Favourite Visual Novel maker~

[AzuAzu]

Well yeah, as the title suggests~ What's your favourite company and why? =d

Since it's rather hard to just name one, perhaps make a top 3?

As for myself, I like Tsukkomi humor which pretty much explains why these are in my top 3 :>

• ASa Project - Their games are hilarious and just awesome in general.
• May-Be Soft - Leaning towards the nukige genre, Animated VNs packed full of tsukkomis and ero. Can't ask for much more than that :p
• Alicesoft - The company famous for its Rance series, and more importantly, makes awesome Daughter charas. Can't wait for the next Rance <3

(It was still rather hard to choose 3 companies, and theres a few others that deserves to be mentioned D: )


PS: Inb4 everyone mentions the oh so overrated famous Yuzusoft.

 

[oculingus]

hey, looks like i'm first :D

well, i like dark and depressing stuff, so don't mind my opinion :p

• Nitroplus - full of unusual (or even bizarre) theme, nice story telling, loved the plot twist, and loved urobuchi gen
• Innocent Grey - murder theme, great gore description, nice atmosphere, loved the mystery (i must admit that kara no shoujo is one if the best vn i've ever played)
• none atm (there's a lot of game i've liked thou, pity the good ones tends to be 'unique' against the rest of their release)

 

[Aaeru]

ssome companies used to be pretty good but have gone sour in the past few years and others have gotten better lately while others have vanished off the face of the earth! ww

Favourites right now probably:
Kogado studio: Symphonic Rain, Solfege, Hakuisei, Little Witch Parfait (PSP 8th March 2012 release)
Palette: Moshiraba, Mashiro-iro Symphony, Hareten
Unison Shift blossom: Nanatsuiro, Flyable Hearts (Next noizi ito work = when!???????)

 

[Neo-Exile]

Let's see. My favorites, up to this date, are...

1. AliceSoft. I remember picking up Big Bang Age (Daibanchou) for its solid gameplay over its below average ero. Then there's the Rance serie; which I also picked up for the same reason (Sengoku Rance totally rocks btw).
2. PullTop, because Princess Waltz overwhelmed me. I learned how to write fighting scenes from this game, so I think they deserve my love.
3. KID, for their Ever17. Simply epic, enough said.

...I want to play 'em again now.

 

[Terumi]

I dont really have too many favorite studios, but here's it:

1. Atelier Kaguya (all divisions)

WHY? -> Journey began when I came across AKBY's Prima Stella, Sara Sara Sasara and their fan disk. Fell so in love with the games, primarily due to choco-chip-sensei's drawings and the characters, it spawned and inspired me to find out more about them. The more I searched, the deeper I fell for their mega-eroness in their works. So ero-filled with strong line of titles and divisions behind them, I found myself playing their games non-stop for a period of time. AK remains my favorite companies for overloading with ero-goodness in their games, as well as the hot character designs, majority being onee-sans.

2. Ricotta

WHY? -> Princess Lover is my first japanese visual novel. Ricotta's first work left a soft spot in my hearts. Spent nearly 2 years awaiting Walkure Romanze, and that didnt disappoint me. Generally, good company who may have taken a bit too long with their second work, I want more!


I dont really have a third, perhaps due to me playing nukiges slightly more. Other ones whom I like includes Norn (for all their standalone-one-heroine nukiges), Will and its many branches, Syrangila and probably Clock-Up/Hobibox for nice character design and nukiges.

 

[Mori-tan]

Eushully, Lass, Yuzusoft to name a few.

 

[Lemon Solace]

I used to love the games (specifically Aisaiger series) from the game studio "Discovery" until they disbanded. Sad day...

Otherwise...my top 3 game studios not already listed above (no order) would be:

Tinkerbell

ClockUp

Lune Team Bitters

 

[Animaksiat]

Studio e.go! now they're named debonosu seisakujo, i've been fans of Yamamoto-sensei for more that 15 years!

Eushully. they're first game that hit my attention was Ikusa Megami and then i was completely forgot about it. after 5 years they released Ikusa Megami 2, ever since i kept my eyes on their games, since all of their game were happening in the same universe.

Alicesoft. also been fans of them from 1996. they're games are what i always called, a worth playing game! instead of "click click game"

 

[Callidus]

Man I love
Type Moon and AkabeiSoft2
the heroes are always badass you have amazing plots and characters

 

[motherofass]

Overall probably Lilith for their consistency and activeness but it really depends on my mood

Fantasy/sci-fi - Lilith, Vanadis
Mature - Guilty (Momiji-K), Morning Star (Migakeba Hikaru)
Loli - Shiritsu Sakuranbo Gakuen, A cherry-blossom front
Fetish - Overdose/Crossover

lol I'm going to stop now, this list could go on

 

[kactaplb]

1. cube/cuff/sphere brand. I absolutely loved natsu no ame. oh and that wincest game.

2. atelier kaguya. Pretty much same thoughts as Terumi.

3. some 3p tie between akabeisoft2, august, giga??? maybe. Oh and also key minori lass frontwi- *shot* too many too many.


Funnily enough, I've never tried an alicesoft game, although I've heard plenty. I just can't imagine myself liking the writing style/slg gameplay.

 

[Bay K.W. Arde]

My favourite, let's see......

