The Guide You Need for Buying Visual Novels

If you’re new to visual novels, you might have asked yourself, where do I even buy them?
The simplest answer is buying the games on Steam. However, while convenient, Steam has implemented certain restrictions.
In this video, I’m going to show off a couple of different alternative stores, both in their unique features and restrictions, where you can buy visual novels, besides Steam.
To help you buy visual novels the way it was meant to be played or that are to your liking.
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ROMANCE VISUAL NOVEL REVIEWS: • Romance Visual Novels
MYSTERY VISUAL NOVEL REVIEWS: • Mystery Visual Novels
HORROR VISUAL NOVEL REVIEWS: • Horror Visual Novels

[@TheAugustHail]

After I got so much feedback from the poll the other day, I'm thinking about making a video specifically for VNs avalible on the Nintendo Switch. I didn't realize a handful of you guys played VNs on the Switch! Let me know if you all want this~

[@millasgameroom]

I think you should, but also if you can broaden it out to console only VNs in general. There's a few Vita only visual novels that never got ported, as well as some unofficial fan patches.

[@purelysmetalnightcore]

I definitely think you should! I love the Switch for VNs since it's lighter compared to the Steam Deck if I want to play it up close, but I especially adore that the Switch gives me the option to play the games on my TV. They look so beautiful 😩 And, as you said, there are sooo many otome options, including VNs that were ported from the PS Vita or mobile. If we're talking about otomes made by big name developers like Otomate, Voltage, and HuneX, then having a Switch gives you access to every officially localized otome game except for 7, soon to be 6 because 7'scarlet will be getting a Switch release next year. The only otome games not available on Switch or Steam are Bad Apple Wars, Period Cube, and Sweet Fuse. 7'scarlet is currently on Steam, and so is London Detective Mysteria, Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly, and Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk.

[@TheAugustHail]

I should really get back into reading Otome games, it's been like years since I last read one. Been eyeing Jack Jeanne for a *long* while now.

[@raitoiro]

For VN where it's available the Switch is honestly the best support, if you're fine with DRM. The screen is just the right size, it's light (which is the main advantage over the Steamdeck), the battery life is quite good, and unlike a phone you still have physical buttons.

[@gt3racer2187]

Switch is easily my preferred platform for VNs. While you won't get 18+ content there, and there are still a good chunk of essential titles not yet available, it is easily the most comfortable way to play VNs. There are also tons of VNs on Switch and many where 18+ content really doesn't matter such as the recent stuff from Type Moon, Spike Chunsoft (Danganronpa/Sci;Adv./AI etc.), the Ace Attorney series, Key, etc. Really the only things that I played on Switch that I probably would have been better off playing on PC are the Frontwing games (Grisaia/Hatsumira) but even with Frontwing Island, Phantom Trigger and ATRI are fine on Switch. Also, while I own Muv-Luv on Switch because I wanted a physical copy, PC is still the way to go.

[@DJcream13]

There's some irony in the thumbnail with Tohsaka teaching me anything related to the Internet.

[@Wakame75]

Or paying when there's a free alternative (yo-ho-ho). Rin is quite the penny pincher, after all.

[@zainiikhwan9405]

This is Extra/CCC Rin :v

[@Wakame75]

@@zainiikhwan9405 True, but doesn’t Stay Night Rin really like money as well? I mean, it’s been a few years since I read Stay Night and Hollow Ataraxia, but I’m sure Carnival Phantasm and a number of doujins must’ve gotten that joke from somewhere, right?

[@ShuSha-rh6fj]

@@Wakame75 he meant the boomer tech cavemaness of Rin, not the greedy part

[@kurokun07]

​@@ShuSha-rh6fj LOL i thought the rin on the thumbnail makes sense but i remember she canonically is bad with tech stuff

[@SuperLlama42]

The general rule for consoles is: Don't buy anything Japanese or even just anime-themed on Playstation if you can help it. It's likely censored to heck because modern Sony has a clear bias. Get it on Switch

[@juice6521]

I think it's absolutely wild that Nintendo consoles have become the best place to play Visual Novels instead of on PlayStation.

