Xenoflare
Member
Called it. Not for USgamer (since I have no idea what that is), but I knew the game would get shat on for reused assets.
Sounds like your typical "all japanese games are shite" reviews.
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Tales of Xillia 2 |OT| Return of the Bazongas
- Thread starter kayos90
- Start date
Called it. Not for USgamer (since I have no idea what that is), but I knew the game would get shat on for reused assets.
Sounds like your typical "all japanese games are shite" reviews.
Xillia 1 did it too iirc. JPN Xillia 2 definitely does this.
The opening is still there. Skip to 14:25.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tue086c-0RM
It just pops in after you progress a bit. Xillia 1 was the same.
Yup, just came across it. Happens after the first animated cutscene with Elle. Apologies.
PSU gave it a 90: http://www.psu.com/review/24376/Tales-of-Xillia-2-PS3-Review--a-love-letter-to-Tales-fans
About the bonus storyline scenes when you raise character affinity, are they all easy to view on a first playthrough?
About the bonus storyline scenes when you raise character affinity, are they all easy to view on a first playthrough?
You can unlock new costumes if you've played Graces f and Xillia, right? Hopefully it doesn't need a full finished save data. My father lost my ToX copy when I was about to fight the fucking final boss
(Muzet + Gaius)
It still has the average Tales game Metascore, which is between 75 and 80 lol.
Man, you worried me for a second. Progress was cool, but this game opening is amazing IMO.
A shame they didn't continue with the tradition of dubbing openings (like they did in Vesperia and Graces). I really loved Ring a Bell in English, that song is somewhere on my phone SD card. The Graces song... to cheesy for my tastes xD
Sithlord77
Banned
I heard its possible to get all trophies in one playrhrough?
How hard is this and what are the missables that will lock you outbfor good? I want this to be the first Tales game I platinum
How hard is this and what are the missables that will lock you outbfor good? I want this to be the first Tales game I platinum
Xenoflare
Member
Losing the fight of not spoiling myself even further (since I already watched most of the game in Japanese back in the day).
I'm really glad that Milla's "lisp" is gone, she suffered from a bad mic in Xillia 1. Even though the audio quality is still meh.
Her English VA got a lot more flak than she deserved, she did a decent job.
I'm really glad that Milla's "lisp" is gone, she suffered from a bad mic in Xillia 1. Even though the audio quality is still meh.
Her English VA got a lot more flak than she deserved, she did a decent job.
Well, that certainly sounds like something no one should ever pay attention to
I wonder what would a reviewer think when he sees other reviews and discover that a game is praised by everybody but him.
You're supposed to look at that stuff from an as objetive as posible point of view. If everybody gives the game a vastly superior score, aren't you "wrong"?
I mean, if a review is as subjective as a GAF LTTP thread, I think there is something wrong.
You can swith party leaders for wandering through the fields in any modern Tales game. It'd be weird if they didn't let you here.
This is the problem with reviews, if it's reviewed by someone who is not into JRPGs or did not like the first Xillia there is no reason he will like part 2 .
I have not played ToX 2 yet but I don't see why I would not like the 2 if I really liked the first one .
I guess everyone looks for different things in reviews, but in my opinions all reviews are inherently subjective. They aren't reviewing a dishwasher, but an artistic experience where multiple interpretations are possible. Sure, there are some objective elements in all games (press this button to attack). But most other individual elements are up for debate (graphics, gameplay, story, etc), let alone the experience as a whole. I don't think there is such a thing as a 'wrong score', especially if it's backed up with well-reasoned arguments.
Letting 'fans' (someone who already loves the genre or franchise) review games is a double-edged sword. They can be the harshest critics, but also oftentimes way too forgiving. I don't dislike it when someone relatively new to the series reviews a game, as different perspectives are always valuable. Having said that, this particular reviewer is well-versed with JRPG's and the Tales of series.
The Last Wizard
Member
Does this start as slow as xillia 1?
Looking forward to see if the op can top white wishes for me.
Looking forward to see if the op can top white wishes for me.
TheBlueBomber
Member
Well, giving the first one another shot when i can get to pick a copy up, i REALLY want to like this series, and the tips some of you gave me will hopefully help, ill have to let you guys know how i feel after i play the first one
Also, do you guys have any tips gameplay wise for me?? or where i can find a good guide to help me with the game?
Also, do you guys have any tips gameplay wise for me?? or where i can find a good guide to help me with the game?
No. If you read the review you'd know that isn't the message of the review at all.
Every review is worth paying attention to, assuming it's an actual review and not a bullshit manual.
I disagree. It's impossible to be objective with an opinion, unless you want a review to devolve into a checklist of hard facts. Reviewers should bring their biases to the table (and readers should be familiar with these biases as well to apply their own value modification) because it is impossible not to, it worms its way into the text regardless of how hard you try to stomp it out.
