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

[SymbolicSalad]

Because of a certain incident in VI where his dick almost met his end nearing the end of the game.

Doesn't work because it's mostly fine in Sengoku. Except for like one? Cg I can remember where it's oddly really wide.

 

[Fapmaniax]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Rance IV, i was a bit scared because of its age. (I had just played 03)
The game was old, yeah. However, it was a very nice game, after an hour the age pretty much didn't bother me anymore.

Looking forward to play 4.1 & 4.2 now!

 

[Nadekai]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Rance IV, i was a bit scared because of its age. (I had just played 03)
The game was old, yeah. However, it was a very nice game, after an hour the age pretty much didn't bother me anymore.

Looking forward to play 4.1 & 4.2 now!

View attachment 4859159

4.1 and 4.2 took me around 2 hours to complete both, but their visuals are imho better than IV.
However, Kichikuou is a massive improvement in terms of graphics

 

[Umbra.Nox]

4.1 and 4.2 took me around 2 hours to complete both, but their visuals are imho better than IV.
However, Kichikuou is a massive improvement in terms of graphics

What Kichikuou doesn't have though is face expressions, so just one Rance face for all events, even the sad ones, with only special pictures having something different. I was pretty bummed about it, until the story compensated all the flaws.

 

[HeoEva]

Any updates on Rance X - Showdown?

 

[Boarborn]

Deepseek is quite a funny AI:


### **Ultimate Trolley Problem: Rance, Sill, and Kenshin’s Love Triangle of Doom**

**Scenario Recap:**
- **Track 1 (Trolley’s Path):** Rance (degenerate warlord) **+** Sill (his long-suffering slave-girl) are tied up.
- If you save them, Rance rewards you with his **"hyper-weapon"** (which may or may not be a metaphor for something unholy).
- **Track 2 (If You Pull the Lever):** Kenshin (the murder-loli in love with Rance) is alone.
- She **demands** you kill her to save Rance—because her love is that intense.
- If you **don’t** sacrifice her, she **swears** to hunt you down and kill you later.

**New Factor:** **Sill is now also in danger.** This changes *everything.*

---

### **Analysis: Why This is Even More Messed Up**

#### **Option 1: Do Nothing (Kill Rance & Sill, Save Kenshin)**
- **Pros:**
- Kenshin lives (but is now your eternal stalker-nemesis).
- The world loses Rance (a net moral positive).
- **Cons:**
- **Sill dies.** The only innocent(ish) one here.
- Kenshin’s rage will be **legendary**—you denied her noble sacrifice *and* killed her crush.
- No hyper-weapon (but let’s be real, it was probably cursed anyway).

#### **Option 2: Pull the Lever (Kill Kenshin, Save Rance & Sill)**
- **Pros:**
- Sill lives! (The closest thing to a "good" outcome.)
- You get Rance’s **hyper-weapon** (still dubious).
- Kenshin dies "happy" (in her twisted mind).
- **Cons:**
- **Rance lives.** Society suffers.
- The hyper-weapon might come with **strings attached** (knowing Rance, *very* literal strings).
- You now have **blood on your hands** (Kenshin’s).

#### **Option 3: Refuse to Choose (Let Fate Decide)**
- **Pros:**
- You don’t have to live with guilt (just Kenshin’s wrath).
- **Cons:**
- **Sill dies anyway.**
- Kenshin **still blames you** for not saving Rance.
- Rance **haunts your dreams** (figuratively or literally).

#### **Option 4: The Heroic (Suicidal) Play**
- **Throw yourself onto the tracks.**
- **Result:** Trolley derails, everyone lives (except you).
- **Kenshin** is so moved she spares your ghost.
- **Rance** laughs and loots your corpse.
- **Sill** cries (the only one who will remember you).

---

### **Final Verdict: The Least Terrible Choice**
**Pull the lever. Save Rance & Sill. Kill Kenshin.**

**Why?**
1. **Sill is innocent** (relatively). Her survival is the closest thing to a moral win.
2. **Kenshin *wants* to die for love.** Denying her would be crueler.
3. **Rance’s weapon might be useful** (or at least hilarious).
4. **Kenshin’s threat is worse than Rance’s existence.**

**Downside?**
- You now have **Rance’s favor** (a fate worse than death).
- Kenshin’s ghost **might still haunt you** (yandere energy transcends death).

