What do you like and dislike most in a Visual Novel heroine?

I want to see what other people most like to see or avoid in their heroines. For me, I don't think I'll surprise people either with what I like or dislike.

What I most like to see is a heroine who can make me laugh. If they can put an honest smile on my face, then I'm not going to be able to dislike them. There's no particular heroine archetype (little sisters, childhood friends etc) that I'm particularly fond of, but I also like heroines who are clearly intelligent.

For what I dislike, the easiest way for a heroine to annoy me is to be highly passive. Being domestic is okay, being moe is okay and being a Yamato Nadeshiko is fine. That's not my concern. But not having your own goals or anything like that is.

So, your thoughts and opinions?

I like it when heroines are Kohaku.

Or, if their design is good, they're well-rounded characters, they have something interesting to them... this is kind of just asking, "What do you like in a character?"

edited 18th Nov '11 9:58:22 PM by Five_X

I don't know, there are things that I like in heroines that I wouldn't in other characters and vice versa. Like how much of a jerk someone is.

I like unique heroines. I don't care what it is as long as they have something in their personality that make them different from the average boring Tsundere or Yamato Nadeshiko. Barring that, just an unannoying and well-developed character is good too.

Just please not a Shana Clone. PLEASE.

As long as they're interesting, yeah, I'm fine with them. What I would hate would probably be a heroine that's almost entirely defined by her relationship with the MC and not much else; i.e., Shallow Love Interest. Even worse if they're combined with a personality archetype that's annoying. Nothing worse than a Shallow Love Interest Tsundere.

Combination of neo and LL.

As far as I'm concerned...

First of all, Yandere heroines are a no-go. I hate the Yandere archetype, and really annoys me to see how popular it has become.

I also severely dislike heroines with overly-agressive personalities. It's good to have a temper, not be an Extreme Doormat and not hesitate to say "no", but Disproportionate Retribution I can do without. Tomoko Kunitachi and Kotoko Minaduki, I'm looking at you especially.

(For that matter, for the little I've heard about her, I think I'd hate Louise. And to tell you the truth, until her Character Development kicked in somewhere a little before the second half of the show, Taiga had her moments where she annoyed me severly.)

Beyond that, as long as the heroine is well-rounded personality-wise and has goals of her own, I like her. I admit I have a weakness for the Broken Bird (combined with Defrosting Ice Queen) type ones, as well as the sunny and cheerful type ones who brightens the others around them and help bring the best of said others, though. Bokukko characters tend to get my seal of approval too.

edited 19th Nov '11 1:12:04 PM by AceNoctali

I don't have a particular love for yandere girls,but there's this eroge a group is translating simply called "Yandere" that,judging by some pics and by the sinopsis,I think it's going to be fun in a creepy way...

Yandere fetishism is weird, I can agree with that. Yandere can make for interesting stories, though. If they get over the yandere bit by the end, it's okay.

I think this thread is limited to female characters in BxG games. We might benefit from separate topics for things such as "best male romance option" or "best POV character."

Anyway, when I started thinking "what *do* I like and dislike in heroines?", I couldn't make general statements. I had to think of characters from specific VNs. So here's some examples of fictional characters which I do or don't like:

• Hinata Mizuki from Edelweiss is an athletic, confident girl. She enjoys Skinny Dipping when alone. She also has insecurities, and I thought they brought balance to her character.

• Sagitta Weinberg from Sakura Wars 5 is an adult, and she acts her age. She's ridiculously talented and accomplished — being both a lawyer and an actor in her mid-twenties, plus she has ideas for how to improve her home neighborhood of Harlem. I think the downside of her character is that she's very suspicious of Shinjiro, and acts downright combative toward him until about chapter three.

• In the indie game College Romance: Rise of the Little Brother, there's a pair of twins named Jules and Jessica. So as not to spoil too much, I'll just say that they have a Dark and Troubled Past. They seem driven, audacious, and confident in their sexuality. My concern is that after reading their bad ending, I wasn't sure if I hated the main character for his actions, or if I felt something was wrong with the twins. So I was not sure how I felt out them.

• Thinking about Snow Sakura... I suppose Kozue could have been more interesting if she were Bi The Way. But really, when I read the VN, my main complaint was Saki's characterization. She's a bright girl, raised by a really cool dad. Maybe she abuses Yuuji too much. But I though she segued much too quickly into "willing sex partner" in the first sex scene.

• As I've said before, the iOS visual novel Tears 9, 10 has a very sympathetic Woobie character. Yeonji's life is filled with tragedy, but she has dreams and goals. She struggles against circumstances, cries a few times, and usually keeps right on trying.

To be honest, if there is positive Character Development, then even a forgettable moeblob can become a compelling character. It's not easy to Make Interesting Characters, but it can be done.

edited 19th Nov '11 7:26:35 PM by dorkatlarge

Echoing a lot of other comments here regarding the Shallow Love Interest being by far my least favorite character in any given story. This is frequently made worse by visual novels which chose to make her the only possible romantic interest for at least part of the story: I'm looking at you, Muv Luv.

That said, I find I enjoy a heroine's route more when she develops in response to the protagonist, especially when her relationship with him is a significant motivator for her. Otherwise, the whole thing sorta feels like an excuse to throw in the requisite meaningless HC Gs. In general, if the story is going to establish that two characters see each other as more than friends, then that fact should drive a significant fraction of the plot - simply declaring that the Spunky Action Girl and her Heroic Minion are banging isn't really going to cut it, at least as far as visual novels go.

