Reviews

[Nifleheim7]

I haven't seen a thread dedicated to reviews so i thought about making one.
So far i've only seen RPGFan's review which in my opinion sounds like a very honest one (judging from impressions i've seen on the internet)

Official Playstation Magazine (UK) review score:9/10
RPGFan Import Review - Final Fantasy XIII score:85%
Nowgamer Import Review score:7.9/10
GameFAQs User Reviews
Gamasutra FFXIII analysis(minor spoilers)
GameInformer review score:9.25
PSM3 review score:70%
Playstation Official Magazine UK review score:90%
GamesMaster review score:81%


If you know of any other reviews feel free to post them here and i'll add them in the OP.

[Flying Arrow]

That guy seems honest, indeed. I found it particularly interesting how he undermined his own "score" at the end of the review itself:

In spite of packing the series' best battle system, in spite of Pixar-level graphics, in spite of an Oscar worthy soundtrack, FFXIII lacks depth. It's sad to have to say that about a game that is superlative in so many ways. Strip away all of the amazing visuals and music and you have a 7, 7.5 game that scrapes by on the virtues of its combat.

Still, FFXIII is a landmark game if only by virtue of its production. Square Enix has raised the bar not simply for JRPGs, but all seventh generation games to come. It's a must-own for series fans and a must-see for just about everyone else. Here's hoping for some meaty DLC or a stronger showing from Versus XIII.

As far as contributing to the thread, there are a number of informative user reviews at GameFAQs (I know, I know): Final Fantasy XIII Reviews for PlayStation 3 - GameFAQs

Particularly good is the one by reviewer Ashley Winchester.

[Nifleheim7]

Yeah,i agree that the score doesn't really mach his opinions about the game but still i find the review quite objective and detailed with some very good points that i happen to agree a lot.

And man...seriously GameFAQs???
Anyway i'll add the link and read the review you recommended.

[Wolf Kanno]

Here's an amusing preview I read today for the game...

This a review of the title as well though it doesn't offer any score it does analyze a bit about the design of the game. WARNING!!! There are apparently a few story spoilers in this review though it didn't sound major to me.

An Import Review

Most reviews I've been reading are really mixed. I've read a few bad reviews and then their was the awe inspiring Famitsu review. I don't think since IX have I seen an FF with this many different opinions from gaming critics.

[Raistlin]

Here's an amusing preview I read today for the game...

Yeah, it starts out amusing, but then it gets into disappointing details which are fairly on par with my expectations now.

Most reviews I've been reading are really mixed. I've read a few bad reviews and then their was the awe inspiring Famitsu review. I don't think since IX have I seen an FF with this many different opinions from gaming critics.

To be fair, I think most of IX's early bad reviews were due to the obnoxious PlayOnline system.

[Nifleheim7]

The thing that i noticed in the few reviews that i've read so far is that the scores doesn't really match the reviewers opinions.I think they rate it a bit higher than they should if you take into account their complaints about the game.I wonder if this is because they are afraid of compromising their relationship with SE (and their media feeds.)
I think SE (and every other publisher for that matter) considers the average metacritic score a more important factor for sales than the actual reviews.

[Wolf Kanno]

That's a growing concern in the game industry. Between companies screwing reviewers out of early copies of their titles in order to make sure it doesn't get a bad score before it hits shelves or in some few cases, as retaliation for a bad review of other titles.

This just brings me back to my old thoughts about how you should never really look at a score and how rating a game has always been silly. The scores for XIII have been high but the reviews themselves come across more negative and critical of the design choices. Which is the honest opinion though? I remember Halo 3 and Crisis Core had similar problems, they got ridiculous high scores but a lot of the reviews themselves criticised several aspects of the game. Its even more jarring when the review is glowing with praise but the score doesn't feel up to par with the review. Whereas a big title always seems to get a high score no matter what.

[Quindiana Jones]

I refuse to accept any numerical judgement of something so detailed as a game. It's completely pointless and doesn't affect anything. The words the reviewer writes and the points they make are what's important. /yahtzee

Personally, based on what the reviewers have shown and talked about, it seems to me that FFXIII will be quite rubbish. I doubt I'll buy it at all, even though it is available on the 360, until it's gone down to about a tenner.

