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

[LordHuffnPuff]

Ah. That makes me more excited to dive into C;C! I'm in the prologue right now and things are heating up quite quickly which is a suprise. I'll try out NOAH when it comes out.

So is O;9 rumored to live up to the SciAdv reputation? Looking at the anime trailer and VN info page, it's not getting me too excited. But I'll always give it a try.

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I haven't played the O;N VN but I've read most of the light novel that it's based on and the story is... okay. It's very short, maybe a hundred pages or so, and it's about paranormal investigation. If the VN covers both the first and second light novels then it might be enough, but it's a weird situation - the SciAdv VNs are 30-50 hour affairs and O;N was a light novel and an anime before it was adapted into a VN... so honestly until the VN is out on the 9th and we get to play through it it's hard to say how the Science Visual Novel series compares to SciAdv. Luckily, if it turns out to be lacklustre it shouldn't be that big a deal because it's a different franchise, so the impact on the SciAdv story which people know and love would be zero.

 

[sredgrin]

Steins feels like a weird inclusion with those other series. More straightforward VN and doesn't really have the "mainstream" hooks those have. I feel like the other 3 series have a lot more crossover appeal to non-fans of the genre.

 

[DragonSpear2462]

No umineko?

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Interested in buying it =P

Is this the complete game?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/406550/Umineko_When_They_Cry_Question_Arc/

 

[Philly Cheesesteak]

Them Dang Ronpas.

 

[Deleted member 15476]

For me it's definately Ace Attorney. While I am not extactly an anime/manga expert (more like the opposite) I always felt that it's the only series mentioned in the OP that came up with a somewhat original idea while the others were directly inspired by other entertainment media. Still haven't played Steins, so I am possibly wrong about all this.

 

[Flevance]

For me Zero Escape, VLR was a masterpiece.

I've finished all those games except Ace Attorney games, I got into the series last year from the first game in the trilogy and finished the first two cases, the third one was too long and boring.. that was enough to lose my interest

But if I'm allowed to bring something out of those to the table my choice would go to Umineko

 

[chiraledge]

I like Ace Attorney the best.

 

[SnowCrow]

Being able to walk around/explore in Danganronpa puts it above the rest for me. Immersion and all that.

 

[Deleted member 176]

They're all my favorite, but if I had to rank the ones you mentioned from best to worst:
Danganronpa
Ace Attorney
Steins; Gate
Zero Escape

Based on how much they made me cry and scream at the TV/DS and how often I think of them on a daily basis even when I'm not playing them. Zero Escape is still really fun but it's not my style as much. They're all 10/10s.

Wait, is Chaos; Child good? I got the impression that Steins; Gate was the only good one of those ; games.

 

[wapplew]

Danganronpa have better characters but the mini game sucks.
Zero Escape have better puzzle and I like escape room puzzle.
AA have better overarching story.
Never play Steins; Gate, maybe I should now.

 

[haotshy]

I haven't played much of Stein's;Gate yet. Right as I started it they announced that enhanced version so I'm waiting. The anime was great though.

I think I'd give Zero Escape the edge over Danganronpa, but it's close. I would say Danganronpa is the more consistent series, 999 is the best game in either series, and VLR was still amazing and I enjoyed ZTD more than most people even though it wasn't able to reach the same highs as its predecessors. Also, I'm admittedly biased towards Zero Escape.

I enjoy Ace Attorney, but not as much as most other people who play the series do. The cases are inconsistent I'm quality but I still enjoy the court sections. I almost never enjoy the investigation portions though. I don't find them nearly as interesting, I don't like how much they rely on checking nearly everything, and they're too long for my taste. I was actually quite relieved when I played Danganronpa and saw that the investigations there are much more brief and faster paced.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Danganronpa have better characters but the mini game sucks.
Zero Escape have better puzzle and I like escape room puzzle.
AA have better overarching story.
Never play Steins; Gate, maybe I should now.

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Steins; Gate is super suuuuuper slow but you won't regret it if you stick with it. You'll probably play the first chapter, quit for a year, and then finish it and love it. Don't watch the anime or play the "Enhanced" version.

How do I play Umineko

 

[ASaiyan]

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.

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Yeah, Steins;Gate is the GOAT VN but I can't say the same for 0. 0 is still a solid game, but is nowhere near as incredible as the original and honestly didn't need to exist.

 

[Jawbreaker]

While I really enjoy the others, Steins;Gate has to be my favorite. I haven't even played Steins;Gate 0 yet, but if I had to choose between all games in those series' and just Steins;Gate, I would honestly choose just that.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Ace Attorney, at least compared to SG and Zero Escape. Haven't played Danganronpa.

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

Wait, is Chaos; Child good? I got the impression that Steins; Gate was the only good one of those ; games.

