GameFront reports that Famitsu has given Final Fantasy XII a perfect 40/40.  Ummm.... no.  I know this is not the first time Famitsu has dealt a perfect score to a game that doesn't deserve it, but at least with the other games, some case (however small) could have been made.  But FFXII?  Did they play it?  The battle system is simply awful.  While I recognize that there is some remote possibility that the game has imporved dramatically since the demo, it's highly unlikely.  Even people who like the battle system have admitted it has flaws, so what's going on here?

Of course, let's not forget that this is the same Famitsu that convienently delayed its less-than-stellar review of FF7 DoC until AFTER the game sold over 500,000 copies...

While I am sure the game does not deserve a 40/40 (no game does, really), I am really excited about it.
I loved everything about the demo, including the battle system, and many others seem to, also.

Another thing to note is: Famitsu is bad.  You know, like Gamepro.   The reviews are only a few sentences long, each.
This review could also turn out to be fake. The magazine doesn't even go on sale until Friday, and the only scan available is very small (you can't even read the text)

Famitsu scores cannot be trusted at the best of times. I'm taking this as a good sign for FFXII but I have no illusions that it might deserve a perfect score.

What if it deserves it? I'm sure he does. It if a Final Fantasy after all. One of the greatest video game series ever.

See?  It's this mentality that allows Squenix to continue to release mediocre games and still sell tons of copies.  Just because it says "Final Fantasy" on the box does not mean it's gold.  Final Fantasy WAS one of the greatest video game series ever.  It no longer is.

Interestingly enough this is the first time that Famitsu gave a perfect score to an FF game.

The last numbered Final Fantasies are as great as the previous - FFX, XI, X-2 are superb games... TO ME (OK, maybe X-2 is not as great as X, but it is still an enjoyable). By the way, I also think FFVII and VIII are brillant - and FFIX is a gift from the gods, probably the best of the series.

Of course, there were some weaker additions recently (Crystal Chronicles or Dirge of Cerberus for example) but anyway, FFXII sure looks like a wonderful addition to this admirable legacy. I'm sorry, I'm a FF fanboy, please forgive me, I love only commercial products, I think FF is the greatest video game series, I love its lasts games, kill me. Square Enix bought me.

Anyway, I'm glad FFXII got 40/40, even if Famitsu is Famitsu (but eh, they gave 40/40 to Zelda Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker!). At last, Final Fantasy reaches the top. Good thing for Yasumi Matsuno too, Vagrant Story also deserved this score.

The FF series has changed quite abit, for sure. But I think it remains at the forefront of the Japanese RPG genre. No other series or game has really come close to it, in my opinion. Some people like attention and start bashing FF, or they might be old fogeys hanging on to the glory days. Doesn't matter.

I do honestly think that FFXII will be a masterpiece, and at least I very much hope so. The BS doesn't bother me at all, and the amount of nitpicking going on is quite ridiculous. People going on massive tirades to -demean- FFXII is even more amusing.

It will be stupid to think that 10/10 means perfect in every single area possible. I'll give games full marks just because the whole was greater than its parts; and overall it was awesome. I think both the first MGS and Zelda: Ocarina of Time did that.

I agree, and disagree with you, here, man. The FF series of games has been hit and miss for me. I loved the original, and Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII and IX. Every other one (VIII, X, X-2) has been completely "Miss!". Think of it as doing battle in an RPG. The previously cited games all scored criticals, while the latter group made your weapon break.

PS: Glad to see someone else liked FFIX as much as I did.

Solemnly agreed. It's interesting to note that MGS and Ocarina were both highly moody and cinematic, as was Vagrant Story. Of those three, two of them were 40's in the eyes of Famitsu. Maybe they're just suckers for games that attempt to be movies?

Speaking of which, does anyone know what score Famitsu gave to MGS?

No idea.

Famitsu have a history, certainly recently, of giving stupidly high scores to games. This game may well be good, and I hope it is, but I'd take this with a pinch of salt.

Besides, Japanese opinions have exposed themselves to be no better than Western ones when it comes to games with Famitsu's Top 100 reader voted games -

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio … 1&Itemid=2

FFX the top game? Meh, I liked it but honestly. That's no better than a Western list having some EA game at the top. Just about every FF since VI is high up on that list. In fact just about every RPG is on the list. Japanese love their RPGs and they adore Final Fantasy to a fanatical degree - I can't trust their review of FFXII.

Well, for me, FFVIII, X, and XI are all absolute garbage.  I like FFIX and I'm indifferent to FFX-2.  I was actually really looking forward to FFXII because of Matsuno.  I figured I would get to see a great story from him with cool characters and gameplay that wasn't horribly broken (cough Vagrant Story cough cough).  Well, any hope for cool characters was destroyed early on, but I could forgive that if the gameplay was good.  Then I played the demo and experienced the miserable battle system and wonky camera.  And so all hope was lost.