In terms of archetypes, I prefer a tomboyish Tsundere, who is maybe also a Childhood Friend, where where the couple are like Vitriolic Best Buds, until their relationship gets more serious. Other character types also work for me sometimes. I also expect them to be either witty, or unintentionally comedic. If I'm going to spend several hours reading their dialogue, there must be something enjoyable in them on a line-to-line basis, not just being generally "nice".

On the other hand, I agree with High Velocity Pointy Things in that I expect their relationship to get serious, and not just fooling around with each other.

Though that's mostly depending on the male character. Usually it's made clear that the heroine loves the POV character only, but the POV character can pick from a variety of love interests, so there needs to be some extra proof on his part that he takes it seriously.

Unfortunately, most V Ns try to imply this part by pointing out that they didn't use a condom, but he would "take responsibility", that is cute, and romantic, but... ewwww... Not using a condom shouldn't be a romantic plot-point!

No one in visual novels uses a condom. Except, maybe once or twice; there's one scene in Kira Kira that involves that... wait, no, make that two, actually.

Which, ultimately, makes the whole plot of Kotori Love EXP look kind of hilarious.

No one uses condoms in any other porn either, it's kind of an omnipresent porn trope that condoms don't exist, but some V Ns still go out of their way to add the lines "oops, we didn't use a condom, what if I got pregnant?" "Never mind, I would take full responsibility", as if it would be some kind of quasi-marriage proposal, and we are supposed to admire how committed they are.

edited 18th Dec '11 9:40:16 AM by Ever9

It's seen as a standard in V Ns that once the protagonist makes his choice, she becomes his One True Love etc. etc. Essentially, the fact that the two characters are having sex effectively IS a marriage proposal.

New trope: Condoms Dont Exist ?

It should be these two separate tropes then, Condoms Dont Exist for the generic "showing rubber on screen is not hot" trope into Porn Tropes, and I Will Take Responsibility for the explicitly expressed romantic implications, into Visual Novel Tropes.

Someone should do it, but I won't, I sworn off wiki-building. Too many pointless arguments about stupid titles, images, renamings, and mergings.

edited 19th Dec '11 5:00:32 AM by Ever9

My standards for them aren't much different than the ones I have any other character really.

As long as they have any of: good character development, a good personality, a bunch of funny moments, or have some interesting depth to them I'm satisfied.

Like many others, I don't have a particular type I like. Whenever I feel like I've set my preferences on a specific one, another character rolls around who changes my view of it. I do find that I tend to do well with tsunderes and (mild) yanderes myself IRL, male and female. While having a sense of humour is important IRL, it can work well even without it in games.

It's easier to list what I don't like.

First off, I don't like those who look younger than the rest. It's actually the trait I like the least about Shana Clones, which is a type I otherwise don't mind in itself. If they also act more childish, there's a slim-to-none chance of me enjoying such routes (for the romance, at least). Exceptions include Emi in Katawa Shoujo and Fushikawa in Majikoi, both because they have personalities that contrast it. Fuuko in Clannad and Primula in Shuffle falls down on it, though.

I also don't like those who are a little too much like siblings. Naturally, that includes half and full siblings. Cousins depend on how they act. Kaede in Shuffle is a no-go. Wanko in Majikoi feels too much like a sister, but Momoyo doesn't give me the same feeling, despite that she and Yamato uses sibling terminology between each other, and considers themselves to be part of the same family.

But the most annoying thing is usually a protagonist who's enough of a wuss and loser that I'd never consider dating him myself. Tends to happen more in the anime adaptations, though.

On the other topic, I've seen condoms pop up occasionally in dialogue. Don't expect them to show in the CGs, though.

edited 3rd May '12 10:35:39 AM by Feather7603

I don't think I can come up with a complete list off the top of my head, but I'll give it a shot.

Likes:

Emotional maturity. Should be aware of her own feelings and respond to them in a way that's sensible and not self defeating.

Moral character. Bad people can be good characters, but for someone who's a romantic prospect, I prefer people who do the right thing in challenging situations. This one doesn't mean much unless challenging situations actually occur.

Does something interesting. If someone really just loves to cook and clean and wear pretty clothes and adores her senpai/older brother/childhood friend/whatever, I'm not going to hold it against her, but I'm not going to be paying much attention either. Competitive sports are okay, but naturally it's better if they're ones I also have an interest in. Better if it's something that makes you think "huh, I don't meet someone every day who does that," like mountain climbing, making musical instruments, or killing vampires.

Has interesting dialogue. They should be able to contribute something beyond small talk, verbal abuse, and professions of love. Of course, if a character is supposed to be a wit, a clever tease, someone who comes with surprising insights, or whatever, the writer had better actually be able to deliver. Allegedly interesting is even worse than unambiguously dull.

Has something significant to relate to the protagonist over.

Dislikes: In addition to the inverses of all the above

Overadherence to stock archetypes. If you can describe the character with a few tropes which will put them into a category with a bunch of other characters who're mostly the same as they are, you've barely created a character at all.

Characters who're overly concerned with propriety. People who'll place modesty, manners and image over safety and common sense.

On the opposite end, characters who're bizarrely unconcerned with propriety in order to make it easier to shoehorn in sex.

Ineffectual characters. If any character praises a heroine for "trying her best" when she's not accomplishing anything in particular, I have probably already written her off. I've seen way too much of this, and it's just annoying.

Cutesy characters. Don't try to pull that with me.

edited 3rd May '12 9:20:40 PM by Desertopa