and is a part of her growth as a character. Her allowing Tara to let out her feelings is important for her character growth more than anything else. Same with the two other choices.

I am sorry, either I'm misremebering that part of the story a lot or you mixed up the two outcomes. The point of Tara's breakdown was to accept that Maddie is most likely dead. She is literally grieving for her. Morgan is giving her emotional support to get through that. The other choice is the one where they don't accept that she is dead and Morgan encourages Tara to keep her chin up and go against her mother so they can get Maddie back.

And while I do prefer more kinetic stories I do also like the reader input, but redundant choices slow the story down. And that "few moments" is relative as well. Personally I have to: figure out what the choice is asking, figure out who or what the choices are referring to, in most cases I also save before making the choice, and write down which choice I go with so that I can figure out the other endings on later read throughs (also, if I save I need to write out which save file this path goes in also).

I think it is normal to save at every choice, but perhaps you are putting a little too much effort into the minute details? Writing down your choices or creating your own flowchart is mostly unecessary in my opinion, especially with modern VNs that let you easily skip from choice to choice or skip all read text. Maybe if you change your approach to how you deal with choices they will feel less cumbersome?

This can still be implemented in the way I described as fun. For example, instead of scattering choices that influence dialogue in a single scene (e.g. "A looks better" vs "B looks better") you would have choices that influence the next scene (e.g. "I want to go with A" vs "I want to go with B", where the next scene is decided by which you choose).
This still has the romance option resonating with your input without having said input amount to very little in the actual story.
These small choices, to me at least, feel like they're just "need to get enough points to trigger a flag" instead of "I really like this person so I want compliment her", because the small choices don't really reward the reader with anything other than the knowledge that "this raises their points"

See, this is a pretty good point. If you were refering to choices that have no direct effect on what's going on and instead work with an invisible affection gauge it can be frustrating. When I speak of minor choices I mean those which at least change the immediate scene after you make it, but perhaps have no real effect on the overarching plot.

Affection points and flags that are integrated the other way are more common in dating sims and are a holdover of the genre's early days. In some scenarios it makes sense (I bring up detective style gameplay again, where making wrong deductions or choices can have long term consequences you don't see immediately. A so called "bad end gauge" haha).

Anyway, since that comment is off topic

I would not say so. We are discussing Visual Novels and their tropes here, which I said in my initial post, is completely fine. I think it is important for recommendations too ot understand the preferences of people and how they perceive the medium.

let me give you a "great" recommendation: Fallen Girl - Black Rose and the Fire of Desire

If you ever wanted a full on fetish work that's 99% gay, there you go (it has like, a very tiny bit of other stuff like tentacles but mostly yuri). It has it all (spoilers for NSFW reasons): BDSM, rape, mindbreak—those three are literally just the basic premise of the story—pet play, exhibitionism, aphrodisiacs, and a bunch of other stuff
Also, its English translation, the one that's being sold on Steam for ~$13, is what I presume to be a non-edited machine translation which makes it completely unreadable

Hm. So you are telling me that you don't recommend this, right?

Let me start by saying I don't read yuri exclusively at all so if you're talking strictly yuri works I understand that you feel they're 'competitive' but at the same time we're speaking different languages.

I read the occasional non-yuri VN (mostly those that aren't romance focused of course). I am not blind to things outside the genre.

I'm not saying Japan doesn't have low quality, low budget stuff either but 30+ hours is actually fairly average for het oriented moege and such with around 4 routes.

Those are generally low quality though, so I suppose in the end you still have to choose.
I think you are vastly underestimating how many VNs flood the market in Japan every year and how many of those are simply egregiously low quality or short. I am not saying this as a fact, so please don't take it that way, but it could well be that you read only translated works, in which case you are more likely to find things that someone thought were worth translating.
I have spent a lot of times on forums where JP VNs have been put into consideration for fan translations (Yuri, het, BL, whatever you can think of) and you learn that there are unfathomable amounts of garbage out there sadly.

Something like Subarashiki Hibi (Wonderful Everyday) which I brought up a few posts ago is easily 50+ hours. It is a masterpiece and has some yuri (and futa) but also more trigger warnings that I care to type out. And back to yuri Kindred Spirits on the Roof is around 30 hours as well. I don't think you grasp how long relatively normal VN actually are. I'll give you that Fate/stay night is a bit of an exception -- but it's also something like 70+ hours.

Judging a book by its cover is bad form, but that VN does not look or sound like a masterpiece... I will have to take your word for it though, as I would never read it.
Kindred Spirits is an outlier when it comes to Yuri VNs. I really think for Yuri VNs ~20ish hours is considered long.
F/SN is one of the longest I've read and well, Nasu has a tendency for bloating, that's just how his writing goes.

Ne no Kami died before its time, but keep in mind it is a doujin work; so was A Kiss for the Petals, though for Maidens of Michael (Sono Hanabira 11) they formed a proper company. Both may have been shorter individually but with episodic releases in mind. Ne no Kami ended up about 20 hours between both released games, Wanting Wings is around 20 hours for two games as well. With Sono Hanabira Maidens of Michael is about 20 hours, New Generation! is around 14 hours and there's like 18 other entries in the series waiting for you if you feel so inclined. And for the record Umineko was a doujin as well, and released as 8 episodes from 2007 to 2011.

