Rance series? I've always been meaning to get into it, I watched the anime and fucking loved it. Does it matter if I skip games? The old ones look really shitty.
As for visual novels I've just recently just started playing them again and I haven't really played many overall (only 4)
Shinigami no Kiss wa Wakare no Aji
Yume Miru Kusuri
I really liked Yume Miru Kusuri, it's really good at developing the characters.