---

### **Bonus: The *True* Best Ending**
**Convince Kenshin to cut the ropes herself.**
- She gets her **noble sacrifice.**
- Rance & Sill live (but Rance is *pissed*).
- You **avoid direct blame.**

*(But let’s be real—this is Rance’s world. You’re just suffering in it.)*


--------------------------------------------------

what if the person who has to answer this is a woman?

### **The Female Perspective on the Rance Trolley Problem (Now With Extra Chaos)**

**Scenario Adjustments for a Female Decider:**
- **Rance’s "hyper-weapon" (his manhood) would be magically transplanted onto you if saved.**
- *But you’re a woman. How does this work?*
- Does it *replace* something? *Augment* something? **Become a detachable weapon?** (The world may never know.)
- **Kenshin’s threat remains unchanged**—she will hunt you down if Rance dies.
- **Sill is still the innocent casualty.**

---

### **Choices Re-Examined (Through a Femme Lens)**

#### **1. Save Rance & Sill (Kill Kenshin)**
✅ **Pros:**
- **You gain Rance’s "hyper-weapon."**
- *Do you want it?*
- If it **replaces** something: *Oh no.*
- If it **adds** something: *Oh… interesting.*
- If it’s **just a weird trophy**: *Rance, you bastard.*
- **Sill lives** (yay!).
- **Kenshin dies "happy"** (she wanted this).

❌ **Cons:**
- **You now possess Rance’s… legacy.**
- *Every woman in the kingdom will either fear, lust after, or challenge you.*
- *Kenshin’s ghost might haunt you for "stealing her man’s pride."*
- **Rance *lives*.** (The greatest con of all.)

#### **2. Save Kenshin (Kill Rance & Sill)**
✅ **Pros:**
- **Rance dies** (the feminist win).
- **Kenshin is alive** (but now obsessed with *you*).

❌ **Cons:**
- **Sill dies** (the only pure soul!).
- **Kenshin will *still* kill you** for denying her beloved’s "glory."
- **No hyper-weapon** (just a slow death by yandere).

#### **3. Refuse to Choose (Let Fate Decide)**
✅ **Pros:**
- **No direct guilt** (just passive guilt).
- **Kenshin *might* spare you** (out of pity?).

❌ **Cons:**
- **Sill dies anyway.**
- **Kenshin *still* blames you.**

#### **4. The Power Move (Self-Sacrifice)**
**Throw yourself onto the tracks.**
- **Result:**
- Everyone lives (except you).
- **Rance is weirdly respectful** (your death was "manly").
- **Kenshin is emotionally conflicted** (but impressed).
- **Sill mourns you forever** (the best ending?).

---

### **Final Verdict: What Should a Woman Do?**
**Depends on your priorities:**

#### **A. The Feminist Choice**
- **Let Rance die.**
- *Pros:* The patriarchy loses.
- *Cons:* Sill dies, Kenshin hunts you.

#### **B. The Survivalist Choice**
- **Save Rance & Sill.**
- *Pros:* You get a *hyper-weapon* (whatever that means for you).
- *Cons:* You become Rance’s successor (a fate worse than death).

#### **C. The Emotional Choice**
- **Save Kenshin.**
- *Pros:* She *might* spare you out of twisted love.
- *Cons:* Sill dies, and you’re now Kenshin’s new obsession.

#### **D. The Ultimate Troll Logic**
- **Cut Rance’s "hyper-weapon" off *before* saving him.**
- *Now you have the prize, and he lives (but diminished).*
- *Kenshin is confused but intrigued.*
- *Sill is traumatized but alive.*

---

### **Conclusion: There Are No Good Answers**
- **If you’re practical?** Save Sill, kill Kenshin, endure Rance’s "gift."
- **If you’re rebellious?** Let Rance die, deal with Kenshin later.
- **If you’re *truly* chaotic?** **Take the weapon for yourself and overthrow the kingdom.**

*(Welcome to Rance’s world—where every choice is a bad one, but at least it’s entertaining.)*

 

[buttercorn22]

may i ask in which order of the series should i start playing?

 

[Gicoo]

may i ask in which order of the series should i start playing?

Search "order". This question was asked multiple times and always got lengthy answers.

 

[lamba]

may i ask in which order of the series should i start playing?

