/vr/ - Retro Games

I enjoyed Snatcher on Sega CD with Justifier so thoroughly that I thought "Man, something like this would be great on my phone"

I knew that the visual novel is a whole genre in Japan and figured out how to use this app VNDS Interpreter to play them on my phone. I installed one of the most popular ones Fate/Stay Night that sounded like it would still be fairy "gamey" but it's so boring I play it to put myself to sleep at night.

So where did this change happen? What is it that separates the two? Most importantly, what are some retro visual novels that actually play like games enough to keep my western mind interested?

Most of the ones I've enjoyed have been either erotic...

...or extremely old school

Is Snatcher so popular and valuable because it is uniquely balanced between old school mechanics and new-school storytelling? At least as far as English language options go...

Or are there other 90s (yes I know Snatcher was originally from 1988) flavor visual novels with this level of excitement and narrative quality?

OP could try some real old ones that have english translations

>>1125139
Policenauts

It's been a while since I've played it, should get to it soon.

Basically if you liked Snatcher you'll like it.

Get the Playstation Iso and just google "Policenauts Translation" should be one of the first links.

Or just look for a torrent with a patched iso and save yourself trouble

>>1125171
Not OP, but I love Snatcher, too.

I put Policenauts on my PSP, but after like 2 minutes I was like, shit, I have to play this at home, getting comfy next to a PS1. Was I right?

>>1125171
Is the Playstation version the version to play? Or is it the only English option? My phone does Playstation emulation pretty good.

>>1125172
>>1125168
>Always with the chalk outlines
I don't know if murder mysteries are really what I want either but maybe. I'd like to play Manhattan Requiem but I don't have a Laseractive or iPad. There are a few Laseractive games like that I'd like to play and I haven't accepted playing the inferior 3DO ports yet.

>>1125174
That's another thing I'm not entirely sure about. It was really important to me to play Snatcher 100% as intended, on a crt with a light gun. Would I enjoy Policenauts less on my phone just for the fact that I'm not playing it on OG hardware?

Sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly what the magic was that made you enjoy something so much.

Has anybody played this?

>>1125180
Well, I emulated on the PSP (Snatcher), and I haven't been this immersed in a game for god knows how long.

Try to get a Sega CD in Hungary

There needs to be a Hunter x Hunter version of this.

Specifically the part where there is the "Hunter video game" (i forgot what they called the video game it's been years since I've been into that shit)

These are cool

I'm currently playing Yu-No. 41% in, just finished Kanna's part.
It's interesting how it turns saving into a gameplay element.

>>1125139
>"Visual Novels"
if you don't know what to call them, 'graphic adventure games' is a better term

>>1125292
Japanese (graphic) adventure games. Graphic adventure is any adventure that isn't pure text.

>>1125292
Yeah, see part of why I started the thread is to ponder exactly what the difference is. I agree that back in the day "graphic adventure games" is what we called them, but that was mainly to draw a distinction from text-based adventure games... By today's standards it's kind of a misleading term.

But on the other hand, "visual novel" also implies a less game-like experience than what I'm looking for.

So I'm kind of at a loss on how to really describe what I'm looking for exactly but "retro 'visual novels'" felt close.

Pic related I may give this a whirl. Didn't know it was retro until doing my homework for this thread.

>>1125184
I gave this one a quick spin on my watch but the interface is extremely non-touch friendly. You hold B while pressing left/right to select icons then move a cursor like a mouse pointer.

Might give pic related a try next.

>>1125174
The closest I can get to describing Policenauts would be like watching a movie. Would you rather be at home (preferably comfy) enjoying your movie or out and about catching a few minutes of the game here and there.

I'd say go for the PS1.

>>1125180
Policenauts was never officially localized/translated so you're shit out of luck. Thankfully though a translation of the PS1 version was made so the game is playable from beginning to end.

>>1125312
Great game. Very neat stories and vintage detective atmosphere feel. You should definitely try it.

Is there a PS1 version of Snatcher?

