Sengoku Rance

Rance 7 takes the already legendary eroge series from Alicesoft to new, unimaginable heights! Within the admittedly rough exterior (the game being two decades old as of the time of this review, the background art and U.I both look and feel clunky, It doesn’t help that the 18+ elements don't exactly serve to make the game look like anything other than a horny cash grab, akin to those plastered all over Steam.) Lies an intricate masterpiece awaiting to be discovered and spelunked for up to a hundred hours of high-quality content. Don't be put off by the fact that it's the seventh game in the series; as all of the games are relatively isolated adventures, with the only expectation being the final game in the series, Rance 10, which ties the entire series together for the series's conclusion. Whether it be the outstanding Japanese-themed soundtrack, unique S-RPG gameplay, or the ceaselessly comedic visual novel-style exploits of the titular hero Rance, Rance 7 strikes a perfect balance between these elements to create an experience unlike any other and one that is most certainly worth your time. Rance 7 stands as a timeless, shining testament to what the gaming industry is capable of!

This was the starting point for the majority of Rance fans for many decades. Even if it's the seventh chapter of the big story, you can start here without problems, but of course you will be confused when some people or situation just happen and you have no idea of what is going on. Don't even think for a second that, just because is an h-game is stupid and easy. This game is hard, very hard, it's almost impossibile to reach what you want without a deep knowledge of the game. Hell you will probably not even manage to finish the game on your first couple of playtroughts going completely blind. If you want to get something (a girl, yeah) specific or you want to follow some specific route well... you will need a guide at the 99% of times. Everything is tied to time and places, you need to know what to do where, when and how and the game gives you absolutely nothing. Not that there is a problem with this, all old japanese games worked like this, but you will find after 20 hours with a game to restart, even if you think you have done everything good. Buyers beware.

Played this years ago on recommendation from a friend and at the time it was for the titillation factor but the gameplay, strategy and combat are actually fantastic

I still remember the feeling of playing it for the first time without any guide/walkthrough. Things went well for about 50 turns until the boss event which make me realize I played it all wrong (only focus on troops/field battle, not levelling up Rance in dungeon so I can't beat the hard boss). The bitter feeling of how my 30+ hours of hardship is all for nothing made me delete the game and had not played it for almost a year. Then I suddenly feel like giving it another chance, this time I did a bit of research and play it correctly. Then I was completely addict with the game, played it for 200+ hours to clear every routes. The gameplay is very fun and challenging, the lore is great. I didn't know lots of previous heroines at that time so I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest but just the story with Sill and other Japanese heroines are great enough. After clearing Sengoku Rance, I played Rance 01-6. It's such a great series. 01-02's story is not much, but after 03 it becomes much more interesting. I'd even say it's the best fiction ever created. Can't wait to play Rance X in English.

very very addicting so much so i have to resist the urge to play it