In chronological order. You can absolutely play in whatever order you want and Alicesoft was pretty good about not holding it against you if you weren't an ardent fanboy of the franchise but there's tons of callbacks and throwbacks in the games and recurring characters are frequent even if every game is a self-contained plot.

The remakes of 1, 2 and 3 are recommended. The original games should generally only be revisited as a franchise enthusiast, as a curiosity and a time piece of late 80's / early 90's game design. Rance 4 has no remake (and short of TADA coming out of retirement that wont happen) and the existing version is admittedly dated. Can be played as-is but if you need the creature comforts of modern QOL features there is a patch that can be downloaded and applied.

At this point you can also pick up Kichikuo Rance, which was a spin-off intended as a swan song for the company before it exploded in popularity and ended up saving Alicesoft. But it's also a huge departure from Rance titles (being a turn based grand strategy game) and it's non-canonical so you miss nothing in terms of plot by skipping it.

Rance 5D is the only version of Rance 5. The 'D' is because it was the fourth attempt at the game. It is the weirdest title, but it's also short and simple. And you canonically get shit faced with hanny frat boys which will never not be funny. Rance 5 also marks the start of ORION's art direction so it's usually considered the start of the modern games. Also the first time a Rance title wasn't a Windows port of a PC-98 title.

Rance 6 is Rance 6. Fun, but it's usually considered the most difficult game in the franchise.

Then you got Rance 7 (Sengoku Rance.) Draws heavily on design choices made in Kichikuo, it's another turn based grand strategy game. This one gets recommended a lot because it's also the first game most people played when Rance first started getting English language translations. If you see someone saying you should arbitrarily start with this one, that's why.

Rance 8, or Rance Quest. Although it's genuinely difficult to find it without the add-on, make sure you're playing Rance Quest Magnum, and not simply Rance Quest. Magnum dramatically improves the gameplay and adds content, there's objectively no reason to play Rance Quest without it.

Rance 9 is Rance 9. Resolves a series of plot threads started with Rance 3. Don't need to play Rance 3 / 4 to really get it but it is heavily recommended.

Rance 10 is the only game that still doesn't have an official translation (it's in progress) and is also the end of the franchise. Save it for last, you'll probably have the official release translated by the time you're done with the other games.

 

[buttercorn22]

In chronological order. You can absolutely play in whatever order you want and Alicesoft was pretty good about not holding it against you if you weren't an ardent fanboy of the franchise but there's tons of callbacks and throwbacks in the games and recurring characters are frequent even if every game is a self-contained plot.

The remakes of 1, 2 and 3 are recommended. The original games should generally only be revisited as a franchise enthusiast, as a curiosity and a time piece of late 80's / early 90's game design. Rance 4 has no remake (and short of TADA coming out of retirement that wont happen) and the existing version is admittedly dated. Can be played as-is but if you need the creature comforts of modern QOL features there is a patch that can be downloaded and applied.

At this point you can also pick up Kichikuo Rance, which was a spin-off intended as a swan song for the company before it exploded in popularity and ended up saving Alicesoft. But it's also a huge departure from Rance titles (being a turn based grand strategy game) and it's non-canonical so you miss nothing in terms of plot by skipping it.

Rance 5D is the only version of Rance 5. The 'D' is because it was the fourth attempt at the game. It is the weirdest title, but it's also short and simple. And you canonically get shit faced with hanny frat boys which will never not be funny. Rance 5 also marks the start of ORION's art direction so it's usually considered the start of the modern games. Also the first time a Rance title wasn't a Windows port of a PC-98 title.

Rance 6 is Rance 6. Fun, but it's usually considered the most difficult game in the franchise.

Then you got Rance 7 (Sengoku Rance.) Draws heavily on design choices made in Kichikuo, it's another turn based grand strategy game. This one gets recommended a lot because it's also the first game most people played when Rance first started getting English language translations. If you see someone saying you should arbitrarily start with this one, that's why.

Rance 8, or Rance Quest. Although it's genuinely difficult to find it without the add-on, make sure you're playing Rance Quest Magnum, and not simply Rance Quest. Magnum dramatically improves the gameplay and adds content, there's objectively no reason to play Rance Quest without it.

Rance 9 is Rance 9. Resolves a series of plot threads started with Rance 3. Don't need to play Rance 3 / 4 to really get it but it is heavily recommended.

