Collection VN Others Rance Series [Ch. 1-2 Remastered, Ch. 1-7 + Kichikuou] [AliceSoft]

[Milkiway1123]

Which game is the best, or should I just start from the first one?

imo rance 1 remake is the best, the ui and the gameplay is the best i have ever seen, the artwork too, idk why people keep recommending rance 6, rance 6 right of the bat looks awful to play, the movement in movement segment is annoying, and the ui feels crowded

 

[Milkiway1123]

Rance is a narrative heavy series. You definitely want to play them in numbered order. The only caveats with that are...

1: Rance 1 and Rance 2 still have their freeware originals circulating around and they are veeeeerrrry 1989. Although they're perfectly playable you should probably play the remakes and only return to the originals out of curiosity.

2: Rance 3's remake is still being translated into English, and the freeware original is a port from a PC98 game made in the early 90's, so even basic QOL features like support for anything resembling a modern monitor resolution isn't there.

3: Rance 4 doesn't even have a remake and likewise is pretty aged.

4: Rance 5 is weird and controversial. But you do, canonically, get shit faced with Hanny frat bros so there's that.

5: Kichikou Rance is a non-canon spin off. It's also the last of the pre-Orion era so it's got that mid-90's look to it. Iconic, but that can also be a turn-off.

6: I'm not sure you can even find the original version anywhere anymore but don't play Rance 8 without the Magnum expansion.

7: Rance 10 is an absolutely massive game that's still being translated. AliceSoft wanted to send off their flagship franchise with a bang and had been planning and setting it up since shortly after the original release of Rance Quest shipped.

You can absolutely start with whatever one you want- Sengoku Rance (Rance 7) was the English speaking world's first game and so when people recommend it first, that's usually why- and while it's perfectly playable it loses a lot of it's punch when this massive ensemble of characters Rance encounters over the series are being introduced with the expectation that you already have an idea of who they are.


The digest editions strip out the gameplay and instead operate like kinetic novels. A digest is typically the shortened, simplified version of something.

why is 5d controversial? i see that it's the worst but how bad can it be? also, i think rance 4 graphic looks pretty good, it had charm in it and atleast not eye shattering like rance 3 og

 

[Milkiway1123]

man, how the fuck is rance 3 translation is not done yet, now i remember that the reason why i stopped after finishing rance 2 is to wait for rance 3 remake translation. its said that they said it will out before rance x even release but that's bs

 

[RoyalZel]

why is 5d controversial? i see that it's the worst but how bad can it be? also, i think rance 4 graphic looks pretty good, it had charm in it and atleast not eye shattering like rance 3 og

Rance 5D was in quite a bit of development hell because Alicesoft at the time had a hard time making a Rance game that could measure up after Kichikou's success. If I recall it was in development and canceled 3 whole times before they finally settled with 5D. The game itself is not all that good with its almost completely rng-based gameplay. But on the plus side it is fairly short so it doesn't overstay its welcome, it has its comical moments, and it does have a pretty bopping soundtrack(granted Rance having amazing music isn't really anything new).

 

[s3kai]

Does anyone have a Rance 02 save from right before Chapter 6 (Shizuka's mansion)? I got this strange bug where the "take" prompt doesn't appear for those water stakes on the 2nd floor, and because it's literally at the end of the game I would like to not start all over. Chapter 4 or 5 saves would be fine too.

 

[lamba]

why is 5d controversial? i see that it's the worst but how bad can it be? also, i think rance 4 graphic looks pretty good, it had charm in it and atleast not eye shattering like rance 3 og

The core gameplay loop is weird and using a form of gamba to dictate exploration means it's easy to softlock a run when you don't have enough random battles.

It's also absolutely wild and wouldn't want it any other way but I get why some people don't like it.

If I recall it was in development and canceled 3 whole times before they finally settled with 5D.

Correct, Rance 5 had three builds, each pretty far into development, canned because they didn't meet with the standards they'd laid out with Kichikou. The 'd' in 5d reflects that fifth build.

man, how the fuck is rance 3 translation is not done yet, now i remember that the reason why i stopped after finishing rance 2 is to wait for rance 3 remake translation. its said that they said it will out before rance x even release but that's bs

If I had to guess, it's not treated as a priority. Rance is an unusual series because the first English language release was 7 and by the time anyone had a license to release the games legitimately in the west, they were already in the process or releasing Rance 8. So while it's expected to make a profit, it's probably not expected to make much of one, and the kind of people waiting for that release aren't going anywhere.

Personally I can wait. Especially if they avoid the more outrageous editorial decisions made in the MangaGamer translation of Sengoku Rance. I'm sorry but Oda Nobunaga is not asking his little sister to call him 'Broski' like he's some frat bro.