Recommend a VN

[Qaenyin]

Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited/Alternative - Empathizable protagonist(well, after Extra anyways), good combination of humor and drama.
Ever17 - Very mindscrew plot, some comedy, downside is characters are pretty unrealistic.
999 - See Ever17.
Eien no Aselia - Not entirely a VN but closer to a turn based strategy game with VN elements(much like how 999 is a puzzle game with VN elements). Combat is fun and reasonably deep if you like TBS games like Fire Emblem, etc.
Cross Channel - Decent game with some semi interesting plot twists. Lot of drama and character development.
Remember11: See Ever17(the games these guys make tend to be pretty formulaic)

Eien no Aselia, 999, Ever17, and Remember11 are all-ages(well, the translated version of Aselia is, there are 18+ versions though). Muv Luv and Cross Channel are 18+.

[Sajomir]

Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited/Alternative - Empathizable protagonist(well, after Extra anyways), good combination of humor and drama.
Remember11: See Ever17(the games these guys make tend to be pretty formulaic)

Isn't there a Forever14 or something like that, too?

That being said...

Ever17 - first VN I had the privilege of playing. Some of the initial paths are so-so, and the fact you have to repeat the first half of the game twice kinda sucks, but the final "true end" makes it all worth it. Being all-ages is a nice bonus.
Fate/Stay Night - saw the anime first, then played the VN. I enjoyed it, especially patched with the voice files from the Japanese PS2 version of the game. If you like the anime, take a look at the rest of the story.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - some creepy shit. While it doesn't have any adult scenes, the content gets very dark at times, and nasty things happen to gradeschoolers quite often. Lots of murder and mystery, instead of making choices and choosing paths, the game presents a ton of "alternate" stories where the player tries to figure out what's really going on before the final true story. I didn't care for the first four episodes as much, but the last half of the game got much better. One thing I did enjoy, though, was the rural town in the countryside that this game portrays. The kids' club scenes are some of the funniest I've read in a VN, too!
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - similar to Higurashi in content and gameplay. Instead of rural Japan, it has a cool upper-class clusterfuck where everyone has their own legitimate problems in their personal lives. The lead also has to prove to a witch that she can't possibly exist. :3 The pacing changes a bit as the story is developed, but the more I see the more I enjoy it. (just waiting on episode 8 to get done!) Bonus points for actually having a huge core riddle that the internet got together and solved before the official reveal; and even THEN the final chapters weren't spoiled.

Oddly enough, Tsukihime did not appeal as much to me. It's been a while, though, so I may have to give it another shot.

[Qaenyin]

Isn't there a Forever14 or something like that, too?

There's 4 games in the Infinity series as I recall. Never7, Ever17, Remember11, and 12Riven, in that order.

[contown]

My favorites are Fate/Stay Night, Snow Sakura, And Yume Miru Kusuri. Wanko To Kurasou was alright.

And for me, the best part of FSN was the character development. Shirou was great in UBW, and Tohsaka was incredible in HF. I'd reccomend it to everyone.

[Shintai]

The overrated (anti-recommendations of games people tend to praise):
* Cross Channel (just bad throughout, ending is as great as people say but that's 10 minutes of a 20 hour game and totally not worth it)
* Sharin no Kuni (trying to be clever, is actually quite dumb and nonsensical and full of generimoe to boot)

I don't frequent forums much, so I wasn't really aware these were "overrated" but I really enjoyed these two. Now, I admit that Cross Channel starts off badly, but I would not go as far as to say the last 10 minutes is the only good part of it., Also for Sharin no Kuni, the plot had its moments, but it did seem pretentious at times, but I still thought it was overall fairly enjoyable. Now, if someone went around saying it's the VN ever...... just no. I would say Cross Channel would be more deserving compared to Sharin no Kuni, but I still wouldn't give it too high praise as you do have to deal with odd pacing and just plain bullshit to get to the good stuff.

As for recommending a VN.... Tsukihime, nuff said.

[mattoak2011]

The overrated (anti-recommendations of games people tend to praise):
* Sharin no Kuni (trying to be clever, is actually quite dumb and nonsensical and full of generimoe to boot)

At last, I've found someone else who dislikes Sharin no Kuni! That game both bored me and annoyed me in equal measure before I gave up on it in disgust and rated it (I'll admit probably a bit harshly it's maybe worth 3 or 4) 1 at VNDB.org. As that game is one of the sacred cows at the site (you should see the ratings it gets there) a thread was then started blasting me for daring to give the game such a low score. Something that still amuses after several months.

