Oran Mor (Day 42)

This was written on 9/17/13 when I had no internet access, to be uploaded whenever I got it back.

I really like the concept of visual novels, because I’m really interested in all the different ways a story can be told. We have film, theatre, video games, and even music that can tell a story, but I’m confident there are dozens of other ways it can be done. Collaborative storytelling is a thing, too, through the use of roleplay. I used to do stuff like that all the time. Even though I was a pretty poor writer, I felt like the experience was really engrossing. Having the input of others when you tackle a story is a unique experience. They might see things in characters that hadn’t occurred to you, flesh them out in ways that you wouldn’t have considered.

Visual novels tell a story that in some cases can be all but predetermined. In others, the outcome will depend heavily upon the player’s interaction. In some cases you will be responsible for making decisions for a fleshed out character with its own personality and motivations—in others, you will essentially be roleplaying as the protagonist. You insert yourself into the story. I’ve always preferred games in which you’re not expected to fill the protagonist’s shoes. I enjoy escapism, but even if I’m responsible for making the protagonist’s decisions, I’d prefer to see that character go through a story arc based on those decisions—instead of just imagining how I’d react in his situation. It’s the same for RPGs, too. I’ve always felt more disconnected from RPGs that have a silent protagonist, even if I’m otherwise a huge fan of the game.

I haven’t played very many visual novels at all, but I find them really immersive and engrossing when done correctly. The Persona series (at least 3 and 4), I now realize, has some elements of the genre hybridized with more traditional RPG gameplay. Despite both games having a silent protagonist, I was really intrigued by the interactions between the characters in these games. After completing both, I really craved more of that kind of gameplay. The RPG elements, dungeon crawling, and the tough but strategic battle system were all really strong aspects of the game, but what I missed most after I’d finished them were the Social Links and the day-to-day happenings of the plot. I enjoyed learning more about Junpei in Persona 3, and the protagonist’s relationship with his surrogate family (Nanako and Dojima) in Persona 4.

Visual novels are basically like Persona with all the extra gameplay removed and even more emphasis put on the relationships between characters. A lot of them evidently emphasize sex pretty heavily, but I haven’t played any of those; it’s not really what I’m interested in. There are precious few titles in the genre available in English, but I’d definitely like to play more. Some websites even characterize the Phoenix Wright series as visual novels, but I think they’re pretty textbook examples of modern point-and-click adventure games, although they are really excellent titles that sort of scratch a similar itch.

I want to play a really archetypical visual novel that is both popular and critically acclaimed. Even if it is overtly sexual, it’s interesting to examine what kinds of games people are responding to. I know some of the big names are available in English, but I think they’re fan translated. I have to wonder how faithful a translation they have considering how important the narrative is in the genre. I’ll have to investigate further.