5 Romance Visual Novels You Should Check Out!

[@lucianofilho1935]

I hope the sprite makes a special when Aokana turns 10 years old, what an incredible VN this is and the impact it made on the community (and beyond) is something you rarely see

[@rune4674]

Unironically, aokana brought me out of a period of depression and became one of my favorite works.

[@prathamduggal]

Unironically,Ria's route from Kinkoi put me into deeper stage of depression. It has only been 10 days since I completed it but Ria's death was something very uncalled for. Throughout her route they were hinting about it but when that final rooftop scene appears I couldn't held back my emotions.

[@ain333-y5t]

@@prathamduggal Don't you mean Kinkoi?

[@prathamduggal]

@@ain333-y5t yeah sorry got confused

[@littlecat1727]

Same. I was really losing motivation at doing anything in life, because everyone around me is just good at something, while I'm mediocre at best. After finishing the VN tho, I arrived at an answer to my problem and started having a more positive outlook on myself

[@shatterlux]

@@littlecat1727 what was the answer?

[@aiki__wx]

Majikoi is still my all time favourite VN, and not only that, favourite piece of fiction in general. So much i can say about it but to sum it up: it has the best character interaction writing ever in my opinion, a hundred unique and lovable characters, and just really great romance.

[@luigi180]

Speaking on white album, Id love to get some recs on more romances with adult protags. Im getting far to old to empathize with the problems of stumbling high schoolers.....

[@jivepsilocybe993]

Same while the stories can be endearing it'd be nice to read something with characters a little more relatable.

[@HexVisualNovelPlaythroughs]

pulls out making lovers flag* ahh yes mashiro

[@Copyon]

Good recommendations, all of these works all absolutely have a special place in my heart, all helped me in my times of need. If I were to choose among the 5 being my favorite its gotta be Making Lovers, total bias being the my very first VN, and got me falling into the VN rabbit hole.

[@bigal_3000]

I really appreciate your channel. I feel like the VN community on KZbin is so tiny and you do a great job of making videos that help promote the greatness this medium has to offer

[@matt87eagle]

As someone who’s read/played all the VNs on this list; I’d give every romance a certified must read if anyone wants to get into Visual Novels

[@Cheezy_UNI]

Bro is really out here spoiling all these plot points while recommending these

[@earthbit.]

Aokana was my introduction to the entire genre of visual novels. I’d heard of Phoenix Wright, but that was about it. I gave it a shot based on the incredible art style alone, and that sent me down the rabbit hole. I’ve found several other VNs I love since then. Senren Banka just so happens to be another favorite. But Aokana will always have its own special place in my mind.

[@shadowclonerex8945]

Aokana was my first Vn. You also mentioned my favourite yuzusoft game, senren banka and one of my all time favourites kinkoi.

[@IncubiAkster]

Kinkoi true route has scarred me permanently. in a good way.

[@shadowclonerex8945]

So true

[@AsterBTT]

Making Lovers has been on my list for a while, since the first time I heard you mention it, actually. I chose to play Aokana instead though, and really enjoyed my time with it, but I played White Album 2 right after, and its all I've been able to think about since. Would love to see a video on more drama-oriented romance VNs, as well.

[@Hemoplapher]

I love your videos. I don' have the time to play so many recommendations but I have collected a few and even play one since I began watching your videos.

[@LTMStarlight]

Ngl I was never completely sold on aokana but the more you talk about it the more I want to give it a go. Imma have to wait a while though since I kickstarted 2 huge games this year (one of which being the slay the spire bird game lol.)

[@gus7506]

Good recommendations with the choices of Senren Banka, Kinkoi and Aokana - great novels with amazing music, humor and story 🙌

[@Christopherjazzcat]

Would absolutely love to see more recommendations like White Album 2. It's right up there with YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story as one of my favourite VNs so far.

[@axelpettersson1482]

Hello I was wondering if you could do review videos/recommendations of non Japanese VN’s.

