For those who might not know: This is a remake of an older Visual Novel that eventually spawned an anime and a sequel and an anime for the sequel. It replaces all the pictures from the old VN with scenes from the Anime, though there's a lot of other spots where they added content and stretched everything out.

EDIT: apparently the original had some options this game does not. I had forgotten the ability to pull up the phone any time you wanted in the original, though there wasn't a whole lot you could do with that. I remember there was an option to change your ringtone, and phone wallpaper, and also some achievement depended on doing stuff at certain times. This game simplifies it by removing the phone trigger option except for emails and d-mails.

I don't remember 100% of all the details of the original VN to make a side-by-side comparison, but in general, other than the visuals, the biggest difference seems to be a lot of extra scenes and dialog that I don't remember present in the older VN. Is it a good thing? I think the original was fine really. I just looked at my time played on the original Steins;Gate and it was 49 hours (and I'm sitting at 38-ish hours right now on this one). However, the 49 hours included multiple play throughs to get the extra endings, and the 38 hour figure is just one play through.

If this is your first time experiencing anything to do with Steins;Gate, I'd say you should probably buy the older VN as it's probably cheaper and would be better for you in the long run. If you have seen the anime and can't stomach the art style in the old VN, get this one.

Either way, the art in the sequel is closer to the old VN and they haven't made an "Elite" version of that one yet as far as I know.

For first timers not sure whether Steins;Gate is worth buying? The story is pretty good. The voice acting is pretty good. It's one of my favorite games/anime/movies. It doesn't overload you with choices, but it's not a one-route VN either. The game will auto "quick save" for you when a choice comes up so you can come back later and choose one of the OTHER choices and see the rest of the paths. Just remember to actually do a full save before you quit or else you lose all the quick saves.

The music is great, but I miss "Hacking to the Gate" from the Anime OP. The same band/group does the theme for this game though so it has a similar feel. There's lots of funny moments, and lots of emotional moments too. Not as emotional a game as say, "Clannad" but it's well-done.

Anyway, to recap: If you're new to the series, it might be better to start with the original VN even though the main story points don't change from that one to this one. It's cheaper and there's nothing wrong with it. If you're a fan of the anime and don't like the old style art, then you might as well buy this one since it's basically the anime with a few branching choices for extra content. And if you've already played the original Steins;Gate VN, this one does seem to have some extra content in it, but it comes at the cost of feeling like filler at times. BUT it does add some more depth to parts of the game you might have wondered about.

Overall the verdict: Buy it (and/or the original. and the sequel too)

For those who might not know: This is a remake of an older Visual Novel that eventually spawned an anime and a sequel and an anime for the sequel. It replaces all the pictures from the old VN with scenes from the Anime, though there's a lot of other spots where they added content and stretched everything out. EDIT: apparently the original had some options this game does not. I had forgotten the ability to pull up the phone any time you wanted in the original, though there wasn't a whole lot you could do with that. I remember there was an option to change your ringtone, and phone wallpaper, and also some achievement depended on doing stuff at certain times. This game simplifies it by removing the phone trigger option except for emails and d-mails. I don't remember 100% of all the details of the original VN to make a side-by-side comparison, but in general, other than the visuals, the biggest difference seems to be a lot of extra scenes and dialog that I don't remember present in the older VN. Is it a good thing? I think the original was fine really. I just looked at my time played on the original Steins;Gate and it was 49 hours (and I'm sitting at 38-ish hours right now on this one). However, the 49 hours included multiple play throughs to get the extra endings, and the 38 hour figure is just one play through. If this is your first time experiencing anything to do with Steins;Gate, I'd say you should probably buy the older VN as it's probably cheaper and would be better for you in the long run. If you have seen the anime and can't stomach the art style in the old VN, get this one. Either way, the art in the sequel is closer to the old VN and they haven't made an "Elite" version of that one yet as far as I know. For first timers not sure whether Steins;Gate is worth buying? The story is pretty good. The voice acting is pretty good. It's one of my favorite games/anime/movies. It doesn't overload you with choices, but it's not a one-route VN either. The game will auto "quick save" for you when a choice comes up so you can come back later and choose one of the OTHER choices and see the rest of the paths. Just remember to actually do a full save before you quit or else you lose all the quick saves. The music is great, but I miss "Hacking to the Gate" from the Anime OP. The same band/group does the theme for this game though so it has a similar feel. There's lots of funny moments, and lots of emotional moments too. Not as emotional a game as say, "Clannad" but it's well-done. Anyway, to recap: If you're new to the series, it might be better to start with the original VN even though the main story points don't change from that one to this one. It's cheaper and there's nothing wrong with it. If you're a fan of the anime and don't like the old style art, then you might as well buy this one since it's basically the anime with a few branching choices for extra content. And if you've already played the original Steins;Gate VN, this one does seem to have some extra content in it, but it comes at the cost of feeling like filler at times. BUT it does add some more depth to parts of the game you might have wondered about. Overall the verdict: Buy it (and/or the original. and the sequel too)