Final Fantasy XIII Denied Perfect Score: “Too Linear”
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Dec 10, 2009 02:32 JST
- Tags: Famitsu, Final Fantasy, Marketing, Mass Media, Square Enix
Gaming rag Famitsu’s review of Final Fantasy XIII has proven something of an upset, with the game getting 39 of 40 instead of the expected 40, due to the game’s story being “too linear.”
In all other respects the game is said to be exemplary.
Considering that in the last 2 years Famitsu has awarded more 40 point scores (7) than in the preceding 10 years combined, it seems likely Famitsu either felt it had gone overboard or Square neglected to be generous enough with its advertising spending…
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probably didn't bribe them enough. not that their scores have meant a rats ass as of late.
I think they did this just to silence the critics. A lot of people were talking about how 40/40 means nothing from Famitsu these days, they're giving it out like candy, FFXIII would be a shoe-in, etc.
Nothing but a move to salvage credibility.
*cancels preorder*
Games now a days are so linear this isn't a surprise to me :P
Personally I think they should start making more games like oblivion or fallout 3, where you can do whatever the hell you want when you want :P
Just download an MMO emulator and play that, guaranteed non-linear gameplay.
lol this is so hilarious. Square fan boys are shitting themselves over a freaking score, telling me that the only thing that's important to them is that Final Fantasy XIII gets worshipped and could care less if it's actually good or not. Who cares what Famitsu gave the game? You either like it or you don't. I like games they've probably given a single digit score. I hate games they've given 40s. Quit crying about your stupid games and their legacies.
1 point from a perfect score. Big deal. Though I don't think linearity is something to complain about unless the game is meant to be played however you choose to play it, like Grand Theft Auto, for instance.
Yeah. And at the end of the day from a corporate standpoint, -1 point in reviews doesn't matter when you've got as huge a frothing-at-the-mouth fanatic fanbase as the Final Fantasy series has. Enix may have had the Japanese gov't mandate they only release games on weekends due to mass truancy of students purchasing and playing their games...
...but they'll never have the religious fanbase of the Final Fantasy series. Jenova's Witnesses for example, preaching the joy of Reunion, for example. ^.^
I prefer linear.I'd trade freedom in branching for well structured story any day.
Why weeabos are so gay about this F.F games?
why are people having a cry? final fantasy games have never been perfect.
Famitsu's scores are shitties !
40/40 Bayonetta 40/40 Super Mario Bros 39/40 FF 13
Fuck off no way a game get a perfect score !
wow you kids are easy to troll
39/40 it's too bad score.. and all ffs are great in its own way
Kotaku puts it differently, saying:
"Interestingly, one Famitsu reviewer noted how up until the mid-way point of the game, the story seemed be linear and that it didn't offer any new "gimmicks" in its story telling."
Some people are taking to mean, after the halfway point, it gets interesting...
To be fair, the review actually says "Linear until about the half-way point", which is typical for Final Fantasy. The first chunk is more linear than the rest of the game when the airship and side-quests become accessible.
New Super Mario Bros Wii got a perfect score bitches!
Well at last Famitsu score better than some website reviewer
Never trust the reviews from game sites.
More importantly, don't read just the numbers.
Don't really have a choice here. Famitsu doesn't exactly give detailed reasons for why a game gets a certain score. Just a sentence or 2.
Rating games has always been a stupid thing, it's never good nor useful, IGN gives Tony hawk and such games 9~10/10, while good RPGs like Star Ocean get 3~6/10.
everyone got their own likes and dislikes, and no side is bigger than the other.
I'm not an FF fan but I support the game, but lately it has been more like a Modeling game than RPG, and Square used to the leading company in graphics, but now it "phails" big time.
So true...
haahah what a shock 1 point gone oh no....
What? It got less than the worst Final Fantasy(XII) ever? Famitsu seriously fails since two years.
Besides a game being linear is not necessarily a bad thing.
The reason for one reviewer giving the game a 9 for being 'too linear' is completely retarded when FF12 got a perfect score and that was just as linear as any other jrpg out there.
All jrpgs are linear, you can't downgrade ff13 for being too linear and not downgrade ff12, its plain stupidity.
My guess is square didn't pay enough bribe money.
