Ranking All the Nancy Drew PC Games from WORST to BEST with 600 Detectives!! | Nancy Drew Analysis

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  • Опубліковано 1 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 85

  • @IWish2500
    @IWish2500 Місяць тому +22

    Interesting how the first Hardy Boys physical appearance was an ultra strong contender, while the other two after that were strongly at the bottom

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +4

      @IWish2500 yeah, execution of the characters definitely matters more than just having them!

    • @karricompton
      @karricompton Місяць тому +2

      I’m down for a good Hardy Boys participation game! Do them right!

  • @tigathon
    @tigathon Місяць тому +10

    Secret of the Scarlet Hand is my all time favorite ND game, which I know I kind of an unpopular opinion, but I’m an art and art history major and this game really tickles my museum loving fancy!!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +2

      @@tigathon SSH is such a solid game!!

    • @joshmitchell9477
      @joshmitchell9477 Місяць тому +1

      I am a history buff myself and Scarlet Hand is in my top 5! I’m replaying it again right now!

  • @jcro7918
    @jcro7918 Місяць тому +20

    Glad to see Legend of the Crystal Skull get some well-deserved recognition!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @jcro7918 yeah, I was impressed by its place!

    • @fadalerabrasool3563
      @fadalerabrasool3563 Місяць тому +1

      that's my first nancy drew game. the opening was what made me want to play it because sooooo spoookyyy

    • @Hunkules09
      @Hunkules09 27 днів тому

      Amen. It’s a near perfect game. Definitely doesn’t deserve to be overlooked at all!!

  • @Aeriall.
    @Aeriall. Місяць тому +4

    I just want to say thank you. I'm a fellow detective who's been going through a really hard time lately where my stress level has been astronomical, but your videos have really been helping me keep it under control.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +1

      @@Aeriall. I'm so sorry things have been tough lately! I'm glad the videos have helped! Sending you positive vibes and support!

    • @Aeriall.
      @Aeriall. Місяць тому

      ​@@WizardKittenYTThank you, that means a lot! I'll be okay.

  • @laurenm9697
    @laurenm9697 Місяць тому +11

    I was a little surprised by this! Some of my favourites ranked a lot lower than I thought. But as always so happy blue moon is appreciated 🫶 love that game! X

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@laurenm9697 which ones ranked lower than you expected, out of curiosity?? 😊

    • @laurenm9697
      @laurenm9697 Місяць тому

      @WizardKittenYT alibi by ashes was the biggest surprise for me, everyone i talk to loves it! But then again I can understand people not getting over the changing characters all the time 🤣 Silent Spy is another I was surprised by!!! Those two are firmly in my top 5 🫶

  • @katiecramer5597
    @katiecramer5597 Місяць тому +3

    I wish GTH was a bit higher, but I’m so happy it made the top ten! Definitely one of the best modern era games! That spook factor mixed in with the soundtrack, chills. All I can say.

  • @jacksampsonforever
    @jacksampsonforever Місяць тому +7

    SKULL!!!! It beat out two of the "cute animal" games!! Woo!! TY, C

  • @olivialeezeh8076
    @olivialeezeh8076 Місяць тому +2

    wow thanks for making this video! seems like a lot of work compiling all the data but its so interesting seeing other sleuths' input!!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@olivialeezeh8076 it was a big one!! I'm so glad you liked it!

  • @deedeeschecklie1702
    @deedeeschecklie1702 Місяць тому +3

    This was such a fun video, and awesome editing work! 🥳
    Binge rewatched a few of your older videos after watching this one, and that gave me a video idea: you could make an analysis of Mystery of the Seven Keys based on the analyses/rankings you've done over the years of different games of the series, like how would you evaluate the culprit and their motive (evil, not evil, etc), the love language of the characters, stuff like that 🧐 I think lots of us fellow detectives will be excited to see where you place the new game in the context of your older videos on the series, and also will fit in perfectly in the current "revisiting older content" season we're having

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +2

      @deedeeschecklie1702 that's a great idea! And thank you for noticing the editing, I worked extra hard on this one! 🤗

