The masterpieces of the year 1986:
The masterpieces of the year are:
euphoria review
2 months ago
De-Ja / デ・ジャ
VN of the Year 1989 - Imitation wa Aisenai
Year 1989 masterpieces:
1. Burning Point
2. Dororo ~Jigoku Emaki no Shou~
3. Dual Targets - The 4th Unit Act.3
4. Paragon Sexa Doll
5. Tawhid
6. 38 Man Kilo no Kokuu
7. Dragon Knight
8. Twilight Zone 3 Nagakute Amai Yoru
9. Hare Nochi Oosawagi!
10. Imitation wa Aisenai
11. Nishimura Kyoutarou Mystery: Blue Train Satsujin Jiken
12. Asoko no Koufuku
13. Psychic Detective Series Vol. 1: Invitation - Kage kara no Shoutaijou
14. Psychic Detective Series Vol. 2: Memories
The two main candidates for VN of the year for me are Burning Point and Imitation wa Aisenai. The first is a very integral work with all the elements fitting flawlessly. The second is a hard-boiled SF adventure and I favor that the most! Imitation wa Aisenai is VN of the year 1989.
Let's try to distinguish what features year 1989 brought:
- number games with multiple endings greatly increased
- while still being interactive adventures, VNs started to have simplified command selection mechanics
- simplified game mechanics led to higher game volumes and thus higher satisfaction with the story
- most of year 1989 games are story-driven and it's the golden age for adventure theme in VNs
- proportion of rpg games and elements got higher
- school setting games got more numerous
- science fiction clearly lost to mystery
1. Burning Point
2. Dororo ~Jigoku Emaki no Shou~
3. Dual Targets - The 4th Unit Act.3
4. Paragon Sexa Doll
5. Tawhid
6. 38 Man Kilo no Kokuu
7. Dragon Knight
8. Twilight Zone 3 Nagakute Amai Yoru
9. Hare Nochi Oosawagi!
10. Imitation wa Aisenai
11. Nishimura Kyoutarou Mystery: Blue Train Satsujin Jiken
12. Asoko no Koufuku
13. Psychic Detective Series Vol. 1: Invitation - Kage kara no Shoutaijou
14. Psychic Detective Series Vol. 2: Memories
The two main candidates for VN of the year for me are Burning Point and Imitation wa Aisenai. The first is a very integral work with all the elements fitting flawlessly. The second is a hard-boiled SF adventure and I favor that the most! Imitation wa Aisenai is VN of the year 1989.
Let's try to distinguish what features year 1989 brought:
- number games with multiple endings greatly increased
- while still being interactive adventures, VNs started to have simplified command selection mechanics
- simplified game mechanics led to higher game volumes and thus higher satisfaction with the story
- most of year 1989 games are story-driven and it's the golden age for adventure theme in VNs
- proportion of rpg games and elements got higher
- school setting games got more numerous
- science fiction clearly lost to mystery
VN of the Year 1988 - Lipstick. ADV
In 1988 there are even more games, but I have only selected 9 as masterpieces:
1. Soft de Hard na Monogatari
2. Chatty
3. Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Koukeisha
4. Lipstick. ADV
5. Onryou Senki
6. Psy-O-Blade
7. Angelus ~Akuma no Fukuin~
8. Snatcher
9. Akira
Year 1988 is the year when PC-98 won. In 1987 there were only couple games with pc-98 versions. Occasional games start to have animation and sometimes even certain phrases voiced. In 1988 there's a very big share of visual novels made deliberately for famicom.
Lipstick ADV was very revolutionary for that time and marked the birth of "Elf" games. It is a worthy champion of 1988.
1. Soft de Hard na Monogatari
2. Chatty
3. Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Koukeisha
4. Lipstick. ADV
5. Onryou Senki
6. Psy-O-Blade
7. Angelus ~Akuma no Fukuin~
8. Snatcher
9. Akira
Year 1988 is the year when PC-98 won. In 1987 there were only couple games with pc-98 versions. Occasional games start to have animation and sometimes even certain phrases voiced. In 1988 there's a very big share of visual novels made deliberately for famicom.
Lipstick ADV was very revolutionary for that time and marked the birth of "Elf" games. It is a worthy champion of 1988.
VN of the Year 1987 - Hiatari Ryoukou!
