JRPG reviews have a MASSIVE problem

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Not trying to call anyone specific out here, but yeah be transparent with your reviews. JRPGs deserve better.

[@ensabahnur7657]

Agreed. If they can't be honest & properly review a game then just DON'T!

[@KazeShikamaru]

True but it seems you are assuming they didn't play the whole game when you don't know that. Some may not experience what you experience. The videos you showed are not only click air but are from people who have played the game but love giving hot takes to drive up clicks.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

@@KazeShikamaru your taking those clips out of the context. I was addressing the hyperbole and clickbait nature of those creators there but then discuss the real problem I see with reviews. The growing issue with reviewers being deceptive.

[@Shatterglass23]

Nothing else to say but...VERY WELL SAID

[@ophidianmind333]

If a game has a game-breaking bug in it, that is one of the most important things to include in a review so people know this before they end up spending money on a game they might not even be able to finish due to a bug. I was really hyped for the souls-like metroidvania game Moonscars and I'm glad I watched a review that mentioned there being a game-breaking bug late in the game that prevented players from finishing the game. While that bug was fortunately patched out eventually, it was good to know that it was best to pass on the game until it was verified that the bug was fixed and that the game could actually be completed. If you've got a game that you've gotten really into only to encounter a bug that won't allow you to continue playing, that's essentially one very cruel tease to pull on players. It's almost as cruel as teasing players with the promised release of Hollow Knight: Silksong and then making it seem like it will never actually come out. 😆

[@ParasaurolophusZ]

Reminds me of a few years ago when several members of the Oscars review committees outright admitted they never watched any of the animated movies (and especially never the Japanese ones) and just automatically give the award to Disney/Pixar without bothering to invest the time to watch any of them. So it's not just internet content creators, it's supposed professionals as well.

[@fsjstscs]

PTSD from when Boss Baby won the Oscars over A Silent Voice

[@NintendanGX]

Yup. That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, it was very apparent when A Silent Voice released in 2017, and the awards just went to Coco, and Olaf's Quest. The sooner people realise these outlets don't deserve any credibility, the better. It's why I stopped caring about the Game Awards all together. I know it's just a popularity contest, not an actual assessment and recognition of a game's qualities and how well the devs achieved their vision. I don't need a conglomerate to validate my opinion (especially when it's always more informed than theirs anway), or tell me what my Game of the Year is, or anyone else's for that matter. I play them myself, and I know which ones I enjoyed most. Xenoblade 3 was unequivacably my GOTY last year, and I didn't need it to win any awards to know that. I used to say an individual's GOTY list is more important to me than a corporation's, but when we get clout-chasers in the JRPG community dragging it through the mud, that list becomes much, much shorter. It'd be nice if people could review games they've actually played themselves, or include them in whatever topic their video covers. Otherwise, don't even bring them up at all. It's made me incredibly sceptical about certain games' quality or supposed "lack thereof".

[@misselthwaitemanor]

This has become a fairly serious problem. Hate them or love them gaming magazines had editorial oversight that would make sure there was some level of quality to their reviews. KZbin creators have no such oversight and what determines your exposure tends to be how much you work the alogrithmn more than quality. These bubble sections of YT also turn into complete echo chambers. I am NOT trashing it, but how many of us have heard endless glowing praise for 13 Sentinels? If you go into the fantasy part of booktube, you will hear endless praise for every Brandon Sanderson book. In reality, there is a diverse world of opinions out there but you are getting fairly homogenous perspective that are incentivized by money to not ruffle feathers when you travel into these niche sections of youtube.

[@matthewrawls1184]

You should look up the history of the Oscars. They were created in the early days of Hollywood under the old studio system as basically a "trophy award" to give to actors instead of giving them raises. The Oscars are, and always have been, a colossal joke.

[@renegaderaven3777]

Steam does a good thing in this regard. When ever you review a game it will show how much time someone has played it. When I see someone with a mostly positive if a little mixed review listing the good and bad with 120+ hours put in I know I can generally take their word on their experience

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Excellent point

[@EdreesesPieces]

I agree with the concept here, more hours the more credible their review, but if they played a game for 120+ hours and didn't leave it at least a 8 or 9/10 review, I will be very confused why they spent so much time on a game they didn't absolutely love. On the other hand, if someone absolutely hates a game, it makes sense that they would quit it after 20 hours. But I think the message here is for the reviewer to say "I played this game for only 20 hours, and I quit it becuase it was that bad" as full disclosure.

[@infamousincubus2888]

Indeed I do like that about steam

[@lostvayne9146]

@@EdreesesPieces the real answer is to play the games you know you will love and to see the overall consensus. Not the individual. We live in an era where unless you are properly disciplined, you will never be fully blind on any form of entertainment you purchase. You will know.

[@Main_Records]

@@EdreesesPieces I could see your point. I guess someone who would give a long 100+ game a score lower than 8, might be that the game held that high of a score but deflated at the end (looking at you FF 15). And sometimes I have played some middle of the ground RPG's just because I had invested the time and that ultimately I'd like to see how the game ends. Now I do agree that if it was say a 1, 2 or 3 for the score, that would be for sure fishy. Either way, good point.

[@PelvicGaming]

I agree with numbers not adding up with games released and how quickly full reviews are put out by independant creators. I think one thing that didn't add up, is how fast reviews get up. As you said, games are coming out at a feverish pace so how the hell do people keep up with all these massive games?? It's crazy! It would be nice if reviewers gave their time. I spent 20 hours with this game ....yada yada. First video I watched of yours. Great vid! A lot of relatable thoughts!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for checking out the video, I really appreciate a JRPG creator weighing in on it!

[@misomanga]

Love your channel!

[@Hugsloth]

They will usually admit under duress that it's 'unreasonable' to expect reviewers to be able to finish games that are sometimes a hundred hours long, or more.

[@ionnathm2026]

I feel this so much. Not just for JRPG reviews (Despite them being the most prolific example of this), but reviews in general. There are so many who are disingenuous to just full on lying about the game. It's such a problem because a lot of the time, first impressions can make or break a game. If another solution could be offered, maybe to show their current save/steam page hours on the game? These dishonest reviews need to end, that's for sure.

[@badlatency9979]

One example I remember vividly would be when Bravely Default 2 came out. Many reviewers were very hard on the game, but it was also very clear from their reviews that most never made it past what was in the demo for the game. There were explicit _lies_ about gameplay features and game structure. I remember one reviewer saying it was typical jrpg where you continually collect new party members over the length of the game when you only pick up new party members one time.