Eushully - Awesome RPG

Alice Soft - Awesome RPG

Orc Soft - See their game and you will know my preference.

 

[Regalia]

1. Age - they're masters at manipulating the reader's emotions. Earn your happy ending is like their main theme. I've played many of their released games and they're very captivating. I can tell that lots of planning was done on their works. I love the info dump so it's even better form.

2. Alice Soft - I've only played two or three of their games, but I can say the execution is pretty good.

3. Nitroplus - I like their works especially if its sci-fi

 

[Ω Imperator King XIVIX]

Purple Software
Nanawind
Whirlpool
Marmalade Soft
Lump Of Sugar

(Not For Storyline,But For The Art And The Girls)

 

[shin_pedhobear]

My top 10 list (chosen titles placed on the right):

1. August -- Yoake Mae, Fortune Arterial, Aiyoku no Eustia
2. Meteor -- Clover Point, Marguerite Sphere, Princess Style
3. Palette -- Mashiro Iro Symphony, Moshiraba, Sakura Strasse, Hareten
4. Nitro+ -- Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate
5. UnisonShift Blossom - Flyable Heart, Nanatsuiro Drops
6. Type Moon -- Fate/Stay Night
7. Ricotta -- Princess Lover, Walkure Romanze
8. Eushully -- Kamidori
9. AkabeiSoft2 -- Kourin no Machi, Sharin no Kuni, A Profile
10. Yuzusoft - Noble Works, Dracu-riot

 

[HatoriTakaya]

Honestly I can't remember them all for some reason. But I'll try to list them anyway.

0. Circus - Can't live without them. Joking. But seriously, I liked how they presented their products and produced memorable characters that I still some how relate to.
1. August - It never cease to amaze me how they still produce titles that I just generally like.
2. Key - Still loving their production and music they've released.
3. Lump of Sugar - Yep, I'm a lover of their products.
4. Carmel-Box - Just loving the series they're making for the cross-dressers
5. Lapis Lazuli - I just like it. Pretty short and they're fairly new as well.
6. Feng - Yeah, still with them at this point. I live some of the characters and themes.
7. Ricotta - Without them, I think I would of cried. I love how they set out the themes and plots.
8. Moonstone - For some reason, I'm still attracted to their themes they make as a production.
9. Palette - Without them, I wouldn't bother with the animation. With that said, I love the storyline behind it more than the animation.
10. KID - Deep inside my heart, without them. I wouldn't of known the existence of Visual Novels. Ever 17 was my first visual novel that had decent graphics, music and interesting plot that referred to what I studied long time ago.

Other Honorable mentions.
* Lass - I still love their works and I'm learning some guitar pieces, based on their music, in my spare time.
* RiffRaff - I loved one of their visual novels. Still going through it.
* Leaf - Oh man, their visual novels. I loved it. Just have problems with some of the translations but I still managing through tons of their releases.
* Navel - I still love their productions. Can't explain more than that. Though there some interesting ones in there as well.
* Sphere - Twin love and more. Still it's a good production for some of the character developments.
* D.O. - Crescendo, I can't let you go. I read it in English and I loved it even more in Japanese. Other products are the same but I've read it in Japanese instead.
* ぱじゃまソフト (Pajama-Soft?)- I don't know how to get that in Romaji but anyone who liked comedy, a bit of action and enjoyable story would probably heard of Prism Ark and Prism Heart. I loved it and listened to their released tracks for ages to end.
* Cabbit (Under Hobbisoft?) - Midori no Umi is currently the visual novel I'm playing. I'm enjoying how they featured they theme in that game. It's light and underneath that surface, there's a dark side to things that sometimes will get your character killed.

There's a never-ending list of honorable mentions in my head. I'll stop here. Just for the sake of saving some peoples eyes.

 

[zerox535]

its hard to pick a favorite..but if anything Age and key comes to mind

 

[Somnium]

For anything that is not nukige/gameplay focused it makes more sense to ask for a favorite writer. That's how this medium works, even the shittiest studio can produce something amazing if they hire the right writer and even the most famous companies have more than a couple of complete turds. Always depends on who was actually working on that project.

 

[orisa]

The ability to pick the right writer is part of the company's qualities, I'd say.
Of course, there are companies that stick with one writer but once the writer goes under the company is in a dangerous position.
Akabeesoft is one such company. No Looseboy = no Akabee.

 

[Callidus]

Alice Soft for Daibanchou Big Bang Age and Rance
And all the type moon works

 

[Dante1712]

My favourite is BaseOn. Nice graphics, ost, and the story plot...

 

[overkill373]

I have many favorites but just to mention a couple: AXL, Akatsuki Works, Akabeisoft2, Yuzusoft

 

[Nacht]

There are so many good studio IMO, but if i must pick one maybe Alicesoft

 

[Uninstall]

Innocent Grey because I love the violence :D

 

[renano]

Light - they come up with great themes and have consistency in art. They pick very good voice actors most notably my favorite, Aoyama Yukari. Good special effects and music especially for Dies irae.
Liar-soft - their stories are so intricate, poetic, and melancholic. I also love their art and music. Their 'what a beautiful' series is highly recommended. They sometimes include little mini-games too.
Nitro+ - despite their ups and downs, it was the first company to introduce me to visual novels. I like how they have many genres and strong female characters. Their Muramasa series is long and technical, but a very good read.