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[Rahxephon91]

Which is laughable. There's more gameplay and replay value there than the vast majority of similar games. Just sucks that Kojima doesn't have an editor on hand to reel in his insanity.

No it isn't. It's not laughable at all. The entire 2nd half of the game is a joke. Chapter 5 has what like two rooms and 2 horrible boss battles? Chapter 4 you fight stupid robots and have some really dumb cutscenes. Chapter 3, well chapter 3 sucks, with the stupid follow part and the on rails section where you can't really die. The gameplay is terrible and its sandwiched between so many cutscenes that are equally terrible. Which is a shame because the first 2 parts were great.

Replay value? MGS4 has some of the worst replay value of the series. There's hardly any real interesting enemy dynamics that you can exploit or real nifty things you can stumble on. On top of that none of the boss battles are interesting and really open up alternate gameplay options like in previous ones. The possibly interesting faction mechanic is beyond half assed as well.

But this isn't the thread for this.

Go Japanese games! I mean they already made the better Third Person Shooter with Vanquish.

 

[Totobeni]

It really is, I hope it's just them being slow on the uptake and they'll be heading for a come back. There are more upcoming Japanese games I care about than have been released this whole generation.
.

for me it's still "that one Japanese game" every 4-7 months for me now , and if you cut SCEJ and SEGA published games there will be almost nothing Japanese in my PS360 shelves.

not sure if it's because Japanese devs shifted to handheld ( since even tech-wise they are years behind and can't catch with the western devs now) or they just lost it or just their games don't appeal to me anymore.

 

[monocromo]

It's unfortunate.

I dont think that West outclasing Japan is unfortunate. With all the love that I have towards japanese games... I really dont care about wich country the games come from.

What I really find unfortunate is the lack of variety and experimentation from the west industry. And thats why I really love small, original and fresh PSN games.

edit: sorry if anyone thinks that Im leaving Nintendo games out of this... I dont have a Wii yet so I cant speak about that.

 

[Crash Station]

I've heard people talk about it before, but it's not till this thread that I really thought about it and now do agree that this generation the West is outclassing Japan for the first time.

In budget, not innovation.

 

[falconzss]

Demon's Souls
Bayonetta
Valkyria Chronicles

these titles alone justify a ps3 purchase.

 

[StuBurns]

In budget, not innovation.

I don't agree at all.

MGS4 and FFXIII both have budgets that dwarf the majority of Western titles.

 

[sublimit]

Besides those mentioned there's also Armored Core 4 and Armored Core For Answer.

 

[andymcc]

I don't agree at all.

MGS4 and FFXIII both have budgets that dwarf the majority of Western titles.

that's pretty much about it, too.

 

[StuBurns]

that's pretty much about it, too.

It doesn't really matter though does it? The point is budget doesn't relate to innovation or quality past it being sufficient to make a game that's shippable.

MGS4 should outclass Vanquish, but it's laughable in comparison. God of War 3 should be better than Bayonetta but I think you'd struggle to find a single person on GAF who prefers it.

If anything, the bigger the budget, the safer the design and the weaker the game seems to be.

 

[monocromo]

that's pretty much about it, too.

SF4, MVC3, RE5, maybe DMC4 ... and... mmm... (all from Capcom) ... GT5. Not many really, but thats not surprising.

If anything, the bigger the budget, the safer the design

Bingo.

 

[Ratrat]

so hows that Aquanauts Holiday game?

 

[Crash Station]

I don't agree at all.

MGS4 and FFXIII both have budgets that dwarf the majority of Western titles.

I'm mainly talking about how "AAA" (hate that term) development has all but fallen off the map in Japan compared to the west. Obviously there are exceptions but they're in the minority.

I don't want to start an east vs west thing right now especially since you probably know what I'm gonna say. Handhelds are where the good Japanese games are.

Edit: I also feel that the negative connotations attributed with Japanese games this generation is more because of the emergence of western devs on consoles rather than a drop in quality. I expect things to even out more next gen if 3DS and PSP2 don't completely kill console development in Japan.

