It’s so awesome how the Nancy Drew community can share the same passion for the games and stories yet have such different opinions and respect each other! For example - my favourite game by a mile is the Silent Spy, for the sole reason that it left me feeling so raw and emotional. There are lots of loose ends, yes, but I think it accurately tackles a very real threat of malicious people infiltrating security groups. The emotion and the fact that the story is so closely tied to Nancy made me feel incredibly hooked and emotionally tied to the decisions I was making. I also love the contrast between a sinister villain and a bright, sunny location. I love alibi in ashes for the same reason! Thank you for making this video - I loved watching what you had to say!
So true! I absolutely love your take on Silent Spy. It is an emotional game for sure and I’m so glad that you can look past the loose ends and actually enjoy the story
The first one I played was White Wolf at Icicle Creek, my grandma got for me. Its a cozy game for sure it does make me want to grab a blanket and tea whenever I go back to it!
Shadow at water’s edge was the scariest for me - and Alibi in Ashes is one of my faves! Although, i began having 24/7 cravings of ice cream after playing 😂
Unfortunately that is true. The graphics are only good on High quality yet the voices trail by several seconds on high quality and are only decent on low quality. The music isn't even that great, the puzzles are non-existent (That first labyrinth was easier than those mazes on kids menus at restaurants), historically, it could have been a lot better about teaching about the trials, and it was generally a non great game
@@Jcat_Nguy23 My Mac is decent enough where the voices match up around 85% of the time on high graphics, and I was able to enjoy it a little more than others, so it’s not the worst game to me, but is nowhere near the best
There were some one your list I'd switch around on mine but yours is fairly close to mine. I too also love that everyone has different opinions on which games they like. There is no wrong answer when it comes to which ND games are your favs and I love that about the series.
Mine was Danger on Deception Island. It came in a pack of games with like hello Kitty and stuff (I never touched the hello Kitty Because I was much more mature than that)
Great list! Blue moon canyon is one of my all time favorites too, as well as shadow at the waters edge, deadly device, and royal tower. I have never played crystal skull so I guess I should try it!
33 Stay tuned for danger 32 The phantom of Venice 31 The silent spy 30 Sea of darkness 29 The captive curse 28 Message in a haunted mansion 27 Curse of Blackmoor manor 26 Danger on deception island 25 The shattered medallion 24 Midnight in Salem 23 The final scene 22 Labyrinth of lies 21 Tomb of the lost queen 20 Secrets can kill 19 The haunted carousel 18 Ransom of the seven ships 17 Danger by design 16 Alibi in ashes 15 The creature of kapu cave 14 Trail of the twister 13 The secret of the old clock 12 Warnings at waverly academy 11 Secret of the scarlet hand 10 The deadly device 9 Legend of the crystal skull 8. Treasure in a royal tower 7. Last train to blue moon canyon 6. White wolf of icicle creek 5. The haunting of castle Malloy 4. Shadow at the waters edge 3. Ghost dogs of moon lake 2. Ghost of Thornton hall 1. The secret of shadow ranch
I am just getting into Nancy Drew, but I will always love Icicle Creek Lodge. Its the nostalgia it has.... and i just love snow!!! I just get so many feels AND I DIDNT EVEN FINISH IT LMAO- I wont be able to play these sadly, so I am going to watch some playthroughs!
My top (in no order) is Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, The Haunted Carousel, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, Warnings at Waverly Academy, The Final Scene, Curse of Blackoor Manor, and Secret of Shadow Ranch. Ghost Dogs was my introduction and holds a very special place in my heart. Shadow at Water's Edge while has its moments... we didn't much like it. Part of our love of the Nancy Drew games are the puzzles and being forced to do a puzzle like the renogram(?) THAT many times is exhausting. Call me crazy, but I'll take a sliding puzzle over them any day What I must note is that a common theme in my favourite/preferred games is ghosts so take that for what you will (still can't save Shadow at Water's Edge... that's pretty low on our list). Currently we're replying the games also (not in order) and the drama between Nancy and Ned is /so/ annoying, I agree entirely with your assessment on that one.
I feel the exact same way about the puzzles in Shadow at the Waters Edge. The nonogram puzzle at the end kills me every time. And yes I am so bad at slider puzzles but I would much rather do that. I hope you have a ton fun on your replays (and that Ned and Nancy don’t cause too much drama for you haha)!!
I'm close to New Orleans I just moved to southern Mississippi and always loved Chrystal skull!!! Blue moon canyon is another one I would recommend someone to start with!y starting one was danger on deception island !
Thanks for this great video and insightful pointers about each game. I’m glad to hear your review of ALL the games in the series. I own about 95% of them including the latest “Midnight In Salem”, but have yet to play several of them. I started with the original one because I’m that OLD- lol. I’m curious if you own the actual disc/software of each and what type of computer you play these on? I seem to recall that the older games in the series require a special type of download to be able to run them? I’d love to revisit some of those but don’t know if I can still get them to work? 😉
Yeah I have all of my games on the original disks! I’m still able to play all of them on Windows 10, no software needed. (I’m not sure but I think you do need software to run them on Mac)
My first Nancy Drew game was The Crystal Skull a decade ago. I have still yet to finish it lol. The Curse of Blackmoor Manor was my second, bought at the same time as the first. I have yet to complete that one too lol. My third, and only other played Nancy Drew game, is Ghost of Thornton Hall. It's the only one I've ever finished. Oh, and I always wanted the Carousel one when I was younger!
You picked some really good ones to start with!! I hope you get to finish them one day cause those 2 specifically have great endings. And you should totally try out The Haunted Carousel too!
I think Midnight in Salem just missed what works about Nancy Drew Games. I always thought the photorealistic slideshow-like graphics and corny sound effects were really charming. Something about choppy animatics makes it feel like a real mystery, whereas with this game it fails to even fit the standard for generic Steam game #234246667. I also think it missed what worked about computer games because it literally doesn't work on 99% of computers. It's just too epic for most computers to handle
I totally agree, I love the charm of the old games! I'm glad they tried something different for Midnight in Salem, but nothing will beat the originals. My fingers are crossed that the next game will actually work for everyone's computer and they can fix some of the technical issues.
I was introduced to Nancy Drew super early. My first game was “Message in a Haunted Mansion”! I’ve played all of them now, and even though “Last Train” isn’t my favorite, it is the game with my favorite ending! I love the mine cart animation and only having a few seconds to pick what paths to take. My favorite game, though, would be “Shadow at the Water’s Edge”, while my least favorite would be “The Haunting of Castle Malloy”. I did dislike the two you have at the very bottom of your list, but “Castle Malloy” just bothered me. I didn’t like the characters, the puzzles were crazy hard, and the ending was plain dumb.
Hello hi I really enjoyed this video and if anyone hasn't told you yet you're gorgeous And also have good taste in ND games because this was the first tier ranking where I wasn't like "??????? why"
Mmh, I'm one of the rare French guys who played at least 15 games so it means that since I am 8 y.o. (I will be 19 on next April) I haven't played all of these. My favorite would be Legend of the Crystal Skull cuz I would never get enough of playing this game. It is also the first I got on 2009 (I was 8 yo). And my least favorite would be Tomb of the Lost Queen cause the passage to the new interface has been really difficult to admit. Ghost of Thornton Hall maked me love this new interface actually.. Dunno if you played several games on other languages but I've played most of them in English for voice and text, some in French for voice and text and 3 with English voice and French text. What about you ? Did you play at least one game on another langugae. Before I publish my commentary I would like to know what is my english level for you cause I'm making english studies. Merci et à bientôt ! edit : I just noticed that I made a comment from old
I absolutely love Legend of the Crystal Skull! I agree, Tomb of the Lost Queen was difficult to get used to at first because of the new interface but I’ve come to like it after playing several times. I actually studied French for 8 years and would watch gameplay of the French versions to practice my listening and comprehension! I haven’t gotten a chance to play them first hand but they are fun to watch. Your English is very good by the way and much better than my French! Merci d’avoir regardé 💕
I’m currently playing them all live on Twitch every Saturday if you’d like to join! I will be posting some playthroughs to this channel in the future though
I hated Labyrinth of Lies when I first got it and I think I’ve grown to like it more after replaying a few times because I enjoy the puzzles but yeah it’s not the one I grab off my shelf very often
i am SO SO SO SO happy that someone else finally understands my love for legend of the crystal skull and the place it holds in my heart. it’s so fantastic and plus it’s the first game i ever played and i was instantly hooked. i will be playing it when I’m 70 years old lol. but my other favourite games are definitely the final scene and secret of shadow ranch.
