I was recently recording for Victory Achieved Gaming, specifically Ori and the Blind Forest, when, among many other topics, Kathlynn and I began talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender due to the upcoming Netflix show. While it proved to be an interesting discussion, it did end up highlighting a particular difference between myself and other fans and, upon watching it again in editing, I thought it might be interesting to do an article where I share some of my opinions that diverge from the mainstream and briefly discuss why.
1. The Legend Of Korra Is Better Than Avatar: The Last Airbender
I might as well start with this opinion since I’ve already touched on it and is what ultimately inspired me to write this blog post. I personally believe Korra to be a superior show to The Last Airbender which is something that I’ve rarely heard, if at all, from other people. However, I do have reasons as to why I have this opinion. Firstly, I don’t think The Last Airbender is as great as everyone makes it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the show overall, but I have a few issues with it. I actually bounced off the show when I first tried to watch it, finding the humour too juvenile and overwhelming the drama of the first two episodes. I eventually came back to it and persevered which is when I ran into my second problem. The first season has quite a few episodes that seem standalone and not important to the overall story. This eventually turns out not to be the case but it takes almost the whole series to finally see their relevance. I was finally drawn into The Last Airbender in the second season but these blemishes as well as a few other issues mean that I’m not as enthusiastic about the show as some others are. In contrast, I was instantly enamoured with The Legend of Korra due to its tighter storytelling and, in my personal opinion, superior balancing of humour and drama. Additionally, The Legend of Korra took several concepts from the original series that I felt was underdeveloped and fleshed them out beautifully. I’m not saying that The Legend of Korra is without its flaws but they interfered far less with my enjoyment than they did with The Last Airbender. Thus, I personally love The Legend of Korra more, in some ways much more, than The Last Airbender. I may be merely one of very few who believe this but this is something that I believe in completely and unerringly.
2. Horizon Zero Dawn Is A Mediocre Game But A Terrible RPG
I was very excited when I heard that Sony was going to be releasing their games on PC. This was mainly due to a desire to see Sony release Bloodborne on PC as well as some other titles but I admit that I was curious to try Horizon Zero Dawn since it was one of the most successful RPG releases in recent memory. However, when I finally got the chance to play the game, I was quite disappointed in the experience. To start with the positives, the graphics are quite pleasant, a few of the characters are interesting and there are some great fights against these creatures which are essentially mechanical dinosaurs. Moving onto the bad, most of the characters are bland and underdeveloped, the open world design is painfully uninspired and the side-quests are overly repetitive with a particular fixation on following glowing footprints until you reach your destination. However, what I find most disappointing is the games implementation of RPG mechanics. Aloy, the main character, can level up through earning experience but this is disappointingly basic in that it merely increases her health and gives her a skill point to spend on a very standard skill tree. Equipment was even more upsetting to me as the vast majority are extremely similar and I found myself very rarely finding something that I thought was worth actually equipping. A lot of people love Horizon Zero Dawn but I can’t help but look at it as a mediocre game and a terrible RPG.
3. Steins;Gate Is Not A Good Show
Steins;Gate is often viewed as one of the best anime series made in recent years, earning great critical acclaim and developing a fervent fanbase. What may surprise you is that not only does my thoughts on the series diverge from mainstream opinions in that regard but I found the experience of watching Steins;Gate to be a frustrating, miserable and distressing experience. The premise of the series isn’t bad, that being a story involving time travel and the consequences of it. However, the characters are some of the most infuriating that I have ever seen in any piece of media! The decisions they make are stupid, irresponsible and enraged me to no end. In particular, the ending of episode 9 dashed any hope I had of being able to enjoy the show as one of the most mind-bogglingly dumb decisions I’ve ever seen is made for the most stupid of reasons! I know that there’s a lot of people out there who can only heap praise on Steins;Gate but I only look back on it as an ordeal that I never want to experience again.
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All Is Better Than The First Game
As far as I can tell, it seems the general consensus is that Justice For All is the weakest in the original Ace Attorney trilogy with most pointing to case 1 and 3 as being the reason why. Interestingly, I found myself enjoying Justice For All more than I did the first game for several reasons. By far and away the biggest factor is the way the first two cases in the first game are handled. Perhaps the developers, afraid of overwhelming players with this new style of game, wanted to make these first two cases easier by giving you a target but I still remember the despair I felt when I saw that they both revealed who the killer was right at the beginning and the fear that this would apply to every case. Thankfully, the third case dispelled this fear but I still look back somewhat negatively on those two cases for that reason. With regards to Justice For All, I do love the dynamic that the introduction of Pearl Fey and Franziska Von Karma brings to the rest of the cast and I also like the added mechanic of using the magatama to break the psyche-locks during investigations. I know that this is a controversial opinion but I genuinely prefer Justice For All to the first game for these reasons.
These are just a few of my opinions that I believe diverge from the mainstream consensus but I thought it was quite interesting to take a look at these examples and to explain why my thoughts differ. Let me know your thoughts on my opinions, whether you agree or disagree with them, some opinions of your own that you think may diverge from mainstream thought and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.