Nancy Drew Ranked
This was inevitable.
29 Games
Its just firing on all cylinders. The mystery, the drama, the threat of it all. It owns. It creates a real sense of fear by just how limited your actions are. You're alone with the villain. No one will find you. You don't have a button to fight back.
Easily the most morally uncomfortable of the franchise, in all the right ways. Most of these games stick the primary tragedy in the distant past, with no one to blame. This one connects the distant past to present with laser sharpness. The Thorntons profit from the crimes of the past and live comfortably on their awful legacy. They act like the problems are all in the past when its haunting them in the present. Its incredible.
One of the few games with a murder and it pulls it off well. It wisely keeps the death itself on the sidelines; examining a corpse would ruin the tone. Instead it keeps to what works: unraveling motivations, solving puzzles, teaching kids about programming. The villain reveal is aces, playing on your expectations for the series and setting it up carefully so you figure it out on your own.
There's nothing wrong with it but... I didn't like it. Don't know why. Polar opposite vibe from Trail of the Twister.
A delightful deconstruction of Nancy's small town and Nancy's fame as a sleuth. If the games ended here, it'd be disappointed but also satisfied. It has so much to SAY.
Really good! One of the best minigames of the franchise is here. The Ned break-up subplot doesn't grab me and I don't like the villain motive much but. Pretty alright stuff.
Really ambitious. Some solid scares in there and its great at creating an unsettling tone. The character work is really good too! You really feel for these quiet tragedies this family has gone through. The fact that understanding the Japan train system is a puzzle is one of the funniest things this franchise has done.
A nice little anniversary present. Changes things in the right places to make a more satisfying mystery. Makes things a little easier. It gives you a little too much time alone, but that's a problem with the original as well.
I'm not sure what it is about this one that I loved. But I adored this one. It just a really solid game.
This game made me realize I was a lesbian.
Profoundly terrible. This was supposed to be a 20th game celebration and its extremely nothing instead. The returning villain is a nice gift but the set-up is middling at best.
Ghosts don't exist, idiot. No, its an old lady with a jetpack. Obviously.
Probably the first one I think when I think of the second (third?) generation of these games. The screen and gameplay updated to be more accessible and visually pleasing. The mysteries and thrills work exactly as they should. Greater model work. Its not a series high, but it does nothing wrong and its charm propels it through.
Kinda just goes through the motions.
The potential for this franchise catching on for people died the moment the Game Grumps said "And I missed" in a funny voice. This game's alright. Surprising number of mechanics to keep track of. You gotta feed people meals, clean rooms, keep an eye on time, don't stay out too long or you'll get cold and die... Its a lot to balance while you investigate.
The dead should stay buried.
This one's a MESS. Narrative is all over the place, impossible spaces to navigate. It has multiple endings and if you choose the ending where you get the nice coworker fired, you get everything you deserve.
Hard to follow-up Secret of the Old Clock and this does an admirable job. Likeable characters, alright mystery, and just some good meat on this treasure bone. There's not a lot of narrative propelling it though and I don't like mineral puzzles. The Detective can eat my ass.
Its my first one, so I'm biased, but its a perfect ode the franchise. Everything Nancy Drew is can be found here.
Most people like this. Its good at tone. I don't care for it. Too much backtracking.
If Trail didn't exist, this would be the platonic ideal of a Nancy Drew game. Its not spectacular or impressive and it doesn't have the real good character work the others have, but I like it anyway. It does everything right.
okay no, this one's ESPECIALLY a mess. It doesn't wrap up any of its character mysteries, the final reveals make no sense, and you're just left with a feeling of "wha?"
Pretty good character writing. The other characters don't have much to do, but Joy's arc as a trauma victim is really well done. And that's the real meat of the story, more than the amusement park sabotage. Just trying to help this woman cope with the loss of her parents.
Not that gripping, but there's a bit where you find the villain's journals and its great. "Feed dogs. Scare Nancy. Get hair done." That's A+
I like this one! That's the end of that thought!
The puzzles aren't great but wow do I LOVE what this one does for tone. Most Nancy games are about learning about long forgotten problems or recent accidents. This one gives Nancy real stakes and a feeling of terror. No one listens to you. Everyone is shitty beyond belief and make things worse and worse and WORSE. Any success you get is immediately undone by someone else bumbling the place up for you. The structure also really cements the feeling of time running out. No one is going to save you. You're Nancy Drew and you have to figure this out on your own. Good luck.
The moment the franchise figures out what its about. Its got the interesting suspects, the old traumas under the surface, and most importantly? Long dead historical figures with dozens of journals you have to comb through.
Really early on and still working out the kinks. Some bad puzzles and weird game overs and the characters are really nothing. You can feel them start to figure out the right formula, but they aren't there yet.
You can really see how the franchise could have gone a whole different direction. Theft! Steroids! Murder! I wouldn't hate a little more meat to these stories, but this is so gritty is kinda goofy. An interesting start to the series.
4 Comments
Stellar and illuminating list for a super iconic series I disgracefully know like nothing about!!!!! Really admire your comprehensive passionate focus on these games and some net outlet needs 2 commission you to write a rigorous long form retrospective bc i would lurve 2 read it!!!!!!!!
Was genuinely not expecting this list to be of interest to anyone and I'm glad it made people interested in these games! I hope it serves @wowgoodname and @PansyDragoonSaga well!
This is making me want to make my own ranking list of the Nancy drew games now. I think my list will have some major differences though :D
poyfuh
3 years ago