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. 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.
Type-Moon is a Japanese video game company, best known for their visual novels, co-founded by author Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi. It is also known under the name Notes Co., Ltd. for its publishing and corporate operations, as it is the company official name, while Type-Moon is a brand name as a homage to the original doujin group. After creating the popular visual novel Tsukihime as a doujin soft circle, Type-Moon has since incorporated and produced the even more popular visual novel Fate/stay night, which became its most well-known title. Both series have also been adapted into anime and manga series that have amassed a global fanbase.
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet is a Japanese post-apocalyptic visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts whose previous works include Kanon and Air. It was released over the Internet on November 29, 2004, for Windows, and is rated for all ages. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Switch, as well as mobile devices. The story centers on a man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of the planetarium where the story takes place.
5 is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Ram and released on July 25, 2008, for Windows. 5 is Ram's third game. The developers described 5 as a "dramatic adventure", and a "noisy northern province love comedy". The game's tagline is, "Five little love tales which are likely to be buried in snow." 5 has typical visual novel gameplay.
Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Haikuo Soft. It was released on June 26, 2009, for Microsoft Windows as a DVD after making several postponements. The game is described by the development team as a "school dormitory romance see-saw game". The gameplay in Sakura Sakura follows a linear plot line, which offers predetermined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the female main characters.
Angel Beats! 1st Beat is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 26, 2015 for Windows and is rated for all ages. The game is based on the 2010 anime television series Angel Beats!, originally conceived by Jun Maeda, and also adapts scenes featured in the anime. The story takes place in the afterlife and focuses on Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. He is enrolled into the afterlife school and meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront—an organization she leads that fights against God. The Battlefront fight against the student council president Angel, a girl with supernatural powers.
Sekai to Sekai no Mannaka de (世界と世界の真ん中で), subtitled Celestial Globe of Your Heart, and sometimes abbreviated as Sekachu (セカチュー), is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Lump of Sugar and released on January 31, 2014 for Windows PCs. The story of Sekachu begins with Renri Ōmi's younger sister Kokoro being discharged from the hospital. When he and his friends are cleaning out the Erdõs dormitory, they find various clues which guide them to a mysterious object.
Sekai Project is an American video game publisher. They are best known for licensing and translating Japanese visual novels into English, but they have also published manga and other non-visual novel video games.
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue, known in Japan as Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm, officially abbreviated as Aokana (あおかな) and translated as Four Rhythms Across the Blue, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Sprite and released for Windows on November 28, 2014. The game was ported to the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The plot follows high school student Masaya Hinata as he coaches fellow students Asuka Kurashina, Misaki Tobisawa, Mashiro Arisaka, and Shion Aoyagi in the sport of "flying circus", wherein competitors travel through the sky via shoes with anti-gravity properties. Depending on the route taken, Masaya can enter a romantic relationship with either Asuka, Misaki, Mashiro, or Rika Ichinose, a student from a rival school and his neighbor.
Harmonia is a Japanese post-apocalyptic visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on September 23, 2016 for Windows on Steam, and was available in English before its Japanese release on December 29, 2016. It was later ported to the Nintendo Switch. The story is set in a world where artificially intelligent, emotional androids called Phiroids were developed before a rapid decline in human civilization. An emotionless young man named Rei with a mechanical right hand is cared for by a girl in a small town as he gradually learns how to express emotions.
Nekopara, taglined Cats Paradise, is a series of adult visual novels developed by NEKO WORKs and published by Sekai Project. The first game in the series, Nekopara Vol. 1, was released in December 2014, taking place in a world where humans live alongside catgirls. The series follows Kashou Minaduki and Shigure Minaduki, siblings who have a family of catgirls named Chocola, Vanilla, Azuki, Maple, Coconut, and Cinnamon. It is centered around work life at Kashou's pâtisserie and home life at Shigure's family house.
Your Diary is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Cube, a brand of Cuffs. It was originally released on September 30, 2011, for Microsoft Windows. Later, Alchemist ported the game without the erotic content to the PlayStation Portable. Your Diary will be released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The story revolves around Tomoki Nagamine, who has feelings for an upperclassman named Sayuki Ayase. Upon receiving a diary from the library manager, he is informed by Yua that all of his happiest memories will be recorded in the diary.
Girls Beyond the Wasteland, often abbreviated as Shokomeza (しょこめざ) and also known as Girls Beyond the Youth Koya in Japan, is a visual novel developed by Minato Soft, released for Windows on March 25, 2016 with a rating for all ages. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Project No.9 and directed by Takuya Satō, premiered in January 2016.
Winged Cloud is an American developer of English-language visual novel video games. They are best known for the Sakura series of visual novels, mainly of the adult genre, that began with Sakura Spirit.
Wagamama High Spec, officially abbreviated as Wagahigh, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Madosoft and was released for Windows on April 28, 2016. It was ported to the PlayStation Vita. An English version of the visual novel was released by Sekai Project in July 2017. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation animated by AXsiZ aired between April and June 2016. A sequel to the visual novel titled Wagamama High Spec Over Clock was released in August 2017. The sequel was announced at the Comic Market 91 event on December 29, 2016.
Fault Milestone One is a visual novel video game developed by Alice in Dissonance and published by Sekai Project. It was first released in Japan for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in 2013, with an English version localized and released by Sekai Project the following year. Versions for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 were later released in 2020.
Fault Milestone Two is a visual novel developed by Alice in Dissonance and published by Sekai Project for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux. It is the second entry in the Fault series, and is set immediately after the events of Fault Milestone One. The game features no player choices, and follows the characters of Selphine and Ritona, who were transported across the world following an attack on their kingdom of Rughzenhaide. Together, with their newfound friend Rune, the game follows their attempt to return to Rughzenhaide to confront the forces that lead the attack.
The House in Fata Morgana is a visual novel video game developed by Novectacle. It was released for Microsoft Windows and iOS by Novectacle in 2012 and 2014 in Japan, and for Microsoft Windows by MangaGamer in 2016 internationally. Additionally, a Nintendo 3DS version was released by FuRyu in 2016, and a PlayStation Vita version was released by Dramatic Create in 2017, both exclusive to Japan. Another PlayStation Vita version, as well as a PlayStation 4 version, were released in North America by Limited Run Games in 2019, who also released a Nintendo Switch version of the game in 2021.
Sol Press was an American publishing company that focused on localizing Japanese visual novels, light novels, and manga. Located in Orange County, California, it was formed in 2017. In October 2021, it was prohibited from doing business in the state of California for non-payment of taxes.
