Text based games/Visual Novels/Detective games

bartre · 10/17/2016, 03:41 AM

So I fairly recently (september) beat the first Danganronpa on the Vita.
I remember really liking the Ace Attorney series on DS (one of the only game series I really played on it)
I'm curious what everyone else thinks about this genre/style.
Also, any recommendations? I'm gonna start up Danganronpa 2 soon enough, but I'm honestly glad they changed it up with the 3rd game.

sorry if shitposting - kinda really drunk ATM.

TheClash603 · 10/17/2016, 08:07 AM

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was one of my favorite games growing up! I remember in high school I programed a text based game on my graphing calculator in the spirit of Hitchhiker's.

I really enjoyed 999, though never played any of the sequels. Not sure of they count because you do move around, but the police Quest games were great too.

Nazi NecroPhile · 10/17/2016, 10:44 AM

I like 'em, and I'm dumb enough to forget many of the details after a couple years, letting me enjoy their replay.

I played a couple way back when on the PC, and while they were good enough for me to play 'em through to the end, they didn't make enough of an impression for me to remember their names. The ones I can name (and currently own/enjoy) are mostly all Turbobs - Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2, JB Harold Murder Club, Manhattan Requiem (LA), and Blue Chicago Blues (PC-FX); I've not played much of the latter two, though, not yet anyway.

esteban · 10/17/2016, 07:51 PM

Quote from: TheClash603 on 10/17/2016, 08:07 AMHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was one of my favorite games growing up! I remember in high school I programed a text based game on my graphing calculator in the spirit of Hitchhiker's.

I really enjoyed 999, though never played any of the sequels. Not sure of they count because you do move around, but the police Quest games were great too.

Yes, Hitchhiker's Guide is a great one...I played that on Apple II many eons ago.

I played tons of the ancient text adventures from the era of Tandy/Apple II/C64/IBM PC...

Colossal Cave?
Wumpus 101
Scott Adams (some dude and his wife... did a whole bunch)
Zork
Sierra Online

GaijinD · 10/18/2016, 12:02 AM

I had a couple Scott Adams adventures on cassette for my TI-99/4A as a kid. They literally took around a half-hour to load. Nowadays you can grab a zip file from Adams's website containing all the ones he made himself which is so small it takes less than a second to download. I don't feel like they hold up.

Anyhow, I think the standard recommendation is Phoenix Wright, which I'm pretty sure you can get on your phone nowadays. I got distracted before getting too far, but I liked what I played and the series has a good reputation. Speaking of stuff I played on DS, I remember liking Touch Detective, though that was probably more of a straight-up adventure game.

If you do want to play some text adventures, you might want to check out http://www.ifarchive.org. It's all user-submitted, but there's actually some really good stuff there, and you can't beat the price.

Nazi NecroPhile · 10/18/2016, 09:37 AM

Zork! I forgot that one. Like Blue Chicago Blues, I got that for the PC-FX but have yet to play it much.

*edit*

Er, I meant Return to Zork.

Psycho Punch · 10/18/2016, 11:42 AM

Nazi NecroPhile · 10/18/2016, 12:51 PM

"While inspecting the fountain, an orange troll runs out of the hotel and grabs your pussy."

CrackTiger · 10/18/2016, 01:46 PM

I liked Transylvania for Apple II(?).

Nobody is naming games like Snatcher and Cobra II. Do you guys consider them a different genre and if so, why?

GaijinD · 10/18/2016, 01:51 PM

Thanks to that screenshot I am reminded. I really liked Deja Vu, though I played the NES port and not the original Mac version. It's basically a film noir adventure game with you as the hard-boiled detective. There are definitely some trial and error moments, though, so maybe it doesn't hold up. I do know it was rereleased on Game Boy Color on a 2-in-1 cart that also included the sequel.

JoshTurboTrollX · 10/19/2016, 03:41 PM

Steam is breathing new life into playing classic style visual novel/adventure games for myself.

Read Only Memories, Va-11 Hall-A and the 'short story' games - Murder and Stranded are all pretty radical.

are these more point and click adventures or visual novels? Maybe my genres are mixed up.

TheClash603 · 10/20/2016, 02:09 AM

Quote from: GaijinD on 10/18/2016, 01:51 PMThanks to that screenshot I am reminded. I really liked Deja Vu, though I played the NES port and not the original Mac version. It's basically a film noir adventure game with you as the hard-boiled detective. There are definitely some trial and error moments, though, so maybe it doesn't hold up. I do know it was rereleased on Game Boy Color on a 2-in-1 cart that also included the sequel.

Deja Vu is a fantastic NES game. Loved both it and Shadowgate when I was younger.

You ever play Deja Vu 2? It feels just like you are playing the first game.

esteban · 10/20/2016, 04:14 PM

Hahahhahjajja.

Clash makes me smile.

GaijinD · 10/20/2016, 04:15 PM

Quote from: TheClash603 on 10/20/2016, 02:09 AMDeja Vu is a fantastic NES game. Loved both it and Shadowgate when I was younger.

You ever play Deja Vu 2? It feels just like you are playing the first game.

I see what you did there. Anyhow, I actually have that GBC cart with both games. I had planned to play all the way through the first game, which I never managed on NES as I only rented it and never owned a copy, then finally check out the second. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. Maybe one of these days; I need to dig out that issue of Nintendo Power that basically walks you through the whole first game.

Mathius · 10/21/2016, 09:08 PM

If you feel like wading through some Japanese text Yu-No on Saturn is a beautiful/fucked up digital novel by the stiffies over at Elf. Coincidentally to our conversation about this game the original is set for a Vita remake but I'm unsure if it's going to get a US release. There was a fantastic article on the game on HG101.com but for strange reasons it's been taken down.

roflmao · 11/15/2016, 02:47 PM

I recently found out about the Lone Wolf Saga on Android devices. It sounds like it's sort of "Choose your own adventure" style for adults. I've installed it abut haven't played around with it yet. Looking at the reviews, I'm betting I'll dig it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.GDVGames.LoneWolfBiblio&hl=en

Also, thanks to Steam, I've been enjoying the old point-and-click style adventure game "The Dig." It's pretty impressive compatred the the Kin's Quest games I grew up playing.