Danganronpa, Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, Steins;Gate- Which is the best VN series?

[enigmatic_alex44]

Finally completed Danganronpa V3 this weekend, and with that trilogy complete, I wanted to know which series y'all considered the best one?

***Use spoiler tags please if discussing plot details***

- Danganronpa, Danganronpa 2, (Ultra Despair Girls if you want to include it, I don't) and Danganronpa V3
- Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0
- 999, Virtue's Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma
- Ace Attorney (there are two trilogies, though the original is favored by most fans)

Hmm, considering that ZTD kind of bungled the finale and brings down the whole series, even though VLR may be the best out of all these games, I can't vote for that series. Danganronpa V3 has an incredibly divisive finale, however some fans hate it and unlike ZTD, some fans consider it brilliant and consider it the best one (I may fall in the latter camp despite screaming "WTF" @ most of the finale in a mostly good way). Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 are perhaps the most consistent, but since there's only two games, it's a small, unfair advantage though SG0 does have too abrupt of an ending imo. Ace Attorney is just solid all around, with a great finale when talking about the original trilogy, though things dip in quality in the 2nd game.

I think my vote goes to Danganronpa atm. The characters are so over the top and funny you can't help but be entertained, all 3 games are good (the only dip in quality is UDG but it's easy to ignore), the music is exceptional, and V3 subverted expectations to a degree I didn't expect. Vita GOTY 2017.

Thoughts, Little Resetters?

 

[Magneto]

Damn, that's a tough one... I really enjoy Danganronpa / 999 series / Ace Attorney for different reasons...

If i had to choose one game, it would probably be 999 or Danganronpa 3 tho'..

Note : I should probably play Steins Gate asap.

 

[Mattakuevan]

Hmm... I think Steins;Gate is the best individual game in that set, but if we're talking a series as a whole I can say Ive enjoyed AA the most.

 

[sinonobu]

Unlike everyone I thoroughly enjoyed ZTD, so my vote goes down to Zero Escape series.

Danganronpa on the other hand though... 3 (anime not V3) completely ruined the series for me...

Spoiler

Junko/Mitarai brainwashed all the 2 characters to become despair? Twilight Syndrome literally had no impact? Everyone trapped just came out safely and going to live happily ever after?

 

[Deleted member 17627]

It would've been Danganronpa for me.
Great characters, awesome techno music, tense atmosphere, and nice plot development.
But then the anime happened, and then the finale for V3 took the entire franchise down a notch.

Ace Attorney for me for the exact reasons except orchestral music and delightful atmosphere.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Ace Attorney. Consistently great in all aspects. The intrigue, the music, the colorful character, the overarching storylines, etc. I much prefer the grounded logic puzzles (and courtroom aspect) of an Ace Attorney compared to the abstract puzzles of a Zero Escape.

Danganronpa falls short in many aspects. The mini-games consistently ruin the pacing, and there's always something about the overarching storyline which has fallen short for me ever since the first game. I like that it's "flashier" than Ace Attorney to give it its own personality, but AA are just better games. I'd take a new Ace Attorney way before taking a new Danganronpa.

I only played Steins;Gate, but it being a more traditional VN is kind of a negative for me. Too much reading, not enough doing. It's full of otaku bait, and I just don't enjoy many parts of the story. Thus I didn't feel compelled to consume other Steins;Gate media.

The Zero Escape series was neat. But the fact that ZTD was such a disappointment brings it down.

 

[Notaskwid]

I prefer Ace Attorney. Then Zero Escape.
Have no interest in Danganronpa from what I played, and I actually watched the original Steins;Gate anime back when it aired, but didn't like it too much.

 

[Deleted member 17627]

Unlike everyone I thoroughly enjoyed ZTD, so my vote goes down to Zero Escape series.

As for Danganronpa.... 3 (the anime one not V3) completely ruined the 1st and 2nd game for me...

Spoiler

Junko/Mitarai brainwashed all the 2 characters to become despair? Twilight Syndrome literally had no impact? Everyone trapped just came out safely and going to live happily ever after?

Click to shrink...

To be fair,

Spoiler

The Tragedy

was always gonna have a bad explanation given how expansive it is.

Future Arc does the same thing and so much worse for stuff that could've been explained in such a simpler manner.

 

[Fairy Godmother]

No Higurashi series?

999 is the best one. It felt grounded and believable. VLR is uhhhh mmmm good? Haven't played 3.

I played Danganronpa after and it felt too tropey to be taken seriously. I mean it's fun, but there are also DEAD people. Second one was even more random and nonsensical. Haven't played 3 either.