[@chaserseven2886]

@@juice6521 who would play it on a PlayStation? the switch and pc sound like the better options

[@chaserseven2886]

stellar blade says hello

[@AngeVNs]

@@chaserseven2886 There are many, many people who still have console company bias to this day And it's easier for some people to get a console over a PC And Sony platforms generally look better than Nintendo ones

[@laytonvicars4606]

@@chaserseven2886 stellar blade isn't japanese or anime-themed :D Besides, ps5 currentrly is the only way to play it.

[@chrisblack6258]

JAST is probably the best western VN store. Have had a good experience with them.

[@trollaseum6174]

Agreed

[@kurokun07]

hi, if anyone can answer me i would appreciate it (is jast usa games can be bought if im from a different continent? i am from SEA and i would love to buy the games there if possible)

[@cookingrabbitty]

JAST also had a regional price that sometime cheaper than steam. Quiet good deal for me.

[@trollaseum6174]

@@kurokun07 u can

[@komkitty6571]

@@kurokun07 yes you can, as long as you have debit or credit card.

[@-themysterygirl4757]

I really appreciate the guides. They are extremely helpful and there are not a lot of VN youtubers who can talk about this so thank you! Video is very informative ^o^

[@matteste]

I always tend to check GOG first. While their offerings is still somewhat lean, it is still my preferred store of choice. Also, that thumbnail with that sprite gave me PTSD from yet another exposition dump.

[@kaykek7174]

GOG also has the problem that some devs unfortunately don't care about their customers on that platform so they don't update their games on GOG. Still preferable to Steam due to no DRM.

[@BQD_Central]

Right, GOG is also not a bad idea. Just remember to also "purchase" the Unrated patch... in almost all cases for free.

[@lulzlen]

New visual novel enjoyer here. First one I picked up was Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi last week. Immediately hooked. Played it in one setting and went to bed at 4am lol. Just finished Saya no uta yesterday as well and currently going through Katawa Shoujo. Anyway, just wanted to say your channel has been very informative and a big help on my journey. Thanks for the content!

[@awen4784]

thank you for the recommended store i am a new visual novel reader, coming from competitive game like league, cs, valorant, have been reading ao kanata no four rhythm so far and its such breath of fresh air for me

[@Ruby-rl2di]

Thank you so much for this, I had to find out the hard way that vns on steam wasn't really the best idea and had no idea where to look for vns that weren't on steam and now I can actually get some vns I've been looking forward to play for some time now

[@BQD_Central]

Denpasoft is not the most reliable. Get it somewhere else if possible (which it usually is).

[@juneiceshark]

I love your videos so much! You need to do a video about KeroQ’s rise of 1999 Tsui No Sora ‘til his new work Tsui No Sora Remake

[@Miltypooh2001]

I love visual novels and i appreciate you making a guide for it, im thinking about replaying some of them this year

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I'm a huge proponent for regional pricing. People in western regions don't realize how make-or-break they are for people outside those regions. That's why I like JAST. Bought many games that I wouldn't otherwise.

[@kagemarudono]

Applying those patches to the steam version feels like something people did trying to make pirated game playable a quarter ago

[@Scary015]

THANK GOD THIS VIDEO GOT RECOMMENDED TO ME I needed a good guide for getting official sites, without the hurdle of troyans and dealing with them from piracy

[@dratera4370]

MORE VIDEOS LIKE THESE. I'M NEW TO VISUAL NOVELS AND THIS VIDEO HELPED A LOT.

[@tritone5127]

Love your videos, recently getting into visual novels has been amazing and you’re the only channel I know of so far that covers a lot of stuff im curious about in this new and intriguing world. Thank you!!!

[@TheAugustHail]

Glad you like them!