 

[Lance Bone Path]

LittleBigPlanet isn't Japanese, but it's a game where user generated content is pretty important. There are a lot of excellent levels created by Japanese players.

Also, there's always Japan's PSN. I kind of want to get Malicious.

 

[Sohter.Nura]

Totally forgot about Marvel vs Capcom 3, thanks Kagari. Also, good to hear good things about Katamari. Somehow, I was under the impression GAF didn't like it. I really enjoyed We ♥ Katamari...

I think I'm going to open the box now. Thanks, everyone.


It is kinda weird, but I could never get into games based on a story, and I don't enjoy a lot of turn-based RPGs, which is why Tales is my absolute favorite RPG series.

I haven't seen any feedback on Katamari Forever, but I loved it I'm playing it right now, actually, going for the platinum trophy (I'm 60% done ^^)

 

[StuBurns]

I'm mainly talking about how "AAA" (hate that term) development has all but fallen off the map in Japan compared to the west. Obviously there are exceptions but they're in the minority.

I don't want to start an east vs west thing right now especially since you probably know what I'm gonna say. Handhelds are where the good Japanese games are.

I'm not sure if the reasons are monetary as appose to relating to the success of those handhelds in Japan. However, I certainly agree, the Japanese are still pumping really excellent handheld software. And yeah, I certainly don't want to hijack the thread for an east vs west shit slinging match. I was just surprised reading the thread and looking at my shelf that we're five years in to this generation and the Japanese PS360 games that are great are very few and far between, still, lots upcoming I think.

 

[Vrakanox]

Demon's Souls
Disgaea 3
Valkyria Chronicles
Resonance of Fate
Final Fantasy XIII
Nier
Star Ocean: The Last Hope International
Bayonetta
Metal Gear Solid 4
Devil May Cry 4
Siren Blood Curse

 

[DevilWillcry]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Devil May Cry 4
Demon's Souls
Eternal Sonata
White Knight Chronicles
Final Fantasy XIII
Siren
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Metal Gear Solid 4
Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
Soul Calibur IV
BlazBlue: The Calamity Trigger
Maijin
Folklore

Upcoming:
Tales of PS3
Final Fantasy vs. XIII
The Last Guardian
Ni No Kuni
Street Fighter vs. Tekken
Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Shadows of the Damned
No More Heroes Paradise

 

[monocromo]

I haven't seen any feedback on Katamari Forever, but I loved it I'm playing it right now, actually, going for the platinum trophy (I'm 60% done ^^)

Bought Katamari and Nier last week, but still havent tried neither (LCD is on repair =/ )

 

[Lumpy Onion]

so hows that Aquanauts Holiday game?

Pretty enjoyable, and definitely glad I bought the english version when it was cheap. It can get kinda boring at times though, but I have yet to see a game that captures the feeling of being undersea this well. The audio can be pretty immersive, especially when a school of hundreds of fish is circling around you. If you want a nice game to just chill playing w/o any stress, this is a good one.

I haven't played too much of it though. I want to someday, because I saw a video of exploring the really deep ocean (so dark you need lights) and it looked awesome.

 

[StuBurns]

Maijin

Could you give us a couple of impressions on Maijin? I played the demo and didn't care for it myself.

 

[Ratrat]

Pretty enjoyable, and definitely glad I bought the english version when it was cheap. It can get kinda boring at times though, but I have yet to see a game that captures the feeling of being undersea this well. The audio can be pretty immersive, especially when a school of hundreds of fish is circling around you. If you want a nice game to just chill playing w/o any stress, this is a good one.

I haven't played too much of it though. I want to someday, because I saw a video of exploring the really deep ocean (so dark you need lights) and it looked awesome.

Thanks, I'm playing the 1st psx one right now and interaction is solely the act of bumping into fish and minuscule whales. But I do like the sense of discovery, I guess its a good game for short bursts?

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Thanks, I'm playing the 1st psx one right now and interaction is solely the act of bumping into fish and minuscule whales. But I do like the sense of discovery, I guess its a good game for short bursts?