Yes!! I know it’s not everyone’s favorite but Crystal Skull is definitely one of my comfort games. We’ll be the cool old grandmas still playing and loving it years from now
That’s my first game too! I didn’t even know there are tutorials and walkthroughs at that time so took me a month to go through! Absolutely love that game though and defo feel like it should be more appreciated
All good choices, Doris! Crystal Skull has a feeling of dread with the constant rain and darkness. The music and atmosphere and places to explore make it a very fun ride!
Blackmoor Manor not at #1 is a crime!!! LOL j/k this video made me realize how many of the more recent games I have yet to play and you've earned a new subscriber!
first game I played was message in a haunted mansion so i would probably put that pretty high, i think my favorites are white wolf, last train to blue moon canyon, and warnings at waverly academy
Can’t complain about this list much at all! Curse of Blackmoor Manor will always be my favorite because of the atmosphere and the fact that it is what introduced me to Nancy Drew. This was super refreshing!
The atmosphere in Blackmoor Manor is fantastic! I love that it was you intro to the series and that you stuck with it. Definitely not one of the easiest of games to get through!
FINALLY someone shares my thoughts on Scarlet Hand. I also found that one so educational that it was dry. The rest of your list is very similar to how I’d rank them except for Waverly Academy. I know it’s a fan favorite but I was actually surprised at how limited the exploration was considering it was a prep school. I thought it was going to be Royal Tower level of exploration but it definitely was not.
mine too yeah on Scarlet Hand Royal Tower level of exploration but it definitely was not true was lost queen thank you im really sorry mark you anymore sukill head or Waverly Academy
Going back and playing The Final Scene - I love how assertive and bold Nancy is in her conversations with suspects. It seems like they toned that down later on 🤔 What do you think?
100% yes!! Her response choices were so strong in the first games especially FIN. The later games give you more options to say but they were not nearly as sassy as the early ones
My favorite #1 ghost dog of moon lake, #2 legend of crystal skull. Last time i played nancy drew legend of crystal skull maybe 2010, but i still remember iggy the iguana, and the doll with BAHZAHLOPAHDEEMOKAH
I agree with this list for the most part, although I think Secret of the Old Clock is overrated. I also LOVE Stay Tuned for Danger and Ghost Dogs...probably my two favorites. Both of those somehow gave you the feeling that you really were solving the mystery, not just clicking through someone else solving it while also doing some puzzles along the way.
I just replayed Stay Tuned for Danger the other day and I totally agree! It didn’t feel like the game was forcing down one path and you could actually solve the mystery outside of the game
I’m playing Sea of Darkness for the first time and as someone who started with the original Nancy drew game (I’m old), I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s so beautiful and the characters are so likable and believable. Makes me want to go to Iceland really bad. Phantom of Venice is another of my favorites and then I think of the classics Treasure in the Royal tower. I haven’t played all the Nancy Drew games though.
Treasure in the Royal Tower was the first game I played and will always be number one in my heart. I just replayed White Wolf for the same exact reasons you mentioned... amazing
Great list! I loveee last train to blue moon canyon, it’s one of my favs too! There was just something about it’s atmosphere & storyline that always stuck out to me! My first intro to ND games was secret of shadow ranch which was a bday gift I will never forget, truly a fav 😊 Message in a haunted mansion never scared me but ghost dogs however..oh man..to this day I have a hard time getting through that game 😅
The ending of that game (when the culprit confronts you while you're in the tank thing) gave me so much anxiety as a kid. I started with that game and I will always love it! But after that first time playing it, I always had to take a break before finishing it because I was always scared of the culprit catching me lol.
My personal fave is definitely Warnings at Waverly Academy. Something about it brings me back to playing it even though I've finished it twice. I think all the puzzles are fun and accurate to a high school lifestyle. And, being a boarding school student, I can confirm that it is accurate in that sense too. I think the plot twist with the twins is amazing!!!
I loved the silent spy but to each their own lol 😂 I love your videos and followed you on twitch it’s hard to find people that play Nancy drew games I love them
I’m so glad you like Silent Spy!! It’s one that I’ve never fully understood the plot of but it’s still really fun to play. So happy you’re part of our Nancy Drew army 💕
5:04 Despite it being about 5 years ago and me being like 11 with zero patience for puzzles, I remember that puzzle being super fun, and it frustrates me why I still can't remember why. Also I agree that Crystal Skull is awesome, the soundtrack and beautifully creepy camera angles & lighting are stunning. I think Deadly Device is one of my (but not my all-time) favorites, partly because it manages to be creepy and stressful without any supernatural elements, partly because of the AMAZING soundtrack, and partly because it actually had some really interesting character studies of scientists and the kind of stuff that has to be done in the name of progress. Wow this comment is even more ADHD than usual for me :P Edit #2- Ok I swear this is the last edit but imo Blackmoor should be in the top 3, I'll take #5 tho. Man I really just gotta upload a ranking vid myself if I have this much to ramble about lmao
Deadly Device and Blackmoor are fantastic choices! I remember being very tense the first time I played Deadly Device so you are spot on with your comment. If you ever do your own ranking video, I would love to see it!
Blasphemy!! Secret of the Scarlet Hand is amazing !! 😂😂 On a serious note though, I’m really Type A, so I loved having a to do list and having to track down all of the pieces of the key to the monolith
Growing up, I watched my older sister play all of these. The only one that I've played myself was just last week I played through Shadow at the Water's Edge to confront my deep seeded fear created by this game when I was younger. I'm making my own video on it but to sum up, I'm definitely not the target audience for these games and yet I still really enjoyed playing though this by myself. Would've been better if one of the two things I actually remembered wasn't who did it. Also was surprised that I got more scared by the mirror scene then any horror game I've played.
my top faves would be blackmoor manor at #1 it's always the one I go back to, the music UGH- and then warnings at Waverly academy and shadow at the water's edge (because of love japan and plan on teaching English there haha) but then it's shadow ranch and last train. after that, a lot of them rank pretty similar to me. I loved the wolf one but I had to replay it 3 times because of a glitch near the end of the game and I finally gave up :(
Silent spy is one of my top favorites to watch. But ghost of Thornton Hall is my number one favorite. Secondly comes Castle Malloy I just love those two games sooooo much. My least favorite is probably shadows at the waters edge that game creeps me out and I hate the puzzles.
Loved remembering all these games! Some of my favorite times with my friends and family. My sisters and I still play these and they’re in college and I’m a full adult 🤔😳
White Wolf was the only game of this series i played, and it was super hard ;-;. Probably because i was, like, only 7 when i started playing it. I wish i had a computer so i can play SEA, I love environments like that.
