Starting a thread for one of my favorite subgenres of games:
Japanese Adventure / ADV games.
Things like Hotel Dusk, Zero Escape, Snatcher, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
This is a pretty good list: Adventure: Japanese – Hardcore Gaming 101
What are people’s favorite (lesser known) games of this genre?
I feel like this a genre that really struggles with 3D. There are some exceptions that I really enjoyed (Shadow of Memories), but a lot of game series that made the jump from 2D to 3D really lost a lot of their charm such as the Prof. Layton series or that Zero Time Dilemma.
Also a bit sad how much these types of games seemed to have disappeared together with many other AA genres. It’s cool the Zero Escape and Danganronpa guys are still grinding away at the TooKyo studio but somehow none of their recent games have really caught my interest (probably because they seem a lot more aligned with the wacky DanganRonpa side of things which I kinda grew out of over the years.)
Though I did spot many untranslated DS ADV games here on my japan trip that I never even heard of before. I’ll be going through them and posting about them here over the coming months for sure!
I was hoping you’d make this thread! I don’t know much about the genre but I’ve enjoyed it and would like to learn more.
Looking at that list, I see Phoenix Wright isn’t there (nor Gyakuten Saiban). Does it not fit the genre or is this a gross oversight?
Anyway, the last one of these I played was Yu-No, which took me the entire month of February, about 60 hours of actual playtime, to complete, and was a completely unforgettable experience. The way it plays with the idea of a branching narrative is so cool and piecing together the mystery (as best you can) is very satisfying.
Unfortunately for me, the two big series in this genre (as you named, Zero Escape and Danganronpa) never really hit for me. Though I only played 999 and the first Danganronpa. Couldn’t say why. Maybe I just didn’t vibe with the characters and writing.
Oh yeah I would argue Ace Attorney is absolutely one of the best examples of the genre!
I never played Yu-No but I definitely want to. Which version of it did you play? I saw there’s a remake but I think I much prefer the original art from the few screenshots I’ve seen.
Also I did play ZE and DR when I was like 15, I’m not sure if I would still enjoy them as much now. lol.
I played the original PC-98 version, which I would highly recommend doing. The remake’s art isn’t as cool to me and it probably cuts out the porn, which is frankly an unfortunate part of the experience; it’s poorly written and kind of gross, but it’s part of the intended experience nonetheless.
Setting up Neko Projekt just right wasn’t as big of a hassle as I thought it’d be. If you or anyone reading isn’t aware, this is a fantastic resource: PC-98 Emulation For Beginners
nothing to contribute right now besides a list of games I made on backloggd a while back
have a few other lists linked in it as well
I’m not sure if this is deliberate. But the Mystery House in that list seems to be the Sierra adventure, and not the later Japanese game of the same name inspired by it.
I’ve been going through the great ace attorney duology myself. I really like having a ADV or VN I’m chipping at while playing other games. Sometimes you just want to sit down and read a couple “pages” or chip away at the investigation in ace attorney terms.
I had a good time with the original Another Code on my fat DS. Possibly because it was basically the first game for the DS after the initial launch wave.
I bought the Switch remake for a game to play when I was sick last year, but never got around to it because I ended up being too sick for long stretches of video games.
Zero Escape series is one of my favs ever.
Does Flower, Sun, and Rain count as one of these? I’ve always wanted to play it.
Ive been playing some of these recently! I played the third phoenix wright on gba via translation patch (highly recommend this, i actually prefer it to the ds versions) and then finally played through Time Hollow on ds. Time Hollow had been on my list since playing Shadow of Destiny a couple years ago since it was also written and directed by junko kawano.
It was clearly inspired by Yu-No. very similar plot set up and visuals even:
I recently started 999 but im not really digging it for some reason.
I also finally achieved my dream of playing Time Hollow not long ago, and I found it pretty lame and pointless lol
I do like the map and the fact that it’s all in a small area, but it doesn’t really have much going for it overall sadly. It starts off strong but there’s basically no hook to it and the conclusion felt really easy.
Pointless is a great word for it lol. When the credits rolled i basically said “okay.” out loud. It makes me wonder if there was some troubled development or something.
Thanks for the warning to stay away from Time Hollow lol.
Another recent-ish game that I remembered just now:
Murder by Numbers. This one was very fun and introduced me to Picross which had lasting effects on my life lol. While maybe not reaching quite the same heights, it has v similar vibes to Ace Attorney. Apparently the devs later went on to make Fall Guys ??
Oh yeah I played this one too! It had a pretty interesting story, if I remember right. I remember really liking it and hoping they would make another, and then the devs made super money with Fall Guys and that dream died forever.
Oh! I was thinking about the only other PC-98 came I’ve ever played, and I think it might also be in this genre. Or adjacent to it. I saw Corpse Party on the list and in my mind they’re not dissimilar.
Peret em Heru: For The Prisoners. It’s a short mystery game where minute little actions will result in people living or dying. The premise is you’re a tour group roped into conducting an illegal investigation of a pyramid, so there’s a curse and all, and people start dying. It’s a cool game, and nicely short.
Also gives me another excuse to post this
I think everyone oughta try Portopia. It’s breezy and has English translation. The writing is really simple but still more dramatic and heart felt than many games with 1000x more text I think. It’s really DQ of JP menuventure. You see its influence in so many games even now. One aspect I wish those Portoclones (especially the older ones) left behind is obligatory late game maze section… I gave up on Bubblegum Crash pce because of it but I didn’t miss much because it’s literally the end of the game that I just watched it on youtube.
any one played Glass Rose? The one with the tall-haired guy
