Famitsu fetes Final Fantasy XII with 40/40 review score
by Dan Choi 
{ Mar 8th 2006 at 4:00AM }
Final Fantasy XII may still
be a ways off for Western gamers, but it's right on the verge of being released in Japan, having scored a perfect
review from the folks at Famitsu.It ain't easy earning a 40 out of 40 from Famitsu, a feat which only the following titles have duplicated up to now: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur (for Dreamcast), Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Nintendogs.
The score should hopefully reassure FF fans who've been shaken by all the game's delays in release and changes in personnel (as well as gameplay). At any rate, the title's localization for other territories should be well underway, even if the release dates outside of Japan haven't been officially announced yet.
[Thanks, Miyamoto]
See also:
- New FFXII info: prepare for long gaming sessions [Update 1]
- Final Fantasy XII demo blowout
- For role-playing times, make it Suntory time
- Final Fantasy and other RPG titles dominate Famitsu Top 100 list
- FFXII, Kingdom Hearts II - PS2 release dates
- Note that
Kingdom Hearts II earned a 39/40 from Famitsu earlier
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Varian @ Mar 8th 2006 4:14AM
Why is Famitsu even relevant anymore? If I want a review of any Japanese game, I talk to a Japanese gamer who has played it. It is the glory of the Internet.
With the behemoth advertising budget behind FF12, what would be surprising if the game didn't get a 'perfect score'. I expect Halo 3 to get a 'perfect score' in Western Magazines due to that unique feature of the game: a behemoth marketing budget.
Once these marketing budgets figure out how to influence bloggers like they have been doing magazines for years...
Zero_ @ Mar 8th 2006 4:17AM
Really? Wow... that's nice, coincidentally enough, the team behind this game, is the same team (or very close) to the team behind Square's Vagrant Story, which was another game that scored 40/40 from Famitsu.
Debikul @ Mar 8th 2006 4:33AM
Well damn. Who would have thought this? Let's see...recently, the Final Fantasy games scored the highest on the list of Japans 100 best games, with a FF game being #1 of course.
And then I relised something else...
Famitsu is a Japanese magazine geared towards Japan and I could personally give two shits about it, and secondly...isn't Japan pretty much filled with gamer guys and gals that basicly mastrubate to any and every RPG that is released by a Japanese company?
In my opinion the 40/40 score means jack crap to anyone unless they have a modded PS2 and can actually read Japanese and import the game over. Besides, the FF series went to shit when Hironobu Sakaguchi and crew left Square Enix.
Now, when this game comes to the US I might be tempted to give a fat shit.
Paul Gale @ Mar 8th 2006 4:43AM
Wow, this is certainly great news for PlayStation 2, Square-Enix, Final Fantasy, and RPG fans. Let us all rejoice! Getting a perfect score from a well respected magazine is certainly a good way to start things off for a game, isn't it? Hopefully I won't have to wait too much longer to see if my own opinion of the full game matches those of Famitsu's. I did however already play the game at E3 2004, and did like what I saw, but I need more, a lot more in fact, before I make my final judgment.
Paul Gale
1up.com
vandalfront @ Mar 8th 2006 5:11AM
If Famitsu had any credibility, it just went out the window.
Famitsu rubbish poo-poo.
shadekh @ Mar 8th 2006 5:16AM
if this game is similar to what it seemed in the demo which came with ffx-2, then i cant really say its worth it at all. It had a clunky mmorpg inspired combat system, washed out textures and boring dungeon design. granted, it was a demo, but i cant really see the game changing so much as to warrant this score.
Considering that the last decent game square actually made was ffx (ffx-2 was a fanservice inspired boring mod, imho, and the sagas were quirky at best. drakengard......) I really cant keep my hopes high for this, especially after the demo letdown.
Exo @ Mar 8th 2006 5:20AM
Man, all of you are idiots.
Especially #5, becasue none of you have ever played the game. and seeing as how they just about never give a 40/40 (omg even though they are japanese which means they love FF lolz)
Seriously, you guys need to shut up, especially with the masterbation coment. obviously you dont remember the Nude raider craze a few years ago, and the fact that the blood rayne character was "nude" in a magazine.
Anand @ Mar 8th 2006 5:27AM
After Famitsu gave Nintendogs a 40/40, I have a lot less respect for the magazine.
