Square-Enix: FFXIII Will "Resurrect" Japanese Gaming

There's little doubt that Final Fantasy XIII is a mammoth title, especially for the Japanese market.

And in a recent European PlayStation Blog interview with Square-Enix execs Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, they see FFXIII as a "resurrection" of sorts for the ailing Japanese gaming industry. When asked about how they see the current state of gaming in their home country, the guys replied:

"Some people have been saying that the Japanese game industry is dead, and all that… I dunno. I will say that Final Fantasy XIII is one really epic title for high definition consoles. With this game, we are going to resurrect the whole thing. As for Western games that have influenced us — FPSs mostly. The Call of Duty series, for example."

...I'm not entirely sure I want Call of Duty to influence Final Fantasy in any way, but maybe that's just me. They also brought up what Yoichi Wada said about FFXIII being "the last game of its kind" in the series, suggesting that Square-Enix would go a very different route for the next installment. But this interview throws a new light on that statement:

"We don’t know exactly what he meant by that. We don’t really know what he meant by this style of game. If you consider that during Final Fantasy XIII’s development, at peak time the team consisted of over 300 people. It was a huge team, plus it took a several long years to get the game finished. So, if Mr Wada meant that we would never make another Final Fantasy title with the similar number of people, taking as long as FFXIII did, we would agree.

Obviously in the future we want to be much more efficient. Having worked on XIII, we feel that we have got much better at making good games for high definition consoles. In the future our teams will be smaller and more effectively run. We suspect that is what Mr Wada meant by his statement."

And of course, you can't have a Square-Enix interview without bringing up the possibility of high-definition remakes of older FF titles. Once again, though, they reply with the now-standard response that it would simply take too much in the way of time and resources.

"As with Final Fantasy titles in the past, like on PS1, even just the main characters amount to around 10 people. Then you have all the NPCs, you’re probably looking at about 200 characters total. All with individual textures for the skin, plus costumes, facial features and everything. That would be a really tricky job."

But as for the idea that FFXIII will "resurrect the whole thing" in Japan...that may be difficult to swallow until you see the sales numbers, which have indeed been impressive. The question is whether or not the game can sell as well in the US and Europe; it is typically a huge blockbuster hit but this particular entry has experienced some skepticism by critics and gamers alike since its Japanese release. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII

2/9/2010 12:29:48 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (78 posts)

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Beamboom
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 12:57:44 PM
Reply

I noticed that FFXIII is on top of Play's pre-order list (for europe). And since they ship a *lot* of games to the european market that says something.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:43:20 PM

It says that most gamers don't read gaming sites that often and buy games based on the names they know. Which is sadly, normal.

10 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 5:41:27 PM

That sounds about right, but in reply to Ben's question "whether or not the game can sell as well in the US and Europe" it looks like it will, if the Play pre-order chart is anything to go by.

1 up, 0 down

darxed
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:01:14 PM
Reply

I've been reading a lot about this game since the FF games are my personal favorite and all the talk and negative opinions about it had me worried. Well I'm still waiting for the review here but from what I've gathered I think the game will be as epic as I had hoped. I won't spoil the game but I'd like to say there is a valid reason, story-wise, for the linearity at the beggining of the game and for the lack of towns. Apart from that, the reviews of the japanese version call the characters the best in the series (apart from the villains, which in most FFs tend to be weak barring II, VI, VII and maybe IX), same with the battle system and character progression. There are no minigames except for hunting, like XII, but I think that could be the biggest gripe with the game. I really don't get all the bad press the game has had just for doing somethings different, all these gaming jounalists and gamers taking cheap shots at a series that has delivered twelve incredible expiriences (not counting X-2 and Crisis Core, which I think were almost as good as the mainstream games) that, while not perfect, have entertained hours after hours million of gamers around the world. Day one for me!

EDIT: If anyone would like to see a solid import review of the game, go to RPGFan. They call it "a milestone game" like FFVII and FFX... and well any game that can compare with those two, it's a great game in my book...