I mean... if you add up sequels to the length of a VN then that is a bit deceptive. In that case I could add the Sakura games up, which individually are like 4-6 hours, to 20 hours or more for each trilogy. Not exactly shining beacons of quality those ones, but there are so many of them...

With Higurashi and Umineko I do see each part as just one chapter of the same singular VN, because there is nothing self-contained about those parts. I can read any Sono Hanabira game on its own perfectly fine. I cannot read a random arc in Higurashi and feel satisfied.

I'm pretty sure "I just can't get into them" is a valid opinion, and while I'm generally always open to new shit to read I just haven't seen any OELVN that looked particularly intriguing recently. I'm not saying they're bad at all though, just that I haven't found anything to my taste. I might give Perfect Gold or Heart of the Woods a try, but I don't really like cyberpunk so Synergia is out. I like getting sort of lost in VN for a couple weeks at a time though, so the length of them is definitely sort of an issue... that goes beyond yuri VN as almost all OELVN seem to plateau at around 10 to 12 hours.

Yes, I did say that it is completely fine if you can't get into something. It is normal. I also already showed that I have many limits myself that I am not willing to pass. This conversation is entirely one of intellectual interest to determine what differences could cause that kind of reaction. It is rather easy to comprehend why someone dislikes a fetish, not so much with an entire varied source of content.

If you really seek copious amounts of content that are also high quality, I can see why you aren't exactly spoiled for choice. Those are high standards. Although if you read het, then you probably have a lot more garbage to sift through on top of that. With the state of the industry, 80% of new releases are just low effort eroge, or even worse, nukige. My condolences.

I want to be a little more helpful, so may I suggest this: VN/RPG hybrids. Those are usually more content packed for obvious reasons and still give you what VNs are best at. And as it happens there is one of those on the recommendation list that also happens to be a OELVN!
After I Met That Catgirl, My Questlist Got Too Long! If you go for completion it's around 40-60 hours. The quality is generally pretty good, especially in the writing, although the voice acting for side-characters can be... lacking. Though it has some of the most non-cringy sex scene voice acting I have experienced... and that is in English no less.
5 routes, lots of side-content, a dozen endings, a combat system that isn't copy-paste RPGmaker stuff and generally a lot of care and effort put into the details. I highly recommend this one.

last edited at Feb 13, 2022 3:34AM

That scene isn't about Tara giving up. Like, it literally ends with Morgan saying that she'll get Maddie back and Tara responding "I know. If anyone can, it's you."
Also, that choice is not about "what should Tara do", it's "what should Morgan do." Each choice is made by Morgan and is a part of her growth as a character. Her allowing Tara to let out her feelings is important for her character growth more than anything else. Same with the two other choices.

I am sorry, either I'm misremebering that part of the story a lot or you mixed up the two outcomes. The point of Tara's breakdown was to accept that Maddie is most likely dead. She is literally grieving for her. Morgan is giving her emotional support to get through that. The other choice is the one where they don't accept that she is dead and Morgan encourages Tara to keep her chin up and go against her mother so they can get Maddie back.

I loaded a save to make sure I remembered it correctly so no mix up.

If you ever wanted a full on fetish work that's 99% gay, there you go (it has like, a very tiny bit of other stuff like tentacles but mostly yuri). It has it all (spoilers for NSFW reasons): BDSM, rape, mindbreak—those three are literally just the basic premise of the story—pet play, exhibitionism, aphrodisiacs, and a bunch of other stuff
Also, its English translation, the one that's being sold on Steam for ~$13, is what I presume to be a non-edited machine translation which makes it completely unreadable

Hm. So you are telling me that you don't recommend this, right?

No, the recommendation is genuine. It isn't good, but it is fun and, if you like those kinds of kinks, hot.
And it does have a Mandarin option which might be okay so if you speak that it could be even better

Those are generally low quality though, so I suppose in the end you still have to choose.
I think you are vastly underestimating how many VNs flood the market in Japan every year and how many of those are simply egregiously low quality or short. I am not saying this as a fact, so please don't take it that way, but it could well be that you read only translated works, in which case you are more likely to find things that someone thought were worth translating.

Actually the localization scene has always been sort of backwards. In the aughts before there was Steam it wasn't considered worth the cost or risk to translate the longer, highly rated epics so the only thing we got commercially was the shortest, most fetishy, tentacle rapey stuff specifically because it was short -- and profitable. Fan translators did come through for kamige (godly games) like Muv-Luv, Fate, Umineko, School Days, etc. but that was an incredibly small representation. It took years and years to get to the point where we are now.

Judging a book by its cover is bad form, but that VN does not look or sound like a masterpiece... I will have to take your word for it though, as I would never read it.
Kindred Spirits is an outlier when it comes to Yuri VNs. I really think for Yuri VNs ~20ish hours is considered long.
F/SN is one of the longest I've read and well, Nasu has a tendency for bloating, that's just how his writing goes.