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No man they're all good. Well, Chaos;Head maybe isn't great. But the rest are at least B+ games. There are a reasonable number of people who will say that Chaos;Child is better than Steins;Gate. Your mileage may vary.

 

[wapplew]

Steins; Gate is super suuuuuper slow but you won't regret it if you stick with it. You'll probably play the first chapter, quit for a year, and then finish it and love it. Don't watch the anime or play the "Enhanced" version.

How do I play Umineko

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Should I wait for Steins;Gate Elite or just jump right in to 2009 version?

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

Should I wait for Steins;Gate Elite or just jump right in to 2009 version?

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Play the original. Elite is going to be a different experience that will be somewhere between playing the VN and watching the anime.

 

[ZugZug123]

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

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That's the right answer here. Such an underappreciated gem.

 

[KonradLaw]

Higurashi, but that's a single game, just split into episodes.

When it comes to actually series of separate titles it's Innocenty Grey's crime trilogy of Cartagra, Kara no Shoujo and Kara no Shoujo II.

Also, I don't think stuff like 999 or Ace Attorney qualify as VNs. They're regular adventure games

 

[Deleted member 176]

Should I wait for Steins;Gate Elite or just jump right in to 2009 version?

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If Elite is that Switch version with the bad art you should get the original.

No man they're all good. Well, Chaos;Head maybe isn't great. But the rest are at least B+ games. There are a reasonable number of people who will say that Chaos;Child is better than Steins;Gate. Your mileage may vary.

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Just when I finally started finishing more games than I bought :'(

 

[FiXalaS]

Zero Escape definitely.

Characterization in this series is excellent. The music is great generally through the 3 games. The art was only great in 999(the best one imo). VLR has amazing twists.

ZTD has the most gore, and is the most depressing game out of them (in both the story scenes, and how much I dislike the ending).

 

['3y Kingdom]

Danganronpa is pretty poorly written and childish, so I would take that out of the running. Steins;Gate doesn't have enough gameplay for my liking, so that's out, too.

That leaves Zero Escape and Ace Attorney. I would rank all the games in both series (excepting AA Investigations 2, which I have yet to play, and the Layton spinoff, which I have yet to finish) as follows:

999 > AA1 >> VLR >>> AA3 > AA2 > AA4 > AAI >>> AA5 >>>>> ZTD > AA6

Or, in terms of tiers:

999 > AA1
VLR
AA3 > AA2 > AA4 > AAI
AA5
ZTD > AA6

On the one hand, the first couple of Zero Escape games are two of my favorite games in general, and only the first Phoenix Wright game can really compare with them in my mind (I think its the only Ace Attorney with no filler/bad cases). I also don't care as much for Trials and Tribulations as most (mainly because of the 3rd and final cases, and the stronger focus on spirit channeling in the latter), and I consider the 3DS entries only slightly above average at best. I'm actually baffled by the positive reception of the most recent game (then again, it magnifies the divinatory aspects I've always disliked, but which others don't seem to mind as much).

However, ZTD is a truly terrible conclusion to the ZE series, so much so that it almost spoils the prior game (which, like the first Xenosaga, now seems like a tantalizing introduction to a plotline that was ultimately not to be). And while I am a bit down on some of Ace Attorney's more heralded titles, I actually am more fond of some of the games others tend to disparage, such as Justice for All and Apollo Justice. And If Investigations 2 is as fantastic as is generally claimed, that would be another point in AA's favor.

Overall, I think the recent continuation of both series has not been kind to either. Thankfully, the fallout from the conclusion to the Zero Escape series is mostly limited to ZTD, since ZE is a trilogy rather than the ever expanding (and little innovating) Ace Attorney series. If Ace Attorney ended after Apollo Justice (as Takumi apparently intended?) this would be a closer contest for me.

 

[Zalman]

Ghost Trick is the single best one. But leaving that one aside...

Ace Attorney is probably my favorite series from the ones in the OP. It introduced me to the genre and I still enjoy each new release. I especially enjoyed AA6. Steins;Gate is the one that hit me the most emotionally. These are the two I would put in the top half.

Regarding Danganronpa: I have yet to play V3, which might say something about how I feel about the series. I actually really did enjoy 1 and 2, but for some reason I don't feel compelled enough to continue. And they're not really games I think about that much, honestly. They're not bad, but they didn't leave an impact on me like the other two did.

As for Zero Escape... I've only played 999, which I loved. However, it pretty much felt like a one-and-done to me as well. I've heard great things about VLR, but seeing the direction ZTD went in has made me not want to continue. At least not yet.