Last edited by darxed on 2/9/2010 1:04:17 PM

6 up, 2 down

JohnnyGold
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:08:24 PM

all this talk about it being bad because there are no towns is ridiculous. a "town" in most final fantasies is, at most, an arms dealer, a magic dealer, an item dealer, and 3-4 npcs who can provide you with pertinent info regarding the story. of course, that first moment when you get an airship and have access to the full world is fun, but how many times has it been done before?

people complain that there are no more jrpgs, and that western rpgs are too watered down story wise, but consider what square would have to do to have a world map in this generation of consoles. essentially, they would have to create an open world game. so if you want story, give ff13 a shot. if you want to be able to go anywhere and do a lot of little side quests, play fallout or oblivion.

people are scared of change. for an example of this, see facebook every 6 months or so when they change their layout, and millions of people join groups like "we want the old facebook back or we're leaving." no theyre not. just like all these yahoos saying this iteration of final fantasy is going to be terrible are going to love it in a month when they get their hands on it.

8 up, 8 down

darxed
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:10:59 PM

@JohnnyGold My thougths exactly, thumbs up!

3 up, 6 down

Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:28:24 PM

@Johnnybgood

Believe it or not, Towns and the exploration aspect of them are my favourite thing about an RPG. Removing a ROOT will make me choose not to play.

Thats why i and other players are taking Level 5 games over new Enix FF's

19 up, 2 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:28:58 PM

The trouble for me is that I have read numerous articles from Japan which have been very negative about the game - post launch. These generally criticize the specific elements of the game that you mention, namely the lack of back tracking, the lack of towns, the lack of NPCs and of course the game doing little to no branching from the path. I will be very interested to read reviews of the International version when they arrive, but in the meantime I remain in the extreme skeptic school of thought.

6 up, 1 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:30:53 PM

I would just like to say that White Knight Chronicles has a world map, a great story, towns, side quests, and it is not linear, it has an online element that is fantastic, and it has good graphics. It might not have CGI "over the top" blockbuster graphics but they are nothing to scoff at either. And I might add that all of this was done on a next generation console in the spirit of the JRPG.

Just saying.

11 up, 2 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:43:54 PM

@Coverton,

My WKC begins this weekend.

8 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:59:23 PM

WKC is great. Much better then the reviews will have you believe.

15 up, 2 down

Catastrophe
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:01:35 PM

@coverton & Highlander

but its funny how you guys totally evade talking about gameplay/battle mechanics, which have received no flak at all in FFXIII (likely meaning is good) but is HORRIDLY glitched on WKC, at least on the international ver, never heard anything like that on the JP vers.

Lvl5 better patch that crap or WKC is (sadly) a no buy for me.

1 up, 10 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:09:25 PM

How exactly is the battle mechanic glitched in WKC? I personally have no problem with it and I might add that when you start making combos it is very reminiscent of Summoner of PS2 which was an awesome game and had a great battle mechanic in my opinion, while I will say that I have heard annoyances with the Optima system of FFXIII i.e. there are six main characters, six jobs, and only three playable at a time. And instead of working down an enemies hit points you work up a break gauge that in turn lets you launch an enemy in the air and then annihilate them, which honestly seems a bit odd for me as opposed to the traditional JRPG style of combat, but to each their own and given that I haven't played the game I can't judge it but given that I have played WKC I can say that I don't see anything wrong with its battle system. Have you played WKC or are you going off what you may have heard on the web?

2 up, 0 down

Catastrophe
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:19:52 PM

oh no... no no no, not meaning glitches on it not being fun (which im pretty sure it can be)
im meaning glitches as in programming glitches (saw them happening on gametrailers review):
1) monsters melee-attacking from longer distances than your ranged-attack char
2) monsters ignoring walls (ON THIS DAY AND AGE???)
3) fuse the both bugs above
4) not being able to point area magic attacks
5) said area magic attacks missing just because (not MISS attack, but something regarding collision detection)
i think i might be missing one or two, but those are definitely saying that the dev didnt pay attention to what they were supposed to do.

like i said im on standby for a patch, hope for it to happen.

3 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:24:36 PM

@Catastrophe,

If you have been reading my comments regarding FFXIII in previous articles, you should know that I have been critical of the combat system in FFXIII. From the reviews I have read, there seems to be very little to do except punch the 'X' button repeatedly - aka mash the X button. You can only control one character during combat, and have to pre-set all roles and strategies prior to combat beginning. Sorry, that sounds like crap to me. If I want to change strategy in the middle of a battle, I can't because I have to set that ahead of time. I want to choose my attacks, except all I can do is mash the X, I'd like to select what attacks other PCs use, except I can't during the battle because I can only control one character.