How would you score it then? Well they should score it however they want, because the score isn't the important part, it's the text. As long as the reviewer justifies all negative and positive points, preferably with examples or comparisons to other games in the series/genre (because these games aren't reviewed in a vacuum), all reviews are valid. They could say things like "the menus are a pain to navigate" or "these two gameplay elements are dissonant to each other" or "the depiction of this character is problematic because..." or even "There is too much downtime or tediousness in moving through the fields" Of course, you could also be the type that doesn't need reviews anymore to make purchasing decisions.
Whether a reviewer does a good enough job for justifying their scores though, that's another question.
Nailed it. Thanks demidar!
anyone? :_(
I can't read JP well and I beat every Tales game. lol.
enigmatic_alex44
Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
Despite some of the bad review scores, I'm SOOOOOO excited for this today!!!!!
I've avoided reading previews and all I know is Xillia 2 does reuse some assets from the first game, but I won't let that bother me. Just wish it wasn't priced $69.99 in Canada ;_;
But from what little I've heard, this game is supposed to blow Xillia 1 away (which I already really enjoyed) and is considered one of the better Tales, right?
I've avoided reading previews and all I know is Xillia 2 does reuse some assets from the first game, but I won't let that bother me. Just wish it wasn't priced $69.99 in Canada ;_;
But from what little I've heard, this game is supposed to blow Xillia 1 away (which I already really enjoyed) and is considered one of the better Tales, right?
I agree with you, but still a 4 ? I mean did he reviewed Graces ? if so he must have given the game a 1....
I suggest reading the points and criticisms he makes, don't worry too much about the number.
You can't obviously be objective with a review. That's obvious. But when you're reviewing a product and you know your opinion can affect other people choices, you can't just go and do something as biased as that review.
Even if you can't just go and go full objective, you need to distantiate from your personal tastes. I don't like Monster Hunter for various reasons. I wouldn't buy a MH game. But if I had to review MH4U when it launches, I wouldn't put it a "4" even if I hated it. Because the game is good, has plenty of content and it is exactly what its niche is looking for.
Tales of Xillia 2 is a good game. Not perfect, it has some problems, sure. But it has plenty of content (which most JRPG fans like, even if he doesn't) and is what its target audience is looking for. If he is unable to distanciate himself from his biased opinions and see what its target audience likes about the game, I think he is doing it wrong.
Just my opinion though. I'd say that it's not biased because ToX2 is a game I like. They gave a 10/10 to the original Xillia (I looked for it in order to see if both games were reviewed by the same guy) and I don't think it's a perfect game by any means. I wouldn't give a 10/10 to Persona 4 Golden even if it's my favorite game of all time. Even if I love it I know that game has some problems, and overlooking those problems somebody could get it without knowing the full picture.
Unless you're writting an opinion essay, information should be above everything else.
This statement is so wrong. If you're writing a review for the target Tales audience then every single game would be 9+...
I'm not talking about Tales diehard fans. I'm talking about people that liked JRPGs in general. The game doesn't deserve a 9+. It has boring enviroments (Xillia have them, so this game too), reuses assets, looking Ludger voice until your second playthrough is stupid, pop-in. And there is probably more stuff that makes it far from perfect.
But it doesn't deserve a 4 either. It isn't a technical mess, has a good amount of content and has a good battle system even if you're not a big fan of it.
Since I don't like MH at all, should I give a 4 to it if I had to review it?
Even to JRPG fans I think a 4 is fine. I really couldn't care less about the score. The text of that review is great and I respect it.
TheGreatLugia
Banned
I could be interpreting it incorrectly, but in the usgamer review it seemed like the writer cared more about the gameplay than the story.
If Xillia 2's strongest aspect is its story and the reviewer wasn't too invested in that part of the game then it's understandable why he didn't enjoy it, especially since he would have even less incentive to go through all of the reused locations.
If Xillia 2's strongest aspect is its story and the reviewer wasn't too invested in that part of the game then it's understandable why he didn't enjoy it, especially since he would have even less incentive to go through all of the reused locations.
How do you know what the audience is looking for if you personally hate it? At that point you are writing for an imagined audience. It's a problem that often comes up when reviewing kid's stuff. How do you truly know kids will enjoy it, even though you hate it? In the end, you can only rely on your own perceptions and opinions of the game. What's the point of concealing that in favor of something artificial?
When you write something you believe in it comes across as much more convincing. Just write that hateful (well-reasoned) MH4 review. There are plenty of other venues readers can go for other takes on the game.
This particular reviewer really disliked the way ToX2 pads its content, among other things. Padding doesn't sound like something any Tales fan will enjoy. Also, a 2/5 is not the same as a 4/10, but that's besides the point. Read the review and in a few days post your own take on the game here.
