Visual novels are choice games, of Japanese origin, that have become very famous over the years, and now, not only the east, but the west also creates these games. But what is so special about them that conquer so many people?
We previously wrote an article talking about the origin of visual novels. Today in this article we are going to talk about its characteristics and why simple choice and narrative games are so successful.
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The choices in the visual novel
At some points during the texts, you will need to make an important choice, which will decide the character's fate and the end of the game. It's almost as if you "own" it all, as if you can control that world.
In many stories, readers or viewers think about the various “what ifs”? In a visual novel, they are real. With simple choices, you can define the destiny of an entire story, of several characters. However, all these choices will have consequences, whether good or bad: they can improve or worsen the relationship with some characters, they may help or worsen the resolution of a case...
Anyway, you will have to suffer these consequences and learn from them if you want to make a different ending. As much as visual novels are far from reality, because they are just games and some have some supernatural and fantasy content, they also come closer to reality than any other media, because they make you make choices that will reflect on your future. It's like a life lesson.
The characters in the Visual Novels
When playing a visual novel, you are introduced to many unique characters with incredible personalities and stories. Extroverted, shy, funny, cold, sentimental, insensitive characters… you'll find everything in these VN's.
You also find tragic stories involving family, past loves, traumas that need to be overcome, childhood friends, etc. All these things that make them unique and human: their history, their fears, traumas, tastes, way of speaking, and that's why it's easy to identify with any of them and even easier to get involved with their stories.
Because they are mostly made up of texts and choices, visual novels need to captivate with their characters and stories, and they do that very well.
The Emotions Playing Visual Novel
Com visual novels você experimenta um misto de emoções. Seja a emoção de amar e ser amado, a adrenalina de uma aventura, a tensão de um mistério, a tristeza de uma perda, o medo do sobrenatural... Cada história apresentada dentro deste mundo é única e cada uma delas proporciona emoções diferentes, que talvez você nunca tenha sentido antes.
The thrill of coming up with a theory and knowing if it is correct, the feeling of a right or wrong choice, of getting a good or a bad ending, these are some of the emotions you will never forget when playing a visual novel.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
The endings of a visual novel
Como já foi dito antes, existem finais que são definidos a partir de suas escolhas, mas o que tem de tão especial nisso? É simples! Ter vários finais para uma única história faz tudo ser mais completo. Em uma visual novel, você verá finais felizes, onde tudo termina completamente bem; finais normais, onde existem despedidas e arrependimentos; e finais ruins, onde acontecerão brigas, perdas e destruição de relações.
And you can see all these endings, all the consequences for your choices, and all this in a single game, which makes it vast, makes you cry, laugh, smile, blame yourself for something you said or did or just keep smiling in front of a computer/cell phone because he got what he wanted. It's a sea of possibilities.
Anyway, VN's are portals to unique and equally incredible worlds, that's why they should be played by all people, from all places and that's why they became so famous worldwide. It's a way to escape reality, while learning to deal with it, with your choices during life. It's a world where you can be from a hero/heroine to a villain/villain; where you cling to or feel angry at other characters…
If you are interested in knowing more about this world, feel free to enter this amino community and explore all kinds of visual novels! Article written by Maitê.