Goobers @ Mar 8th 2006 5:30AM
Exo... i applaud your attempt... but lets face it.. they're idiots.
i mean seriously, why would someone who "doesn't give a shit" even be here? oh wait... that makes too much sense.
but hey, takes all kinds to make the world go round...
Debikul @ Mar 8th 2006 5:35AM
"7. Man, all of you are idiots.
Especially #5, becasue none of you have ever played the game. and seeing as how they just about never give a 40/40 (omg even though they are japanese which means they love FF lolz)
Seriously, you guys need to shut up, especially with the masterbation coment. obviously you dont remember the Nude raider craze a few years ago, and the fact that the blood rayne character was "nude" in a magazine."
What? You got something against jerking off? Don't tell me you were born without either one! Oh noez!
And no, I don't remember the "Nude Raider" because I, unlike some people, don't need something like that to get my jollies. And the mastrubation comment was a comparison. If you really think that I meant they pleasure themselves sexually (which, I'm sure a few do) then you really took it the wrong way and got on the defensive because you probably do play with yourself to video games.
Oh yeah, this is my opinion, so you know..go [flame].
Exo @ Mar 8th 2006 5:43AM
Why flame, You are [flame] plain and simple. nothing anyone will say will magicly help you [flame]. :)
nice try though.
Scott @ Mar 8th 2006 5:43AM
They left out Golden Sun. Golden Sun also got a perfect score 40/40 (though finding out wind waker got 40/40 is wierd, the game was great, but nowhere near the level of OOT)
whiteguysamurai @ Mar 8th 2006 5:51AM
Exo, you crack me up kiddo.
Look, FF has had it's day in the sun, and seeing as square-enix refuses to try anything new, i say screw em.
As for turn based roleplayers, if i need to play one, i look somewhere else.
And as for MMORPGs, there are better alternatives available on the pc, yes i know..11 is also availanle on the pc, but it's still a piss poor game compared to others.
If square-enix wants my money, they better try making better games instead of this "dude looks like a lady" crap they seem dead set on forcing us to play.
Try making something else for a change, try a racing game or a puzzle game, anything but more of this.
Show your about games, and not recycling the same old every few months.
Nico @ Mar 8th 2006 5:51AM
Dont worry people these guys are only bashing the game because its out for the PS2 and not the xbox. They only love one console and wish the earth would run windows. These are the same people who claim to own every console ever made and all of them had a bad dvd drive, had shit for games and exploded on purchase except their 360.
How else would you explain this stupid "i hate the game and i hate everyone who writes positivly about it or is from the same country that produced it allthough ive never even tried it" attitude?
Personally i hope its as good as they say it is. Cause i love good games no matter what system their on.
Exo @ Mar 8th 2006 5:58AM
Funny whiteguysamura, cause if you knew what you were talking about, instead of just saying its stupid, then you wouldnt have to look so [flame].
The whole reason why FFXII is big because it IS a big change made to a stale series. most of what made FF games FF, isnt even in this Game.
And you know what, it doesnt matter if a company makes the same genre games over and over, as long as they do it well, then thats all that matters. oh and by the way, Square has made a raceing game. :)
Funny how you call me kiddo when you [flame].
Jetspike @ Mar 8th 2006 6:05AM
Well, for all those looking for a good RPG (Which I havent seen the likes of since Dragon Quest VIII), wait for the new Children of Mana DS. It came out here in Japan a few days ago, and it is quite excellent. If you grew up loving SNES RPGs, then CoM will surely please. FFXII looks somewhat promising (they have lost their luster since IX imo), but at the price tag of 80 USD here, I think I'll wait...
winston @ Mar 8th 2006 6:34AM
Goodbye Joystiq. The 2 year old news-item on rigged online poker games posted the other day, and the mix of overpretentious "give a a star pliiiiiiiiz" with wisecrack pre-teen idiot comments made me wov to never come back to this board. Too bad, it was quite nice (until AOL bought your mothercompany - funny coincidence)
Dan Choi @ Mar 8th 2006 6:40AM
Sorry you feel that way, winston. Hope you find a happier online home for your gaming news. Happy trails to you, man... happy trails.
Zero_ @ Mar 8th 2006 6:56AM
... What's with people? A high score for a game should be praised that such a game was created, but criticising it, something you haven't played, and then criticising the nation from which the game comes from?
Nico @ Mar 8th 2006 7:19AM
Yes these people are stupid. Lets critisise a game i havent tried.