  • @terrikoop416
    @terrikoop416 Місяць тому +4

    I was listening to this list and thinking “where did HeR go wrong?” If we’re being honest, beside GTH and SEA, most of the new were considered the worst. I think with those games we tend to have a hard time seeing the forest through the trees. They tend to get picked apart and, as I’ve said before, we are harder on certain flaws than the games we love. For example, elements such as character design, clunky movements, lack of things to do… etc will get graded harshly in those games and will not in games we love. I say this because I want to know where the real issues are. What is it that makes those games so bad and where does HeR need to focus their efforts? This list helped that so much because what I saw in ratings are the characters and story line (story line includes things to do as well as interact with). It seems that people prefer likable, well developed characters and a well developed story line that includes good playability to anything else. We see this because games like MHM are beloved unlike others. It seems that all the little quirks are forgivable if the game is executed correctly. I think HeR probably needs to focus on their writing above all else. We don’t need hyper realistic and large environments. We need good and well developed story lines and characters. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox.

  • @nghtblm
    @nghtblm Місяць тому +1

    I really enjoyed participating in this survey & feel like most of the rankings are spot on! One difference I noticed with myself is I may have ranked Deadly Device, Tomb of the Lost Queen and Labyrinth of Lies higher for their immersive environments and challenging puzzles possibly over characters / plot...

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@nghtblm yeah, the modern era games are often ranked a little more harshly!

    • @brennathompson1855
      @brennathompson1855 26 днів тому

      I also appreciate hard puzzles and ambience over plot and characters. Once I know who the culprit is, the only reasons to replay are escapist immersion and a mental challenge 😊

  • @Fluffymonkeyem
    @Fluffymonkeyem Місяць тому

    I really appreciate how much work must have gone into this! It was really fun to see the comparisons between your rankings and the fellow detectives.
    One that was really low that I rank high is STFD. It's a lot because of nostalgia as it was the second game I played, but there is more too it. Sure it has limited puzzles, but I love what's there. Some scenes like the bomb scene are really tense. The location is fun with an amazing soundtrack. The dialogue is strong, and there is so much detail! I really like the day to night mechanism too. It really shows how even with so much consensus, there can still be a lot of variation in taste.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@Fluffymonkeyem yeah, it's a shame it's so early in the series because it really is a great game!

  • @truecrimecafe90
    @truecrimecafe90 16 днів тому +1

    I never understand why Thornton Hall gets so much love. The story doesn't really make sense to me and I didn't find the characters memorable at all. But I seem to be an outlier haha.

  • @Civman-yr8lb
    @Civman-yr8lb Місяць тому +5

    I'm surprised Mystery of the Seven Keys was so low. I wish HER would just have the common sense to go back to making new games in the style of the old ones from the early 2000s. It would probably be cheaper too unless somehow its more expensive than rendering full 3d environments. They could even use the old engine. It's clear that the only people interested in these games are the long time fans, who would buy them regardless of how dated they would look.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +2

      @Civman-yr8lb yeah, they really need to consider their fan base when making decisions moving forward...

    • @loganswhite6645
      @loganswhite6645 Місяць тому

      I think just sadly the old engine is just well too… old! While not my all time fav, KEY was solid to me and made me more optimistic about future games, so I’m excited to see where the company goes from here!

    • @Fluffymonkeyem
      @Fluffymonkeyem Місяць тому

      I actually preferred Midnight in Salem to Mystery of the 7 keys 😅. Don't get me wrong, it's still bad, (and wouldn't even run at first for me) but there was just so much frustration with KEY and so many glitches. The puzzles were insanely hard at times (I'm looking at you gemstones and any puzzle in the alchemy room).

  • @NicheReferences
    @NicheReferences Місяць тому +1

    I have 4 top-tier untouchable ND games, two of which are overwhelming fan faves (TRT, TRN), and two of which are… not (CAP, SPY). I’m glad to see that CAP is getting more appreciation now, bc I have never understood the dislike for it- great characters, decent story, solid puzzles. On the other hand, I do get why a lot of people don’t love SPY. But I love it 🤷🏻‍♀️
    On the flip side, I’m always surprised at how beloved DDI and CAR are. They never quite grabbed me in the nostalgia like the other classic era games.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@NicheReferences isn't it interesting?! I love seeing the individual variation!