Yuk, not at all what I expect in a JRPG turn based or real-time combat, or something in between.

Critical enough?

BTW, point 3 in your comment above is a restatement of points 1) and 2), that's two bites at the same cherry my friend. 4) and 5) appear to be similarly complaining about the same element - magic area effects/attacks. I haven't played it yet, so I can't comment, I can't help wondering though whether the area of effect of the magic is a radius around the player? Area affect magic is often implemented so it's not aim-able / non-directional.

Last edited by Highlander on 2/9/2010 2:28:39 PM

3 up, 1 down

mexgeo86
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:28:00 PM

I've been enjoying WKC since my purchase this past weekend.

I think some people forget that it was released back in 2008 and yet they expect it to be on par with RPG titles coming out this year.

1 up, 2 down

Catastrophe
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:32:58 PM

@ Highlander
yeah, im not that much of a comment-reader here. And like i said just above, im not meaning about the system per-se, but on REAL glitches affecting the game

Keyword: seem

on the other hand, for the vids i have seen, it SEEMS that there is a lot of movement, being able to select between different types of attacks, magic, and the summoning thingies, and going on when the ATB-esque bar fills... you know, as in the psx days.

edit:
quote:
"BTW, point 3 in your comment above is a restatement of points 1) and 2), that's two bites at the same cherry my friend."
that meaning is not a problem? (and obviously i intended the irony)

@ mexgeo:
thats a 2-edged sword:
"so they had a whole year and a half to localize a game, and check for problems but couldnt do it correctly?"

Last edited by Catastrophe on 2/9/2010 2:38:19 PM

1 up, 0 down

Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:40:39 PM

@Coverton

Im so excited for WKC. I get it on the 19th.

Ive seen a lot of it though on Youtube (the whole game is up there) and it is a DREAM! From the music, right down to the cockney frogs! Its everything i have missed in an RPG.

The reviews are hilarious!

I find it funny that the save the princes story gets a little criticism and yet Dark Cloud 1, 2 and the highly praised DQVlll ALL had this simple set up (especially the latter) and i want nothing more from level 5.

Another thing that made me laugh, the range "controversy"......its called, TURN BASED. Its so you can't cheat the system. When you escape conflict, they chase until in battle range again where attack range is not present.....active TURN BASED people! Put down the watered down western RPGs and get back into the root.

Unfortunately, there isn't much room for Jrpgs this gen thanx to western "RPG" etc but, you best believe there are people like me who still prefer them and know the deal when one is released.

I just hope Level 5 don't change their ways due to the IGNorance of today's attention limiting generation.

8 up, 2 down

Catastrophe
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:44:30 PM

@ Lotus:
yeah, and attacking from behind a wall before you even make eye contact with'em is also part of the turn-base, how clever of them ;)

2 up, 10 down

Mr Bitey
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:51:49 PM

WKC is fantastic.

The battle system isn't glitched. That's the way it's supposed to be. Yes it's a real time system, but it's a derivative of the old turn based system. You hit the enemies, and then they hit you. Distance isn't a factor. However you can break an enemies lock on by moving.

I can't believe people don't realize that. Besides the battles tend to be on the easy side anyway, so it's really not an issue.

Last edited by Mr Bitey on 2/9/2010 2:55:07 PM

6 up, 1 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:55:19 PM

I can say that I have had enemies hit me from farther than it seems they should be able to but hitting me through walls has yet to happen and it has been a good number of times that that could have happened given the situation I was in. But, I will say that the hitting from farther than they should be able to is a constant type of thing in many RPGs even in FFXIII from what I understand with the Ruin ability of attackers in which you just hit enemies from afar without your weapon at all, but again I have yet to play FFXIII so I cannot say either way.

It just seems from what I have heard, even in positive reviews of the game, that it is a war of attrition in most fights even the low level henchman battles, in which you just mercilessly pound away until you juggle an enemy and then you walk in a straight line until the next fight.

Again, I will reserve my own personal judgement of the game until I have hands-on time with it but I am getting turned off by the thought that it is too westernised when all I want is a true JRPG.

