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Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII launches in Japan with low sales of 277k

What's wrong with the pacing? I had the impression I was supposed to treat this game like a collection of sidequests with the occasional cringeworthy cutscene. Is it the timer that's killing the game? It looks like a pain. I wanted to try this on Normal first, but I'm worried I might not have enough time to finish most sidequests.
 
What's wrong with the pacing? I had the impression I was supposed to treat this game like a collection of sidequests with the occasional cringeworthy cutscene. Is it the timer that's killing the game? It looks like a pain. I wanted to try this on Normal first, but I'm worried I might not have enough time to finish most sidequests.

The point is the main quest apparently don't take that long to finish, and after that all you have left to do are sidequests.

Sidequests that are a little light on entertainment value.
 
The point is the main quest apparently don't take that long to finish, and after that all you have left to do are sidequests.

Sidequests that are a little light on entertainment value.

Oh, I see. It's unfortunate that SE doesn't like doing story- or character-relevant sidequests anymore, something like Wutai from FF7. The sidequests really do seem like menial garbage.
 

Frumix

Suffering From Success
Oh, I see. It's unfortunate that SE doesn't like doing story- or character-relevant sidequests anymore, something like Wutai from FF7. The sidequests really do seem like menial garbage.

Well that's probably because main quests are at large character relevant this time...
 
not that's its particularly relevant, but where do you think Bravely Default will land in the reviews

We do have an European review thread

average is 9.3 based on 5 reviews so far

82cbed9cef665a1513441rnafi.gif
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
I think the people have spoken... no one wants to play another FF XIII title... people are eager to move onto FFXV

People are already complaining about it being called XV instead of Versus, or being action instead of turn-based. The story will repeat. Just wait.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
So I haven't bee following this game at all. Where does it stack up to the others in the 13 series? Both gameplay and story-wise.

Divise opinions like usual depending on who bought it. I'd wait for the western release to have a wider idea of what's going on. The DEMO is anyway online on the JP store for you to try. That alone is for me fantastic. Kagari during E3 playing it was already calling it terrible so as you see opinions differ everytime. I'm pretty sure that fans of XIII and XIII-2 will like the title where the haters will keep hatin'.
 
I think the people have spoken... no one wants to play another FF XIII title... people are eager to move onto FFXV

So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series,

That's something within this series you'll never be able to do. Trust me. Also not by reading others' comments on neogaf. Someone thinks FFX (many actually) is one of the best entries. I mean... just play them and see for yourself. They're so cheap anyway to buy nowdays. If you ask me I'd say FFXIII, FFXII and X should be on your list before the others.
 

Red Mage

Member
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.

Opinions vary greatly, with II, VIII, X, and XIII getting the most hate. VIII and X, however, have become much less villified due to XIII's release. It's sort of like complaining that your favorite actor is phoning in a couple of scripts, only for the director to shoot him in the head and hanging his corpse on a hook as a means to "improve" it.
 

Servbot24

Banned
I get they wanted to recycle assets, but yikes, Final Fantasy brand value was absolutely wrecked this gen. Should have cut their losses after the investment into FFXIII and moved on
 

Nerokis

Member
That's something within this series you'll never be able to do. Trust me.

Perfo is right here. X in particular is one of the more popular entries in the series. It's always too easy to fool yourself into thinking your opinion somehow reflects the majority's.

That said, it's really hard for me to imagine someone disliking X but loving XIII. Pretty much every beef people have with the former is magnified in the latter.
 

genjiZERO

Member
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.

IMO 10 >> 12. Other than the linearity, I think 10 is solid. Possibly the best gameplay in the series. However, 12 is an excellent dungeon crawler. In a lot of respects the "feel" of that was similar to FF1. The problem is that the story is tragically unsatisfying and incomplete, and it takes you until the end of the game to figure this out. 12 is the FF that could have been.

However, I find that people who really like 9 but dislike 10 tend to like 12 so it might be worth your time giving it a go.
 

Tzeentch

Member
Been watching a playthrough of 13-3 (because I can at least stand the series). Egads the amount of recycled stuff and the boxy city is really offputting. The number of voice actors (in the Japanese version at least) is obviously really cut back. There were a few times when I wasn't looking at the screen and could swear that someone was talking to themselves. And the fake falsetto and adults doing "kid voices" was cringeworthy.

Battle system looks cool though!
 