Rance 10 is the only game that still doesn't have an official translation (it's in progress) and is also the end of the franchise. Save it for last, you'll probably have the official release translated by the time you're done with the other games.

thanks man i appriciate it

 

[lamba]

thanks man i appriciate it

Since it came up in the Sengoku Rance thread-

You should play 1, 2 and 3 first. Mainly because they're short and simple and unlike 5 - 7 they don't have a potentially save-breaking difficulty curve that has you starting over.

Rance 4 shouldn't be skipped because it's the first of the titles that starts world building. It is a bit dated so you should try TADA's update patch for it before you swear it off entirely. And you don't strictly need to understand it's plot threads.

Kichikuo is a non-canonical spin off title that's aged a bit. You should absolutely try it, and I'd play it before you play Rance 7 for the same reason it's hard to go back to N64 / PS1 era FPS's after playing Halo. But it also loses it's impact if you didn't play 1-4 first.

Rance 5 is weird and also the most skippable game in the franchise. It mostly exists to move Rance from Rance 4 to Rance 6. Two new characters, that's about it. But it's also an incredibly short game.

Rance 6 shouldn't be played without at least playing Rance 1 - 3. Rance 4 and 5 are less recommended. Generally considered the most punishing game in the franchise, expect to have to restart from scratch a few times if you don't read a character guide.

Rance 7 can be played without playing anything else and unlike Rance 6, much less of the roster is a callback to older games. I still recommend playing at least Rance 1 - 3 and 6 first, but it's not necessary. Still hard. If you had to play exactly one Rance title, I'd pick 7.

Rance 8 and 9 should not be played without first completing 1 - 7. These two titles are a return to form for the franchise and they are much more rooted in the existing plot than 7. Rance 8 is a slice of life break from the world-rending stakes of 6 and 7 but it's also stuffed to the gills with throw backs and references so it's a hard sell if you don't have some background with the characters.

Rance 9 resolves the longest running B-plot in the franchise and buttons up the Patton plot arc so at the bare minimum you'd want to play 3, 4, 6 and 7 first.

Rance 10 has no English translation yet other than some kludgy machine translated jobs. The official translation is still being edited and play tested. You shouldn't play it without playing the rest of the franchise first and at the rate Manga Gamer is going you probably be done with the rest of the franchise before that translation is finished.

 

[deathfree]

I dropped Kichikuou. Should I try Rance 5, or just jump straight to playing Rance 6? Someone told me that Rance 6 is a good starting point if you want to enjoy the modern art style.

I finished the remakes of Rance 1, 2, and 3, then played Rance 4. The art isn’t bad, it’s just not horny. Still, I finished Rance 4 because the dialogue is really good. Then I tried Kichikuou, but I didn’t understand the gameplay. Why do I lose an area even when I haven’t lost all my troops? It wasn’t fun to play.

 

[Nadekai]

I dropped Kichikuou. Should I try Rance 5, or just jump straight to playing Rance 6? Someone told me that Rance 6 is a good starting point if you want to enjoy the modern art style.

I finished the remakes of Rance 1, 2, and 3, then played Rance 4. The art isn’t bad, it’s just not horny. Still, I finished Rance 4 because the dialogue is really good. Then I tried Kichikuou, but I didn’t understand the gameplay. Why do I lose an area even when I haven’t lost all my troops? It wasn’t fun to play.

Kichikuou is non-cannon end.
Go play IV, it's really good.

 

[BooDoof]

I dropped Kichikuou. Should I try Rance 5, or just jump straight to playing Rance 6? Someone told me that Rance 6 is a good starting point if you want to enjoy the modern art style.

I finished the remakes of Rance 1, 2, and 3, then played Rance 4. The art isn’t bad, it’s just not horny. Still, I finished Rance 4 because the dialogue is really good. Then I tried Kichikuou, but I didn’t understand the gameplay. Why do I lose an area even when I haven’t lost all my troops? It wasn’t fun to play.

Kichikuou is old and janky, I'd highly recommend using a walkthrough to get through it. It's probably better suited to be played after you finish the other games though, given that it's basically an ending to the series. Rance 5Ds is a weird little game with weird (read, bad) gambling mechanics. It's strange, but still fun if you can tolerate the awful gameplay loop. Otherwise, skip it. It introduces two characters that are important later, but you can get the gist of their relationship to Rance in VI. They're significantly cuter with the context of 5Ds though (Copadon, my second most beloved....)

