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Games with Visual Novel/Dating Sim elements?

bomblord1

Banned
That aren't actually visual novels?

I've found that a well done relationship system is something I can really get behind in a game. Things like Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, Persona, etc all have elements that wouldn't feel out of place in a visual novel or dating sim (managing relationships, story line progression through character relationships, etc.) but the games themselves can't really be classified as either.

Being able to choose a romantic partner, friends, etc for the main character make me feel a little more invested in the him/her than I would feel had I never had the choice in the first place. I also enjoy a story that is told in a format similar to visual novel and dating sims (aka through character interactions, relationship advancements, and spoken dialogue). All in all I feel this is a niche I fairly comfortably inhabit and am wanting to find more games that fit in it.

So I turn to the expansive gaming knowledge of the gaf collective to ask my question. What are some good games with visual novel/dating sim elements... That are not just straight up visual novels/dating sims?
 

Dio

Banned
Sakura Wars is the big one, but only the fifth title was localized and wasn't even close to the best one. The rest are stuck in Japan.

I'd say Utawarerumono is the closest to the type of game you mean, as well. It's mostly a visual novel but it's got some SRPG attached.
 
The Summon Night series (of which we're about to get the first official English release of a mainline game in the form of Summon Night 5) is part Strategy/RPG, part visual novel.
 

Lagamorph

Member
Subscribing to this in the hopes it gets some responses.

I really can't think of any. The closest I can think of is choosing which woman to bone in Elite Force 2...
 

Raggie

Member
Do Bioware games count?

The best in-game romances I've experienced have been in Baldur's Gate 1&2 fan mods. And I have a very low tolerance for fanfiction and romance fiction in general.
 

bomblord1

Banned
Sakura Wars is the big one, but only the fifth title was localized and wasn't even close to the best one. The rest are stuck in Japan.

I'd say Utawarerumono is the closest to the type of game you mean, as well. It's mostly a visual novel but it's got some SRPG attached.

I actually own Sakura Wars 5 for this very reason lol. I really enjoyed it.
 

Koren

Member
Sakura Wars is the big one, but only the fifth title was localized and wasn't even close to the best one. The rest are stuck in Japan.
Happy to see this as the first post.

Even if Sakura Taisen V is not the best one, it's still good, though.

And the others are great enough to make learning japanese worthy (there's good partial translations, though, even if they're far from covering all routes).


BTW, technically, it's not completely true that they're limited to japanese, there's a russian version...
 

Zareka

Member
Been wanting to know the same actually. I've wanted an actually good not-Persona for ages now so I'm interested in what pops up in this thread.
 

Raggie

Member
I actually loved Sakura Wars V. Someone should clone that battle system. Besides, Subaru. <3

I know Danganronpa has a similar system to Persona's social links, but I don't know if any of them get romantic.

Expeditions: Conquistador also had a couple of romance paths for both genders. Not very deep, though.

Oh yeah, almost forgot: Growlanser series. The PSP one had more love interests than any other game I've played.
 
t1VyRnJ.jpg


Azure Dreams
 

bomblord1

Banned
The Summon Night series (of which we're about to get the first official English release of a mainline game in the form of Summon Night 5) is part Strategy/RPG, part visual novel.

I've been keeping my eye on this one saw the thread about the physical release pop up a few days ago and I've been lurking it.
 

muu

Member
Gunparade March
Kenran Butosai

If you want a visual novel / dating sim with strong game elements then the Baldr series fits the bill.
 

Ralemont

not me
Growlanser (JRPGs), Thousand Arms (JRPG), BioWare games, Alpha Protocol, Tales of Symphonia (not much content, but it's there), Conception 2 (but don't play this JRPG), Persona, Star Ocean 2/3 (JRPGs). I can probably think of a few more.
 

Sheiter

Member
Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord for the ps3 is a combination strategy rpg / visual novel for the ps3. The first game in the series was never brought over but the game is completely stand alone so story wise you won't miss out on anything.

tears-to-tiara-screen-1.jpg

tears-to-tiara-screen-5.jpg
 

bomblord1

Banned
Since people are curious I'll throw in a few I have played.

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (Oceans in Europe)
Persona 3
Persona 4
Sakura Wars: So long my love
Harvest Moon: Series
Dangan Ronpa 1 + 2
 

fedexpeon

Banned
Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord for the ps3 is a combination strategy rpg / visual novel for the ps3. The first game in the series was never brought over but the game is completely stand alone so story wise you won't miss out on anything.

tears-to-tiara-screen-1.jpg

tears-to-tiara-screen-5.jpg

Also probably the best SRPG in the last year.
Man, the story is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooooooooood.
 

Sonofyama

Neo Member
Any of the Agarest War games, although even as an SRPG lover, I found the difficulty spikes and grinding to be discouraging.
 

