AerielOpening videos for visual novels will usually play at or around the start of the game, and are often used as the trailer for the game. Some visual novels have trailers that you don’t see in-game but are very similar in design to opening videos. This article will serve as a top five listing of both trailers and opening videos for English visual novels.
Hustle Cat
Platforms: Windows, Mac (Steam) (itch.io)
Hustle Cat was released to Steam and itch.io in 2016. I played the game for the first time last month and was really impressed with how well-done the opening video was. I love the attention to detail; each character has a unique intro that matches their personality. The theme song is upbeat and fun, and it reminds me of early-2000s electronic music.
Hustle Cat has been a visual novel we mention a bit here at VN Game Den, featured in “Top 10 Visual Novels to Play on Valentine’s Day“, “Visual Novels We’re Thankful For” and “Visual Novels That Feature Nonbinary Characters“.
Peachleaf Valley: Seeds of Love
Platforms: demo on Windows, Mac, Linux (Steam) (itch.io)
Peachleaf Valley’s trailer was published on their Kickstarter campaign, and it’s everything we need to feel the vibes of a farming-themed visual novel. What I love most about this trailer are the artwork and designs used to showcase the love interests. This trailer gives us a good sneak peek of what the game is going to look like, as it features a decent number of backgrounds and sprites. Peachleaf Valley: Seeds of Love is expected to release in 2022, but you can play the demo available on the pages linked above.
VN Game Den has a review for Peachleaf Valley’s demo found here, and we also featured this visual novel in our “VN Game Den’s Most Anticipated VNs of 2022“.
Royal Alchemist
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (Steam) (itch.io)
The best thing about the trailer for Royal Alchemist is its dramatic music. Of course, the effects are beautiful too, but the music is what drives the trailer and gets me excited for the game. The epic orchestra theme is an great choice, especially since there isn’t any voice acting in the trailer itself. The character intros are also very unique and overall enhance the game’s alchemy theme.
Ghosts of Miami
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (Steam) (itch.io)
The Ghosts of Miami opening is a blast from the past. The game takes place in 1986, and the opening video does a great job at capturing that retro energy. It’s nostalgic of ’80s television and cinema with its vibrant color scheme and funky music. What I like most about this video is how animated it is; it really feels like the opening theme to an upcoming TV show.
fault – milestone one
Platforms: PS4, Switch, Windows, Mac, Linux (Steam)
This fault – milestone one opening video is the 2019 console video, which features 3D-animated graphics and realistic effects. This is an updated version which is more heavily animated in comparison to the original video. The artistic direction in this video is fantastic, and I love how the video flows and captures the fantasy world in the fault titles. Both the new video and the original can be described as utterly epic.
Anna Mirabella
