Go fry yourself

[Yeargdribble]

This seems to be an alarming trend even in the wake of the Jeff Gerstmann debacle. I really hope that review sites keep sounding the alarm when a company tries to buy a review (like recently happened with AC2). There are more small, independent, blog-style gaming sites these days that love to get the scoops on this stuff and try to let people know.

I'm personally sick of the whole review scoring system. Numbers mean so little. It's literally a scandal if a AAA title gets less than a 9.5/10. Even worse, almost no game gets less than a 7. That is a terrible score and might as well be a 1 from the eyes of the gaming community. I can't remember the last time I saw a game get something like a 5.

I'd rather read the review and ignore the number. I don't need the number to tell me anything about the game. If the written review mentions aspects I like or dislike I can judge them by my own personal tastes. I also find it useful to find a handful of reviewers that have taste much like my own and get their honest impressions since I'm likely to feel much the same.

[VeloZer0]

I'd rather read the review and ignore the number. I don't need the number to tell me anything about the game. If the written review mentions aspects I like or dislike I can judge them by my own personal tastes. I also find it useful to find a handful of reviewers that have taste much like my own and get their honest impressions since I'm likely to feel much the same.

So true. To me it seems the number represents production value and polish more than anything else.

Also, to put it in perspective, I know for sure I am going to be buying FFXIII. As will most people on this forum I assume. To me a review is only really useful in deciding if I should buy a game or not. For us to be focusing on review scores at this point is somewhat meaningless, as most of us will most likely be buying it anyways (and further reviews probably won't sway the ones who have already made up their minds not to).

[Yeargdribble]

Yeah, I really doubt that this late in the franchise there are that many fence-sitters about the series. You probably either love it and will buy the game because it's FF... or you hate it and won't buy it to spite the fact that it's FF.

Aside from that are probably the people who have been fans of the series but find their interest waning for one reason or another, but ultimately, these people will probably buy the game anyway.

[Wolf Kanno]

I usually check reviews to get an idea of how the game works and whether it will fit my style of enjoyment. This usually allows me to avoid some level of disappointment. In the case of FFXIII, I probably will play the game despite the fact that I'm probably one of the more outspoken detractors for the game but in reality I am more concerned with the design choices and can't say it will effect my complete view of the title.

If I was going into XIII without reviews, I would probably be very disappointed when I suddenly discovered the extreme linearity and lack of proper dungeons and towns and would probably walk away from the game much like I did FFVII and X but because I know about them ahead of time, the disappointment won't hit as hard and I can instead focus on what the game does offer.

A recent good example I've seen was FF Dissidia, I have ran into a few people in the forums and outside who were terribly disappointed in the title cause the combat system wasn't like what they thought it was going to be (something like Tekken or SSBB) or were terribly disappointed of the lack of a 30+ hour epic story. I followed the game closely and discovered how the system was going to work and though I never had hopes for the plot I discovered it was about what I would imagine. Basically in the end, I feel I had a better picture of what the game was going to be like and thus was able to enjoy it cause I didn't have some naive hyped up expectations for the title. Of anything, Dissidia still surprises me with the content it does possess.

In terms of actual Review scores... I never really look at them cause as has been stated, all too often reviewers give out criminally high scores for games that sometimes don't deserve it. I remember how Crisis Core's reviews always had several complaints about its lack of difficulty and its sub par gameplay and lack of mission variety but then the reviewer would gush over how awesome it was to be back in Midgard and Nibelheim and say the story is so awesome (it isn't) that the game kept getting 9 and 10's despite the review being filled with complaints against the title. So yeah... I would say review scores should be left in the past cause they no longer serve a proper purpose.

[nirojan]

Yeah, I really doubt that this late in the franchise there are that many fence-sitters about the series. You probably either love it and will buy the game because it's FF... or you hate it and won't buy it to spite the fact that it's FF.

Aside from that are probably the people who have been fans of the series but find their interest waning for one reason or another, but ultimately, these people will probably buy the game anyway.