Oh and joystiq i have a good tip for you, instead of moderators giving out stars to posters posters should be able to rate comments. An Ajax solution ala digg is a real good way to go. I still love this place though, best game blog on the net imo.
shadekh @ Mar 8th 2006 7:26AM
there is really no need for flaming comments. Square was a great company which hasent made good stuff in a while, and though ff12 is rather different, my experience playing it tells me i dont like the new system much. of course, that's just my opinion. But i believe the immense hype factors into the score.
I dopnt really see why jap style rpg haters need to add their two cents to a news item which dosent even concern them, or talk crap about another country. Plenty of negative stuff can be said about the US too, but this isnt the place for such a discussion.
Jeff @ Mar 8th 2006 7:28AM
I love reading comments from Americans about how Famitsu isn't relevant anymore. Makes me laugh. I wonder if Japanese guys sit around talking about the relevance of EGM and GameSpot.
I'm sure the editors of Famitsu are quaking in their boots wondering how to recapture the American fanboy market with their Japanese magazine that's sold in Japan to Japanese gamers.
Anywho, nice to see FFXII get a perfect score, which basically NEVER happens in Famitsu, who are notorious in this country for being tough, but there's really more of a simple answer to it than that... every game is reviewed by four reviewers and it requires not just one perfect score, but four perfect scores for a game to get a 40/40. It just makes it four times less likely that any given game will get that score. So it's even that much more impressive when it happens, because it means four separate reviewers (usually three guys and one girl) independently felt it was worth a perfect score.
I'll have to pick up a copy of the magazine to read the reviewers' comments, but then I was planning to pick the game up anyway so it's not like I need to be convinced.
KanoBlade @ Mar 8th 2006 8:06AM
Who cares what one magazine scores a game, since when did we follow one gaming site..
gamerankings.. let's wait and hear what everyone else says..
don't get your fanboy (ps2) panties tied in a knot..
The ps2 sucks (HARDWARE, NOT GAMES, ps2 games rule).
Paul @ Mar 8th 2006 8:17AM
I played the FF12 demo that came with Dragon Warrior, and it sucked ass. But the only thing you need to have to be "good" in Famitsu is apparently Square/Enix's name tattooed on your forehead.
jadenguy @ Mar 8th 2006 8:24AM
i am not having the same faith in famitsu's scores now. well, i dunno, maybe this game just pwns that much.
and 22: there are americans who talk about how umimportant gamespot and egm are. in fact, no true gamer takes stock in review scores. no true scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.
fact.
Mule Farmer @ Mar 8th 2006 8:47AM
"Who cares what one magazine scores a game, since when did we follow one gaming site.."
That one magazine is high point of Japanese gaming media as you know Japan is main part of the gaming industry. The magazine is highly critically claimed and has a high reputation within people of gaming industry and gamers thats why people care.
leo @ Mar 8th 2006 8:57AM
what, no madden XX, nba xx, fifa xx, tiger woods xx in their perfect score lists?
then I have to agree.
famitsu isn't relevant at all. who cares about FF if you can buy a madden title every year??
Dave @ Mar 8th 2006 9:01AM
40/40? So there are no negatives to this game whatsoever? It's extremely innovative and breaks new ground? Whether or not I'm a fan of the genre is irrelevant. What's relevant is whether or not the game is perfect. As far as such a score "never happening", that seems to contradict the original post.
Joey @ Mar 8th 2006 9:17AM
Haha! Are these comments for real? WTF people, CALM DOWN. (I realize many are sarcasm, but still)
Paul @ Mar 8th 2006 9:22AM
Right, leo, because anyone who doesn't buy into Square's recent lame-ass RPG's only cares about sports games. Way to throw a nice strawman out there you could knock down.
MADDEN FIFA HURR HURR I AM A SMART MAN AND PLAY ARPEEGEES!!
kimo @ Mar 8th 2006 9:23AM
With that score, here's hoping to a great story line. I've not been a fan of any of them since FF7.
jadenguy @ Mar 8th 2006 9:59AM
24: you mean nintendo's?
freecajunlove @ Mar 8th 2006 10:56AM
...But that demo that came with Dragon Warrior was awful... I don't trust Japan...
freecajunlove @ Mar 8th 2006 11:03AM
yep, I meant Quest... Dragon Quest...
r @ Mar 8th 2006 11:18AM
I'm sure somebody at Joystiq just got fired for posting positive information about a PS2 game, let alone about a game produced in Japan. Aren't we due for another Oblivion 360 post?
