[Android] ラピスと不思議なラビリンス (2013)

How:
Found by looking for nice Japanese 脱出 games on Google Play.
Note:
Could not finish the game due to a bug (shaking the mobile does not work as expected), nevertheless this happened a couple of puzzles before the ending.
Pros:
- Very nice pixel art
- Some clever puzzles involving the motion sensors of the mobile
Cons:
- The game feels like a random mix-up of fantasy elements and unrelated puzzles
- Item descriptions appear on the bottom-right, which is usually covered by the hand during play
- Some items are only needed for the sake of collection

[PC] Dragonsphere (1994)

How:
Promoted on Gog.com as a freeware game, got it without knowing anything about it. Played it after reading hg101 review.
Additional comment:
Not quite as short as most reviews mention (I think I needed around 10-11 hours from start to finish). The slow movements might have contributed.
Pros:
- Very good graphics and excellent in-game animations
- Very good (sometimes creepy) music
- The game has a very immersing, serious atmosphere differentiating it from most other adventures in similar fantasy settings
- Great dialogues and overall very likable characters
- A very deep and intriguing story with cool ideas thrown everywhere and a dramatic turn of events
- There are some rather challenging (but fair) puzzles
- Some puzzles can be solved in multiple ways
- Death is automatically undone, with no need to reload
- Lots of interactive elements, with long text descriptions
Cons:
- Movements are rather slow and unskippable (e.g. when climbing the mountain)
- Mediocre voice acting, thankfully it can be turned off
- Perhaps too many red herrings (both useless inventory items and misleading puzzle solutions, e.g. the poems)
- The story can be "broken" in a couple of ways (e.g. by going to the Spirit Plane without knowing about the Soul Egg)
- The interface can be confusing as some objects have item-specific default actions, e.g. a hidden button on the wall has "Activate" as default action, and "directions" can also be examined (this is especially important towards the end of the game when a door must be examined to reveal the symbol of a crown)

[PC] Mystery Legends: Beauty and the Beast (2011)

How:
Read about it possibly on Adventuregamers.com forums, tried the demo and enjoyed it immediately (purchased from BigFishGames).
Pros:
- Excellent voice acting
- Superb graphics and animations, totally on another level with respect to any other HOG/light adventure I've ever played
- Nice puzzles and hidden object scenes
- Some light arcade sequences (e.g. playing darts)
- Backtracking is not painful at all
- Overall very enjoyable light adventuring with well integrated hidden object elements
Cons:
- Some hidden object scenes are used many times

[PC] Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen (2011)

How:
Played the demo from BigFishGames after reading about it somewhere (possibly just browsing through the website after playing some Mystery Case Files episode).
Pros:
- Very nice in-game animations
- Voice acting
- Abundance of cut-scenes
- Generally better graphic quality with respect to previous episodes
- Story is somewhat interesting and connecting to previous episodes
Cons:
- Quality of cut-scenes is very inconsistent and generally mediocre
- Very similar to previous episodes of the series, with the usual arbitrary collection of medallions, shields and goblets to collect, statues to activate, and doors to open
- Graphics quality feels heterogeneous (e.g. some items are evidently re-painted photos, some characters are cartoony while others are more realistic)
- The children sound way too mature for their age (having a little child scream "Help, detective!" is quite unnatural)
- Very little variety in puzzles
- Voice-overs,  although abundant, are generally mediocre

[PC] Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose (2010)

How:
Tried the demo of the second episode on BigFishGames website, liked it and bought the whole series.
Pros:
- Beautiful graphics, fitting music
- Some amount of non-linearity
Cons:
- Adventuring elements are limited to very repetitive inventory puzzles, the rest is pure HOG
- Shallow storytelling
- Lots of backtracking
- The diary gives away some puzzles
- The puzzles per se are trivial, one specific puzzle appears at least three times (place colored balls on colored tile)
- Only a few events, no character interaction (starts with the princess appearing, to never see her again) 

[DS] Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (2008)

Pros:
- A lightweight turn-based RPG with fairies, sleepy kittens and a princess
- Enjoyable story and characters
- No real grinding needed, gameplay flows easily to provide some light challenges at times
- A wide range of playable characters, each with his powers and special moves
- Nice relaxing music
- Neat pixel graphics
Cons:
- Some really annoying showstopping bugs impose the need to save often, which naturally breaks the game flow
- Other minor graphical / dialogue glitches and bugs
- Side-quests are unclear and easily missable
- It's so easy you will not care for items or equip the characters properly

[Amiga] Hook (1992)

Pro:
- Rende abbastanza giustizia al film
- Ottima musica e ottima grafica
- Enigmi interessanti e non banali
- Viene spesso voglia di rigiocarlo
Contro:
- Pochi dialoghi, il cui solo scopo è dare suggerimenti per gli enigmi o crearne di nuovi
- Troppo breve, il gioco finisce proprio sul più bello