Before we get into the meat of this post, it has been a
while and if you’re (somehow) a longtime reader you deserve answers…but not too
long as I don’t want to derail this train before it leaves the station. House
cleaning: Simple answers to burning questions that will be expanded upon in
future posts through 2018:
Q. Are you ever going to finish that Fire Emblem: Fates/The
Myth of the Golden Age/[insert several year old thing here]?
Short answer: Yes.
Longer answer: I’m implementing a weekly schedule for 2018,
since that seems to be the only way I can maintain a quality standard I’ll be
comfortable with, given how little free time I now have.
Q. Why so sparse with posting in 2017?
I didn’t have nearly as much free time as I did in the past,
and don’t get paid for the dozens of hours I put into an article. That said, I
did publish a few longer articles this year, just not here. Here are a pair
from Gamefaqs:
Q. Why didn’t you have nearly as much free time this year?
The time that I would normally set aside for writing was
almost entirely instead moved to writing, researching, and developing a game.
Q. A WHAT???
A. Yes, I’m making a game. No, I can’t discuss it right now.
And that’s all you get for now. We’ll return to this next
week.
This past year, due to my busier schedule, I couldn’t afford
to play (most) games the way I usually do, scrounging out every little detail
and exploring as many avenues - narrative & mechanical - I can find.
Instead however, I found myself playing a higher volume of games, finally
visiting several I overlooked for the past few years, most notably Alien: Isolation and XCOM 2. Many of these games were
surprisingly decent, but few were particularly interesting or thought provoking.
So, since most games of this year fall into that category (and I frankly don’t
think I can muster up 10 amazing games released this year), rather than doing
the typical Top 10 Games of The Year list, instead I’ll just highlight 10 of
the more interesting/surprising games of 2017. I have longer write-ups planned
for many of these games, but…I’m strapped for time, so 1-2 paragraph posts,
here we go!
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| "All are not the same/ but three shall be as one" |
10 – Pyre
Supergiant games is one of my favorite developers. I completed Bastion twice, Transistor three times, and
continue to keep both games’ soundtracks in regular circulation in my music
library to this day. So, when I say Pyre is the second most disappointing game I played in
2017 despite its glowing critical and commercial reception, know that it’s not
because I’m being contrarian or even because I think it’s bad - Pyre is awesome. Although it possesses both the weakest soundtrack of all three of their games (a MASSIVE
disappointment considering Supergiant Games' sterling track record) in addition to the
weakest narrative (for reasons I don’t have time to expound on here, outside of
“doesn’t know how to build emotional investment in a variable narrative”), it also contains the most sophisticated, engaging,
and outright fun gameplay in their catalogue.
The most common aspect referenced by reviewers and critics of
the game is that its gameplay is “completely different” from anything that came
before it…however, I completely disagree. As wildly different as its mechanics
appear on the surface, they are actually just another logical progression from
what was established in the previous game, just like its predecessor (which
also received similar comments back in 2013) To (slightly) clarify, Bastion is
a slow, isometric, 2-D Action RPG, with primarily linear attacks. Its
successor, Transistor, is a slightly faster, isometric 2-D Action/Turn-Based
RPG, with many linear attacks, but also a greater emphasis on coordinated
attacks with variable properties. Pyre is a significantly faster, isometric 2-D
sports RPG, with exactly 3 commands – a linear attack, sprint (hence the
speed), and jump – and an extreme emphasis on coordinated maneuvers, despite
directly controlling only one of three characters at a time. What this game does,
and indeed why I’m talking about it, is illustrate how much a simple change in
objectives and format can significantly alter game feel. Pyre possesses nearly
identical fundamental mechanics and interactions, but changes the player’s
objective from progressing through a level to moving past a handful of
opponents in a tight space to put a ball in a hole/run someone to the end zone.
It’s quite the impressive feat for a developer to not only recognize the
ubiquity of their mechanics, but demonstrate it as well. Hopefully they’ll
polish their narrative work in future installments, because that aside this is
one of the most interesting games of the last few years.
*I also deeply
regret not delving into the online play (assuming there was any) while I was
still competent.
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| Literally, the closest thing to a spoiler-free image |
9 – Doki Doki Literature Club
The paragraph below contains extremely light spoilers, so if
you don’t know what this is yet, you should still have a fine experience with it
(though I still recommend you play it before reading. According to my Steam
play history, it only takes two hours to complete).
