Visual novel

A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves.^[1][2] They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity. The format is more rarely referred to as novel game, a retranscription of the wasei-eigo term noberu gēmu (ノベルゲーム), which is more often used in Japanese.^[3]

Visual novels originated in and are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006.^[4] In Japanese, a distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL, from "novel"), which consist primarily of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (AVG or ADV, from "adventure"), which incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, as both visual novels and adventure games are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by international fans.

Visual novels are rarely produced exclusively for dedicated

Visual novels are distinguished from other game types by their generally minimal gameplay. Typically the majority of player interaction is limited to clicking to keep the text, graphics and sound moving as if they were turning a page (many recent games offer "play" or "fast-forward" toggles that make this unnecessary), while making narrative choices along the way. Another main characteristic of visual novels is their strong emphasis on the prose, as the narration in visual novels is delivered through text. This characteristic makes playing visual novels similar to reading a book.[5]

Most visual novels have multiple storylines and more than one ending; the mechanic in these cases typically consists of intermittent multiple-choice decision points, where the player selects a direction in which to take the game. For example, in a dating simulator-themed visual novel, the player is prompted to pick different characters to date which, in turn, leads to a different ending. This style of gameplay is similar to story-driven interactive fiction, or the shorter and less detailed real-life gamebook books.^[6]

Some visual novels do not limit themselves into merely interactive fictions, but also incorporate other elements into them. An example of this approach is Symphonic Rain, where the player is required to play a musical instrument of some sort, and attain a good score in order to advance. Usually such an element is related as a plot device in the game.

Fan-created novel games are reasonably popular; there are a number of free game engines and construction kits aimed at making them easy to construct, most notably

The digital medium in visual novels allow for significant improvements, such as being able to fully explore multiple aspects and perspectives of a story. Another improvement is having hidden decision points that are automatically determined based on the player's past decisions. In Fate/stay night, for example, the way the player character behaved towards non-player characters during the course of the game affects the way they react to the player character in later scenes, such as whether or not they choose to help in life-or-death situations. This would be far more difficult to track with physical books. More importantly, visual novels do not face the same length restrictions as a physical book. For example, the total word count of the English fan translation of Fate/stay night, taking all the branching paths into account, exceeds that of The Lord of the Rings by almost 80%. This significant increase in length allows visual novels to tell stories as long and complex as those often found in traditional novels, while still maintaining a branching path structure, and allowing them to focus on complex stories with mature themes and consistent plots in a way which Choose Your Own Adventure books were unable to do due to their physical limitations.

Many visual novels often revolve almost entirely around character interactions and

Visual novels with non-branching plots, similar to a conventional novel or a graphic novel in multimedia form.

There are role-playing video games that feature visual novel-style elements. A well-known example in the West is Mistwalker's Lost Odyssey, an RPG that features a series of visual novel-style flashback sequences called "A Thousand Years of Dreams".^[12] These sequences were penned by an award-winning Japanese short story writer, Kiyoshi Shigematsu.^[13] Another title is the Arc System Works fighting game series BlazBlue, which plays off of a complex fantasy setting where a one-hundred-year period is reset indefinitely with many variables. The many branching storylines in Story Mode can serve as stand-alone stories, but players must consider them together along with Arcade Mode stories to be able to fully understand the universe.

Another successful example is

Despite using the narrative style of literature, visual novels have evolved a style somewhat different from print novels. In general, visual novels are more likely to be narrated in the first person than the third, and typically present events from the point of view of only one character.

In the typical visual novel, the graphics comprise a set of generic backgrounds (normally just one for each location in the game), with character sprites (立ち絵, tachi-e) superimposed onto these; the perspective is usually first-person, with the protagonist remaining unseen. At certain key moments in the plot, special event CG computer graphics are displayed instead; these are more detailed images, drawn specially for that scene rather than being composed from predefined elements, which often use more cinematic camera angles and include the protagonist. These event CGs can usually be viewed at any time once they have been "unlocked" by finding them in-game; this provides a motivation to replay the game and try making different decisions, as it is normally impossible to view all special events on a single play-through.

Up until the 1990s, the majority of visual novels utilized

The history of visual novels dates back to

A common feature used in visual novels is having multiple protagonists giving different perspectives on the story.