2 up, 0 down

Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:12:33 PM

Catastrophe

This hasn't happened to hardly anyone but, a single reviewer..........so therefore, everyone right?
The game of the year, Demons Souls did this, shall we remove its crown?

3 up, 1 down

chucknasty
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:19:38 PM

Pleasant to see the resident RPG fans actually have something to debate on the PS3 for a change.
I think this year is going to be really challenging to pick purchases since so many of the games coming out are going to be total time sinks. I already cancelled WKC because a) Amazon was really slow to ship it b) reviews were exceedingly bad from sites that are pretty generous and c) sounded like it would take 30+ hours to beat and I still have four games staring at me that I have bought and only played a few hours of (Ratchet and Clank, Bayonetta, Darksiders and GoW collection).

0 up, 4 down

Siege
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:09:59 PM

@thehighlander

Could you give the sites where you have been reading reviews?

Not that I don't believe what you say concerning FFXIII, I just want to read up on some of the things you noted.

Concerning the battle system, I find myself discouraged. I do not like the idea of controlling only one character in a battle. I want to have the freedom to control the whole party. While I am enjoying WKC, that is the thing I truly do not like about the game. There is no streamlined way to switch characters in battle. The way that the game mechanics are set up, the player is discouraged from trying to control all the characters. It really bothers me. One of my favorite things in JRPG's are not only getting to customize and level up each character, but then to be able to play each character in a battle.

1 up, 0 down

darxed
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:39:26 PM

My point is not that towns and NPCs are not important for a RPG, it is that it depends on the game and the game story, which I think it's the most important factor in a RPG. If FFXIII's story makes it seem logical that there are no towns and no backtracking, making it an immersive part of the game, then should we hate on it for making a compelling experience? I think most people are judging the game for what other FFs have been, but this is not new. FF VII was and is heavily critized for dumping dragons and castles for helicopters and skycrapers, FF VIII even more for dumping magic points, FF IX for dumping the more modern setting the last two had (irony had it that the critics came from the same source that hated on VII), FF X for linearity and FF XII for a too much sparse story, which was a consequence of all the freedom the player had. The thing no one remembers is that each FF has had a lot of changes and a lot of hate for it for people that keep looking at the past instead of the future. And to all the people that seem to be taking a FFXIII vs WKC, well, the two seem to be great RPGs, so let's not make this into a fanboy war, please, If you think that a RPG has to have towns and a thousand NPCs to be good then that's fine, but I think that thinking outside of the box can create great games too. Look at the last two Persona games.. Who would have thought that a Dating sim plus a dungeon crawler whould amount to such great expiriences?

4 up, 1 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:47:54 PM

@siege

Here's some

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/12/final-fantasy-xiii-preview-2/

http://www.nowgamer.com/reviews/ps3/8864/final-fantasy-xiii

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=234050

I love this quote from the RPGFan review (which is the most in depth of the reviews)...

"What is left of a JRPG when you take away world map exploration, cities, random NPC interactions, side quests, mini-games, dungeon puzzles, and just generally the ability to go wherever you want when you want? You're left with character upgrading and dungeon crawling. Granted in FFXIII's case, it is very sexy and very fun dungeon crawling and character upgrading, with dozens of missions to add variety, yet still, that's basically it. Literally you're just going from map to map, virtually all of them loaded with enemies and devoid of other content, most of them disappearing into oblivion never to be seen again once completed." - Amazingly after the criticisms in this section of the review, it still gets an 85% over all...

Here's the link for the RPGFan review,

http://rpgfan.com/reviews/Final_Fantasy_XIII/index.html

The RPGFan review concludes saying "Strip away all of the amazing visuals and music and you have a 7, 7.5 game that scrapes by on the virtues of its combat." So, it's pretty, and sounds great, but....?

The common theme is criticism of the sparse nature of the game world and map, some are not keen on the battle system, but all agree it looks amazing.

There is a review from a Hong Kong based publication that gave 4/10, but I can't find a direct link to that, this is the closest I could get,

http://ps3.kombo.com/article.php?artid=11740

Last edited by Highlander on 2/9/2010 4:55:42 PM

5 up, 0 down

SnipeySnake
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 8:03:10 PM

I'm on darxed's side here. +1's!

2 up, 1 down

Roach721
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 6:25:21 AM

Just finished putting about 7 hours into WKC and i loved it. Both me and my buddy bought it ,so that we can play together. We both played four a good couple hours some great fun, it also seems to get better the further you get into it.

