Visual novel
The year 1983 marked the release of The Portopia Serial Murder Case, a title that established the foundational mechanics for an entire genre. This game introduced non-linear elements where players traveled between different areas in an open world setting. A branching dialogue system allowed stories to develop through entering commands and receiving responses from other characters. Choices made by the player determined dialogues and the order of events as well as alternate outcomes. The game featured a phone mechanic that let users dial any number to contact several non-player characters. It received strong reception in Japan for its well-told storyline and surprising twist ending. Shortly after this debut, Hideo Kojima released Snatcher in 1988 for the PC-8801 and MSX2 systems. Snatcher followed a cyberpunk detective who hunted down a serial killer. Another early example emerged with Mirrors in 1990, which offered a branching narrative and multiple endings alongside audio CD music. YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World arrived in 1996 and revolutionized the industry with its Automatic Diverge Mapping System. This system displayed a screen allowing players to check their direction along branching plot lines. Audiences began demanding large-scope plotlines and musical scores similar to YU-NO's quality. Companies responded by hiring fresh talent, creating a hotbed of creativity within the market. Chunsoft later developed Machi in 1998 and 428: Shibuya Scramble in 2008 to further explore multiple perspectives. These titles allowed players to alternate between different character viewpoints while making choices that affected other characters.
Visual novels distinguish themselves from other game types through generally minimal gameplay mechanics. Most commonly included are dialogue trees that reference points of choice in the progression of a storyline. Interactive fiction dialogue tree choices are logical and have a significant effect on the progression of the game universe. Players select whether to ask a virtual person to go on a date or not, highlighting interactiveness and player versatility. The majority of interaction consists of clicking to keep text, graphics, and sound moving as if turning a page. Recent games offer play or fast-forward toggles that skip this action entirely. A main characteristic is the strong emphasis on prose delivered through text. Playing visual novels feels similar to reading a book due to this narrative delivery method. Many visual novels feature multiple storylines and more than one ending through intermittent multiple-choice decision points. For example, a dating simulator prompts players to pick different characters to date which leads to a different ending. Some titles incorporate elements beyond interactive fiction like Symphonic Rain where players must play a musical instrument to advance. Decision points often present options for altering the course of events during the game leading to many possible outcomes. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward serves as an acclaimed example where nearly every action and dialogue choice can lead to entirely new branching paths. Each path reveals certain aspects of the overall storyline only after uncovering all possible different paths through multiple playthroughs. Hidden decision points are automatically determined based on the player's past decisions in Fate/stay night. The way the player character behaved towards non-player characters affects how they react later in scenes.
Many visual novels center on drama with themes involving romance or family but science fiction and horror fiction remain common. Dōjinshi games represent self-published works that are sometimes fan-made and not published by any formal company. These home-made authentic visual novels can be original works or fan fiction types on commercial products. A subgenre known as eroge features sexually explicit imagery accessed by completing certain routes in the game. Scenes depicting genitalia are censored in their original Japanese releases but become uncensored if licensed outside Japan. Certain eroge titles receive re-releases excluding explicit content to sell to younger audiences. Otome games were designed steering away from traditional eroticism with opposite gender codes to bishōjo games. Koei released Night Life in 1982, the first commercial erotic computer game featuring sexually explicit images. That same year they released another title called Danchi Tsuma no Yūwaku which was an early adventure game with color graphics. Horror-themed visual novels include Higurashi When They Cry developed by 07th Expansion in 2002. Ryukishi07 of 07th Expansion decided to scare players with the addition of horror elements instead of leading them to cry. Other examples include Animamundi: Dark Alchemist, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and Corpse Party. Science fiction entries range from Square's Suishō no Dragon for the NES console in 1986 to 5pb.'s Steins;Gate in 2009. Popular subgenres include nakige which usually has a happy ending and utsuge which may not. The ultimate goal is emotional connection with characters through exploration of their personalities and evolving interrelationships.