 

[Deleted member 3093]

Having only played Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, and Danganronpa, I would probably go for the latter. 999 and Ace Attorney both have a better entry than any Danganronpa game (Trials and Tribulations), but all three of the DR games are in my top 50, while AA has Apollo Justice and ZE has Zero Time Dilemma. DR has Another Episode and the anime, but both are non-essential at least.

 

[LunarEmerald]

I enjoy the Danganronpa series the most out of those. Ace Attorney comes close but deaths feel way more meaningful in Danganronpa.

 

[YukiroCTX]

I only started 999 for a while but I felt that I was completely overwhelmed and never could complete it. Ace Attorney is one of my favourite games particularly Trials and Tribulations. Interesting stories, investigation processes, great music, colourful characters and easy to process.

 

[selo]

I've finished all those series, except for Steins gate, for which I only got the

Spoiler

john titor ending? i forgot the name of the girl, but basically you go to the past with her with no way back to the present/future

. With what I played though, it was very good, sadly it didn't have an easy way for me to unlock all the other endings.

With that said, I'd rank them like this in terms of enjoyment

1.- Danganronpa
2.- PW
3.- ZTD
4.- Steins Gate *

 

[Xavi]

Gee, I wonder ;)

On a serious note, the Zero Escape series hold a special place in my heart since I was in a bad spot when I first started 999 and those games helped me a lot.

 

[Oyashiro-Sama]

My totally non biased answer is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

 

[LunarEmerald]

My totally non biased answer is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

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Let's be honest. Nothing can top the When They Cry series.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I think I'd have to say Ace Attorney feels the most complete, at least the original trilogy. S;G might not really be finished yet anyways, never got far enough into Danganronpa, and Zero Escape destroyed their ending.

Yeah, Steins;Gate is the GOAT VN but I can't say the same for 0. 0 is still a solid game, but is nowhere near as incredible as the original and honestly didn't need to exist.

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I'm glad that the game exists, but the difference with it is that it's not even remotely something that stands on its own.

With say Ace Attorney, you'd obviously still suggest people play those games in order, but I feel like you could still get some enjoyment out of Ace Attorney 2 without having played 1. Not as much obviously, but it'd still be enjoyable. I don't know that you could really play S;G0 and enjoy it without having the attachment from S;G. It's such a weird game by being a prequel/midquel/sequel thing.

Also it loses points for its incredibly abrupt and brief ending.

Danganronpa is pretty poorly written and childish, so I would take that out of the running. Steins;Gate doesn't have enough gameplay for my liking, so that's out, too.

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Having less gameplay technically makes it the most VN-ish :p

 

['3y Kingdom]

Having less gameplay technically makes it the most VN-ish :p

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Well, I feel a bit silly now that you put it that way :P I guess I just wanted to focus on my two preferred series.

 

[Deleted member 5535]

This is a difficult question since I really love these franchises and games but I think that I go with Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, Zero Escape and Steins Gate

 

[Zeroro]

I'm still thinking about how absolutely wild the ending to Danganronpa V3 was, and I finished the game weeks ago. I loved how far it was willing to go and was laughing and having a blast with the developments towards the end (I'm clearly in the camp that liked the ending). I also appreciate how completely bonkers Kodaka is willing to go with that series. Even beyond that, DR appeals so damn hard to me in its aesthetic, music, and general format, so I personally put it above all the other VN series listed in the OP.

I love the initial Ace Attorney trilogy but have had next to no desire to ever play anything beyond Apollo Justice. I have next to no knowledge of the other two series, and I've heard too many people talk about how the 999/VLR/ZTD trilogy flounders with ZTD (even though a lot of people speak positively about the first two in the trilogy), so that's sort of kept me away from it.

 

[Buzzi]

As far as these four series (?) go, I'd say all of them have highs and lows.

Ace Attorney's trilogy is great, but when writing passed to Yamazaki it became a lot more disjoint and retconned game after game, plus the drama often feels forced. And the two Investigations games have an atrocious pacing.

Of Danganronpa I played only the two main games, plan to go for V3 someday. While the first one has the atmosphere and novelty, the second one has the best characters and plot, they are kind of complementary, with neither being full GOAT material (gameplay is good at best, ost is nothing to scream of, most characters are trash) imho.

Zero Escape has probably the single best game out of all those for me: 999 has its faults (mainly gameplay-wise), but was such a mindblowing experience that I loved it to the full. I'd probably answer ZE if at least ZTD featured a full new OST by Hosoe, but they didn't even bother with that :/

Steins is not a series and including C;H or R;N probably makes the series the weaker in there. Or even S;G0, didn't play it but it isn't generally thought as being on par with the first.

Looking away from this four, there's no question for me: what Umineko+Chiru achieved will surely never be replicated, I think even haters recognize that. But it is a whole different beast from the four OP titles and not even a true series (although also Higurashi is superb).