[@TheAugustHail]

I've covered a bit already on the channel. That said, I do have my eye on a few particular ones~

[@axelpettersson1482]

@@TheAugustHail I am relatively new to reading visual novels with this realy being my first year with them and I have have read/reading Hazymind and Changeling tale that I would like to see analysis or review of. Really liked them so far with having completed Hazy mind one route and almost finished with 1 of the routes for changeling tale and would like to see some love for them being spread on KZbin.

[@MrEvilbyte]

Very good list. Here's 5 of my picks: -Fureraba: Friend to Lover. If you liked making * lovers, you'll like Fureraba as well (it has the trademark absurd comedy and fluffy moe SMEE is known for). -If My Heart Had Wings. A VN about flying. Probably one of the more chill VN's (while still having some plot and drama), I really like the music. It was the 2nd VN I ever read too. -Otome * Domain. If you can get past the crossdressing protag (who's awesome btw!), and, ahem, the first 5 minutes of the VN, then you can expect a lot of funny shenanigans! -9-nine series. A pretty epic supernatural series. While episode 1 might be a slow start to the series, the series has some great humour, great music, and some high stakes drama. -The Fruit of Grisaia. Awesome writing, some quirky humor and equally quirky characters, and rather drama heavy at times, this VN will make you feel every emotion. It was the first VN I ever read, and what an intro to the genre...

[@TheAugustHail]

Personally I think Otome Domain is super underrated

[@zeld321]

Fureraba was my first VN and I have been in love with it ever since. The OST is amazing and all the girls are pretty unique (Yuzuyu best girl)

[@PloysMaw]

After finishing Highschool I decided to play more VN's because my experience with the 'Easy Pick' blew me away. This was my 1st VN I might add. Aokana was part of that first handful afterwards and the routes I did were quite good, I'd love to see more recommendations with VN's that are with characters that are actually over 21 not that theirs anything wrong with a Highschool romance story but I somewhat prefer something more relatable. That's part of the reason I love both Seabed and Please Be Happy.

[@millasgameroom]

Great list! I'd like to see another video with more serious romance titles like White Album, I'm sure there's plenty more out there (and also some other genres like otome and yuri too would be wonderful!)

[@CHUCKxTAY]

yea we definitely need that video with the more drama romance vn recommendations like white album played one of these and loved it.

[@CakeMoon316]

aokana my goat

[@AlterDarky]

I just bought the game! I’m excited to play it, this channel is the reason I bought it

[@shirayukix2155]

Majikoi was the first visual novel I ever played so it will always hold a special nostalgic place in my heart. I'll give the anime credit for having an interesting enough premise to make me seek out the source material (we know how meh it was). Aokana is definitely up there as one of my favorites, but I think I have to give the top spot for Utawarerumono; that visual novel is near perfection in my eyes.

[@AngeVNs]

Ah ok, a moege list, i thought you were gonna go the romance drama route

[@TheAugustHail]

If enough people want that, I'll make a video for it. I actually already have some recommendations already~

[@danishhalder4895]

@@TheAugustHail That's actually a great idea

[@suntzu4607]

Majikoi is the one that brought me to Visual Novels. It was college and was bored out of my mind, so I tried reading visual novels because I was interested in them for quite a while already. You don't know how I always looked forward to the fan translation for the spinoffs. Majikoi has great romance, loveable characters, the comedy is good, action is thrilling, overall, a great VN for newcomers. My only con is the H scenes are too long that I mostly skip them once I see the artwork. Majikoi S's Agave Route which is considered the true route is the best for me. The main heroine in that route is Koyuki. That ditzy well-endowed marshmallow-loving ball-shattering kicks girl.

[@hunterhatfield7157]

I'd definitely like some more mature romance VNs, ideally with characters that look adult and no step-sister love interests. I love the Cute Girls Doing Cute Things genre, but blending that with romance when it's first person POV can get... odd.