I mean... just look at the score distribution on VNDB. That aside though, isn't pretty much every Flowers release around 15-20 hours as well? To me that's pretty average for a commercial release with niche appeal. I asked about Oshirabu the other day in part because to me its such an outlier in terms of its short length.

I mean... if you add up sequels to the length of a VN then that is a bit deceptive. In that case I could add the Sakura games up, which individually are like 4-6 hours, to 20 hours or more for each trilogy. Not exactly shining beacons of quality those ones, but there are so many of them...

Winged Cloud is also a doujin circle, as is NEKO Works. There's a lot less continuity with Winged Cloud stuff though, so I don't really think the comparison is entirely relevant. I don't think many people consider Sakura games as much more than a guilty pleasure either. They also have a history of not working well with English publishers.

With Higurashi and Umineko I do see each part as just one chapter of the same singular VN, because there is nothing self-contained about those parts. I can read any Sono Hanabira game on its own perfectly fine. I cannot read a random arc in Higurashi and feel satisfied.

Even though Sono Hanabira is written to be fairly accessible there's still 3 or 4 games dedicated to each couple, and if you pick it up from something like Maidens of Michael it makes sense to go back to Joined in Love with You if you wanted to know about Reo and Mao or My Dear Prince if you wanted to know more about Kaede and Sarah. If you wanted to compare it to something -- maybe the MCU would make more sense; you can easily skip Marvel movies but the universe is better the more you've seen. It is technically a nukige but that's refers to its purpose more than its quality... you're doing it wrong if you're reading it for something other than fluffy yuri romance and triple vanilla sex scenes.

If you really seek copious amounts of content that are also high quality, I can see why you aren't exactly spoiled for choice. Those are high standards. Although if you read het, then you probably have a lot more garbage to sift through on top of that. With the state of the industry, 80% of new releases are just low effort eroge, or even worse, nukige. My condolences.
I want to be a little more helpful, so may I suggest this: VN/RPG hybrids. Those are usually more content packed for obvious reasons and still give you what VNs are best at. And as it happens there is one of those on the recommendation list that also happens to be a OELVN!
After I Met That Catgirl, My Questlist Got Too Long! If you go for completion it's around 40-60 hours. The quality is generally pretty good, especially in the writing, although the voice acting for side-characters can be... lacking. Though it has some of the most non-cringy sex scene voice acting I have experienced... and that is in English no less.
5 routes, lots of side-content, a dozen endings, a combat system that isn't copy-paste RPGmaker stuff and generally a lot of care and effort put into the details. I highly recommend this one.

Hmm... in terms of VN/RPG hybrids Evenicle II is coming out next week and is probably going to occupy 100 hours of my time into March but that catgirl RPG definitely looks pretty interesting. Plus there's a definite lack of yuri nekomimi - though admittedly I'm actually allergic. I'll add it to my wishlist and grab it next Steam sale for sure though.

Actually, very little of what you're saying has made much sense but if you're conflating RPGMakers with VN in your "garbage sorting" then I guess what you're saying has some merit. I've found a few RPGMakers entertaining for a few hours but I'm really not into the casual rape or the "lose to win" aspect. In general I don't really fuck with them, nor does VNDB even welcome them aside from a few exceptions. Lumping them all together is really sort of misguided overall.

Even though Sono Hanabira is written to be fairly accessible there's still 3 or 4 games dedicated to each couple [...]

2 for each of the original 5 couples, actually, and they're fairly short VNs in any case.

2 for each of the original 5 couples, actually, and they're fairly short VNs in any case.

I'm giving them all Maidens of Michael since its sort of their Avengers and there was also Snow White's Night which featured most of the original couples -- Sayuki and Rikka replaced Shizuku and Eris because they graduated.

Hm. So you are telling me that you don't recommend this, right?

No, the recommendation is genuine. It isn't good, but it is fun and, if you like those kinds of kinks, hot.
And it does have a Mandarin option which might be okay so if you speak that it could be even better

I will not recommend a machine translation. Especially not one that asks for money. And even if we did recommend based on alternate language translations, you can't even verify the quality of the Mandarin release, right? (Just a guess, sorry if you actually do speak Mandarin)
If someone is desperate for... that content, then I am sure they will find it. Your comment is still here for them to find it too, so I hope that's enough. ^^;

I mean... just look at the score distribution on VNDB. That aside though, isn't pretty much every Flowers release around 15-20 hours as well? To me that's pretty average for a commercial release with niche appeal. I asked about Oshirabu the other day in part because to me its such an outlier in terms of its short length.

I don't put value on scores. Especially for things that have content I don't care for, like this one. It doesn't represent what an outsider might enjoy, only what someone who is into these things does. Therefore it cannot tell me what I actually need to know, which is if this is worth reading despite everything going against it (for me).

As for Flowers, you are name dropping the cream of the crop here and taking it as the standard.
Oshirabu is not an outlier, this is completely common.

Winged Cloud is also a doujin circle, as is NEKO Works. There's a lot less continuity with Winged Cloud stuff though, so I don't really think the comparison is entirely relevant.

So you agree that adding up sequels to the length of a single game makes no sense? At least that would be the conclusion.
"Doujin circle" or not, that is completely irrelevant to the matter at hand. The Sakura Trilogies have total continuity.