My list is pretty similar but I'd make two changes and put The Deadly device in top 5 because it's just so unique and fun and I adore it! On my list also The Haunted Carousel takes the very last spot because its the only Nancy Drew game I personally hated and refuse to ever replay.. Which is sad because I'm obsessed with amusemey parks in real life. I am struggling to find anything I like about it which is strange given that a lot of people have it as one of their favorites. Side note..you're super fun to watch. I love your vocabulary, your voice and the explanation for every game was on point.(well minus The haunted carousel but that's just me xD)
Aww thank you! I’m so happy to see Deadly Device get some love! It wasn’t one of my favorites but it really deserves more credit. Haunted Carousel has always been fun to me but I know not everyone would put it high on their list
Ahhh I just finished Curse of Blackmoor Manor. I’m replaying all of the ones I own (SCK - LOCS). Treasure in the Royal Tower is definitely my all time favorite - that one & Haunted Mansion I can solve with no help still to this day. I was actually super surprised to hear your opinion on Wolf of Icicle Creek. Playing it again 13 years later I am reminded why I only played it once the first time 🤣. The puzzles to me were super annoying and didn’t have consistent solving methods (like that darn ice floe...!!!! ). I haven’t played any past Crystal Skull so your reviews gave me a few I’m going to look into. I still lack in my revisit to childhood marathon: Secrets Can Kill, Secret of Old Clock, Ghost Dogs, Creature of Kapu Cave (which I’m now going to play next to get it “over” with because your review reminded me why I wasn’t a big fan of this one either), Danger by Design & Crystal Skull (which I’m saving for my marathon finale!). Thanks for posting!!!!
Finally, someone ranking The Final Scene high! I trend towards caring about the story portion of the mystery the most, so The Final Scene will always be one of my favorites along with The Haunted Carousel (major nostalgia as well)
My top 5 would be: 5 - Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (SO MUCH NOSTALGIA) 4 - Secret at Shadow Ranch (I really love how many locations there are, and I enjoyed the characters a lot) 3 - Haunting of Castle Malloy (ending was meh but the ambience and locations were just 👩🏼🍳 💋) 2 - Treasure in the Royal Tower (Do I NEED to explain?!) 1 - Curse of Blackmoor Manor (One of the best games I have played to date, I can still feel the spooky excitement from trying to find all the ghosts!)
Love your video, but my top 5 would be 1. TRN - same reason, it got the murder mystery vibe, great plot, great characters, great puzzles! 2. SHA - Shadow ranch, could be the wild west or the awesome soundtrack, or just the forbidden love aspect of Dirk and Francis. This one also has great plot. 3. CLK - my first ever game. The Old Clock has all the formula for a light mystery novel, the setting is gorgeous and gameplay is quite fun 4. VEN - The secret agent and working together with police to bring down a crime organization is cool 5. A tie between DDI and CAR both has great soundtrack, great plot, great characters and fun puzzles The worst : CRE. Bad character design. Enough said.
It would be interesting if, for Nancy's 90th Anniversary, Her Interactive announced a game version of the first book "Secret of the Old Clock". Cool video btw. Edit: Nevermind. I never knew they made a game based on the very first book. That's really cool.
Wow, your list is almost identical to mine. Personally, I didn’t feel much love for Warnings at Waverley Academy or Shadow at Water’s Edge though. Might need to play them again 🕵️♀️
YES! Agree 💯 on Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon!! I was telling my wife Keri about it and trying to find a way to play it again now! Thanks for the video and the trip down memory lane!
UPDATE: Finished Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon last night! I thought going back as an adult and playing that it would be simple... Just about got stumped on half of the puzzles LOL Anyways, Keri loved it and we are going to find and play another one today.
AHH I’m so excited for you guys! Yeah Last Train has a lot of puzzles that you could easily get stumped on. So glad she loved it. Hope you have fun with the next one too!
I just beat Crystal Skull like 20 mins ago, in 6 hours, purely out of spite from when I was 10 and couldn't get the courage to go out into the cemetery. My mom couldn't ever finish it either, so im proud of myself. X P
My favorite game is the same as yours! Considering you appreciate soundtracks so much I’m surprised you ranked crystal skull so high. It was a fun game but there were only like 3 good solid songs on the soundtrack.
Yay! I love Last Train so much! I can appreciate the soundtracks but I generally base my favorite games off of story and puzzles and Crystal Skull has always just been a fun game to me. But I do agree that it doesn’t have nearly as many great songs as some of the other games. If I was ranking based on soundtrack alone Sea of Darkness would win every time!
After being inspired by you to marathon the games again, I have completed my marathon and my ranking of the games are as follows: 1) Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon 2) Legend of the Crystal Skull 3) Curse of Blackmoor Manor 4) Secret of the Scarlet Hand 5) The Haunted Carousel 6) Message in a Haunted Mansion 7) Treasure in the Royal Tower 8) Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake 9) Danger on Deception Island 10) The Secret of the Old Clock 11) Secrets Can Kill (Regular and Remastered) 12) The Secret of Shadow Ranch 13) The Captive Curse 14) The Phantom of Venice 15) The Haunting of Castle Malloy 16) Tomb of the Lost Queen 17) Sea of Darkness 18) Shadow at the Water’s Edge 19) Ghost of Thornton Hall 20) Warnings of Waverly Academy 21) The White Wolf of Icicle Creek 22) Danger by Design 23) The Final Scene 24) Alibi in Ashes 25) Stay Tuned for Danger 26) The Silent Spy 27) The Deadly Device 28) The Shattered Medallion 29) Labyrinth of Lies 30) Trail of the Twister 31) Ransom of the Seven Ships 32) The Creature of Kapu Cave 33) Midnight in Salem
Okay. 1.ghost of Thornton Hall 2. Castle Malloy 3. Alibi 4. Crystal Skull 5. Message in a Haunted Mansion 6. Blackmoor Manor 7. Silent Spy 8. Last train 9. Ghost Dogs 10. White Wolf 11. Old clock 12. Waverly 13. Tomb 14. Kapu 15. Treasure in a royal tower 16. Final Scene 17. Shadow ranch 18. Danger by Design 19. Phantom 20. Haunted Carousel 21. Deception Island 22. Stay Tuned for Danger 23. Trail of Twister 24. Ransom 25. Captive 26. Scarlet 27. Shattered (don't like this game at all but I didnt know where to rank it.) 28. Deadly Device 29. Sea of Darkness 30. Labyrinth 31. Secrets Can Kill 32. Shadows at the Waters Edge 33. Salem (Awful game in my opinion)
Thank you so much for the great video Nina! I'm about to start playing through all of them as well! Since you already have... would you mind...please telling me which ones has anything paranormal in them? Those creep me out too much and would like to avoid buying those ones... Much appreciated if you could!! 🙏💓
That’s so exciting! Nancy is notorious for being skeptical and finding a non-supernatural explanation for hauntings etc. but if you still want to avoid “ghosts” here are the ones that have them off the top of my head - Message in a Haunted Mansion, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, Haunting of Castle Malloy, Shadow at the Water’s Edge, Ghost of Thornton Hall, and Midnight in Salem. Hope this helps and happy sleuthing! 🔍
Ahh The Final Scene was my first gateway game into the Nancy Drew series when I was a kid too! The ending also just shocked me completely. But can we talk about the scene when your trying to grab the gear? Yeah that traumatized me as a child.
I cannot tell you how much I agree with your 5 lower ranked games. Those were all, in my opinion, not great games. The Shattered Medallion is definitely the worst, hands down. My top 5 are Shadow Ranch, Deception Island, Last Train, Haunted Carousel, and Royal Tower. Not in that order, though...I honestly don't know if I could rank those 5, they're all so good! Also, I agree that Alibi in Ashes was a great the game, despite the far-fetchedness of Nancy's arrest. It was a real fun game, and it was kind of refreshing to see that Nancy is not liked by a lot of people in her hometown. Anyway, thanks so much for making this video! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your opinions!