Curagea @ Mar 8th 2006 11:32AM
25. i am not having the same faith in famitsu's scores now. well, i dunno, maybe this game just pwns that much.
and 22: there are americans who talk about how umimportant gamespot and egm are. in fact, no true gamer takes stock in review scores. no true scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.
fact.
Sorry, but I rather prefer reading up reviews on 3 or 4 sites than spend well-earned cash buying shit. Sure, there are game rentals available, but that still cost money.
Going along that, if you really want to use reviews on how good a game is, don't look at one source only. I wouldn't be surprised if another magazine gave FFXII a lower score. I've tried the demo that came with DQVIII, and the battle system is frustrating (and that's just on wait mode). But I guess I'm just too used to turn-based gameplay.
WizarDru @ Mar 8th 2006 11:36AM
"what, no madden XX, nba xx, fifa xx, tiger woods xx in their perfect score lists? "
Nope. The only football game that's going to be popular in Japan is Eyeshield 21. Madden couldn't get a 40, because none of the reviewers probably even understand American Football, let alone want to play a game of it...I'm not even sure that Famitsu has ever reviewed Madden, for that matter.
Take a look at the top rated games on Famitsu's list, and you'll see a very different set of preferences on the part of the typical Japanese gamer. So if four reveiwers enjoyed it enough to give it a 10, it must not be half-bad....if you LIKE RPGs. If you don't then no amount of playing will improve that score, because you just don't enjoy that style of game.
Fan @ Mar 8th 2006 11:47AM
Yes omg i have never seen so much negative flaming and crap posting in a thread ever.
WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? ARE YOU ACTUALLY SO CAUGHT UP IN BRANDING THAT YOU NEED TO GET ALL PISSY WHEN A EXCLUSIVE GAME GETS A GOOD REVIEW? [flame]
[Flame]. If you dont like the PS2 then dont fucking post in the thread. I wanted to read about the game not some stupid [flame]
Mods please clean up this thread or implement a comment ranking system so we can vote down stupid idiots who actually thinks console wars is important.
This is a good reason why we need a standardisation of gaming platforms. It would mean the end of fabois(die), an end to exclusives and more power to developers WHO ARE THE REAL TALENTS HERE FFS.
Kenofthedead @ Mar 8th 2006 12:21PM
For those who are going with the idea that Famitsu loves Square-Enix so much they give good reviews to all their games blindly, then you need actualy look at their record.
No Final Fantasy game has ever gotten a perfect score before. They have even given some of them (the spin-offs) very low scores.
Quite a few Square games and Enix games have had poor scores, or medium scores.
Had their reviewers given perfect scores to multiple SquareEnix games, then it would be fair on some level to say something as they are biased.
However they haven't, so it's not really fair at all.
You can't really say Famitsu is being biased for giving a game a good score, if you haven't played it and can't say for sure how good or bad it is.
Once you have played or know more about the actual game, then it's fine to mention it.
Saying it is a horrible game now or that Famitsu reviewers are fools for judging a game they have played with good scores is just foolish.
American football titles have been popular in Japan before, it's just not that popular.
The Monster League Football game for the Sega Masterdrive did quite well, as did the PS1 Madden game they actualy bothered to have translated into Japanese.
True they were not huge success, but they did alright for themselves.
Never say something as foolish as "none of the reviewers probably even understand American Football", as that is just a bigoted statement.
I know plenty of Japanese who understand American Football. In fact a number of schools in Osaka alone have children who play it.
True it's no Baseball, Football (Soccer to the Americans), and the like, but it's not unheard of and it is understood by a good number.
It's not like Americans and Cricket.
One thing that should be noted. They give a perfect score to Nintendogs for being, in their opinion, a perfect pet sim, not a perfect game.
Derek @ Mar 8th 2006 12:48PM
Sorry to break the ice, but FF sucks ass. These types of games were created for people who don't have [flame]. Furthermore, only [flame] have the amount of time on their hands necessary to complete games like FF.
Jago @ Mar 8th 2006 12:51PM
Doesn't surprise me that most of you people give a HIGHLY respected magazine in Japan "less respect" b/c they don't share your interests in games. It is VERY difficult for a game to get a perfect rating in Famitsu b/c they are VERY tough on the games they rate.
Was Nintendogs worth the 40/40? Yea...just look at the sales for it.
I don't normally say this but for all you guys who are having a baby hissy fit b/c FF12 got a perfect score...go cry and pout in your room and get the heck out of here.