Even though Sono Hanabira is written to be fairly accessible there's still 3 or 4 games dedicated to each couple

Certainly, but the comparison was to Higurashi and the like. A focused throughline narrative just can't be treated seperately. Sono Hanabira can.

Actually, very little of what you're saying has made much sense but if you're conflating RPGMakers with VN in your "garbage sorting" then I guess what you're saying has some merit.

Wow. You love making assumptions, don't you? You aren't exactly the poster child for common sense either if you hadn't figured out that I only brought up RPGmaker to compare the combat system. How you could project this minor point unto the general topic is beyond me.
No, I do not think RPGmaker games are VNs. They are RPGs. VN/RPG hybrids are different as well, I know the difference. That's why I recommended a hybrid and not a generic RPG with yuri content. There are also VNs with TCG aspects that I played before. There are many weird hybrids out there.

You seem to be in denial about the state of the industry, I must assume, if you really believe that anything I said about it is incorrect. My words don't need to have "merit", they just reflect reality. The het scene is even more overwrought with low quality garbage than all the others. Whether your standards are low or you really just pick out high profile industry darlings, I cannot say. For every Key release there will be 10 small company generic nukige. For every Steins;Gate there will be 20 generic dating sims. It is the way of the world.

last edited at Feb 14, 2022 2:34AM

Hm. So you are telling me that you don't recommend this, right?

No, the recommendation is genuine. It isn't good, but it is fun and, if you like those kinds of kinks, hot.
And it does have a Mandarin option which might be okay so if you speak that it could be even better

I will not recommend a machine translation. Especially not one that asks for money. And even if we did recommend based on alternate language translations, you can't even verify the quality of the Mandarin release, right? (Just a guess, sorry if you actually do speak Mandarin)
If someone is desperate for... that content, then I am sure they will find it. Your comment is still here for them to find it too, so I hope that's enough. ^^;

I should clarify: it's a joke recommendation. The translation is very bad which makes the whole thing hilarious to read.

Also, as with most things, my recommendation goes for a pirated version. Hence why I mentioned the price tag in the first place. You should not buy it, but I definitely recommend you read it

I don't put value on scores. Especially for things that have content I don't care for, like this one. It doesn't represent what an outsider might enjoy, only what someone who is into these things does. Therefore it cannot tell me what I actually need to know, which is if this is worth reading despite everything going against it (for me).

As for Flowers, you are name dropping the cream of the crop here and taking it as the standard.

I actually sort of dislike the Flowers art style, but we're talking about length here. In all honesty I probably do equate short length with low quality, though, particularly from commercial releases.

So you agree that adding up sequels to the length of a single game makes no sense? At least that would be the conclusion.
"Doujin circle" or not, that is completely irrelevant to the matter at hand. The Sakura Trilogies have total continuity.

I'm not sure what you mean by "trilogies"; there's a fair amount of standalone Sakura games and Sakura Succubus is up to 5 now. I own the majority of them from Humble Bundles but I haven't really bothered with them, even as porn. Unless I'm mistaken though there's no crossover from something like Sakura Succubus to Sakura Spirit or whatever.

To your question though, it depends on the series. Ne no Kami doesn't really stand on its own, nor does a series like 9-Nine. Its a bit more complex with series like Sono Hanabira, its even more complex with RPG series like Kiseki (Trails) if you're familiar with it. Movies like Dune don't particularly stand on their own either. If its following a TV season or Light Novel structure then I absolutely consider it one continuous... thing.

You seem to be in denial about the state of the industry, I must assume, if you really believe that anything I said about it is incorrect. My words don't need to have "merit", they just reflect reality. The het scene is even more overwrought with low quality garbage than all the others. Whether your standards are low or you really just pick out high profile industry darlings, I cannot say. For every Key release there will be 10 small company generic nukige. For every Steins;Gate there will be 20 generic dating sims. It is the way of the world.

I actually fucking hate Jun Maeda, and I'm not really a snob about what I read nor do I particularly care about ratings or popularity either. I like what I like. For better or worse I do gauge effort (and budget, etc.) at least in part by its length. And to me the low effort stuff is kind of obvious, though its possible years of experience helps, but the 4 hour nukige you're being so belligerent about doesn't really pretend to be something its not, either. Which is why your argument is so confusing.

Honestly I'm not sure how the fuck this turned into an argument in the first place because I'm just here trying to talk about what I like, not feel like I have to defend what I like for some bizarre reason. If you really feel like you need a "win" can you go pester someone else? Preferably in some other topic, because the person who has taken it on themselves to run the VN suggestion thread shitting on the entire industry is kind of a bad look.

last edited at Feb 14, 2022 8:31AM

oh, the recommendations are just great!

https://vndb.org/v24665 Rituals In The Dark was nice too

Well, I'm quite voracious when it comes to yuri VNs, but I'm also picky and quite snobbish, lol.

That is an unfortunate combination indeed, haha. Though I would consider myself quite voracious as well, I do find joy in some less stellar or high production works. Limiting yourself too much can be problematic. I find that often times the more indie works that lack polish have strong imagination and writing behind them to make up for it.