    • @ryanpepper8188
      @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому

      @@NicheReferences I appreciate Spy and rank it higher than most. The spy thriller vibes, adventure and emotional connection to Nancy's mom sell it for me. Captive Curse I'm not a huge fan of because it revolves so much around a monster than doesn't really exist, and I prefer some reality in the games. Now I thought if they had ended it with Nancy being driven away in a car with a monster lurking out of the trees growling as the car drives off I would probably rank it higher because then you don't know when the monster was real or when it was Anya dressed up, and it would make for an interesting ending.

    • @Fluffymonkeyem
      @Fluffymonkeyem Місяць тому

      I'm replaying CAP and for me it's suuuper dialogue heavy. I also get lost in the halls and the forest, so I'd rate it lower down. But I agree on DDI. It's just okay for me.

  • @samanthamanuele655
    @samanthamanuele655 Місяць тому +3

    I've been waiting for this!!!!!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@samanthamanuele655 it was so fun to put together!

  • @mollyblasingame3212
    @mollyblasingame3212 Місяць тому +2

    castle malloy deserved better 😭

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@mollyblasingame3212 I personally agree!

  • @sophinda6292
    @sophinda6292 Місяць тому

    All the things you list for why GTH is great I think it massively fails at, which is why it will always be in my bottom five and is comparable with MID. I started playing these games in my 20s, so have absolutely no nostalgia for any of them, but its clear to me that 9-13 and WAC/SAW are the pinnacle of ND games, generally speaking. Utterly astonished SPY did as well as it did too! Thank you for all the time and effort you put in to collating this information and making the video. I'm really chuffed for you that you got so many people taking part!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @sophinda6292 love these thoughts! I was so excited so many people participated!

    • @ryanpepper8188
      @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому

      @@sophinda6292 I want Spy higher along with Design and Labyrinth! All exciting stories and adventure in my book. I can see why people may not like Twister though.

  • @ryanpepper8188
    @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому +2

    Prioritizing an exciting story, lush environments and/or more adventure style games with very little character switching, I tried to make my list objective and subjective both. Also with the exception of Blackmoor, my top games also have my favorite endings. I don't include Salem or Keys because I haven't played them, but watching them on stream they would probably be at the very bottom.
    32. The Shattered Medallion
    31. Alibi in Ashes
    30. The Deadly Device
    29. Secrets Can Kill
    28. Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
    27. The Captive Curse
    26. Creature of Kapu Cave
    25. Secret of the Old Clock
    24. Stay Tuned for Danger
    23. Shadow at the Waters Edge
    22. Tomb of the Lost Queen
    21. Secret of the Scarlet Hand
    20. Ransom of the Seven Ships
    19. Message in a Haunted Mansion
    18. Trail of the Twister
    17. White Wolf of Icicle Creek
    16. The Haunted Carousel
    15. Haunting of Castle Malloy
    14. Sea of Darkness
    13. Ghost of Thornton Hall
    12. Curse of Blackmoor Manor
    11. Labyrinth of Lies
    10. Danger on Deception Island
    9. The Final Scene
    8. Treasure in the Royal Tower
    7. The Silent Spy
    6. Secret of Shadow Ranch
    5. Warnings at Waverly Academy
    4. Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
    3. Danger by Design
    2. Legend of the Crystal Skull
    1. The Phantom of Venice

    • @katherinelennon668
      @katherinelennon668 Місяць тому +1

      Phantom of Venice ranked really high!! I hope you’re happy it’s getting love ❤

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +2

      I'll still never get over DOG and MHM being in your bottom 10, but I understand 😅 Super solid top 10!

    • @ryanpepper8188
      @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому

      @ Both terrific games, but maybe I need more action/adventure :) Scarlet Hand I wish had more action and creep factor as well.