I played this game relatively blind, only knowing that it’s
a visual novel with something crazy about it. And, as someone with a perverse
penchant for “odd” things, I felt that I had to at least see if the
hushed whispers surrounding Doki Doki Literature Club were the result of a
gimmick or genuine aberrancy. Without spoilers, this game is legitimately weird
and serves as an example of postmodernism done right in games. What I did not expect – and why this game is
on this list – is for it to commit so wholeheartedly to building an emotional
investment in its conventional narrative. The creator picked opposing
personalities for the characters maximizing the likelihood that you’d care
about at least one of them. This is standard fare for romantic visual novels,
and anyone genre savvy would likely roll their eyes a few times over how
cleanly each character falls into an identifiable category (yandere, tsundere,
childhood friend), regardless of how tame they are compared to others within of
their type. However, that very inoffensiveness is what enables the harshness of
the twist to spark one’s resolve to fix the situation. Unfortunately, I can’t
go into any further detail than that, but suffice to say, this is another game
you owe it to yourself to check out. Besides, it’s free.
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| *Inner weeb intensifies* |
8 – Dragon Quest Heroes II
This is a Dragon Quest ARPG. I repeat: this is a Dragon
Quest ACTION ROLE-PLAYING GAME. Dragon Quest is one of my
favorite series of all time (I cannot believe that I have never talked about it
up until this point), being one of the last game series from my childhood that
has yet to let me down. I shouldn’t need to explain what Dragon Quest is, but
since this is the west and DQ is noticeably dramatically monumentally
WAY THE FUCK less popular here
than it is in Japan, Dragon Quest is the oldest and longest running Japanese
console RPG, known for its charming dialogue and child-friendly simplicity. It’s
the series that Final Fantasy repeatedly ripped off during the NES era, as well
as a significant cultural icon in its home country. Excluding DQX, all flagship
Dragon Quest games are classic turn-based RPGs. I’ve been playing these games
since I was seven years old, and excluding DQVII, have loved every single one
of them. So, as a noted fan of action games, including Koei Tecmo’s offerings,
finding out that DQ Heroes II was an action RPG was like a child discovering
Santa Claus is real - I was almost too happy for words.
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| Attacks, enemies, and even the damage markers are all straight out of classic Dragon Quest |
Granted, this revelation shouldn’t have impressed me as much
as it did, since I know personally that Koei Tecmo always attempts to
represent/replicate their source material in licensed adaptations, and had
proven not long ago that they were capable of making an open-world action game. But,
nevertheless, I am still dumb-founded that they managed to include so many
conventional RPG systems in what is fundamentally another Warriors game. The
only albatrosses that drag this game down from cloud nine are the story, which isn’t
as charming as DQ proper, and (ironically) the modern game design conventions
that eliminate the series-defining wanderlust (e.g. UI that points exactly
where to go, side quests that are taken from a hub rather than discovered, highlighted
dialogue opportunities, etc.). Koei Tecmo doesn’t have much experience with
either, so I don’t fault them much for their misstep, it’s just a slight bummer
that this game was simply great rather than transcendent.
7 – Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
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| You know it's a bad year, when a Fire Emblem game goes underappreciated by both critics and consumers |
This game surprised the hell out of me. FE: Gaiden is one of the bottom 3 worst games in the Fire Emblem series for an astounding number of reasons including but not limited to: terrible characters, an outrageously contrived plot, no story to speak of, the (former) worst map & scenario design in the series, introducing grinding to make story progress, hilariously awful weapon & item mechanics, the worst magic “balancing” in the series, terrible stat mechanics, godawful class balance, and so on and so forth. Not a damn thing in that original NES game was a good idea. And yet, Fire Emblem Echoes not only managed to turn that corrosive heap of radioactive sewage into something playable, but also yield the best Fire Emblem of the 3DS era.
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| I cannot stress enough just how significant of a step up this game is in dialogue & characterization over FE Fates. |
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| Weapon forging also returns, in a singificantly less tedious and better balanced fashion |
Fire Emblem Echoes
is still fundamentally shackled to Gaiden,
containing every poor bit of map design, class & character balance, hilariously low difficulty, and overall
stupid plot development(s). But, despite this titanic handicap, Shadows of Valentia is easily the best Fire
Emblem game of the last 10 years, and serves as a powerful example of the
importance of presentation. If you have even a passing interest in Fire Emblem
or tactical RPGs and own a 3DS, you owe it to yourself to play this game. IS’s
hardwork must be rewarded.
If you read my FFXV review, you should already know that I
think it’s one of the worst products Square has ever released (in no small part
because one year and several massive content updates later, the damn thing
is still blatantly unfinished and unpolished). Discussions raging on Gamefaqs
for the past year have partially centered around placing blame for the game’s
faults. One formerly popular target of said blame was the game’s structure
which begins with an open world portion then narrows 2/3s of the way through
the game into a linear series of events - an inversion of all past FFs and most
RPGs in general. Uncharted: The Lost
Legacy is proof that FFXV’s structure was not the problem.