[Rad Bromance]

The only review I've came across that I actually trust is this one. He's a private individual, not from some corporation/magazine/gaming site, etc. He knows both Japanese and English, and speaks English fluently, and he played through the entire game, and recorded himself doing so, and, according to him, the game is pretty fantastic.

I will play the game, and I am excited for it. I seriously doubt it will come anywhere near being my new favorite FF game, but so far everything I've heard and read leads me to believe that I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it.

[Wolf Kanno]

I just couldn't agree with his review cause I do feel linearity detracts from a game and story should never compromise gameplay especially how extreme XIII does it. I might have a different opinion after playing though.

[nirojan]

The only review I've came across that I actually trust is this one. He's a private individual, not from some corporation/magazine/gaming site, etc. He knows both Japanese and English, and speaks English fluently, and he played through the entire game, and recorded himself doing so, and, according to him, the game is pretty fantastic.

I will play the game, and I am excited for it. I seriously doubt it will come anywhere near being my new favorite FF game, but so far everything I've heard and read leads me to believe that I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it.

isnt that the same video review you posted up earlier?

anyways...i dont want to read too many reviews cause im afraid I might spoil some of the plot for me. The new trailer that came out had soo much plot-heavy scenes that im not sure if i should have another watch thru.

[LunarWeaver]

Scanning through, I see no mention of a New Game + and even a statement that there's no reason to replay the game once beaten. Oh, Square, when will you learn from yourself.

And I'm not surprised the reviews are here and there. Like most Final Fantasy games, the hype is enormous. It will be torn apart and analyzed much more than other games.

[Sephiroth]

My personal review about Final Fantasy XIII:


Final Fantasy XIII has lots of points people can argue about - I like this points. Of course you cannot do that much optional things and the few you have you can only do at the end of the story but finishing the story line shouldn't be that bad for RPG fans. And the story itself is really, really good - well, at least it is my opinion, I cannot decide what you think about it, that's your job. Final Fantasy XIII is definitely the most difficult Final Fantasy - and I have them all. So it is quite a challenge. You think using sneak smoke items - which you don't have limitless and which can only be bought at the end of the story line for 30000 Gil - or sneaking around your enemies is good for you? You will regret it one day when you are too weak for your enemies. Even when you use the Optima system properly it is still hard, you have to combine both of them - training and the Optima system. Of course upgrading your equipment is very useful as well - very, very useful. And I have never seen a Final Fantasy which forced me to buy and use that much Potions and Phoenix Downs, well more Potions than Phoenix Downs but you really need them because when you are unlucky your healer is not fast enough and Items don't need ATB bars as well as the Tactical Point moves (which are good as well because of the Summons or Full Cure, et cetera). You have a fair amount of save points including their shops and a very good restart option in case you get ko. You start directly before the battle you have lost and you can skip annoying scenes if you don't want to watch them again and again. Plus, I have never fought such a hard final boss as the second form of the final boss of Final Fantasy XIII. Not even Zeromus or Neo X-Death were that hard. 67800000 Hit Points and a gravity based attack which destroys you when you are in bio or an action which doesn't allow you to use ATB moves, hello o_O? Anyway - the battles - even the battle against this bastard are very funny and stylish. And I love the characters - while Final Fantasy XII was not that emotional, Final Fantasy XIII really shows what the characters feel. Sure there are some strange moments you think "Okay...that really was NOT necessary." but hey, even though it is very good, it is not perfect. And I don't think I have to mention the graphics. They are awesome.

Well, I can recommend Final Fantasy XIII. I have really enjoyed it. Even the linear aspect. At least I was able to understand the story better because I couldn't do optional things.

[Nifleheim7]

^The problem with FFXIII's design choices (and every other RPG the uses the same ones) is that if you don't happen to like the story and characters then the game is ruined.
I didn't liked the characters in FFXII but because of its open ended design the game let me enjoy its other strong points (exploration,battle system,atmosphere) and i ended up liking it.My first playthrough was more than 300 hours (i didn't use a guide while trying to complete everything) and i still have lots of things left to do for my second paythrough.

I think a lot of developers today are getting too much inspiration by movies when they should be looking at the strengths of the video game format instead.

[Jecht Shot]

For what its worth, the GameInformer review is out, and they gave FFXIII a 9.25.