Square Enix on Low Western FF13 scores

[MatParker116]

http://kotaku.com/5472712/square-enix-attempts-to-explain-low-western-reviews

"We think many reviewers are looking at Final Fantasy XIII from a western point of view," says Toriyama in a recent issue of Xbox World 360. "When you look at most Western RPGs, they just dump you in a big open world, and let you do whatever you like..." Toriyama adds that it "becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom"

Mr Toriyama have you ever heard of:
Fallout
Dragon Age
Mass Effect
KOTOR
Elder Scrolls 4

These all do an excellent Job of telling amazing stories in an open world. Anyone else want to weight in?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/JRPG-Defense-Rangers

 

[Armored Prayer]

Big deal its just some guys opinion.

 

[Aura Guardian]

http://kotaku.com/5472712/square-enix-attempts-to-explain-low-western-reviews

"We think many reviewers are looking at Final Fantasy XIII from a western point of view," says Toriyama in a recent issue of Xbox World 360. "When you look at most Western RPGs, they just dump you in a big open world, and let you do whatever you like..." Toriyama adds that it "becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom"

Mr Toriyama have you ever heard of:
Fallout
Dragon Age
Mass Effect
KOTOR
Elder Scrolls 4

These all do an excellent Job of telling amazing stories in an open world. Anyone else want to weight in?

So do the JRPGs. Some of them have good stories and bad ones. Just the WRPGs.

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

Dibs on Dragonzord.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

Dibs on Dragonzord.

Dragonzord is all yours.

I call Mastodon.

 

[driveBYargument]

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

Joy...

 

[Metalgamer81]

I think that was a pretty awful response to negative reviews. It's like saying that poor review scores are the fault of the audience for expecting too much.

I think this is what ultimately soured me on JRPGs. Don't get me wrong, I was one of the most avid JRPG gamers I ever knew for a long time. I was the guy who dug through bargain bins and browsed eBay to find those PS1 and PS2 RPGs that no one ever heard of because the title contained neither "final" nor "fantasy."

However, due to the fact that the Western RPGs kept getting better and better while the Japanese RPGs tried to wash over their stagnation with longer cut scenes and turn-based combat masquerading as something besides turn-based combat I find that I am less and less compelled to play the latter. I think the JRPG had its heyday and if the genre is to survive it's going to have to adapt the "open-world" direction that the rest of the video game world is going in. You can't continue to make games the same way for over 20 years and ignore the progress all around you, then condemn gamers for wanting you to step up your game. If JRPG developers don't want to make better games, they should probably find a new career.

The days that you could put a mediocre game out, squeeze the words "Final Fantasy" into the title and make obscene amounts of money are over.

 

[Signa]

Some one sounds pissed that they are too lazy to make a good game. I seem to remember a game with two really large open worlds and an amazing story with some strong character development.... oh what what is called? Oh yeah, Final Fantasy 6.

Granted the open world in FF6 wasn't the same as the open world in Oblivion, but there still was a grand sense of exploration all the way back then on the SNES. It wouldn't be hard to shoehorn Oblivion style gameplay into FF6's world at all.

 

[malestrithe]

Before I run away from this thread in fear, I will add this.

Does not matter what reviewers think. The game is still going to sell well. Final Fantasy fanboys will buy the game, will beat it, will get every single trophy and achievement, will get every weapon, and will enjoy every single last minute playing the game.

What causes the hate is the illusion that western RPGs are better than JRPGs even though they are not different. Both genres tell a linear story, both give you control over combat and little else, and both only only advance the plot when you choose to advance.

You have an illusion of control in western rpgs and that is it.

 

[Amnestic]

Dibs on Dragonzord.

I call Mastadon, because it's a black guy with a vague euphemism for penis.

Also, Oblivion did a terrible job of telling a story.

Edit: FUCK Someone else called Mastadon.

Fine, I'll take Triceratops. Fucking three-horned beastie will gore your face off.

 

[xxnightlawxx]

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

If thats a real group I'm in!

 

[Casual Shinji]

Fans don't want Final Fantasy to change.

Just look at the community's reaction to FF12.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Dibs on Dragonzord.

[HEADING=1]Also, Oblivion did a terrible job of telling a story.[/HEADING]

I too was confused that he listed that game as games with a good story. Look at the post under this one. I think it's save to say that a vast majority of the users on this site hated this games story.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

http://kotaku.com/5472712/square-enix-attempts-to-explain-low-western-reviews

Mr Toriyama have you ever heard of:
Fallout
Dragon Age
Mass Effect
KOTOR
Elder Scrolls 4

These all do an excellent Job of telling amazing stories in an open world. Anyone else want to weight in?

One more thing...I'm a huge Oblivion fan (arguably the biggest on the site), but that story SUCKED.

 

[Benjeezy]

It never seems like a goood idea to explain why people don't like your game. It comes across as being indenial or rationalizing.

Just look at how Tony Hawk responded to reviews of his last game, Ride. He said they weren't giving it a fair chance, and were biased against it.

We LOL'd.

 

[AfterAscon]

Considering past FF games have and are still being held in high regard it seems they're trying to find reasons for potential failings in the recent series.

Granted WRPGs have become a much bigger market since those early incarnations, reviewers in the west still frequently review JRPGs and have experience to draw good pros and cons from.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Oh look...a JRPG hate thread.


GO GO JRPG DEFENSE RANGERS!

If thats a real group I'm in!

It is now...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/JRPG-Defense-Rangers

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

http://kotaku.com/5472712/square-enix-attempts-to-explain-low-western-reviews



Mr Toriyama have you ever heard of:
Fallout
Dragon Age
Mass Effect
KOTOR
Elder Scrolls 4

These all do an excellent Job of telling amazing stories in an open world. Anyone else want to weight in?

Fallout 3's story sucked. Come on getting trapped in a virtual world while in a desolate Nuclear Wasteland? The Last Boss was a joke. And it had less NPC interactivity than Oblivion.

Dragon Age's story was unoriginal and it's gameplay was flawed.

Elder Scrolls 4's story sucked. And the leveling system was the most monotonous thing in the world.


Maybe you just hate Japanese RPGS. And they call Japan a country full of Xenophobes...

 

[Cabisco]

Dibs on Dragonzord.

Dragonzord is all yours.

I call Mastodon.

God damn it, well i suppose i'm going to have to be the shitty ass tyrannosaurus... I still get to hang with you guys right? right?

OT: Like i've said before, I'm not into japanese games anymore, i find a large part of their story, combat, style annoying. But I do think Final Fantasy 13 may change that, so i would likely agree with Toriyama from the interview. I look at my games personally from a western point of view, hense me not liking japanese games much. I do disagree on his suggesting that open world=less story.

Either way, I'm getting FF13 to prove myself wrong and get back into a franchise I used to love. Random fact: even though I say I don't like japanese games much anymore, the first game I truely loved was FF8. This is why I'm giving the franchise a third chance (fuck you 9 and 10).