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| And yes, this game is also freaking gorgeous, as if that was ever in question |
Also, this is a fantastic game that you should totally
play. If you’ve never been able to get into Uncharted because you don’t like
Nathan Drake for whatever reason, or can’t stand extreme linearity, you’ll
probably enjoy this game.
5 – Horizon Zero Dawn
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| And the award for most beautiful game of the 8th generation of consoles goes to... |
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| And yes, you can mount and shoot monsters at the same time ala Shadow of the Colossus |
*I’ve already written at extensive length about Monster
Hunter’s many, MANY flaws (most of which were not resolved in 4th
generation Monster Hunter), so if you want to know more about them, feel free
to pull up a chair, grab a snack, and lose your afternoon. Killing the Thrill
was written during Gen 3 of Monster Hunter, but Gen 4 (the current generation) only fixed two of the problems I raised,
while also introducing a few new ones of its own – it’s slightly dated, but
still mostly relevant, especially in light of Monster Hunter World basically using most of my suggestions as a
blueprint.
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| No words, just despair...and sexy goth lolita fashion |
Annnnd say hello to my 3rd most disappointing game of the year. Based on how much worse this is than every other game on this list (yes, including the next game), you’d think it would be the most disappointing. But, I never played the original Nier (read this instead), and Platinum games delivered effectively enough on the gameplay front, so my expectations weren’t as high, nor were they monumentally let down. It is still my 3rd biggest disappointment however, because I know the original Nier well enough to understand just how damn good it is, and how much of a step down this game is in terms of narrative depth and emotional weight.
Making that statement feels absurd even as I type, because in terms of philosophical breadth and scope Nier: Automata vastly surpasses every other game Yoko Taro has ever touched. However, it fails at the most basic job of any narrative, regardless of medium: telling a cohesive story, which to me is a sin that no narratively driven game can ever be forgiven for. It has an atrociously terrible story riddled with plot contrivances, lousy characters, melodrama, and pretentious poorly understood philosophical bullshit. The only outright good character in the game (with appreciable screen time) is A2 and she’s the only character to get almost entirely screwed over before the game starts, during her half-campaign, and even after the “happy” ending, despite also being the only character in the entire game with positive development.
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| Game is still badass as hell |
*sigh*
Personal qualms aside, I didn’t bring this game up (just) to
trash it (though my axe is still in sore need of grinding). This game - just
like the original Nier - has two things you will not see in almost any other
game: sidequests that all explore different, but related, philosophical ideas,
and gameplay which seamlessly oscillates between multiple styles (character
action, platforming, twin-stick shooting, and bullet hell), all of which are
executed masterfully. Games like this are rare, and captivating for the ideas
they present as well as the possibilities they illuminate. Nier: Automata is artistically beautiful despite its narrative’s
technical incompetence, and though I’m hesitant to recommend purchasing it, I
can at least suggest that you try to access it in some way if possible just to
experience some of its beauty. Also, it must be noted that this game possesses
an incomprehensibly good soundtrack,
like it’s the 2nd coming of Transistor.
Even if you refuse to play this game, you NEED to listen to it.
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| Was it THAT hard to spare an extra 20k SEGA??? |
This is the first spinoff game in the Valkyria Chronicles
series. It differentiates itself from the flagship titles by hybridizing action
& turn-based combat, not unlike Transistor, but its new gameplay is not why
we’re talking about it. This game possesses the best story & soundtrack of
all four games in the series, and presents one of the most nuanced depictions
of war in any medium excluding books,
yet was almost universally panned by critics. How did this happen? Partially
because critics are stupid and generally terrible at video games*, but primarily
because it has the 2nd worst presentation of any game in the series
(topped only by VC2 due to the PSP’s hardware limitations.
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| This game is both squad-based and class-based, allowing for a vast array of gameplay options, that you are actually encouraged to utilize |
This is critical because Valkyria Revolution is a medium
length (30+ hours) story-driven game, and the bad presentation diminishes the impact
of many of its story beats. More specifically, cutscenes drag on for extended
periods of time (think MGS4 length), but lack the dynamic camera angles, emotive
character animations, and timely musical cues to make them engaging to sit
through. The English voice acting is all impressively spot-on (they even got
Wendee Lee!) and the music is amazing (no surprise considering what other games Yasunori Mitsuda composed for), but you’d still almost be better served reading and
listening to the game than watching its scenes (and yes, the problem was clearly just its atrociously low budget). This game’s story and gameplay
quality should warrant an 8/10 rating minimum,
but its presentation is so bad that it still holds closer to a 6/10. If Fire Emblem Echoes is proof that good
presentation can make a bad story, compelling. This game is proof that bad
presentation can make a good story seem duller than the 45th US president.