>>1125332
This one is MUCH more playable than Crystal Dragon. The menu system is almost identical to Snatcher, same sci-fi monster mystery flavor. It doesn't have a skip-text option for dialogue you've already read but it seems like a winner.

Pic related seems kind of fun too as a light hearted break.

>>1125416
Yes, but Japanese only.

If it's interactive, it's not a visual novel - it's an adventure game.

Tsukihime - visual novel.
Snatcher - adventure game.

>>1125420
And the elevator music that replaced the soundtrack is awful to boot.

>>1125152
>>1125157

Both look awesome. Download link?

>>1125567
Is Tsukihime retro? They released a demo version during C56 and C57 in 1999 but the actual release was for C58 in 2000.

>>1125620
I think what op wants is proto-vn in english.

>>1125139

>>1125620
>013.M2
>being anal about the precise definition of retro and not just enjoying what you enjoy

>>1125292
What game? Rise of the Dragon?

I get nostalgic as shit for this.

>There is no english translation for Famicom Tantei Club 1 nor 3

Life is hard...

>>1125628
hurr, vury fenny.

Seriously though, go kill yourself faggot.

>>1125589
http://www.myabandonware.com/game/knights-of-xentar-2cw
http://www.myabandonware.com/game/return-to-zork-200

>>1125567
>If it's interactive, it's not a visual novel
I don't think that's accurate. At least the first sentence of the Wikipedia article and the first FAQ answer on VNDB contradict it anyway.

Wow... I JUST discovered that Spellcaster and Mystic Defender are based on a manga and that there are two visual novels for Famicom that are also based on it. One is even translated. Wild.

>>1125567
Honestly, it's more about the presentation and style than anything else.

>>1125302
well there are English ones too...

>>1125672
Jack Haitoku no Megami
(filenames)

>>1125798
>In Japanese terminology, a distinction is often made between visual novels proper (abbreviated NVL), which consist predominantly of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (abbreviated AVG or ADV), which may incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, where both NVLs and ADVs are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by international fans. Visual novels and ADVs are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006.
I don't see a contradiction.

>>1125192
>Try to get a Sega CD in Hungary
Fuck, try getting one anywhere. You almost never see them around, and Snatcher is pricey as fuck.

Anyway, I just started playing Snatcher on my PSP as well. I'm not into the whole story telling side of games, but damn does this game do it well. I'm really liking it so far, and I played it for maybe 15 minutes.

>>1125180
i believe the saturn version has a translation project that is in progress

Snatcher is fucking rad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpOwyvD2ecg

>>1126028

Famicom Detective Club Part II. Excellent.

>>1125172
Man that game required you to remember so much stuff. I needed to write down notes when I played it.

>>1125148
Vidual novels are not games. They are digital books with sound and graphics.

Snatcher, meanwhile, is not a VN, it's an adventure game.

Hence your confusion. >>1125161

>>1125815
No. The definitions are strict and clear.

Fate, When They Cry etc. are visual novels - they're digital books. Snatcher, Ace Attorney etc. are adventure games - a genre of video game.

>>1126565
Do you count CYOA as books?

>>1126565
Fate got choices, When They Cry don't have choices. The author call the WTC series "Sound Novels".

>>1126565
Visual novels are a subgenre of adventure games. Snatcher and Ace Attorney are visual novels.

>>1126589
That's because the art is so horrible compared to the music. Trying to make it sound better.

>>1126589
Choices in Fate are not gameplay. They're a way to pick which part to read next.

>>1126605
No. Visual novels are a type of media. Adventure games are a genre of video games. The two things are as unrelated as "print" and "poetry".

>>1125139
These aren't VNs!
In Japan, they are called ADV games.
They are basically Japan point and click game like how west has Police Quest.

>>1125860
You don't see the contradiction between none and few?

Really, though the problem is that, in English, the term "adventure game" isn't nearly specific enough. In the terms you're quoting though, AVG rules NVU sucks

How am I supposed to know which I'm downloading before I play it?

>>1126610
It all depends on the presentation. You could repackage the choices and it suddenly becomes a point&click adventure without any changes in content.

