Paige FTW: Paige’s Best Games Of 2017
I shall tell you now, StreetPulse reader, that you will not find the Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild odes that just about every other year-end list rhapsodizes. That is not my way. (Also, I don’t have a Nintendo Switch yet.)
Instead, I dedicate this space to the three games — one new, one remaster and one old — that captivated me most in 2017.
Persona 5
The hyper-stylized, much-anticipated addition to the Persona brand did not disappoint. A group of vigilante Phantom Thieves has replaced the detective gang of yesteryear as they take on the villain of society itself. Highlights among this motley crew are party members Yusuke (a hilariously insane artist) and Makoto (your new favorite sexy student council president), as well as a plethora of older women hungry to get their hands on the doe-eyed protagonist. Oh, fine, sometimes the game settles a little too comfortably in old tropes. But its brash, self-confident style wins the day for a truly joyous JRPG experience.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
They don’t make games like they used to, that’s for sure. This enhanced and improved take on Final Fantasy XII was a happy reminder that my favorite Final Fantasy still is the best of them. The addition of jobs adds a new layer of strategy, the graphical facelift reminds of how vivid and alive Ivalice remains after all these years, and the superior translation remains uncharacteristically good in a vast, wan sea of poorly written video games. It felt like coming home.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
This game, which came out last year, sat on my shelf for longer than it should have. Uncharted attracts all the treasure-hunting game attention these days, but the rebooted Tomb Raider titles are, in my thinking, vastly superior experiences. Lara is an interesting and dynamic protagonist, the RPG elements add another layer of strategy to the experience, and there’s actual treasure hunting mixed in between the shootouts. It’s only good news that next year promises an announcement for her next adventure.