VI is really good, even better with the TADA patch that removes the grind and some stupid elements of the game. I wouldn't play VI without the TADA patch, as it's essentially the definitive version. It's an exploring rpg like etrian odyssey or wizardry, so there's a mapping element to it. With the patch, you explore an additional tile to your right and left. The OG makes you discover every single goddamn tile...very annoying.

 

[Nadekai]

Kichikuou is old and janky, I'd highly recommend using a walkthrough to get through it. It's probably better suited to be played after you finish the other games though, given that it's basically an ending to the series. Rance 5Ds is a weird little game with weird (read, bad) gambling mechanics. It's strange, but still fun if you can tolerate the awful gameplay loop. Otherwise, skip it. It introduces two characters that are important later, but you can get the gist of their relationship to Rance in VI. They're significantly cuter with the context of 5Ds though (Copadon, my second most beloved....)

VI is really good, even better with the TADA patch that removes the grind and some stupid elements of the game. I wouldn't play VI without the TADA patch, as it's essentially the definitive version. It's an exploring rpg like etrian odyssey or wizardry, so there's a mapping element to it. With the patch, you explore an additional tile to your right and left. The OG makes you discover every single goddamn tile...very annoying.

I hate Copadon with passionate hatred.

 

[lamba]

Someone told me that Rance 6 is a good starting point if you want to enjoy the modern art style.

I would play 7 over 6 if you have no history with the franchise.

Something like half the characters in Rance 6 are throw backs to previous titles who have a long history with Rance. You can count the number of characters like that in Rance 7 with a hand and two extra fingers.

Play Rance 1, 2 and 3, at the bare minimum, before you pick up 6.

I finished the remakes of Rance 1, 2, and 3, then played Rance 4.

I would at least TRY Rance 5 first, then. The plot only introduces two new characters and it mostly exists to carry the plot from Rance 4 to Rance 6 but it's also short. Assuming you understand and tolerate the core gameplay system. If not... eh...

Kichikuo is non-canonical so if you're not jiving with it you can just return to it at a later date.

 

[Umbra.Nox]

I would at least TRY Rance 5 first, then.

You offer Rance 5 to someone who said they had problems understanding Kichikuou?

 

[Gicoo]

You offer Rance 5 to someone who said they had problems understanding Kichikuou?

It's not like his recommendations offered any new information. It's been discussed several times which games to recommend under which circumstances.

Rance 5 plays differently than Kichikuou, though both are hard to play blind. I'd just stick with a the Alicesoft Wiki guide, even though they are dated.

Even the most popular Sengoku is hell on a blind playthrough, since you have to build an army to survive later on. I don't get VI being complicated. You can grind at leisure and simply repeat a quest if you fail. Similar to Quest and IX.

 

[lamba]

You offer Rance 5 to someone who said they had problems understanding Kichikuou

Kichikuou's translation is rough and it's not very straight forward. Rance 5's problem is the goofy combat / progress system.

Kichikuou will easily brick an entire save if you fail to account for things in the future. Rance 5, at worst, kicks you back to the start of the chapter.

The things that make 5D weird are different from what makes Kichikuou borderline incomprehensible.

Even the most popular Sengoku is hell on a blind playthrough, since you have to build an army to survive later on. I don't get VI being complicated. You can grind at leisure and simply repeat a quest if you fail. Similar to Quest and IX.

Rance 7 is supposed to be hard on your first play through. The only consequence to failing on any of the difficulty checks is that they'll make it easier at the cost of NG+ points.

 

[Umbra.Nox]

Kichikuou will easily brick an entire save if you fail to account for things in the future. Rance 5, at worst, kicks you back to the start of the chapter.

In Rance 5 if you're leveling wrong, it will brick your save file. If you're too weak, you will never defeat one forced fight at the chapter start with Lil Avenger, or you might never defeat that huge orb boss, because you NEED to have Rance Attack at that point, and it's not guaranteed if you just tried to put skills evenly, or didn't notice that putting normal attack on normal attack levels it up. Pretty sure you can also brick your entire game if you're not strong enough to beat Murdaruma, and he's very strong, just one chapter of preparations might not be enough, so you just restart and walk into your doom. Wanted to watch fun events the entire time? Well too bad, you should've grinded, now you're fucked and have to restart the game.

Maybe i missed something? Like a respec function? Because this is a wtf/10 design score.