Guide to buying visual novels

This guide is inspired by, but uses almost nothing of, the /r/visualnovels Buying guide. I identified notable vendors using VNDB's external links. I've devoted a lot of text to identifying DRM-Free releases and I've indicated whether certain DRM implementations work through WINE (most of them don't).

I assume there are a larger portion of non-Windows users on the Fediverse, and most VN guides are directed at Windows users, so this was a notable gap I determined was worth filling. A large number of visual novels can and do work through WINE. Recommendations for vendors to purchase from are based heavily on the percentage of DRM-Free releases for compatibility and control reasons.

This guide is mostly complete, but we welcome any corrections or additions! The DRM in Physical Releases section could be expanded by players who have experience with different forms of DRM.

As indicated in the footer, this guide is licensed under CC-BY-SA. Verbatim reproduction and modification of this content is permitted (and encouraged!), but you are required to attribute us and distribute any modifications under the same license.

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