Still have yet to play the newer games. Just got a new windows laptop so I have access to the games that I bought via big fish games again, and a lot of games are also on there that I see that I have NOT played. I've downloaded two of them so far. It's been SO LONG that I don't remember who the culprits are!!! The first one I ever played (via CD-ROM back in the day) was message in a haunted mansion. That was the second one I redownloaded. The first one I redownloaded? White Wolf of Icicle Creek. Weird and twisted story: I have epilepsy and the first occurance of what I now know is called a Focal Aware seizure was a 'dejavu' moment where I was mentally inside a nancy drew game. THAT was the game. Like I was going up the steps at that inn. This was over 7 years ago . (lord only knows how long I'd been having seizures before that and didn't realize the other symptoms at the time). Bizarre. (It also doesn't necessarily help that i worked at summer camp and we all had camp names... the name of one of the people I worked with for three summers and still am in contact with? White Wolf. Oh, the irony I just made THAT connection.) When I have time I want to play the games again. Also thoroughly enjoyed waverly academy. Also just did my first ever escape room and I give complete credence to your #1 pick as helping me figure out putting pipes together in a puzzle in that room to funnel something from a "sinking ship on lake superior" (Thank you Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie computer games in general as well for the morse code puzzle. I was very much a follower and just did what I was directed to do.)
That’s so interesting! Love hearing everyone’s experience with the games. Hope you enjoy getting to play the ones you haven’t yet! They’re all so much fun 🔎😆
Message in the haunted mansion was like a fever dream for me!! All I remember is heading into the basement as a kid and me and my sister couldn't stand how scared we were so we just completely stopped playing. I tried playing it when I was older but the disc was no longer compatible with the computer. So here I am, trying to figure out which game to start from.
Love your list! I like Ghost Dogs and some of the others a lot more than you do!🤣I love that other people love Nancy Drew games as much as I do! Also, your shirt is so cute!
Finally, someone who agrees with me about Secret of the Scarlet Hand! I was a child without internet who got softlocked with the Prudence call and I will forever resent the game for softlocking children. Look at a magazine after Joanna is arrested? Well, now you lose. I agree it was way to education-heavy. It might have been able to get away with it had it been in English, but that many chores in a language most players definitely don't speak, not cool at all.
My favorite is danger on deception island! I got it for my 10th birthday ( I’m 30 now) and I loved it so much now I want to play it again ! I haven’t played any of the newer ones but I’m looking forward to playing them
Haven't played most of the Nancy Drew Games. Grew up playing the first 6 or so. Just started to get them in order to replay the older ones and play the new ones. Just wanting to hype myself up for the ones I haven't played before. Have great memories of playing Haunted Mansion and Royal Tower in the middle of the night. Some good times and great scares lol. Looking forward to some of the other scary games.
Thank you for this! I've been so interested in the Nancy Drew games but so many people have rated them so randomly on Amazon that it was next to impossible for me to figure out which one I should try out!
This series is very near and dear to my heart so I’m so excited that you’re interested in getting into them! Everyone has a different take on each game so it really depends on your play style. I hope you enjoy whichever one you pick to start with!
I’ve been playing Nancy Drew games since before I can remember..I grew up with them and I’ve always loved them so much. A lot of people I know think I’m weird but the shattered medallion and the captive curse and the ghost dogs of moon lake and midnight in Salem will always be my favorites
There’s nothing weird about that! Shattered Medallion has Sonny Joon, Captive Curse is beautiful, Ghost Dogs is one of the OG creepy games, and Midnight in Salem is a fresh take on Nancy. So I’m so happy those are your favorites! Having a different opinion definitely does not make you weird (and if it does we weird people gotta stick together 😉)
It’s so awesome how the Nancy Drew community can share the same passion for the games and stories yet have such different opinions and respect each other!
For example - my favourite game by a mile is the Silent Spy, for the sole reason that it left me feeling so raw and emotional. There are lots of loose ends, yes, but I think it accurately tackles a very real threat of malicious people infiltrating security groups. The emotion and the fact that the story is so closely tied to Nancy made me feel incredibly hooked and emotionally tied to the decisions I was making. I also love the contrast between a sinister villain and a bright, sunny location. I love alibi in ashes for the same reason! Thank you for making this video - I loved watching what you had to say!
So true! I absolutely love your take on Silent Spy. It is an emotional game for sure and I’m so glad that you can look past the loose ends and actually enjoy the story
I agree! My favorite is the treasure in the royal tower! Each Nancy Drew game has its own charm and that is what makes this series so special :)
The first one I played was White Wolf at Icicle Creek, my grandma got for me. Its a cozy game for sure it does make me want to grab a blanket and tea whenever I go back to it!
Literally want to play it anytime the temperature drops slightly 😂
Shadow at water’s edge was the scariest for me - and Alibi in Ashes is one of my faves! Although, i began having 24/7 cravings of ice cream after playing 😂
The ice cream in Alibi always looks delicious!!
@@NinaStruggles me too love it that ice cream we do hay
I think I have to put shadow at the waters edge at #1. I just loved the vibe
Such a great atmosphere!
At least Midnight in Sale is easy. You can just add it in, in the #33 spot, without having to redo the whole video.
Hahaha this is so true it hurts
Unfortunately that is true.
The graphics are only good on High quality yet the voices trail by several seconds on high quality and are only decent on low quality. The music isn't even that great, the puzzles are non-existent (That first labyrinth was easier than those mazes on kids menus at restaurants), historically, it could have been a lot better about teaching about the trials, and it was generally a non great game
@@Jcat_Nguy23 My Mac is decent enough where the voices match up around 85% of the time on high graphics, and I was able to enjoy it a little more than others, so it’s not the worst game to me, but is nowhere near the best
LOVE this. This is probably the closest Nancy ranking I've seen to mine. Last Train was my first ever Nancy Drew game so it is close to my heart :)
You straight up hit the Nancy Drew jackpot on your first game!
I’m glad to know I’m not alone in my love for Nancy Drew! I used to spend all my time on the Her Interactive message boards.
Same! I would come home from school and immediately get on the message boards
I love your list!! The Final Scene was my first one too.
Yay twinsies! I was immediately hooked after playing that one
There were some one your list I'd switch around on mine but yours is fairly close to mine. I too also love that everyone has different opinions on which games they like. There is no wrong answer when it comes to which ND games are your favs and I love that about the series.
Mine was Danger on Deception Island. It came in a pack of games with like hello Kitty and stuff (I never touched the hello Kitty Because I was much more mature than that)
Great list! Blue moon canyon is one of my all time favorites too, as well as shadow at the waters edge, deadly device, and royal tower. I have never played crystal skull so I guess I should try it!
You should try it! It’s a similar feel to the ones you’ve listed too
33 Stay tuned for danger
32 The phantom of Venice
31 The silent spy
30 Sea of darkness
29 The captive curse
28 Message in a haunted mansion
27 Curse of Blackmoor manor
26 Danger on deception island
25 The shattered medallion
24 Midnight in Salem
23 The final scene
22 Labyrinth of lies
21 Tomb of the lost queen
20 Secrets can kill
19 The haunted carousel
18 Ransom of the seven ships
17 Danger by design
16 Alibi in ashes
15 The creature of kapu cave
14 Trail of the twister
13 The secret of the old clock
12 Warnings at waverly academy
11 Secret of the scarlet hand
10 The deadly device
9 Legend of the crystal skull
8. Treasure in a royal tower
7. Last train to blue moon canyon
6. White wolf of icicle creek
5. The haunting of castle Malloy
4. Shadow at the waters edge
3. Ghost dogs of moon lake
2. Ghost of Thornton hall
1. The secret of shadow ranch
Currently stuck at home with covid, really appreciating your ranking so I don't go buying games on steam completely blind!
