Please, please, please come to the West in english!

Never played one of these but was always interested.......  can someone give me a brief yay or nay recommendation?

From my experience with Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles, the game is a strict Visual Novel. Don't be fooled, it looks like a Phoenix Wright experience, but many sections are practically on-rails, and the few choices you make don't seem to much as you basically click through and watch the story, crime mystery, and characters unfold... So if you're a true Visual Novel fan, then you'll be as excited as I am... *ahem*

Please please please please please please please please!

I think I might be.... I'm somewhat fuzzy on exactly what characterizes a visual novel.  Like, I really loved 999 and I've heard people call that a visual novel even though there was a lot of point'n'click adventure involved.  And, of course, many different outcomes... unlike a novel.

So, is there actual "play" in the Hunter series? Or is it really like reading a book or wha?

There was practically no point-and-click gameplay in the port I played, it was a long time ago but I feel comfortable claiming that. The series may have evolved since then, but Detective Chronicles was really a thin veneer of menu-driven non-choices over a sort of, well, character portraits talking and acting against static backgrounds. At least in PW it felt like you were discovering meaningful choices and solving puzzles, but I didn't get that same sense of investigative agency in JH.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past was a greatly-improved version of Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles.  It was more complete, including having ALL of the chapters of the original, re-written translations, and lots of extras!

Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the past was the full, unedited, fully-translated version of the japanese game.  Detective Chronicles was rushed work.

That explains a lot. You all owe me a debt of gratitude! If gamers like me hadn't bought the first game, they wouldn't have been encouraged to release the full and improved version of it!

Your welcome.