Tldr my vote goes to Hanabira for the best VN series.

 

[Crydaddy]

I swear my opinion is not swayed by my avatar.

Phoenix Wright got me into VNs. Playing 999 on my DS solidified that love. Moving on to Steins Gate showed me how great the genre can be.

Also love Danganronpa but their entries after 2 (still havent played V3) leave something ro be desired.

 

[Deleted member 9714]

Ace Attorney. It's a way more consistent as a series than ZE/DR are, as both series, in the long run, would arguably be better off with particular entries not existing. Zero Time Dilemma isn't successful as a final game in the series and fails to adequately answer a lot of plot points set in VLR. The Danganronpa 3 anime retroactively ruined the first 2 games for me, and I loved the 2nd so very much...

I haven't played Steins;Gate 0, though the first game is incredible.

So basically what Mattakuevan said.

 

[Deleted member 19761]

On Zero Escape's consideration, I say that 999 (PS4 ver.) is one of the best experiences gaming has to offer. Absolutely incredible storytelling.

But the games get considerably worse. Never terrible, but not even close to 999.

So as a series it's probably not the best.

 

[Deleted member 4037]

Why would you do this to me, I love them all............

I would say AA is my least favorite out of the bunch

Gameplay-wise: ZE = Danganronpa > AA > S;G

Story-wise: S;G > Danganronpa > ZE > AA

I could easily be swayed though

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

No Higurashi series?

Click to shrink...

I don't know what that is

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Quality Wise? Probably:

Ace Attorney > Zero Escape > Steins;Gate > Danganronpa, at least when considering series as a whole.

Ace Attorney is just an amazing series in general, some games aren't as great as the rest like AA2 and AAI1, but as a whole it's really consistent and always amazing.

Zero Escape, if we were just talking about 999, it could be the best VN of the any series in here, but as a whole I'll drop it down to second place.

Steins;Gate is fantastic, but I didn't really care about Zero.

and Danganonpa is fine, nothing wrong with the Dangan series aside of kind of meh endings.

If someone asked what they should play, I'd point them to 999 and the AA Trilogy.

Spoiler

You should all read Saya no Uta too.

 

[MaskedNdi]

I'd rank Ace Attorney at the top. It's got a solid gameplay loop, it's consistently good, and Trials and Tribulations is one of my favorite games of all time.

Steins;Gate is excellent, but since I haven't played 0, I can't common on the series as a whole.

999 and VLR are great games, but ZTD really brings down the series.

I absolutely love DR, but I don't think the series has ever reached greatness.

I don't know what that is

Click to shrink...

It's the first storyline of the When They Cry series, which also includes Umineko. It's a pure visual novel series with virtually no gameplay. Higurashi is about mysterious events in a small town. Umineko is about a feuding family trapped on a private island.

 

[Deleted member 2793]

This title made me sad for Chaos;Head, Robotic;Notes and Chaos;Child. C;C actually has a better plot to me than S;G.

Never had interest on Danganronpa and I need to actually read all the Science ADV stuff before comparing the franchises, so it boils to Ace Attorney vs Zero Escape to me. I actually enjoyed AA more, but I hate AA5 and 6 so much I'll vote for Zero Escape.

 

[StarPhlox]

Wow guess I really need to play Steins; Gate

Also have yet to get around to Danganronpa V3 which seems to be getting an extremely mixed response among fans (doing fine critically) but that is definitely a top franchise for me.

Am I the only person on ERA who loved the anime???

 

[N E R O]

Haven't Played Steins Gate, Watched the first 2 episodes of the anime though :P, Also I can't talk about Zero Escape serious, Played 999 and It was pretty fun, VLR was intense. I used to play it and got distracted, So..no comment

Ace Attorney was my thing in the DS era, I have played each single entry in the series except the Miles Edgeworth / The great ace attorney and I have yet to beat Spirit of Justice. I didn't like the 3ds entires to be honest, something just doesn't feel right about them, is it because I am getting older and that style of corkiness doesn't suit me anymore ? or is it because of the absence of the great Shu Takumi ? The mind behind the Ace Attorney Series

On the other hand, Danganronpa came out as this stylish VN, The first game blew out my mind, it was perfect in every aspect - The character cast was the best in the series imo, the second entry was good as well, it added more depth to the story, crimes were better than the first game by a mile. Currently playing through V3 and not sure if I am enjoying it or hating it.

