- Sep 18, 2023
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Do you follow the recommended play order for routes or do you go straight into whichever character catches your eyes first?
- Thread starter Watera
- Start date
- Sep 1, 2025
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Third option: There is a recommended order?
- Jun 14, 2020
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Recommended play order. Only because I have an irrational fear that one route might spoil something for another character's route, and I don't wanna risk it lol
- Aug 30, 2024
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i feel like going in blind is really fun! unfortunately i cant afford it for myself, because im dumb and i know im just gonna get bad end after bad end..;; besides, if there is indeed a RECOMMENDED reading order, i feel like it would be hard for me to jump from one story point to another. i dont remember which vn it was, but i recall reading a vn and accidentally reading the "answers" route before the "questions" one, so the mystery/plot twist wasnt as impactful as i would like it to be.. so im all for recommended orders from knowledgeable people!!:)
- Mar 2, 2016
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Definitely the recommended order if there is one! Before starting a game, I usually check to see if there is a recommended order first. I don't want to be heavily spoiled after playing the first route because it will ruin my experience and enjoyment of the rest of the routes. It's just not fun when you already know stuff. I want the spoilers to be revealed slowly from least to most because you're left to guess and try to solve stuff on your own, and the story also flows nicer. I know some games have locked routes or have conditions for unlocking certain routes so stuff won't get spoiled right away, but I still follow the recommended order because some routes still have more spoilers than others.
- Jan 22, 2026
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I'm gonna go 50-50 on this. I tend to go where my heart wants to go cause I'm picky with my romance options. For example, I hate overly-flirtatious characters so I tend to leave those types of routes last but then that means I have less motivations to finish the game. So, I decided to start the game with the second LI that I am interested in and then the next route I'll go in the recommended order saving the route I was most interested in for last so that I have motivation to finish the game.
- Mar 11, 2026
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I am definitely a recommended order player. I find it is much easier to get fully immersed in the world when the plot information builds up naturally. Even if another character catches my eye, I force myself to wait so that the overall story flow feels right.
- May 9, 2025
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i really enjoy going for the recommended order, a lot of the times it does ease in for what other routes may have like lore, a deeper lore or secret that makes more sense with the order of playing etc. it does add up to the enjoyment to see everything unfold and see the seeds that had been planted from other routes!
Syro Novia
New member
- Mar 7, 2026
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Actually, there's a subtle difference for me... I'll first look into whether a game is more of a light, enjoyable daily-life story or a serious, plot-driven work.
If it's the former, I'll play blindly without a walkthrough to get one ending first, then check the guide.
For the latter, I prefer to focus on the overall experience and follow the recommended route in order from start to finish.
If it's the former, I'll play blindly without a walkthrough to get one ending first, then check the guide.
For the latter, I prefer to focus on the overall experience and follow the recommended route in order from start to finish.
- Nov 24, 2025
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I tend to start the game with the least interesting character (based on initial impressions) and end the game with my favorite.
- Feb 27, 2026
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Recommend route order if there is one by developers!
Like Sympathy kiss didn't have a recommended route order by developers, so I just played blind and did whoever lol.
Meanwhile, I'm playing Unlogical now, and following the developers route order for plot reveals has made such a huge difference!!
TLDR: only follow route order in plot heavy games where route orders matter
Like Sympathy kiss didn't have a recommended route order by developers, so I just played blind and did whoever lol.
Meanwhile, I'm playing Unlogical now, and following the developers route order for plot reveals has made such a huge difference!!
TLDR: only follow route order in plot heavy games where route orders matter
- May 26, 2025
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I usually go straight into character catches my eye because I need passion to play the game
- Oct 20, 2014
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NGL I did not expect this result (currently more people play recommended order).
I thought people always goes for their favs.
After all it's rare for people to actually go out of their way to find the recommended order from outside resources.
But perhaps it's because the sample population are "experts" in a way lol
I thought people always goes for their favs.
After all it's rare for people to actually go out of their way to find the recommended order from outside resources.
But perhaps it's because the sample population are "experts" in a way lol
- Mar 8, 2026
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sometimes i do recommended play order, but more often i do this thing where i look at the characters available, decide which ones i vibe with, and i play the one im interested in but isn't my favourite first, and then sometimes i will play the favourite last but sometimes i'll play them third after doing a character i find less interesting. mostly just to keep me playing because i feel like i'll just drop if i go favourite first.
- Jul 27, 2024
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- Oct 13, 2023
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Recommended order if there's an official one, otherwise I start with the character that interests me the least!
I like saving the character most likely to be my favorite for last.
I like saving the character most likely to be my favorite for last.
- Jun 30, 2025
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depends on how important it is, i always look it up and i try to see how strongly they emphasize the need for a specific route order or if a few ones can be interchangeable... does that make sense... if i can get away with picking a character i already like first then might as well, right? but i absolutely will leave the last ones for last (those are often locked either way)
- Jun 14, 2015
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if there is a recommended order then by all means i'll go this way. usually it makes lore flow more natural, i like this feeling of slowly unfolding world, characters, history and everything else in the game.
if there is no recommended order then i'll save my favourite character for dessert.
if there is no recommended order then i'll save my favourite character for dessert.
- Oct 31, 2012
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Usually I do a blind run first mainly to learn the characters, but after reaching the first ending? Mostly inclined on either following what's the recommended order for the next route & onwards or leaving the personal favorites for last if there is none
- Jan 1, 2026
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i tend to go for the recommended order but if theres someone i like too much then i go straight for their route regardless of the route order
- Feb 24, 2026
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Since I don't follow guides because I like to play blindly, I don't even know which characters are recommended to start the route with. I follow my heart!