[@kazuyakanbara1395]

All 5 are awesome recommendations 👌👌 too bad I already finished all of them a long ago tho 😅😅

[@YoshimiMilk]

Making Lovers is really good, especially on how they branch the routes. You don't even see some of the heroines if you dont pick the right choices very good imo. The only thing I would like to change for it is the number of Save Files, would have liked more

[@kevinwebb82]

11:20 When you said dog fighting, I was thinking of Michael Vick dog fighting. Which made me think who the hell would make a VN on that.

[@itsalveolarz8979]

welp, Golden Time route in KinKoi literally DESTROYED me into pieces. So I recommend you to be prepared before reading the true end :>

[@GodlyDuckk]

Aokana will always be my all time favourite romance Visual Novel of all time. and will probably will always be for the coming years. I am going to wait for as long as it takes for Asuka's Extra. no matter how long...

[@TheAugustHail]

Sameee

[@osonhodeleon]

Another great video.

[@bornanime3255]

Nice recommendations. I would be interested in seeing a similar video for vns akin to White Album 2. Not because I particularly seek out bleek adult stories like it, but I would like to expand my library of games of it's kind.

[@Vyend]

I really recommend Making Lovers to anyone new to VNs, mainly because it isn’t set in high school like almost every other romance visual novel, but also because it's freaking hilarious

[@hypnosismicrophone]

Doesnt it have incest? That'll turn away many people.

[@vstalbain]

Am I the only person in the world who both loves Aokana *and* thinks the romance in it was...perfunctory? Shoehorned in? Added almost as a matter of course? I don't say that to trash talk the game; Aokana is probably my favorite non-gameplay VN. But, if I hadn't already known that the routes included romantic couplings with the character your chose, I would have been very surprised by it. There's no chemistry or flirting like, at all, in the common route. It's all sports, all the time, and then the romance just abruptly sprouts up shortly after you pick a girl to train. Again - not saying Aokana is bad (my opinion is very much the opposite). But, I feel like romance would be the last item on my list of "What made this story so good?" ...That is, if it were on there at all.

[@aidanwhite3769]

Watch the anime, obviously other major issues but jesus the lack of romance is felt heavily, imo it kind of helps the whole coach + player trust dynamic as well. Plus extra1 was my favourite part of the series so I'm completely bias to the romance cause of Mashiro

[@TheAugustHail]

I think out of all of the routes, if you're looking for a deeply traditional romance Mashiro's Route and EXTRA 1 fits more that style. I think that the chemistry is formed because the sports is such a strong factor in it. Both of aspects complement each other really well, and I believe AOKANA wouldn't have as much impact if one part was missing.

[@vstalbain]

@@TheAugustHail I think if you removed the romance, the sports drama for all four heroines would still be interesting. Reason being? I coach fighting games. Some of the people I've coached have gone on to become pretty exceptional at their respective games. What was interesting to me about Aokana is that I've taught someone much like every character in the supporting cast (SPOILERS AHEAD for anyone who hasn't read Aokana): - I've taught people like Asuka, who don't have the greatest technical understanding, but their intuition (usually honed further through god-knows-how-many hours of scrims) and positive attitude towards learning are so good that they almost will themselves into being a force to be reckoned with. - On the flipside, I've taught people that are like Asuka's antithesis, Rika - they are students of the game and its mechanics, and their fundamentals are solid; but, their attempt to boil the game down to "When you see the opponent do "A", respond with "B" keeps them from honing their intuitions - the very same thing that makes Asuka so fearsome. - I've taught plenty of people like Mashiro, who, whether it's just that they're genuinely not cut out to be a top player, or simply due to their own inexperience with the genre, really struggle to reach the lofty goals that they set for themselves. They are best served by being reminded that the ideal way to improve is to seek true fulfillment in perfecting your craft; that if they can do this, the improvement will happen before their eyes. I've brought several of these types of players to Master rank at their game, which, while this doesn't signify that they're national tournament material, it does put them in elite company, and it's proof positive to them that they can go farther than they had ever imagined. - And, I've taught players who were enigmatic like Misaki: Gifted with natural talent and an ability to easily break down the game and understand it, they rise to high levels very fast. But, this also affects their ego, and failure is devastating to them. It's easier for them, by default, to pretend like they don't care, rather than face the genuine fear - the real heartbreak of losing even when they tried their hardest. ...And you know what? I never once had a romantic tryst with a single one of them lmao. I'm not trying to make the argument that romance has no place in Aokana, though; just that, I think it could have been done better, and that the individual stories of these characters are interesting enough on their own without needing something unrelated to prop them up.

