This is the only thing I could find when looking for Switch: Flowers -Le volume sur printemps-
The JP 4 seasons is here (7,300 円):
That’s for windows. I think switch only has the collection.
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Oh nice, Flowers is easily my favorite story of all time! I’ve only read it in English so I wanted to go back to it in jp at some point, if it wins the nomination I might have to find some time to join in
Yes, the consoles versions (switch & psn) are Japanese only. JAST refuses to release them on console. The 4 seasons version is also console only.
The English releases don’t come with jp text so I am not sure how to legally get the game on pc. Its on DMM but DMM is region locked for all-ages games (but not 18+ ones…) so can’t get it there unless you’re in Japan or use a VPN. Might be able to buy it on the Gungnir site but they ask for an address and everything, so not sure if that is region locked or if they accept foreign credit cards.
Chaos;Child is a fun game although I’d recommend reading Chaos;Head NoAH first since C;C is a sequel. Some things might not make much sense and it’ll spoil you on most of NoAH if you read C;C first.
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I was just about to nominate this, good choice!
I’m actually reading through this right now, it is hookable with textractor and has fully replayable lines and lets you jump back to any previous sentence in a scene. As for trigger warnings, so far I’ve seen murder of a family member, human trafficking, however these scenes are very brief and only mentioned a few times in passing. It’s a really fantastic VN, incredibly funny and the OST is one of the best I’ve heard (samples below).
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In a worst case, there’s always YouTube playthroughs… Tho obviously not ideal if you’re looking for the gameplay aspect
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Title: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Platforms: PC (Steam), Switch, PS2, PS3, PS4, PsVita, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS
Summary
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa, which has a population of approximately 2000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser, usually him.) Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro-sama. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro-sama. In each story arc, he or one of his friends become paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.
VNdb Link: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | vndb
Language difficulty: 6/10
Average Game Length: Around 10-15 hours per chapter according to howlongtobeat
Hookable: Yes (I tested it briefly myself a few months ago)
Voiced Audio: Yes
Spoken Lines Replayable: Yes*
Trigger warning: I’m pretty sure there’s blood and murder
Nomination Reason: Higurashi is considered to be a classic VN and a must play by many, and is one of the few VNs I’ve seen that is broken up into a reasonable chapter structure that would suit a reading club. The first Chapter is also permanently free on Steam, which eliminates any possible issues around availability.
Note:
It seems to be highly recommended that people play the game with the 07th expansion mod, which allows one to swap sprites, BGs, OST, has an optional ADV text mode, and also adds the ability to replay voice audio in the log. It’s also possible to hot swap languages with a hotkey if one isn’t inclined to tinker with text hooking.
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How are we going to vote? I hope we’ll do a tournament or approval voting (you vote for all entries you find acceptable), not a single vote (you only vote for your favorite).
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There will be a poll or more than one should we get more nominations than we can put in a poll. You will be allowed to vote on more than one visual novel maybe 3 to 5 different ones. But we haven’t decided that yet. The visual novel which gets the highest number of votes wins and the club will read that one.
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Title: Island
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4
Places you can buy it from: Steam, dlsite, nintendo eshop Japan, PSN store Japan
Story Summary:
Summary English
Urashima is a small island, far from mainland Japan. It’s a true utopia, blessed with rich natural beauty. But the island harbors a difficult past, and it’s about to be erased, silently, from history.
Soot blight syndrome, an endemic disease, has brought about a rift between the island and the mainland. An offshore platform intended for marine research has long been left abandoned; five years ago, three separate incidents brought the once influential Three Families of Urashima to near ruin. Rumors about children being spirited away have become part of the local folklore, alongside another legend, one that has been repeated on the island since time immemorial…
“Let me tell you the legend of this island: it’s a story of tragic love…”
The key to saving the island lies with three girls, each of whom belongs to one of the Three Families. These girls aren’t able to change the fate of the island by themselves, but might they succeed with the help of the young man who’s just washed ashore? Claiming that he’s traveled back in time, the man immediately sets out on a lonely path, challenging the longstanding traditions of the island, and seeking to change the future. But those aren’t his only goals…
How will his presence transform the lives of these three girls, the future of the island, and the fate of the world…?
Summary Japanese
本土より遠く離れた南の島、“浦島”。
そこは豊かな自然に恵まれた、まさに楽園。
「いつまでも――こんな時間が続けばいいのに」
しかし複雑な過去を抱え込んだこの島は、歴史から静かに消え去ろうとしていた。
島の風土病“煤紋《ばいもん》病”による本土との確執。
放棄され廃墟と化した“海上ステーション”。
五年前に“浦島御三家”を襲った三つの事件。
子供たちの間でまことしやかに囁かれる“神隠し”の噂。
そして、島に残された古の“伝承”――。
「お話ししましょう。この島に伝わる、悲恋物語を――」
島を救う鍵となるのは、御三家に属する“三人の少女”たち。
しかし彼女らにはまだ、島の行く末を変える力はない。
「この島はもう終わりだよ。救われっこねー」
そんな島に、一人の青年が流れ着く。
「……――今は、何年だ？」
未来から来たと主張するその青年は、島の因習なんぞくそ食らえとばかりに、
未来を変えるために孤軍奮闘し始める。
「待たせたな、俺が来たからにはもう大丈夫だ！」
だが彼には、別の目的があった。
果たして三人の少女たちは、この島は、世界は、
彼によってどう変えられていくのか――。
Vndb Link: ISLAND | vndb
Language difficulty: Intermediate 6/10 Island – Prebuilt decks – jpdb
Average Game Length: 35 hours according to vndb
Hookable: yes (tested with the demo version)
Voiced Audio: Yes all spoken lines except for the male protagonist’s are voiced
Spoken Lines Replayable: Yes
Trigger Warnings: Sexual Innuendo
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A little remainder the nomination phase will end soon and we will hold a vote. Until then there is still time for nominations.
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When does it end? I’m having trouble finding it. Also earlier threads mentioned length and routes. Can we nominate routes, instead of an entire VN? For example, Fate/Stay Night is 60-85 hrs as a whole. Otoh, if it were just the Fate route (which is route 1), somewhere around 20-30.
Would it be ok to nominate just one route of something?
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When never had any set dead line here I was thinking about holding the vote tomorrow or the day after tomorrow but if people still need more time for their nominations we can postpone it.
I don’t see why we shouldn’t especially when a route stand on its own. But other people may think differently.
Would it be okay to just nominate a route instead of a whole visual novel?
- Yes
- No
- Only if it stand on it’s own
- Only if the visual novel is very long
0
voters
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In the end, I’m not gonna nominate Fate. I think it would probably be better to start with something lighter/more practical tbh (esp since I’m already gonna be doing the LN book club when 本好き starts). Maybe in another round.
But thx for clarifying/polling about the single route option
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Not sure there will be ever enough interest in 女性向け stuff but this might come handy then:
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Soon is relative. For me, soon has passed.
Are you busy, or did you want to wait with the vote?
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Sorry I was sick and busy with lots of different things.
But at least I managed to check if Island is hookable and it certainly is. I want to make one more nomination and then do the poll over the weekend.
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If I didn’t miss anything then we only have six nominations.
Not that it really matters. Okay any nominations posted after this post won’t be included in the vote.
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Which visual novel should the club read first?
- ナツノカナタ
- FLOWERS -Le volume sur printemps-
- マルコと銀河竜 / Marco to Ginga Ryuu
- CHAOS;CHILD
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Island
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voters
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You should change the thread title too to make it obvious the vote started!
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What are we looking at as possible start dates? Trying to make sure I actually have the room in my schedule
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