Blog:ZeusDeeGoose ranks The Legend of Dark Witch games

The Legend of Dark Witch is a fantastic series, but which games are the best? The only rule is that any game must have released in one shape or form, and it must relate to the Dark Witch franchise in some way..

Unranked 1: Break Rock Syega Crystal
Break Rock Syega Crystal is a clicker game, and beyond that there's not much. Because this is a spin-off that's not particularly notable, I decided to not rank it.

Unranked 2: Beatus Creation Solitare
Beatus Creation Solitare is a solitare game about the VTubers from Beatus Creation. Like BRSC, it's not very notable, so I also decided not to rank it. I also haven't played it as well, as it just came out in America.

Unranked 3: Dark Witch Connect!
Dark Witch Connect is a match 3 puzzle game, and like the above, it isn't notable. It's also Japanese-only, so...

Unranked 4: Any of Inside System's Touhou fangames
Now here's something that's notable. I decided to not rank them because they're not really Dark Witch games. And like above, it's Japanese-only.

8: Dark Witch Music Episode: Rudymical
Dark Witch Music: Episode Rudymical is a rhythm game based off Episode 2's mini-game called 'Rudymical'. Sounds good on paper, no? Well... kinda. In Rudymical, you slash big boing-boings, and I mean a lot. Rudymical is structurally sound, but in all honesty, it's somewhat frustrating, at least on hard mode and above. There are way too many boing-boings at one time, and winning can feel like luck. Casual is also way too easy, but Hard is too hard, so I can't really enjoy the game as a whole. Another thing I don't like is the lack of content. While there are 13 songs, they're extremely short. Beating one can take around 2 minutes on average. I know that most Dark Witch games are short, but when you beat most games they always had something to do. There's also a lot of missed potential. Instead of just having Dark Witch 2 music, why not have all the arranged songs too? You could easily put them in a hard mode. Or why not include all the games' soundtracks? Hell, why not even give us the Syega shop? Let me speed the game up to 999%, dammit! Rudymical isn't bad, but it feels pretty lackluster. Thankfully, the series massively improves from her on out.

7: Brave Dungeon
Brave Dungeon is a RPG based on the Dark WItch franchise. Initially, I didn't like the game, but I warmed up to it. Now I think it's a great game, but not really the best in the series. I know a lot of Dark Witch fans like this one, but my main gripe with it is the dungeon design. I'm not joking when I say that Brave Dungeon has some of the worst dungeon design since Final Fantasy II. There are also some really dumb design choices. Why do you need to 100% a dungeon before you can run from enemies? But otherwise, Brave Dungeon is a great game. The battle system, while easy to grasp, is very fun. The level-up system is kinda like the Dark Witch games, but it's like Final Fantasy. And honestly, there's not much to note about this game. One thing I liked is that your items replenish when you return to the Old Islands. But if you've ever played an RPG, you've played Brave Dungeon.

6: Brave Dungeon + Dark Witch's Story: COMBAT
Brave Dungeon + Dark Witch's Story: Combat doesn't add much to the game, but the more, the merrier. Just some new characters, high quality assets, and a small, but decent side game. It's not a lot, but this is the better version overall.

5: The Legend of Dark Witch Episode 3: Wisdom and Lunacy
Ah, yes, the most controversial game in the series. Episode 3 isn't a bad game, but there's a lot I hate about it. For example, all of the removals from Episode 2. I get streamlining the gameplay, but Episode 3 does that while removing the best parts of Episode 2. The game also feels pretty sluggish. Compared to Chronicle 2D Act, it's probably the slowest in the series. To get any real speed, you have to use your dash, but if you hit an enemy, you bounce off them and go into freefall. What the hell?! Speaking about the game, it's by far the hardest in the series. It's mostly fair, but sometimes it feels worse than that one Run & Gun section in Cuphead Inkwell Isle III with those goddamn crabs. Yeah, fuck that stage. I dislike a lot about the game, but I don't feel like writing any more. In short, Dark Witch 3 isn't bad. It's flawed.