[@mentally-]

i love you august, ur the best vn content creator

[@Iog]

Damn. The amount of censorship around VNs is actually insane. I run an anime/manga club, and literally no one knows a single thing about VNs. I myself only seen comments of it on Twitter tbh, but wow, corporations really are a pain sometime

[@FengLengshun]

My problem is that... There really is no reason to buy a VN other than on Steam and maybe GOG. The experience, to me, is identical to non-legally grabbing a VN. Worse, really, as an experienced torrenter. On Steam, I get cloud save and easy install on Linux (UMU might help eventually, but it is nowhere near as mature as the upstream ProtonGE which can deal with codec issues automatically). I have Steam running all the time, un/reinstalling the game is easy as a single-click, and I don't need to worry about my data. There is also the issue of cost. GOG, which you didn't mention, would be a viable alternative for me thanks to Heroic Launcher bringing features to parity and easily connecting with Steam. The problem is too expensive due to limited regional pricing, if they even release on GOG. Though, even JAST and Kagura Games usually have marginally higher price than Steam, likely due to different calculations of currency and taxes. I will only give exceptions to games I really want like Tenshi Souzou and AliceSoft games, but that's only if it's on GOG (or theoretically EGS). Aaaand I still haven't bought Evenicle 2 yet despite finishing it and holding on to the data for future cloud sync backup, because, to put into perspective, Evenicle 1 on Steam vs GOG for Indonesia is 3x as expensive and even more than I spend on TCGs in a month, an already expensive hobby for me. Personally, I will stick with Steam. Having halted progress on Rance series due to multiple time losing the data due to various reasons, it's just not worth it for me to spend the money and then potentially never progress/finish the title vs just downloading the game for free. At that point, I'd rather not spend money and just use it for something else.

[@LoliconSamalik]

Yeah, i usually buy my stuff from GoG since they have as much feature flexibility as steam. They even have a lot of payment options too. But that price tracking does sound pretty annoying

[@Sami-ki6ep]

I truly love KZbin recommendations ☺️☺️☺️ + that was so helpful . thanks , man😝😝

[@TheAugustHail]

Happy to help!

[@nolanbill8]

First time watcher, subbed right away!

[@fcornejo162]

now I understand why having any VN back in the day was a pain in the ass, now is much simple.

[@luroc]

I'm not sure why this channel doesnt have at least a quadruple amount of subs.

[@ntquyminh]

I'd always prioritize buying on Jast over Steam since they have better regional pricing. However, some VNs are only on Steam, like the Muv-luv series and Fate/Mahoyo.

[@Id0ntfeelsogood]

Your recommendations are very great, they helped me alot in knowing which vn is rlly good and which are worth giving a try. However, I found myself wanting more higher quality products over time when I finished a great read which kinda resulted in me not reading as much vn nowadays. I hope there will be more high quality vn in the future. But nonetheless, getting bored with reading made me tried other not so visual novel games. Many are boring, some are great and I definitely had an unforgetable experience with Nier Automata thanks to myself willing to step out of my comfort zone and try other stuffs. Anyways very great vid, I hope you're doing well !

[@TheAugustHail]

Thanks~ If you want the best of the best for recommendations, try checking out my Highest-rated visual novel video or my Yearly Tier List Videos

[@BQD_Central]

Nier Automata is not a VN, just FYI.

[@Id0ntfeelsogood]

@@BQD_Central What I meant is I've stepped out of my comfort zone of playing vns and moved on to other genres of games

[@tripleaces659]

2:53 : Yes, till this day, Tenshi Souzou ReBoot still not up in STEAM. Despite I wishlisted it, then Nekonyan actually said there's problems with STEAM delisted Tenshi Souzou from the wishlist. Despite all the weirdest titles in there, why can't be Tenshi Souzou tho. It is almost a year now, and I am still waiting for Tenshi Souzou 😭

[@ShiroKuroNao]

Me too 😢😢

[@chaserseven2886]

is it popular?

[@ShiroKuroNao]

@@chaserseven2886 The gane is from popular Developer and the one who translate it's also popular. I recommend playing all of their game. The developer name is Yuzusoft, the one who publish is Nekonyan

[@Sheppart92]

Tenshi Souzou was banned from Steam because they had most likely a reviewer who dislikes VNs or had a Problem with one of the Characters being on the smaller side and so it was completely banned... They then gave it to Hikari Field who rework some stuff and try to send it in again, like they did with Clovers Day last year but it will take Time. But NekoNyan is not able to send in any sort of rework for Tenshi Souzou since Valve completely banned the Game at least for NN, but Hikari Field might have a Chance.

[@bryancullen6606]

they ended up getting the same person for that review so it was instantly shot down.