The number of visual novels in 1987 increased greatly, but the number of masterpieces is relatively the same:
1. Amazons no Hihou
2. Urusei Yatsura
3. DNA
4. Koroshi no Dress
5. Hadou no Hyouteki
6. Jesus
7. Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School
8. Hiatari Ryoukou!
9. The 4th Unit
1987 has become a great breakthrough for visual novels. Text parser has been made obsolete by command selection and quite many games that amplify text over gameplay or graphics have showed up (even though the graphics have evolutioned immensely as well). But the most innovative and engaging game of 1987 is Hiatari Ryoukou adapted from anime by Toho. That's the first galge in modern sense - it's about daily routine and chasing one of the girls with lots of sunshine and comedy scenes. The charm of characters is overwhelming and gameplay is quite easy and infectious. If only it could be hooked...
1. Amazons no Hihou
2. Urusei Yatsura
3. DNA
4. Koroshi no Dress
5. Hadou no Hyouteki
6. Jesus
7. Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School
8. Hiatari Ryoukou!
9. The 4th Unit
1987 has become a great breakthrough for visual novels. Text parser has been made obsolete by command selection and quite many games that amplify text over gameplay or graphics have showed up (even though the graphics have evolutioned immensely as well). But the most innovative and engaging game of 1987 is Hiatari Ryoukou adapted from anime by Toho. That's the first galge in modern sense - it's about daily routine and chasing one of the girls with lots of sunshine and comedy scenes. The charm of characters is overwhelming and gameplay is quite easy and infectious. If only it could be hooked...
VN of the Year 1986 - Gall Force - Eternal Story
The masterpieces of the year 1986:
1. Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu ~Rinne Tensei Hen~
2. Wingman 2: Kitakura no Fukkatsu
3. Boukenshatachi Kenja no Yuigon
4. Alpha
5. Hokuto no Ken: Violence Gekiga Adventure
6. J.B. Harold no Jikenbo #1 - Final Mystery - Murder Club
7. Casablanca ni Ai o Satsujinsha wa Jikuu o Koete
8. Gall Force - Eternal Story
9. Maison Ikkoku ~Omoide no Photograph~
10. Suishou no Dragon
11. Little Princess
12. Toki no Tabibito
13. 1000-nen Oukoku
There's actually a harsh competition here, but no obvious winner at the same time. I don't want to nominate NES titles, because this platform is not really suitable for the genre. Maison Ikkoku was nominated by me previously, but in the long run it's a NES game again and it's not particularly entertaining. Wingman 2 and Little Princess are way too short. J.B.Harold is a detective genre that I can't stand. Casablanca does not have a normal release. Boukenshatachi is mostly a parody with some jokes difficult to understand already and text parser ruins it all. But I was really shocked by production values of Gall Force - Eternal Story. It has pure command selection gameplay, really nice dialogues, lots of CG and plenty of action scenes as well as worthy sound support. That's what VNs should be like and that's why it's the VN f the Year 1986!
1. Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu ~Rinne Tensei Hen~
2. Wingman 2: Kitakura no Fukkatsu
3. Boukenshatachi Kenja no Yuigon
4. Alpha
5. Hokuto no Ken: Violence Gekiga Adventure
6. J.B. Harold no Jikenbo #1 - Final Mystery - Murder Club
7. Casablanca ni Ai o Satsujinsha wa Jikuu o Koete
8. Gall Force - Eternal Story
9. Maison Ikkoku ~Omoide no Photograph~
10. Suishou no Dragon
11. Little Princess
12. Toki no Tabibito
13. 1000-nen Oukoku
There's actually a harsh competition here, but no obvious winner at the same time. I don't want to nominate NES titles, because this platform is not really suitable for the genre. Maison Ikkoku was nominated by me previously, but in the long run it's a NES game again and it's not particularly entertaining. Wingman 2 and Little Princess are way too short. J.B.Harold is a detective genre that I can't stand. Casablanca does not have a normal release. Boukenshatachi is mostly a parody with some jokes difficult to understand already and text parser ruins it all. But I was really shocked by production values of Gall Force - Eternal Story. It has pure command selection gameplay, really nice dialogues, lots of CG and plenty of action scenes as well as worthy sound support. That's what VNs should be like and that's why it's the VN f the Year 1986!
