What are the Japanese reviewers saying?

Jeff44

Apologies if this is covered in someone else's post, but I could not find it.

Have any Japanese reviews of FFXIV been translated?

skoreanime2

Generally, XIV was received about the same in every region.  The interseting bit is how Amazon JP is ripping apart XIV.  So bad that the box games are already on sale

geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

fyerwall

http://onlinegame.dz-life.net/titles/ff14/review.html

This is basically user reviews, but most of all the negative Japanese reviews are focused on the quality of the game, the lack of content as well as many of the poor design choices - So pretty much they mirror what other regions are upset about.

grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

 

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

All the xenophobia aside, the biggest complaints coming from Japan are complaints about quality of gameplay, lack of content and a lack of faith in SE due to the fact that what was pointed out in beta pretty much fell on deaf ears as well as the fact that SE won't communicate with the players.

justandulas

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

All the xenophobia aside, the biggest complaints coming from Japan are complaints about quality of gameplay, lack of content and a lack of faith in SE due to the fact that what was pointed out in beta pretty much fell on deaf ears as well as the fact that SE won't communicate with the players.

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

All the xenophobia aside, the biggest complaints coming from Japan are complaints about quality of gameplay, lack of content and a lack of faith in SE due to the fact that what was pointed out in beta pretty much fell on deaf ears as well as the fact that SE won't communicate with the players.

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

 

Yeah, yeah, racism is the reason they don't like the game. 

 

All countries have anothers they stereotypically and historically have had contentions with.    That doesn't mean they devalue what each other do.

Benthon

Probably the same thing other reviewers are saying; that the game is not a winner. Other's explained why, Chinese and Japanese hatreds, quality of Chinese products, etc.

geldonyetich

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

Yeah, it pretty much works like tha, maybe I could have worded itr better.  There's a definate bias there because Final Fantasy is considered such a big brand but there seems to be so much adaptation being done to please international tastes.  Which, in the typical "try to please everyone and you'll please noone way" has lead to a bit of watering down.

Honestly, I have to wonder about the Final Fantasy brand in general.  We all know about 13 being largely a linear multimedia demo more than a game.  We had an original designer (although the guy that made Final Fantasy XIV claims to have been even more a design factor of the original games) leave and make Lost Odyssey... which received a bit of a critical panning because it's too much like how Final Fantasy games used to be.

Consequently, it's looking a lot like the Final Fantasy brand is one that's being hit on two sides.  On one hand, it's a brand that's being told to move forward.  On the other hand, it's a brand that's being told to hold true to it's roots.  It's really little wonder that Final Fantasy XIV is sort of a, "screw it, we'll make what we want to make" kind of game.

justandulas

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by grapevine

Originally posted by geldonyetich

From what I understand, FFXIV received a heavier-than-usual backlash in Japan because there's some stigma about the game partly or in whole being developed in China.  Final Fantasy being a bit of a patriotic Japanese brand, and they not particularly liking their socialist neighbors, that's a hard pill to swollow.

You make them sound like some racist group.  Actually they are complaining about the Chinese develop, simply because they didn't translate elements to Japanese.  Which is quite ironic, given the nationality of the developer.  Given the nature of the two written languages, its causing them (valid) major issues.  The rest of their complaints are the same as for the West.

It's beyond that. Japan is known to be unusually xenophobic (not quite the same as racist) and they have a generally low opinion of China in particular.  So when they found out that FFXIV may be getting patched or even made by China to a great extent, there was a bit of a hit to it even beyond the merits of the game itself.

All the xenophobia aside, the biggest complaints coming from Japan are complaints about quality of gameplay, lack of content and a lack of faith in SE due to the fact that what was pointed out in beta pretty much fell on deaf ears as well as the fact that SE won't communicate with the players.

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

 Oh no question man, the game is an absolute clusterfuck of shit as it stands right now (I cant believe i wasted 70 bucks). The game is being reviewed on what it is, a bad game and the worst AAA MMO of all time.  But it does feel like a game that has the chinese mark on it, assembled to run nice and look pretty but be of no substance and break easily. "Made in china" has a negative stigma around the world for a reason, as long as it works to hell with quality. The japs knew the game would lack quality and the reason they moved production over to china was to make it using cheap chinese labor as opposed to japanese developers who grew up on and would craft the franchise with loving care. It feels like a game that was made on a production line, and the head developer didn't even touch the game til OB... sounds even more like it was production lined. Video games can't be half ass put together anymore, especially games with budgets the size of FF14. They have to be made by developers who as much a fan of the series as the gamers are and treated with the loving care of a child. This thing was mismanaged and mass produced at every level, and the japanese look right for being fearful of the game being made in china, look at the poor quality that got them. The writing was on the wall and the japanese recognized that "made in china" doesn't translate to 'quality' overseas and that covers more then just video games.

fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

Yeah, it pretty much works like tha, maybe I could have worded itr better.  There's a definate bias there because Final Fantasy is considered such a big brand but there seems to be so much adaptation being done to please international tastes.  Which, in the typical "try to please everyone and you'll please noone way" has lead to a bit of watering down.