Oh noooo the silent spy is my favorite 😂😭
It’s such a pretty game!! Good choice 😉
Message in a Haunted Mansion still scares me too!!
It’s honestly one of the most terrifying things I’ve experienced in my life
I am just getting into Nancy Drew, but I will always love Icicle Creek Lodge. Its the nostalgia it has.... and i just love snow!!! I just get so many feels AND I DIDNT EVEN FINISH IT LMAO-
I wont be able to play these sadly, so I am going to watch some playthroughs!
Nancy Drew, the Sims, Nostalgic videos, and you have a Clue inspired name? You're awesome!!!
And two of my favorites are the top two!! Yes!! 😆😆😆
My top (in no order) is Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, The Haunted Carousel, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, Warnings at Waverly Academy, The Final Scene, Curse of Blackoor Manor, and Secret of Shadow Ranch.
Ghost Dogs was my introduction and holds a very special place in my heart. Shadow at Water's Edge while has its moments... we didn't much like it. Part of our love of the Nancy Drew games are the puzzles and being forced to do a puzzle like the renogram(?) THAT many times is exhausting. Call me crazy, but I'll take a sliding puzzle over them any day
What I must note is that a common theme in my favourite/preferred games is ghosts so take that for what you will (still can't save Shadow at Water's Edge... that's pretty low on our list).
Currently we're replying the games also (not in order) and the drama between Nancy and Ned is /so/ annoying, I agree entirely with your assessment on that one.
I feel the exact same way about the puzzles in Shadow at the Waters Edge. The nonogram puzzle at the end kills me every time. And yes I am so bad at slider puzzles but I would much rather do that. I hope you have a ton fun on your replays (and that Ned and Nancy don’t cause too much drama for you haha)!!
I'm close to New Orleans I just moved to southern Mississippi and always loved Chrystal skull!!! Blue moon canyon is another one I would recommend someone to start with!y starting one was danger on deception island !
That's so cool! Crystal Skull has that Louisiana vibe for sure. Deception Island is also a great one to start with
You are so sweet! I love your excitement for these games. Also I love your username!
You’re so sweet for saying so! And I love people that understand the username
also i love dexter!! “bye kiddo” love that he says that haha
Thanks for this great video and insightful pointers about each game. I’m glad to hear your review of ALL the games in the series. I own about 95% of them including the latest “Midnight In Salem”, but have yet to play several of them. I started with the original one because I’m that OLD- lol. I’m curious if you own the actual disc/software of each and what type of computer you play these on? I seem to recall that the older games in the series require a special type of download to be able to run them? I’d love to revisit some of those but don’t know if I can still get them to work? 😉
Yeah I have all of my games on the original disks! I’m still able to play all of them on Windows 10, no software needed. (I’m not sure but I think you do need software to run them on Mac)
@@NinaStruggles great, will try them on my laptop soon! 👌🏻
My first Nancy Drew game was The Crystal Skull a decade ago. I have still yet to finish it lol. The Curse of Blackmoor Manor was my second, bought at the same time as the first. I have yet to complete that one too lol. My third, and only other played Nancy Drew game, is Ghost of Thornton Hall. It's the only one I've ever finished. Oh, and I always wanted the Carousel one when I was younger!
You picked some really good ones to start with!! I hope you get to finish them one day cause those 2 specifically have great endings. And you should totally try out The Haunted Carousel too!
I think Midnight in Salem just missed what works about Nancy Drew Games. I always thought the photorealistic slideshow-like graphics and corny sound effects were really charming. Something about choppy animatics makes it feel like a real mystery, whereas with this game it fails to even fit the standard for generic Steam game #234246667.
I also think it missed what worked about computer games because it literally doesn't work on 99% of computers. It's just too epic for most computers to handle
I totally agree, I love the charm of the old games! I'm glad they tried something different for Midnight in Salem, but nothing will beat the originals. My fingers are crossed that the next game will actually work for everyone's computer and they can fix some of the technical issues.
I was introduced to Nancy Drew super early. My first game was “Message in a Haunted Mansion”! I’ve played all of them now, and even though “Last Train” isn’t my favorite, it is the game with my favorite ending! I love the mine cart animation and only having a few seconds to pick what paths to take. My favorite game, though, would be “Shadow at the Water’s Edge”, while my least favorite would be “The Haunting of Castle Malloy”. I did dislike the two you have at the very bottom of your list, but “Castle Malloy” just bothered me. I didn’t like the characters, the puzzles were crazy hard, and the ending was plain dumb.
I still get giddy during the cart animation in Last Train!
@@NinaStruggles I know, right?! It’s SO much fun! 😄
*Sees that Last Train is #1*
You have taste!
And clearly that means you have great taste as well 💕
@@NinaStruggles Last Train is so underrated.
Hello hi I really enjoyed this video and if anyone hasn't told you yet you're gorgeous
And also have good taste in ND games because this was the first tier ranking where I wasn't like "??????? why"
We have verrrry similar taste in nancy drew games!
Mmh, I'm one of the rare French guys who played at least 15 games so it means that since I am 8 y.o. (I will be 19 on next April) I haven't played all of these.
My favorite would be Legend of the Crystal Skull cuz I would never get enough of playing this game. It is also the first I got on 2009 (I was 8 yo).
And my least favorite would be Tomb of the Lost Queen cause the passage to the new interface has been really difficult to admit. Ghost of Thornton Hall maked me love this new interface actually..
Dunno if you played several games on other languages but I've played most of them in English for voice and text, some in French for voice and text and 3 with English voice and French text. What about you ? Did you play at least one game on another langugae.
Before I publish my commentary I would like to know what is my english level for you cause I'm making english studies.
Merci et à bientôt !
edit : I just noticed that I made a comment from old
I absolutely love Legend of the Crystal Skull! I agree, Tomb of the Lost Queen was difficult to get used to at first because of the new interface but I’ve come to like it after playing several times. I actually studied French for 8 years and would watch gameplay of the French versions to practice my listening and comprehension! I haven’t gotten a chance to play them first hand but they are fun to watch. Your English is very good by the way and much better than my French! Merci d’avoir regardé 💕
Sea of darkness is #1 on my list! I just think it’s story is great.
That game is the definition of beautiful!
Are you going do walkthrough of some of the nancy drew games ?
I’m currently playing them all live on Twitch every Saturday if you’d like to join! I will be posting some playthroughs to this channel in the future though
@@NinaStruggles I wood love to but Twitch work little for me 😔
The Final Scene was my first game too
Yay!! It’s such a great story to start with
Secrets can Kill!
I prefer The Shattered Medallion over Labyrinth of Lies. I have no desire to replay Labyrinth at all.
I hated Labyrinth of Lies when I first got it and I think I’ve grown to like it more after replaying a few times because I enjoy the puzzles but yeah it’s not the one I grab off my shelf very often
Why is Message in a Haunted Mansion so low though lol?
This was like picking my favorite child and I love MHM so much but it had to be done 😞
i am SO SO SO SO happy that someone else finally understands my love for legend of the crystal skull and the place it holds in my heart. it’s so fantastic and plus it’s the first game i ever played and i was instantly hooked. i will be playing it when I’m 70 years old lol. but my other favourite games are definitely the final scene and secret of shadow ranch.