[@dallahan7879]

Steam's way of banning VNs is completely random and nonsensical. They will wait for a game to almost be released to ban them and then allow them on months later where no one notices. If the game has cute girls is a VN, it's subject to be taken down. Those are the only things are consistent for the bans.

[@bluedolphina8977]

I can't simp for JAST when I want mosaics, and JAST has worked hard to make keeping mosaics more convoluted for Western consumers.

[@ydaak]

in japan you can buy physical copies of dated titles for as low as 500 yen. I have seen white album for sale for 1000 yen before.

[@bigal_3000]

As someone who only reads vn’s in Japanese, my biggest gripe with stream is that they don’t have JP support 9/10 times. Idk why the OG games with censors even aren’t put on steam.

[@Sheppart92]

Im also not using Steam really for VNs, especially because since i live in Germany, Steam is even heavier with censorship and we never know what Ideas they might get next.. So i mostly buy VNs from Denpasoft, sometimes Jast or Mangagamer if they are only there available.. i also bought some Games on Johren but didnt know about the Code revoking thing so i now lost all access code chances for at least 1 game ^^ Also, i started with VNs i think end of 2018 or 2019, first Games were Nekopara 1 to 3 with the mini side route Games, back then you could get the 18+ patches or even the 18+ Game without a Problem on Steam but early 2022 i think it was, you suddenly couldnt find anything of the sort anymore. At least it was a good Decision that i got a Debit credit card specifically to buy VNs on sides like Denpasoft, Mangagamer etc 😅

[@BQD_Central]

Yeah dude, use GOG with an US IP, that'S pretty much the only thing that helps me if I don't want to use one of these shops. VPN is already mandatory if you want to acess dlsite, as it blocks German IPs.

[@CristobalAndres1403]

This was very helpful. Thank you so much

[@Kaptime]

Enjoy the last moments of Tsukihime not being covered in video essays.

[@blacklightjohn]

I recently bought Nukitashi because I didn't realize just how bad Steam was going to neuter that game. I had to look elsewhere to get the full game. Now I'm definitely going to be paying more attention to those other VN web stores so I don't end up with that happening again.

[@kozmo5342]

thanks alot for the guide i bought a couple of vns via steam not knowing that they got censored for the stuff i bought them for to begin with...

[@raitoiro]

Good video, I would like to buy more game directly from the publisher. I've brought a few game from JAST already. But when I can I prefer to play VN on the Steamdeck and unfortunately, so far, I haven't managed to get any of their game to work on it. Whereas patching a Steam game is quite easy, I've done it more a few times with Kagura games and it worked just fine. So for now when a game is available on Steam (and there's a patch to restore the whole content) I buy it there rather than on the publisher site.

[@LoliconSamalik]

You could always just change the OS of your steam deck to Windows. It should work out fine.

[@raitoiro]

@@LoliconSamalik Yeah, technically that's a solution, but in reality Windows for handheld is kinda trash and you lose some of the deck functionalities, so for everything but reading the few JAST VN I own, it would make the experience worse. The best solution probably would have been a dual boot, but you need to completely redo your deck installation for that so now that I've configured everything and installed a bunch of games it's kind of too late.

[@leonmachar]

While I now buy most of my VNs from Jast but a thing to mention as I play on steam deck a slight advantage to steam is that steam game+patch requires far less tinkering than some of the games I have on Jast to make them run on the steam deck. (Overal still JAST is still great but can be a pain when playing on steam deck sometimes)

[@user-Jay178]

Thx for this guide.

[@PloysMaw]

I do prefer playing stuff on Switch (I'm just a handheld guy and a bit of a physical collector) but when it comes to PC I like getting the 'full story' , but in the past I've been burnt with downloading a patch where it ruined in my opinion the tone of the story with the H scenes. But I think that was the exception not the rule, the more recent VN's I've played with a patch put faith back in me. Thanks for making this video and before this I didn't know about Jast USA.

[@Mosotenshi]

A visual novel I'd highly recommend for those looking for dark/psychological subjects is Slow Damage! It's R18, and available on JastUSA! : )

[@Myphor2003]

I have no idea why this was recommended to me, i have never played a visual novel or searched for it. This could be a sign that i should start but im on console 😑

[@alex_zetsu]

Given the hate I hate at epic store for trying to make me fragment my digital library (and I wouldn't mind if every person responsible for the idea met a certain anime meme that is smashing more girls than more people ever will according to Gigguk), you can probably guess how well I received the suggestion to use another platform.

