2021 Resolutions, Part Two

[rynling]

(3) Switch the web browsers on my phone and iPad to Firefox.

It’s going to be annoying to have to re-enter all my passwords for everything over the next few days, but I went ahead and did this. I’m not paranoid about web security, especially since 95% of what I do online is to double-check dates on Wikipedia and look up Korok seed locations, but fuck Chrome and Safari. You can’t delete the apps, but I cleared all the history and cookies.

(4) Create a page on Linktree and post it on my Instagram bio.

Despite my distaste for anything even remotely related to Facebook, I was surprised by how much engagement my account on IG has gotten during the past year, so why not. Since it takes less than ten minutes, I went ahead and made a Linktree page (here).

(5) Finally play Root Letter.

I’ve heard interesting things about this visual novel, and it’s been at the top of my “games I’ve been meaning to play” list since a North American version was released in 2019. It was recently on sale on the Nintendo Switch store (here), so I went ahead and downloaded it to my console.

(6) Participate in the 2021 Sketchbook Project.

This is another thing that’s discounted right now (here), so I went ahead and ordered my sketchbook for the next series. I think the likelihood of anyone ever looking at my work is slim to none, but having my sketchbooks professionally digitized and catalogued in an actual library makes me feel special and important. I’ll take what I can get.

Comments

[lassarina]

Root Letter is on my to-play list, too! I heard good things about it, and I'll want to reward myself for something at some point, I'm sure.

[rynling]

I was thinking Root Letter would be a thirty-hour game like Steins;Gate, but it only takes about five hours. I finished the game earlier this week, making it another resolution I ended up achieving before the end of 2020.

(Damn I love achievable goals.)

(And Happy New Year!!)

Root Letter is good, but not great. Like, a solid 6/10. My main complaint is that the translation is garbage, but the virtual tourism elements are nice. I'm working on a review, and I'll link to it in another reply to your comment when it's posted.

[rynling]

Okay, finished!

My long review of Root Letter is here:
https://kathrynhemmann.com/2021/01/03/root-letter/

TLDR: The story is interesting but the translation is garbage.

[lassarina]

Reading that review felt a lot like my reaction to Persona 4 and Persona 5, which is to say "I liked them a lot but there were definitely some Cultural Choices that didn't translate very well" (Persona 4 definitely has the Fat Kid Bullshit happening, for example). I feel like I have a lot more context for what is good and rough about the game, which is (usually) what I want a review for, so thank you very much!