The Venus Blood Series: Need some help

[Dergonu]

I have had my eyes on the Venus Blood series for quite some time, but never got around to playing any of them. I decided to finally add one to my backlog, but there are so many, so I'm not sure which one I should pick. I love good art, so I'd prefer one of the newer installments. Though, I'd also like to play one of the better games in the series, if I'm going to play one. So, I guess what I'm looking for is the best of the more recent Venus Blood games. ("Recent" = preferably released no later than 2014 )

Also, if possible, could someone explain the relation between the games? Do they share plot/ characters? Do you need to read them in any particular order, or can you pick and choose freely?

 

@Clephas you have played a lot of these, right?

[Clephas]

Story-wise, Hypno is the best, followed by Frontier, then Ragnarok.  The same goes for battle system.  Unless you like tentacle impregnation, I'd just avoid the other side of the series, though you could always try Gaia, which is the best of that side of the series.