So if I have to vote between Ace Attorney and Danganronpa, I would choose Danganronpa right now

 

[Akibared]

Definitely Danganronpa out of the three with multiple games but Steins;Gate is better than all of them.

 

[NotLiquid]

Ace Attorney has the most consistency out of the mentioned series (sans Steins;Gate which I haven't played) so I'll give the point to that. Zero Escape shortly afterwards, and Danganronpa last which has only really one game I consider "great".

 

[Deeks]

Ace Attorney for sure. Danganronpa follows up, and 999 was great but VLR was hampered by its connection to ZTD.

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

I'm really confused as to why you're only including Steins;Gate/0 when the Science Adventure franchise is huge and sprawling and consists of no fewer than six or seven other titles? No love for Chaos;Head/Chaos;Child/Robotics;Notes/&c?

Anyway SciAdv is the best for actual story. Gameplay, I dunno. I don't play VN for gameplay.

 

[Papercuts]

Havne't played Steins, but otherwise AA is so much further ahead to me, in basically all aspects. Legitimately one of my favorite franchises period.

ZTD really took the wind out of the sails for VLR and 999 but those two are still great.

Danganronpa is wacky and all but they have some big issues. Some of the trial gameplay minigames are outright awful, and then they act like it's some inside joke to keep one upping it. But the storytelling, the way it's intentionally super obscure about a lot of events until the end becomes an infodump, already having a bunch of seeable patterns in a few games...I really enjoy playing through these but I don't think it's nearly on the level of the other games.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

Am I the only person on ERA who loved the anime???

Click to shrink...

It's a mess but I thought it was enjoyable, since best character

Spoiler

Kyoko Kirigiri

survived. I had my pitchfork out before that final reveal.

Make sure you play V3 and experience best character Maki too.

 

[OniluapL]

Ace Attorney is miles ahead for me. It's the most consistently well-written, has a unique atmosphere and balancing of humor and drama, and one of the greatest casts in all of fiction (imo, obviously). I have a feeling of joy playing a Ace Attorney game few other series comes close. And I say that coming right off Danganronpa v3, which would be my GOTY if it wasn't for Persona 5.

(I also like Zero Escape, but I never was really a big fan - I think the games are fine and very enjoyable, hut only that)

 

[ibyea]

I personally think it's not even a contest. Ace Attorney is the superior mystery series.

 

[jon bones]

Ace Attorney Trilogy is far and away the GOAT VN series. I've tried the others and it isn't close.

 

[Deleted member 16657]

Seriously tough decisions. I have played all except Steins;Gate which I will rectify this winter.

Zero Escape is immediately out of the running.

Danganronpa 2 is one of the best sequels of all time. However Danganronpa 3 (not v3) kind of shits all over the universe of the first two games. I haven't finished v3 yet but am enjoying what I've played so far.

Ace Attorney. A solid first game, a mediocre until the end second game, and an amazing third game. Followed by an okay game, a shitty game, and then the best game in the series. Spinoff games are amazing.

I'd say overall Ace Attorney has the higher highs even if it has some lower lows compared to Danganronpa. I feel like Danganronpa undoubtedly would be the worse series if it had the same number of games as the AA series though.

Also Ghost Trick is the greatest VN of all time just so you know.

 

[lucablight]

Haven't played it (waiting for the Vita release) but should the Muv luv series be included in this conversation? A lot of sources say Muv Luv alternative is the best VN ever made

 

[Brazil]

Danganronpa is my personal favorite.

Zero Escape titles are the better games out of them all, and Steins;Gate are the most emotional. Ace Attorney is probably the better series overall.

 

[Rob2K19]

I'm not a big VN player so while I do know how the Dai Gakyuten Saiban (Ace Attorney), S;N, and Kyokugen Dasshutsu (Zero Escape) play and I watched their anime adaptations, I can't really speak on them since I haven't played them enough, but as for Danganronpa...LAWD! I did not know I wanted this piece of greatness. I started off with its anime adaptation in 2014. Loved every bit of it then I had to play the games. What did I love about it? I'll let the creator Kazutaka Kodaka explain for me.

The story's premise sounds similar to Battle Royale. What works inspired the story?

Kodaka: It has some similarity as both the situation of both works is "killing each other in an extreme condition". And in some points, I was actually inspired from the movie. However, I think Dangan-ronpa the feeling of various games, animation and movies are well-blended within with respect to humor, respect, and malicious intent.

Dangan-ronpa seems to blend a lot of different genres into a single game. Are there any particular genres you wanted to mesh together what genre do you think describes Dangan-ronpa best?

