What do you recommend VN or Sandbox? Thanks
Since I find VNs rather monoton, I'd pick Sandbox anytime.
VN mode is also missing the mini games: get money from working in the caffé, later from fishing, earn house points, participate in the duelling contest, increase your combat stats. etc.
But if you're just a clickedeclick guy who wants to get to the intimate scenes as quickly as possible without having to think, pick VN.
Since you have to complete all quests to complete a season, it's really more of an adventure mode than a sandbox mode - like in most games, but the term stuck.
This is the simplest sandbox mode I have encountered so far. The daily scheduler always tells you when you can do what, easy peasy. All you have to do is to make sure to get enough house points, so you will go to Dale on weekends. In S3 even that requirement was removed, everyone goes there.
Keep in mind that none of your choices with the girls have any consequences. That very moment you decide which scene to watch, it will not affect future events.
And in S2 the VN style intro is very very very long. No, you didn't forget to chose sandbox mode, it's just such a long intro.