[@paulman34340]

Yes this type of behavior which is breed lazy dumb s*** Like it's just like dark souls As an example. That in my opinion is just lazy It's like if you're being paid to do stuff. I could do then I might as well do it Myself. I refuse to listen to any review that has not gotten to at least twenty five percent of the game to fifty percent. I also notice when they don't have fun. They decide to just ruin a game even if it's not something they like Which makes me frown on them more if they hated this subject. Then they should have just been truthful and Instead of making up lies. And I see this happening when One of these is very anticipated. It's like they want to quickly get through it so they can go back to the games. They want to play and it creates a very bias review that it makes me continue to question why they're getting Paid. I will never trust the opinion of someone who loves sports games To death and even make clear early on they hate Role playing games..... So they decided To review a role playing game?! The best I use reviewers for is to see if there are any bugs Or glitches I should be aware of. That's about it And of course game length Cause I ain't buying a game that's expensive as h*** if it's short as f****** h*** I Might as well Wait for a price drop Unless it's one of those games that are meant to be replayed in which case. It the replay value is good then i'm willing to do so. Unless the game has justifiable reasons for being short or long it might as well be medium size. And this is taking into account b******* stuff like Cut scenes galore filling the d*** game Like the equivalent of those big bags potato chips that are a large amount of air Just to make it look like it's filled. It's why hilariously my game library is filled with games that have been reviewed poorly because I played those games or I'm a fan of those series. Like bravely default To know the truth. I mean I was already becoming distrustful of them long before youtube became a major platform to see game reviews. And for a while I did love the youtubers Till they started in on this s*** at that point I only have so little that I do trust their opinion. I can count them on one hand LOL

[@Diamoondust]

xenosaga vector pfp :)

[@GeminiSunrise06]

Those review almost need to be reported.

[@punani_slayer4209]

Well with a name like bravely default can you blame them?

[@paulman34340]

@punani_slayer4209 The name isn't any weirder than ALOT of Western media titles ("Fifty Shades of Gray" "Ring a bell") But I think you were going with the fact it's called "2"! Companies have noticed people get intimidated the moment they see a number on a sequel cause they assume they'll need to do "research" to get the whole story....even if the game was Heavily built around being it's own story that doesn't need no looking at the previous game.

[@moroseobject9399]

I have to say, for a long time i have noticed how a lot of big reviewers for games seemed to put “10/10” scores on games that come from massive companies. I always found it hard to find RPG’s and JRPG’s that i like enough to play and have had to watch reviews to see what the game is like. Too often have i seen niche games that turn out to be great end up being so unknown (like you mentioned) and its actually disappointing when people i know havent’ played them because of similar reasons and it disappoints me how a lot of games are being changed or put out in either bad states or with things like “battle passes” and micro transactions that feed off a gamers competitive nature but i wont get into that now. What i do want to say is you have opened my eyes to something that Lingered in the back of my mind for a while and you have gained a lot of respect for putting out this video and bringing it out to peoples attention. I have watched a video of yours on occasion and i will say, this video in itself has earned a subscription from me. Keep putting out the good content!

[@bubbahoteppy1423]

It's only gotten worse in recent years too. I've had to just learn to rely on my own gut most of the time whether a game looks fun or not.

[@franciscobutte]

That's the best way to do it. I really appreciate when a game has a demo, like Sea of Stars or Final Fantasy XVI. It help on your decision. But yeah, there's not better review that the one you can do by yourself.

[@Woupsme]

​@@franciscobutteThe Sea of Stars demo put me off the game because I found out there were no checkpoints when I died. I don't have time for a game making me replay long scenarios over and over. The devs explained that auto save and checkpoints would be in the final game. If not for that comment, the demo would have kept me from playing it. But yeah, demos should be available for every game to make up one's mind.

[@medstudentmama1422]

The way to get more thorough reviews is to support individuals who are putting in the work. I try not to skip ads on my favorite YT channels because of the tiny bit of revenue I can provide. And if I really appreciate them and consistently watch, I'd think about supporting them via Patreon in the future when I finally make enough money to buy some of these games. 😂

[@aiodensghost8645]

I just wish KZbin placed the ads better. Ad here, ad there, EVERYWHERE an ad, Ad. Edit: I got so mad about it, I went to ReVanced. The OG YT is intolerable

[@Lovuschka]

While the thought is honorable, you have to understand that the company behind KZbin ads commit genocide by rape in Ukraine. This is not a joke - there literally are ads for Ukrainian "brides" since the war escalated in February 2022. With that, the company is complicit in that crime. Your content creators would much more enjoy to get a dollar per month from you on Patreon and you using an adblocker. That way you'd also make sure that the genocidal maniacs from Alphabet don't get money from crimes that should put them in jail for life.

[@Himmelschenk]

Exactly why im paying for Premium because it has no ads but every video you watch counts as if you watched every ad, benefiting the uploader.

[@R0D3R1CKV10L3NC3]

@@aiodensghost8645 Yeah, the ad distribution by KZbin is absolutely baffling at times. Like, "Oh, you put on a music playlist to have some music on in the background while you do other things? That means you want 2+ minute ads between every single 3 minute song, right? You definitely want listening to music to be as inconvenient as possible, don't you?" and then "Oh, you're actively watching a long video where skipping a longer ad wouldn't mean going out of your way every few minutes? Better always give you two unskippable 15 second ads (almost always the same two every single ad spot)!" Like seriously, throw the shorter unskippable ads in between songs when we're listening to music and save the longer ads for when we're watching longer videos, it's not that hard.

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

Do bear in mind that most reviewers who are "putting in the work" aren't making a dime off of KZbin ads because their reviews aren't getting them the subscribers and watch time required to make KZbin Partnership so watching ads on their videos doesn't benefit them at all, so skip away! Most honest KZbin reviewers will prefer you to leave a comment and be active on videos than giving them money because your engagement not only shows that other people actually bothered to reach out to them but it also leaves a good impression on a video when people watch and see people's comments on the video so it is a solid foundation for growth. Also most honest KZbin reviewers actually want to interact with you and they value that interaction more than money because they tend to be huge nerds with next to no social life with nobody to talk to about gaming to commenting on their videos and starting a conversation can make their day.

[@Shiftarus]

This is happening for every kind of media on every platform, and its not going to stop. Even amazon reviews are paid ads, fake comments from bots, consumer capitalism working exactly as intended. Its up to each person to vet what they're watching, check comments, and try to find the most reliable creators. And to be honest it's actually somewhat of a time honored tradition in gaming, going back to the early days with magazines like Nintendo Power often panning what would become beloved classics, and giving great reviews to stinkers.

[@JRPGJungle]

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this. Great video! I'm very relieved to hear someone else feels the same way tbh 😅 I really try keep things positive on my channel so I don't talk about it, but it's been a mild frustration since I started my channel and I even noticed myself nearly falling into it when I found myself rushing through playthroughs in the earlier days of my channel because I truly thought everyone was finishing stuff and I was just slow (honestly, seeing the percentage of trophies earned before games came out when I realised I could check it helped me out of that, thank goodness! And for the record, I always finished things but some playthroughs were certainly not as in depth as my current ones) Now I'm taking my time with games again and having a lot more fun and feel like my reviews have been better for it, but it still comes with sometimes seeing full reviews come out on embargo when I've maybe made content at the same or a further point in the game, but chosen to call my video a First Impression (and that's if I'm on time for the embargo in the first place). It sucks, but like you said, it's also the name of the game on here so it's definitely easy to understand why people do it. In any case, I hope this brings more awareness to it, especially for the audience's sake - reviewers get the privilege of getting games for free sometimes, but the audience are the people who are going to spend money on the game, so the integrity of a review should definitely be kept in mind when consuming content on here. So again, thanks for raising awareness for this and I hope this helps people make better decisions before buying big and long (and sometimes expensive) JRPGs!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Sincerely thankful you weighed in on this. I felt like I was the odd man out until I caught a glimpse behind the curtain.