0 up, 0 down

darxed
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 9:18:42 AM

@Highlander
Interestingly enough the RPGFan review was what convinced me of a day one purchase of FFXIII, even if the review had the comments you quoted. If i remember correctly, the reviewer said at the very beginning that "Final Fantasy VII is overrated. Final Fantasy X is too" and then "FFVII and FFX are milestone games that fall short of being truly great. They are important; they represent sea changes in the way we think about what games can be and what we can expect from the RPG genre. However, too many less popular RPGs with simpler stories and less shiny graphics make better games. Such is the case with Final Fantasy XIII. It is a monumental game that is sure to inspire and influence big budget titles for years to come. It is not, however, one of the truly great games." Sooo from those comments I chose to ignore the rest of the personal opinions the reviewer had about the game, and look only into the information about the game the review had. The reviewer had some valid points, I mean, looking in retrospective, I too think that there are better RPGs than FFVII and FFX in the PS1 and PS2, but I'm pretty sure that there weren't at the moment they released and that those better games were better because they borrowed heavily from what the two FFs had done, and I think that the same will happen with XIII... As I said, If the game can compare to FFVII and FFX, It's a must buy for me cause It doesn't matter how they're viewed today, those two games are two out of the the three best gaming experiences I've had in twenty years of gaming, so If FFXIII delivers an experience like those two games, what could I possibly complain about?

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 11:14:43 AM

@Darxed,

That's cool, and I honestly hope the game is good. However, my point, and I suspect the point of many others is that the game could have been so much more. For a start we know that a massive amount of content (enough for a whole other game) was removed by SE. Much of that content was exactly the things that are missing - towns and NPCs. Some aren't keen on the 'westernization' of the game - such as replacing the original theme song with a completely different one by western artist. If I wanted a western RPG, I'd buy one.

For me, and I suspect a lot of others, it's just a huge let down. FFXIII was touted initially as such a monster game and then gradually it has been pared back little by little. What's left seems to be a one way, roller coaster ride of a game with the ATB combat system to toy with along the way.

Opportunities were not missed or squandered, they were tossed aside with a boatload of content.

1 up, 0 down

SvenMD
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:17:31 PM
Reply

"...you’re probably looking at about 200 characters total. All with individual textures for the skin, plus costumes, facial features and everything. That would be a really tricky job."

I still don't get this?? Why would it be a tricky job? Isn't this just called "Making a game"??

And it's like someone said before - the story is done - all you gotta do is make some character models, create a town or two (which is obviously very difficult on the next gen systems), and then get some voice acting.

So get started man, we're waiting!

7 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:34:02 PM

I dont get why it would be diffiuclt either, they've managed it on Lost Odyssey, that game also had a convincing would map, It was so refreshing to play that game.

6 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:35:38 PM

I think he's alluding to the fact that they have to make each individual character, villain and NPC that you interact with in a meaningful way - individual from the others. Of course incidental towns people and the like could be cookie cutter designs. However if you are going to interact with someone they do have to create a character model for each one and if they re-use character models in the game people will complain about it, so each one has to be individually designed. That's a fair amount of work, so I can see the point. However I think what he's referring to is that the amount of time invested in this game along with a team of 300 is/was a huge investment. From what we already know this game started life on the PS2 and has been restarted at least once during it's life. I doubt SE would want to repeat that experience.

That said, I think they are making it too hard for themselves because no one expects the NPCs to be as well realized as the player characters and villains. Making any game with a huge scope in HD requires a significant amount of artwork to design/model the characters and environments. So any game that SE makes for an HD platform will take the same devotion, whether it's a FFVII/FFVIII remake or not.

2 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:18:28 PM
Reply

I don't think his referring to the CoD influence is anything to get excited about. CoD influences Squeenix the same way it influences every other dev out there. And it's "damn, we can make a crap load of money."

6 up, 0 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:33:42 PM

Enter Deus Ex 3

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:41:38 PM

Yeah, I think the influence of COD is the 'lowest common denominator' effect. Why make a game that will be enjoyed and praised by the most appreciative of gamers if the majority of players will miss the attention to detail and quality of the work? Instead, target the mainstream gamer and hope that those more discerning gamers come along for th ride. That seems to be the mentality that monster success games like COD bring.

