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your mother on 06 June 2007
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davygee said:
sieanr said:
kber81 said:
sieanr said:
All I have to say is Battle Arena Toshiden received good reviews when it came out....

It was my first game for PS1... I have a sentiment for this title. I enjoyed it. Really.


Most people feel the same way, but it really says something when most reviewers admit how awful the game was - despite the 9s they gave it.


Do we need to bring up a game that was released over 10 years ago?

I think so. The point is valid. Toshinden wowed the media back then with its colorful palette and convincing 3D that blew away Virtua Fighter back in the day.

As a result, reviewers were fixated by the looks of the game, rather than the game mechanics, and they all trumpeted the game like it was Jesus' second coming. That lasted until they actually spent more than half-an-hour with the game and realized it was nothing more than monkey poo with a nice candy wrapper.

Well, everyone gobbled up the reviews like it was the gospel, and the rest, as they say, is history. Most game reviewers later said that they completely overrated the game, but the damage was done: SEGA's Saturn was doomed right then and there.

Personally, if there is any one game that I would attribute to the PSX's immediate success and to SEGA's downfall, Toshinden would be it.

A more recent example of media frenzy/manipulation (albeit unwilling, but manipulative nonetheless) would be Black & White - first the press gobbled it up, then realized it was actually a stinker of a game, and many a review was either retracted, or downgraded.