[@TheAugustHail]

@@vstalbain That's an entirely fair assessment and your lived experience paints a really unique perspective. It's really a treat that AOKANA's premise and execution is solid, that even if you took out the romance, it's strong storytelling at those focused moments (EXTRA 2 is proof of that) And yes, there are definitely weak-spots in AOKANA's romance-side (Misaki and Masaya's relationship dynamic, Rika in general) However, if strictly set as a sports-drama, it loses that "appeal". I'm not a sports fan *at all*. Sure, I like them on occasion and enjoy them (Haiykuu, Chiyahafuru, even loosely Sound Euphonium), but I don't actively seek them out or vibe with them as hard as I do romance titles. I would also like believe that if I pitched AOKANA as a sports drama, I wouldn't get much positive feedback, compared to if I pitched it with romance. At least to eroge-minded individuals. Again, there isn't anything faulting AOKANA as an very good sports story on its own, but that romance element does add charm and uniqueness to it, regardless of the quality (although the romance not being terrible in complementing the sports writing-wise does save it from becoming too off-balanced (if so I would have said that the romance should have been taken out all-together))

[@vstalbain]

@@TheAugustHail Yeah, I think you're right to say that it has more appeal to call it a romance than a sports drama; even as a huge sports fan, "romance" sounds more exciting to me too, lol! I also agree that the romance in Aokana is just fine. I do think there's a little too much of it in some routes, Mashiro in particular (surprise - I hated EXTRA 1 and loved EXTRA 2, lol). I just like it better when I see the romantic chemistry coming from a little farther away - Aokana just had virtually no build-up, which makes them all feel strange to me. Konno Asta's stories (If My Heart Had Wings, A Sky Full of Stars) do a good job of showing chemistry early by having the main character and the girls flirt with each other plenty along the way to the decisions where you pick the routes. I like seeing a romance either build up like that; or I like to see proof that the rapport has long been established before the story begins (e.g Sumika in Muv-Luv Extra).

[@KhiemNguyen-ly1wz]

Wonder why there’s no Aokana fan disc for Asuka. She’s practically the poster girl in the main game

[@swiz2002]

I don’t know, I remember reading Aokana within like a couple of days and liked it A LOT. Right now, after lots of recommendations I started Kinkoi, my impressions after the prologue and the “main” route are pretty positive, however after reading the other routes(I’m finishing the last one currently) I’m left with a mixed feelings. I don’t know if it’s just me, but many of the heroine routes feel a bit drawn out without any actual interrelationships developed at some point. It’s like the beginnings are good and interesting but once you “get the girl” Kinkoi just throws a tone of H content at you(to the point of h-scenes actually being longer than the characters’ interactions themselves), not to mention their repetitiveness from route to route. I understand that these title are about interactions and all, not much of a plot development but still it feels redundant at times. I would say that Kinkoi is great with it heights but most of the routes feel forgettable, which I never felt with Aokana. Has anyone noticed that too? P.s. Liked Elle’s route though)

[@Harsh-bs2wi]

Please mate, make a video on Drama centric, mature visual novels, I would love to see one of those, and this video game me some recommendations, Thanks for making it !!

