During the course of 2017, I played many games (mainly RPGs) that were excellent in their own right, but perhaps have not received the attention that they deserve. I'm going to list off a few, in no particular order, and why they deserve more love.
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
An action RPG from Falcom that oozes charm from every pore, particularly in the visual and audio departments, aided greatly by XSEED's sterling localisation. The characters and environments are styled in vibrant anime fashion, and the music ranges from earworm town tunes to atmospheric and sometimes even moving ballads. The visuals and sound effects that accompany every blow the main characters (Ragna Valentine and Alwen du Moonbria) strike make combat particularly satisfying, even if it isn't particularly complicated, and the food system that is used to level up the MCs is inventive and flexible. Zwei: II can be bought from GOG or Steam.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd
A follow-up to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC and SC, this instalment stars a new protagonist, Kevin Graham, who is working for the Septian Church as a Dominion, recovering dangerous sacred artifacts from the likes of Ouroboros, and punishing heretics on behalf of the Church. It can technically be enjoyed on its own but is mainly aimed at fans of the previous two games, as it follows up on the stories of the main and side protagonists from those games, as well as fleshing out the background of some characters. At turns heartbreaking and achingly beautiful in both narrative and music, this is a deep delve into Kevin's psyche as he strives to escape the realm of Phantasma together with Ries Argent, a colleague of his, and uncover the mysteries behind Phantasma's creation and who trapped them there. Yet another excellent JRPG from Falcom, with a wonderful localisation from XSEED, this gem can be bought from GOG or Steam.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
A visual novel cum murder mystery set in a deadly killing game that takes place at a school that has been taken over by the psychotic bear Monokuma and his Monokubs, this is an incredibly stylish and darkly disturbing game from Spike Chunsoft, developers of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and localised with proficiency by NIS America, although certain parts of the localisation, such as Gonta's dialogue, could be better. Nonetheless, Danganronpa V3 delivers a wild ride, with a very controversial but also thought-provoking and challenging ending. It can be bought on Steam, PS Vita or PS4.
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Perhaps not quite the spiritual successor to
Planescape: Torment that it was claimed or expected to be, this western RPG from inXile Entertainment is nevertheless a worthwhile journey that asks, "What does one life matter?" and answers it in insightful, sometimes surprising ways. The production values aren't stellar and the characters could have done with more depth and development, but the environments that I encountered along the way, such as the Maw (basically an organic, gigantic sentient being that devours souls and has people living in it) are mostly artfully constructed and full of side quests and nooks and crannies. The "Effort" mechanic that involves deciding how much effort (represented by points) you want your main character to put into any activity, whether it is in combat or dialogue, adds an interesting twist, even if it doesn't always make a noticeable difference to the outcome of events. Keep your expectations in check (this is a Kickstarter game after all), and you might find yourself enjoying this little RPG with a lot of heart. It can be bought on Steam or GOG.
Honourable Mentions
Miitopia
A thoroughly weird and often amusing JRPG from Nintendo starring the Miis, the virtual avatars that used to be the stars of the Wii, Wii U and 3DS. You get to create Miis or choose from your own or others' Mii collections to star as playable characters in your party and as NPCs, leading to some downright outlandish results, especially if you opt to let the game randomly choose the Miis. The dungeon crawling is very basic and pretty much on-rails, other than allowing you to choose which path to take your party down. Random events and traps spice up the dungeons though, providing humorous moments which sometimes affect your party or their relationships. Your party's relationships are also a big part of the game, leading to various gameplay bonuses as their relationship levels increase, depending on who you pair them up with. It all wears a little thin towards the end of the game as events start repeating and the relationships all follow the same track, other than the occasional quarrel. I still found it to be a relaxing and charming experience, with some pretty great tunes to accompany it. It can be bought for Nintendo 3DS.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo
Why, oh why, did I not get this game earlier? Yes, I know, it wasn't released in 2017, but that's when I bought it, and it's an honourable mention, so shush mmkay? Anyway, this chilled and expansive life sim from Nintendo starring a human (played by you) in a village full of animals is an experience that has brought me new experiences and surprises pretty much every time I fire it up, from an oceanic encounter with an otter whose hippie-ish catchphrase "Maaan" cracks me up a little when I read it, to the pleasures of sipping and serving coffee at The Roost with Brewster the pigeon. The Welcome Amiibo update added quite a chunk of content, including the camp-ground, which is run by a hippie dog called Harvey, and brings in many new interesting faces and items. The only pity is that the DLC is no longer in circulation, but this instalment of the cult AC franchise is still quite possibly the best yet, and well worth getting on Nintendo 3DS.
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