It's like this in most popular arts and entertainment. Why challenge the consumer with something different and better when the same old average slop will do just as well? To me it means making things average, don't get too wild with the concept, and don't get too different with the controls/gameplay. Stick to the tried and tested formula for what sells.

In other words take a successful game and re-implement it with new skins, maps and a few new options, rinse and repeat. Oh, wait, I wasn't meaning to talk about Halo ODST...

I sincerely hope that is not the influence that COD is having on SE and others, but I fear that it is.

4 up, 1 down

michiganfan1983
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:15:04 PM

I am thinking that the comments about COD are maybe a translation thing as to say 'As for western games we play... COD is one we play and enjoy." I would hope SE would have learned from Dierge of Cerberus that shooters and FF don't really work.

2 up, 0 down

godsman
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:20:18 PM
Reply

If they manage to make future FF series better by introducing fresh ideas in story and gameplay, I'm up for it. BUT if the idiot Wada wants to make it more FPS-like, get lost.

3 up, 0 down

hellish_devil
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 8:22:50 PM

It's just like when I don`t remember who (a person from the development team) suggested that God of War III could be done with a First Person perspective, just like any FPS. Ridiculous

Last edited by hellish_devil on 2/9/2010 8:24:17 PM

3 up, 0 down

Mr Bitey
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:43:38 PM
Reply

I think Japanese gaming is alive and well. Getting the western critics to acknowledge that on the overhand, is where the challenge lies.

I think because they are not all high profile FPSs the media tends to forget about them.

By the end of the year we'll see:

-MGS Rising
-RE 5: Gold Edition
-The Last Guardian
-GT5
-FF XIII
-Super Street Fighter IV

... just to name a quick few.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:45:08 PM

Perhaps SE see themselves as some sort of barometer of the health of Japanese game development? Egotistical of them perhaps, but I could believe they think that way.

Last edited by Highlander on 2/9/2010 1:45:21 PM

1 up, 0 down

Mr Bitey
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:54:22 PM

"Egotistical" sounds right to me.

btw The ability to use a mech in WKC reminds me a little bit of XenoSaga/XenoGears. :)

1 up, 0 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:03:23 PM

Hells yes on the Xenogear/Xenosaga nostalgia

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:17:59 PM

Definitely. I saw that in some trailers and immediately thought of the 'mechs in Xenosaga. The music is very reminiscent too, though it's a JRPG so that shouldn't be a surprise...

BTW have you noted how the reviews have varied by geography? Famitsu gave the game more or less 7/10, EuroGamer and UK Playstation Magazine both hit it with an 8/10. All three of these criticized th online component. But the US centric reviews from GameSpot and IGN are very different. IGN in particular went for the jugular giving the game 5.1/10, and GameSpot wasn't much better at 6/10. Oddly although Eurogamer thought the game was well done and had solid game play, IGN and GameSpot have dumped on the battle system as their main gripe. Is it just coincidence that US centric reviews have been much more negative? Cultural imperialism? Or simple bias?

5 up, 0 down

Mr Bitey
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 7:51:04 PM

Sadly I have noticed that. That's a good question that I don't have an answer to.

I'd like to think WKCs critical reception in the US, is due to it's release date. It's sandwiched right in-between Mass Effect 2 and FF XIII. They're two sequels of highly popular RPG franchises.

Judging by Amazon, Metacritic, and even IGN and 1UP, the people who have bought the game all seem to be enjoying it. Every site that posts fan reviews have all been overwhelmingly positive.

2 up, 0 down

eLLeJuss
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 1:51:00 PM
Reply

Japanese gaming will never die as long as FF is alive!! harharhar..

Or if some western developers buy FF from SE..

1 up, 1 down

goodgamer
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:07:04 PM
Reply

ghgf

2 up, 7 down

Ultimadream
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:22:15 PM

Precisely.

2 up, 2 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:02:58 PM

Change your avatar and don't make posts like that again.

9 up, 2 down

ace_boon_coon
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:23:31 PM

what's ghgf mean?

2 up, 2 down

HeXeN
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:35:51 PM

Holy sh!t, I didn't notice he's avatar.It's freaking nasty XD.....