[@JRPGJungle]

@@HallowedBeThyGame I've always thought the same thing, absolutely necessary video haha I'm about to post more my thoughts regarding it in my community thing as I want to give more of my two cents too, but yeah. Thank you for speaking about it - I truly hope it helps people make better decisions on the games they buy, aside from being genuinely therapeutic for me to hear someone else say! 💖

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

@@JRPGJungle Haha thank you so much, made my night to hear I wasn't the only JRPG channel to feel this way. Look forward to seeing your thoughts!

[@misomanga]

So awesome to see you here! I love your reviews!

[@medstudentmama1422]

You're one of my favorites for JRPG reviews!

[@sonicmania9993]

Longtime JRPG player here, and I strongly agree with almost everything you've said in this video. Hope this gets a lot of views. It is abundantly clear that many reviewers (including from the more 'major' review outlets whose scores are more heavily weighted on metacritic) do not complete 50-hour JRPGs (or other 50-hour games) before writing their reviews. The same thing with some of those 100k-sub KZbinrs, who come out with opinion videos or even "reviews". As you say, these content-creators hyper-focus on certain aspects that anyone who has farmed content from other reviews or from gameplay videos can talk about -- even if they've never played the game. These "reviewers" are, essentially, lying. Time is money, and in any business, if you can get away with producing "good enough" content/product quickly (and therefore cheaply), most businesses these days will take that opportunity. As long as they don't get caught, their editors are fine with it. This efficiency is more important to both the reviewers AND the editors than doing their duty to the people who trust their advice about what may be worth or not worth buying. We trust them, yet many of them don't deserve our trust. By the way, I'm under no illusion that this is a new phenomenon. Many of us (myself included) look back fondly at the halcyon days of the game magazines of the 90s: so fun to read, and full of those fun reviews of games we hoped to get our hands on. I know many of those 90s game mag editors and reviewers personally (got lucky with who I roommated with in college and after -- several of them going into the game industry & game journalism). And let me tell you: many of those 1990s reviews -- both the long double-page spreads & the short one-paragraph synopsis reviews -- were written by people who hadn't played the game. They were writing from notes supplied by the game publisher, and their job was to make it sound right or reasonable. That's it. Not all reviews were that way, by a long shot -- but many were. One other point: it is very clear that JRPGs are at a disadvantage with western reviews, because even though many games in the genre are very popular these days, many review outlets simply don't have a seasoned JRPG-player on their review staff. So many of the 6/10 or 7/10 scores for near-masterpiece JRPGs are clearly written by someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. It's like assigning a Street Fighter 6 review to someone who can't string simple combos together, or time a block properly. It's lazy and unethical ... but those review sites must generate content about big, current games to bring in that sweet, sweet ad revenue. So of course, we shouldn't expect this to change any time soon. JRPGs are one of the best genres of gaming today, with millions of gamers worldwide enjoying them and nigh-on obsessing about them. These games, and these gamers, deserve better from these reviews.

[@therealjaystone2344]

The cold truth: JRPGs had and always will be looked down upon in the west, at least by the media. Unless titles such as Pokémon, Persona, and Final Fantasy, all of the other niche titles would ‘fuck off’ by the media and will never give it a chance. At the awards, how many JRPGs ever win GOTY? I’ll wait.

[@awetistic5295]

Your point about 90s gaming magazines is very true and especially sad considering that they were the only source of information for many of us. At least the internet provides different kind of sources like gaming websites, customer's reviews and KZbinrs.

[@sonicmania9993]

@@awetistic5295 I've systematically gone through most of the 90s console game catalogs in recent years (my favorite era for home gaming), considering EVERY SINGLE GAME for at least a minute, looking at gameplay, listening to retrospectives, buying a bunch of second-hand games usually for cheap, emulating some others. And let me tell you there are some amazing and FUN games that big magazines gave low scores to, or were never even covered. It's been like an ongoing treasure hunt for me! I would say that *most* of the 20 or 30 best games on every 90s console are well-known ones. But if I ever create the YT channel I hope to and make videos about my Top 100 or 200 games for each console, there are so so many games there that hardly anyone talks about or has played. We were so reliant on those magazines, and they only did the preview/review job partway, I now realize. I was lucky enough to live in Los Angeles in the late 90s, and had two Japanese-import game stores to learn from and buy through. That opened up a world of games for me that hardly anyone in the west had an opportunity to experience. There is so much buried treasure out there.

[@sonicmania9993]

@@therealjaystone2344 You may be right. Not sure if big western award-show goty is in the grasp of a JRPG. FF16 is likely to be my 2023 goty -- such a deep and enjoyable game for me, a titan of a game, more than worth the wait -- but I think it's already missed its chance at goty. Too much whining and clout-chasing on the internet speaking out against it for various reasons, and our first initial sales figures which came out today from the UK are weak (31k physical, way under even Resi 4 remake). Xenoblade 3 won some of the smaller media goty year awards in 2022, Tales of Arise a few in 2021, and FF7R a few in 2020. But will a JRPG ever win The Game Awards goty? Dunno. FF16 was our best shot. To me it seems like JRPGs are back to being one of the strongest game genres these days -- and to my personal game tastes, actually the strongest, in terms of the sheer number of good games coming out that I enjoy playing, and number of games I'd rate 8.0-8.5 or higher. We're back to the quality we used to get in the 90s. Sales are good too. I wonder why the western media continues to hate? I guess it's sort of like the way anime/manga continues to get mocked by western mainstream media, even though worldwide it's never been more popular with number of viewers/readers. Mainstream media is weird.

[@awetistic5295]

@@sonicmania9993 If you ever make that KZbin channel, I'm definitely interested! The 90s are my favorite gaming era as well and most of my favorite games are from the decade. I grew up with the SNES, then the PlayStation. In my SNES days, my brother and I only had a few games because we couldn't afford more. Many of them were beloved classics and we had to chose carefully, so gaming reviews played a big part in our decisions. When we got a PlayStation, we were more adventurous. Since censorship is ridiculous here in Germany, we got a mod chip to play NTSC games and began to import a lot. Then I started to emulate SNES games and discovered so many gems, including my all time favorite game Seiken Densetsu III. Since I didn't have to pay for the games, I pretty much tried out everything and that's when I started to question gaming magazines. Honestly, review vs. reality for 90s games sounds like a video idea I'd totally watch.

[@B1az1ngSuN]

I haven't trusted any type of gaming critic for over a decade. They are hacks, they don't game, they push an agenda. Their ideology is ruining gaming as we know it. I trust normal people, like Hallowed. Steam reviews. Small youtube chans. And myself. IDK why but for like Fire Emblem3 houses for example, every review i saw i kept saying "this game isn't for me" but i did end up buying it just to have it physical and now I love it. I love this channel BECAUSE of the normal behind it, and I know he is just sharing his love for games like a normal guy. Journalists, not so much.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much, and I'm the same way.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

Your image of game critics seems to speak more of your own insecurities and social resentments than any problem in the medium. The number of times you emphasize "normal" really emphasizes how intolerant of people with other views you seem to be, seeing people who think differently as an "abnormal" conspiracy out to destroy your toys.

[@B1az1ngSuN]

@@noneofyourbusiness4616 Urinalist detected. Keep living with your head in the sand, you're not going to convince me of anything but please, waste your time.

[@B1az1ngSuN]

@@noneofyourbusiness4616 cool story uri nalist

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@B1az1ngSuN Not a journalist, just not a simpleton huffing the dregs at the bottom of the Gamergate barrel.