EVE Burst Error (1995), developed by Hiroyuki Kanno and C's Ware, introduced a unique twist to the system by allowing the player to switch between both protagonists at any time during the game, instead of finishing one protagonist's scenario before playing the other. EVE Burst Error often requires the player to have both protagonists co-operate with each other at various points during the game, with choices in one scenario affecting the other.^[20]

An important milestone in the history of visual novels was

parallel universes. The player travels between parallel worlds using a Reflector device, which employs a limited number of stones to mark a certain position as a returning location, so that if the player decides to retrace their steps, they can go to an alternate universe to the time they have used a Reflector stone. The game also implemented an original system called Automatic Diverge Mapping System (ADMS), which displays a screen that the player can check at any time to see the direction in which they are heading along the branching plot lines.^[22]

YU-NO revolutionized the visual novel industry, particularly with its ADMS system.

role-playing video games such as Radiant Historia (2010)^[26][27] and the PSP version of Tactics Ogre (2010).^[28]

Chunsoft sound novels such as Machi (1998) and 428: Shibuya Scramble (2008) developed the multiple-perspective concept further. They allow the player to alternate between the perspectives of several or more different characters, making choices with one character that have consequences for other characters.^[12][29] 428 in particular features up to 85 different possible endings.^[29] Another popular visual novel featuring multiple perspectives is Fate/stay night (2004).^[6]

Content and genres

See also: Adventure game, Bishōjo game, Dating sim, and Otome game

Many visual novels are centered on

fantasy fiction, and horror fiction

are not uncommon.

Dōjinshi games (dōjin soft)

Main article:

Dōjin soft

dōjin games (同人ゲーム), also sometimes called dōjin soft (同人ソフト). These visual novel-style games are created as fan-made works based on pre-existing fandoms (usually anime and manga, but also for TV shows or even other pre-existing games and visual novels). Dōjinshi games are often based on romance (or shipping) between two characters, known as an otome game (乙女ゲーム) or dating sim; sometimes becoming sexual (or hentai), known as an eroge

(エロゲ, a portmanteau of erotic game (エロチックゲーム)).

Erotic content

See also:

Sex and nudity in video games

Many visual novels also qualify as eroge, an abbreviation of 'erotic game'. These games feature sexually explicit imagery that is accessed by completing certain routes in the game, most often depicting the game's protagonist having sex with one of the game's other characters. Like other pornographic media in Japan, scenes depicting genitalia are censored in their original Japanese releases, only becoming uncensored if the game is licensed outside Japan with all art assets intact. Certain eroge titles receive re-releases which exclude explicit content in order to be sold to a younger audience, such as ports to consoles or handheld systems where sexually explicit content is not allowed, and storylines referring to aforementioned sex scenes are often omitted from adaptations into other media, unless that media is also pornographic in nature, such as a hentai anime.

Traditionally, PC-based visual novels have contained risque scenes even if the overall focus is not erotic (similar to the "obligatory sex scene" in Hollywood action films). However, the vast majority of console ports do not contain adult material, and a number of recent PC games have also been targeted at the all-age market; for example, all of Key's titles come in censored versions, although the content might still not be appropriate for children, and three have never contained erotic content at all. Also, all of KID's titles are made with general audiences in mind.

However, some of these games are later re-released with the addition of

erotic scenes, or have a sequel with such. For example, Little Busters! was first released as an all-ages visual novel, but a version with erotic scenes titled Little Busters! Ecstasy came out later, and though Clannad is also all-ages, its spinoff Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life

is not.

Often, the beginning of the eroge will be dedicated to introducing the characters and developing the protagonist's relationship with them, before the protagonist sexually interacts with other characters, for example, Lump of Sugar games such as Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity and Everlasting Summer do this. The effect it has on the reader is the H-scenes (sex scenes) will have a stronger emotional impact for the two (or possibly more) characters.

Some of Japan's earliest adventure games were erotic

NEC PC-8001 computer. It became a hit, helping Koei become a major software company.^[30] Other now-famous companies such as Enix, Square and Nihon Falcom also produced similar erotic games in the early 1980s before they became famous for their role-playing video games. While some early erotic games integrate the erotic content into a thoughtful and nuanced storylines, others often used it as a simplistic vehicle for fetishism, pleasure, an aid of the lightheaded themes that encourage stress relief or to portray nuances of sexuality.^[16]

The Japanese game Pai Touch! involves the protagonist gaining the ability to change the size of girls' breasts, and the adventures that ensue in trying to choose which girl to use the power on the most.

Another subgenre is called "nukige" (抜きゲー), in which sexual gratification of the player is the main focus of the game.[32]

Science fiction

In 1986,

point-and-click interface for a console, like The Portopia Serial Murder Case, but making use of visual icons rather than text-based ones to represent various actions. Like the NES version of Portopia Serial Murder Case, it featured a cursor that could be moved around the screen using the D-pad to examine the scenery, though the cursor in Suishō no Dragon was also used to click on the action icons.^[33][34]

light gun shooter segments. It was praised for its graphics, soundtrack, high quality writing comparable to a novel, voice acting comparable to a film or radio drama, and in-game computer database with optional documents that flesh out the game world. The Sega CD version of Snatcher was for a long time the only major visual novel game to be released in America, where it, despite low sales, gained a cult following.^[37]

Following

5pb.'s Chaos;Head (2008) and Steins;Gate

(2009).