[@andrewsribeiro5356]

I already buyed ATRI - My dear Moments - on STEAM, is there any problem ? 🤔

[@basselesmail9350]

not with Atri no.

[@TheAugustHail]

No issues with ATRI. It's an All-Ages title originally. You can buy it from JAST or Steam.

[@andrewsribeiro5356]

@@TheAugustHail Thanks ;)

[@BQD_Central]

All-Ages VNs are completly unproblematic on Steam.

[@kaykek7174]

What I really like about VNs and the community is how no-DRM is the default and I really hope it stays that way and doesn't go the general gaming route. For that the community needs to be vigilant and buy games from no-DRM stores though!

[@hasster]

Great vid and explanation, but there's one thing that you got wrong - Jast USA doesn't have regional pricing, it only converts usd to other currencies. Regional pricing = lowering game's price for a specific country, to match their prices. 10$ for Americans might equal to 30$ in other countries.

[@TheAugustHail]

Based off of their Twitter posts years ago they do have regional pricing. "If it's not showing up while you're browsing the store, that's an error, but it will show up when you enter your payment information at the end." x.com/jastusa/status/1279157427217162240?t=UtPhDbC5xDWhte_vC6CQig&s=19

[@animationmann6612]

Regarding DRM Steam has their own you mentioned limited Device Activation its from Denuvo not Steam the Publisher choose that if they want any DRM for example Cyberpunk 2077 has non on Steam.

[@lewissteward65]

I’m ngl until I graduated high school I was sailing the seven seas or playing them though *insert KZbinr here*

[@Brad-Ley]

While this is helpful I mainly have the Steam version for objectives. That said do remember that you can add games from other platforms to your Steam library. Side Note: I plan on getting external mods/patches when I get a gaming PC/Laptop rather than doing it now simply because I can treat it like a demo if the Steam version isn't the full game.

[@nintendojpcollector7591]

I have a Steam deck and I don’t want to like configure proton or wine just to install from Non Steam stores on my Steam deck. Or add artwork to a VN doesn’t have it.

[@LuongVC_Gaming]

I have Windows dual boot on my Steam Deck specifically for gacha games and VNs. Lots of VNs doesn't work well on SteamOS due to WMV codec.

[@BQD_Central]

Then don't play VNs on your Steam Deck.

[@icgaming4508]

Majority of the times it will be pretty easy to configure proton. If you bought something from JAST for example, you can just extract the files into your drive/sd card. After that you right click the exe and select “add to steam”. This will immediately allow steam to create a proton directory for that game. After that you can just go to gaming mode and start up the game. And if the game doesn’t start just switch the proton to experimental in the configuration menu of the game. That is how I was able to run non steam games or even things like touhou. The problem does come when you need to use an installer. For that you may need to do other work around. But generally if the games just comes from a ZIP file you should be fine.

[@medakabox2015]

Nice, you picked a kara no shoujo OST for this video

[@Steve6cupcakes]

I want to read VNs in Japanese (JPN text not just audio) and Steam very often has full Japanese language support for many of the VNs on there. Do any of these other VN stores have full Japanese language support in the versions they sell? It’s the most important factor for me.

[@andriusnod913]

Good thing I left Steam, I don't have to worry about games getting censored, I play older ps1 era games at least they cannot be censored. So yeah no regrets leaving steam.

[@tengu-9]

In rare cases, VN makers would just slap on an R18 patch as a free update or something. Though I think this results in the game being marked as Adult Only, which could hurt its exposure or reach or w/e.

[@LaCreaturaSplungus]

Problem is I LOVE having my games in one library that will track playtime and achievements ;-;

[@DrNiper]

I recommend Playnite. You can add games from all major libraries and anything on your system under it. Tracks playtime, and even has an extension for achievements.

[@komkitty6571]

That’s the best thing about Steam for ya. Tbh, if you’re not hardcore vn reader like me, sticking with Steam if fine. For me, most of vn that I’m interested can be bought on Steam, and I occasionally read vn so I don’t really mind getting the patches once in a while. But if you like to read more obscene type of vn then go for different sites. Tbh, even though I’m well aware of other stites, I’m still stick with Steam because it’s convenient.