Kodaka:I dreamt of blending an intellectual, problem solving part and the action part of shooting game. The reason why I thought of this is because it's a deliciously evil combo that no one will combine. And I thought this would be a brand new experience.

After mixing the style, I thought it was so well-blended and wondered why no one ever done it before. We are aspiring to offer a brand new experience, so calling it "Detective Action" may be the perfect way to describe Dangan-ronpa.

Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2010/10/2...design-and-battle-royale/#sch65BxQIwCJ70q6.99

Click to shrink...

I never felt so alive witnessing the battle between

Spoiler

kibou (hope) and zetsubou (despair)

. Kodaka for best tensai (genius).

 

[sinonobu]

Yeah OP is actually missing quite a lot of series.

As for Steins Gate there's also two spin-offs called Darling of Loving Vows and Linear Bounded Phenogram, and the series itself is actually part of Science ADV series which covers Robotics Notes, Chaos Child/Head, Anonymous Code, etc.

There's also WA series. I haven't played the first one, but 2nd was pretty good, and is often regarded as one of the best VNs/Gal Game.

There's also other VNs like Type-moon stuff (Fate SN/HA, Tsukihime, Magician's Night), Higurashi, Hayarigami series, etc.

 

[fek]

Among these four it's Danganronpa. Beat V3 a few weeks ago and it's still in my mind all the time.

 

[Abu]

Ace Attorney by a mile. Only one of these games carries the GOAT character:

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

Yeah OP is actually missing quite a lot of series.

As for Steins Gate there's also two spin-offs called Darling of Loving Vows and Linear Bounded Phenogram, and the series itself is actually part of Science ADV series which covers Robotics Notes, Chaos Child/Head, Anonymous Code, etc.

There's also WA series. I haven't played the first one, but 2nd was pretty good, and is often regarded as one of the best VNs/Gal Game.

There's also other VNs like Type-moon stuff (Fate SN/HA, Tsukihime, Magician's Night), Higurashi, Hayarigami series, etc.

Click to shrink...

I only included popular, mainstream, successful series that are completed, that will have a lot of overlap in their fan bases that people will have actually played.

LOL I don't know what some of these bizarre titles y'all are pushing are, and quite frankly I don't want to.

 

[Deleted member 12186]

For me I would say Ace Attorney

T&T is amazing.

Danganronpa is good(I haven't played the new one) but something about how they handle things makes things less epic. Zero Escape VLR and 999 on its own is largely better than most of the other games, but ZTD cuts it down a bit so the trilogy is somewhat tainted imo(I still enjoyed ZTD a lot btw).

I like SG, just not as much as the others since the cast is less likeable to me. never played SG0 yet.

 

[Myradeer]

No Infinity series? To be fair, it wouldn't fare very well in this competitive lineup but regardless.

No Higurashi series?

Click to shrink...

Yeah. They are all pretty close but I have to give a list like this if I'm forced to:
Higurashi series > Zero Escape series > Science Adventure series > Ace Attorney > Infinity series > Danganronpa

I have to give the highest point to Higurashi for tying down every plot point neatly and staying focused on overall theme. Whole psychological narrative was fun to read as well, since I'm not bothered by long-winded narratives. Higurashi does have weaknesses in that it has most "moe" elements out of all the candidates. I also disliked the introduction of

Spoiler

supernatural elements and their significance.

Infinity series is pretty good but I have to grade it poorly because everything in that series have faults. I l liked Remember11 but it's half-complete, and the next entry I like - Ever17 - have pacing problems. Rest of the entries are pretty mediocre. Zero Escape series fix the aforementioned problems a lot (despite the introduction of bothersome puzzles), and I personally didn't mind ZTD as well which is why I put them ahead of Science Adventure games which do have uninspiring entries like Robotics;Note.

Ace Attorney is the best when it comes to the mystery and has decent plot threads, but I didn't like some of the direction the series took recently and Steins;Gate (Science Adventure) is just too good.

Danganronpa, besides its excellent premise, just falls story-wise or mystery-wise compared to the others.

[EDIT COMPLETE]

 

[Jintor]

Series: Ace Attorney. Most consistent, strong highs, great characterwork, art and music, absolutely the best.

Best single game: 999 far and away.

 

[GSR]

I can't say I've played any of the Steins;Gate games, but I'm gonna have to give it to Ace Attorney out of AA/DR/ZE. It's overall very consistent across eleven(!) games [counting the spinoffs] and it's still the best fit for detective gameplay I've ever seen. And though it's not flashy as DR, it's still got some amazing animations, music, etc.