You also have to remember is that companies like square pay famitsu money to advertise in their magazine, for that reason alone a square game will never receive a bad mark because companies on the shit end of bad reviews may pull out of advertising in the magazine and famitsu will lose money, they simple produce safe review that won't upset publishers, how else can a garbage game like dirge or cerebus receive 8's and 7's out of 10.
Its almost 2010, in this internet era a worthless, shitty magazine like famitsu shouldn't even exist. Why do we cut down trees to publish this shit?
I live in japan and I've never seen anyone buy famitsu ever, they just browse through it in the stores every friday and put it back, its a garbage magazine that doesn't deserve the publicity it gets.
Hey not all jrpgs are linear, obviously you didn't play enough jrpgs despite living in Japan.
......Wait.....the game isn't even out yet.....so how the fuck do they know the story.....
we want final fantasy 7 remake in ps3 ;)
Trusting only 1 review as the definitive verdict is oftentimes not a good idea. That's why we have 2nd opinions, or 3rd, or 4th, or... or (n+1)th.
Isn't Famitsu famed for being the 1st to review new games. Also, 39/40 isn't good enough? Wow, your standards level must be well over the 9000 mark, not that it's a bad thing, I must say.
I say it's still too early to make an educated judgement. Just let it settle for a while when other reviewers publish their take on the game. Hardcore fans need no advice for games would fly off the shelves and into their consoles before you could say "WUT??"
Hell, I get pissed off if a storyline's not linear enough, I don't want to replay too many.
Isn't a rpg suppose to be linear......did a new rule pop out or something...I'm confused.
Disgaea FTW
Calling a final fantasy game too linear is like calling a tree too woody.
Good for Famitsu. I have no respect for Famitsu due to the criterion they use to grade their games (money), but I have a feeling that they're right about this one. From the looks of it, FFXIII is going to be a lot like FFX, which isn't a bad thing for most fans, but I'll bet that it'll be just as linear and the storyline will be just as cheesy.
FFX was rated 39/40 but to me was the best FFX storyline I've played. It's even the FF series to have a sequel.
So in otherwords, I'm expecting a par gaming experience for FFXIII and FFX. I'm really gonna play this game.
"Japanese and Western critics have generally given Final Fantasy X high review scores. The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu and Famitsu PS2 awarded the game a near-perfect 39/40 score" - reference wikipedia
Thou shalt not invoke the name of the only direct sequel... likely the only game in Final Fantasy history that was almost universally regarded as "Square's big mistake."
Game's story being too linear = too much cliché used in the game
Now, let's make Lightning a lesbian & turn Snow into a homo. Then throw in some 3D sex scenes like Dragon Age & Mass Effect to make the game's story "less linear".
Yeah! Great idea, but who might be their partner?
snow can not be a homo. He is a pedophile. Lightning on the other hand probably is a lesbian and just does not know it yet. Time to get glasses girl to show her the path.
It must be linear. I'd rather it be linear with a good story than give me a bunch of useless options that dilute the story.
who cares what famitsu thinks. anyone who reads it religiously and likes ff games is still going to buy the game and any one who doesn't read it all the time won't know about them dropping perfect scores on every game they review, and will assume that the game must be good to get a 39 out of 40. every one is nit picking this shit.
i see too many FF fanatic defended this product....
either they brainwashed so they lick anything SE throw at them or they complete fanatical moron.
tales series way better
lolno. Not a big fan of FF myself but Tales is the most generic series next to the new Star Ocean games.
Those two are hard to compare since they have different styles of storytelling AND gameplay...
BUT
realtime>turn based IMO.
I just HATE non-linear games!! Why you ask? Quite simply. If I chose one path, I cant help but to wonder what would happen if I took another path, so I reset, reload, see what happens on another path, then reload again on my primary path. It's annoying. Another good example is non-linear shooters. You come to the crossroad and decide to go, let's say, left. Then another location loads or cutscene happens and you cant go back. So I'm not gonna see what were on the right? There might have been some ammunition or items. So I have to reload and go take them, and IT FUCKING PISSES ME OFF!! FUCK NON-LINEAR GAMES!! DRAGON AGE ORIGINS SUCK ASS BECAUSE OF IT!!! I DONT HAVE FUCKING TIME TO COMPLETE IT AGAIN
Or you just play it through more than one time...
