Lightning Returns Scores 37/40 on Famitsu

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yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#1
http://gematsu.com/2013/11/famitsu-review-scores-issue-1302

37/40 is a good score. Except it comes from Famitsu, and I don't trust their scores. For reference, they gave XIII 39/40, and XIII-2 40/40.

Now let's be clear on something: Famitsu uses a panel of 4 reviewers, and each give the game a score out of 10; so they sum scores of 40 and below. It's possible LR got 9/9/9/10. The fact that it has a lower score than the previous games doesn't necessarily means it's a worse game, for they could be different reviewers.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you trust Famitsu? Do you care about the score? If so, what do you think it means for the game?
 

Ehren

The Sunflower Knight
Moderator
Site Staff
Sep 17, 2013
212
109
35
Bethany, Oklahoma
#2
Apparently the scores were 10/10/9/8. Honestly, I always feel like Famitsu is very easy on games that fit into what's expected- that is to say, games that are very traditional or are very super-focused on whatever they are. I wasn't surprised when the original XIII got a 39/40, but for example XII and XIII-2 (Final Fantasy's two Famitsu Perfects) kind of surprise me because they don't seem to be straight-laced, megatypical games. For Lightning Returns, I was expecting somewhere between a 35 and a 38 largely because of the open-world/world-driven aspects. With much of the game based around completing things in a smart order and/or timely fashion, it just doesn't seem like the lead-around type of game the Famitsu reviewers would enjoy. I'll have to wait to read their actual review, though. It may be that they didn't enjoy the battle system, that they felt the ending was unsatisfying, or that the game has some play-hampering glitches.

Then again, those are very good individual scores. As I mentioned elsewhere, that's the same score Final Fantasy VIII got and Final Fantasies VII & IX only got one better. The most decried and raged-upon game prior to this was X-2, which got a 34 from Famitsu. When it comes to the individual scores of 10/10/9/8- Two perfects, a near perfect, and a pretty good is still a very positive scoreset. I know that here in America, a game is considered by review-readers to be "decent" at 8/10 but really that should mean there's just a few things that prevented the reviewer from fully enjoying the experience. So I'm pretty sure the review is intended very positively, but may be seen as being very negative by certain readers.

All that being said, even though I've done reviews myself I don't generally put much stock in review numbers. I've enjoyed some games that have gotten low-score or poor reviews, and there are tons of high-mark games out there that just don't do anything for me. I think the more important part of the review is the meaty, technical information you can glean which will give you an idea of when or if you're going to want to pick a game up.
 

Azuardo

Keyblade Master
Moderator
Sep 26, 2013
755
279
#5
Famitsu is a joke review publication. Can't believe people still care about the numbers they dish out.
 
#6
Let's "beat Skyrim!"

Famitsu: "nope! We gave Skyrim on PS3 full marks!"

Ooh, that has to burn.

Paying any serious attention to Famitsu is a mistake anyway, given that - from what I've heard - they have four narrow columns of "reviewers" trying to put their thoughts into barely 100 words or so, with no room for much depth, and space only for superfluous little generic comments. Then there's the politics of the editorial team and their relationship with advertisement and the developers/publishers themselves, etc. which I don't know enough about to bother going into.

But it's interesting to read that they've highlighted what appears to be enhanced game difficulty, and the non-linear design of the game that eases off with the hand-holding. And from the sound of it, they seem to treat these as potential negatives depending on who is playing. Ever since I breezed through FFXIII-2 with barely much of a challenge on Normal, I've been asking for a slightly harder game. Add in the open world, and my absolute apathy for story and characters aside, I am absolutely sure that this will be the most enjoyable game of the trilogy by far.
 

UNKLE

Red Wings Commander
Oct 26, 2013
109
7
35
#9
NAHH what did you expect? Famitsu is japan and Japanese people love FF13 trilogy...
but FF13 scores was great i think that was right but FF13-2 and LR nahhh
 

Storm2356

Clan Centurio Member
Oct 4, 2013
136
62
World B
#10
Reviews for games don't really do anything for me. Unless it's from Game Informer. Say what you will, I usually end up agreeing with them. As for LR, though, I'm really happy with the way it's turning out, and I'd easily give it an 8 at the moment. Still, going to wait until I get my hands on it to seriously judge it. I try not to get my hopes up, but it's not working in this case.
 

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#11
Reviews for games don't really do anything for me. Unless it's from Game Informer. Say what you will, I usually end up agreeing with them. As for LR, though, I'm really happy with the way it's turning out, and I'd easily give it an 8 at the moment. Still, going to wait until I get my hands on it to seriously judge it. I try not to get my hopes up, but it's not working in this case.
I think "8" only means you are hyped for it.