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| The game outright shows you how much damage your attack is going to inflict before you attack from a paused menu. So, I have zero sympathy for critics who couldn't figure this game's combat out. |
2 - Persona 5
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| You'll never see it coming...for better or worse |
My absolute biggest disappointment of the year, and probably the last time I ever get hyped for a game. I purchased both the American and Japanese deluxe editions of the game, and imported the OST (knowing it was inspired by one of my favorite bands) - I wasn’t just on the hype train, I had a first-class seat and was ready to ride it to the gates of Valhalla. Like Pyre, Persona 5 is not a bad game. It’s a strong candidate for the best RPG of 2017, even earning a spot on Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw’s top 5 good games list. But, just because it's good doesn’t change the fact that it did not live up to the hype, and was disappointing in a very unique way.
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| Guns were a great idea - quite possibly the only time I will ever make that statement in my entire life |
Blind haters love to claim that Persona 5 is just like
Persona 3 & 4, and therefore unimpressive. But, while that’s partially true
in terms of gameplay, it’s blatantly false in terms of narrative. Persona 5 is the
first Persona game that explicitly has a thesis rather than just a theme (P3 =
Nihilism, P4 = Existentialism, P5 = Rebellion). That thesis is as follows:
“If an authority commands
an individual to take an ethically unpalatable action, it is the responsibility
of that individual to deny the whims of the authority, irrespective of whether
disobedience would lead to the loss of the individual’s position within the
society.”
...Or in short, Justice > Law.
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| I'm fairly confident the game would've been better served giving you access to most of the party members early on, while doling out confidants piecemeal as the story progressed. I'll elaborate on this point in a future post. |
Sidenote: this was the game that made me realize Cherami
Leigh has a bizarre penchant for voicing “Best Girl” in whatever work she’s a
significant part of. I knew her prior from Steins;Gate
where she played Suzuha – best girl in that show (fight me). But, in 2017 alone
she voiced: Makoto “best girl” Nijima in Persona
5, Mae “is bae” in Fire Emblem Echoes,
A2 “only good character in the game” in Nier:
Automata, and Violette “best girl contender” Szand in Valkyria Revolution. So yeah, I’m probably indirectly in love with
this woman(’s vocal chords) and cannot wait to see who she plays in 2018.)
1 – Tales of Berseria
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| Why do birds fly? |
No two paragraphs (or five, or ten, or even twenty) could adequately encapsulate or
sufficiently summarize why this game is so special. It is quite possibly the
best Tales game in the 20+ year-long series, and easily replaces Symphonia as
one of the big 3. I desperately want
to make a long-form series on this game and all of its depths, and am extremely
likely to do so during this year (considering that I’m unlikely to buy very
many new games). However, that’s for the future. For now, all I can say is that
the number one reason this game impressed me is that it succeeded where Persona
5 failed. It used a nearly identical thesis, but explored it thoroughly from
nearly every conceivable angle, all the while telling a far more emotionally gripping
narrative with one of the best casts of protagonists and antagonists in the series’
history. It also contains some of the best gameplay in the series, becoming the
first artes-tree game I’ve enjoyed, in addition to one of the smartest
progression systems to ever grace an RPG. This was my 2017 game of the year,
and I absolutely encourage all fans of RPGs, philosophy, or simply good stories
to give this overlooked gem a try. Bandai Namco you have finally earned your
way back into my good graces (now don’t mess things up again).
*I would also be absolutely remiss if I didn’t mention that
in Tales of Berseria, Christina Vee gave the absolute best performance of her
entire career thus far…and somehow Ericka Lindbeck still ends up stealing the
show with her outstanding delivery as Magilou.
Just writing this little
aside, has made me realize that we need to have a candid discussion about voice
acting and directing, because Christina Vee proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is
more than talented enough to can carry an entire story on her own, but is basically never given the
opportunity, while Ericka Lindbeck - who had already proven her tremendous range (contrast Misty/Vita Clotilde in Trails of Cold Steel with Magilou in Tales of Berseria. It's insane.) - was somehow still criminally underutilized in Persona 5 as
Futaba. Maybe Bandai Namco just has an excellent voice director (which is entirely possible considering they've had practice for almost 2 decades), but I cannot
comprehend how the potential of these two gems (ESPECIALLY Christina Vee) has still just barely been tapped.
Neat list
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