Do you find long-running titles intimidating or harder to get into?

raccoonNiko · 2026-08-09T21:13:00+0900

I found myself interested in Hakuouki with the announcement of Hakuouki Ibun, but the sheer size of this title has always made me feel kind of intimidated, even though it's such a classic. A series with a lot of installments feels like a way bigger commitment to me, even if I know I don't have to play every single one.

Diabolik Lovers is another example, as well as the Starry Sky series, which is one of the few honeybee games I haven't picked up yet simply because it has 8 whole games. I sometimes even skip titles with fandiscs if I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy the main game. My brain just makes me feel like I have to play the whole series if I start it, even if I end up liking the first game less than I expected.

Or maybe having a lot of content makes you more interested in getting into a series?

marinech · 2026-08-09T21:23:07+0900

No no you're not alone, I really am the same ( ´Д`)"
One of the first things I do when debating playing a game is searching for its length and hope it's not too long. I know people might enjoy looots of content but I am scared of getting bored/things being too repetitive that I avoid them generally, or the art/LIs should look really, really good (*´꒳`*)
And also, when playing a game I feel like I'm on the completist side, as I wanna finish every of its content, so it can be pretty daunting too〜

Daisy Magnus229 · 2026-08-09T21:42:07+0900

YES.

Well, for me, Starry Sky is still bearable. Maybe because I started with the one that caught my interest first too (Summer). Back then, I didn't know many titles, so Starry Sky was basically the only one I played.

Hakuoki isn't really my taste, but damn... Diabolik Lovers. One of their games (I think it's Chaos Lineage) has a lot of LIs. Nah... I've already played the first and second games, I think that's enough lol. It's too late to catch up, and it looks tiring with that many LIs. Other than Diabolik Lovers, Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side is quite intimidating to me, lmao

osanajimimi · 2026-08-09T23:20:05+0900

Sometimes I feel like that, for the moment I don't feel like investing my time in those large titles, they don't catch my attention.

But there's one with a lot of sequel of the premise that I would like to play it, and maybe I'll feel bored in the midtime. It's quite intimidating, and I still put priority to "short stories"

adlo · 2026-08-09T23:39:34+0900

I don't really find them intimidating - in fact I consider it a challenge!

I guess I'm just really nosey so whenever I see series with a lot of games on them I really want to know what happens, like what in the world is going on for this series to have 3+ games about it

I play a lot of JRPGs as well so I'm used to going down the list in a franchise lol

It helps that I don't really play them one after the other either, I usually play 2-3 other titles in between them to space them out.

enren · 2026-08-09T23:53:26+0900

Not really.
If I like the game I'll play, if not then not.
No matter how many games it has the main game might be enough.

hakuku · 2026-08-10T00:55:21+0900

I can see why it might feel intimidating, but you don't have to play everything! I'd just start with whichever title catches your eye. If you like it, you can always check out the other titles later

There's no obligation to play the entire series.
For me, if anything, I feel like I've gotten to the point where I have a harder time getting into new titles

bravelyflee · 2026-08-10T01:06:05+0900

Actually when I see a title with lots of sequels I think "Well, there must be something people like about it. (Since people keep buying them)" It makes me more interested.

If I don't personally like it or I get bored, I quit. I was a a bit of a completionist when I was younger and I have to be honest it was a waste of time lol. If you keep pushing through an game that's not fun for you chances are you will just find more unfun content! (with rare exceptions)

softtv · 2026-08-10T01:30:48+0900

I usually put them aside and play shorter games instead. Then when I have some time off, I finally go back to the ones I set aside.

usagi-k · 2026-08-10T03:25:37+0900

i completely get the feeling of finding it intimidating !! it also makes me feel like as if ive missed out on the "true experience" since i didnt play while the titles were coming out or when they were popular ^^;; but it also acts as motivation for me since if there's so many games in a series it really must be well loved and have a good cast / concept for people to keep coming back for more !

you also dont have to play every game in a series to be considered a fan of it ! i will shamelessly admit that for dialovers after the first two games i only played the routes of the lis i like cause i honestly couldn't bring myself to sit through something painful lmao which is funny because im one of those people who normally 100 percent completes whatever title they play ^^

ninnikuryona · 2026-08-10T04:08:24+0900

to me, the most difficult part about long-running titles is not to start, but to make up enough time to marathon them WW because i personally have an issue of "either i clear this title in a single day/week OR i stop reading 30 hours in and dont touch it for two years". happened with euphoria, happened with friendly lab, happened with masquerade, happened with no thank you.. and will happen many many more times in the future unfortunately..... (ashamed)

though for some titles, their systems do seem intimidating for one reason or another. for example dialovers, specifically translation patches. like, theyre so scattered across the net, i just dont know where to go and what to do with them.. stuff like that..(?)

fr4pp3cinn · 2026-08-10T04:58:12+0900

I don't really feel intimidated by it, as I'll only play the next game in a series if I think it's worth it lol
I even skip fandiscs most of the time, as I prefer to dedicate my time to new stories and characters. I may pick up a sequel or fandisc later on, if I'm up for it and have enough free time, but I prioritize new games; my backlog is way too long to feel guilty if I don't finish series ;b

I've played the Hakuoki titles on the Vita, and DiaLovers only up to More, Blood. I may pick up the other DiaLovers titles later on (they're on my backlog, and I have them on backup) but I'm not in a rush. I'll only play if I feel like it!