[@Id0ntfeelsogood]

cyanotype daydream is the best romance i've ever played, it's so good lol

[@aidanwhite3769]

I think I screwed up playing Aokana so early when getting into VNs, nothing has hit the same at all, especially Mashiro romance and the drama and action parts in Extra2. Only VNs to even get close to that level so far are the SciAdv series, Plastic Memories PS Vita and the Key games I've played (maybe when I get to the others like Little Busters! or Clannad might be even with Aokana). Don't think anything is beating those Extra1 date cgs ever though

[@JunJunMusume]

I still would love a Satoin fan disc.

[@r-d-g-games]

hi guys, i need 10 people to test my new visual novel game, not just any visual novel. In my game the characters interact with the scenery, and best of all there will be battle scenes rendered in 3d and of course there will be lots of romance.

[@benbaz4607]

Leap of faith is a gem nothing compares

[@Nichora]

Good choices! SB best Yuzusoft title. Majikoi great as well!

[@Mityq-r3t]

man the house in fata morgana is underrated asf

[@hoojay5605]

The fact that Fureraba, Sugar Style, and Sanoba Witch are not in the list was because it's not the best recommendation for "beginners" XD. (KANAME BEST ROUTE!!!)

[@jivepsilocybe993]

Katawa shoujo was me second vn after shuffle!

[@SecretYams]

9:56 here we go sister complex

[@creaturetransylvania8943]

I do wonder how it came to be that people don't associate martial arts with weapons, typically people hear martial arts & think only hand to hand martial arts & not the weapon side of martial arts. Hmm,maybe because of all those Kung Fu movies back in the 70s & 80s.

[@echikai1236]

can we have best harem endings?

[@Kumaa177]

Can you do a video on a post apocalyptic setting in VN😅

[@smoll_sauce]

Karen Kitaooji my beloved

[@saesang352]

How is white album 2 not on here?

[@enzokenzakifunniestvideos299]

Clover Days please!!!

[@justapun8115]

I love BLONDESSSS

[@lukimana]

I've played them all already :( I'm currently on Hoshi Ori Yume - Prefect Edition which seems to be a textbook Dating-Sim. Got any more recommendations that are similar to Smee, Yuzusoft or SAGA PLANETS?

[@TheAugustHail]

I would check out the other titles from the same developers, like Harem Kingdom Sanoba Witch. You could try Asa Project and Marmalade titles: Sankaku Renai and Marshmallow All The Way Home

[@arifsafwan7526]

I wonder what your favourite routes are and how grisaia no kaijitsu compare to those?

[@TheAugustHail]

In order for the VNs listed: - Mako - Kazuko - Sylvia - Karen - Asuka I think the Grisaia series is neat. Although I have yet to properly review it

[@Chitose-e3v]

感谢分享，我准备去玩金恋。

[@bernkastel7438]

I’ve always been curious; what’s your profile picture from? I’d assume it’s a VN. It kinda looks familiar somehow.

[@TheAugustHail]

Atri from ATRI -My Dear Moments-!

[@no3dallowed511]

Majikoi? Just entertaining? Bro Majikoi had me laughing until my sides were destroyed, even if you dislike romance I think Majikoi is worth a shot just because of the comedy. You forgot to say that some certain rich tech industry personalities from our world are participants in a certain tournament.

[@Prabowo1996]

Rosa umineko

[@gamercstudios]

Me as Filipino dreaming to play yosuga no sora: 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@ForYouTheOneListening]

I watched this video and the only Visual novel I've read is Danganronpa 💀

[@TheAugustHail]

You've got some work to do haha 😄

[@SergejKrolik]

You should have renamed the video to "5 MOEGE Visual Novels You Should Check Out!" instead. At least half of the titles there have very shallow romance or just little focus on it. The real deep romance stories are something drama heavy like White Album 2 or even from pure utsuge genre like House in Fata Morgana/Kana Little Sister. That's what I call "Romance" - not all that "cutesy fan service shop to help you select your favorite waifu" type of "romance" you trying to sell here.

[@LoucoPug]

senren banka is really bad

[@TheAugustHail]

Curious, what didn't you like about it?