    • @sophinda6292
      @sophinda6292 Місяць тому +1

      Labyrinth is quite high for you! That may be the highest I've seen it for most people! I can never work out if I love or hate that game!

    • @ryanpepper8188
      @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому +1

      @ Yes I'm a fan! It took me several play throughs to master all the puzzles, but now I can enjoy it for the drama, fun plot and ending :) It's a high stakes game similar to Venice that's another bonus.

  • @Kenzie1111-i7c
    @Kenzie1111-i7c Місяць тому +2

    Appreciate you putting this together! ❤

  • @thefairybug40
    @thefairybug40 Місяць тому +4

    I'm so early that it feels criminal.
    EDIT: Yeeeaaah, I was one of the detractors for WAV and SHA. I just don't get it, particularly for WAV.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +1

      @@thefairybug40 early bird gets to know all the juicy details first!

  • @fadalerabrasool3563
    @fadalerabrasool3563 Місяць тому +1

    My top ten as of recently
    Wizard at waverly academy
    Final scene
    Shadow at the waters edge
    Curse of blackmoor manor
    Message in a haunted mansion
    Phantom of venice
    Ghost of thorton hall
    Alibi in Ashes
    The silent spy
    Danger by design

  • @ryanpepper8188
    @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому +1

    Some initial thoughts before posting my list separately:
    It's interesting Shadow Ranch swept the Oscars post this year, but Last Train won out here. Also in keeping with the Oscars results, Crystal Skull seems to be gaining in popularity which I love (it's my #2 game).
    Surprised Waters Edge ranks this high despite a good story and characters, to me it gets bogged down by some of the puzzles and the length/pacing of the game. Same with Alibi in Ashes, the character switching is annoying, disorganized, and the interactive town map with the fast track car gives me anxiety.
    Glad Phantom is a top 15, but for me it deserves top 10 status also, and Danger by Design at least top 15 that's an underrated game all around in my view. Both of those games I have in my top 3 as well🕵🏼‍♀️

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +1

      I was surprised by TRN too! And it was a pretty sizable lead! Interesting to see!

  • @karricompton
    @karricompton Місяць тому

    I so appreciate that you played the corresponding soundtracks as you spoke about each game. Points for you.
    I must be in the minority-I would trade out TOT for CRE in the ranking. I would have put HAU higher and DAN lower, that’s just me. I can’t bear for iDED to be ranked so low. 🤷‍♀️
    All that said, I mostly expected most of the rankings.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      Thank you!! Lots of editing work, so I appreciate that!

  • @Iwona886
    @Iwona886 Місяць тому +1

    I am quite new to Nancy Drew games (I started playing a few years ago, not in my childhood) so I don't have any sentimental feelings attached to any game. And for me, the game I rank the lowest is Message in the Haunted Mansion... It was so boring to me and it was the only ND game I did not enjoy playing and just wanted it to end. Luckily it was short. I have to say, I didn't play the worst ranked ND games like Midnight in Salem or Shuttered Medalion, I played 19 of them so far. And the top 5 for me is: 1. Shadows at the water's edge, 2. Curse of Blackmoor Manor, 3. Sea of Darkness, 4. The secret of Shadow Ranch, 5. Ghost of Thornton Hall. I would rank Last Train at maybe 10th place.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +1

      @@Iwona886 it's always so fun to see rankings for people who can take out the nostalgia factor!

  • @itsmeash5324
    @itsmeash5324 Місяць тому +1

    I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only ones of the 600 that doesn't have MID as the worst. lol.

  • @rain0450
    @rain0450 3 дні тому

    I’m surprised Danger By Design is so low. It’s in my top 3. I guess everyone has different tastes.

