(My keyboard occasionally sticks so please excuse the double-spaces here and there.) Also this is a
little EXTREMELY wordy
if you just want to see my list feel free to scroll down for it.
No one has responded here? Well many of my favorite Visual Novels are on the Switch. While some are censored, or redacted, I still just love a good visual novel on the Switch even if they are sometimes edited from what the artist originally intended.
I would say one of the best available is Little Busters. The Switch version is just a joy to play. I cannot imagine the UI being any better, same goes for the controls and touch screen applications. It looks fantastic in handheld mode and still absolutely gorgeous when docked on a large screen. I would easily pay 59.99 for this title as you can easily go well beyond the 100 hour mark if you play all the routes to completion.
Before I turn this post into a Little Busters review...which I was seriously about to do lol...I will simply say that the story is phenomenal and all the varying routes culminate into a truly heart-warming and suspenseful climax. You don't need to worry about wasting your time on this one - trust me it is worth it.
That being said anything by Prototype/Frontwing/Key (I think on the Switch you can find all the titles easily by searching Prototype) are absolute classics and if you have not played them, you should.
I would say The Grisaia Trilogy is another classic that I would put at a close second to the Little Busters. This one also goes way beyond 100 hours, so get ready for the long haul here. But again, it is not wasted time.
Close behind that is Clannad....definitely worth checking out. But enough about the prototype games, they are all good, you g et it....moving on...
Yumeutsutsu Re:Master and Re:After are both excellent. The price is maybe a little bit steep when compared to Little Busters...it does not have quite the same amount of content, but it does have fantastic production, heartwarming story (maybe a little slow here and there), and a good sense of humor. Oh, this is a yuri, so just putting that out there but it is certainly not an 18+ title (not that there are any on the Switch) - however the romance does not really suffer because of this. Like most otome/yuri titles you have a choice of love interest/route to take, and Re:After gives you extra content for each one. The main title is around 50-60 hours in length (all routes) and After is around 20 -25 hours depending.
Nurse Love Syndrome is another excellent Yuri. This one does not have the slick production o Yumeutsutsu but I did not enjoy it any less for that. I also enjoyed Nurse Love Addiction but it was not as good. I still recommend it but if you are torn between the two - I'd say go or Syndrome hands down.
Ok so I will now offer my list. This is in order of my personal rating by the way - but all of these titles are recommended by myself.
Note that these times are for my personal playthrough. I do not read slowly but I do take my time with games. I screenshot, take video clips, listen to voices again, so note that this may be shorter for most people but it's still in the ball park. By replay value I mean is it so long and awesome that you would want to go back and enjoy it again - this is subjective of course so take it with a grain of salt.
1.Little Busters 100 hrs+ replay value: high
2.The Fruit of Grisaia Trilogy 100 hrs+ replay value: high (my total playtime so far is 325 hours - but I have gone in to revisit a lot of moments)
3. Clannad 60-80 hrs replay value: moderate
4. Yumeutsutsu Re:Master/After 60 hours or so, 80 for both titles. replay value - moderate
5. SeaBed - 60 hours of reading time - This is a fantastic yuri. do not be turned away by the mostly text based presentation here. Also this is the ONLY one in this list without voices, which honestly almost turned me off from it but I am so glad I chose to give it a chance. Reading this visual novel really feels like curling up with a great book by a fireplace...lots of warm feelings, some mystery, lot of rain effects, etc. you get the idea. I LOVED it. Replay Value - High I've spent 90 hours so far reading it once and a second time.
