Can a Chrome OS run visual novels?

[FrenzyMan]

I need to replace my existing laptop and so far i'v really like the ASUS Chromebook so I figured i'd just get that. The only thing i do game-wise on my laptop is play Visual Novels so i wasn't exactly worried about if it could run them but now that i think about it i don't even know if they would be compatible with a Chrome Operating System so that's got me worried. Does the operating system matter at all for visual novel's?

 

[Ryahn]

I dont have much experience with ChromeOS but if it works in a way that you can manually run .py files or even a .sh file. You should be able to run it. The VN has to come with those files, like RenPy does.

 

[LazaK]

For your question, yes you can play many visual novels, even new ones, but it depends on your chrome os system setup.
If you have one of these systems setup:Chrome OS System setup compatible with Android

If you have one of these, you can use android apps. If that is your case you can download this app:
Kirikiroid2

With that app you can play many visual novels which are created with the KiriKiri engine, such as Prison Battleship, etc.. and even newer ones. To veriy if the visual novel you want to play is compatible just look for a file named data.xp3 or any other files with a xp3 extension, if there's one there's a big chance that you can play it. For some visual novels you need a patch to play them that way, here's a link to patches that are already made:
Patches.

Another interesting app you can use is OnScripter which let you play most visual novels written with the OnScripter engine, like うみねこのなく頃に. A list (not complete) of supported games are here:
List.

You can also play some rpg created with RPG Maker XP/VX/VA/MV with that app:Neko RPGXP Player or some games created with WolfRpg with that app: PLiCy.Player.

Of course you can use also Ren'py for visual novels, but the list of visual novels written in Ren'py are unfortunately limited. If you have a tablet you can also use this method. Don't hesitate, if you have some questions, i will do my best to help you.

 

[FrenzyMan]

I ended up getting a chromebook and luckily it's on the list for android compatible systems. i'm not that good with computer stuff though, would using these apps be complicated or is it basically just download the app and i can run any VN that uses the associated engine?

 

[LazaK]

Don't worry, it's very easy to use just follow the steps
For this i will use kirikiroid as an example and any game that has a data.xp3 file or xxx.xp3 file

On ChromeOS:
1. Click on your account photo.
2. Click Settings.
3. In the "Google Play Store" section, turn on Enable Google Play Store on your Chromebook.
4. Note: If you don't see this option, your Chromebook doesn't work with Android apps.
5. In the window that appears, click Get Started.
6. You’ll be prompted to agree to the Terms of Service. When you’ve read and agreed, click Agree.
To confirm your current Google account, click Sign In.
You’ll see the Google Play Store app open. In the box that appears, click Accept.

7. You download and install the app you want. Once that's done you exit the app.
8. You create a folder for your game on your Chrome OS or USB stick/external harddrive
9. Make a copy of your visual novel you want to read and paste it into the folder created in step 8.
If patch needed just add it inside the folder.
10. Start the app of your engine and navigate to the game folder and select "data.xp3" or the executable file, it depends on the games, try both, one of them will always work. In most cases it's data.xp3 that works.
11. The game will start ,Enjoy

One important thing is that some games are "rewritten" to work on Android by these apps, so if you play some games on them, they get rewritten and some of them won't work on pc again because of this. If you want to continue to play a game you started on the pc just copy the game from pc to you chromebook and then each time you progress, just copy the save file from one device to the other. I hope i'm clear, if you need more informations, just ask, i will answer as fast as possible.

 

[FrenzyMan]

Thanks this really helps, i haven't actually tried it yet but it sounds simple enough so i'll probably get to it soon. You've been a real help here so thanks a lot for that. :)

 

[LazaK]

Your're welcome