1 up, 1 down

SnipeySnake
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 7:57:39 PM

Did anyone notice its a 360? Lol.

4 up, 0 down

HeXeN
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:24:36 PM
Reply

Isn't this garbage already scattered in bargain bin's all over Japan for $20 or less!? The Japanese gaming industry is far from dead but the Eastern developers have taken a back seat to all the great Western folks.

3 up, 3 down

michiganfan1983
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 2:30:11 PM
Reply

Well after reading a few complete reviews from importers who have played the entire Japanese version, my concerns have pretty much vanished. I am really loooking forward to this game.

And as for Japanese developement being dead...NO. JRPGs will always sell well because they are something completely different from the FPS filled western market and people will/should always need a break from that or they would get burned out and loose interest in gaming altogether because everthing is the same with a different coat of paint. Sorry for the run-on sentence there but I think it gets my point across. I know I would be burned out if all there was to play was FPSs. The general public may last longer at it than me but eventually it will happen.

2 up, 0 down

darxed
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 9:30:50 AM

Yeah, same thing happened to me... can't wait!

0 up, 0 down

Nlayer
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 3:48:18 PM
Reply

After reading so many Western Gamer comments on Final Fantasy XIII and JRPGs, it only makes me wonder what Japanese Gamers think about all this. I mean really, we are talking about Japanese companies here. Wouldn't they try to make games for their "image" of a gamer, which would be in Japan? Just like western companies, they might be trying something "New" instead of doing the same old thing.

I don't know anymore, I've begun to ignore comments on the matter recently. It only gets my blood boiling.

Last edited by Nlayer on 2/9/2010 3:48:53 PM

1 up, 0 down

just2skillf00l
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:25:18 PM
Reply

WKC huh. Ben, are going to review this one too? I've been thinking about a purchase but I really have no idea about this game. I usually don't ride off of other site's reviews (with the exception of this one of course) but I really haven't collected enough information to justify a purchase. I'm really in an RPG fix mode right now and I've been craving something good. Is this game worth it?

0 up, 0 down

Nlayer
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:39:24 PM

I would like to see a review from PSXE for WKC as well, if they have time to review it of course. I'm still deciding on buying it or not. :\

2 up, 0 down

just2skillf00l
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:25:35 PM
Reply

1 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 4:53:33 PM
Reply

Ressurect the industry? *Shakes head in shame*

3 up, 1 down

BigBoss4ever
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 7:48:30 PM
Reply

honestly, i think it is NOT FF13 will resurrect Japanese gaming, it is Stop unnecessarily westernize Japanese games, Stop making tons of FPSs, more specifically to SE - fire Wada. All of these, will resurrect Japanese games, resurrect Square Soft, and resurrect gaming as a whole this gen respectively.

nothing more to say.

Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 2/9/2010 7:49:21 PM

5 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 11:58:19 PM

How to 'resurrect' Japanese game development? Easy - tell the developers to be themselves and stop worrying about what the western consumer may or may not want. Guys relax and be yourselves. Have faith in your own style and ideas.

Not only that but please do bring games to western markets with subtitles and text translations. I know it's expensive to fully localize and re-dub. So, only do that for games you're certain will do well. Do subtitles and translation for the others. You may find that some games you don't think will resonate in the west do resonate with western consumers.

Western developers would do well to do the same, stop trying to be all things to all me, you can't be. If you start rounding off the edges of cultural reference or style so as to have a wider appeal, all you do is dilute your work. If you start consciously adding or modifying elements specifically to appeal to an export market, once again you are diluting your work, and are at risk of making a product that consumers in the export market may find cliche or even simply fake.

Stick to what you know, and do it well. That's all that the Japanese developers need do. Have faith in themselves and their vulture and their style of game and what their home market really wants.

Last edited by Highlander on 2/9/2010 11:59:30 PM

6 up, 0 down

BigBoss4ever
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 12:44:31 AM

@highlander

well said, fully agree, and i generally agree with all wut u said here in psx. :)

2 up, 0 down

SnipeySnake
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 7:56:27 PM
Reply

Ok...im stuck on which i should get...

Bioshock 2:
Has the only multiplayer i'll actually like.
Story sounds awesome.
Gameplay looks awesome.
Everything about the game looks awesome.