Nakige and utsuge

Popular subgenres of visual novels include the nakige (泣きゲー, crying game), which still usually has a happy ending, and the utsuge (鬱ゲー, depressing game), which may not. The genres are somewhat fluid and were largely pioneered in parallel during the late 1990s through the early 2000s by the works of

Tactics. After One was complete, the development team quit Tactics to form Key where they developed their first title Kanon, also based upon this formula. According to Satoshi Todome in his book, A History of Adult Games, Kanon was "heavily hyped [and] had gamers impatient until its release. It was only one game released by Key so far, and yet [it] had already sent major shockwaves around the industry. And yet another game [Air], two years later, sent even more shockwaves. Air was equally hyped and well received."^[41]

Key's "crying game" formula used successfully in One and Kanon was later adopted by other visual novel companies to create their own "crying games". Examples of this include:

Visual Art's

).

One of the most acclaimed visual novels of this subgenre was Key's Clannad, written by Jun Maeda, Yūichi Suzumoto, and Kai and Tōya Okano. Released in 2004, its story revolved around the central theme of the value of having a family.^[42] It was voted the best bishōjo game of all time in a poll held by Dengeki G's Magazine.^[43] It served as the basis for a media franchise, with successful adaptations into a light novel, manga, animated film, and acclaimed anime series.

In 2008, several of Key's visual novels were voted in the

Dengeki poll of the ten most tear-inducing games of all time, including Clannad at No. 2, Kanon at No. 4, Air at No. 7, and Little Busters! at No. 10.^[44] In 2011, several visual novels were also voted in Famitsu's poll of 20 most tear-inducing games of all time, with Clannad at No. 4, Steins;Gate at No. 6, Air at No. 7, Little Busters! at No. 10, and 428: Shibuya Scramble at No. 14.^[45]

Horror

After developing The Portopia Serial Murder Case,

Kamaitachi no Yoru

was also a best seller and would prove to be highly influential.

Saya no Uta, Doki Doki Literature Club!, and Corpse Party

.

Visual novels in the Western world

Prior to the year 2000, few Japanese visual novels were translated into other languages. As with the visual novel genre in general, a majority of titles released for the PC have been

Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Policenauts

) into English. Fan translations of Japanese visual novels into languages other than English such as Chinese, French, German, Ukrainian and Russian are commonplace as well.

English translations of Japanese visual novels on video game consoles were rare until the release of the

Level-5's Professor Layton series (beginning in 2007),^[50] Japanese visual novels have been published in other countries more frequently. The success of these games has sparked a resurgence in the adventure game genre outside Japan.^[49][51][52]

Dontnod Entertainment's Life Is Strange (2015); the latter's creative director cited visual novels such as Danganronpa (2010) as an influence.^[55]

Additionally, there have been some visual novels developed mainly in English, and intended for an English-speaking audience; one of the earliest commercially-available examples on a mainstream platform is 2004's

VA-11 HALL-A

. Other languages have been the focus in visual novels, including Spanish, French, Russian and Mandarin, which have seen increased success due to the popularity of the genre.

List of best-selling visual novels

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Sales data for visual novels is frequently unavailable; the sales listed below can be significantly outdated as some of the sources are over a decade old, and series qualified for an entry could be missing. These lists should be referenced carefully.

Free visual novels do not appear in these lists due to the unreliability of download numbers and for consistency with other best-selling lists.

Series

See also:

List of best-selling Japanese role-playing game franchises, List of best-selling manga, and List of highest-grossing media franchises

