Should i play the older Nancy games first

[out_erik]

I just wonder if i should play the older Nancy games before playing this one?

[Celeste]

If you're wondering about any references to older games, I don't recall there being any, other than Savannah being a character that I believe was first introduced in Shadow at the Water's Edge... But there's really nothing in the older games that you need to know. The older games are fun though, at least most of them. I don't reccomend Trail of the Twister or Ransom of the Seven Ships, those were personally my least favorites. Secret of the Old Clock and Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon were great, and Warnings at Waverly was fun, along with Phantom of Venice. I definitely reccomend those. Have fun playing! :)

[out_erik]

Good to know, thanks!=)

[Celeste]

No prob. :D

[sensitivestoic]

I realize this is an older thread, however I have seen this question repeated many times in various communities; so I thought I would leave my own opinion (having played since the third game's [Message in a Haunted Mansion] release more than 10 years ago). Hopefully, this helps others considering whether or not to play some of the older games.

All games from #6 The Secret of the Scarlet Hand to #28 The Ghost of Thorton Hall are available on Steam. Games #1-5 probably couldn't be ported due to their original design being for Windows 95/98. (However my disc versions still work on Windows 7 and Windows 8 if configured correctly).

Probably the best question to ask yourself when considering the older Nancy Drew games is what games have you played, and what did you enjoy? Really the choice is up to you. Some of the original games early on in the Nancy Drew series are the best in my opinion. And actually the Nancy Drew games were arguably in their prime roughly around games #7-14.

In my personal opinion after having played many of the games (#1-24) there are some you can skip and others that I strongly recommend. However, realize the further you go back in the series the older the graphics and design become. In some cases newer players may not care for this, but I feel it gives the games more character. And if you can get around their age (design oddities, quirks, the absence of a cell phone [yeah, those didn't always exist ; ) ] the mysteries can be great!)

Highlights and must-plays for any Nancy Drew fan: (ranked in a descending fashion)
#11 The Curse of Blackmoor Manor
#9 Danger on Deception Island
#7 Ghost Dogs on Moon Lake
#13 Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
#5 The Final Scene (not on Steam)
#4 Treasure in the Royal Tower (not on Steam)
#3 Message in the Haunted Mansion (not on Steam)
#2 Stay Tuned for Danger (not on Steam)
#1 Secrets Can Kill (The Original; not the re-master which was not bad but not as good in my opinion) (not on Steam).

Games which may be skipped (least appeal for me in the series):
#15 The Creature of Kapu Cave
#22 Trail of the Twister
#20 Ransom of the Seven Ships

All of the other games are good (this listing is not inclusive of the Dossier titles, which are unique games in their own way) and enjoyable depending on what you look for in a Nancy Drew game. Although Curse of Blackmoor Manor is not my personal favorite (I like the story of a couple others better), I believe it is the game where Nancy Drew is exemplified at her best overall. The execution of the mystery within that game was phenomenal, and I don't believe a game since has surpassed the excellence of The Curse of Blackmoor Manor.

For any other fans looking to get a good exposure to Nancy Drew's universe I strongly recommend the Collector's Pack on Steam, but buy it during the summer sales! During the summer it drops from $79.98 to roughly $30 or $40 which is a great price for how much you receive (20 games).

If you have any questions about a particular game, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer! (Still working on completing the games after Alibi in Ashes, but it doesn't appear that Her Interactive is continuing to publish the newer games after #28 The Ghost in Thorton Hall on Steam anymore; if this is the case I will be disappointed). Hope this proves helpful! Let me know if there are any questions I can answer!

[Oldmonkeysg]

The ND games go through changes in design style along the way, in presentation and in puzzle design. If you buy a truckload of ND games, playing the game right from the beginning would tire you out as you may face consecutive games with similar puzzle designs. Try picking games randomly across the series to experience the different design styles, so that it does not get tedious. It might be good to check out the negative reviews to see if any particular game has aspects that are not to your taste (e.g. Nancy does chores in some titles) before you purchase a particular ND game.

[xrstfr]

I would suggest buying an older game along with this one, to see if you would perfer the older games or the newer ones, since they both have their own style if that makes sense. I would say older games focused a lot on conversation and trying to make the story interesting, while newer games focus more on making puzzles and exploration fun. Also people consider phantom of venice an old game?..

[Revachol Dishwashers Union]

Having never played any of them, I intend to just choose my initial ones based on which premise seems most interesting to me and go from there, which for now seems to be:
The one on a train
The Japanese Inn one
And the one on a ship