FFXIII:
Normally i suck at final fantasy games but the main reasons why is being low on HP after fighting an enemy before. But I've heard you automatically get full hp after each battle. And I know this will last way longer then bioshock story-wise and will probably have a better story. Gameplay looks fun but im still not sure. I mean I've heard that all you need to do is press the X button alot but can that really be true if the game is suppose to be extremely difficult? Also, Im probably gonna be the only one to say this but i absolutely hate too much freedom. Like SotC or FFXII. Those games can but fun but once you gotta (example of SotC) find the Collosi, it gets kinda frustrating.

This is all based on my opinion so can anyone tell me what should i get?

1 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 12:57:50 AM

Both, of course. ;)

0 up, 1 down

___________
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 1:18:00 AM

thats like asking if i should ask for a free Ferrari or a suzuki swift!
bioshock 2 definitely.
bought it on Monday and am loving every minute of it, my fears of playing a big daddy gladly were unfounded.
only thing i dont like about it is the weapon effects lack detail and the rivet gun is PISS weak.
they should of made the rivet gun like the gun in F.E.A.R 2 or killzone 2.
how you can pin enemies against the wall that was cool!

0 up, 0 down

darxed
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 9:27:39 AM

I'm with Ben, buy both... and get WKC, GOW III and Heavy Rain while you're at it. What I'm doing is buying FFXIII first and then WKC.... so when I get to finish both a couple months have passed and those other great games will hopefully be discounted...

EDIT: Oh and if you want to know more about the battle system of the game, read the RPGFan review... It's pretty clear that it's not just pressing X...

Last edited by darxed on 2/10/2010 9:29:17 AM

0 up, 0 down

SnipeySnake
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 6:55:15 PM

Beleive me, if i could get both, i would...sadly this little thing called money gets in my way ;P

0 up, 0 down

johnld
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 @ 11:39:18 PM
Reply

hahaha, they can say all they want but if the head is still WADA, the guy whose screwing up square enix, this dont mean jack.

2 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 1:15:07 AM
Reply

yup, sure. today i saw man bear pig! and no it was not on TV ;)
$E stop talking sh*t, accept and admit that you screwed up and amend your mistakes.
nothing pisses me off more than when people give you a steaming pile and try to convince you its gold.
sorry $E but i was not born yesterday!

2 up, 0 down

convergecrew
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 1:42:31 AM
Reply

This game will resurrect nothing. SE are so delusional. They should just keep their mouths shut and count their money.

0 up, 0 down

main_event05
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 2:06:46 AM
Reply

FFxiii is just another nail in SE's coffin.

1 up, 0 down

FullmetalX10
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 4:14:05 AM
Reply

Like said before, S-E should stop with the western influences in their games, they've been doing good for so long, now they bring out a game with a cod complex and they get a huge amount of critcism, they shouldn't have brought it on xbox, which means they could've implemented more environments in the game, possibly towns and returning to previous maps and such if they made it ps3 exclusive.

oh well, all my hope is now invested in Versus XIII, let's pray that Wada doesn't screw Nomura and the fanbase over by bringin that game of the decade(imo next to KH3, by the looks of it now) to the 3-fix-me. Damn you Wada for screwing up a game that could've been so much, but was degraded. And if they release towns and environments in their dlc, I'll be pissed as hell, since that'll prove the game could've gotten em, and would've been a definite buy for me.

1 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 12:01:20 PM
Reply

Funny how the world's greatest RPG maker has nothing but respect and awe for Infinity Ward and thier MW games. HAHA!!!

End of Line.

1 up, 4 down

JacquelineM
Thursday, February 11, 2010 @ 12:16:50 PM
Reply

To anyone who plays Japanese VNs... well, that game industry is VERY alive and well.

0 up, 0 down

Andysw
Thursday, February 11, 2010 @ 4:59:05 PM
Reply

This is off topic, but an xbox 360 bundle for final fantasy XIII has been confirmed for north america. Disgusting.

0 up, 0 down

DeathOfChaos
Thursday, February 11, 2010 @ 7:48:19 PM

Oh my god....what a waste of time and money.

0 up, 0 down

DeathOfChaos
Thursday, February 11, 2010 @ 7:49:28 PM
Reply

Does no one notice that they're pretty much saying Final Fantasy is dead? That's what I get everytime I read this kind of stuff...

0 up, 0 down

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