Yes!! I know it’s not everyone’s favorite but Crystal Skull is definitely one of my comfort games. We’ll be the cool old grandmas still playing and loving it years from now
That’s my first game too! I didn’t even know there are tutorials and walkthroughs at that time so took me a month to go through! Absolutely love that game though and defo feel like it should be more appreciated
All good choices, Doris! Crystal Skull has a feeling of dread with the constant rain and darkness. The music and atmosphere and places to explore make it a very fun ride!
Blackmoor Manor not at #1 is a crime!!! LOL j/k this video made me realize how many of the more recent games I have yet to play and you've earned a new subscriber!
Haha Blackmoor was my #1 at one point in my life and I still love replaying it. And yes definitely go try some of the newer games!
first game I played was message in a haunted mansion so i would probably put that pretty high, i think my favorites are white wolf, last train to blue moon canyon, and warnings at waverly academy
Those are all so fun! Message in a Haunted Mansion is a nostalgic one for me too
That was mine too! My best friend got it and was too scared to play.
Can’t complain about this list much at all! Curse of Blackmoor Manor will always be my favorite because of the atmosphere and the fact that it is what introduced me to Nancy Drew. This was super refreshing!
The atmosphere in Blackmoor Manor is fantastic! I love that it was you intro to the series and that you stuck with it. Definitely not one of the easiest of games to get through!
FINALLY someone shares my thoughts on Scarlet Hand. I also found that one so educational that it was dry. The rest of your list is very similar to how I’d rank them except for Waverly Academy. I know it’s a fan favorite but I was actually surprised at how limited the exploration was considering it was a prep school. I thought it was going to be Royal Tower level of exploration but it definitely was not.
Yes Royal Tower’s exploration is amazing!
mine too yeah on Scarlet Hand Royal Tower level of exploration but it definitely was not true was lost queen thank you im really sorry mark you anymore sukill head or Waverly Academy
Going back and playing The Final Scene - I love how assertive and bold Nancy is in her conversations with suspects. It seems like they toned that down later on 🤔 What do you think?
100% yes!! Her response choices were so strong in the first games especially FIN. The later games give you more options to say but they were not nearly as sassy as the early ones
I love your list! The Secret of Shadow Ranch will always hold a special place in my heart
Yaass so happy to see Shadow Ranch get some love!
And I think my top is from Cotton On ;)
Captive Curse, after just finishing, is pretty awesome! Would definitely place that higher 🙌
LOVE the atmosphere in Captive Curse!
My favorite #1 ghost dog of moon lake, #2 legend of crystal skull. Last time i played nancy drew legend of crystal skull maybe 2010, but i still remember iggy the iguana, and the doll with BAHZAHLOPAHDEEMOKAH
Yay Ghost Dogs is getting some love! And it makes me so happy that the thing you remember about Crystal Skull is the answer to the voodoo puzzle 😂
I agree with this list for the most part, although I think Secret of the Old Clock is overrated. I also LOVE Stay Tuned for Danger and Ghost Dogs...probably my two favorites. Both of those somehow gave you the feeling that you really were solving the mystery, not just clicking through someone else solving it while also doing some puzzles along the way.
I just replayed Stay Tuned for Danger the other day and I totally agree! It didn’t feel like the game was forcing down one path and you could actually solve the mystery outside of the game
I loved the last train, it was the very first nancy drew game I ever played. So it holds a very special place in my heart
That’s so awesome that you got to start with one of the best! That game is so beautiful
mine too same thing your mine to mine too played ago my heart mine too
It wasn’t my first, but it’s definitely my favourite
@@andrewjerome6573 I'm with you there!
I’m playing Sea of Darkness for the first time and as someone who started with the original Nancy drew game (I’m old), I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s so beautiful and the characters are so likable and believable. Makes me want to go to Iceland really bad. Phantom of Venice is another of my favorites and then I think of the classics Treasure in the Royal tower. I haven’t played all the Nancy Drew games though.
Sea of Darkness is absolutely gorgeous!
I would suggest secrets at shadow ranch and warning at Waverly academy! Those are some of my favs!
Great video! Keep making more - this community needs more voices :-)
Treasure in the Royal Tower was the first game I played and will always be number one in my heart. I just replayed White Wolf for the same exact reasons you mentioned... amazing
Treasure in the Royal Tower is so insanely gorgeous. I’m also thinking about pulling out White Wolf this week for some cozy game time!
Great list! I loveee last train to blue moon canyon, it’s one of my favs too! There was just something about it’s atmosphere & storyline that always stuck out to me! My first intro to ND games was secret of shadow ranch which was a bday gift I will never forget, truly a fav 😊 Message in a haunted mansion never scared me but ghost dogs however..oh man..to this day I have a hard time getting through that game 😅
Oh yes the opening of Ghost Dogs was terrifying the first time I played
Yes super scary! Also just having to navigate through the dark woods & cemetery ..just the whole atmosphere of the game was so eerie 😖
The ending of that game (when the culprit confronts you while you're in the tank thing) gave me so much anxiety as a kid. I started with that game and I will always love it! But after that first time playing it, I always had to take a break before finishing it because I was always scared of the culprit catching me lol.
Kamiko Kourteva yes that was a very scary ending! 😰
My personal fave is definitely Warnings at Waverly Academy. Something about it brings me back to playing it even though I've finished it twice. I think all the puzzles are fun and accurate to a high school lifestyle. And, being a boarding school student, I can confirm that it is accurate in that sense too. I think the plot twist with the twins is amazing!!!
I just replayed it the other day! I love the school atmosphere and of course I’ll never get over that twist
I loved the silent spy but to each their own lol 😂 I love your videos and followed you on twitch it’s hard to find people that play Nancy drew games I love them
I’m so glad you like Silent Spy!! It’s one that I’ve never fully understood the plot of but it’s still really fun to play. So happy you’re part of our Nancy Drew army 💕
5:04 Despite it being about 5 years ago and me being like 11 with zero patience for puzzles, I remember that puzzle being super fun, and it frustrates me why I still can't remember why.
Also I agree that Crystal Skull is awesome, the soundtrack and beautifully creepy camera angles & lighting are stunning. I think Deadly Device is one of my (but not my all-time) favorites, partly because it manages to be creepy and stressful without any supernatural elements, partly because of the AMAZING soundtrack, and partly because it actually had some really interesting character studies of scientists and the kind of stuff that has to be done in the name of progress. Wow this comment is even more ADHD than usual for me :P
Edit #2- Ok I swear this is the last edit but imo Blackmoor should be in the top 3, I'll take #5 tho. Man I really just gotta upload a ranking vid myself if I have this much to ramble about lmao
Deadly Device and Blackmoor are fantastic choices! I remember being very tense the first time I played Deadly Device so you are spot on with your comment. If you ever do your own ranking video, I would love to see it!
Blasphemy!! Secret of the Scarlet Hand is amazing !! 😂😂 On a serious note though, I’m really Type A, so I loved having a to do list and having to track down all of the pieces of the key to the monolith
I love that you enjoyed it so much! Checking off tasks in that game is very satisfying
The Final Scene was also my first Nancy Drew game I played!
YAASS! It’s such a great one to start with
Growing up, I watched my older sister play all of these. The only one that I've played myself was just last week I played through Shadow at the Water's Edge to confront my deep seeded fear created by this game when I was younger. I'm making my own video on it but to sum up, I'm definitely not the target audience for these games and yet I still really enjoyed playing though this by myself. Would've been better if one of the two things I actually remembered wasn't who did it. Also was surprised that I got more scared by the mirror scene then any horror game I've played.