I don't think that I limit myself on purpose. I'm all for indie production (well, technically the absolute vast majority of VNs are indie; even Flowers can be considered indie, because the initial PC releases of all four games were self-published, Prototype did help IG only with the console releases). It's simply just that something either immediately clicks with me and I go "huh, I want to read it, right now if possible" or my reaction is just "hmmm, this looks mildly interesting, maybe I'll check it out when I'm out of the stuff that I currently want to read/watch/listen to".

Ah, the localised Curse of Kudan that was interoduced prior, yes? It's one of the few I haven't read yet. I found the premise a bit overbearing, but you sure seem to sing its praises. Might be worth looking into.

You mean the ghost story/mystery part was a bit overbearing?

Then it would take place after Automne in the timeline... but probably much later. The Drama CD mentioned Yuzuriha working in a book store, so her being a real photographer is quite the time jump. I knew the drama CDs are canon to the ture ending timeline, but this is a nice easter egg that makes it feel more real.

In short, Yuzuriha is the reason why Ichigo got into professional photography (the fact itself was mentioned in the FLOWERS 20th Anniversary Special Book, but the reasoning was presented in Strelitzia Drama CD).
(InnoGrey sure love FLOWERS, don't they. And Sugina Miki doesn't seem to really care that the series is not as commercially viable as IG's early titles. They keep writing (or, should I say, it's Hatsumi who continues to write new stories with religious zeal) and recording official audio dramas every year or year and a half, and they don't seem to be stopping, because the new one is coming out in a couple of weeks. They truly love the series' characters and want to see them living happy and fulfilling lives, and I'm all here for it.)
(Also, they sometimes mention how all the seiyuu became very tightly knit together as a group, which should really warm the heart of Erika's Ayane 'The Yuri Connoisseur' Sakura. Btw, there are a couple of stories about her ridiculous, hilarious and ridiculously hilarious IRL interactions with Chidori's Suzaki Aya, because, basically, both of them are quite similar to their characters in terms of their real personalities.)

last edited at Mar 31, 2022 1:47AM

I'll try my hand at a sort of description akin to the OP

Seabed: https://vndb.org/v19273

Synopsis: SeaBed is a yuri-themed mystery kinetic novel told through the perspectives of three separate characters: Mizuno Sachiko, a designer plagued by hallucinations of her past lover; Narasaki Hibiki, Sachiko's friend and a psychiatrist researching the workings of human memories; and Takako, Sachiko's former lover who has been rapidly forgetting her past, including how or why the two women drifted apart despite being together since childhood.

Duration: medium (10-20 hours depending on reading speed)

Gameplay: Seabed is a kinetic novel, and as a result there are no choices or branching paths as the narrative is entirely static. Instead of using game mechanics to "investigate" a mystery as some others do, the mystery is for the reader themselves to solve or interpret as they read the work. The work will periodically change perspective to one of the other central three characters as they live their lives with surreal undertones.

Yuri: The central characters of the work are explicitly gay growing from childhood friends to adult lovers and despite what the synopsis may imply, there is no question of their love for each other at any point.

Version: I believe the switch version is slightly updated and therefore the best but the PC version on steam is perfectly fine enough.

Sexual content: off screen only, though there are some scenes with censored nudity.

Recommended?: Yes, it's my favorite work of fiction of all time due to how it tackles the concept of connections and memory. This was very emotionally meaningful to me, and for those in the right place in their life, that feeling seems to be shared. The prose is closer to a book than it is to a typical VN and is described by some as putting the reader in a trance. Really others put it in better words than I but it's a very unique VN in writing style and pacing compared to other more contemporary examples I've played such as Kindred Spirits or A Summer's End.

Extra information: due to how unusual this VN is and how people engage with it, if you want to know if it's right for you, I highly encourage looking at the vndb reviews. All 8 of them in my opinion capture a pretty sincere response to this work at its best. It's a very hard work to review and I can't match up with what is said with equivalent or greater quality. There is a reason why the voting statistics are skewed entirely left. https://vndb.org/v19273/reviews#review

No Akai ito, Amaranto, Expression Amrilato, Distant Memorajo, Letters From A Rainy Day, Nurse Love Addiction, Nurse Love Syndrome, Yumeutsutsu Re After, Yumeutsutsu Re Master, and Yuuki Yuuna VN series? Blasphemy!

FINALLY. I was looking for this thread, I had to dig through pages upon pages of chapter discussions just to even get close. The forum could really use a search function.

BUT. I'm here because of important news, regarding a very important yuri visual novel series to me, and one that's recommended in the opening post.

Flowers -Le Volume sur Hiver-, the final entry into the series, has gotten a confirmed release date! Literally about a month from now. June 22. There's a physical collector's release too, but that won't happen until December.

I'm so excited. I'm ready to be turned into a sobbing mess because Innocent Grey seems to know exactly which heart strings to play for me. I cannot wait.

The next four weeks are going to be the longest four weeks ever for me. Before the release date for Hiver was announced, I was in the "it's fine" mode, even expecting it to come out during winter 2022-2023. But now I'm like "GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M LITERALLY DYING?!".