Nah, I don't care about the score all that much either. I don't really like how it was written. But as I've said, opinions and all that.
And I may be a little picky with that stuff. I used to go to 3DJuegos and I couldn't read anything made by one of their employees because of its writting style.
Maybe I was brainwashed by my teachers before I left my journalism degree last year xD
@Kensuke: I'm not going to answer anything to more comments because I feel like I've created a discussion here that shouldn't have happened (it's an OT, not a journalism debate!) but it's not an imagined audience. As a journalist, you must know your audience. Digital Foundry can go talking about complex technical stuff because they can. If I'm reviewing Monster Hunter I must know what information my potential audience (or customer) wants to get from your piece of news.
I'd talk about the stuff I personally don't like, that's true. But I wouldn't just focus on those things I hate. I would try to give the full picture.
If everyone reviewed games with consideration to the games' target audience, it would get too echo chamber-y. Reviews coming from a bevy of viewpoints are much more useful than every review being "yep, this game is an 8/10 for the target audience". We need viewpoints from both veterans and newcomers, and the various weights they place on different parts of a game. If I were a reviewer, despite me hating half of Graces f's cast and the shit-tier dungeons, I would still give the game around an 8 or 9 out of 10 simply on the strength of the gameplay, because I greatly value gameplay over story, world and characters (not to say those latter three elements mean nothing, just less relative to gameplay), and also why I would give DMC3 a 10/10 (despite gratuitous backtracking) and DMC4 a 9/10 (despite the second half of the game being a retread of the first half). Other people who don't value gameplay as much would be much more harsh.
That way, there are reviews suitable for all kinds of people because what elements they value is as diverse as the biases and viewpoints held by reviewers (again, assuming the review justifies its points).
That way, there are reviews suitable for all kinds of people because what elements they value is as diverse as the biases and viewpoints held by reviewers (again, assuming the review justifies its points).
I have read the review, I can see what his complaints about the game are about (you often find these kind of issues on a lot of JRPGs)
As long they don't do something like Bravely Default I'm OK with that .
How is it?
It seemed to only be for a brief period and hit a relatively small number of boxarts. I guess one marketting guy was an idiot and thought unification of looks was a good idea, only to get vetoed/change his mind/whatever either after some early consumer confusion, backlash, or just someone realizing that's a really dumb fucking idea when there's not cross compatibility between the two systems like there were with prior launch models. At least in theory doing this with PS1 games could've given them more shelf life and raised awareness of BC, and likewise PS2 games on PS3 (initially anyway.)
Xenoflare
Member
I agree, I don't dig the blue look at all.
I'm not that keen with new releases, but if that means all new releases are keeping the old color scheme, I'm completely okay with that.
Although that would make the blue stripped ones a "rare" item down the road.
Drakengard 3 would be perfect with the old color scheme god.
Nothing will ever top Uncharted 3 though.
Criticism of reviews really should wait at least until you play the game, yeah. Or maybe if it's blatantly dumb anyway like some no name site ragging on Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter mainly because you didn't get to turn into a full on dragon all the time like prior games (though only 1 and 3 really did a good job there anyway.) Which is something you'll probably only discover after the game's been out awhile anyway and you're actively looking at the lowest scores on MetaCritic or wherever.
Big exclusive games, in general, suffer most from it because some people have their identities wrapped up in the perception of those games.
Seems pretty detailed I mostly picked up because I didn't get the collectors edition this time.
I don't agree, but I wasn't being serious either. I don't actually know if the review is worth reading nor do I care, I know I'm gonna enjoy ToX2 and that's all that matters to me.
As long as the review is actually correct and not a dry PR reiteration or completely insubstantial it can be of some worth. Even that BoF
Q review I was referring to is a warning to those that just want to control big powerful dragons that the last BoF was not a game for them.As long as the review is actually correct and not a dry PR reiteration or completely insubstantial it can be of some worth. Even that BoF
I think the worst review I read for a game was the SMT4 review from that site that Chris Kohler writes for. Jeez that was a bad review.
Well, that SMT4 review just reads like a short opinion piece. "Review" isn't in the title, it's only in the URL, which is weird.
USGamer is the LAST major western game site you'd get an "all Japanese games are shite" review...
Some people have different levels of sensitivity to recycled content (see: the arguments about a certain other major RPG release this year), personally I don't like when games waste my time that way (the fun of RPGs for me is getting to explore new worlds and getting into zany new, unique situations)... more than ever since time is at a premium and like the USG reviewer I'd much rather play a 20 hour game with unique content than a 50 hour one with lots of padded content.
I'll still get to playing Xillia 2 at some point, but that review hasn't exactly made me all too eager to...
It wasn't even really an opinion piece. It read like something out of a PR email.
Also, that US game is something Dark Schala would write. It was a good review.