Fan-created novel games are reasonably popular with free game engines and construction kits aimed at making them easy to construct. Notable software includes Ren'Py and KiriKiri that enable creators to build interactive stories. Visual novels commonly use dialog boxes and sprites denoting the speaker as seen in recreations generated by the Ren'Py game engine. Up until the 1990s, the majority utilized pixel art particularly on the NEC PC-9801 format. This format showcased what is considered some of the best pixel art in video game history. Policenauts released in 1994 stands as a popular example of this era. Some visual novels use live-action stills or video footage such as several Sound Novel games by Chunsoft. Machi became one of the most celebrated games in Japan where it was voted No. 5 in a 2006 Famitsu reader poll. It resembled a live-action television drama but allowed players to explore multiple character perspectives. Another successful example is 428: Shibuya Scramble which received a perfect score of 40 out of 40 from Famitsu magazine. The graphics comprise generic backgrounds normally just one for each location in the game. Character sprites superimpose onto these backgrounds while the perspective remains first-person with the protagonist unseen. Special event CG computer graphics display at key moments instead of standard elements. These are more detailed images drawn specially for that scene rather than composed from predefined elements.
Prior to the year 2000 few Japanese visual novels were translated into other languages. A majority of titles released for the PC have been eroge with Hirameki's now-discontinued AnimePlay series being a notable exception. As of 2014 JAST USA and MangaGamer are the two most prolific publishers of translated visual novels for the PC. Both primarily release eroge but have begun diversifying into the all-ages market in recent years. Steins;Gate and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni serve as examples of this shift. In addition to official commercial translations a vibrant fan translation scene exists translating many free visual novels like Narcissu and True Remembrance into English. Fan translations of Japanese visual novels into Chinese French German and Russian are commonplace as well. English translations on video game consoles were rare until the release of the Nintendo DS. Some games with visual novel elements had been published in the Western world before then such as Hideo Kojima's Snatcher. The success of mystery titles for the Nintendo DS sparked a resurgence in the adventure game genre outside Japan. Capcom's Ace Attorney series began on the Game Boy Advance in 2001 followed by Level-5's Professor Layton series beginning in 2007. These franchises became some of the best selling adventure game franchises worldwide. Ace Attorney sold over 3.9 million units while Professor Layton sold over 9.5 million units by 2010. Their success led to an increase in Japanese visual novels being localized for release outside Japan including Chunsoft's 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors released in 2010.
Sales data for visual novels is frequently unavailable and listed figures can be significantly outdated as sources are often over a decade old. Free visual novels do not appear in these lists due to unreliability of download numbers and consistency issues with other best-selling lists. Series that have sold over 100,000 copies include Ace Attorney which debuted in 2001 and has reached 14,000,000 sales. Danganronpa started in 2010 and has achieved 10,000,000 sales under Spike Chunsoft. Nekopara from Neko Works debuted in 2014 with 6,500,000 copies sold. Sakura Wars began in 1996 and has sold 4,718,113 units according to available records. Tokimeki Memorial released in 1994 has moved 3,714,704 copies. Sound Novel by Chunsoft debuted in 1992 with 2,709,907 sales recorded. Standalone titles like Needy Streamer Overload released in 2022 have surpassed 3,000,000 copies. Senren * Banka from Yuzusoft in 2016 has sold 700,000+ copies. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! by Team Salvato hit 500,000 sales in 2021. VA-11 HALL-A released in 2016 also reached 500,000 copies sold. The House in Fata Morgana from Novectacle in 2012 achieved 300,000 sales. Tsukihime , A piece of blue glass moon- released in 2021 has sold 240,000 copies. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 by Cing in 2007 sold 213,208 units. Desire 1994 Hiroyuki Kanno / 102,187 copies sold. One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e 1998 Tactics 100,000 copies.
Common questions
When was the first visual novel The Portopia Serial Murder Case released?
The Portopia Serial Murder Case was released in 1983. This title established foundational mechanics for the genre including non-linear elements and branching dialogue systems.
What is the difference between eroge and otome games?
Eroge features sexually explicit imagery that is censored in original Japanese releases but uncensored when licensed outside Japan. Otome games steer away from traditional eroticism with opposite gender codes to bishōjo games.
Which visual novels have sold over 10 million copies?
Ace Attorney debuted in 2001 and has reached 14,000,000 sales while Danganronpa started in 2010 and achieved 10,000,000 sales under Spike Chunsoft.
Who developed Higurashi When They Cry and what year did it release?
Higurashi When They Cry was developed by 07th Expansion in 2002. Ryukishi07 of 07th Expansion decided to scare players with the addition of horror elements instead of leading them to cry.
When were most Japanese visual novels translated into other languages?
Prior to the year 2000 few Japanese visual novels were translated into other languages. English translations on video game consoles were rare until the release of the Nintendo DS.