What makes a good Visual Novel?

[mysterycycle]

Good story.

Interesting characters.

Choices to be made.

Good artwork.

Right now, I'm mostly digging on the romantic plots, but other stuff can, of course, be good. I recently played an intriguing demo of a VN called Jisei, which is kind of a supernatural murder mystery that reminds me a lot of the Dean Koontz book Odd Thomas. Probably end up buying that (and its sequel, Kansei) when I have the cash to spare...

I also enjoy VNs that have something to say, or something more than just the story to them. I realize not everybody's into that, but it's something I enjoy even in regular fiction (like Asimov, for example). Christine Love's Analogue: A Hate Story was quite moving and taught me about something I was totally unaware of until playing it. I also recently played a VN called Go! Go! Nippon! had a pretty basic plot and a fluffy little romantic subplot, but it was mostly about a Westerner visiting Japan for the first time, so I quite liked it (though it's a little too enthusiastic about how wonderful Japan is, and the minimal H-content could have been excised, I think).

[Spamamdorf]

To me it's all about the characters and plot, more or less in that order too, because it's far easier to have great characters save a bad plot than to have a great plot save bad characters

[ShinigamiKenji]

I haven't played VN besides Katawa Shoujo, but if my experience as a manga reader and gamer can count, I think the core of a good VN should be consistent plot and characters. They should be interacting between themselves and each other in a smooth and non-forced way. Also, good artwork wouldn't be essential, but would have a heavy influence. Good music and voice should be a welcome bonus, but if it's not that good, we can always have mute options.

At least, that's one of the reasons why KS attracted me so much: characters way better than most stories out there, with a narrative that actually could feel real (for fantasy-style, it should be consistent with its own rules), and great artwork and music. And I think almost always great and well-told stories bring those feels.

[Helbereth]

Lots of mind-altering drugs, sleep deprivation, familial estrangement, professional abandonment and five years of mistakenly communicated ideas, arguments and uncontrollable snickering from an immature public.

I might be paraphrasing.

[Akros]

I haven't played VN besides Katawa Shoujo, but if my experience as a manga reader and gamer can count, I think the core of a good VN should be consistent plot and characters. They should be interacting between themselves and each other in a smooth and non-forced way. Also, good artwork wouldn't be essential, but would have a heavy influence. Good music and voice should be a welcome bonus, but if it's not that good, we can always have mute options.

At least, that's one of the reasons why KS attracted me so much: characters way better than most stories out there, with a narrative that actually could feel real (for fantasy-style, it should be consistent with its own rules), and great artwork and music. And I think almost always great and well-told stories bring those feels.

You sure got that right, just read an Adachi manga and you'll know it for sure

[OtakuNinja]

Good artwork, good BGM, a decent plot and interesting and/or cute characters, . A weirdo is always appreciated.