This is because they put it in the shitbox 3fixme. Duh
Once again, the console fanboys show the world that they are indeed the worst community on the internet. I mean, for crying out loud, all this baaawwwing because SOMEONE THINKS A GAME IS NOT PERFECT?
I remember when a game having 40/40 in Famitsu actually meant something, as in the game actually brought something innovative or stood out above other games of it's generation, not because it was a shitty rehash with a big brand name.
Agreed. And most important, who the fuck cares about reviews? It's not like the game magically get better if Famitsu scored it 40/40...
I agree with that.
Exactly. People seem to be forgetting that a 39/40 translates to 97.5% or a 9.75 on a 10 point scale. What more do you want.
FFXIII = total shit confirmed??
39/40 is liek the worst score it could've gotten liek damn!
Yeah I agree they deserve a 30/40. Famitsu can't score shit. They just rely on a game's popularity and give it a high score because most people would agree. They don't have the balls to give FFs an honest score which would be much much lower.
I'm laughing... Seriously, if a game get 39/40, it's shit ?
Yes, there's a lot of RPG with linear story and "yet another RPG with a linear scenario" can be judged as not mind blowing.
they're just jealous. Not like it matters, I'm getting the game anyway. So they can take their 9/10 and shove it.
I think the Final Fantasy games are worth playing, however, they the series is one of the most overrated in the industry. Definitely not as good as everyone thinks they are, at least in my opinion.
this anon I can agree with. One on the above, not so much.
em, does anyone even considered that it might be just really too linear plot? After all they've been making FF for years now, and... plot is not always bottomless well.
Probably, when the first trailers hit with all the futuristic stuff I kind of knew the story would probably suck.
Just give me Versus XIII, at least it looked different with interesting characters. Heck even the interview with the director has my fanboy blood pumping. http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/interview-tetsuya-nomura
Linear? Well, I don't really enjoy multiple play through dendroid-like maz…err… games. Especially if the new Game X+1 says only one path is canon.
Unless it is GG / BB. That is.
It's always a balance between story and option. It's hard to make a perfect mixture of both. And I'm not sure whether to trust Famitsu's word on this.
All I can say is that I find Lightning to be a very interesting character. And that's enough to make me very enticed by it.
There's a character named 'Lightning'? Game confirmed for total shit.
It's her code name.
Yeah. Lightning can be used for a name (or nickname). Just like a character can be called Link, another Snake, a different Ryu (dragon), and the list can go on...
Yet, those games have proven to be hens that lay golden eggs for their respective companies.
Name Lighting=shitty game?
Hm.
Then Cloud must be proud making FFVII shitty game too.
Never judge book by its cover.
BTW I hope that PSP version will be good enough.
only way to know it: play it.
Aren't JRPGs supposed to be linear?
do you want to know the funny part, i'm a game designer student i have a class called non-linear narrative, and from what i've learned so far you could count with your hands the number of games that actually have a non-linear story
so giving it -1 because it's too linear is like saying that almost every other game out there also sucks, including other titles that famitsu gave a perfect score
a good an easy example of game that isn't linear is "heavy rain"
basically they are giving us a stupid excuse, linearity in games shouldn't evaluated literally, specially when RPGs are in fact the most non-linear games that we play...
"so giving it -1 because it's too linear is like saying that almost every other game out there also sucks"
I love how you associate -1 with "the game sucks".
What about Persona?
I will only play persona just to fool around with all the hot anime chicks. The story is shit.
You win sir
You fail, sir.
Disgaea would like to have a word with you, sir, should I let it in?
Disgaea is INSANELY linear Fool
OverLord Zenon say that you are right!
Visual novels would like to have a word with you.
whats wrong with a linear story, not every game needs to be a sandbox. Final fantasy games excel at excellent story telling which is the appeal for me, not open ended game play and hours of side missions.
I agree, without linear you lose track of the plot. If I'm playing a game and loving the story, then fuck off and do side quests without any relevance to the story whatsoever, chances are I won't enjoy the epic storyline to it's fullest.
Also, they generally do have plenty of other things to do, I wasted an exhuberant amount of time on side quests in each game, especially 7-12 (predominantly after the first playthrough, didn't wanna screw story).