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.

there is no way in hell FF9>FF10 in the general fanbase
(also I thought FF7 is still holding on that top spot even if its slipping)
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
There's a great game within the released version of 12, but the juvenile leads are just entirely superfluous and too many of the tougher fights in the game lean far too heavily on the automation of the gambit system and as a result are just heinously overlong.

10 is a far "tighter" package overall, and only loses out to 12 because the localization isn't nearly so refined. On the whole I think 10 is just terrific.

Don't get me wrong, I do like FFXII a lot, but its undeniably a seriously compromised realization of Matsuno's vision. Its just as flawed in its own way(s) as XIII is.
 

Toth

Member
The way the post is written it reads like you're using Kagari's impressions of the game to support your rejection of Kagari's estimate of the score.

I meant to say based upon her score and OTHER impressions and have corrected my post. I like to base my opinion on more than one person's impression after all. Makes for a smarter fan, no?
 

Beth Cyra

Member
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.

This isn't even close to true. Maybe on Gaf. However 10 is easily one of the most beloved Final Fantasy's with both Tidus and Yuna being hugely popular and it selling only second to Final Fantasy VII.

VII is also easily the most loved FF in general, not even hard to see this given how often it performs in pretty much every way that can be shown. VIII is also hugely popular, granted it does have a hate group as well, but they are in no way the majority.

As what you should be playing, I would say XII is a good bet. Alot of VI and IX fans tend to enjoy it and it feels really good coming off of XI as it takes alot of those elements and brings it into a single player game.
 
C'mon dude everyone knows 6 was the peak. That being said 7 is a close second.

what GAF thinks=/=what the general fanbase thinks
fairly sure it's 7>10>everything else>13

that being said, yes that other guy should play FF12

hold on:

For those that want to counter some of the people who are wanting this game to fail (I don't know why anyone would want any game to fail and destroy companies, but apparently, we have vicious people), there are some things to consider:

1. Sales numbers don't necessarily equal quality. Just look at the PS3, for example!

2. The chart the OP posted still had the game at number one, nearly 200k units ahead of the other games that were sold. This might be more telling of the state of sales of anything in Japan in general than it says for one game. There are a few franchises that are very popular in Japan (heard Monster Hunter gets a lot of praise there, for instance) that had a new installment that couldn't get out of ninth place. Basically, I think the chart is instead showing that the Japanese isn't going out and buying games right now. I'd wait to see how the game does in other territories before saying that the game was a commercial flop. It was still the best selling game of that week by a lot, despite how low the sales are.

3. Not sure if the version is released yet, but keep in mind that even though the PS3 was more popular in JP than the 360, remember that a 360 version of this game exists there.

1. point taken, even though review scores are still awful
2. LR has a huge drop from FF13-2, and while to some extent a drop would be expected, it's obvious that most are tired of Lightning and co (and we already have a separate thread for 3D World bombing)
3. HAHAHAHAHA lol360
 

darkpower

Banned
For those that want to counter some of the people who are wanting this game to fail (I don't know why anyone would want any game to fail and destroy companies, but apparently, we have vicious people), there are some things to consider:

1. Sales numbers don't necessarily equal quality. Just look at the PS3, for example!

2. The chart the OP posted still had the game at number one, nearly 200k units ahead of the other games that were sold. This might be more telling of the state of sales of anything in Japan in general than it says for one game. There are a few franchises that are very popular in Japan (heard Monster Hunter gets a lot of praise there, for instance) that had a new installment that couldn't get out of ninth place. Basically, I think the chart is instead showing that the Japanese isn't going out and buying games right now. I'd wait to see how the game does in other territories before saying that the game was a commercial flop. It was still the best selling game of that week by a lot, despite how low the sales are.

3. Not sure if the version is released yet, but keep in mind that even though the PS3 was more popular in JP than the 360, remember that a 360 version of this game exists there.
 

Wazzy

Banned
So I think I have a fairly typical opinion of the series, summarized briefly as FF6 being the pinnacle, FF7 close behind, FF8 and FF10 being trash, and FF9 the last hurrah before irrelevance, what should I be playing? FF12 on original hardware? I played the demo bundled with DQ8 but never got around to the full game.

I can assure you this is not a fairly typical opinion of the series.