Honestly, I have to wonder about the Final Fantasy brand in general.  We all know about 13 being largely a linear multimedia demo more than a game.  We had an original designer (although the guy that made Final Fantasy XIV claims to have been even more a design factor of the original games) leave and make Lost Odyssey... which received a bit of a critical panning because it's too much like how Final Fantasy games used to be.

Consequently, it's looking a lot like the Final Fantasy brand is one that's being hit on two sides.  On one hand, it's a brand that's being told to move forward.  On the other hand, it's a brand that's being told to hold true to it's roots.  It's really little wonder that Final Fantasy XIV is sort of a, "screw it, we'll make what we want to make" kind of game.

Actually I think the problem is that newer FF games are sacrificing gameplay and moving more toward being an interactive movie. That right there is not moving the franchise forward as well as not sticking to its roots, and thats where a lot of people are getting a bit annoyed with teh general direction SE has been going since 'whats his name' left after making FFXIV.

Now when 'whats his name' went and formed Mistwalker and made LO, it was pretty much rated low due to people expecting a game that would have come up with a new take on the JRPG rather than being a new FF game in a different skin.

The problem with FFXIV is that the devs themselves are pretty stubborn when it comes to their games, and honestly they feel they know better what the players want than the players do themselves. Kinda like going to a store and saying you want a red apple and the clerk tells you "No, you really want this green one". SE also pretty much took what worked in FFXI and threw it away when it came to the design of FFXIV in favor of systems that make no sense and were complained about trhoughout every phase of beta. If you read a lot of teh Japanese comments, they mention how in beta suggestions and comments about the state of the game were either totally ignored or removed.

eyeswideopen

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

Yeah, it pretty much works like tha, maybe I could have worded itr better.  There's a definate bias there because Final Fantasy is considered such a big brand but there seems to be so much adaptation being done to please international tastes.  Which, in the typical "try to please everyone and you'll please noone way" has lead to a bit of watering down.

Honestly, I have to wonder about the Final Fantasy brand in general.  We all know about 13 being largely a linear multimedia demo more than a game.  We had an original designer (although the guy that made Final Fantasy XIV claims to have been even more a design factor of the original games) leave and make Lost Odyssey... which received a bit of a critical panning because it's too much like how Final Fantasy games used to be.

Consequently, it's looking a lot like the Final Fantasy brand is one that's being hit on two sides.  On one hand, it's a brand that's being told to move forward.  On the other hand, it's a brand that's being told to hold true to it's roots.  It's really little wonder that Final Fantasy XIV is sort of a, "screw it, we'll make what we want to make" kind of game.

Actually I think the problem is that newer FF games are sacrificing gameplay and moving more toward being an interactive movie. That right there is not moving the franchise forward as well as not sticking to its roots, and thats where a lot of people are getting a bit annoyed with teh general direction SE has been going since 'whats his name' left after making FFXIV.

Now when 'whats his name' went and formed Mistwalker and made LO, it was pretty much rated low due to people expecting a game that would have come up with a new take on the JRPG rather than being a new FF game in a different skin.

The problem with FFXIV is that the devs themselves are pretty stubborn when it comes to their games, and honestly they feel they know better what the players want than the players do themselves. Kinda like going to a store and saying you want a red apple and the clerk tells you "No, you really want this green one". SE also pretty much took what worked in FFXI and threw it away when it came to the design of FFXIV in favor of systems that make no sense and were complained about trhoughout every phase of beta. If you read a lot of teh Japanese comments, they mention how in beta suggestions and comments about the state of the game were either totally ignored or removed.

"What's his name" is Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy and the sole man responsible for putting Squaresoft on the gaming map. And he left after FFX-2 ( which means he was gone when FFXI, FFXII, FFXIII, and now FFXIV were developed; and if you look at the quality and direction of those games, you can tell ), which is why Squaresoft merged with Enix, because Mr. Sakaguchi was also a principal financier of the company ( having started out as a lowly part-time employee when noone knew whoe the hell Squaresoft was ).

Also, Lost Odyssey was a great game and was in fact a JRPG in the true syle of a Final Fantasy game, again showing the change in direction for SE came from the departure of the actual creative element behind the franchise.

And the sales for LO were not bad at all for an unknown IP.