You make a point. FF XII for example, you could spend... gawd, I don't want to think how many hours... easily more than it takes to complete the story straight through... simply doing item collection for equipment, side quests, etc etc etc.
Maybe people didn't like FF XII because they got lost in the side quests? =X
We can agree that it is very good but it still doesn't deserve a perfect score on the grounds that the male lead looks like homo surfer.
Does the minus 1 come from the homo or the surfer part?
isn't it technically because, as name suggests it, Famitsu is run by Nintendo fanatics?
After all, there isn't release for Wii. They have right to be pissed.
its probably because its so horrible you cant even bribe them... i mean, if they gave 40 to piece of shit FFXII...
FFXII doesn't deserve the flak it gets. It didn't use the same old turn based combat system all the others used (and probably needed a change/to die anyway).
It was extremely open ended, for still having a linear story to follow. Boring? Really? Are people just getting lost in side quests? Maybe not enough explosions and gore?
It didn't completely rely on melodramatic teenage personas in its cast (I'm looking at you especially, FF 8).
And it didn't involve somehow saving the universe from some inconceivable threat hell-bent on destroying everything because mommy threw them in the dumpster as a baby or some crap, by battle to the death.
So, unless people are equating something not being their cup of tea with utter GARBAGE OMG THIS IS HORRIBLE AS A GAME, or dislike it because it strays from the above points, I don't believe the haet is warranted.
And if the elements above are taken to be the foundation of any and all RPGs, we need to reconsider what makes a good RPG. @_@
YOU
LOGIN
MARREY MEH NOW
Not serious, but you have a excellent point.
YOU
LOGIN MARREY MEH NOW
Not serious, but you have a excellent point.
I laugh at ur comment
Morale: No matter how much you pay to everyone, somebody eventually will tell that the King is naked.
"Pics or it didn't happen"
The scene was to sudden so nobody took a picture, but they were ready when the king tried to take his revenge:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/jdude93/the_king.jpg
Wouldn't people usually read that as "pine"?
Finally fabricate focus free finales Final Fantasy.
"... the King is naked."
Pics or it didn't happen.
ahh you must be referring to the "king of pop" michael jackson, that would also explain why he was naked, why a kid saw him, and why the kid was snatched up.. er.. disappeared.
How can anyone be so retarded as to not know about the story of The Emperor's New Clothes?
I don't recall that latter part with disappearing from when I was little.
Who's the OP artist? Pin"E"? What is that?
I think you mean Moral, morale is how good the troops feel.
That is why I have guns aimed at my subjects heads so I don't have to ask them nicely.
By the way, It was a kid who told everybody that the king is naked. That kid suddenly disappeared out of thin air.
Ignorant comment.
Amusingly, Final Fantasy games have been insanely linear for years. Famitsu is just clueless. This game is not a 39/40, nor was FF8, FF10, etc worthy of any of the Famitsu slobery praise.
Welcome to the bs nature of "review scores". >_>
Yea right? I can't believe it even got 39....
Only 10 was really too linear. 95% of the game was pretty much walking along roads...
"Amusingly, Final Fantasy games have been insanely linear for years."
Something tells me this idiot didn't play either FF11 or FF12. FF12 is not linear in the slightest.
it sounds more like a personal thing rather than a professional rating
I'm really surprised it even got such a high rating. It really looks like a crappy game.
Yeah, to second the objection that in and of itself "too linear =/= fun or lacks replayability" - by that logic, reading a novel or any other kind of book lacks re-read-ability to the same reader, since it has the same story, with the same ending each time you read it.
Chen-03 has the right idea, though personally, I liked the raving insanity of going into Majora's Mask fucking clueless.
Play, beat, don't play until you can't remember, play, get own'd, LMAO until you play better.
That, Chen-03, is the sign of a real 40/40 winner.
Damn, now I'm reminded of OoT and the good old times, where games were about having fun. Well, than I just have to play OoT again, maybe this time I use the japanese language in the menu. After all, I played it like 20 times already and pretty much know what each character is supposed to say. No need for new crappy games or new consoles. I save my money.
Looks like it was one rater who took off a point. I don't know if they're rating different things, but the other raters gave 10's.
Nothing wrong with linear in my book. It's better than having a game where you can't possibly do everything you want to do in a single playthrough.