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

I've wanted to get into reviewing JRPGs because they're my favorite genre to play, but this has been one of my concerns - liars and thieves thriving from a scandal-centric algorithm while honest reviewers get less than 100 views in a year that their video is up (also, I wouldn't even know where to start learning video creation and editing). Thank you for rightly calling the rage-baiters and dishonest people out; hopefully, this will start to help a change in the trend. Although, given that we live in a morally-depraved era, I'm not exactly holding my breath...

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

JRPG's are very difficult to get into in the review scene because of how popular they have become. I mean if you want to do it, absolutely nothing is stopping you from trying. Editing is easy, the hard part is developing a standard of quality that requires said editing to pull off, that and recording... recording is a nightmare. There are editors out there that are pretty straightforward now, just trim clips out of raw footage and dump them in the desired order. That's really all you need to know to edit videos. 100 views in a year isn't necessarily true, reviews tend to start out slow and increase gradually over time, depending on what game you're covering but with JRPGs the numbers are likely to be more in the 200-300 range in a year. If you manage to find a niche it can accumulate into the 500 - 1k range. It's not all doom and gloom but it isn't really going to get you big on the platform. You have to recognize that many people do reviews simply because it is their calling, not because of views or money. There are sad times for sure but most of the sad times come from one's own mistakes, though a lot of joy can also come from reflecting on one's own work. Knowing that you bring out quality is something that is valuable that nobody can take away from you. So with the right mindeset, it's worth doing, however if you want to grow, I think it's worth looking towards other things on the side. Reviews aren't the be all and end of of content after all.

[@leejones2113]

The issue I have is content creators who hate jrpgs reviwing em. They will literally state a certain jrpg sucks when it's pretty good.

[@sonicmania9993]

Yup, this sucks. So many of them clearly don't know, understand, or enjoy the genre. They're just there to add to KZbin's negative-conversation, and generate views thereby.

[@iijustafriendd]

It's just an opinion. What's your problem with that? A review has an objective and subjective side to it. "How good is this game?" is a subjective question. It changes from person to person. This is about your experience with said video game and what you think about it, not what a critic or fellow player thinks. Understand this before looking at a review of anything. I personally believe that the only real use of a review is the objective side.

[@paulman34340]

​@iijustafriendd I think it comes down to the fact that you missed the part when they brought up influencers in the vid! Because their opinions influence their viewers many of their viewers do not have the same mentality. Those like you and myself have words like oh that's just their opinion instead they decide oh since they think it's bad I think it's bad. And act like sheep. Which is a problem because it's starting a fear that Cannot be completely dismissed that the developers and those who control the purse Are looking at these individuals and believing oh? We didn't cater to them so let's try to cater to them Which starts to hurt or ruin a series If not the dreaded fear that if nobody likes the game enough then the company might decide to just shelf it for good. I think this is kind of ridiculous because sometimes the company's do love to play the We're going to hold your game hostage Unless you buy enough copies of the game sometimes. Which is likely never going to happen so if a game goes by buying? It's sad but that's how it goes and it's usually not the game's fault or defense fold but something on the end of the game developers and producers. But I will agree that these individuals do have some type of hand in it. But do to their behavior it's kind of hard to acceptive this is their actual Opinion or not.

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

There's nothing inherently wrong with saying that a JRPG sucks but you have to explain why it sucks and have a proper justification for it.

[@sonicmania9993]

@@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309 Well, on the flipside, would you find a JRPG review valuable from an influencer that doesn't really like ANY JPRGs? Because that's what OP was talking about. FF16 generates clicks this month so "Influencer Bob" is going to post a negative video about FF16 and negative things he's read about it, even if he barely started playing the game (if at all), and has never liked a single JRPG. For me, Influencer Bob's video is just static, not worth existing or being viewed. But his regular viewers will watch, and others will watch because anything negative about FF16 is really hot in the algorithm this month. See what I mean?

[@DaddyGamerDiaries]

Bravo! This was a much needed message. Knowing that your reviewer actually plays a game thoroughly and is willing to have meaningful discussion about the nuances of the game means SO MUCH to me.

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

Sometimes it is hard to find non sponsered reviews.

[@GG-th2wk]

From my personal experience, it was exactly the opposite. JRPG is relatively niche genre game with an extremely loyal fanbase, and people will try to torch you to death if you don't give a favorable review for the game they love. For instance, I liked tales of vesperia, but I didn't like tales of Xillia, so I called it disappointing on amazon, and I saw a bunch of idiots replying to me saying crazy shit that I had to delete my review. I never had such issues when I left reviews for other games.

[@DOGEELLL]

Jrpgs fans get pissed easily and act superior despite the genre being one of the most accesible ever Truly delusional

[@lukaszzylik4437]

JRPGs are my favorite genre. I know the exact moment I fell in love with them, too. When I first started playing games I was having with Mario, Zelda, Sonic etc., but then I played FF4 for the first time and I felt completely immersed. There's a part in FF4 where your team is on a boat (right before Leviathen attacks) and Rhydia walks up to Edward and asks if he's OK because he's shivering. That was the first time I felt like these pixels were more than just pixels.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Those moments stay with us forever, thanks for sharing yours!

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

The same thing happened for me when I played Tales of Symphonia.

[@venth85]

As South East Asian gamer who loves JRPG and grew with it, I never care about reviews/ratings from West perspectives, not to mention they are very political about it now. I rather try the demo or see the gameplay first then judge it with my gaming experience so far.

[@Animekirk]

Jrpgs have always been my favorite genre of video game. Ever since dragon quest on game boy and earthbound on snes. Breath of fire, suikoden, earlier final fantasy, SMT, etc. I cant enjoy other genres as much as JRPGs. Ive been quietly pained by the games media crucifying of the JRPG and japanese developers abandoning the genre as they try to break out in the west... its so depressing...

[@ChemyNoSurfea]

I really wish you could have given examples... To me this is just a rant...

[@nugrahadwianggoro]

Yeah I'm still pissed with the infamous review that stated Persona 4 is sexist when they clearly never played it because they didn't even go over the girls' social links. I mean Yukiko went from wanting to be saved by a prince to be a helper of everyone while pursuing her dreams and Naoto's whole storyline about women aren't taken seriously in justice field...

[@liammcnicholas918]

That and Kanji’s whole arc. His toughness is a facade because his hobby of knitting isn’t “manly”.

[@GameCubeGalaxy]

This is something that I’m glad was discussed. I’ve been saying for YEARS that reviewers tend to either never finish a game to provide a review, or are afraid to mention issues within a game due to a contractual agreement. I did a review for the Street Fighter Arcade 1up Cabinet for my previous channel, and was the first review out of the gate. However, while I really liked it, I mentioned the honest issues it had, and well…the company wasn’t happy about that. But, as a reviewer, theoretically you need to point out both the pros and cons. Great video man!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Man I can’t imagine having to go through that! Way to stay honest and true to your audience but most importantly yourself. That’s so disappointing they gave you crap for that. I appreciate you weighing in on this.

[@Lynrowen]

Too true. I try my best to do my due diligence, but sadly with gaming being the biggest form of entertainment now, you’re gonna find more and more weeds. Thanks for shedding light on this.