[@idearenge]

THANK U SM I LITERALLUY HAD NO IDEA WGERE 2 BUY THEM..

[@hyperlinguist5284]

My only question is: can I also download the original Japanese versions of the games from these websites or do I only get them in English? Steam allows you to play in the original Japanese, for whichever games that it has.

[@BQD_Central]

That's not true, I know for a fact that many many VNs don't get an English and Japanese release at the same product. Not because of steam, but because japanese publishers don't want to deal with re-imports, because everything that even remotly as anime style in it is ludicorously expensive except lightnovels.

[@hyperlinguist5284]

@@BQD_Central I've been able to play Stein's Gate in Japanese, as well as a few others games, maybe it differs between Japanese publishers.

[@Moonzztone]

Hi! I have a question, do you know any downloadable English patches to the VN “To heart”? Ive been wanting to read it for a while but I don’t know where (I know it’s a very old VN but I found in the past English patches to other old VNs) This would really help!

[@roiwtto0919]

Mangagamer got plenty of VN uncensored version meanwhile steam censored the game while steam got small amount of VN uncensored games

[@JackieJKENVtuber]

There are some (though rare) 18+ visual novels on Switch, but as far as I know they are fully in Japanese, and they are not sold online - as in, they are only distributed physically (or through piracy on modded consoles; take a wild guess how I found out)

[@Rumpelstiltskin01]

Steam is really convenient also every vn I bought on steam has 18+ content right out in the open so censorship is not really a thing to my knowledge Granted i also live in Japan with steam Japan so maybe i have a different experience than most

[@darken2417]

Such a shame that the damage has already been done by Steam and Sony. Practically every iconic visual novel has been remade or remastered with all of their 18+ content written out of the story for all versions, even the versions on other better sites. The excuse from defenders of this is that these scenes weren't good or that they weren't important to the story. Its fine to prefer All-Ages versions but its a problem when those scenes are 100% canon and part of the story as they were in all of them and yet get wiped from history. (Not to mention that remakes could simply remake those scenes like everything else if they were really as bad as people claim they were) Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime, Kanon, Utawarerumono and even Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. Like are there even any more iconic classic VNs left to censor for remakes/remasters? lol. Next they'll somehow figure out how to make Monobeno completely sfw lol. That'll be funny.

[@ludwig-alice]

Not only are the sex scenes in Fate Stay night and tsukihime awfully written, the author didnt even wanted to add them and only did it because they thought it wouldnt sell otherwise. And he didnt even wrote them himself. Apart from basically the heavens feel route, they have zero relevance for the story. I would also argue that Tsukihime remake still has 18+ content with a few of the gore scenes.

[@darken2417]

@@ludwig-alice Right on queue. Using the exact same argument I said you'd make. Also Takeuchi, wasn't some nobody he was a co-founder with Nasu and is the artist. Normally people have a tiny bit more respect for the artist of a franchise than what you are saying here. Nasu also didn't say he was forced or hated the scenes, he said they are hard to write for him. And here is quotes regarding a question of whether the H-scenes were necessary in an interview: Takeuchi- "...[T]he world of an 18+ game has its appeal in a lot of ways... fanservice etc. ...The work definitely originated from sort of a place of freedom of expression like that." Nasu responding to the same question- "Your premise is wrong to begin with. I mean, this is something we built on the foundation of being an 18+ bishoujo game. ... This is adult amusement, so its okay for it to have porn! Actually, maybe it SHOULD have it." He also talked about how the scenes do have love put into them and that he put his all into them. So yes this myth that he hated them and was against it was created by you Western guys who didn't like the scenes. Its fine to not like the scenes but why are you okay with no 18+ version being released at all when this is what the story was released as originally???? Why are you so against it that you guys always drop in to defend the change? Also Tsukihime had more originally which is the point since there are scenes that were cut and not remade.

[@danguy6591]

​@@ludwig-aliceye, nasu didn't want to add them sooooo much, that kohaku's rpute and heaven feel are both centered around r@be 🤡

[@BQD_Central]

Yeah don't bother, puritans will always have an excuse why they are unable to handle their own sexual urges.