That’s awesome!! And yeah that mirror scene is no joke. Definitely still scarred from the first time I played
my top faves would be blackmoor manor at #1 it's always the one I go back to, the music UGH- and then warnings at Waverly academy and shadow at the water's edge (because of love japan and plan on teaching English there haha) but then it's shadow ranch and last train. after that, a lot of them rank pretty similar to me. I loved the wolf one but I had to replay it 3 times because of a glitch near the end of the game and I finally gave up :(
Those are great picks! The atmosphere Shadow at the Water’s Edge is gorgeous
Silent spy is one of my top favorites to watch. But ghost of Thornton Hall is my number one favorite. Secondly comes Castle Malloy I just love those two games sooooo much. My least favorite is probably shadows at the waters edge that game creeps me out and I hate the puzzles.
Loved remembering all these games! Some of my favorite times with my friends and family. My sisters and I still play these and they’re in college and I’m a full adult 🤔😳
I love that! You’re never too old for Nancy Drew 💕
I will never complain about puzzle heavy Nancy Drew games again after playing Midnight in Salem.
So true!
Ha! The Scarlet Hand is one of my favorites!
White Wolf was the only game of this series i played, and it was super hard ;-;. Probably because i was, like, only 7 when i started playing it. I wish i had a computer so i can play SEA, I love environments like that.
My favs are shadow at the water’s edge, last train to blue moon canyon, and ghost of Thornton hall,
All so good!!
or Waverly Academy secret of clock of Shadow Ranch 😂🤩💟😘 ess thank you soul much
My list is pretty similar but I'd make two changes and put The Deadly device in top 5 because it's just so unique and fun and I adore it! On my list also The Haunted Carousel takes the very last spot because its the only Nancy Drew game I personally hated and refuse to ever replay.. Which is sad because I'm obsessed with amusemey parks in real life. I am struggling to find anything I like about it which is strange given that a lot of people have it as one of their favorites.
Side note..you're super fun to watch. I love your vocabulary, your voice and the explanation for every game was on point.(well minus The haunted carousel but that's just me xD)
Aww thank you! I’m so happy to see Deadly Device get some love! It wasn’t one of my favorites but it really deserves more credit. Haunted Carousel has always been fun to me but I know not everyone would put it high on their list
Ahhh I just finished Curse of Blackmoor Manor. I’m replaying all of the ones I own (SCK - LOCS). Treasure in the Royal Tower is definitely my all time favorite - that one & Haunted Mansion I can solve with no help still to this day. I was actually super surprised to hear your opinion on Wolf of Icicle Creek. Playing it again 13 years later I am reminded why I only played it once the first time 🤣. The puzzles to me were super annoying and didn’t have consistent solving methods (like that darn ice floe...!!!! ). I haven’t played any past Crystal Skull so your reviews gave me a few I’m going to look into. I still lack in my revisit to childhood marathon: Secrets Can Kill, Secret of Old Clock, Ghost Dogs, Creature of Kapu Cave (which I’m now going to play next to get it “over” with because your review reminded me why I wasn’t a big fan of this one either), Danger by Design & Crystal Skull (which I’m saving for my marathon finale!).
Thanks for posting!!!!
Love that you’re doing a marathon! I hope you get to try out and enjoy some of the newer ones too
Finally, someone ranking The Final Scene high! I trend towards caring about the story portion of the mystery the most, so The Final Scene will always be one of my favorites along with The Haunted Carousel (major nostalgia as well)
My top 5 would be:
5 - Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (SO MUCH NOSTALGIA)
4 - Secret at Shadow Ranch (I really love how many locations there are, and I enjoyed the characters a lot)
3 - Haunting of Castle Malloy (ending was meh but the ambience and locations were just 👩🏼🍳 💋)
2 - Treasure in the Royal Tower (Do I NEED to explain?!)
1 - Curse of Blackmoor Manor (One of the best games I have played to date, I can still feel the spooky excitement from trying to find all the ghosts!)
Love your video, but my top 5 would be
1. TRN - same reason, it got the murder mystery vibe, great plot, great characters, great puzzles!
2. SHA - Shadow ranch, could be the wild west or the awesome soundtrack, or just the forbidden love aspect of Dirk and Francis. This one also has great plot.
3. CLK - my first ever game. The Old Clock has all the formula for a light mystery novel, the setting is gorgeous and gameplay is quite fun
4. VEN - The secret agent and working together with police to bring down a crime organization is cool
5. A tie between DDI and CAR both has great soundtrack, great plot, great characters and fun puzzles
The worst : CRE. Bad character design. Enough said.
So happy you made this!! I've been playing these since I was young too.
This is what I'm doing with my quarantine lol
Aw yay!! That’s the best way to spend quarantine time 💕
Shattered Medallion is at the bottom of most people's list.
i've been looking for someone to rank nancy drew games, you're amazing this has made my whole month
Aww yay! I’m so glad you found the video 💕
It would be interesting if, for Nancy's 90th Anniversary, Her Interactive announced a game version of the first book "Secret of the Old Clock". Cool video btw. Edit: Nevermind. I never knew they made a game based on the very first book. That's really cool.
Yes! A lot of the games take elements from the books but I would love to see an exact game replica of one of the classics
The Ned/Nancy drama was ok in Sea of Darkness I will say.
Wow, your list is almost identical to mine. Personally, I didn’t feel much love for Warnings at Waverley Academy or Shadow at Water’s Edge though. Might need to play them again 🕵️♀️
YES! Agree 💯 on Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon!! I was telling my wife Keri about it and trying to find a way to play it again now! Thanks for the video and the trip down memory lane!
UPDATE: Finished Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon last night! I thought going back as an adult and playing that it would be simple... Just about got stumped on half of the puzzles LOL Anyways, Keri loved it and we are going to find and play another one today.
AHH I’m so excited for you guys! Yeah Last Train has a lot of puzzles that you could easily get stumped on. So glad she loved it. Hope you have fun with the next one too!
I love this, you should add background music next time!! When you're describing the games :)
I love this idea! Great list, you put them in a good order. I agree with it, mostly.
Also, I agree so much on the top game. It's just so well done!
I just beat Crystal Skull like 20 mins ago, in 6 hours, purely out of spite from when I was 10 and couldn't get the courage to go out into the cemetery.
My mom couldn't ever finish it either, so im proud of myself. X P
AHHH yay!! I’m proud of you too! That game is so creepy
My favorite game is the same as yours! Considering you appreciate soundtracks so much I’m surprised you ranked crystal skull so high. It was a fun game but there were only like 3 good solid songs on the soundtrack.
Yay! I love Last Train so much! I can appreciate the soundtracks but I generally base my favorite games off of story and puzzles and Crystal Skull has always just been a fun game to me. But I do agree that it doesn’t have nearly as many great songs as some of the other games. If I was ranking based on soundtrack alone Sea of Darkness would win every time!
This freaking rules!! Thank you for this!
After being inspired by you to marathon the games again, I have completed my marathon and my ranking of the games are as follows:
1) Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
2) Legend of the Crystal Skull
3) Curse of Blackmoor Manor
4) Secret of the Scarlet Hand
5) The Haunted Carousel
6) Message in a Haunted Mansion
7) Treasure in the Royal Tower
8) Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
9) Danger on Deception Island
10) The Secret of the Old Clock
11) Secrets Can Kill (Regular and Remastered)
12) The Secret of Shadow Ranch
13) The Captive Curse
14) The Phantom of Venice
15) The Haunting of Castle Malloy
16) Tomb of the Lost Queen
17) Sea of Darkness
18) Shadow at the Water’s Edge
19) Ghost of Thornton Hall
20) Warnings of Waverly Academy
21) The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
22) Danger by Design
23) The Final Scene
24) Alibi in Ashes
25) Stay Tuned for Danger
26) The Silent Spy
27) The Deadly Device
28) The Shattered Medallion
29) Labyrinth of Lies
30) Trail of the Twister
31) Ransom of the Seven Ships
32) The Creature of Kapu Cave
33) Midnight in Salem
I love this so much!!
last train to blue moon canyon will always be my favorite 🥹💙
Okay.
