First Major Western Review of Final Fantasy XIII [JP Version]

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I think regardless of reviews most people will already know whether they want to buy the game or not, the only question I would ask is why - considering this is supposed to be from the Official Playstation Magazine - they have a beat 'em up/fighting game fanatic (possibly the most generic genre going) reviewing an RPG when he probably doesn't have that much expertise on it.

All being said, average the 4 scores he's given and it's 8.5 not 7.9 >.>
 
as more iterations of a series come out, the chances of each new iteration being a huge hit/success decrease. it's probability....1/1, 1/2, 1/3...1/13. does everyone see the trend? so why do people hold these unrealistic expectations that the newest one has to be the best ever - when the odds are always increasingly against them?

just play it yourself. if you're unsure about buying, rent or play a friend's. it isn't life or death. i didn't even bat an eye at this review - it's just an opinion. star ocean 3 was ripped apart for its story/music, and i loved it for exactly the same reasons the reviewers bashed it. reviews are opinions, so how reliable is another person's opinion on a game? only as much as their preference aligns with yours.
 
I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks about a game or movie or anything else for that matter.

All that matters is what I'm going to think about it and the only way to find out is by playing it.

Not everyone's tastes in games are the same. The reviewer could have very well just not liked the game and therefore only pointed out what he didn't like about the game (I don't know because I'd prefer not to read it) and left out the great parts about it.

Don't go 'Oh no this person said it's only worth a 7.9/10'.

He/she's no one special. They're just one person who reviewed the game.

It really comes down to just having to play it for yourself to really know and before judging it. >.<
 
Cid Raines said:
I think regardless of reviews most people will already know whether they want to buy the game or not, the only question I would ask is why - considering this is supposed to be from the Official Playstation Magazine - they have a beat 'em up/fighting game fanatic (possibly the most generic genre going) reviewing an RPG when he probably doesn't have that much expertise on it.

All being said, average the 4 scores he's given and it's 8.5 not 7.9 >.>
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Well he's fluent in Japanese, which probably makes him more qualified than most other writers they have on staff to write a decent review at this point.
 
The review here doesn't present any spoilers, but it's difficult to know exactly what he means unless he gives specifics about the story, characters and environments.

His statements...

"feels like – a bunch of highly polished rocks"
"The enemies of the game are unsuccessful in invoking any of the strong emotions"
"this art feels like little more than wallpaper thrown over a tunnel that players walk through"

...are highly subjective and non-specific. It would be different if he said the game was full of bugs or if he said that one of the characters vanishes from the story part-way through with no explanation; those are serious, empirical things. So yes, this is just his opinion. Even so, it's disappointing that the game isn't as universally wowing as many people thought it would be.
 
I think that the fact he's a beat 'em up game player is irrelevant. That doesn't stop him being able to play, enjoy or know about RPGs. His review is just as valid as anyone's, maybe even more since he might not play RPGs as much and represents that portion of the market.

At the end of the day I'm going to buy the game and I don't think one review should deter anyone else. Even games that have great reviews can be rubbish and vice versa. Someone's opinion (or the majority for that matter) isn't going to reflect your view of the game. It's completely subjective. I really don't care if 2 million people are enjoying the game, I want to enjoy it! :D Not everyone will like it and it's important to remember that.

That being said, I'd be a fool to say that reviews don't affect me. The reviewer has problems with the story and nothing kills a game like a poor story. I've played games that have poor gameplay just to enjoy the good story.

I am skeptical about the review as well. A game that falls into a "precise pile of rubble" would hardly be given a score of 7.9. And it's claimed to be lifeless compared to FF7's Gold Saucer... I didn't think the Gold Saucer was particularly full of life or even felt real. I've only felt that way about environments like those found in Assassins Creed etc.