DR is a series I like but also a series that has major problems. The stories are a bit too ridiculous for their own good, and the series wouldn't know subtlety if it hit it in the face with a sledgehammer. The mysteries can be a little so-so sometimes too. But when the trial gameplay clicks, it can be really exciting in a way more traditional VNs can't.

Zero Escape is a series I mostly like but strongly suspect that I wouldn't enjoy as much on a replay. It's got some great narrative tricks, and I love the puzzle rooms, but the writing can be too long-winded for its own good (especially in 999) and ZTD definitely dropped the ball a bit on the overall storyline.

 

[Deleted member 227]

Haven't played more than Ace Attorney 1 so can't really compare that, but I've been a huge fan of 999 and VLR, and the last entry in the series isn't really comparable to the last entry in Danganronpa V3... Danganronpa V3 is a really great game in itself.

Danganronpa might top it over the Zero Escape series for me at the moment because the series is more evened out in terms of quality, while 999 and VLR are really great games, but ZTD falls off.

Then again, I'm still in that hype period after completing V3 so of course I'm going to tip in favour of that. Ask me again in a year.

 

[Gaocho]

Steins Gate has the best story (I just love time travel stuff and how it is handled storywise) and Zero Escape series has the best atmosphere. IMO.

I've enjoyed the first AA games on nds, but the esoteric BS and Japanese folklore became slowly annoying with each iteration.
Hotel Dusk and its sequel were great, I wish AA games were trying less to be funny (I don't like this kind of humor) and closed to that.

I really enjoyed the Danganronpa games, or at least the creepy / despair feelings in the first 2. While I liked the ending of V3, this last entry was the weakest, from memory at least.

 

[faircure]

It's so hard to pick between Danganronpa and Ace Attorney, I love my 'be an amateur lawyer and solve murders' games. I like the cases, overall tone/plot, twists, music and art style more for Danganronpa but I feel AA has been more consistent. AA is the funnier of the games and I like the characters in it better too. Art style is also a narrow win for DR since I adore the sprites in AA, I wish they hadn't put in those ugly HD sprites in the remasters.

I guess I'd say DR. I'm getting my copy of V3 in a couple weeks and I haven't looked into any of the spinoffs if that puts my opinion in any context.

 

[deadfolk]

Hmm... I think Steins;Gate is the best individual game in that set, but if we're talking a series as a whole I can say Ive enjoyed AA the most.

Click to shrink...

I agree with this.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

Virtue's Last Reward was such a masterpiece.

Imagine if Zero Time Dilemma had actually delivered...

 

[Brewster123]

Ghostrick. Literally just Ghostrick. My love for Ghostrick aside, I'd probably say I like Ace Attorney the most. Especially Investigations 2.

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

I only included popular, mainstream, successful series that are completed, that will have a lot of overlap in their fan bases that people will have actually played.

LOL I don't know what some of these bizarre titles y'all are pushing are, and quite frankly I don't want to.

Click to shrink...

I dunno, the people saying "Steins;Gate is part of a bigger franchise and has a bunch more games so it's weird to pull game #2 and #4 but not the others" don't seem to be pushing "bizarre titles" especially given the Chaos;Child OT is literally on the front page right now.... :P

 

[TheVictorVieira]

I love Danganronpa,AA and really like zero escape,but in terms of visual novel goodness steins gate is the clear winner to me.
IMO Steins gate has the better story,the best writting and manages to reach the highest highs among them.
And despite some shortcomings,Steins gate 0 is also pretty great.

 

[GSR]

Ghostrick. Literally just Ghostrick. My love for Ghostrick aside, I'd probably say I like Ace Attorney the most. Especially Investigations 2.

Click to shrink...

Okay, yeah, Ghost Trick is king. I feel like we're gradually getting further and further from the definition of "visual novel" though, lol.

 

[Myradeer]

I dunno, the people saying "Steins;Gate is part of a bigger franchise and has a bunch more games so it's weird to pull game #2 and #4 but not the others" don't seem to be pushing "bizarre titles" especially given the Chaos;Child OT is literally on the front page right now.... :P

Click to shrink...

Yup. As mentioned above, Chaos;Child is member of Science Adventure series in which Steins;Gate belongs. I also wouldn't mind including Higurashi on the list because the series deal with mystery and breadcrumbs as well. They are also all translated in English and pretty mainstream. I don't know why some are suggesting something like Typemoon games though - the genre is entirely different.