Games from 2017 I played in 100 words or less each.

I've never bothered writing a TOP TEN GAMES OF THE YEAR list and I don't feel like doing one now. I do, however, have a brevity issue. Thus, I've tried to put my key thoughts on games I played this year up here in under 100 words a pop. The order is roughly what I played them in. Here you go!

Review: Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel Part 1: Presage Flower

This review contains spoilers for both Fate/Stay Night and Thor Ragnarok.

Cool moments in... Visual Novel Design?! Let's Perspective!

The modern visual novel is a curious beast. At times it's the computerised version of a Choose Your Own Adventure game book. At others it's a tool to provide dialogue in an entirely different game genre that can't fit such things in more smoothly. SRPGs for example basically alternate between pure gameplay and visual novel intermissions.

Silly Intelligent Systems. You do the family console release after the PC version with awkwardly placed sex scenes!

Questionable Moments in Game Design: Cuphead and Accessibility

I've intentionally chosen a rather loaded title for this piece in the event that I get more than 10 clicks so I can see who's actually paid attention to what I'm talking about. Sadly, the toxicity in certain communities regarding this game makes viewing it critically a minefield at the moment.

I Don't Care About 僕の vs My for Hero Academia

The official title of My Hero Academia is... exactly the words I just said. Given how heavy the influence of American superhero comics is on the work, it's not that surprising to have a Japanese text with an official title in English. Since it's published in a magazine primarily targeting kids, there's a Japanese translation of the title in the logo, as we can see below.

tl note: Boku no Hero Academia means My (casual male singular pronoun) Hero Academia

The Katsuki Bakugo Post

Over the last three years,  My Hero Academia has been on a continual rise in sales, positioning in the magazine it's published in and mainstream attention. It's a pretty darn great superhero comic for all sorts of reasons. It touches on the ethical concerns of a late-stage capitalist society making Heroics a profession. It looks at the cultural and sociological impacts of a world where over 80% of the populace is an X-men mutant.  It's a tale of privilege and its impact on personal development. It tells a passionate story that reminds boys that real men are in touch with their feelings, aren't afraid to accept help from others when it's offered and can put others first without being a doormat in the process. I could bang on all day about its themes, its impressive subtleties for a text aimed at early teens and how dang good the art direction is at conveying all the ideas.

This Week I Re-read Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea Cycle

It's still pretty great.