[@CaptainDragonRider]

Didnt know you have to buy them

[@pufferoli]

What’s the clip at 2:10 from?

[@TheAugustHail]

Fate Stay Night and then after that Full Metal Daemon Muramasa

[@LuigiTheMetal64]

PC games have been getting censored recently. It is too much trouble to try and mod since video game players would rather play video games.

[@triluck1450]

"Just buy Nekopara, all of them"

[@MrPinazoBoy]

But outside USA apart of Jast USA and Steam is there more options?

[@purelysmetalnightcore]

Great video! Since I primarily play otome games I was only vaguely aware of PC stores. I purchased When They Cry from Manga Gamer directly, but I did buy Saya no Uta on Steam because I'm honestly not a fan of eroge and it's not something I want to see. I am aware that the sex is thematically relevant in Saya no Uta compared to a lot of primarily eroge games, but it's still something I'd rather go without. A large chunk of otome games on the Switch are still rated M for sexual themes among other things, but they were specifically made for the Switch (or originally phone games that were ported), and therefore were never explicit in the first place, even if sex is important to the story. That said, there was a LOT of disappointment in the otome community when the game Butterfly's Poison; Blood Chains got an English localization, but is ONLY available on the Switch and Steam, so the explicit scenes were never translated and are unattainable in English unless/until someone translates the scenes and makes a patch to add them.

[@TheAugustHail]

What's interesting is that for Saya no Uta in particular, it could be argued that the Steam version is actually better narratively because it cuts out the physical sex dialogue and makes better pacing Of course, the act is mentioned in the Steam version but there’s nothing to be lost story-wise.

[@LoliconSamalik]

@@TheAugustHail The emotional weight in the scenes in itself isn't a loss? Showing what little humanity is left in our protagonists before [spoilers] watching it all dissipate and contort with the madness? These things don't matter to Saya no Uta? Sorry, but that just seems wrong to me.

[@qwinn9963]

JAST the GOAT

[@cyrene03]

thanks!

[@amird2535]

Great video😁 What about tsukihime remake and witch on the the holy night on ps4 or switch? Do thease games have censorship too? And i like you to talk about buying VN on console too😁

[@ltb1345]

They're not censored on Switch, I'm pretty sure.

[@ludwig-alice]

Tsukihime remake isnt censored, however they removed the sex scenes (which were awful in the original) because the author only added those scenes to sell these games better in the past but didnt wanted to write them himself, which is why they were horribly written. The physical edition for the ps4 did censor one image in the artbook, which showed a basically nude character, however you couldnt see anything to begin with so idk why sony censored that one. Witch on the holy night is, unlike tsukihime remake for whatever reason, also on Steam, and there is no censorship. However its not as brutal and dark as the other typemoon novels like tsukihime or fate stay night to begin with. At best you can see a bit blood but thats it.

[@amird2535]

@@ludwig-alice thanks for the info😁

[@amird2535]

@@ltb1345 good to hear that😁

[@snipercat1925]

I wish there’s more otome games in the pc

[@Rumpelstiltskin01]

Learn Japanese we have tons here in Japan Like way too many

[@clementegarcia2750]

hey all I just got wonderful everyday on steam the other day and would like to know how to go about getting the patch and using it i have never done this before any help is appreciated thanks in advance.

[@ItsMiover]

Idk why steam forces you to use their client to launch VNs, which usually don't need Internet. (I mean we know why but it sucks)

[@CameronsVideos]

that was helpful

[@InsanityPrevails]

Starleeeeeeeessssssss, Sei Shoujo, leggooooooooooooooooo

[@Mxati4S]

I don't think most of VN are "too spicy" for steam, because there are literally hentai games on steam. The problem is not the spice, but the dish, which is reasonable.

[@TheAugustHail]

When I mean too spicy, I mean of the more extreme variety..

[@andrewshearsby8125]

Steam is a pain at times

[@SMGJohn]

Steam allows adult content, but eh the EU does not approve of Steam selling CP. And when you got under 18 doing lewd stuff, thats CP whether its fictional or not. So yes of course its censored, in fact even Japan is gonna pass a pretty big law on this soon.