VIII and X are extremely popular even if VIII has more vocal haters.
 

mao2

Member
For those that want to counter some of the people who are wanting this game to fail (I don't know why anyone would want any game to fail and destroy companies, but apparently, we have vicious people), there are some things to consider:

1. Sales numbers don't necessarily equal quality. Just look at the PS3, for example!

2. The chart the OP posted still had the game at number one, nearly 200k units ahead of the other games that were sold. This might be more telling of the state of sales of anything in Japan in general than it says for one game. There are a few franchises that are very popular in Japan (heard Monster Hunter gets a lot of praise there, for instance) that had a new installment that couldn't get out of ninth place. Basically, I think the chart is instead showing that the Japanese isn't going out and buying games right now. I'd wait to see how the game does in other territories before saying that the game was a commercial flop. It was still the best selling game of that week by a lot, despite how low the sales are.

3. Not sure if the version is released yet, but keep in mind that even though the PS3 was more popular in JP than the 360, remember that a 360 version of this game exists there.
The 360 version was released alongside the PS3 version, and it only managed to sell 4,770 copies. Pretty much negligible.
http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/762/762465/index-2.html
 

Kenai

Member
I normally don't receive joy from complete financial videogame disasters no matter how much I feel they are deserved, but this? This feels good. I'll just replace everything 13 related with the FF14 main story in my head (simple but fun) and hope these abominations haven't completely corrupted the sales of the next mainline entry.
 

genjiZERO

Member
what GAF thinks=/=what the general fanbase thinks
fairly sure it's 7>10>everything else>13

that being said, yes that other guy should play FF12

Eh, maybe. There's no way we can scientifically know this of course. I think it's debatable which one is "best". Clearly though the series hit its stride at 4, peaked 6/7 and lost it's mojo post-10.
 

Wazzy

Banned
Eh, maybe. There's no way we can scientifically know this of course. I think it's debatable which one is "best". Clearly though the series hit its stride at 4, peaked 6/7 and lost it's mojo post-10.

Best is sure up for debate but popularity wise there's no question VII and X are more popular than VI.
 

Beth Cyra

Member
Eh, maybe. There's no way we can scientifically know this of course. I think it's debatable which one is "best". Clearly though the series hit its stride at 4, peaked 6/7 and lost it's mojo post-10.

Horse shit we can't.

All you need to do is look at how the games perform. Even when we look past their original sales.

FF VII has been above everything on PSN since it release, even FF VI, VIII, and IX couldn't stay above it for more then a very short time and that was only at release.

Constant polls from major sites like Gamefaqs and even Famitsu doing there top one hundred games of all time had VII and X above everything.

We can easily gauge the general publics favorites by what they continue to support. Exactly like we can easily see that the majority of the FF fanbase does not want Lightning Returns.

Lastly it isn't "clear" when FF lost it's mojo. XII and XIII both performed better then IX and XII remains a game with a very dedicated following that could easily rival IX's.
 
The fact that the amount of posts here comes kind of close to the LR import thread is quite funny...

Sad to see this tanking so much. Having said that, I'm still looking forward to a solid jrpg in Febraury with an amazing ost. I feel sorry for those who can't look past their expectations of what an FF is supposed to look like. I seriously think they miss out- outside of its legacy, XIII-2 is a lot of fun.
 

Beth Cyra

Member
The fact that the amount of posts here comes kind of close to the LR import thread is quite funny...

Sad to see this tanking so much. Having said that, I'm still looking forward to a solid jrpg in Febraury with an amazing ost. I feel sorry for those who can't look past their expectations of what an FF is supposed to look like. I seriously think they miss out- outside of its legacy, XIII-2 is a lot of fun.

Despite some comments about its looks, it's much more about the character and world that are causing the bad reception to LR.

Hell I'm one of the people who had FF XIII as my GOTY, and even I don't want LR. That has nothing to do with it's graphcis, and everything to do with them focusing on a bland unejoyable character.
 
The fact that the amount of posts here comes kind of close to the LR import thread is quite funny...

Sad to see this tanking so much. Having said that, I'm still looking forward to a solid jrpg in Febraury with an amazing ost. I feel sorry for those who can't look past their expectations of what an FF is supposed to look like. I seriously think they miss out- outside of its legacy, XIII-2 is a lot of fun.

I know, I'm looking forward to Bravely Default too
 
Despite some comments about its looks, it's much more about the character and world that are causing the bad reception to LR.

Hell I'm one of the people who had FF XIII as my GOTY, and even I don't want LR. That has nothing to do with it's graphcis, and everything to do with them focusing on a bland unejoyable character.

It's focused on her, yes. But there are still other characters and it appears that the game fleshes her character more out.

Plus, the world is acutally completely new. Unless you were talking about the 13 universe in general.

I too would have liked SE to move on, but it has been clear for quite a while that LR will be a thing due to the -2 cliffhanger. Might as well just accept it.
 
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