Visual novel series that have sold over 100,000 copies

Series	Debut	Creator(s)	Sales	Note(s)/ref(s)
Ace Attorney	2001	Capcom / Shu Takumi	9,200,000	[56]
Danganronpa	2010	Spike (Spike Chunsoft) / Kazutaka Kodaka	5,000,000	[57]
Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen)	1996	Sega CS2 R&D / Red Entertainment	4,718,113	[a]
Tokimeki Memorial	1994	Konami / Koji Igarashi	3,714,704	[b]
Nekopara	2014	Neko Works / Sayori	3,000,000	[62][63]
Sound Novel	1992	Chunsoft (Spike Chunsoft )	2,709,907	[d]
Tantei Jingūji Saburō (Jake Hunter)	1987	Data East	2,346,841	[e]
Fate	2004	Type-Moon / Kinoko Nasu	2,096,148	[g]
Sakura	2014	Winged Cloud	1,566,022	[h]
Zero Escape	2009	Chunsoft / Kotaro Uchikoshi	1,290,213	[i]
Steins;Gate	2009	5pb. / Nitroplus	1,244,545	[j]
Rance	1989	AliceSoft	1,159,193	[k]
Higurashi: When They Cry	2002	07th Expansion / Ryukishi07	1,109,018	[m]
Shinseiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion)	1996	Gainax Network Systems	1,040,972	[n]
Muv-Luv	2003	âge	800,000	[o]
D.C Da Capo	2002	Circus	800,000	[p]
Dōkyūsei	1992	ELF Corporation	722,662	[q]
The Death Trap	1984	Squaresoft / Hironobu Sakaguchi	600,000	[r]
To Heart	1997	Leaf	584,263	[s]
EVE	1995	Hiroyuki Kanno / C's Ware	575,873	[t]
Clannad	2004	Key / Jun Maeda	468,278	[u]
Majikoi!	2009	Minato Soft [ja]	400,000	[v]
Welcome to Pia Carrot	1996	Cocktail Soft	320,696	[w]
Hatoful Boyfriend	2011	Hato Moa	317,015	[x]
Kidou Senkan Nadesico (Martian Successor Nadesico)	1997	Sega	284,255	[y]
Cardcaptor Sakura ~Sakura to Card to O-Tomodachi~	1999	MTO	193,745	[59]
Dies irae	2007	Light	100,000	[92]

Standalone

Standalone visual novels that have sold over 100,000 copies

Title	Release	Developer(s)	Sales	Note(s)/ref(s)
Doki Doki Literature Club!	2017	Team Salvato	2,500,000	[93][94]
The Portopia Serial Murder Case	1983	Chunsoft	700,000	[95]
Digimon Survive	2022	Hyde	500,000	[96]
VA-11 HALL-A	2016	Sukeban Games	500,000	[97]
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim	2019	Vanillaware	500,000	[98]
Nonomura Byōin no Hitobito  [ja] (Mystery of Nonomura Hospital)	1996	ELF Corporation	400,000	[99]
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World	1996	Hiroyuki Kanno / ELF Corporation	380,820	[z]
Long Live the Queen	2012	Hanako Games / Spiky Caterpillar	369,384	[71]
Policenauts	1994	Hideo Kojima / Konami	341,483	[59]
Kanon	1999	Key / Naoki Hisaya	317,512	[aa]
Air	2000	Key / Jun Maeda	308,382	[ab]
Tsukihime –A piece of blue glass moon-	2021	Type-Moon	240,000	[ac]
Hotel Dusk: Room 215	2007	Cing	213,208	[102]
Monster Prom	2018	Beautiful Glitch	200,000	[103]
Can Can Bunny: Premiere  [ja]	1992	Cocktail Soft / KID	159,502	[77]
Doukoku Soshite...	1997	Data East	131,085	[59]
Witch on the Holy Night	2022	Type-Moon	110,000	[ad]
Desire	1994	Hiroyuki Kanno / C's Ware [ja]	102,187	[77]
One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e	1998	Tactics	100,000	[105]

See also

• Hypertext fiction
• List of video games based on anime or manga
• List of visual novel engines
• Motion comic
• The Visual Novel Database
• Visual novel engines