[@ophidianmind333]

I agree with everything you said in this video, insincere reviews are a considerable problem, both with reviewers trying to get cozy with publishers and with the kinds of reviewers who trash games for the sake of getting attention rather than presenting anything resembling a well thought-out criticism. The latter I actually find to be the more despicable of the two because people who try to make a name for themselves by doing a "take down" of something are among the worst kinds of opportunists and I think attacking something that doesn't really deserve to be attacked is even worse than praising something that doesn't deserve to be praised. What makes that even worse is that reviewers tend to be hyperbolic in their negative reviews because such sensationalism tends to lead to more clicks, so what you are getting is a performance piece seeking attention and money rather than something sincere involving a well thought-out commentary. As we have discussed before, that whole trend of people trash-talking Soul Hackers 2 for incredibly superficial and ridiculous reasons back in 2022 was infuriating. Not because it was people who disagreed on the internet, but because that ultimately hurt sales of the game and could end up discouraging Atlus from making another Soul Hackers game. So people jumping on a hate bandwagon to bring attention to themselves ending up hurting the potential of a game that didn't deserve the hate and is good enough to actually deserve a sequel and make Soul Hackers into a full-fledged SMT spin-off series. At least Noisy Pixel, a rare example of a review organization that actually has integrity (and infamously high standards for reviewing games 😆), recognized that Soul Hackers 2 was a great game and scored it a 9/10. While the Noisy Pixel review gave some fair criticisms of the game (unlike the haters), the review also pointed out how strong everything else in the game was and what a great experience was providing in playing the game. A score that high isn't something frequently given by them, so they were giving the game high praise with that score. For an example of comparison, they gave Tears of the Kingdom an 8/10. While there are some games that get tons of hype that actually deserve it like Hollow Knight, Persona 5 Royal, Hades, Chrono Trigger, and Elden Ring, it also isn't the majority of games that get hyped by reviewers that deserve such praise. When so many games get hyped, it is easy to not take that hype seriously or even to be cautious about the hyped games because so many games get undeserved hype and praise. When reviewers give high praise to everything, then nothing stands out as being exceptional in quality and it's difficult to determine which of the games being praised are actually great games because the chances of them all being great games isn't as high as reviewers are presenting it as being. Whether it is with positive or negative reviews, it is really sad that both sincerity and integrity are lacking in the majority of game reviews. I agree with you, the large majority of reviewers just flat-out suck. That's why I try to be supportive when I find people on KZbin giving sincere reviews who have similar taste in games to my own, especially because there aren't many of them.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much man for watching. I was remembering conversations we've had about Soul Hackers 2 and SMT V when I made this video. Thanks for everything. Soul Hackers 2 was just done dirty, and I fear it is the last we will see from ancillary smt spinoffs as a result. I hope in some way that this can cause discussion on a broader scale and hope to in some way at least raise awareness for people to think more critically on their own when it comes to reviews ESPECIALLY for jrpgs. I don't care if someone loves or hates a game, but they should be honest with how much they are playing the games they are reviewing.

[@franciscobutte]

There's few channels that I really trust their reviews. Generally are small ones because they do it with passion and honesty. Like you. The only big one that I also trust is Easy Allies because they are legit from Gametrailers back in the day. Recently with Final Fantasy XVI the reviews landscape have turned into a circus of who is more controversial and I bet many channels have never played a JRPG in their lives. And this affect people and the game itself.

[@JJG1666]

EZA best in the biz

[@randomgamingramblings]

This was seriously refreshing to hear! Subbed, for sure. I'm just starting out on KZbin, and another thing I'd like to add to this question is that I've noticed that there are people releasing these 20min reviews for games that have been out for a few days and I ask myself: HOW?! Not only because these RPGs are huge, but because writing scripts, recording voice-overs and editing the videos also take up a lot of time as well. Even if you do have an editor at hand, how is that even possible? Yeah, the only possible explanation is that you actually haven't played the game all that much. Which I think is fair, if you inform this to the viewer. Make it a 'first impressions' video or whatever, just don't say to your audience that you have finished the game and have had time to think about it and make a video about it.

[@Cathy5614]

I remember when Digimon World Next 0rder came out in the west, one review I read complained about the lack of fast travel... A feature you unlock as soon as you start the second chapter... in a 4 chapter game... So they haven't even beaten 25% of the game... It's quite telling. But when called out on this their colleagues started defending the reviewer with the classic "No, your're wrong" argument, even though I knew the game inside out as someone who imported the Japanese version a year prior.

[@laxur1312]

Recently, Loop8 got done dirty by reviewers. I had to buy the game for myself because I couldn't believe a game with such an interesting premise and presentation was as bad as I was lead to believe. I can only come to the conclusion that most of these reviewers have to be illiterate, because most of the problems expressed in their videos were properly explained in-game.

[@火災のアイスクリーム]

I am totally honest towards ppl and myself as to why I play RPGs too: I love ass

[@mitzypawz6470]

That's why i go to channels like your's when i need to know about a game that I'm really interested in. Because you actually play them from start to finish. It's the "niche" that i'm into. Other "reviewers" just review surface level aspects of the games just to meet their quotas.

[@dumpsterplayer2700]

whats the ggame at 2:51

[@cardboardtubeknight]

I am glad to see someone saying this out loud, the nature of JRPGs being as long as they are means that the review needs to at least put 40 hours into a game to know what is even going on in there. How many games have you personally played that don't really open up for ten hours or more? Playing three hours of those games is criminal if you're going to call them fully reviewed. I think that this goes the other way: we know that when games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Xenoblade Chronicles 3 go to the award shows when no one on the award board even did more than glance at the game's cut scenes and assume everything that they're going off for the review?

[@errimusberrimus383]

I 100% agree with your ending point. To preface, I don't think not finishing a game makes a review invalid. A review is subjective, a recollection of the reviewer's experience and whether they would recommend it to people. That's my interpretation of it anyway. However, being open about your progress gives much needed context to the reader, I feel. I have seen endings that have made me recommend games based on them alone and endings that sour an otherwise excellent experience. Knowing if a review was written with or without that context is important. Though this is not a JRPG at all, there's a review of The Silver Case that sits rent free in my head. The reviewer admits that it isn't for them, and their criticisms are all very valid, but from what they talk about, it sounds like they stopped at the lowest point of the game, probably the worst possible place to stop. I adore the game, and just wish the reviewer would have either played a little more or had been open about what they played. For a game like that, context is incredibly important.

[@B1az1ngSuN]

This is one of your best videos ever man. Love all your content, but I like your deeper thoughts outside of the game itself too, I wouldn't mind more vids like this.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Appreciate that! Thanks for letting me know!

[@roegamania]

The fact is that Video game reviewers are additional marketing for many game companies it ha always been like this.

[@savagej4y241]

Everything in this video is 100% correct and its why I no longer take into consideration reviews of sources that don't have a completion requirement. It used to be back in the print media heyday that some publications like GamePro required completion before a writer published a feature review. Only a few sites like RPGFan carry on this tradition.

[@snipes503]

It brings back to when gravity rush 1 and 2 were being reviewed. I'm glad I relied on my personal opinion of what I was seeing and not the reviewers. If I heard the words "wonky" and "strange" to describe the game again, my eyes might roll out of my head. To this day I don't think some of those people made it more than halfway considering what I know now about the youtube reviewing space.

[@Mundus66]

Elden Ring on PC is only "broken" when You're playing online. In offline mode if you got a decent PC it will run flawlessly. I noticed this when i played the co-op mod (which counts as offline). Which runs perfectly on my PC so i tried it out and the bad frame pacing is only when you're connected to the game server. So maybe reviewers played It in offline mode?

