That can be a good part of it, I agree.

But what about the mainline Tales series? Very polished games...ToV is hailed as the best of the series, yet it's score is very, very close to a much more inferior game (that is very similar) - Eternal Sonata. I'd love to see anyone that's played ToV and Eternal Sonata argue that Eternal Sonata is better overall...But reviewers think it's very close!

It seems that in some ways, JRPG reviewers are lacking the objectivity to argue how good or bad JRPGs are against other JRPGs.

There is evidence that some reviewers don't even finish the JRPGs they review.  I think another problem is that they are afraid of giving JRPGs not called Final Fantasy very high scores unless they are different from from the norm i.e. TWEWY, Persona 3

@Jordahn

There are too many reviews to read out there, especially for multi-console owners, so having a overview of the scores is one factor for a person to choose a specific console or choose games. FYI I do not approve at the fanboys who use the numeric score to taunt, laugh, judge, or champion but when you have to decide between 10-15 games a month, or when you decide which console to get, you may not have time to read all the reviews and want a general overall view of the scores. Are these not real gamers then?

Your view is appreciated and in parts true, but Im calling you out because you really could have done without your last paragraph. By saying "I'm not sure what criteria VGChartz uses to determine who qualifies do be a Mod", you are insinuating that mrstickball doesnt qualify as a mod. AND by saying "you FAIL at seeing things from a gamer's point of view with such a narrow sheepish view of numerical rankings.", you are insinuating that mrstickball is not a gamer (even more funny when you can see the gamercard right there in the sig) and everyone who just looks at the numerical rankings are not gamers. Well I do sometimes due to time/money constraints and yet I read a whole lot of reviews. Am I not a gamer? I bet you alot of people do too out of necessity.

You may say its not personal or explicit, but being implicit about it is just as insulting.

Then I will publicly take back my comment in regards to Mrstickball. It appears that my actions were pressumptuous and uncalled for but mainly because it was of mistaken identity. Therefore, I'm also extending my apology to Squilliam because it was HE in which I was referring to. Sorry, Guys. My eyes wandered a little too fast whch resulted in my mistake. Also, I'll be more careful and considerate the next time when I decide to respond.  There was really no excuse for my action.  Sorry again, Guys.

Jordahn - That's fine. Apology accepted.

You just have to realize that everyone has their own opinion about how reviews are valued - some discard them entirely (such as myself and EDF2017 reviews), and some take them as the be-all for discussion. Unfortunately, with discussions and debates, most of it rounds off to opinion.

Ultimately, what matters, as a gamer, is that you get the kind of game(s) you want...At least in my view, this is why I care about RPG reviews so much - I love RPGs, and always have, and I just want to see RPG's get good reviews to hopefully spur more sales, because I hate it when games like Rogue Galaxy, Odin Sphere, Tales of Vesperia, and such, get sub-par scores versus non-JRPGs, which may turn off gamers to what is (imo) one of the best genres available.

We must have been reading different reviews because from what know, all three of those games have atleast an 80 on both gamerankings and metacritic so unless a score below 90(or 85) is now considered subpar, I am not seeing how the overall review averages would be considered subpar

Thank you.  I just realized how blinded I was because I feel the same when it comes to psychological survival/horror.  I guess for me it's a mixed blessing where the score is a small factor in my eyes, but if I want that genre to florish, that overall score can either hurt or help its cause.  I took one side to the extreme, and I see that now.  Thanks a lot.

And I understand, because Survival Horror is another genre that tends to get an unfair shake....Obscure 2 has a 63.8% average ranking. Is the game fun? Yes. Is it enjoyable? Yes. Does 2p Co-Op rule? Yes. Is it perfect? No. But it sure as heck isn't 63% bad!

Hopefully...At some point...We can get better aggregate and popularize data for video games by user reviews, ala IMDB, so we can find out what is truely "good"....I mean, we see lots of major movies get mediocre scores, but huge BO sales because the movie is good and fun.

Of course we'd all like to see high ratings for anticipated games, but what's done is done.  And I'm not in favor of anyone using game rankings as leverage against one console or another.  That's where I fear that detracts from what gaming is about.