Lightning Returns Review Thread
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
And then they'll come around the next year when everyone has bought it used and cheap and realizes how fun it is.
The Last One
Member
If you guys take a look in all the past threads of the game you will get a vibe from the comments that the game only deserves a 3/10.
KoopaTheCasual
Junior Member
FFX: 92
FFXI: 85
FFXII: 92
FFXIII: 83
FFXIII-2: 79
FFXIII-LR: ~50-70
There's no conceivable way to spin this.
I'm not going to name names or things, but I was asked to increase the score on an FF game.
The reasons were not the best: "they would get a lot of hate mail" and "there are already a few scores on Metacritic, and yours is too far off from them." Also "guys in the office like it."
They agreed that my review text justified the score, and that I was even-handed, etc. But the score was "too low."
At that point, the minimum score you could give an FF game was an 8, BTW.
This was a long while ago, but I think the stigma against scoring mainline FF games low is still there.
I liked them too, but let's not interrupt the weekly "FFXIII is shit"-fest.
FFVI WAS THE LAST GOOD FF! etc
cj_iwakura
Member
Someone needs to start blowing whistles on this. It's unacceptable.
Black Door
Banned
So, the time has finally come. Lightning's era is over, Noctis up next.
Let's throw a party.
What happens if that gets 7s too (remember, XIII also looked mind blowing in trailers)
UberTag
Member
Keep telling yourself that.
I'm sure Toriyama does every day while he works on getting the next Lightning game out before FFXV ships.
ambientmystic
Member
Expectations are already so bloody low that any improvement evident in FF XV will be seized upon. It'll be hailed as a revival of the FF that the fanbase knew and loved in the past.
DarkLordMalik
Member
Maybe he meant the series and not necessarily the characters of XIII.
Mihos
Gold Member
well... I fricken loved FF13-2 but hated 13-1, so by that scale this is my GOTY.
I seriously, seriously doubt that game will get a lot of 7's. Even if 15 gives us half of what's promised, it'll be a better game.
Gross. Kill review scores.
UtterlyPerplexed
Member
Developed by Silicon Studios. Published by Nintendo.
I mean, I don't doubt that SE can make something just like it with an internal team of their own, but be wary of giving Square undue credit.
It happens everywhere.
AAA Metacritic is highly gamed by the publishers.
And if someone steps out of line, the fans of the game / GAF attack the outlet for bias or whatever.
It's not as egregious as the magazine that actively "adjusted" reviews based on how much advertising they received from the publisher.
I wish all the mags would sack up and go to a Red/Yellow/Green system, but they never will.
Whenever a site talks about changing its review system, PR people step in because it'll effect their Metacritic.
For example, one outlet added a half star between 4 and 5 just due to PR pressure. Because, as far as their average is concerned, there's a big difference between a 4 and a 4.5 on a 5 star scale, when you're trying to get above a 90% average.
So the entire industry wants more granularity, not less.
Don't worry, it seems like they're already planning to move onto X-3 to ruin that storyline instead!
theprodigy
Member
ah, I see we're back on the "shit on other games that were received better" part now
You could start with every Rockstar game first.
FF, and most Japanese games, don't get this benefit in review scores now. Maybe they did 10 years ago. But that's not the case now, and in fact I think it's honestly the opposite of that. They get lower scores because of the name alone. If Atlus had released a game at XIII's quality level, it would be 10/10 everywhere and people would be in complete shock.
You see this same hesitancy to give low scores now, but it's for big time western franchises, like Assassin's Creed 3, GTA IV, and Mass Effect 3.
Red Mage
Member
Maybe they're thinking of this?
http://kotaku.com/5893785/yes-a-games-writer-was-fired-over-review-scores
AuthenticM
Member
name 'em.
KoopaTheCasual
Junior Member
It would certainly explain how every single FF back in the day always sat nicely at 92 or 94, without fail.
Yes yes yes.
DarkLordMalik
Member
Lets kill metacritic first.
Expanding a bit on the title discussion... It really is a shame that people judge the game so harshly because it has a legacy to live up to and nothing more (pretty much everyone that criticize the game do so by making references to the past).
You would imagine that a series that reinvents itself in each new entry, not only characters/plot wise but more importantly gameplay wise (see how the game improved, changed and added so many new things only in the XIII games) would have no need to be treated like that.
As others have said it would be extremely interesting to see how this game did if it wasn't called FF. It would probably be considered a sleeper hit or something. I mean most people never questioned Nier lackluster gameplay mechanics and pacing. Neither did they mention Slow Motion Souls series for being extremely safe in every new entry and repeating big part of its boring and repetitive gameplay choices. But of course, in that case its a matter of consistency.
No, thanks. I would rather get ~vibes~ from actually playing the game.
You would imagine that a series that reinvents itself in each new entry, not only characters/plot wise but more importantly gameplay wise (see how the game improved, changed and added so many new things only in the XIII games) would have no need to be treated like that.
As others have said it would be extremely interesting to see how this game did if it wasn't called FF. It would probably be considered a sleeper hit or something. I mean most people never questioned Nier lackluster gameplay mechanics and pacing. Neither did they mention Slow Motion Souls series for being extremely safe in every new entry and repeating big part of its boring and repetitive gameplay choices. But of course, in that case its a matter of consistency.
No, thanks. I would rather get ~vibes~ from actually playing the game.
Ah. Son of a biznitch.
DigitalDevilSummoner
zero cognitive reasoning abilities
technically it's the sequel of a spin-off
IGN gave Dirge of Cerberus the same score http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/dirge-of-cerberus-final-fantasy-vii/critic-reviews
I agree with this.
For me at least, the fact that the story in LR is so bad, that one wouldn't even wanna use it for a social mobile game is telling me everything.
I will not appreciate this in future Final Fantasy games anymore!
the_sun_king
Member
Not surprised with the critiques on the story. This trilogy's narrative is a clusterfuck.
Funny enough, DoC was all graphics and subpar gameplay. LR is the complete opposite and scores the same.
Probably from different reviewers though consider DoC came out ages ago, which makes me question the relevance of this comparison...
I think most impartial observers can admit that LR is significantly better than Dirge of Cerberus.
Comparing reviews from different people over large gaps of time is interesting, but ultimately doesn't tell you much of anything.
KoopaTheCasual
Junior Member
If it somehow managed the same without the bloated budget of FF titles, then yes, it would be looked upon much more favorably. However, part of the reason FF in general are held to such a high standard, is because the wealth or resources and talent at their disposal. If a dev pumped out LR with a fraction of the staff, funding, and talent of SE, it would be a borderline miracle. It would still review poorly, and I actually expect it would review worse, because it wouldn't be victim of inflated review scores (just look at Ravidrath's posts for examples of what the FF name does to review scores). It would also sell much less, because it wouldn't have the strong marketing arm and name of SE attached to it. However, I feel that it would have much less negative press (partly because it would be overlooked), and would have a very dedicated following.
It's funny you bring up Nier. The game reviewed poorly, did not sell in the neighborhood of any FF title, and was generally overlooked by the public. Nevertheless, it has a devoted following of fans of the game/director.
DarkLordMalik
Member
I doubt Lightning will go this low.
I'm no fan of Toriyama but I can get behind this train of thought, honestly. More Lightning is always a good thing. :3
The Last One
Member
Seems about what I expected. I never though of this or XIII-2 as real mainline games anyway so I guess I don't have such big expectations. It'll be interesting to see how I feel once I finish this game. Just hoping to enjoy the combat and just to see WTF is going to happen in the last installment of this trilogy.