Ranking by genre

The best visual novel games.

75 games compete in this selection. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney tops it with 1,881 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2005 · Visual novel 1,881
  2. 2 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2012 · Visual novel 1,797
  3. 3 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc 2010 · Visual novel 1,772
  4. 4 Doki Doki Literature Club! 2017 · Visual novel 1,721
  5. 5 Steins;Gate 2009 · Visual novel 1,673
  6. 6 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations 2007 · Visual novel 1,615
  7. 7 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action 2016 · Visual novel 1,600
  8. 8 Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma 2016 · Visual novel 1,597
  9. 9 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All 2006 · Visual novel 1,590
  10. 10 Emily is Away 2015 · Visual novel 1,589
  11. 11 Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward 2012 · Visual novel 1,548
  12. 12 Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth 2009 · Visual novel 1,543
  13. 13 The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog 2023 · Visual novel 1,541
  14. 14 Virginia 2016 · Visual novel 1,537
  15. 15 Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney 2007 · Visual novel 1,530
  16. 16 Slay the Princess 2023 · Visual novel 1,516
  17. 17 Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony 2017 · Visual novel 1,514
  18. 18 Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk 2020 · Visual novel 1,511
  19. 19 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice 2016 · Visual novel 1,505
  20. 20 Everlasting Summer 2014 · Visual novel 1,502
  21. 21 Helltaker 2020 · Visual novel 1,500
  22. 22 Long Live the Queen 2012 · Visual novel 1,498
  23. 23 Hotel Dusk: Room 215 2007 · Visual novel 1,497
  24. 24 Hatoful Boyfriend 2011 · Visual novel 1,495
  25. 25 Saya no Uta 2019 · Visual novel 1,492
  26. 26 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2013 · Visual novel 1,490
  27. 27 Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! 2021 · Visual novel 1,488
  28. 28 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2009 · Visual novel 1,486
  29. 29 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim 2019 · Visual novel 1,481
  30. 30 Home 2012 · Visual novel 1,481
  31. 31 The Red Strings Club 2018 · Visual novel 1,480
  32. 32 The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures 2015 · Visual novel 1,480
  33. 33 Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk 2021 · Visual novel 1,478
  34. 34 The House in Fata Morgana 2012 · Visual novel 1,477
  35. 35 Steins;Gate 0 2015 · Visual novel 1,477
  36. 36 Tails Noir 2021 · Visual novel 1,461
  37. 37 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors 2009 · Visual novel 1,460
  38. 38 Orwell: Ignorance is Strength 2018 · Visual novel 1,460
  39. 39 The Silver Case 2016 · Visual novel 1,458
  40. 40 Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude: The Corrupted Casefile 2022 · Visual novel 1,458
  41. 41 Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You 2016 · Visual novel 1,455
  42. 42 Emily Is Away Too 2017 · Visual novel 1,444
  43. 43 Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth 2017 · Visual novel 1,439
  44. 44 The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante 2021 · Visual novel 1,436
  45. 45 Beacon Pines 2022 · Visual novel 1,435
  46. 46 Clannad 2004 · Visual novel 1,435
  47. 47 Night Call 2019 · Visual novel 1,434
  48. 48 Ever17: The Out of Infinity 2002 · Visual novel 1,432
  49. 49 Dagon 2021 · Visual novel 1,429
  50. 50 Blue Archive 2021 · Visual novel 1,427
  51. 51 Venba 2023 · Visual novel 1,425
  52. 52 Monster Prom 2018 · Visual novel 1,420
  53. 53 AI: The Somnium Files 2019 · Visual novel 1,419
  54. 54 Coffee Talk 2020 · Visual novel 1,415
  55. 55 Nekopara Vol. 0 2015 · Visual novel 1,415
  56. 56 Nekopara Vol. 1 2014 · Visual novel 1,414
  57. 57 Death and Taxes 2020 · Visual novel 1,408
  58. 58 Needy Streamer Overload 2022 · Visual novel 1,406
  59. 59 Tangle Tower 2019 · Visual novel 1,401
  60. 60 Simulacra 2017 · Visual novel 1,397
  61. 61 Snatcher 1992 · Visual novel 1,393
  62. 62 Gyakuten Kenji 2 2011 · Visual novel 1,392
  63. 63 Corpse Party 2010 · Visual novel 1,385
  64. 64 Your Turn to Die: Death Game by Majority 2017 · Visual novel 1,385
  65. 65 2064: Read Only Memories 2014 · Visual novel 1,383
  66. 66 This Is the Police 2 2018 · Visual novel 1,371
  67. 67 Steins;Gate Re:Boot 2026 · Visual novel 1,370
  68. 68 The White Door 2020 · Visual novel 1,357
  69. 69 AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative 2022 · Visual novel 1,355
  70. 70 The Ratchelor: A Rat Dating Sim 2021 · Visual novel 1,355
  71. 71 The Coffin of Andy and Leyley 2023 · Visual novel 1,347
  72. 72 Aviary Attorney 2015 · Visual novel 1,330
  73. 73 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies 2013 · Visual novel 1,309
  74. 74 Missed Messages. 2019 · Visual novel 1,293
  75. 75 Sovereign Tower 2026 · Visual novel 1,234

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

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In detail

The best visual novel games, what this ranking says

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney leads this selection with 1,881 ELO points, ahead of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The 75 games competing in it have played 9,726 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 75
Duels played by those games 9,726
Game in the lead Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2005)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,881
Point gap between 1st and 10th 292
Best represented decade 2010s
Last reading November 3, 2026

The best visual novel game of every decade

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best visual novel game of every decade
Decade Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
2000s 11 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 1,881 273
2010s 41 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 1,797 217
2020s 22 The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog 1,541 113

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 72 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Snatcher +69 1,393
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma +59 1,597
Long Live the Queen +56 1,498

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
Steins;Gate Doki Doki Literature Club! 10 60%
Doki Doki Literature Club! Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All 9 56%
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Doki Doki Literature Club! 8 63%
Doki Doki Literature Club! Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You 8 75%
Doki Doki Literature Club! Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations 7 86%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best visual novel game?

According to community votes, the best visual novel game is Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, with 1,881 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many visual novel games are ranked?

75 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 9,726 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which visual novel game is climbing right now?

Snatcher is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 69 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 72 games in the selection moved.

Vote on a duel