Reviews are peoples OPINIONS and they don't need to agree with what everyone says...so get over it already.
Muu @ Mar 8th 2006 1:08PM
Someone on a JP board had posted previous scores of FF games; One thing I can say is that FF8 scored about 30 points too many.
FF10 39Pt
FF11 38Pt
FF7 38Pt
FF9 38Pt
FF6 37Pt
FF8 37Pt
FF3 36Pt
FF4 36Pt
bd @ Mar 8th 2006 1:33PM
"Sorry to break the ice, but FF sucks ass. These types of games were created for people who don't have [flame]. Furthermore, only [flame] have the amount of time on their hands necessary to complete games like FF."
Well, FPS games were made for people that don't like [flame]. Furthermore, only [flame] have the amount of time on their hands necessary to keep playing Halo 2 on LIVE more than anything else.
bd @ Mar 8th 2006 1:49PM
FFXII looks promising, as long as there is a lot more to look forward to than what was seen in the Demo that came with DQ8. Kingdom Hearts 2 surpassed KH1 in almost every way apparently too, so it is ironic how people say that "PS2 sucks as hardware" when they are the same ones that say the Dreamcast is great as everything. They are also the same guys that say "Xbox has the best gaming experience I've ever had" (with which games, might I ask? If you are going to mention just FPS, then save it), and that Xbox 360 has "only a... 3% ratio of failure" (they believe the numbers released by Microsoft). I mean, why be skeptic when you can't [flame]? Maybe there were many consoles out on holidays to satisfy supply, but the real reason people had no 360s was because they released toasters, not consoles. That's what happens when you try to make a console do the cooking instead of the gaming or the media playing.
Conn @ Mar 8th 2006 2:12PM
Excuse me if I doubt them- I mean, NIntendogs got a perfect score.
BPMΩ @ Mar 8th 2006 2:19PM
"Try making something else for a change, try a racing game or a puzzle game, anything but more of this.
Show your about games, and not recycling the same old every few months."
They have... There's FF: Crystal Chronicles (GCN; coming soon to DS and REVO), which is not at all like the rest of the FF games. It's more of a Zelda-esque game than anything (probably why I like it so much).
And then, they're developing the upcoming Mario basketball game for the DS.
bd @ Mar 8th 2006 2:54PM
Oh yeah, "SQUARE ONLY DOES FINAL FANTASY LOLZ"
Grandia, Dragon's Quest, Radiata Stories, Drakengaard, Full-Metal Alchemist, Mario Basketball, FF Chronicles, The "Sagas" series... among others; it just happens that they make RPGs right. Would you do your research next time? The 360 won't win if it gets just four good Japanese RPGs.
gamer1 @ Mar 8th 2006 3:00PM
I don't find Famitsu's rating completely credible. I remember hearing, or maybe reading somewhere that Japanese editorial magazines have to give a formal apology to game developers if they gave their game bad reviews.
I have also heard that magazine and website reviewers in the US have been paid under the table by publishers to give their games better reviews.
It is getting harder to trust the information that you hear these days. My advice is to play the games that you like. For example, I don't like Strategy RPGs, so even if they have high ratings, I'm probably still going to avoid them.
If anything, I would rather pay more attention to games with bad ratings, so that I could avoid them, rather focus on games with the best ratings, which is more likely a result of an editor's subjective point of view.
When more reviews for FFXII come out in the US and a concensus is reached upon the quality of the game, then I will be a believer. Until then, this barely means anything me.
Carmine @ Mar 8th 2006 3:16PM
Does anyone know where I could find a list of Famitsu's past scores? I'm interested to see what games scored in the high 30's. I believe Metal Gear Acid 2 and Kingdom Hearts 2 got 39's. Does such a list exist? Thanks!
Tom Hayden @ Mar 8th 2006 3:30PM
I don't see why people are getting so heated about this. Look, there are many rpg fans out there (yes, even in America), and for us this is a bit of good news. Is it earth shattering? No. But it is at least some confirmation that Square is back to their old standards when it comes to the FF series. Obviously we'll have to wait until a version comes over here with an english translation to pass judgement, but at least now those of us who are pumped for this game have an indication that we have not been waiting in vain.
Like with any other review from any other source, we obviously have to put this in context, but even in the context of a Japanese mag that seems to give a little bit of favor to FF games (FF8 got a 37? Come on!), this is still promising.