I have never played the PSX version so I can't comment on it being different or not. As much as I love the game my mind does start to wander after a while wanting to play something more exciting. But yeah, short bursts is the best I can do with this game. Heres a link to an impressions thread from a few years back for some good pics and impressions from people who probably played it more than myself...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336441

 

[electroshockwave]

Since pretty much everything else has been covered I'll say Noby Noby Boy. It's all kinds of weird and wonderful.

 

[leroidys]

Makes me so happy to see all the Folklore recs in here. Definitely a good time of the year to play it too, the mood is superb.

Also:

Demon's Souls
3DDGH
Valkyria Chronicles in my opinion is way overrated, but there's still a lot of fun to be had there
MGS 4 - Unlike 99% of GAF, I played this with 0 expectations and had a lot of fun with it (up until the last chapter)
Nier is pretty good
Katamari Forever - I only played the first one on PS2, so I was not tired of the formula. The game is really good, but the controls and camera are still godawful of course.
Armored Core 4/Answer Still good mech games

 

[Ratrat]

I have never played the PSX version so I can't comment on it being different or not. As much as I love the game my mind does start to wander after a while wanting to play something more exciting. But yeah, short bursts is the best I can do with this game. Heres a link to an impressions thread from a few years back for some good pics and impressions from people who probably played it more than myself...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336441

o_o
I'm getting it on graphics alone.

 

[fernoca]

Since everyone has listed most of them already...

Uncharted, Uncharted 2, inFamous, The Sly Collection, LittleBigPlanet, God of War Collection, God of War III, Heavy Rain are great non-japanese games that anyone with a PS3 should at least try. Just saying.

EDIT:
Oh and Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood.

 

[Crash Station]

Most of the games I would recommend have already been listed, so I'll list some western games I, as a mostly exclusive Japanese game player, enjoyed.

Flower
Heavy Rain
God of War III

 

[Mailenstein]

no it really is the same. A lot of the MGS4 hate is about the game squandering it's gameplay, ruing the story, or even being a game at all.

And the difference with XIII and MGS4 is that MGS4 deserves the hate.

Rahxephon91
I have bad taste.
(Yesterday, 11:55 PM)
Reply | Quote

 

[Rahxephon91]

Nah you got that wrong amigo. It would be bad taste to actually like MGS4.

 

[Mailenstein]

Nah you got that wrong amigo. It would be bad taste to actually like MGS4.

It's a decent game imo. Nothing I would hype or anything, but I wouldn't hate it either. It's definitely not a bad game.

 

[matmanx1]

If you like Tales games then you absolutely should check out Star Ocean: The Last Hope International and Nier.

Star Ocean starts off a little slow but builds nicely and has a great battle system that melds nicely with its large character roster and extremely deep item creation system. I'm pushing 60 hours on it right now and I still haven't beaten it yet!

Nier is a fun action RPG with great characters, great music and a fantastic localization. The graphics aren't the prettiest but the game delivers in all the areas that are most important.

 

[ULTROS!]

OMG HOW THE FUCK DID I FORGET STAR OCEAN 4?!?!?!

Anyway, I'd recommend SO4 if you want a traditional JRPG. If you can stand the horrible voiceovers, you can easily alleviate that by replacing it with Japanese voiceovers.

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

PS3 needs more Gradius V, Katamari, BeatMania, and Love Plus.

I will buy 5 copies of IIDX or Pop n' Music if it ever drops on the PS3.. DO YOU HEAR ME KONAMI!?!

 

[Sohter.Nura]

I've heard people talk about it before, but it's not till this thread that I really thought about it and now do agree that this generation the West is outclassing Japan for the first time.

That's probably why I haven't enjoyed this gen so much The Western games, for the most part, just don't connect with me.

 

[Rahxephon91]

It's a decent game imo. Nothing I would hype or anything, but I wouldn't hate it either. It's definitely not a bad game.

Well, there's the difference. MGS4 was perhaps the game I was most hyped for. I love love LOVE Metal Gear. My favorite is 2 and 3 was amazing. So the next MGS is the sequel to my favorite. Add that all up and it's hype through the roof. MGS4 PS3 bundle was my high school graduation gift and my selling point to my parents to get it was that MGS was an event I could not miss. Absolute faith in Kojima I had. And MGS4 was not an obvious disappointment. The realization came very slow. I went in as clean as possible, no spoilers for me!