Notes

1. ^ Sakura Wars series:
   • Up until 2010 – 4.5 million^[58]
   • 2013–2018 – 39,687 (Japan)^[59]
   • Shin Sakura Taisen (2019) – 178,426 (Japan)^[60]
2. ^ Tokimeki Memorial series:
   • 3 million+^[61]
   • August 2006 to 2019 (Japan) – 714,703^[59]
3. ^ See 428: Shibuya Scramble § Reception
4. ^ Sound Novel series:
   • Otogirisō (1992) – 400,000+^[64]
   • Kamaitachi no Yoru
     (Banshee's Last Cry) – 1,941,758
     • Kamaitachi no Yoru (1994 to April 2002) – 1.25 million^[65]
     • June 2002 to 2019 (consoles) – 691,758 (Japan)^[59]
   • Machi (1998) – 164,866^[59]
   • 428: Shibuya Scramble (2008) – 203,283^[c]
5. ^ Tantei Jingūji Saburō series
   • As of May 2007^[update] – 2.22 million^[66]
   • July 2007 to 2019 (Japan) – 126,841^[59]
6. ^ See Fate/stay night § Reception
7. ^ Fate series (Japan)
   • Fate/stay night – 751,488^[f]
   • Fate/hollow ataraxia – 247,474
     • PC – 154,015^[67]
     • PS Vita – 93,459^[59]
   • Fate spin-off titles (consoles) – 1,097,186^[59]
8. ^ Sakura series:
   • Sakura Agent, Sakura Dungeon, Sakura Gamer, Sakura Magical Girls – 206,022
   • Other titles – 1.36 million^[68]
9. ^ Zero Escape series:
   • Japan (consoles) – 90,213^[59]
   • Steam (PC) – 1,200,000+^[69]
10. ^ Steins;Gate series:
    • 2009–2015 (Japan) – 1 million+^[70]
    • Steins;Gate (Steam) – 160,015+^[71]
    • PS4) (Japan) – 4,087 (April 2018)^[72]
    • Steins;Gate 0 (Steam) – 50,000+[73]
    • Steins;Gate Elite (Japan) – 30,442^[74]
11. ^ Rance series:
    • Japan – 1,000,000 (Data of all series until Rance 03 –Fall of Leazas–)
    • Rance X (PC) – 159,193 (2018)^[75]
12. ^ See Higurashi When They Cry § Reception
13. ^ Higurashi When They Cry series:
    • Japan (consoles) – 908,391^[l]
    • Steam (PC) – 200,627+
      • Ch.1 – 100,000+^[76]
      • Ch.2 – 28,301+^[71]
      • Ch.3 – 20,000+^[76]
      • Ch.4 – 12,326+^[71]
      • Ch.5 and Ch.6 – 40,000+^[76]
14. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion series (Japan)
    • 1st Impression and 2nd Impression (Sega Saturn) – 785,034^[77]
    • Girlfriend of Steel 2 – 255,938^[59]
15. ^ Muv-Luv series
    • Worldwide – 800,000 (Total cumulative of series)^[78]
    • Japan – 500,000 (Total cumulative of series until 2015)^[79]
      • Muv-Luv Alternative (PC) – 62,546 (2006)^[80]
      • Consoles – 72,906[59]
    • Steam (PC) overseas – 5,256^[71]
16. ^ D.C Da Capo series:
    • Japan – 800,000 (Total cumulative of all games until Da Capo 5)^[81]
17. ^ Dōkyūsei series (Japan)
    • PC Engine) – 107,594^[82]
    • Sega Saturn – 615,068^[77]
18. ^ The Death Trap series:
    • The Death Trap – 500,000^[83]
    • Will: The Death Trap II – 100,000^[84]
19. ^ To Heart series (Japan)
    • Consoles – 473,870^[59]
    • To Heart 2 X Rated (PC) – 110,393 (2006)^[67]
20. ^ EVE series [ja]
    • EVE: Burst Error – 350,000^[85]
    • EVE: The Lost One  [ja] (Sega Saturn) – 145,071 (Japan)^[77]
    • Later EVE titles (consoles) – 80,802 (Japan)^[59]
21. ^ Clannad series:
    • Clannad – 365,757+
      • Windows (Japan) – 100,560^[86]
      • PS2, PSP, X360 (Japan) – 105,197^[59]
      • PS3, PSV, PS4 (worldwide) – 60,000^[87]
      • Steam (overseas) – 100,000+^[88]
    • Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de (On the Hillside Path that Light Watches Over) – 28,984^[59]
    • Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life (consoles) – 73,537
      • PS2 – 49,226^[67]
      • PSP and Xbox 360 – 24,311^[59]
22. ^ Majikoi!' series:
    • Japan – 400,000 (Total series sales until Majikoi A-5)^[89]
      • Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! (PS3) – 12,565 (2012)^[90]
23. Pia Carrot
    series (Japan)
    • Consoles – 284,186^[59]
    • PC (2006) – 36,510^[80]
24. ^ Hatoful Boyfriend:
    • Steam – 309,725^[71]
    • DLsite English – 7,290^[91]
25. Kidou Senkan Nadesico
    series (Japan)
    • Yappari Saigo ha 'Ai ga Katsu'? – 138,161^[77]
    • The Blank of Three Year and The Mission – 146,094^[59]
26. ^ See YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World § Reception
27. ^ Kanon:
    • Up until 2006 – 300,000+^[100]
    • PSP (Japan) – 14,762^[59]
28. ^ Air:
    • Up until 2006 – 300,000+^[100]
    • PSP and
      PS Vita (Japan) – 8,382^[59]
29. ^ Tsukimhime:
    • Sales prior to September 2021 – 240,000+^[101]
30. ^ Tsukimhime:
    • First Week Sales – 110,000+^[104]

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Visual novels.

• Visual Novels at
  Curlie
• Visual Novel Database