World Literature

When I first got into the Visual Novel genre, there was something that struck me as odd about it: the lack of mobility. I know I prefer to read when I’m around and about, so I thought... What are some ways that we can consume Visual Novels on the go, in a more natural way? How can we read them in similar fashion to actual books? I’ve been spending some time to figure this out, and here are my results: Welcome to my guide to Visual Novels on the Go!

Disclaimer: The author of this post does not claim any responsibility for the awkward situations you may get into due to this guide and any resulting consequences from the use of this guide is the sole responsibility of the reader/ perpetrator.

Why Should I care, and what’s it like ?

If you’re content with the way you consume Visual Novels, that’s fine, but I think you should at least consider trying out a tablet because it’s a very nice experience. When you think about it, Visual Novels are a lot like books, being text heavy and all, but we consume it like a video game, which causes some ergonomic issues that can get on your nerves and hinder your experience. I am under the firm belief that the best way to get around this is playing VNs on tablets as they are the best of both worlds, with the ergonomics of books, but with all the flexibility the comes with being a video game.Well, it depends on the methods you use, but overall it’s a pretty big improvement in comparison to a laptop or desktop.

Being able to carry the device that can play a VN and bring it wherever you like is an almost liberating freedom, and the reading experience is a lot more comfortable, like reading a book on an ebook reader, touching the screen to go to the next line. Tablets are great for reading and media consumption in general, and that trait passes along to Visual Novels as well.

How do I get VNs on a tablet?

It really depends on the tablet you have, and the the method you use, but for most people with tablets, it’s kinda a pain. Those with Windows tablets should have no issues, as you can just get the Visual Novel in the same way you would with a laptop or desktop, and everything will work like it should but those with an Android or iOS tablet have to jump through some hoops to get most VNs working (And if you have a windows RT tablet… hahahahahahaha).

The biggest issue for Android/ iOS users is that Visual Novels are programmed like games and made in a way that isn’t easy to port. Almost all VNs are made for Windows and aren’t getting ported, so a large number of them just aren’t available on iOS or Android on the way you’d want to get it. There are two main methods for Visual Novels on Android and iOS: Streaming and Applications.

Streaming: Splashtop FTW!