Tag Archives: Noriyuki Iwadare

16 Video Games That Make Me Who I Am

In spite of this being my own personal website, I usually am very careful not to talk too much about myself, because I don’t think people actually come here to learn about me. People stumble upon my website through Google searches for video games or sometimes for weird philosophy, so those are the two chief subjects I think I should be delivering.

But I realize that the only way I can expect to grow a more dedicated audience of readers is if I pull back the curtain and start letting you know a little more about me… which is why I’m writing another article about video games.

Video games make me who I am. And yes, I know how extraordinarily nerdy that is, but I don’t care. Video games are to me what books are to people who love reading. (Because in spite of having graduated summa cum laude with an English degree, and in spite of fiction writing being my major passion, the only fiction books I read are Star Wars.) I love video games, and I don’t regret having spent a ridiculous percentage of my childhood playing them at the expense of other opportunities.

So what follows below is–if I’m being honest–just another “favorite video games” list, one of the thousands available online. But I’m going to use it as a rare opportunity to put my actual personality out there, for those who might be curious. So let’s get started! Read more

Retro Review: Grandia II Anniversary Edition

While I love and mildly worship the Lunar series, I did not have as fond a time with the original Grandia when I finally played it through the PlayStation Store. Unlike many, I found its story and characters to be generic at best or boring at worst, its battle system to be far too easy to exploit to remove all challenge, and even its music to be surprisingly unpleasant. Grandia II, which I did play briefly on the Dreamcast when it released, fares a lot better in my estimation. It jovially embraces practically every cliche of the JRPG genre–much like its predecessor and Lunar–but it stands out on the great depth of its battle system. This review will be covering the anniversary edition port on the PC. Read more