An open-ended game doesn't necessarily mean it has multiple endings; it means it doesn't have you dealing with one specific objective at a time, without giving you an option as to how you go about it. The Ocarina of Time is a good example of an open-ended game, along with "sandbox" games like the GTA series and even the Mario platformers.
The Final Fantasy series is actually somewhat open-ended in its design. There are always side quests and optional bosses to deal with, along with mini-games within a number of the titles (though this is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it thing, especially among reviewers). My guess is that FFXIII lacks in those features that are a staple in the FF series, or the reviewer is just being finicky.
I agree with you there nocturne, I was mostly speaking about the anon before me who mentioned that games always benefit from multiple endings and that linear games lack replay value.
lol. so it's not better to have a game with lots of additional plots/endings? ...a game you can enjoy and play over and over? replayability.
Not if the game sucks balls. Plus who says it doesn't have replayability. How many people have replayed Zelda OOT like a thousand times. If it's fun you don't need to have 30 endings, plus it's possible that because there are so many endings that the endings it does have are lackluster.
excuse me but both FF8 and FF10 were gems..imo at least.. i'd bet you're one of those ppl that inexplicably enjoyed FF12.. one of the most boring RPG's i've ever played..
You are so right. That is so me. FFXII was the best.
I liked FF8, and I've played all the rest of final fantasy including the fakes(FF mystic quest) >_<
All of you FAIL.
FF6 was the last GREAT one in the series.
FF7 was decent.
FF8 sucked monkey nuts
FF9 slight redemption
After FF9, it was all crap, especially 10.
Yeah! FFIV was my favourite out of them all so far.
...
Does ANYONE here even look back past FFIV?
You have to admit the GBA remakes were pretty badass.
Anon @ 4:13 - IV + VI, bad? How dumb/young do you have to be to actually believe this? Those aren't just 2 of the best FF games, they are 2 of the best RPGs ever made.
Hear hear, Anon @ 13:44 speaks the truth. FF6/Tactics ftw! (And I mean the original Tactics, not the half assed Advance ones)
Ugg. I hated FFVI. It's in the bottom of the barrel for me along with FFII(which had a good story that was killed by the terrible leveling system), and FFIV which was just bad overall. FFIX was my favorite, but I'm looking forward to FFXIII. It's the only reason I'm breaking down and finally getting a PS3.
Haven't played any Final Fantasy since 8 but I agree 8 was great. Its personally my favourite one and I think people give it way to much flack and is a lot better then what others make it out to be.
@Anon 3:24 you appear to be one of the people who inexplicably liked FF8, the game where conveniant plot devices were used, over used, then used again like used sperm covered tissues. No I did not like FF12 either.
Anon 4:04 = so basically like every other FF then? then yes and it turned out fine.
I liked FFXII.
Anon 4:04 If you reuse your sperm covered tissues then you're pretty fucked up
I liked FFVII, but the GF and magic systems in FF8 were a major pain for me. >_<
the only final fantasy i really liked was ff9 but i didn't get to finish it because my disc 2 is messed up T-T
Not too sound like a douch, but Chen-03's right.
Punchline or GTFO
The only final fantasy I really liked (and played for that matter) was named mystic quest (gameboy). But no one cares, so spare us with your personal favorites unless it includes a punchline or some other fun things.
they gave 40 to 12
Which was an outrage...
Does this mean that the lower their score the better the game...?
No. 12 is better.
Truth, to the point, but effortlessly futile in the face of America, the "premier gaming empire" of the new age of gaming.
Most of the games that make it out to a non-biased review--Disgaea series from Nippon Ichi Software, among other non-advertising developer companies to be in th' US--were bashed, ripped apart, and raeped by most "Pro Gaiming Mags."
It means the first game deserved it and with any following game that received 100% the score lost a little of it's worth. After all, there can only be one game that deserves it to be called best game. (At least in one decade) The best game of the nineties was OoT, for the eighties it was tetris.
Bayonetta is not going to be released for the Wii yet they have given it a perfect score, you're right they are Nintendo fanatics.
Famitsu scores are bull. That 9 actually makes me think better of the game beacuse generally 10 means the reviewer was paid off and 9 means it's actually an amazing game.
I agree. I think SE and Famitsu had a good honeymoon.