With fandiscs, I'll only play them of I really want more time with the characters or if the story was very good. Other than that, unless I've cleared up my backlog for the time, I don't bother. I'll get to it someday, when I feel like it, haha

dogiwall · 2026-08-10T07:24:24+0900

As long as they're not like American superhero comic books where there's like a gazillion entries and many continuities to the point where it's very confusing on where to start, I'm not that intimidated by long-running titles lol. But, I'm the type of person to binge things so I prefer shorter series.

I'll play the first main game and might be willing to play sequels, but I'll most likely skip fandiscs and go back to them if I have nothing else to play. Though, I'll probably save series that have different LIs split into multiple games for later.

lyrevega · 2026-08-10T08:18:01+0900

When i find a game with sequels it makes exited to play that game because if i end up liking there would be a lot of content to see but as soon as i start to play it I feel intimidated because there's a lot of content to see

Rdddmi · 2026-08-10T08:25:07+0900

When there are a lot of games in a series when I look it up, it does make me hesitate about whether I should start playing it.

I totally understand the feeling of wanting to play through the entire series after trying just one game!

If I play a few games and realize they aren't really my thing, I probably wouldn't continue with the rest. But if I get really into the series, I think I'd want to play through all of them without stopping.

I might even leave the series on my list and wait until I have a period when I can set aside enough time to play through the games one after another.

Nihilistic · 2026-08-10T09:17:56+0900

I tend to avoid games that have been out for a long time or have confusing titles. Diabolik lovers for example, I had no idea where to start. (The also visual novel path choosing is...strange as well)

I have played Hakuouki before but the amount of "remakes" of it is stupid. There's so many versions, different characters added then releasing the same game again with a different name. What happened to classic numbers for my small silly brain.

q1w3e5 · 2026-08-10T13:03:11+0900

Not at all… But I'm not really interested in long-running series these days either. The ones I like are the ones I used to love back then, but I don't think there are many long-running series anymore—after all, times have changed.

star light · 2026-08-10T13:29:09+0900

Lately, there are times when playing long games feels like a bit of a chore.
When that happens, I play short games for a change of pace.

Arisa-chan · 2026-08-10T13:56:44+0900

When I see that a series has a lot of titles, it actually makes me more interested since there must be something about that work that people loved that created the demand for so much FDs. It also makes me excited to play especially since there will be extra content if I do like it. Its the best when you find a favorite LI in long running titles because you get to encounter them over and over again in different games (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Also, I think I approach it more casually when it comes to the fan disks and sequels. If I like it then great I can try the fandisk, but if not then its okay. I am the type to play the sequels just for one character and ignore all the others xd. Or sometimes, I space it out since thats how people would play it when it was actually releasing.

Angelz_zzzz · 2026-08-10T14:16:03+0900

Definitely !! it's why I've been procrastinating on playing the Higurashi series for so long..
But when I do pick up a game with lots of titles, I'm rarely disappointed by it. I mean, there wouldn't be so many sequels if the game wasn't any good.

End8less · 2026-08-10T15:50:33+0900

These days rather than intimidating I find it a little troublesome to get into them, I'm into multiple long running series with lots of material to go thru already, mainly unrelated to visual novels in general (I'll finish every single Gundam one day, I promise...), so I'd much rather just get into a solid, standalone experience that add another to my list which I know is gonna be procrastinated forever because the older I get the more I have to focus in a lot more things outside my hobbies.

The exception to this would probably be episodic serials, where I know it's a collection of standalone experiences I can pick and choose, or long running series that are over so I know just how many works there are to get thru (your Uminekos and Fata Morganas and whatnot)

Liiiii · 2026-08-10T16:54:51+0900

Sometimes, yes. If I'm not in the mood to really dedicate myself to the series and immerse myself intensively in the world and the story, it scares me off a bit. It probably depends on my mood. But if a game has a fandisc in Japanese, oh yes, I'm intimidated by the sheer number of hours it would take me to play the fandisc with my beginner Japanese and poor kanji skills...

Do you find long-running titles intimidating or harder to get into?

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