[@MiamiSunrise]

I totally feel this video. The game industry as a whole is plagued by reviews and scores that are not representative of someone's views who played through the experience fully. Time is an issue but we are regularly being lied to despite that. Stating time played with an experience seems like a minimum requirement for a reviewer especially if they have not finished it. There are so many people coughing up BS about JRPG game takes and publishing videos that arent representative of really knowing what theyre talking about. I have a ton more to say on this subject, but good on you for addressing this. Thanks Ren!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for the support Miami, yeah a lot of comments think I’m saying everyone needs to beat the game when I’m just wanting people to be honest with how much their playing the games.

[@KazeShikamaru]

I get what you're saying but if reviewers don't encounter bugs they don't encounter them. Granted I do think games like Redemption Repears got it rough from reviewers both professional and the YouTbue side people legit just didn't know how to play the game.

[@ophidianmind333]

I remember seeing positive review of Redemption Reapers (I wish I could remember the reviewer's name to give credit) that addressed the negative reviews and also made the claim that the negative reviews were from people who didn't understand how to play the game. The reviewer mentioned that the other reviewers were probably trying to play Redemption Reapers as if it were a Fire Emblem game and the types of strategies used in those games don't work in Redemption Reapers because it has different combat dynamics. The reviewer then gave a brief overview on how to play the game successfully and it looked really fun. Thanks to that review, I intend to buy Redemption Reapers in the future.

[@bozodluffy1818]

The persona music in the back with your epic speech was literally like a real life anime moment. This shit hits different brother, keep riding your wave 💯

[@DeanTheLaughingMann]

This is why I defer to checking many places. Not just review sites, but KZbin also offers plenty of differing opinions on JRPGs. In the 90s, before the internet, only Game Informer was my go-to because it was a monthly subscription and seemed usually on the mark. But with the internet, things expanded out tremendously with review sites, publications, even media channels getting into it. We got our pick of the litter, and over time, we realized what constituted reliable reviews and what did not. The last 5+ years have told me easily that now I really need to check many different sources since bias is as obvious as a colorful stain on a white sheet. When it stands out, it stands out for all sorts of reasons but that doesn't make it any less or more pleasant or right to look at. Another thing I want to indicate as well is that when it comes to gaming, it is SATURATED. It is bloated, overgrown, and filled with so many choices out there. If anything, the big titles (AAA releases) should get priority for reviews. Yet when there are times when a series of AAA releases comes out, one or two people can be overwhelmed but not five or six people. Each gets a game assigned, maybe shares with someone else so there's a pair of opinions on it and cuts back on bias (one may be an enthusiast for the genre the game fits in, while the other is not - Sort of a 'first time' approach). But put that time to use. Play through the game as much as you can, as soon as you can. Get your review crafted and done, and then move on to the next project.

[@mrbubbles6468]

The G4 clip about BKO… Never gets old.

[@mustbemcally2536]

Really enjoyed this video and you've made me think about an issue that never really crossed my mind. I like to do short reviews on my Instagram page but I refuse to do a review until the game is completed. Keep up the great content

[@HoodlieRPG]

As much as I understand the tendency for reviewers to not finish a game for business or algorithmic reasons, it really is a shame that makes for less comprehensive coverage. By the time someone could finish a JRPG and have a review ready, the next thing could already be out and hogging more attention than the game you just finished. It's a real struggle in this hustle bustle internet speedway in which we live. Taking your time for something not many people are interested in probably means your thoughts will go under the radar, but there is still value in that kind of review. It's just a shame that kind of work ethic isn't super viable these days. Unless, you know, people spread the word on reviewers that do just that. Neat video, dood.

[@xtzyshuadog]

After watching 5 videos where they all recommended similar JRPGs for the same generic reasons - "IMO the soundtrack of THIS entry is the best in the series" or "the look and feel of this game is my favorite" just to get audiences that have nostalgia for that game to Like the video and agree, and not providing any examples of the soundtrack or visuals being great compared to anything else, pushed me to find reviewers that actually do those things. Some viewers want a compelling reason to play one game over another, and only those who have played through a game instead of 2-3 hours to rush to publish a review will know the details AND can back it up with evidence. Think Persona 4 reviews that praise the final boss soundtrack for being as great as it is, whereas other reviewers may never get to it or bother with the game's themes, just agreeing with everyone else "Uh it changed the genre... somehow"

[@Main_Records]

This topic is why I have hesitated to create my own video games channel. The bigger KZbin Content creators do this so much. They get a code, spend about 3-10 hours in and give a full fledged review. And they sensationalize this review too. Lot of gotcha words, camera pans, and distractive verbal judo. I'd love to have a channel that fully reviews games (like you said) from start to finish. But in an age where everyone "has to have the review TODAY", it's hard to do a video review properly unless you want others to maybe find the review down the line when buying something on a Steam sale for cheap, or wanting to catch up to retro or older RPG's. I respect so many reviewers that go back and review a game that is maybe 5, 10, or even older. For someone like me that might have missed a game or want to buy an RPG but are hesitant, it's nice to go back and find those honest reviews. Thank you so much for this video. And FYI, love all your content. Keep it up.

[@DestroyerOfDoom]

Why don't you cover the topics you want? Do it for fun, you don't need to follow the release schedule

[@DanofWar101]

Shots fired lol! But jokes aside, this is so true! And it's the reason why I don't base my purchases on those reviews because if I did, I would have missed out on some great games and vice versa! Souls Hackers 2 is probably the best example of this situation in recent memory. The reviews weren't glowing but I've completed it and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It's been years since I've followed reviews to make any purchases. I look at trailers and, does it look good? Yes, than I buy it... and I'll judge for myself if it was worth buying it or not! Great video and keep up the good work!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

It's sad but I'm the same way. At the end of the day I've just learned to trust my gut in almost all situations.

[@ljdanas]

Those given codew or invited to events tend to soften their stance.

[@medstudentmama1422]

Softening is understandable, but shouldn't they play the game in it's entirety or at least be honest about how much they actually played?

[@Terrencetheterrible]

Game with 80 hrs of gameplay 90% of it is grinding: Critics: 😡 Japanese game with 80 hrs of gameplay 90% of it is grinding: Critics: 😃

[@geoffreychauvin1474]

I'm honestly surprised more wasn't mentioned on the general just lack of taking games from japan seriously because of the "tropes"

[@sonicmania9993]

Right, those of us who play mostly games from Japan have figured out which reviewers aren't biased against them, may have some cultural context experience from which to base their reviews. Mainstream review sites are weak in this regard, and JP games' metacritic scores suffer accordingly. Niche JP games are hardly covered at all.

[@jettythesunfish]

Well said! Not sure if you're aware, but your complaints made me remember when Dunkey "reviewed" Octopath Traveler....except he apparently dislikes JRPGs and anime, which seemed to affect his opinion of the game. Not to menntion that he barely played through much of the character prologues and decided to misled how enemy encounters worked in order to bash the game even more. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to reviews and indeed, I loathe when content creators and game reviewers try to bamboozle their audience.

