Final Fantasy XIII Denied Perfect Score: “Too Linear”

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

......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

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".

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

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

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.