I'm not reacting against FFXII because it's popular.  I'm reacting against FFXII because I've played it and it's a piece of junk.  I don't care how good the story and music are -- there's no way I'm sitting through 60 hours of that battle system.  Games are games first.  If all I wanted was story, I could just read a book.

Perhaps Famitsu is becoming like the Oscars where people win not based on their accomplishments but because it's their turn to win.

I wonder why people put such stock in Famitsu numbers. Think about it. A 40 does NOT mean perfect game, any more than a 5 of 5 does. Hell, look at the way it's done -- it's FOUR PEOPLE giving it a 10. Not one person giving it a 40. There's a HUGE difference. and if you can't see that, take some logic course or something.

-Joshua

Take a 'logic course'?

You let us know where to do that when you apply for your persuasion tactics course and we just might.

Perfect game or not - 10 out of 10 is a perfect score. If it weren't, there would be a score above that. 9 out of 10, now that's not perfect. How do I know that? Because there is still room to go higher. But 10 is as high as it goes.

40 out of 40 is a perfect score.

Can you begin to understand that logic?

If this game does not deserve a perfect score, then it shouldn't be getting a perfect score.

For anyone looking for a Famitsu frame of reference, they gave The Bouncer 31/40. They gave Tekken Tag Tournament 38/40. They gave GT4 39/40. The games they have given 40/40 to are Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, Vagrant Story and more recently (and probably more relevant) Zelda: The Wind Waker and Nintendogs. Make of that what you will.

That's too bad. I'm sorry for you. May you find peace...with another game, whatever it is.

As far as I'm concerned, and as a FFXI player, I just want this game... Aaah...

Concerning the 40/40, I think it is maybe...symbolic. I'm an idealist

I didn't care for the FFXII demo that much but that's because it was painfully unbalanced. I'm confident that the final game will be a masterpiece.

Cutting and pasting most of Xlord's comments would be redundant, so I'll just say I second most of what he said.

It's ironic I haven't enjoyed a single game that has been debated on regarding scores that are considered 'too high' from publications. Best one I can think of would be Metal Gear Solid 1 and I don't even know if I have the memory card with my half-finished game save on it. Worst case scenarios are the Gran Turismo series (I think I posted the story about me destroying a copy of GT2 out of annoyance...It was license-test related) and Chrono Cross (A ten at Gamespot, .5 away from all 10's at EGM...It's ironic that I don't read either anymore). And EGM's "reviews" of Halo 2 and the later GTA games are nothing short of shameless posturing...and I've mentioned their review of Final Fantasy Anthology before, where I honestly believe all four reviewers took bribes to NOT mention the slowdown, loading and mangled music in FF5 and 6 and somehow give the collection near-perfect scores (that, or they didn't play it). It's not hating popular games, but I just think a lot of average games are too hyped (either by fans or developers or both) to get anything less than perfect scores at times. I wonder how much Famitsu readership would go down if they criticized FFXII for any flaws it may have.

I expect FFXII to be hyped endlessly upon release, praised endlessly upon release and when we're halfway into the new generation of consoles, all of the "WTF were we thinking back then" comments will come around, like most FF8 discussions that come about nowadays. All I hope is that its' success encourages more JRPG's to be released outside of Japan, ala what happened with FF7. If a game like this has a positive effect on the likes of Nippon Ichi or Falcom, I can live with that type of symbiotic relationship.

ahahahaha

Anyway, isn't the demo.....at least two years old?

It came with Dragon Warrior VIII and we got that in November. Dunno if there was a Japanese one or not.

The demo you guys got with Dragon Quest VIII is the demo they had at the Square Enix Party at Makuhari last summer.  As I recall, that was the first time the game was playable to the public, as it didn't show up in playable form at E3 2005.  Therefore the demo is less than a year old.  That said, I kind of enjoyed what I played of that demo, though.

I do enjoy the *FAMITSU SUCKS!!!111* and *FINAL FANTASY IS THE BEST SERIES EVAR!!!111* type of commentary going on in this thread, though.  Please, continue to amuse me!

As far as I see it, the reviewers in Famitsu are people, just like the reviewers over here.  They all have different tastes, and while they ARE often very generous (just try and find a review in Famitsu less than a 4.  Try it!), the perfect 40 is difficult to get.  Apparently each member of this group of four reviewers thought that FFXII does what it sets out to do as well as it possibly can.  While *I* certainly wouldn't score Vagrant Story a perfect score, I can understand why other rational human beings with different tastes might.  Regardless, in Japan, if Famitsu were really simply pandering to hype, Dragon Quest VIII would've gotten the perfect score and not this.

I don't like how people herald Famitsu as the end-all, be-all of Japanese game review scores.
Famitsu is really bad.  Isn't it a little upsetting, to you, to see a game with a perfect score receive 2-3 sentences from each person?
Shouldn't a game that good be given at least a page? You know, like other magazines do.

Famitsu is bad, but Japanophiles will continue to worship it until the end of time.