[@poleon2003]

Yeah honestly I feel like it's really important to take reviews with a grain of salt sometimes lol I mean like Dunkey is great for a laugh but really shouldn't be taken as gospel sometimes otherwise Super Mario Bros 2 is the best game ever am I right? XD

[@DulyDullahan]

I’m kind of surprised to hear JRPGs have negative connotations but now that I think about it, I have seen a few harshly reviewed games in that genre. Honestly, I kind of look at community reviewers for game content (like game features and overall reactions to it) and content creators for game performances so perhaps my exposure is kind of narrow. I also tend to watch more JRPG content creators because I know they will likely review the game more justly from their years of experience of playing JRPGs.

[@yufeng1707]

Just found this channel through this video and I have to say, I completely agree with everything you said. It's almost as if you're reading my mind and got fed up with it (the JRPG review problem) the same way I am. Having looked through your channel's videos, I saw that the games you cover are very similar to my own tastes in gaming. Happily subbing!

[@amberthehammer6613]

liked and subbed... recently I saw this review video where the reviewer said that if they played more of a game it would probably get a lower score. So they just gave the game a 7 and moved on. I never hit that unsub button so fast...

[@jasonblalock4429]

In fairness to the reviewers, a lot of the time they don't have a choice about it, at least if they work for a larger organization. They have a certain number of reviews they're expected to turn in, and "but this game is 100 hours long" won't change that. Maybe it should, but no one's going to risk their job just to finish a game. Indie reviewers, tho, really don't have an excuse. Also: 1:46 Hey, it's Dusk Diver! Quite the overlooked little indie gem, imo. 🙂

[@Mario123007]

Yeah, and Tbh dusk diver I don't consider it a jrpg, it's more of an action game. But yeah it is a cool indie action game from Taiwan that's base on a real place in Taiwan Taipei.

[@HARBRINGERZERO]

4:08 Damn! Now that’s fishing right there! You make an excellent point in the video but I got distracted by the fish.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Haha 😂 I understand

[@MrValgard]

I'm glad that channels like mortismal gaming with 100% review growing, or bigger like skill up keep being honest (critique ff16 when everyone hype it). I think that there is plenty great ones out there, we just need to be a little picky as viewer, and find them ;)

[@morriganrenfield8240]

As if skillup is the only one who was negative on sixteen..

[@MrValgard]

@@morriganrenfield8240 well in my bubble of rpg-enthusiast yes, any recommendation?

[@christinesinclair6938]

I always thought it weird as JRPGs are one of my favorite genres but reviewers never seemed to like them and also never seemed to get them. I'm referring to old school stuff. TBH, I have a couple reviewers I trust on KZbin so I have-luckily-not run into liars.

[@_JPkun]

JRPGs are not easy to review because they require a lot of time and focus to progress and understand the narrative. Time is anything a reviwer does not have. ALSO they're usually not very good games for chat lives, wich many reviwers do.

[@ceresbane]

This is why I often say "I don't give a shit about your opinions. Tell me the systems, tell me the mechanics and show me the gameplay and show me the balancing and exploits." Failure to mention these things shows a lack of focus on what should be the priority in reviewing a video game. But that example in particular, RPGs. They live and die on the systems they have as you're expected to interact with them far longer than most other game genres. So they need to be addicting and comprehensive.

[@sonicmania9993]

Agree. I find that professional and worthwhile reviews give me lots of information about the game (the 'systems', as you say) -- and whether the reviewer states their 'opinion' & gives the game a 6 or a 9 hardly matters to me. I feel like most reviewers are under the impression that their review score should be a gauge of "how much they like the game", but for me that's not at all the case. Let's say I'm a videogame reviewer. If I hate RDR2, I shouldn't give it a 4/10 review-score, because it's a great game -- it's just not for me. I should explore all the strengths of the game's design in my review, and discuss what aspects of the game will give a lot of players enjoyment. If I love Balan Wonderworld, I shouldn't give it a 9/10 review-score, because it's a flawed and unfinished game -- it just happens to resonate with me personally. I should explore all the problems with the game's design in my review, and discuss what aspects of the game will frustrate most gamers. Very, very few reviewers do that. Very disappointing. The most we can hope for is valid information from reviews, to go along with gameplay videos and word-of-mouth from people whose taste we know -- that's how to decide if a game is worth buying.

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

Loved that your playing Gentle Madman Persona 5 Royal Music

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Happy someone noticed 🙏

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

@@HallowedBeThyGame welcome

[@aclaylambisabirdman6324]

The latest one is people complaining about the side quests in FF XVI clearly didn’t play the game in full, because the later back half has some of the best side quests ever made in an RPG. Of course anyone who didn’t really play it all the way through, doesn’t realize that.

[@leolightfellow]

This video is fantastic! I've been following this stuff for a while too, and even some otherwise rather-likable youtubers have been caught doing this. Most recently, with the Legend of Dragoon port that had a game-progress soft-lock glitch in it upon release, but it's happened with so many others too like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 port, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, etc. It's just gross. I abandoned video game magazines and came to the internet to get away from liars like that. Anyway, subscribed. :)

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for the sub! And dang I hadn’t heard about the Legend of Dragoon port being game breaking. That’s wild and yeah pretty discouraging when someone doesn’t do their due diligence.

[@leolightfellow]

@@HallowedBeThyGame Thankfully, they fixed the Legend of Dragoon one within a few days, but nonetheless there were still some critics that said the port ran flawlessly upon release who clearly didn't play the port before saying that.

[@snazzydrew]

"you want proof, here's baten kaitos origins" lmao bruh wtf morgan web that was insanely brutal and a lot to put on the shoulders of one game. Ironically I would always use Xplay to find good JRPGs... Because often times if they hated it or made fun of the tropes/gameplay, it just meant that it was a kind of game I would like. One reason I love being able to put a face and personality to a review because I can come to understand their individual taste and see if I even play games for same reasom they do.

[@kirindas4691]

Yeah. I generally don't pay attention to publications as much now because it's hard to gauge how much they even enjoy JRPGs. I mostly stick to the opinions of content creators that I've followed a while to see how their interests match with mine and love JRPGs.

[@GalcianBTH]

My favorite one is "Why is this JRPG so Anime like" Yea so stunned that Japanese games are influenced by Japanese media.

[@marestgondev]

I took 93 hours to complete Tales of Arise, exploring all the mechanics I could find in the game and achieving 100% completion on Steam. After finishing it and investing everything I was willing to in order to play it properly and experience its full potential, I fell in love with the game. I was incredibly happy when it won the JRPG Game of the Year award. However, I've seen people reviewing this game who only played the main story for 40 hours and pointed out flaws that I didn't see anywhere. These criticisms were often comparisons with completely different JRPGs. I never base my opinion, and I will never base my opinion, solely on reviewers, except to gather information or consider a different perspective to enrich my own understanding.

[@dark_antihero]

I think its perfectly fine to not finish a jrpg before reviewing it. Most players who enjoy jrpg usually rely on other player's take and their own preference anyway.

[@medstudentmama1422]

I think the point is just that the reviewer should state how much of the game they've played when they put their review out. Honestly, this is protective for them too because what if the end of the game is crap or like Vernal Edge, the second to last boss doesn't work. It'd be important to note that.

[@lutherh6090]

What was the song playing most of the video? And you make a good point!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you and it’s Gentle Madman

[@Zadck1]

Reviews as a concept have a problem. They're just like a long-form reddit rant or tweet. It's one person's (usually emotionally charged) thoughts on something and reviewers are not somehow different from the rest of us. Any review that pretends otherwise is a bad review imo. Nowadays I skip them and just look at gameplay, or watch them as content and not review purposes.