This was the thought process..

Ok cool cutscenes look great, but Snake is all sad. Except That wasn't Snake in two, but hey he is dieing!

"ok I guess I can only side with the rebels, so much for the battlefield"

"Man those bosses look cool, I sure hope they play a bigger part in this game"

"Man this middle east level sure is awesome, oh but its over already...".

"oh ok were in the jungle awesome! I really like this battlefield stealth thing. I hope the whole game is like this!"

"Jack is dead? Huh? I thought Raiden was supposed to be less "emo" now"

"boobs"

"break dancing on robots and vampires is awesome"

"Yeah an urban level. I wonder whats going on here"

"Meryl seems out of character whatever"

"Hmm I just have to follow this guy ok"

"Shit were did he go?"

"fuck I have to start over"

"fuck you saw me! No don't run back to the beginning"

"fuck this interceptor shit"

"WTF you had a uniform the whole time?"

"oh its Big Mama. Man I love these MGS3 references"

"so all my support team from 3 was evil. That's kind of stupid"

"THEY WERE THE PATRIOTS"

"nanomachines"

"Zero is a dick?"

"ok well this still kind of ok. It goes with the entire thing with the Boss"

"ITS ALL A FUCKING ACT?"

"oh cool shadow mosses I hope the stealth is cool"

"fuck robots"

"Yay Sniper battle....that's not really a sniping battle"

"Why is Raiden so emo"

"Um when did Namoi become a slut"

"oh so hes immortal because of the magical nanomachines"

"here take some needle dude I've wanted to fight sense two!"

"FOX ALIVE!"

"Yay they are ripping off Pirates of the Carabian"

"So I'm already done with chapter 5? That was just a lame boss fight with like two rooms"

"oh Big Boss is Alive!"

"Hes still talking!"

"and now he is dead"

So no. MGS4 is a bad game. At least for me. Even when you take out the dumb story and character suicides , the actual game also sucks. The battlefield mechanics are interesting, but half backed and then frogoten in the later chapters. These later chapters also suck. 3 is just following a dude and it's boring waiting and watching an Ai for awhile. The on rails section while cool, isn't very thrilling and the boss battle is one of the least interesting ones in the series. I hate 4, because I find the enemies to be pretty terrible and not fun. Add a crappy "sniping" level and it sucks. Chapter 5 has more cutscenes then actual play time. That's a fact and it sucks.

And screw Drebin and his war stories.

It's a soul crushing game. It comes after 3 which had a great simple story and some great gameplay. Gameplay that was plentiful, well placed, and very varied in a good way.That was a great game with some great personality. It was just fun. Compared to 4, which is just a depressing and cold game. Not fun at all. That also dosen't make much sense with the way Snake is at the end of two.

As a sequel to 2 it's even far worse. People who like two really like the plot no matter how crazy it is. Why? Because it's interesting. It's different and abstract. it brings up a lot of ideas and dosen't give clear cut answers. 4 is the complete opposite of that and the answers it gives are not at all satisfactory. Now this was bound to happen, but the problem is they tried to answer everything in a logical way for a series that was off its rocker. They should have let things just be. Ocelot is just pretending! WTH? I was already on board with the crazy arm because of the Sorrow connection.

MGS4 is a soul crashing game. It may not be a bad game technically, but for me it's god awful and has probably ruined the series for me.

But this is pretty off topic. I'm sure we will have another MGS4 thread soon enough.

 

[jooey]

Thanks, I'm playing the 1st psx one right now and interaction is solely the act of bumping into fish and minuscule whales. But I do like the sense of discovery, I guess its a good game for short bursts?

It's much better than the first two, partly because there's a real story to follow, and there's a greater incentive to explore. on PS1 it's just like "well, here you go. you can build a reef if you want."

 

[Alphahawk]

Did you not already have a 360? Because a lot of your list seems to be made up of multiplat games...

