Reviews and Comments

I have no strong memories of Mega Man 3, but I don't think that affected my lukewarm response to this book. The author sort of takes MM3's uneasy status as the less-acclaimed follow-up to a widely beloved game as a prompt to explore the role of nostalgia in why they like it so much... but it's just all not really that interesting or insightful a personal reflection. And the analogy between Mega Man collecting weapons and the nostalgia-driven impulse toward video game collection is heavy-handed and unconvincing.

The stories about the development of MM3 are kind of interesting, and the author clearly did their research, but the personal stuff just didn't really add to the reading experience, for me.

Focusing on the music was a pretty good choice — FFVI's soundtrack is iconic and not very thoroughly covered in the otherwise comprehensive Reverse Design book (which I obtained a free PDF of before they made the "definitive version" which they're now charging $50 for): thegamedesignforum.com/features/reverse_design_ff6_1.html

It seems like all the Boss Fight books I've read have some overbaked figures of speech, and this one is no exception — "It’s kawaii repackaged for the JV football team," "If climate change doesn’t kill us first, humanity will die drowning in attitude tees and Funko Pops" — but it does a good job of contextualizing Uematsu's music at a strange intersection of "low" and "high" art and drawing out his skillful use of leitmotif. A solid read for those who, like me, are somewhat musically inclined and for whom FFVI remains a linchpin of video game music.

Devoured this in two days, half because it carried me along so effectively and half because I wanted to finish it because it made me anxious. This book accomplished what I understood to be its goals with incredible precision. Some of the satire was a bit broad but it was all eminently believable, as were the characters (all a little bit relatable, all a little bit despicable). Absolutely outstanding book. I'm glad to be done with it.

Going to Goodreads and seeing all the 4- and 5-star reviews for this was an absolutely baffling experience. Did they read the same book I did? Emotionally, narratively and stylistically simplistic, and absolutely hell-bent on melodramatically telling rather than showing what the characters are thinking and feeling. Its treatment of people's relationships, with both other people and the literature it purports to revere, is superficial. Two stars because it's inoffensive and likable enough and has a few charming moments, but there's just no there there.