Malreyn

Member
The Agarest War series might be worth a look if you're looking for a mediocre JRPG with choices in relationships with a story told in VN style and turned based combat.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
Fate/Extra kind of fits this bill in that it builds your relationship with your servant, though it's not necessarily romantic. And it's not like you can date someone on the side while the game progresses.
 

Kirie

Member
Since people are curious I'll throw in a few I have played.

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (Oceans in Europe)
Persona 3
Persona 4
Sakura Wars: So long my love
Harvest Moon: Series
Dangan Ronpa 1 + 2

You should play Rune Factory 4 if you haven't already. :) IMO it's by far the best RF game and the sim elements are fantastic. So much unique dialogue in that game. You can't go wrong with RF3 either (I'm a tad bit biased since you can play a girl in 4 lol) but both are very highly recommended!
 

galvenize

Member
Also probably the best SRPG in the last year.
Man, the story is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooooooooood.

God, I dropped it right after the final battle with
the chick that was once nice but is now hated by the main hero
. Left it in the middle of her flashback so I still don't know why she became so evil. The game's good but I fucking hate everything about the MC. Design and voice acting is ugh.
 

bomblord1

Banned
Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord for the ps3 is a combination strategy rpg / visual novel for the ps3. The first game in the series was never brought over but the game is completely stand alone so story wise you won't miss out on anything.

tears-to-tiara-screen-1.jpg

tears-to-tiara-screen-5.jpg

Is this only available on PS3? Is it on PSNOW or Vita?
 

cerulily

Member
Oni2box.jpg


Dating sim for Samurai. Giving gifts that characters like makes them have more affinity for you. this affects what scenes you get later on and even affects boss fights and other stuff.

hqdefault.jpg

j....j...jubei-kun~ <3
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
Sakura Wars is the big one, but only the fifth title was localized and wasn't even close to the best one.
Is it a bad game as in "I should avoid this" or just a bad Sakura Wars game? Because with no point of reference might as well give it a try.
 

petran79

Banned
Is it a bad game as in "I should avoid this" or just a bad Sakura Wars game? Because with no point of reference might as well give it a try.

It has the best battle system but not so memorable characters and main lead.
Also steampunk New York is not as nicely done as steampunk Tokyo and Paris like in the previous games.
So if you rank gameplay above story, you might actually like it
 

Dee Dee

Member
That needs to be printed off and framed somewhere as an out of context quote. lol
If you really hate yourself, go and play it. This game is a turd and a half, but the concept of "Classmating" and "ClassMANting" (!!!) deserves some applause for the poor localizers that had to translate hours of horrible bullshit for Conception II.
You basically have a dating sim part where you have to put down your female team mates by telling them they "don't look that fat..." (good option!), then you "classmate" with them to make little pokebabies to go and crawl shitty and crazy repetitive dungeons with.
Whoah this game.

Since someone mentioned Princess Maker, what about Dating Sims that aren't visual novels as much and have actual gameplay? The Tokimeki Memorial series, especially the "boys side" games are chock full of frustrating mini games, rerolling for stats or random events and bonkers side quest (want to win the heart of the rowdy student council president? Go beat the local mafia boss in turn based battles!). I really miss these, damn you Konami.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Is it a bad game as in "I should avoid this" or just a bad Sakura Wars game? Because with no point of reference might as well give it a try.

It's fantastic, and I can't believe people are still shouting it down all these years later.


The Growlanser games(namely IV and Generations) are good for this too.
 
Yeah, Conception 2 is shit. The localization is pretty good, but the game itself is beyond redemption.

While definitely more visual novel than not, I feel like Dangan Ronpa 1 + 2 have far more active gameplay elements than your typical VN while still having a pretty big portion dedicated to building relationships.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
The relationship building in Danganronpa is entirely fluff. It is just character building and doesn't develop the story in any way.
 

fedexpeon

Banned
God, I dropped it right after the final battle with
the chick that was once nice but is now hated by the main hero
. Left it in the middle of her flashback so I still don't know why she became so evil. The game's good but I fucking hate everything about the MC. Design and voice acting is ugh.

Oh man...That part was the breaking point behind the MC personality.
The MC became 10x better, and you will finally find out why everyone always held such a high belief in him on what he can do. Also, that flashback was the reason why I kept playing.

The game is based on historical events and figures, so all you have to do is google Hamilcar Barca and see if you want to give the game another try.
 

Dio

Banned
It's fantastic, and I can't believe people are still shouting it down all these years later.


The Growlanser games(namely IV and Generations) are good for this too.

I'm not shouting it down, it just has a lackluster cast and therefore isn't close to as good as the best of the series.
 

Dio

Banned
And posts like yours are why no one bought it.

You should still buy it even if it's starring characters that can't possibly live up to the iconic Sakura and Ichiro duo, and doesn't have one of the greatest opening themes of all time that's been forever ingrained into JP game culture. I ain't saying to avoid it completely, just letting people who bought it/thinking about buying it that there's even better that they're missing.

Also I don't think that's the sole reason. It's kind of unfair to just blame people commenting on the internet regarding sales.
 
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