I'm not trying to turn this into a 360 vs PS3 debate, but it always strikes me weird 5 years in when a Gaffer does not have either console..

 

[tafer]

It really is, I hope it's just them being slow on the uptake and they'll be heading for a come back. There are more upcoming Japanese games I care about than have been released this whole generation.

I didn't think about it before, but after checking some lists here, I also feel the same!

 

[Augemitbutter]

:lol

another MGS4 hate thread in disguise.

also people comparing GoW with Bayonetta, also exaggerating at the quality of the PS3 version. breaking news: it has been patched to a good level aeons ago.

please continue, i'm sure it can get worse.

i'd recommend Demon's Souls and Ninja Gaiden Sigma I and II. also Yakuza 3 and 4 soon.

 

[StuBurns]

breaking news: it has been patched to a good level aeons ago.

Breaking news: The patch was to improve loading times, it did not affect the game performance.

 

[DR2K]

It is terrible, it is nothing like consistent 30fps, and it can drop to almost unplayable levels. When a game is literally performing at half the rate of the 360 version, it is a terrible port.

It's still a great game though.

Not a great port, but the game itself is still quite good on the PS3.

 

[StuBurns]

Not a great port, but the game itself is still quite good on the PS3.

For sure. If someone has a choice between Bayonetta PS3, and no Bayonetta, there is no debate to be had, it's a must play title to me.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Breaking news: The patch was to improve loading times, it did not affect the game performance.

loading times are game performance. the game played fine before that, only the loading times were somewhat of a hinderance. fixed long ago.

 

[Vrakanox]

OMG HOW THE FUCK DID I FORGET STAR OCEAN 4?!?!?!

Anyway, I'd recommend SO4 if you want a traditional JRPG. If you can stand the horrible voiceovers, you can easily alleviate that by replacing it with Japanese voiceovers.

It's a great game. It's easy to clock in 100+ hours at least with the bonus dungeons.

 

[StuBurns]

loading times are game performance. the game played fine before that, only the loading times were somewhat of a hinderance. fixed long ago.

If you think the loading was the only thing in that game that was 'somewhat of a hindrance', you either have a Super-PS3 or are suffering some sort of poor sense of motion. I would recommend seeing a specialist.

 

[Augemitbutter]

If you think the loading was the only thing in that game that was 'somewhat of a hindrance', you either have a Super-PS3 or are suffering some sort of poor sense of motion. I would recommend seeing a specialist.

i don't think you've ever played it on PS3. there were 1-2 smaller areas where the framerate went down, the battles were always fine. no need to act like a sulky doggy. Bayonetta on PS3 has better sound too btw, so there is no need to call the 360 a flawless masterpiece. do your homework.

 

[StuBurns]

i don't think you've ever played it on PS3. there were 1-2 smaller areas where the framerate went down, the battles were always fine. no need to act like a sulky doggy. Bayonetta on PS3 has better sound too btw, so there is no need to call the 360 a flawless masterpiece. do your homework.

I have it, I have played it, there are massive framerate inconsistencies, as numerous videos and articles claim.

And any GAFfer on my PSN list could confirm I have it.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Well look on my PSN account, my user name is xxx, then call me a liar again.

waste of my time. we were dscussing the same things while playing on japanese release. which areas did you consider unplayable?

edit: edited his PSN name out on request.

 

[Skilletor]

waste of my time. we were dscussing the same things while playing on japanese release. which areas did you consider unplayable?

All of it. The shitty framerate was an abomination in an action game. That others can lower their standards so much as to excuse this shitty, shitty mistake of an effort makes me laugh.

 

[StuBurns]

waste of my time. we were dscussing the same things while playing on japanese release. which areas did you consider unplayable?

None of it is unplayable. There are areas very close to it though. For example (this is going to be hard to describe) the part quite near the end (before you control the other witch though) where you have to jump on lots of gold platforms that disappear. That's probably the worst section. It's never really in combat where it's sub-20, but in a few of the platforming bits it certainly is. Another bad bit is the electric water bit with the girl.