  • @alexandrabailey9341
    @alexandrabailey9341 Місяць тому +1

    Some of it seems to be what you are willing to tolerate. I'd rather hate a game than be bored by it. So kapu cave, shattered medallion, and trail of the twister are at the bottom for me while midnight in salem is higher up

  • @ellenn6246
    @ellenn6246 29 днів тому

    As a new Nancy Drew fan (doing Thornton Hall now, so I got 6 left) I was happy to see Crystal Skull so high up. Before playing it I looked at your old ranking and it seemed like it was mid-tier Nancy but it turned out to be one of my favorites. So nice to see it crack the top 10 now instead.
    But I also loved Castle Malloy and hated Shadow Ranch so tastes vary wildly.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  29 днів тому

      @ellenn6246 so fun to meet new ND fans!! I'm always so happy when the games find new people!

  • @brunette3cookie
    @brunette3cookie Місяць тому

    Games 4, 5, 7, and 23 are on my top 5 🤷🏻‍♀️ Captive Curse is underrated, as is Raid. The game opens with a Monty Python joke, what more could you want in an opening?

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@brunette3cookie it's been nice to see CAP get more love over the years!

  • @GraemeCree
    @GraemeCree Місяць тому

    I'm not sure if going by points is the best way to do it, as it seems to blend exposure and quality, and games 1, 2, 20 and 34 are going to be handicapped.
    When I ran online Star Trek episode polls, it used the same system (1-5 stars), but every episode was given a straight average, followed by number of votes received. People could decide for themselves if a 4.2 rating based on 100 votes was better than a 4.1 rating based on 400 votes.
    Another thing I tried to do was run Standard Deviations to see how controversial an episode was. An episode with a hundred votes, all of them 3's is, of course, much less controversial than one with fifty 1 votes and fifty 5 votes, even though they would both have the same average.
    I'd also like to know things like how many games respondents had played, on average. A person who had played Secrets Can Kill and nothing else, might give it a 5 rating because they have nothing to compare it to. They'd probably have a different rating if they'd played a dozen games.

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @GraemeCree fair points. As I started crunching the numbers, they started to pretty accurately reflect what I've anecdotally learned to be community opinions over the years. So for a fun little video, I deemed them sufficient 👍

  • @alyailithyia
    @alyailithyia Місяць тому +1

    I must be one of the only detectives who dislikes deception island and the Haunted carousel 🤣 but I did love stay tuned for danger and most of the very old games. Those are just so unique and nostalgic with amazing soundtracks compared to the newer games. Ghost of blackmoor and treasure in the royal tower will always be #1 for me!

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому

      @@alyailithyia ooh, I'd love to know what doesn't work for you for DDI! I love that one!

  • @sophinda6292
    @sophinda6292 Місяць тому +1

    HOW... did CAP and VEN beat ICE? 😲

    • @WizardKittenYT
      @WizardKittenYT  Місяць тому +1

      @@sophinda6292 impressive, right?!

    • @ryanpepper8188
      @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому

      @@sophinda6292 Well Venice should be high lol But yes Captive Curse is just okay for me. I'm a bigger fan of White Wolf again after another play through. It made my top 15.🕵🏼‍♀️ Where do you place them ?

  • @i.linevich6284
    @i.linevich6284 29 днів тому

    Can understand why Castle Malloy would be so far fetched. Overall immersion is pretty good, but the main villain... I dunno. Always felt it was a little too much.

  • @ryanpepper8188
    @ryanpepper8188 Місяць тому +1

    Some initial thoughts before posting my list separately:
    It's interesting Shadow Ranch swept the Oscars post this year, but Last Train won out here. Also in keeping with the Oscars results, Crystal Skull seems to be gaining in popularity which I love (it's my #2 game).
    Surprised Waters Edge ranks this high despite a good story and characters, to me it gets bogged down by some of the puzzles and the length/pacing of the game. Same with Alibi in Ashes, the character switching to me is annoying, disorganized, and the interactive town map with the fast track car gives me anxiety.
    Glad Phantom is a top 15, but for me it deserves top 10 status also, and Danger by Design at least top 15 that's an underrated game all around in my view. Both of those games I have in my top 3 as well🕵🏼‍♀️

    • @terrikoop416
      @terrikoop416 Місяць тому +1

      I was thinking the same thing about SHA and TRN! I was fully expecting SHA to win #1. So glad TRN did though. The game is so good.