 

[Mugen]

The first Steins;Gate is my favourite out of the games mentioned in the OP. Then follows the Ace Attorney-games, 999, Steins;Gate 0, VLR, Danganronpa for me. I have not played ZTD or Danganronpa 2-. Currently playing The House in Fata Morgana but over four chapters in I got to say it has not captivated me.

 

[Binhoker]

Ace attorney and it's not even close. The series has somewhat run out of steam in recent iterations but it's still peerless. That said I gave up on steins gate after an hour or so, I keep meaning to go back to it but it just bored the shit out of me.

 

[purseowner]

Zero Escape > Original Ace Attorney Trilogy > Sci;Adv > New Ace Attorney Trilogy >>>>> Danganronpa

But the best VN trilogy y'all are missing is Utawarerumono.

 

[FiXalaS]

Zero Escape > Original Ace Attorney Trilogy > Sci;Adv > New Ace Attorney Trilogy >>>>> Danganronpa

But the best VN trilogy y'all are missing is Utawarerumono.

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Utawarerumono?

I've been looking for a VN to play, is this available in English?

 

[witchedwiz]

As a serie, ace attorney..
As a single steins zero;
Nota le mention dangaronpa: the fusion of mini game and semi-comical approach even for gruesome situation make quite unique..

 

[Deleted member 10737]

based on what i've played, ace attorney, then zero escape (which while a good series, is not a close second)
i'm going to play danganronpa and steins;gate but i don't expect any of them to knock ace attorney off the first place

 

[ffvorax]

I just think that are all incredible games, there is no best. Each one have a different and original formula.
SG is a more conventional VN, with a fantastic story.
DR is about murder cases in a original setting.
999 is a "survival-puzzle" VN.
AA is similar to DR, but with a different atmosphere and way to find the culprit.

No best here, all are the best.

 

[Echo]

Of the ones listed, probably Zero Escape. 999 and VLR are games which involve gimmicks that stick with you for a long time. There are people who still get giddy about 999's dual-screen thing. You know the thing if you've played it. ;)

Missing from your list is the Grisaia Trilogy.

Wonder if Sekai Project will ever actually release the Vita versions or what? I've got Japanese copies but...

 

[Deleted member 8593]

Yeah, Ace Attorney, hands down.

Never really managed to get into Steins;Gate or Danganronpa and while I love the Zero Escape series the AA games just hold a special place in my heart.

The original trilogy is one of my fondest gaming memories and while the second one takes a slight dip in quality, they're still all solid games that strike the best balance in story, characters, gameplay and presentation. It's a damn shame that we're missing out on 3 games in the West.

 

[SxP]

I haven't played Ace Attorney, but the other series all have up and downs.

I think 999 and Steins;Gate are the best games of those by far, but Zero Time Dilemma and Steins;Gate 0 are not good games at all. Danganronpa doesn't reach the heights of those first two games, but it's more consistent in it's quality over its sequels (if you don't count the spin-off, which is a different genre).

 

[crimilde]

For me it's hands down the Zero Escape series, no contest. It's got a bit of everything I love: quantum physics, thought experiments, ESPs, the many-worlds interpretation, cause and effect theories, paradoxes and kick-ass escape the room puzzles.

 

[Ventara]

Ugh, I still need to play Steins;Gate. Anyways, other than that one, the choice is easy.

Ace Attorney
Zero Escape
Danganronpa

Zero Escape is too convoluted for it's own good and has a weak ending, while Danganronpa just cannot stack up against the other 2. I was not as impressed as others by it's characters or story. Ace Attorney manages to have a great story throughout (with a few weak moments that prevent it from being a 10/10 series) with few plotholes.

 

[contologics]

I respect y'all opinions and all but Danganronpa 1, 2 (especially this one) and now Danganronpa V3 is the best Visual Novel series of all tim

e!

but seriously though, I haven't got around to playing Steins;Gate but I've watched most of the anime so I KNOW it's good. I've never played Zero Escape so I can't comment.

 

[SantosStrife]

Danganronpa is pretty poorly written and childish,

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I understand your point.

But I don't think is poorly written or childish, maybe the right term is tropey, too much anime tropey (high school anyone?), that's an appeal not for everyone.

I played expecting anime cliches and absurd situations, in the end I was correct, but is much more than that, I'm not expecting the deep philosophical content. The dialogues have their high and lows, but in the end it's an amazing experience. I bought the PS4 Reload, after the first chapter I knew this game had something special, and bought the remaining games.

On topic, I only played Ace Attorney (the trilogy, Apollo Justice and Miles investigations 1 and 2) and Danganronpa (finished 1 and 2, playing V3 and next is Ultra Despair). But I like them both.

I want to buy the Android version of the 3ds games of AA. And someday play Stein's and Zero Escape.