What was the first visual novel you played?

[Chiagirl]

Mine was Phantom Seeds, which I played before I even knew what visual novels were. I think the first VN I actually purchased was Sound of Drop a few years later when I got Steam. The first VN I remember finding off of this site was Sacred Sand I think? I highly recommend all 3 of them though they fill pretty different niches.

[JamieDW]

My first would have to be "Corpse Party: Book of Shadows." I have a knack for horror, so... yeah.

[Vonell]

Sekien no Inganock probably gets my personal favourite vote but it's... well, really weird, and has pretty much nothing in common with this one (it's a confusing steampunk fantasy with no choices or gimmicks).

If you want something that plays with your expectations (although not in the same way as DDLC), the Zero Escape series is great, especially the second game. I/O and the Infinity series are also good sci-fi stories if the somewhat "dated" artwork doesn't bother you.
Oh yeah, forgot one that needs more love: True Remembrance. It's free and has a masterful fantraslation.

I'm not much of a fan of dating sims, but if you're interested in those, maybe try Katawa Shoujo since that one's freeware too.

And if you just want a laugh, try Paca Plus: if the completely nonsensical plot doesn't make you smirk, the horrible translation probably will.

[catfriend3000]

The first game that I played and knew was a VN was Professor Layton and the Curious Village! But for romance VN/otome game was probably the English patch of Tokimeki Girl Side after hours of researching to emulate and patch games ^.^ I'm really glad VN and otome games are getting more attention more and more!