5. Phantom Trigger 1, 2, and 3 - These are stories in the Grisaia Universe but very much a standalone affair. Events take place after the Grisaia Trilogy but you can play that first or not...really not required. Each one is around 20 hours long - very high production values, mostly comedic moments with some drama. Note: These titles have no choices and are purely visual novels not adventures. Replay Value: High
6. Nurse Love Syndrome 60 hours, replay value - minimal
7. Steins:Gate My Darlings Embrace (lighthearded/comedy) 30-40 hours, replay value - minimal
8. Steins:Gate Zero (dark/drama with comedic moments like main title) 30-40 hours, replay value - minimal
9. Steins:Gate Elite 30-40 hours, replay value - it's just like watching an anime as it is fully animated - high
10. Tomoyo After (This is an after story for Clannad - I would recommend playing Clannad first, but it works as a standalone story as well) 10-15 hours (I felt this was a little overpriced) but it does have Dungeons & Takafumis - which is a bit like Disgaea Lite - it is a stripped down experience but offers some extra fun on the side. replay value - moderate (I have played the story through twice - it's pretty fun at times)
From here on are titles that I enjoyed, but I'd say try the others above first, then move on to these when you want more:
BELOW TITLES ARE NOT RANKED BY QUALITY - Im just listing ones ive liked.
11. My Girlfriend is A Mermaid - 25 hours
12. The Fox Awaits Me - I actually admit I've not finished this yet - it just hasn't held me - but it's still good.
13. Collar X Mallice - GORGEOUS Visuals - but somehow still have not finished just has not held my attention which I suppose says something in and of itself!
13. Maitetsu Pure Station - This one is special because it is a full visual novel with many route choices that also has the animated sprite effects like NekoPara. I had wanted to find one like that for a long time and this did not dissapoint. Around 30 hours.
14. NekoPara Series - these are SO worth the small price. Get this when you just want something light and funny - no choices, but has beautiful animated sprites and is just fun. each one is like 5 hours.
15. Aokana - this probably should be higher up on the list - but - it's really redacted on teh switch unfortunately. And for me - the focus was on sports so much that I really lost interest. I think this one holds up better in the full unedited version. Which is available on PC on the developers wesbite by the way. NekoNyanSoft.com
16. The Days Series (Kukkor Days, Trouble Days, NinNin Days) - these are not bad. They are budget priced, have very nice animated sprites and intricate background drawings - but you get what you pay for. These are like light novels. Not much mystery or heavy romance - just little stories that last 5-8 hours and have 3-4 routes each I think - but the routes onnly split at the very end really.
17. Gaokao Love 100Days - this one is entertaining. voices are in chinese and the love interests sound super cute. this is a visual novel with a simulation based system where you balance your studies and love life with many varying results. Great value for the price.
18. Tokyo School Life - Another relatively short story with three love interests/routes, but I really liked this one a lot. It was just cute. Around 5-8 hours. Animated Sprites.
19. Our World Has Ended - 40-50 hours. I had high hopes for this one - but it got on my nerves some times. I'd still recommend it but only after you played the others. Some of the character voices are tragically stereotypical with some annoying lines. A silky-slick UI belies the sometimes sloppy drawings that you eventually see, but overall the production values are very high here. As we all know, that is not all there is to it. Nice length and route choice though.
20. Code:Realize Series - 40 hours. Gorgeous drawings, music, and backgrounds. Writing not as good as some classics but hey. If you have played any other Aksys titles you know what to expect here.
21. KotoDama - meh - I am putting these here to recommend that you only get it if it is on sale. I paid .99 for it, but if I had paid the usual full price I think I would have been upset.
22.Neko Miko - by same developer as the days series and is very similar. Very cute animated sprites, a short light-hearted story, and minimal route deviation. Another title for when you just want something light and cute.
23. Kitty Love - Way to Look For Love - Honestly I do not really like titles by digimerce or opera house. I still play them on the rare occasion, but generally I avoid them. They are just too generic and trite for me. BUT I liked this one. It still has some translation issues here and there (grammatical errors), some sloppy/weird looking backgrounds, but the story held me for all five routes and I think it is a nice and light otome. Again I'd play others first but if you do try out a game by them, i'd start here.
24. Nightshade - Excellent Otome. This almost made it into my top list but the story drags a little. The music and artwork is just amazing though. This one has a serious overall feel and conveys the romance and intrigue of Sengoku Period Japan. Very very beautiful.
Honestly there are a few more but I feel that this is already way too lengthy so I will stop there. The ones that are, to me, worth playing are here, and honestly I feel like I've found everything worth visiting on the Switch, so if you have one that you suggest that you do not see here, I would love to hear about it.
<3
Esmy
