IncendiaryDevice
Self-Ejected
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2014
- Messages
- 7,407
I did a title search for Nancy Drew in this forum and I couldn't find anything, so I've made a new thread. If one does exist, to whom it may concern, please feel free to merge or whatever.
I've been playing Nancy Drew games off and on, very off and on, for about 15 years. I'm not really an Adventure Game aficionado though as I lack the necessary brain power for the obscure nature of the genre and I only really play Adventure Games as a breather between more 'epic' games, such as Grand Strategy or RPG. And AGs are just one small sub-section of my breather games alongside such things as Tower Defence, Building Games and all the other etc.
So I haven't played many Nancy Drew, only about half a dozen over the years. But I find them unusually appealing. They're not like other Adventure Games, there's something really unique about them that can't really be found in any other AGs. For one thing, they've maintained a cohesion over many years and many sequels, usually keeping up the quality and improving on it while also providing something genuinely new and unique with each game while also maintaining that same unique vibe that makes all the games feel like they're definitely of the same sauce.
Of the above, I think I, once upon a time, tried White Wolf of Icicle Creek, Legend of Crystal Skull, Shadow at Water's Edge and likely a few more I've completely forgotten what they were called. You see, I usually got to a certain point in the game and found myself completely stuck. I'm one of those people that consider looking up walkthroughs as cheating and something that greatly devalues my experience & with these games I usually, at some point, just started hitting walkthroughs before eventually giving up.
However, the bug hit me again recently and I bought 2 games to fill some time in these long and too-hot-to-move summer days. I bought The Phantom of Menace and Secrets Can Kill (remastered).
The Phantom of Venice was an excellent game, really, really enjoyable. And, for the first time ever for me, it must have something to do with finally getting 'in tune' with these games, I only used a walkthrough once before completing the game, and even that turned out to be me just being incredibly lazy and impatient, likely from being too tired after having played it for too long in one sitting.
To which the most memorable scene has to be conducting Nancy as a nightclub dancer complete with a skin-tight leather cat suit:
I then played Secrets Can Kill Remastered, the first game in the series with added modern meddling, and, OMG, OMG, excitement and satisfaction extraordinaire, I finished the game without once referring to a walkthrough of any kind. It took me eight and a half hours, about double of a typical YouTube Let's Play, but OMG, I finally did it. So chuffed. Such wow. Much jubilation.
They all seem to have mini games within games as well & the one in Secrets Can Kill was a really quite hard version of Brick Breaker (it broke my balls anyway).
Secrets Can Kill is an excellent example of how this series doesn't follow the usual tired routines of modern AGs, in that there are barely any of what you'd describe as "regular puzzles". And any puzzles you do have are usually properly in keeping with the game's narrative or environment, such as lots of codebreaking puzzles in the school environment of Secrets Can Kill but in the Venice game there'll be a Mosaic puzzle, for example.
They also run a perfect line between light hearted comedy, knowing aside, and outright creepiness. A lot of which is attributable to their voice actor for Nancy, the incredible VA talent of Lani Minella who's likely been in loads of games you've played and is considered one of the best in the industry.
There's been a brief halt in production of ND games you'll notice from the above list, and this is because of two things. Firstly, Lani Minella is retiring from Nancy Drew and, secondly, they're converting to a new engine for the first time. So the next game is going to be a big test for the series as that magic of a long unbroken run of a familiar theme and style will get its first potential dent.
After playing these two I'm still up for more. Apparently Nancy Drew AGs are a known addictive substance. Have you ever tasted the pleasures?
Where do ND games stand in the hierarchy of 'hardcore' AGs?
Since there's no threads already, I guess the question "what's putting you off them"? is going to be a good question.
& anything else you want to say & etc & discuss & stuff.
I've been playing Nancy Drew games off and on, very off and on, for about 15 years. I'm not really an Adventure Game aficionado though as I lack the necessary brain power for the obscure nature of the genre and I only really play Adventure Games as a breather between more 'epic' games, such as Grand Strategy or RPG. And AGs are just one small sub-section of my breather games alongside such things as Tower Defence, Building Games and all the other etc.
So I haven't played many Nancy Drew, only about half a dozen over the years. But I find them unusually appealing. They're not like other Adventure Games, there's something really unique about them that can't really be found in any other AGs. For one thing, they've maintained a cohesion over many years and many sequels, usually keeping up the quality and improving on it while also providing something genuinely new and unique with each game while also maintaining that same unique vibe that makes all the games feel like they're definitely of the same sauce.
Of the above, I think I, once upon a time, tried White Wolf of Icicle Creek, Legend of Crystal Skull, Shadow at Water's Edge and likely a few more I've completely forgotten what they were called. You see, I usually got to a certain point in the game and found myself completely stuck. I'm one of those people that consider looking up walkthroughs as cheating and something that greatly devalues my experience & with these games I usually, at some point, just started hitting walkthroughs before eventually giving up.
However, the bug hit me again recently and I bought 2 games to fill some time in these long and too-hot-to-move summer days. I bought The Phantom of Menace and Secrets Can Kill (remastered).
The Phantom of Venice was an excellent game, really, really enjoyable. And, for the first time ever for me, it must have something to do with finally getting 'in tune' with these games, I only used a walkthrough once before completing the game, and even that turned out to be me just being incredibly lazy and impatient, likely from being too tired after having played it for too long in one sitting.
To which the most memorable scene has to be conducting Nancy as a nightclub dancer complete with a skin-tight leather cat suit:
I then played Secrets Can Kill Remastered, the first game in the series with added modern meddling, and, OMG, OMG, excitement and satisfaction extraordinaire, I finished the game without once referring to a walkthrough of any kind. It took me eight and a half hours, about double of a typical YouTube Let's Play, but OMG, I finally did it. So chuffed. Such wow. Much jubilation.
They all seem to have mini games within games as well & the one in Secrets Can Kill was a really quite hard version of Brick Breaker (it broke my balls anyway).
Secrets Can Kill is an excellent example of how this series doesn't follow the usual tired routines of modern AGs, in that there are barely any of what you'd describe as "regular puzzles". And any puzzles you do have are usually properly in keeping with the game's narrative or environment, such as lots of codebreaking puzzles in the school environment of Secrets Can Kill but in the Venice game there'll be a Mosaic puzzle, for example.
They also run a perfect line between light hearted comedy, knowing aside, and outright creepiness. A lot of which is attributable to their voice actor for Nancy, the incredible VA talent of Lani Minella who's likely been in loads of games you've played and is considered one of the best in the industry.
There's been a brief halt in production of ND games you'll notice from the above list, and this is because of two things. Firstly, Lani Minella is retiring from Nancy Drew and, secondly, they're converting to a new engine for the first time. So the next game is going to be a big test for the series as that magic of a long unbroken run of a familiar theme and style will get its first potential dent.
After playing these two I'm still up for more. Apparently Nancy Drew AGs are a known addictive substance. Have you ever tasted the pleasures?
Where do ND games stand in the hierarchy of 'hardcore' AGs?
Since there's no threads already, I guess the question "what's putting you off them"? is going to be a good question.
& anything else you want to say & etc & discuss & stuff.