Maison Ikkoku ~Omoide no Photograph~ / めぞん一刻 ～想いでのフォトグラフ～
VN of the Year 1985 - Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu ~Hyakki Hen~
Masterpieces of the year 1985 include:
1. El Dorado Denki
2. Karuizawa Yuukai Annai
3. Tenshi-tachi no Gogo
4. Abyss II ~Tears of Emperor~
5. Dezeni World
6. Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu ~Hyakki Hen~
So there are very few VNs in 1985 and even fewer account for masterpieces. Karuizawa Yuukai Annai was obviously a favorite after Horii Yuji won the previous two years, but the game lacks the mystery and fills it with lots of fanservice. El Dorado Denki gets a pretty devastating review. Tenshi-tachi no Gogo is an eroge that I would strike out if it weren't in the 80s. Abyss II and Dezeni World still use text parser. So why not Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu first title? The story is fresh and serious. There is only command selection. That's definitely not the worst option and a good read!
1. El Dorado Denki
2. Karuizawa Yuukai Annai
3. Tenshi-tachi no Gogo
4. Abyss II ~Tears of Emperor~
5. Dezeni World
6. Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu ~Hyakki Hen~
So there are very few VNs in 1985 and even fewer account for masterpieces. Karuizawa Yuukai Annai was obviously a favorite after Horii Yuji won the previous two years, but the game lacks the mystery and fills it with lots of fanservice. El Dorado Denki gets a pretty devastating review. Tenshi-tachi no Gogo is an eroge that I would strike out if it weren't in the 80s. Abyss II and Dezeni World still use text parser. So why not Shiro to Kuro no Densetsu first title? The story is fresh and serious. There is only command selection. That's definitely not the worst option and a good read!
VN of the Year 1984 - Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsk ni Kiyu
The masterpieces of the year are:
1. Miko to Akemi no Jungle Adventures ,
2. Salad no Kuni no Tomato-hime ,
3. Eiyuu Densetsu Saga
4. Again
5. Jigoku no Renshuu Mondai
6. Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsk ni Kiyu
7. Corridor
8. Wingman
9. Time Tunnel
10. Zarth
First of all, Death Trap is not included in the masterpieces list because it does not feel exciting to me. But we're still left with as many as 10 masterpieces on our hands! Lots of novelties and good stories this year, but the VN of the year 1984 is Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsk ni Kiyu. And one of the reasons for that is that this work both used command selection AND allowed to use only a short list of commands. Another reason is that the game feels very realistic both in characters, dialogues and landscapes. The mystery is great as well since the three consecutive murders seem completely unrelated. No other work in 1984 is same engaging. It just feels like a professional AAA class game like no other game of 1984.
1. Miko to Akemi no Jungle Adventures ,
2. Salad no Kuni no Tomato-hime ,
3. Eiyuu Densetsu Saga
4. Again
5. Jigoku no Renshuu Mondai
6. Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsk ni Kiyu
7. Corridor
8. Wingman
9. Time Tunnel
10. Zarth
First of all, Death Trap is not included in the masterpieces list because it does not feel exciting to me. But we're still left with as many as 10 masterpieces on our hands! Lots of novelties and good stories this year, but the VN of the year 1984 is Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsk ni Kiyu. And one of the reasons for that is that this work both used command selection AND allowed to use only a short list of commands. Another reason is that the game feels very realistic both in characters, dialogues and landscapes. The mystery is great as well since the three consecutive murders seem completely unrelated. No other work in 1984 is same engaging. It just feels like a professional AAA class game like no other game of 1984.
VN of the Year 1980-1983 - Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken
The masterpieces of the year are:
1. Joshi Ryou Panic,
2. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken,
3. Star Arthur Densetsu I ~Wakusei Mephius~,
4. Mio no Mystery Adventure,
5. Dezeni Land.
The VN of the year 1983 is Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken, because it introduced command selection that was used for many years to come. It's a huge step from text parser. There was another revolutionary game Star Arthur Densetsu that introduced point-and-click elements for the first time, but the main part remained with the text parser there.
1. Joshi Ryou Panic,
2. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken,
3. Star Arthur Densetsu I ~Wakusei Mephius~,
4. Mio no Mystery Adventure,
5. Dezeni Land.
The VN of the year 1983 is Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken, because it introduced command selection that was used for many years to come. It's a huge step from text parser. There was another revolutionary game Star Arthur Densetsu that introduced point-and-click elements for the first time, but the main part remained with the text parser there.
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