[@KventinDorvard]

I wanted to check if Jast, Mangagamer or Denpasoft have bilingual VN packages (like both English and Japanese like some VNs on Steam), but apparently non of those 3 stores are available in my region. And I believe that some of VNs are exclusive for steam anyway.

[@BQD_Central]

R18 novels are almost never exclusive for steam(I don't know a single one), and those who aren't R18 can be bought on Steam without a problem.

[@KventinDorvard]

@@BQD_Central and I'm sure it is not a Steam fault, but those its western publishers fault. It is their decision not to publish a VN in the Steam 18+ section, so their new shiny VN would appear on Steam front page.

[@EzGrimzz]

anybody know if cartagra remake going translated?

[@adrianbolca9528]

Not the best or worst recomendation maybe you will use this not sure yet some aite seem not safe for me looking at site

[@bladecode]

Regional pricing is a big deal for me, what's why I use Steam a lot

[@bremus8740]

interesting video for newbies

[@Soulthief-rw9fj]

my goat

[@mitey2294]

Rin on the thumbnail always gets me to click

[@Nightwalker1511]

What's your take on fakku? (I'm new to VNs)

[@TheAugustHail]

I don't use Fakku at all personally. It offers more or less same value as the other stores. That said, they don't publish any VNs, if any, very little

[@intrepid1160]

Any reason why Jast can use PayPal when no one else can? I’ve never really seen this answered anywhere.

[@chazman91]

Why I'm I just now learning this...Like and Subscribe achievement Unlocked

[@みゆ-y8d2e]

so did i fuck up buying clannad for the switch?

[@TheAugustHail]

Clannad is fine!

[@nosog7957]

Clannad is an all ages VN, so you don't have to worry about any content being removed.

[@Freestyle80]

i just like buying from Mangagamer and getting the raw install files from them so I can store them locally rather than have them on steam lol usually I run VNs from a tablet where I dont use steam so this works much better.

[@RoadKamelot2nd]

How's JAST for potential customers outside of the US? Any restrictions/benefits/roadblocks?

[@Seryuu13]

Very good, especially if you need regional pricing. I'm from the Balkans and JAST has regional pricing for my nation, while Steam doesn't.

[@RoadKamelot2nd]

@@Seryuu13 I'm from the Balkan too! Might as well check out the site then. Many thanks!

[@BQD_Central]

No, pretty great.

[@vew3rita120]

What about GoG?

[@cabbage_man999]

I'm a huge Steam fanboy, but I really wish they'd stop jerking Visual Novel fans around with the bans/de-listings and whatnot. It's even worse because a lot of devs these days seem to be avoiding the issue altogether by opting to release "all-ages" versions of their games without even attempting to get us the full product. Seriously, just mark your game as "Adult Only" or put a patch up somewhere, is it that hard?

[@Reset2150676]

im a simple man. i see ngo, i click

[@nopegok318]

i don't understand why do they censor visual novels when steam allows for outright NSFW games with full on porn, is it to qualify them as SFW for them to have better reach?

[@0p41]

Do you know if, say, I buy a physical (not digital) copy of Aokana for the Switch, will it be the full version or the All-Ages version? You think it'd be the 18+, but if the rating is anything other than M or equivalent, then it probably is censored, which is dumb.

[@leaf269]

Switch will be all ages

[@Tofu3435]

Just vndb it.

[@roslin8060]

It's a bit ironic to show off F/SN so much, considering it's not actually officially available outside of Steam nor with an official 18+ patch. And that's the "sad" (depends on who you ask) reality of some high-profile releases, Steam is the only place to get them in the west. Another example being Muv-Luv, where at least the main trilogy got an 18+ patch.

[@BQD_Central]

F/SN is a case where there is no legit way of purchasing it, so I won't. This is why piracy is a moral good.

[@Mythriaz]

Including the links in the summary would help too.

[@FengLengshun]

Likely a no-go, due to restricted content and the high risk of KZbin community strike

[@Mythriaz]

@@FengLengshun that is unfortunate, the video does go very fast when talking about it.

[@TheAugustHail]

This is correct. Linking to these sites is risky and that even includes VNDB.

[@methylenedioxymethamphetame]

or you can simply pirate everything