Have you ever loved a route too much to continue playing the other routes?

[Aerith]

Has anyone ever finished a romantic route in an otome/BL that left you so emotionally invested that you didn't want to read the other routes? It has happened to me several times, but never to this extent. I just finished the first route of Hashihime of the Old Book Town, and I loved the main couple so much that I don't have the heart to read the other LIs' routes, even though I like the story, the other characters, and I'm a completionist. I just... can't lol. Minakami and Tamamori are so OTP and true love coded to me that I can't move on from them.

If you've been through something similar, which VN and character/couple made you feel that way? How did you deal with it?

 

[Daisy Magnus229]

I have some rules, for example play LI that caught my interest (either at first sight or while playing) for last. But I think Psychedelica of Ashen Hawk really caught me off guard. I'm not very fond of Black Butterfly (I even forgot the plot lol), so I don't have high hopes for Ashen Hawk... but Lugus route is beautiful.

I never really stop playing other LI route, just need some breath and rest before continue. Tho sometimes I feel bad when I pursue other LI, the one I like is in love (somewhat?) with the mc in every route lol I'm looking at you 707.

 

[viktoriel]

Yes!! Some routes just click and I lose interest in other routes bc I know they won't be as satisfying

 

[AmnesiaArya]

Maybe I'm just a bit fickle? Even if I fall head over heels for a certain love interest's route, I can bounce back and dive into another route after a couple of days—curiosity beats everything, haha~

 

[Foxgloves]

Not usually, but if I really like a route, I might be a bit inclined to take a short break before starting the next one. Similar to the feeling of not being able to start a new visual novel after finishing a really good one, I'd stall a bit.

 

[Sphyixz]

Not really with otome games. I'm too curious, so I always end up doing all the routes no matter what. But with RPGs that have romance, it's happened. Alistair Theirin, I'm looking at you.

 

[starlight7]

It hasn't happened to me on otome games, but I can relate.. because it's hard to just turn down the ML I just loved and go pursue somebody else.
If that happened to me, I think I would try to give it some time, maybe wait until I'm ok to start the next route.

 

[bettyK]

Suzu route in Jack Jeanne... After I played it I cannot play other routes or games as I love them so much...

 

[baybridge]

There is a tendency for an overarching story so I've always considered separate routes as just branches of it (different timelines, choices and etc) before playing the grand/true ending.

I have favourite character routes of course but the ones that need grinding, I'll play for the character or if their route would be interesting enough to pull through to the end

 

[Yui_Tsurata]

CupiPara, after playing Gil's route I can't bear to play other routes... it breaks my heart when I think he has to see Lynette loves someone else.

Spoiler

Well I don't have enough interest in other LIs is one more reason tho

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

Never! Haha
I'm too much of a completionist for it ;) I'd get bothered leaving the story unfinished. However, I'll often replay some scenes of my favorite route when I finish the game, I feel like it gives a bit of closure on my favorite couple! Especially when the last route is not what I expected, or if it disappointed me

I'll often see the routes as different timelines as well (as @baybridge mentioned!) so in a sense, by the end of the game, the MC ends up with all LIs ;b

 

[satory]

When I first strated reading vns, I used to complete only one route with my favourite character, and never even touched others. At that time it felt like cheating for some reason Now I just read everything there is, but still sometimes skip routes, not because I liked other routes better, but because I didn't like the characters in question

 

[judahslove]

YEAAAAH it happened to me so many timea especially with bl games…sometimes i just love this pair so much i just don't play the other routes…for example togainu no chi…i really loved the akira x childhood friend route ( and it was my first ) without spoiling alot happens in this route related to the prologue and i feel bad actually not helping tje childhood friend to go for another route..THEYRE MY BABIES….so i didnt finish the game…(its being years now)

 

[nerim-w]

I thought i would never feel this way until Ukyo from Amnesia came along, now I cant play the fandisc without thinking "but what about ukyo" "I wonder how ukyo would feel if he saw this " "ukyo ukyo ukyo" I CANT HELP THAT HE IS OBVIOUSLY THE ONLY ONE FOR MC

 

[藍色水珠]

I think I'm pretty good at this. I enjoy exploring the charm and backstories of various characters. It's just that sometimes I get so engrossed in a single character that I finish the route, and when I see that character appear while I'm working on other characters' routes, I occasionally get distracted and can't concentrate on those routes efficiently. But it gets better after a while.

這點我覺得自己還可以。我喜歡攻略各種角色魅力和背後故事。只是有時候太喜歡單一人物也攻略完畢，攻略其他人路線時，看到該角色出場，偶爾會分心、無法有效率專心跑他人路線，過一陣子就好了。

 

[koten]

I've done the routes for the chars I like the most first and it sometimes hits my motivation to finish the others since I feel like I already peaked. I try to push through and finish the other routes, a lot of times I end up being surprised by the characters I feel like I wouldn't like at first but their route was really good and they grew on me a lot.

 

[Watera]

Over requiemz , i played Dorothy ( Toto's route) and i wasn't able to play another routes because he's the truth route for me

 

[zapp]

Absolutely, sometimes I just love a LI so much playing another route and not seeing them isn't an option

 

[SmallEagle]

On the contrary, when I love a route it makes me wanna try the other ones to see if they're as good. But I do keep thinking about that route...

 

[rewa]

Definetly, I'm currently playing the fan disk of cupid parasite and I had to play my favorite character last to make sure I finishes the game, i feel like if I start with him I will stop playing haha

 

[laeria]

I experience this a lot, especially when it comes to long games with lots of LIs. However, if a game is exceptionally good, I just push through it lol.

Right now, I'm obsessed with Madarame and Towa from Slow Damage (which isn't a VN with lots of LIs), and I have been for more than a year, to the point where it's hard for me to pick up new VNs. When I first finished Madarame's route, I became uninterested in the rest of the story, so it took me a month to finish the rest of the VN. I'm just drawn to how intoxicating their chemistry is, plus they tick all my boxes for fictional ships. Anyways, mine's just an extreme case

 

[VisualNovel21]

I truly understand why in olympia soiree the made Akaza be the final route and locked. Usually I believe that all routes should be unlocked, however when I played Akaza's route I loved him and olympia together. When the fandisk comes out I will be buying just to play for him.

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

Has anyone ever finished a romantic route in an otome/BL that left you so emotionally invested that you didn't want to read the other routes? How did you deal with it?

I felt it in my soul . I specifically went through this for interactive fiction or visual novel games(an example of a similar situation is when I played Our Life Beginning's and Always - Cove's route multiple times, and my sister gifted me Baxter's DLC for my birthday). I played his route and have been unable to replay the game because I lowkey feel like I'll be cheating on either of them)
I get it sounds sad, tbh. Usually, I get over feeling this way after a few weeks of being off the game, then I replay it with a fresh set of eyes and new MC details.

Another game I went through this for was the itch.io game Criminally Yours. I played Nic's route and got the good ending, and didn't want to play Wes' route, even though I got excited to have him be introduced as a romanceable character. I heard the creator might be making a poly route that will come out next year, so I'll wait for that lol

 

[Arielle]

A long time ago, I loved Haru from *Sumire no Tsubomi* so much that, even though it was a game I really enjoyed, I ended up finishing it without playing any routes other than hers.
I was so engrossed that I actually felt guilty about playing the other routes.
I'd like to give it another try someday.

 

[blissn]

I usually try to do all the routes for the first playthrough, but if i go back to a game and I love an LI too much, I'll just replay their route.