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Risingsun
Dec 16, 2008, 11:00 PM
-First posted by Blueblur:
The Famitsu review scores were posted on NeoGAF (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345755). PS Zero scores: 8/8/9/8. It got better scores than White Knight Chronicles which was expected to pull in at least solid 9s. Looking good.

-First Posted by Percival:
This is very good news.

For reference purposes:

8 / 8 / 9 / 8 (33/40) for Phantasy Star Zero (NDS)
9 / 8 / 8 / 8 (33/40) for Phantasy Star Portable (PSP)
9 / 9 / 9 / 8 (35/40) for Phantasy Star Online - Episone I and II (NGC)
9 / 9 / 8 / 9 (35/40) for Phatasy Star Universe (360)

ann_mitama
Dec 16, 2008, 11:23 PM
Hey those are pretty nice scores! This is getting me more excited for the game. I'm glad it's doing well.

Shiroyu
Dec 16, 2008, 11:27 PM
Ooh, neat. This is a rather early review though. O_o

Percival
Dec 16, 2008, 11:33 PM
We'll have to wait for more reviews. Famitsu reviews often differ considerably compared to the average score given by other reviewers.

PSU is a good example:

PSØ: Famitusu: 83% - Metacritic average: n/a
PSP: Famitusu: 83% - Metacritic average: n/a
PSU: Famitusu: 88% – Metacritic average: 64%
PSO: Famitusu: 88% – Metacritic average: 85%

Shiroyu
Dec 16, 2008, 11:35 PM
We'll have to wait for more reviews. Famitsu reviews often differ considerably compared to the average score given by other reviewers.

*Looks at Nintendogs*

Risingsun
Dec 16, 2008, 11:41 PM
I found this on Gonintendo (http://gonintendo.com/?p=66565):
PS Zero: 8/8/9/8

- Easy to control
- battle pace isn’t that great
- underutilized features
- sound is ’soft’

Percival
Dec 16, 2008, 11:48 PM
Easy to control…

Excellent. This often makes or breaks a game for me.


…but the battle pace isn't quite good

Hmmm… I'll have to try it myself to see what they mean by this. I would have liked a comparison to PSO.


The features is a little underutilized…

Are they talking about the DS' unique features? Like touchscreen and Microphone? If this is the case, then this is a good thing for me, not a bad thing. I don't think I would have liked a touchscreen PSØ as much.


…and the sound is a little soft

Too bad, but then again, this shouldn't affect my enjoyment of the game.

If these comment represent the think they disliked the most about PSØ, I'm a very happy camper.

DeathMachine
Dec 16, 2008, 11:55 PM
I'm guessing that the pace is affected by the fact that you get a couple of monsters, kill 'em, then have to load the next room. In PSO, you got a whole floor before loading a new place. That is what I interpret...

ShadowInferno119
Dec 17, 2008, 05:25 AM
I'm guessing that the pace is affected by the fact that you get a couple of monsters, kill 'em, then have to load the next room. In PSO, you got a whole floor before loading a new place. That is what I interpret...
I took it as the same thing, however the reviewers only got so far in the game. I hate people who review a game that they've barely played, its not a true review its just basically just saying if the beginning is catchy or not.

It could be that later on the spawn picks up, or harder mobs(probably the latter).

Blueblur
Dec 17, 2008, 11:15 AM
I took it as the same thing, however the reviewers only got so far in the game. I hate people who review a game that they've barely played, its not a true review its just basically just saying if the beginning is catchy or not.

It could be that later on the spawn picks up, or harder mobs(probably the latter).

Sounds like that was their issue. That may be asking a lot considering that PSZero is a graphically impressive game (for a DS game) and may be maxing out the power of the DS.

Risingsun
Dec 17, 2008, 05:21 PM
From 1up (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171929):
- Phantasy Star Zero (8/8/9/8, 33 points): Sega's DS RPG fared quite a bit better in the review rankings, though a lot of that may've been because of less-inflated expectations. Like the Monster Hunter series (the game that PS0 will compete with the most in terms of mindshare), "leveling requires a sizable amount of time...the game's conceived and balanced under the idea that you'll spending a lot of time on it, searching for rare items and so on." Not so different from the rest of PSO, then. As always, "the game's simple to control and the battles are high-tempo," and although "it feels like the volume is a little on the low side," multiplayer is where "the game's real value shines...it really feels like an online game in the palm of your hand."

DeathMachine
Dec 17, 2008, 06:02 PM
Just what I was wanting to read. I'm slightly concerned about this concensus of "Low Volume." It must be notable if more than one site said it. I would believe they tried it with and without phones. Just hope it doesn't detract from the experience. I know that the BGM really did it for me in CCA, Mines, Ruins, etc. Other than that, it sounds like good news.

Nowhere
Dec 17, 2008, 07:04 PM
I can't imagine a "low volume" issue getting past QA without a good reason. Since the DS has rather weak speakers, I take this to suggest that they've put more dynamic range into the sound than usual.

If it is because of increased dynamic range, I'm surprised they'd bother. The DS's speakers are already far too wimpy to deliver the full dynamic range it's capable of rendering. Just about every game already sounds like it has twice as much depth to the sound when headphones are used. Maybe they're expecting people to put the phones on though.

Kent
Dec 17, 2008, 07:24 PM
The fact that Famitsu actually scored Phantasy Star Universe higher than this doesn't bode well, but then again, I don't generally read Famitsu reviews... And numbered scores are pretty abject in nature.

Tummai
Dec 17, 2008, 07:26 PM
I took it as the same thing, however the reviewers only got so far in the game. I hate people who review a game that they've barely played, its not a true review its just basically just saying if the beginning is catchy or not.

Don't be too hard on them :). The game companies give early releases to the magazines for a reason. They hope to make a good first impression and get some initial high scores to increase the buzz right before release. So really, they (Sega) are specifically asking them (Famitsu) for a shallow face-value review.

furrypaws
Dec 17, 2008, 11:38 PM
Erm...what does each number represent? I'm assuming that one is gameplay, one is music/sound, one is graphics, and one is replayability? Someone please elaborate. >_<

Percival
Dec 17, 2008, 11:45 PM
Erm...what does each number represent? I'm assuming that one is gameplay, one is music/sound, one is graphics, and one is replayability? Someone please elaborate. >_<

Allow me to quote wikipedia on this topic: "Video games are graded in Famitsū by a panel of four video game reviewers. Each reviewer gives a score from one to ten (ten being best). The scores of the four reviewers are then added up with a possible score of forty."

Basically, 3 of the Famitsu reviewers gave it an 8 out of 10, while a fourth reviewer liked it even more and gave it a 9 out of 10.

furrypaws
Dec 18, 2008, 06:24 PM
Oooooh, ok. I see what they're getting at. Thanks. ^_^