1.ghost of Thornton Hall
2. Castle Malloy
3. Alibi
4. Crystal Skull
5. Message in a Haunted Mansion
6. Blackmoor Manor
7. Silent Spy
8. Last train
9. Ghost Dogs
10. White Wolf
11. Old clock
12. Waverly
13. Tomb
14. Kapu
15. Treasure in a royal tower
16. Final Scene
17. Shadow ranch
18. Danger by Design
19. Phantom
20. Haunted Carousel
21. Deception Island
22. Stay Tuned for Danger
23. Trail of Twister
24. Ransom
25. Captive
26. Scarlet
27. Shattered (don't like this game at all but I didnt know where to rank it.)
28. Deadly Device
29. Sea of Darkness
30. Labyrinth
31. Secrets Can Kill
32. Shadows at the Waters Edge
33. Salem (Awful game in my opinion)
Great list!
Thank you so much for the great video Nina! I'm about to start playing through all of them as well! Since you already have... would you mind...please telling me which ones has anything paranormal in them? Those creep me out too much and would like to avoid buying those ones... Much appreciated if you could!! 🙏💓
That’s so exciting! Nancy is notorious for being skeptical and finding a non-supernatural explanation for hauntings etc. but if you still want to avoid “ghosts” here are the ones that have them off the top of my head - Message in a Haunted Mansion, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, Haunting of Castle Malloy, Shadow at the Water’s Edge, Ghost of Thornton Hall, and Midnight in Salem. Hope this helps and happy sleuthing! 🔍
Ahh The Final Scene was my first gateway game into the Nancy Drew series when I was a kid too! The ending also just shocked me completely. But can we talk about the scene when your trying to grab the gear? Yeah that traumatized me as a child.
Haha grabbing the gear is still one of my favorite ND moments 😂 The ending definitely traumatized me as a kid though
I cannot tell you how much I agree with your 5 lower ranked games. Those were all, in my opinion, not great games. The Shattered Medallion is definitely the worst, hands down. My top 5 are Shadow Ranch, Deception Island, Last Train, Haunted Carousel, and Royal Tower. Not in that order, though...I honestly don't know if I could rank those 5, they're all so good! Also, I agree that Alibi in Ashes was a great the game, despite the far-fetchedness of Nancy's arrest. It was a real fun game, and it was kind of refreshing to see that Nancy is not liked by a lot of people in her hometown. Anyway, thanks so much for making this video! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your opinions!
Ooo great top 5 picks!
Still have yet to play the newer games. Just got a new windows laptop so I have access to the games that I bought via big fish games again, and a lot of games are also on there that I see that I have NOT played. I've downloaded two of them so far. It's been SO LONG that I don't remember who the culprits are!!! The first one I ever played (via CD-ROM back in the day) was message in a haunted mansion. That was the second one I redownloaded. The first one I redownloaded? White Wolf of Icicle Creek. Weird and twisted story: I have epilepsy and the first occurance of what I now know is called a Focal Aware seizure was a 'dejavu' moment where I was mentally inside a nancy drew game. THAT was the game. Like I was going up the steps at that inn. This was over 7 years ago . (lord only knows how long I'd been having seizures before that and didn't realize the other symptoms at the time). Bizarre. (It also doesn't necessarily help that i worked at summer camp and we all had camp names... the name of one of the people I worked with for three summers and still am in contact with? White Wolf. Oh, the irony I just made THAT connection.) When I have time I want to play the games again. Also thoroughly enjoyed waverly academy. Also just did my first ever escape room and I give complete credence to your #1 pick as helping me figure out putting pipes together in a puzzle in that room to funnel something from a "sinking ship on lake superior" (Thank you Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie computer games in general as well for the morse code puzzle. I was very much a follower and just did what I was directed to do.)
That’s so interesting! Love hearing everyone’s experience with the games. Hope you enjoy getting to play the ones you haven’t yet! They’re all so much fun 🔎😆
Message in the haunted mansion was like a fever dream for me!! All I remember is heading into the basement as a kid and me and my sister couldn't stand how scared we were so we just completely stopped playing. I tried playing it when I was older but the disc was no longer compatible with the computer. So here I am, trying to figure out which game to start from.
Oh yes the basement in Message in a Haunted Mansion was the stuff of nightmares for me as a kid so I don’t blame you one bit!
Love your list! I like Ghost Dogs and some of the others a lot more than you do!🤣I love that other people love Nancy Drew games as much as I do! Also, your shirt is so cute!
Aww thank you! Ghost Dogs is fantastic and I’m so glad other people would rank it higher because honestly it deserves the love
Got a copy of White Wolf for Christmas... it's January... I think I know what I'm doing on my next day off.
Absolutely!! Perfect winter day off
@@NinaStruggles update - it was excellent! Played it over a couple days with my sister.
Aww that makes my heart so happy! I’m glad you enjoyed it and got to share it with your sister
Finally, someone who agrees with me about Secret of the Scarlet Hand! I was a child without internet who got softlocked with the Prudence call and I will forever resent the game for softlocking children. Look at a magazine after Joanna is arrested? Well, now you lose. I agree it was way to education-heavy. It might have been able to get away with it had it been in English, but that many chores in a language most players definitely don't speak, not cool at all.
Haha I truly wished I liked it more since it’s such a fan favorite
My favorite is danger on deception island! I got it for my 10th birthday ( I’m 30 now) and I loved it so much now I want to play it again ! I haven’t played any of the newer ones but I’m looking forward to playing them
Deception Island is so fun!! Hope you have a great time trying out the newer ones too 🔍
Haven't played most of the Nancy Drew Games. Grew up playing the first 6 or so. Just started to get them in order to replay the older ones and play the new ones. Just wanting to hype myself up for the ones I haven't played before. Have great memories of playing Haunted Mansion and Royal Tower in the middle of the night. Some good times and great scares lol. Looking forward to some of the other scary games.
The originals always have a special place in my heart. So excited for you to try the ones you haven’t played yet!
Waverly will always be my number one.
Thank you for this! I've been so interested in the Nancy Drew games but so many people have rated them so randomly on Amazon that it was next to impossible for me to figure out which one I should try out!
This series is very near and dear to my heart so I’m so excited that you’re interested in getting into them! Everyone has a different take on each game so it really depends on your play style. I hope you enjoy whichever one you pick to start with!
I could be wrong, but I think you forgot to mention The Haunted Carousel, is very good as it was the gateway to Nancy Drew in my childhood. ❤
No way I would forget it! It’s ranked #7 at 08:46 in the video 😊
You're incredibly well spoken, great ranking!
it's SO interesting hearing someone else's viewpoints of these games!!!
I know! I’m loving seeing everyone’s personal favorite lists
I’ve been playing Nancy Drew games since before I can remember..I grew up with them and I’ve always loved them so much. A lot of people I know think I’m weird but the shattered medallion and the captive curse and the ghost dogs of moon lake and midnight in Salem will always be my favorites
There’s nothing weird about that! Shattered Medallion has Sonny Joon, Captive Curse is beautiful, Ghost Dogs is one of the OG creepy games, and Midnight in Salem is a fresh take on Nancy. So I’m so happy those are your favorites! Having a different opinion definitely does not make you weird (and if it does we weird people gotta stick together 😉)
Ms.ScarletInTheStudy lol ok 😂
The Final scene was the first one I played.
LOVE seeing blue moon rocking the top of this list! It's what she deserves!
She worked hard for it!!
I can't wait to see your thoughts on Midnight in Salem
I actually already uploaded my review to this channel!