Yeah, the second one, that's kinda me. I've been a fan since FFIII, but none have really lived up to FFVII (no im not overrating it IT WAS REALLY A GOOD GAME GOD DAMMIT! To be fair i havnt played all of them). My faith in SE remains adament though as I know the FF series has been strong for over 20 years and you can bet your ass it'll be strong in the next 20 years. ill buy this installations and to the thread starter - I know how you feel about people making judgements before they play it....it pisses the rest of us off too, but remember that instead of listening to their stupid rants, you always have the choice to play it and judge for yourself.

[Nifleheim7]

Even worse, almost no game gets less than a 7. That is a terrible score and might as well be a 1 from the eyes of the gaming community. I can't remember the last time I saw a game get something like a 5.

You should start reading Edge.

[Roogle]

I usually check reviews to get an idea of how the game works and whether it will fit my style of enjoyment. This usually allows me to avoid some level of disappointment. In the case of FFXIII, I probably will play the game despite the fact that I'm probably one of the more outspoken detractors for the game but in reality I am more concerned with the design choices and can't say it will effect my complete view of the title.

I agree. I will ask reviewers or importers of a game that I am interested some key questions dealing with my personal tastes in games. I could not care less about what the general opinion of the game is as long as it meets my own personal requirements.

I feel like, most of the time, numerical assessments are rarely reflective of the review itself because of the pressure to not give games too badly of a score. Nintendo Power and some other magazines were notorious about not giving poor scores out depending on the production value of the game. Even independent reviewers are occasionally solicited by companies for public relations if they are popular enough.

A long time ago, Eyes on Final Fantasy used to receive free merchandise for prizes for our membership base from various gaming companies, so I understand a little bit of that pressure. It's hard to post a scathing review on the site if the company just gave you some free stuff!

[black orb]

No, not Square. Even though Wada isn't the smartest guy around, I have still managed to retain my respect for good ol' SE.

Who am I talking about then? People.

How many times in the last month have a I heard "holy ! No more towns!? This isn't an RPG! SE, you deserve to die!"

"WHAT!? You shop at a SAVE point? RIP FF..."

"It's LINEAR?! God forbid a video game be focused on a STORY."

You know what? I am fed up. This is ridiculous. First of all, most (of course, I can't say all) of these people have yet to touch this game. They are passing judgement on a product they know nothing about. People seem to be scared of change nowadays. It is either this, or they are a twitchy gamer who cannot sit still, and has to be killing something 100% of the time.

Listen. FF has always been about the story. in XIII, they decided to make it MOSTLY about the story. We are to be connected with these people, deeply moved. This is what they are focusing on.

I am just so angry right now that I don't even know how to organize my thoughts.

This game needs to be given a chance. Hold your opinions until you have payed the game. I don't judge games before I play them, and I am not going to start now. Of course, I HOPE FF XII will be great, and I am sure it will be... but I am still going in with a completely open mind. If I don't like it, I wont say otherwise.

Embrace change, buy this game and play it thinking "enlighten me, Square. Show me something new. Tell me a story." Because they will. And if you stop caring that 13 installments later, the series has gone away from it's 'roots'... maybe you will see this game for what is really is going to be.

Thank you.

(Jeeze, I feel better now!)

Edit: Forgot to say. Must every game be sandbox?? Why is it bad to not have HUGE world filled with pointless things to do, just so a game can say "ha! You can play me for hundreds of hours!!" Cool. Will those hundreds of hours be fun? Probably not. Linear. Does. Not. Equal. Badder. (Haha. badder.)

>>> This happens all the time, complain and bitch about every new FF game its our job as fans..

[Yeargdribble]

As much as it may not sound like it from my tone, I do empathize with the OP. I think people tend to pick their favorite and least favorite installments in the franchise and hate anything that breaks that mold. The seem to forget that basically every FF has done that. That's SEs MO with the series.

I think we need to walk a careful line. I think we should be able to make individual assessments based on our personal preferences. I personally loved the battle system and world of FFXII. Hearing about extremely linearity bothers me. But that's personal.

When you go over the line and say every game is a failure since VII because they never brought back materia you're getting into the scary territory.