The next four weeks are going to be the longest four weeks ever for me. Before the release date for Hiver was announced, I was in the "it's fine" mode, even expecting it to come out during winter 2022-2023. But now I'm like "GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M LITERALLY DYING?!".

Honestly, I was getting worried when we hadn't gotten any news at all on it, since if you compare the releases for the others (they come out roughly two years apart each) and then jast just drops the release date out of the blue. It was pure dopamine for a day, but now I'm ready to have it do horrible things to my emotional state. Please, please let these weeks go by quickly

Flowers -Le Volume sur Hiver-, the final entry into the series, has gotten a confirmed release date! Literally about a month from now. June 22. There's a physical collector's release too, but that won't happen until December.

Waiting for December, then.

IIRC, you don't have to wait, because JAST will e-mail Steam keys to people that preorder physical edition. Better to ask them on Discord or Twitter though, not sure if I'm correct.

Edit: https://twitter.com/jastusa/status/1527791145492926465?t=FafMweayvMHMI_UBig9c8w&s=19

last edited at May 24, 2022 6:44AM

I've "finished" Hiver.
Or, to be precise, I was finished by Hiver.

I've no idea how to properly, adequately and fully describe what I've seen, heard and felt for the last two days and 25 hours without resorting to baby talk and onomatopoeia. This is no mere mortal, secular masterpiece — this a full-on cathartic religious experience. I've shed more tears of joy and sorrow during it than during any other entry.

Currently I'm just marinating in emotions, feelings and thoughts, so I'm not planning on writing an actual review on the series yet. But I'll mention one thing: Hiver cements "love" as the core theme of the series, and not just in a trite romantic sense. Over the year, these girls have become each other's sisterly and motherly figures, friends, fans, admirers and lovers. They will do anything for each other, anything to lift and to support each other, anything to protect each other, and that is the most blindingly beautiful part of an otherwise incredibly dark, compared to other entries, narrative of Hiver. Forget Automne's brooding and soul-crushing tonality, because this right here is the most oppressive, harrowing, freezing-cold and sometimes straight up terrifying tone and atmosphere in all of the series.

Yet in darkness search for light and hope.

New Yuri VN from Studio Elan called “Please Be Happy” has a demo out on steam right now! Cute Kitsune as the MC! I’ll definitely be checking it out!

The final FLOWERS game is now translated and available in the store. Le volume sur Hiver finally finishes the series.

It's bittersweet to see one of my favorite yuri series end, but I am so very glad that I got to experience it. I may have my issues with the plot of this game in particular (it is a major step down from the brilliant Autumn chapter), but there is not much in the way of such polished and beautiful works of art out there that I can wholeheartedly recommend, so do not take that criticism as a knock against the series.

I am still not ready to write my full recommendation for the entire series, but I urge anyone who loves in-depth character driven writing or a slightly Class-S setting with mystery aspects to it... read it. Read it all and be assured that it will be worth it in the end.

I still need to digest what I just finished, but discussing Hiver would also be appreciated as I wonder if my impressions are congruent with fellow readers.

I have added it to the list (alongside a lot of other VNs). Sorry for my absence and lack of updates. Life is always a whimsical thing.

I've "finished" Hiver.
Or, to be precise, I was finished by Hiver.

I've no idea how to properly, adequately and fully describe what I've seen, heard and felt for the last two days and 25 hours without resorting to baby talk and onomatopoeia. This is no mere mortal, secular masterpiece — this a full-on cathartic religious experience. I've shed more tears of joy and sorrow during it than during any other entry.

Currently I'm just marinating in emotions, feelings and thoughts, so I'm not planning on writing an actual review on the series yet. But I'll mention one thing: Hiver cements "love" as the core theme of the series, and not just in a trite romantic sense. Over the year, these girls have become each other's sisterly and motherly figures, friends, fans, admirers and lovers. They will do anything for each other, anything to lift and to support each other, anything to protect each other, and that is the most blindingly beautiful part of an otherwise incredibly dark, compared to other entries, narrative of Hiver. Forget Automne's brooding and soul-crushing tonality, because this right here is the most oppressive, harrowing, freezing-cold and sometimes straight up terrifying tone and atmosphere in all of the series.

Yet in darkness search for light and hope.

I am glad you enjoyed it this much. I agree on your assessment of what the overall theme of the series may actually be too. Love is central in every aspect and everything that denies love is portrayed as something foreign and bad (for example Suoh's spectre of her Stepmother). The final theme before the true credits was also quite distinctly about same-sex love. Love between two girls can't be wrong, the heart wants what it does and there is no need to deny it.

The oppressive feeling of Hiver is one of its strengths. Indeed, atmosphere, tone and emotions are what holds it higher and makes up for its more lacking aspects, like the plot.

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No Akai ito, Amaranto, Expression Amrilato, Distant Memorajo, Letters From A Rainy Day, Nurse Love Addiction, Nurse Love Syndrome, Yumeutsutsu Re After, Yumeutsutsu Re Master, and Yuuki Yuuna VN series? Blasphemy!

Pardon me, but Letters from a Rainy Day and both Yumeutsu titles have been on the list since I created this thread.
As for the others, I am aware of the Nurse Love games and the Yuuki Yuuna anime, but I cannot claim to be aware of the others. If you can recommend them I will add them to the list.

