I was quoting the dude above me. And I disagree that jrpgs aren't evolving.

My post was simply to say any argument over reviews of a game that hasn't come out is retarded.

X-2 could've easily been given the stigma of a FF spin-off, like Crystal Chronicles and other games.

Honestly, based on what I've seen from videos and played from the demo, XIII does not deserve similar scores to Star Ocean 4.

FPS have improved about as much as they can from a basic gameplay stand point (you shoot - not much you can do there), meanwhile JRPGs have constantly evolving gameplay, sometimes attempting (and often failing) to make the games more action based, other times providing unique twists on turned based gameplay, and in the case of XIII, providing a nice mix of preset combos and action combat.

FPS could only really improve in the one area I'd like both FPSes and JPRGs to improve: storytelling.  This is also one area in which I'd definitely label JRPGs as being"stuck in the past", simply because JRPGs these days focus more and more and lengthy cutscenes and deep, involved stories, yet the presentation and narrative found in these games have barely progressed past the level of FFX over the past decade.

XIII, however, has improved in this area considerably from what I've seen, and XII made similar advancements over its predecessor.  I'm playing White Knight Chronicles right now, and it has the same cliche moments told in an awkward manner by weak actors that I've been seeing for years.  It's really the biggest weak spot of the game.  Normally I wouldn't mind this in a game, but when the emphasis is on story and they make you watch 20+ minute cutscenes, at least make them worth watching.

Valkyria Chronicles performed quite nicely in this area, though, given its anime-ish influences.  I've heard good things about Tales of Vesperia as well.

I honestly would love to see some sort of anime/rpg cross over in the future.  Have somebody (Namco?) work with an anime studio to make a cel-shaded RPG with great gameplay and a great story told via anime cutscenes.  I believe Level 5 are doing this with Studio Ghibli for their next DS game.

Welcome back MM, and I totally agree with you.

Whats with the 65% for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PSP)?

Just because the game went from 2D to 3D from FFVI to FFVII does not equal "HUGE evolution," although, I do agree that every FF has been very different, the largest change being from X to XII.  The only big changes in gameplay between FFVI and FFVII were the inclusion of mini-games to make the story more interactive.  Still, Final Fantasy is the most inventive of all the jrpgs, and to claim that it is stuck in the past is like saying FPS shooters need to not involve shooting and first-person point of view... too cliche and overused :O

X-2 scored over a 90... i believe.  Which is... well it's X-2.

*slaps self*

For some reason I took from your inital comment that FFX-2 scored abnormally low, which looking back makes little sense.

Hm, well, I guess since Square went from being on top of the world to the lackluster X-2, to the MMO XI, to XII, a game that received heavy fan backlash, to the incredibly hyped XIII, maybe reviewers went in with a more critical eye than most games are accustomed to. S etting the game up to fail, so to speak.

Granted I haven't played the game, but had this come from another publisher and had it been called the Concluding Paragraph or something, I doubt it would've scored a 7 when games like Star Ocean, Infinite Undiscovery, and Eternal Sonata all score around there.

You know, that really doesnt make sense and makes you sound like a fanboy.

Oh...i'm a silly, silly man :(