Lost Odyssey reportedly sold 40,000 copies in Japan on its first day at retail, around 50% of the shipment. As of February 17, 2008, the game has sold 104,417 copies in Japan according to Famitsu numbers.^[36] The game has done much better in the West; according to NPD numbers Lost Odyssey debuted at #7, selling 203,000 in its debut month of February in North America.^[37] As of January 2009 the game has sold about 348,000 copies in the United States according to the NPD Group

As for the "rated low" bit, I don't see it being too bad as it got a 78 from metacritic, with a user score of 8.4.

fyerwall

Originally posted by eyeswideopen

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by geldonyetich

Originally posted by fyerwall

Originally posted by justandulas

Which i think may have played a large part to the negative stigma japanese players had about the game being developed in china, they know anything that says "made in china" is made quickly, cheaply, and like an assembly line. They knew they would just stamp FF14 on a generic game that was made in the typical chinese way (quick, efficient, and as long as it works how cares about quality) That is where they negative fear comes from, the fact that they knew it would be assembled and not crafted with the same loving care as the IP deserves.

You do make a very valid and interesting point.

But the fact remains that the game did release in a state that was pretty sub par quality wise and lacking in many basic ways which lead to a major part of the reason why the game is getting hit harder in Japan than in the west. I am quite sure that even if the game was made solely in Japan the reviews would be of the same quality.

Yeah, it pretty much works like tha, maybe I could have worded itr better.  There's a definate bias there because Final Fantasy is considered such a big brand but there seems to be so much adaptation being done to please international tastes.  Which, in the typical "try to please everyone and you'll please noone way" has lead to a bit of watering down.

Honestly, I have to wonder about the Final Fantasy brand in general.  We all know about 13 being largely a linear multimedia demo more than a game.  We had an original designer (although the guy that made Final Fantasy XIV claims to have been even more a design factor of the original games) leave and make Lost Odyssey... which received a bit of a critical panning because it's too much like how Final Fantasy games used to be.

Consequently, it's looking a lot like the Final Fantasy brand is one that's being hit on two sides.  On one hand, it's a brand that's being told to move forward.  On the other hand, it's a brand that's being told to hold true to it's roots.  It's really little wonder that Final Fantasy XIV is sort of a, "screw it, we'll make what we want to make" kind of game.

Actually I think the problem is that newer FF games are sacrificing gameplay and moving more toward being an interactive movie. That right there is not moving the franchise forward as well as not sticking to its roots, and thats where a lot of people are getting a bit annoyed with teh general direction SE has been going since 'whats his name' left after making FFXIV.

Now when 'whats his name' went and formed Mistwalker and made LO, it was pretty much rated low due to people expecting a game that would have come up with a new take on the JRPG rather than being a new FF game in a different skin.

The problem with FFXIV is that the devs themselves are pretty stubborn when it comes to their games, and honestly they feel they know better what the players want than the players do themselves. Kinda like going to a store and saying you want a red apple and the clerk tells you "No, you really want this green one". SE also pretty much took what worked in FFXI and threw it away when it came to the design of FFXIV in favor of systems that make no sense and were complained about trhoughout every phase of beta. If you read a lot of teh Japanese comments, they mention how in beta suggestions and comments about the state of the game were either totally ignored or removed.

"What's his name" is Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy and the sole man responsible for putting Squaresoft on the gaming map. And he left after FFX-2 ( which means he was gone when FFXI, FFXII, FFXIII, and now FFXIV were developed; and if you look at the quality and direction of those games, you can tell ), which is why Squaresoft merged with Enix, because Mr. Sakaguchi was also a principal financier of the company ( having started out as a lowly part-time employee when noone knew whoe the hell Squaresoft was ).

Also, Lost Odyssey was a great game and was in fact a JRPG in the true syle of a Final Fantasy game, again showing the change in direction for SE came from the departure of the actual creative element behind the franchise.

And the sales for LO were not bad at all for an unknown IP.

Lost Odyssey reportedly sold 40,000 copies in Japan on its first day at retail, around 50% of the shipment. As of February 17, 2008, the game has sold 104,417 copies in Japan according to Famitsu numbers.^[36] The game has done much better in the West; according to NPD numbers Lost Odyssey debuted at #7, selling 203,000 in its debut month of February in North America.^[37] As of January 2009 the game has sold about 348,000 copies in the United States according to the NPD Group

As for the "rated low" bit, I don't see it being too bad as it got a 37/40 from Famitsu.

Thats his name! Thank you, was too lazy to look it up myself :P

But yeah, I agree with you as I loved LO. It was simply the best JRPG that I've played since FFVII. 

I could have sworn that FFVII was his 'last' FF game (that he personally oversaw) pretty much taking up a producer roll thereafter. Guess I was wrong...

Most of the low ratings came from players and western media, mostly people not really in tune with JRPGs on the Xbox 360. Also by low I didn't mean bad, just that they weren't of the 'Get it!' type reviews that the FF games usually recieved.