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I'll try my hand at a sort of description akin to the OP

Seabed: https://vndb.org/v19273

Ah yes, Seabed. I feel ashamed for not putting it on my initial list. I have read it, lived it and breathed it for that one memorable week in summer years ago... and then I sealed it away for some reason.

Famously this was the VN that got now beloved Adachi & Shimamura writer, Hitoma Iruma, into yuri. This may well be its greatest legacy haha

last edited at Jul 15, 2022 12:34AM

It has been a while, so I think it's time for another spin at the recommended section. The theme this time will be FREE VNs. No matter whether you are a loyal tax payer or a free spirited privateer, these games are not going to cost you a single doubloon either way! These ones may all vary in quality, but never dismiss something just because it is free of charge. And to make it more palatable I will do 4 instead of the usual 3 this time. Because I like ya.

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First Snow

Synopsis: Having moved away from her friends and family to attend community college, Allison Merlo is a fresh student struggling with the day to day challenges of life.

Faced not only with living independently for the first time, but also having to get past her nerves to find new friends in an unfamiliar environment, she finds herself falling in with a group of eccentric writers and artists.

As she pushes through this new stage in her life, the art of the cold and enigmatic Eileen Turner takes her attention, setting her on a course she never expected.

Duration? Short (ca. 5-7 hours)

Gameplay? Kinetic. First Snow has no choices or gameplay elements, it simply tells its story. When I first played it there was no voice acting included yet, but there has been a partial voice patch since then, so I went back to check it out and the voice acting does not disappoint, albeit relegated to the more important scenes only. I found it a good incentive to replay the game once more. Of course you can always turn it off should you find it disturbing to your experience.
The game has a very sweet arts&crafts aesthetic (as expected of a story revolving around artsy students) and while the CGs may only be servicable, the animated way the paper like sprites move and the polish of the menus is commendable.

Yuri? Of course the main pairing delivers on that front and there is an implication towards a certain trio being involved with each other as well, though that is relegated to the eventual sequel. The romance in this story is very gradual and dare I say it - a rainbow in a dreary and grey season. The game's tempered color pallette and tightly knit writing makes the troubled journey of Allison and Eileen into a relationship feel like a warming fire during a snowy afternoon.
Allison starts out rather conflicted about not just her future as a student, but also her sexuality. Yet the drama (and there is plenty of that) is not much based around it at all. In fact the cast is rather open-minded and supportive, most of all Rose, Allison's adult roommate and resident biker chick who had her own troubled life story and understands the need for freedom and self-expression.

Version? The latest update is available wherever you may download the game and the voice acting patch is included. For Steam there is the option for the free 18+ Adult patch as well.

Sexual Content? Surprisingly yes. And not just mere nudity (the expected nude painting does appear however), but full blown sex scenes. They are done tastefully and fit the flow of the story well. I would recommend getting the adult patch if necessary.

Recommended? I rather enjoyed this short, but warm experience. The story went places I did not initially expect and is far from shallow. A coming of age story that uses its short duration wisely and represents homosexuaity in a grounded way. What more do you need? It is worth spending a cozy afternoon on for sure! It is available on Steam, Itch.io and salty-salty-studio's website.

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Without A Voice

Synopsis: In the depths of a dark and unforgiving forest, an exiled princess whiles her time in solitude. For a girl raised in the lap of comfort, the woods are impossibly harsh, and day-to-day survival is the most she can manage. One day, however, a mysterious, beautiful maiden appears, throwing her world out of its already delicate alignment. The princess is instantly captivated by this stranger, and begins to fancy herself the heroine of a fairytale, even as the maiden proves herself to be less and less of a fantasy.

Foolish princess. She should know by now that her life is no fairytale.

In seven days, the wheel of fate will splinter. Seven days, for better or worse…

Duration? Short (ca. 3 hours)

Gameplay? Without A Voice is a choice based Visual Novel and has a variety of endings, some harder to obtain than others, none explicitely the best or true ending as far as I believe. It is a game that is steeped in heavy themes and it is very likely that you will experience many dark turns and bad endings before you can carve out what little happiness that you will. The choice trees can seem fickle at times and I found myself stuck trying to get all the endings once or twice, but overall the experience is short and digestable.
The art varies in quality a lot I find, but the writing is outstanding for what it tries to accomplish.and always a pleasant read. I want to give a special mention to the music that is actually very enthralling.

Warning! The game contains some mild gore and deeply uncomfortable implications.

Yuri? Hard fought and the goal overall. The exiled princess and her strange visitor are all but tied to each other by fate, only which fate that will be is up to you. The game is very heavily centered around homophobia and the many layers it can manifest, but there is also a nearly ethereal note to everything. It is a fantasy world that seems almost too real and grim, but the true heavyniess comes from the lengths someone would go to for love.

Version? There is only one version, so no need to compare. The game got a new patch in 2024 that added voice acting to the game.
Sexual Content? None.

Recommended? An easy recommend from me. For such a short experience I found myself thinking of this one a lot. There is not much quite like it out there. The execution can be simplistic, but the story takes itself seriously and is ready to surprise you even several endings in. It is available on Steam, Itch.io and Studio Elan's website.