I try to appreciate each game individually on its on merits. Sure I make comparisons, but I've found that for all of the things I may dislike, there are things I can find that I do like. The aforementioned FFXII that I enjoy so much... I just can't make myself give a crap about the story. FFX went down this same linear path and being the first with no world map I was sickened at the game. However, in the long-run FFX ended up being one of my favorites for a great variety of reasons.

So take everything with a grain of salt. You can probably always find something you'll like. But also be wary that you don't become defensive with your own personal taste to the point that you can't admit that you miss something that the game is lacking.

[Super Christ]

Hmm, the post I recall making seems to have vanished. Anyway, my own thought is this: I enjoy the series more for the stories than the games, and I'm going to pick this up because there hasn't yet been an entry in the main numbered series I haven't liked. Yet.

My original post was basically that a lot of the negative things being said about the game are by japanese gamers, and so by people who have played the game. It, by and large, is not being bashed merely by hearsay. I'm withholding judgment until I play it, but the things being said are not building my confidence. While I prefer the story, good gameplay helps too and in my opinion that has been going downhill since they got rid of the world map in X.

[Edit] Found the post, don't know why it wasn't showing when I first looked through the thread, anyway...

Anyhow, what Yeargdribble said. Even Famitsu didn't give it a perfect score, and at this point the scores they give are pretty heavily influenced by advertising revenue. And although I hate the *chans with a passion, I do fail to see how the general sentiment on 2ch is not a reasonable barometer of the Japanese response to the game, given that it is the largest internet forum in Japan and possibly the world.

I agree with the OP about giving it a try before deciding; I just think that getting so worked up about how everyone else feels about it is overreacting just a bit - I'm guessing the original thread title was "Go f- yourself"?

[Raistlin]

There's nothing wrong with listening to opinions of those who have played the game and forming your own opinions based on them. Obviously, the extremes of outright dismissing a game or claiming it will be the best thing ever, before even playing it, are both ridiculous. But simply listening to people who have played a game (not official reviews) can give you a pretty good idea about what the gameplay is like, and every individual of course already has an idea of the type of games they like to play. So there's nothing wrong with starting to form an opinion. I have read and listened to some individual reviews of the game, and so far what I've heard has not made me very enthusiastic.

If people refused to give it a try, then I'd be critical. But just for saying they don't like some of the changes? Big deal. That doesn't mean they won't "give it a chance."

[Super Christ]

If I may add one more note - the used price in Japan has been plummeting. Many used game shops, including Geo, which I understand is the leading used game shop in Japan, is only offering 1500 yen for people trying to pawn the game, which originally released for 9240 yen. That is an incredibly fast devaluation for an RPG - in fact, it's easily the lowest valued RPG on the list. Even the 2010 editions of Fifa and NBA are being bought for 2000 yen, and sports games tend to lose their value faster than any other kind of game.

[ANGRYWOLF]

could Square learn something from western rpgs/rpg makers ?

Could they learn something from games like Infamous, Mass Effect, Dragon Age etc etc ?

I think so.

The question is do people like Wada and Kitase want to learn anything new/different that could be applied to Square and FF.

and do we want them to ?

[Croyles]

People want the same game that made them get into FF.

I'm going to paste what I wrote a long time ago in another thread.

I have always thought that people on Eizon are way too tough to please when it comes to FF. Theres hardly any gaming discussion going on in this forum as it is. Ive been a member since 2003 but was browsing for years before that and I still remember everyone disliking the look of every Final Fantasy that was coming out at the time.

For a website thats dedicated to the series, one that has always been about trying something new each time, this forum is remarkably reluctant when it comes to change, and probaly the one that talks the LEAST about Final Fantasy, even compared to general gaming forums.

Personally, i'm going to play the game for myself and see if it is good. I just get the feeling most people on this forum are way too pessimistic when it comes to new FF games.

[Jiro]

If it sucks then it sucks. Back to the drawing board. If I want to play a game just like FF[insert number here] then I will go play that game. I'd rather try something new, even if it does suck. It's all about experiencing new stuff!