4: The Legend of Dark Witch: Chronicle 2D Act
A lot of fans seem to think this game aged poorly, but I strongly disagree. This game is still awesome today. Chronicle 2D Act, while being the shortest game in the series, is quite fun. I replay this game the most, even if it's not my favorite. It's all about going fast, and replaying the game to earn all those Syega pieces. This game suffers from sequelitis, like how Syega is handled, or the technical skills, but thankfully some of the jank is fixed in Renovation. I also think this game has the most glitches, but that's fine as it never really affected it. The worst thing that could happen is your shots stop firing and you take a stock because of it. The music is also really, really good. So, overall, Chronicle 2D Act is great! Go play it, it's cheap. But before you hit the buy button, there's another release of this game... [https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/567HmPMNpQXRBi1O3yy8wN?utm_source=generator&theme=0 Hey! Wanna listen to some tunes?]

3: The Legend of Dark Witch Renovation
It's a remake of Chronicle 2D Act. It does put in more effort than Dark Witch Story: Combat, but there's still not a lot of new stuff here. One thing that's new is that there's a new art style. I love the new portraits, but the sprites took a massive hit. To tell you, the new art styles '  BLOWS.  ' It looks smoothed out, flat, and lifeless. Another thing that's new is the remixed bosses. This makes the bosses really fun. It also includes the anime episodes and some of the comics. Although I like them, I don't really care for them. There's also some more minigames, but like I said, I don't really care for them either. Overall, this is the better version. Get it unless you own a 3DS or PS Vita. Rest in peace 2011-2023, 3DS.

2: Brave Dungeon: The Meaning of Justice
I know this is unfair because technically the game hasn't fully released yet, but it has an early access on Steam, and you can beat it, so It counts in my book. And even then, I think this game is still awesome even if it's in Early Access. For one, the dungeon design is a lot better. It's actually fun and you can actually avoid enemies if you don't want to fight. Another big point, the music is better than Brave Dungeon's in every way possible. I also like the team-up mechanic, which makes battles a lot more dynamic. And hey, the Revenge Attacks have animated portraits! It makes the battles a bit more interesting. The 3 gameplay styles also offer something new and different. Al climbs down the entire dungeon without breaks, Klinsy is similar to the first game, and Papelne's playstyle is an OPEN WORLD GAME . Yes, an  OPEN WORLD GAME IN THE LEGEND OF DARK WITCH SERIES FOR THE NINTENDO SWITCH AND MICROSOFT WINDOWS . And all of the games play great. And surprisingly, all of the stories are linked together. No spoilers, but this game is great. And to think it hasn't even technically released yet!

1: The Legend of Dark Witch Episode 2: The Price of Desire
Don't be surprised. Ask any Dark Witch fan, and you'll hear that Episode 2 is generally considered the best in the series, or at least up there. Everything that sucked about the first game was fixed. For one, Technical skills can actually be used. And second, Syega has been improved. If you grabbed a Syega piece in the original, it usually wasn't worth it. You'd usually get something you didn't want, like who the hell needs more Liner shots? Now, you pick and choose what slots you get. This also makes the speedrunning for this game insane. Watch this run by Crippe, and it shows you how fast you can go. I know this is a common criticism fans have about the game, but it's actually more of a positive. In my opinion, it exemplifies what this series was designed for. Fast paced, non-stop action. And I haven't scratched the surface on why this game is amazing. The level design follows the same design as Dark Witch 1, so not much to go into detail there. And like the first game, the music is actually my favorite video game soundtrack of all time, no joke. Also, this is currently the only mainline game to have good secondary-playable characters. Zizou is pretty much the same from Dark Witch 1, Sola is genuinely overpowered, yet fun, and riva is like Zero from Mega Man X. This game is also funny as hell. There's a lot more I'd like to say, but I don't think I need to go into more detail. This is by far the best Dark Witch game. Play it. It's genuinely legendary.

Conclusion
Well, that was a lot of fun. What games should I rank next? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading this overly long ranking list.