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FInd Love or Die Trying

Synopsis: "I'm your host Kat, and this is Find Love or Die Trying!

It's the premiere of our new dating show, where ending up single... means ending up dead! Not sure why you'd sign up for this, but now that you're here, you've got 7 days to get one of the lovely ladies on your tropical island getaway to fall in love in with you. If she's willing to put a ring on it, you're both free to leave. If not... well, it's in the name of the show!

You'll get the chance to meet:
Allie, the daredevil athlete with a rebellious streak
Scarlett, the charming scientist with a penchant for destruction
Violet, the cold-as-ice scion of a mysterious MegaCorp
Terra, the eccentric gamer who marches to her own drum
Yui, the childhood sweetheart with a smile that could melt ice
...And last, but definitely not least, me! Kat! The impossibly perfect and painfully gorgeous host and producer. Did I forget to mention generous? I'll be helping you get those romantic connections going, so you better be grateful!

Then again, my bonus is tied to the ratings, and not you surviving the show, so... Hm.

Anyway.... I can't wait to start filming our first episode together!"

Duration? Short (5-10 hours). Depending on whether you really want to get all the endings or see all the possible divergent outcomes of events.

Gameplay? Find Love Or Die Trying is a choice based story in which your input will lead you to different events in the titular reality show. Of course the wacky premise is not at all what it seems and down the line your choices will affect much more than just the ratings. Saying any more would spoil the twists I fear, so I will be brief.
This may well be the VN with the highest production quality of this FREE theme, which reflects in its very nice artworks and UI polish. Regardless, the sprites are static and the choice trees are not as complex as they first may appear. The writing is the highlight without a doubt and it balances wacky fun with shockingly depressing and somber wordbuilding.

Warning: With the premise stated there may be certain comedic expectations, but be assured that the story can get very messed up at times, so readers with a queasy stomach may wish to consider this game carefully.

Yuri? Here is the thing with this game's yuri content. You are essentially portrayed as a self-insert character and can choose between He/She/They at the beginning. This means technically you can choose to be a woman and date all the other women. Yet I have to point out that during the entire game and all its events I have been addressed as "She" exactly once. And it was by some random side-character that didn't matter. The majority of the game the writing is doing it's best to not acknowledge the player's gender and sticks to using "they" anyway. Of course this also means the game never contradicts your choice either.
So how much Yuri you actually get out of the game depends on how well you are able to project a female persona on the main character. There is no visual representation and no particular hint towards their gender in any interaction, so it's really up to the reader.

That being said, should you be able to accept that the main character is in fact a woman, then the yuri is more or less the focus of the story. It's what the game show is all about, right? There are 6 heroines and 6 endings. It is up to you to choose which girl seems to be your best fit, but even outside your own choices there is a lot of baggage involved.

Version? There is only one version, so no need to compare.

Sexual Content? None. Although sexual moments are implied aplenty, they are never depicted nor described.

Recommended? The hang-up about the main character's gender takes a lot of attention, but I need to point out that the narrative really goes places, absurd as they may be. I think that the game is intentionally deceptive about many things and that in itself makes it so much more intriguing. Even if there were no yuri at all I would suggest trying it out, but as it stands there is some viable romantic content here that should not be dismissed. One heroine/ending in particular really got to me. I hope you will embrace her at the end of this hellish show as well. The game is available on Steam and Itch.io.

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Dorakone

Synopsis: Something new is hitting the mobile markets and taking the world by storm! An augmented reality game called Dragon Connection (DraCo) allows players to become trainers, collecting and battling with hundreds of dragons!

Dulce, after spending a few weeks saving up for a new phone, can finally participate in the craze! Though she's a little behind the curve, she’s soon immersed in the world of the game and its community. As she builds her collection of virtual dragons, and a circle of new friends grows with it, how will her summer vacation unfold?

Duration? Short (ca. 2-5 hours)

Gameplay? Dorakone is a choice based Visual Novel. There are three routes with 2 endings each (+ 2 solo endings, if you lone wolf it). It is really not complex at all. If it wasn't obvious after the synopsis, this game is heavily leaning on parodying trends like Pokemon Go and other AR games, but with dragons this time. That being said it also makes commentary on mobile gaming in general and each heroine represents a different type of player. They also all happen to be pretty gay.
The art is nothing to write home about, but it has charme. Dulce needs her own card game style anime.

Yuri? It's a game where you partner up with girls to summon dragons in virtual combat and win a tournament together. Romance at its finest.
Joking aside, every girl is not just a different type of mobile gaymer, they are also very different types of gay. Honoree in particular would seem very in line with Dynasty's crowd I feel.

Version? There is only one version, so no need to compare.

Sexual Content? Not in front of the kids!

Recommended? I will be honest, this one is just passable in my opinion, but it is entirely competent. I really enjoyed Honoree's route in particular and some of the game commentary is actually relatable. I think Dorakone is really most suited for a very specific type of reader and if you feel anything at all when you see gay girls play AR games then Dorakonnect to the web and download it! ...it is available on Steam and Itch.io.

last edited at Apr 13, 2024 4:27PM