*yawns*

Strange list...Kung Fu at 87!? And Mario 3 doesn't pop in until #99 (with Mario 1 at #21)? And what the hell is Machi (#5). And I don't even want to know what X-2 is doing at #32...At least Valkyrie Profile is sitting pretty at #27.

And they have Tokimeki Memorial listed three times (23, 54 and 88). That means it should be closer to #1 if the votes were consolidated right.

Thanks...That was interesting.

Let's put this a different way.

LOTS of games got a 10, two 10s, and I imagine three 10s. FFXII got four. Is is that different? It just happened that all four gave it a 10...and I imagine they have more than four reviewers, and so forth. Why is it such a big deal that FFXII gets a 40 when another gets a 10/10/8/8 and that's not at all the same?

-Joshua

Because some people simply cannot accept others' praise of recent Final Fantasies?

Can't comment on whether 12 is 10-worthy; I've not even played the demo yet. But speaking from my experiences with Matsuno products, the man can't really do 'accessible', which is sort of a problem for a series aiming for as wide an audience as Final Fantasy does.
It's not that FF is dumb, it's just that it's been pretty much free of the handicaps Matsuno likes putting on his audience (Laws, Risk, Reputation, to name a few) which jam the learning curve upward. Those just looking to pick up the latest Harry Potter in the form of a straightforward RPG will likely find the equivalent to The Collected Dialogues on the Subject of String Theory.
This being Japan, however, they likely know that. I'd be willing to bet the future of FF actually relies on the success of the FF7 sequels. Which leads to a whole other list of worries, but that's for another time.

As far as the Internet's love affair with Famitsu is concerned, I think that's just an extension of the rabid RPG buff thinking that if Japan gets more RPGs than we do, they must be cooler on principle and therefore their word is LAW.
Once you figure out your own tastes, mainstream reviews are pretty useless. I'm sure those whose libraries are stuffed with GTA and EA regard my collection of games about as highly as I do theirs.

Really? From the scores Magicbox normally reports, I rarely see 10's from them. A lot of "Gamefan-ish" scores though (lots in the "safe" 7-9 range and like Joe said, few less than a 4).

What games got 10's? I can probably think of a few, but I want to see where you're seeing "lots" of them.

Please, I'm no newbie FF fanboy. But I do think it is a great series. Not because Sephiroth is damn cool(!!) or Tifa has big boobs. In fact, I'm really fond of its storylines... always well done, and with a lot of messages hidden behind (especially in FFIX, which is really one of the best of the series because he is soooo meaningful...). And the gameplay is always good too, so it is a real pleasure to play it. And I really think what I'm saying.

The first time FFXII was playable outside of Squenix was at E3 2004.  It didn't show up at E3 2005 because Squenix wanted to focus on DQ8.

for those who are wondering about Famitsu scores:

1.Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64 - 40/40
2.Soul Calibur - Dreamcast - 40/40
3.Vagrant Story - Playstation - 40/40
4.Legend of Zelda Wind Waker - Gamecube - 40/40
5.Nintendogs - Nintendo DS - 40/40

cheers! ^^

Quoted for truth.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but I really wonder how many RPGs have you played through to say that nothing can compare to FF?  Honestly, I really enjoyed FF I, IV, and Tactics.  However, VII was (in my opinion) the downfall of the series, and it never recovered from that.  Although I don't know you personally, I have little faith in fanboys.  In my opinion fanboys blindlessly follow their company and eat up anything that's thrown at them, no matter how rotten it is, and then they say "boy, that was the best ever"!  I prefer people who can criticize constructively.  Even my favorite series (Ultima) has it's share of crapola, and in my opinion FF and Square-Enix in general are swimming in it!  Of course, that's just my opinion, and I don't mean you any pesonal injury nor insult. 

cheers,

-avatar!

Oh, you mean like Ultima: Ascension?

I really liked FF7. I've replayed it at least three times and while I don't think it's the best FF, I think it's one of the most consistent and entertaining.

Well, I don't really consider myself as a fanboy in any case. A fanboy is really blind. I'm not fond of everything wearing the name Final Fantasy... but I do think the numbered series knows no weak titles. Maybe the early ones, which are really basic RPG. But (and I came to realize this is a very difficult opinion to assume) I definitely think Square's last efforts (FFVII to XI) are the best. Of course, it really depends on what you except from a RPG.

I've played quite a number of RPGs, but usually I can't say I like them as much as FF. There are, of course, many enjoyable games (recently, for example, Radiata Stories was great!) but I don't always find the qualities that make me love FF...
I sure continue to discover new RPGs (currently, Tales of Eternia) but I still need to find something as good as FF, that's for sure! You know (and I'll probably be murdered after I say that), I don't really like Xenogears or Chrono Cross, for example, that is to say RPGs that many people love... 'must be because I have a different vision of what RPGs are. Since I love FF, I think what I love is great storyline. (Xenogears sure has a deep storyline, but way too heavy for me, I want to play sometimes)

I'm very happy to read this, finally.