Or he could be right and we'll all find out it's a shite game. :monster:
 
The only one who can be truly the reviewer is the player. I will get the game and see for myself how amazing, good or atrocious it is. Usually I take review scores and descriptions into account when I am playing the game, but reviews are never really the decisive point for me.

For all I know, FFXIII could be reviewed the worst ever Final Fantasy ever generated from Square Enix's magic factory, but I may still love it to death. We have seen the opposite example with FFXII. It received an average of 92 from Metacritics, 40/40 from Famitsu and 10/10 from various PS2 gaming magazines- yet many people despise it (though I enjoyed it).

In no way have the reviews I have seen- and what we have seen so far suggest that FFXIII will be a complete failure and disappointment (other than to diehard anti-FF individuals). I look forward to the challenging battles laying ahead and seeing the beautiful environments- the linearity does not and has never bothered me.
 
How many "first" reviews are there going to be?

I don't think I'll be letting reviews cloud my judgement about this game. I have played a few Final Fantasy games that people thought were terrible, and ended up loving them. I don't think this will be any different, but we will just have to wait and see how Final Fantasy fans like this game.
 
Graye said:
I think that the fact he's a beat 'em up game player is irrelevant. That doesn't stop him being able to play, enjoy or know about RPGs. His review is just as valid as anyone's, maybe even more since he might not play RPGs as much and represents that portion of the market.
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Yes, he has valid views but there will be other people who are specialised in reviewing RPG's, especially given that it's the one of the main gaming magazines that would most likely reflect a more correct score (whether higher or lower), you have to take into consideration the standard of other RPGs and the technical side of the game which having a look at his other reviews, is something he lacks.

Naturally he'll have his own opinion, but for such a massive title I wanted to see a professional who specialises in RPGs to review the game since any person could write about a genre they don't specifiy in.
 
His main criticisms were for the most part based on story aspects and the environment. Granted, I don't know what makes someone an RPG specialist (didn't know they existed!) but I don't see how we need a specialist's perspective on those aspects. IMHO, story and how the game feels is something anyone can comment on.

I was just saying because I thought the main reason you didn't like the review was because it didn't give the amazing score most people wanted. I just thought his reasoning for the score wasn't any less important just because he's not a 'specialist'.

I'm making a huge assumption though. If you wanted a specialist review regardless, then I apologise.
 
I find it kinda funny that a fair bit of people are all "OMG he trashed teh game" when he rated it 7.9, which still qualifies as pretty good. Still, I have more than once played and enjoyed games that have review scores at 6.0, so maybe it's just that my standards are somewhat more lax than other gamers.

But I digress. IMO a single review is hardly something to base one's opinion on. Famitsu gave the game 39/40, and there are still plenty of good reviews from other sources, and we still don't know if the localization will change opinions or not.
 
Meh, I'm not really too fussed on the score, based on other reviews, I saw it coming. I just expected more substance from a review that's [allegedly] classed as the "first major western review". I agree that anyone could write a review based on their opinion on a storyline and character and he does a good job of telling us what the battle system does but not really why or what's bad or good about individual aspects of the game.

I know that he's only able to write so much because it's Japanese and also there's a risk of spoilers but I'd prefer more of an opinion on what's right and wrong with the game rather than just tiny summaries. D:
 
Kandy-Sugar said:
Don't go 'Oh no this person said it's only worth a 7.9/10'.

He/she's no one special. They're just one person who reviewed the game.

It really comes down to just having to play it for yourself to really know and before judging it. >.<
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Agree with this. Brought a game in the past because it received a 10/10 score in a PlayStation magazine only to find out that wasn't as good as they all made it out to be..

Even though this was another not so great review on Final Fantasy 13 is still really hopeful that the game is going to turn out worth the wait or even just worth the while.

If the reviewer gave it a prefect score this may sounds strange but would be a little worried because it would have the feeling of it being overhyped by the reviewer. Is glad that he gave it a honest opinion and not just upgraded it because it was the latest Final Fantasy game.:nope:
 
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