>>1126610
The same can be said about every turn-based video game.

http://downloadani.me/uzgapdp7zj0b/RanceQuestForHikari.rar

>>1126939

>>1126968
Rance 1 is already stretching it.

>>1126978
Because... This is a Yotsuba B board?

>>1127027
Because it's an RPG.

>>1127053
Interesting! What specific features does it have that leads you to consider it as an RPG?

>>1125182
is there a translation for this?

VNs are usually a different medium, and are more like choose your own adventure books with pictures and sound.
Snatcher and Ace Attorney would be adventure games while Ever 17 and FSN are VNs. Of course there are games which blur the difference.

>>1127187
Yes everything I've posted is available in English.

>>1127171
It has a stat system that determines the outcome of your actions and a level system to improve those stats.
You may also consider the money and inventory aspects.

>>1127196
See again I just don't think "adventure games" accurately describes the type of games we're focusing on ITT. It's because it has a different connotation to the Japanese.

Just like how, to me yes I might call these "graphic adventure games" but really it's not tan accurate way of describing them.

Both terms are only effective in the context of NOT being something else.

"gtaphical adventure games" as opposed to text-based adventure games
"adventure games" as opposed to virtual novels

Say "I want a list of adventure games" and your list will start with Zelda.

>>1127198
Well you can't say inventory and money because all these games have one or usually both of those. So then Knights of Xentar is an RPG but Snatcher isn't. Would you call True Love and other dating sims RPGs then?

>>1127217
Yes, I consider dating sims a type of RPG.

>>1127241
And I'm also assuming that basically you're saying "I like RPGs but I don't like Visual Novels"

See, I can kind of get behind what you're saying but I really liked Snatcher and have liked some other of THAT type of game...

But Fate sucks.

>>1127276
Where did I say I didn't like Visual Novels? I merely said that Rance 1 can barely considered one and Rance 3 was out of question.
It's more that somebody interested in adventure games may not appreciate the RPG aspects. You wouldn't tell somebody looking for a point & click game to play Fallout.

>>1127494
I can't imagine it turning anyone off. It actually makes me (op) more interested as opposed to less. To me though without a map screen it's not an RPG. PFG course I only played Rance for five minutes so far so it may turn out top have more RPG elements than I'm expecting

>>1127498
Rance has maps. 1 only has two small dungeons but the movement in the city and castle is map based as well. The overland is divided into zones as well.

Snatcher is more a graphic adventure than a visual novel. Here's the one from Hideo Kojima that everyone should play at least once

>>1127543
OP currently playing Jesus: Tale of The Horrible Bio-Monster but it shouldn't take too long.

>>1127543
The graphic makes it look like Lethal Weapon tribute.

>>1127603
But it is anon

Kojima is 'the' westaboo

Thrilling adventure game about how to properly cook fish.

Fukkin' Ghost Hunta!

OP might just crush threw a dozen or so of these <10hr Famicom games

I just discovered a website where you can play quite a few erotic retro VNs in your browser for free

http://tss.asenheim.org/index.php

Dead of the Brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Gkm3SEXgI
reminds me a lot of snatcher.
Good luck if you can't read japanese though.

>>1127603
Policenauts IS Lethal Weapon in space.

Okay OP here again. I've been doing my homework on this and I'm beginning to decipher a pattern.

It seems that, right about 1990, in Japan the "visual novel" or "adventure game" or whatever you want to call it started being synonymous with porn. It seems to be the PC that was responsible and it gets much worse once Windows 95 came out.

Once they all started to be about the porn, I'm guessing that they no longer required as much of a game play element to sell - eventually not really requiring any at all.

Then, as we moved into the non-retro era there started to be porn-alternative VN/AVGs but the extremely diminished gaming element stuck around.

Pic related seems to be something that stands out from the crowd. It's a trilogy of games that were meant as a learning tool for Japanese students to learn English but it could probably be used the other way around. It uses simple sentence structure and both the audio and text can be switched back and forth independently.