OT, it's never easy to recommend VNs as taste in them is such a personal thing but my must play games (in no particular order) would be as follows:-

Ever 17 - Already recommended by many but I'll add my vote to this one. The final route is truly one of the finest I've ever read and I really enjoyed the standard routes as well. A true classic.

Kanon - A real emotional rollercoaster and one of the few VNs I've played that made me laugh and cry in equal measure. Ayu's route is especially good but there isn't a weak one amongst them.

Hourglass of Summer - A game that suffers in the english speaking market by being released on the worst format ever (DVD player) but if you can get past the ungainly interface a really enjoyable time travel story awaits you. I'll admit that the protag is a bit of an idiot and Kaho could be a bit too wet for some but the overall story more than makes up for that.

Symphonic Rain - Another game that like Ever 17 is merely good whilst playing the standard routes that becomes great when you unlock the final two routes. The beginning of the first of these has an OMG moment that I never saw coming yet made total sense afterwards and the final route has a storyline twist near the end that is no less impactful (if a little less surprising). Add to this probably the finest soundtrack ever heard on a VN and you've got one of the best games the genre has to offer.

Da Capo 2 - A huge step-up on the original with stronger characters, better storylines and packing a real emotional punch. IMO, the best release that Mangagamer has ever made.

[minkus]

5. Saya no Uta
Horror game that doesn't really know where it's going but is very atmospheric. It could be a lot better but is hamstrung by its dire porn (not only badly written, but terrible pandering that tries to have its cake - "YO DAWG SOME PRIME FETISH PORN IN HERE" - and eat it too - "HEY IT'S A HORROR GAME, IT'S LIKE, SUPPOSED TO BE DISGUSTING *WINK*") It's still worth checking out, but be aware that even if the porn works as a story element for you, there are people getting off on it and the game is definitely made with those in mind as well.

I have to say Saya no Uta is one of my favorites, and I never thought about it that way. True, I played it the first time and didn't catch the second (shorter) ending; but I still enjoyed it and thought it was more about the story. It may be a bit too much for some people, but I would still recommend it for anyone who likes anything related to Lovecraft.

[vaelant]

Personally, I've only been looking at other VN's after the introduction from KS. I've gone through a few.
Shuffle! is probably my favourite out of the few I've gone through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuffle!#Story

[Qaenyin]

I have to say Saya no Uta is one of my favorites, and I never thought about it that way. True, I played it the first time and didn't catch the second (shorter) ending; but I still enjoyed it and thought it was more about the story. It may be a bit too much for some people, but I would still recommend it for anyone who likes anything related to Lovecraft.

Well yeah, I have to agree with delta though, the H-scenes felt like they hurt the game rather than just being "an aside" like in most h-games. IMO the game would have been better with no h-scenes in it at all. Everything outside of the h ranged from decent to great.

[Medrex]

If you have the patience for it, try Muv Luv. It comes in three parts seperated into two games: Muv Luv which contains part 1(Extra) and part 2 (unlimited) and Muv luv alternative which is part 3.
Extra is radically different from unlimited and alternative. It's a well done if generic and ocassionally slow and boring romantic comedy VN that exists mainly to lay the ground work for the next two parts. This is why I say if you have the patience because as I said this section can be pretty slow and generic feeling for people (I personally enjoyed extra quite a lot) but it is also absolutely vital to get through it if you want to get to the next two parts which are much better.
Unlimited and Alternative have much more serious plots and the protagonist becomes a lot more relatable throughout it. There are moments throughout these two parts (especially alternative) that are nothing short of amazing.
It has a wider variety of graphics than I'm used to seeing in VNs as well with nice touches like the characters actually having voice synced lip movements in Alternative.

[Petermeter]

I would really recommend Fate/Stay Night. Story is rather great, the paths you can play are really different which counts as a bonus point for me since you basically have three complete stories to choose and I love the bonus material (and some others seem to, too)
Only point to deduct there would be the H-scenes. Imo the game would be better off without them. But apart from that - I love it
Oh btw, that picture down there is supposed to have sloppy graphics, its only bonus content anyways

[Silentcook]

FFUUUUU- okay, listen, I've been going by "Silentcook" on the Internets since well before F/SN was ever released. It's a coincidence! Really! Delta thought it would be funny to stick me with that forum title!

...

Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

...

GODDAMMIT NASU, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TURN EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH INTO SEAFOOD! ;_;

...

*ahem* Now returning you to your regularly scheduled rant... er, broadcast.

[ze spy]

What the fuck was that SC. Are you high?

[Mirage_GSM]

Must be some obscure internet meme - not even google knows the phrase "carelessly cooking you"

[Esa94]

The point is


Silentcook translated that thing or something


I think