[@RwnEsper]

Hey Ren, hope all is well with you! Been missing the HBTG energy in my feed...

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much for reaching out man! Been doing good but just mega busy with the growing family. Hoping to make a return soon!

[@joshuafisher5447]

What game is being played at 1:11 ?

[@misselthwaitemanor]

I am 100% fine of a review that doesn't finish the game, but they HAVE to disclose how far they played into it and that they didn't finish it. You can absolutely get a decent idea of the overall quality of a game by playing 10-15 hours into it, but like this video said, you may have missed key bugs or game changing moments.

[@dragoneye6229]

Another factor no one considers is the review consumers. A lot of them simply whine about negative reviews and attack people over it instead of accepting their precious game failed to keep the reviewer there for more than 15 minutes. I prefer one of two kinds of reviews. The kind where the review is overly negative with a short play time and the kind where it's got both negative and positive with a long play time or completion. I stopped looking at Steam ratings because of the constant reverse review bombing for positive scores. Like the numerous Skyrim reviews that are just "10/10 would play again.". Or meme quotes left in a positive review. These days it's more safe to watch a let's play. Which is what I did for FF16. Because of what I've seen over 2 hours of gameplay I'll be buying it. The only people who lie as much as or more than reviewers, are the fans.

[@TheSignOfZeta]

I have to agree, especially when it came to the latest Star Ocean game.

[@sonicmania9993]

Great game!

[@EventHorizon_Alex]

I agree that all game reviewers should state how many hours they played into the game or clearly state that they have played it to completion. Video games is the only medium where play and enjoying games is measured in tens, hundreds or even thousands of hours. While a movie is about 2 hours, a song a few minutes or a book maybe about 10 hours. So I completely understand if someone doesn’t have the bandwidth to get through the whole game, but be open about how much time the reviewer has invested so that the audience can judge their review accordingly. And I think that’s where the issue comes in as the reviewer doesn’t want themselves to be judged.

[@medstudentmama1422]

You hit the nail right on the head. People just don't want to be judged for providing a review after investing the bare minimum.

[@kharyrobertson3579]

This is an interesting point of conversation. I think the overall unprofessional nature of game reviews (even from the mainstream media outlets) has lead to loose use of terms that have established meanings. There is obviously a very big difference between game impressions and game reviews, but game reviewers have obfuscated the responsibility of using those terms correctly, so the community has poor understanding of them and what they mean. Anyway, just my two cents.

[@medstudentmama1422]

I'm liking this because I've never seen the word, "obfuscated," in a YT comment before!

[@WorthlessWinner]

This isn't a problem unique to JRPGs. It doesn't matter how long they play the game when the "review" is whatever the publisher pays them to say

[@twynstyck7807]

As a reviewer (written form), I can confirm that this is a problem, deadlines for articles are simply just too tight, and we just have to move on to the next hot thing ASAP. I also have a day job and kids, so even less time to complete massive games. Just, no, not happening. What I do is try to convey in the review what I did see in the game, make remarks on general vibes and mechanics. It's a shitty thing, but I couldn't afford games otherwise. Luckily, I'm at a pretty low stakes venue with not many readers. If 6-12 months later I finish one of the JRPGs I half-assed, I might do a re-review if I'm seeing interesting layers in the endgame, but otherwise... pff, yeah.

[@Jack-nj9pi]

Thanklkkkk you ive said this time and time again about chained echoes and it stays on a pedestal. That games bugs are wild and afyer playing 12ish hours and losing my save cause of a bug is no bueno. I tend to stick to smaller review channels specifically cause they put more time into their reviews. Whether the video is short or long i dont mind as long asnthey describe alot so we can decide if it worth a proper purchase or pick up another title

[@RandomYTubeuser]

What's the name of the soundtrack used?

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Gentle madman

[@doublinx2]

Do you have a list of the games you have as B-roll here? They have piqued my interest

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I don’t have a typed list but if you give me time stamps I’ll gladly let you know

[@Hugsloth]

I am reminded of when FFXIV 1.0 added an ingame time total to everyone's profiles, and the person who was drawing the FFXIV manga had played the game for an hour or two and that was it.

[@Paddyosmiley]

This is spot on. I feel like big review outlets also used to be much more critical. Now almost everything gets at least a 7 out of 10 and performance is rarely talked about. Side note what game is at 4:15?

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks! That's Nights of Azure 2

[@GamingWithSpoons]

100% agreed this is also why I don't review games early anymore.

[@pian-0g445]

Not saying that earlier reviews aren’t good quality, but I respect those that choose to wait till they’ve played a lot of the game to make a review (obviously taking into account for early review copies). Cause, it’s kinda like finding a meta in something, it develops and changes, and so does a person’s feeling on a game. I’ve seen plenty of reviews that really enjoy the first half then don’t like the second or the inverse. Or maybe, they found something they missed early on and enjoy it way more etc.

[@CrashtoHedgehog]

I remember a big stink being made about MMO reviewers doing this a few years ago, with it ultimately being written off as "not being fair to the reviewers" I really hope the same doesn't happen here, many of my favorite games in the genre shine their best in their final act. NEO TWEWY, looking at you.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Good point about mmo’s. I had forgotten about that

[@elnkr2603]

What are the games appearing in this video?

[@jesusguitarlord]

I know this is unrelated to the video but what's the name of the game that appears at 4:14? Great btw by the way! You've earned a new subscriber

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much! It's Nights of Azure 2

[@masterchief7852]

I get why you used Young Defiant's FF16 thumbnail, but he is actually a massive fan and supporter of JRPG's. He and a lot of others in the community, aren't happy that a lot of modern JRPG's, have abandoned their turn-based combat roots. Final Fantasy, is by far the biggest offender in this regard and many of us have no interest paying $70 for another JRPG with generic hack-and-slash combat.

[@arikari3672]

Since Harvestella was trashed to no end, a game that certainly has issues, but a game that i love deeply, i take reviews with a grain of salt and only of certain reviewers just to see mechanics and a bit of overview. But it's an issue, review bombing of people that didn't even play the game just to trash something is awful.

[@vglegends9004]

I agree. It only takes one negative video to influence to masses to misinterpret an actual review, or potential of a video game.

[@ltb1345]

Agreed, if someone really wants to review a game they haven't beat yet, they should put "first impressions" in the title.

[@cathallynch1]

I agree with your core point but most JRPGs could do with quite a few hours being trimmed off them also.

[@Vkdennis87]

Dude. Reviewers haven't been finishing the games since the beginning of game review. Yahtzee Croshaw has made a career out of it.

[@grim_knight97]

What game is in 4:15?

[@viddysgamingviddyos4710]

Sigh, that'd be the way with RPGs and open-world games. Takes a long time, sidequests or no, to get to the end credits before reviewing the whole thing. Heck, it took me many weeks to complete Persona 5 before I, ahem, reviewed it. Good to address this review issue.

[@JordanOfGaia]

This video was something I had just been thinking about! You have great thoughts. I hope one day to make videos to really paint my beloved JRPGS in a positive light. This video was great. Also your music taste is impeccable. Having finished persona 5 royal just 2 days ago the gentle madman is such an emotional piece. great choice.