Yes, there are existing reactions from japanese gamers and you try very very hard to cherry-pick one point of view from these reactions. I here state, that XCX will not end in desaster like The Order did, I predict XCX will do at least an 80 meta. What do you get from the japanese reaction, what do you predict for meta based on the impressions you picked from the japanese release? I'm interested, if the game is 2 weeks released in the west we can compare our predictions to the real meta, so say what you think. You claim the game will be divisive, so it will have good and bad reviews. How does it average out in your opinion? Below 70? Below 60?

XCX will not be under 85 on Meta.

Between 80 and 83. My point was that Japanese gamers in general seem to be rating it lower than its predecessor (Amazon must be relevant if Nintendo is releasing a game (Devils 3rd) as an exclusive). I dont understand how Im trying "very hard" to cherry pick, the reason I chose Amazon is because the other site seemed obscure. Over 430 user reviews for Xenoblade Chronicles X on Amazon.co.jp, are you trying to tell me the majority of those are just trolls using Google Translate? Thats quite a stretch imo.

In import threads, very few individuals (none I can remember) rank it higher than its predecessor(91). Sure that can be dismissed as subjective but Im willing to bet thats a fairly accurate statement. Add in "gen 8" tax and I expect lower scores in general. This will probably carry over to the West and other RPGs on the market will also have an impact on gamers perceptions and expectations.

Basically I'm saying the game will be seen as a safe sequel (evolutionary not revolutionary), it may have made some strides in certain areas but its also gone backwards in others (most obvious is story which everyone admits to be being weaker than the 1st, music will be a hit or miss depending on the individual). The Kotaku preview reads like a 7/10 (boring!=bad), admittedly on the lower end of the spectrum but I don't see the game getting tons of 9 or 10s at release either. Goodnightmoon posted a highly favourable (9.5) import review, GameKult posted a less enthusiastic but still good (8.0) import review. Thats' what I mean by divisive. I see 7s, 8s and 9s at release, not a single 10.

It would be nice if we had some kind of Metacritic Japan to use for reference.

So you basically contradict yourself. You said the game might be divisive. That means it will get some low scores, and no way with some low scores it can keep an average above 80. One low score might be possible, but that's not divisive, it is the fact that people have differing opinions and there always might be someone whho disagrees with majority (as I do about GTA, but I still don't claim GTA V is a bad game, I claim I didn't like it in contrary to the majority). You posted a negative preview (nothing wrong with that) but you reinforced along the thread, that this opinion of the Kotaku-author might be relevant. But boredom isn't a 80-83 either. So while the score might be lower it won't be in your opinion a major desaster, like say the Order. Yes, it might not as the Witcher or Bloodborne match it's hype, but it isn't unheard of that sequels perform slightly worse than highly acclaimed predecessors. That would be nothing to surprise me, I already wrote I expect a Meta above 80, so the same. Still you tried massively to defend Kotaku, despite it being contrary to your own opinion as you show here. So the reason must be that you wanted your thread to be popular by defending an unpopular opinion. That would mean I and others should ignore this thread (and maybe other threads from you) as you rise a controversity for nothing. Maybe you should take some lessons in subtlety from Rol sometimes.

What are you talking about? All 3 aspects are still great! And Xenosaga was a failure because it's story potential was ruined, and 2 had a terrible battle system. And this is coming from this sites biggest Xeno fan!

LOL

This is comparable to a Michael Jordan or a Kobe Bryant fan trying to review Lebron James as a player.

One person's opinion.

No I don't. Since when does divisive mean low scores? Inquisition got the same score and lots of people either love it or tear it to shreds, similar to Dragon Age II (82). Are you going to deny that? When have I implied that it will get low (sub 80) scores? All I've said is gamers will simply have higher expectations for numerous reasons (predecessors legacy and the state of the RPG genre post W3) and as a result it may score lower. Is that reaching, is that "trying too hard". 

Unlike its predecessor there wont be "universal acclaim". Is that easy enough for you to understand? 

Also, stop being disingenuous because its no secret that 8/10 games are considered dissapointing (if not crap) in some circles, especially on VGChartz.

This whole Kotaku thing is retarded and childish because many threads on VGChartz have used Kotaku as a source and hardly anyone ever complains about it until now, and that's only because of the game in question. A thread created less than 3 days ago references Kotaku and no one said a damn thing, but that was a Sony discussion so I guess the fanbase didn't have an axe to grind. Lastly, I'm not a fan of "that" user so I have no intention of "learning" anything from him.

Me too. Because it sounds exactly like the first game, and that was awesome.

Its Kotaku, so its no doubt click bait.

Relax, it's Kotaku. They're the D Tier of reviewers.

S Tier: Websites that give reviews that can generally be used as reliable sources of information concerning whether you would like a game or not. (GamesRadar, Game Trailers, Nintendo Life, etc)

A Tier: Reviews likely paid for by publishers, but still useful provided you remember the text itself is more important than the number. Reviews are often written so that subjective elements are obviously such, even if praised or denounced. (IGN, Game Informer, etc)

B Tier: A varied mixture of good and bad information, but difficult to wade through. (User Reviews)

C Tier: Garbage, to the extent where simply watching a few trailers is the safer bet. May contain useful info, but probably not worth your time. (Gamespot)

D Tier: Toxic, to the extent where reviews can make a person less informed. There is no clear relationship between a game's quality and reviews. (Polygon, Kotaku, etc)