It probably made the transition into the porn era like Snatcher because it's a port of an older game, one that was originally on SFC. That version came with a special infrared emitter that could control a CD player to supply the dialogue clips. Pretty neat, huh?

>>1129125
You had simple porn games on 8 bit computers like MSX or PC-88. On the PC-98 they added porn to their games to reach a wider audience.
They moved away from porn with non-porn ports to Saturn and Playstation becoming commonplace and anime adaptions airing on late night TV. Now we're at the point where the original game is porn free and porn versions get released at a later point.

Apparently as a promotion for Phantasy Star II, the Japanese version of Sega Channel released a series of brief text adventures - one for each character, prequels to the game.

I may have to do the whole Phantasy Star II experience all over again.

>>1129141
But ever since that turning point, the porn content has been the focus - shifting away from gameplay. Even if non-porn versions come out first it's just for profitability. Hardcore fans will buy the non-porn versions to play first and then casuals and hardcore players both will buy the porn version when it's released.

This looks kind of interesting. I really don't mind the porn element as long as it's not a crutch to get a weak game to sell.

>>1129149
All ages versions sell a lot more than the adult only versions.
There are also still non-adventure porn games.

>>1129159
Shame there's only a guesslation and only for the ugly as hell remake.
But it's a first person dungeon slasher and not an adventure game.

>>1129159
Hey I played through that. That game was awesome. Fairly simplistic RPG.

>>1128314
The idea of a blue-haired Mel Gibson somewhat unsettles me.

>>1129161
>All ages versions sell a lot more than the adult only versions.
So then why even produce the porn versions? I swear, I still don't understand Japanese people.

>>1129443
Because they still sell after all. Why limit your potential audience?
To some degree they involve less risk than a big console release.

this version features additional routes, including the aunt Akiko

>>1129591
>enterprise edition

>>1129591
Is there a translation? I can only find one for the standard edition.

>>1130279
Kanon Platform, Enterprise Edition (Kanon EE) builds on the solid foundation of Kanon Platform, Standard Edition (Kanon SE) and is the industry standard for implementing enterprise-class shoujo-oriented architecture (SOA) and next-generation visual novels. The SDKs contain Key AyuShiori Enterprise Server, previously named Key Kanon Shoujo Application Server, and provide support for Kanon EE 5 specifications.

Kanon Platform, Enterprise Edition or Kanon EE is a widely used platform for visual novel programming in the Kanon programming language. The Kanon platform (Enterprise Edition) differs from the Kanon Standard Edition Platform (Kanon SE) in that it adds libraries which provide functionality to deploy fault-tolerant, distributed, multi-tier Kanon visual novels, based largely on modular components running on an application server.

The platform was known as Kanon 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition or K2EE until the name was changed to Kanon EE in version 5. The current version is called Kanon EE 5. The previous version is called K2EE 1.4.

Kanon EE is defined by its specification. As with other Kanon Community Process specifications, Kanon EE is also considered informally to be a standard since providers must agree to certain conformance requirements in order to declare their products as Kanon EE compliant; albeit with no ISO or ECMA standard.

>>1130281
But is it translated or at least compatible with the translation like the Memorial Edition?

>>1130281
10/10

What was the first game to use the waist upward "newscaster" view for dialogs?

>Snuggle into bed

>>1132415
I'm gonna have to play this next on my X'Eye

>>1132396
Likely Joshi Ryou Panic, released in 1983 and has all the artistic merit of an MS Paint comic.

Are there any good programs for a non-programmer to make a game like this?

>>1129159
You know that horse that says "YOUR RESISTANCE ONLY MAKES MY PENIS HARDER!"

Welcome to the source, it's pretty decent. If you enjoy it, you'll also like the Rance games.

>>1132429
Creative use of RPG Maker VX will be a good start.

>>1132438
Probably your best bet. "Real" programming is kinda tough, using an engine like that is easy peesy.

>>1129145
yup, the Phantasy Star Adventure games on Game Gear & MegaNet/Sega CD

>>1132453
Ooh is there an English patch for the Mega CD version(s)