Zero Punctuation: The World Ends With You

Daymo

And how much is this Pub Club?
May 18, 2008
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The second i saw you were reviewing this game i knew you were going to criticise the combat.
 

DantehMan

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Feb 16, 2008
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You can't not a love a nice obscure British joke!

Good work Yahtzee! and like everyone else who has posted,,,, well the odd few that arnt rambling on about JRPGS,,, Happy Birtday! Its nice to get the odd day off ^_^
 

Odjin

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Nov 14, 2007
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Shining Blaze said:
As much as I disagree with the hate of JRPGs and so on, I find that this review was great. Of course Yahtzee has many valid points, though I wonder if he looked at Another Day. It practically makes fun of itself right there, since the whole chapter is a huge satire. In any case, I looked at the review merely for Entertainment purposes, since I've already beaten it and developed my own opinions. Still...I find it odd that every time I think of a good game for Yahtzee to review, I doubt it initially, then, next thing I know, it's the latest review (see No More Heroes). I doubted that TWEWY would be reviewed because it was a JRPG, but I was wrong again. Next thing you know, he'll review something like Phoenix Wright just for kicks...I wish...

In a more positive note, Happy Birthday fellow Fedora-wearing comrade! If I knew you better, I'd actually send you the latest Fedora I picked up while I was at New York City.
Nothing wrong with PW. At last they did something differently and they did it well. One of the few Japanese originated games that I can recommend despite the few issues ( like logic-holes and the useless life bar ). Although I would like to see how he thinks about this game especially since it's not a JRPG ( as it is more sort of an Adventure not an RPG ).
 

Justin Hayabusa

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May 29, 2008
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miller483 said:
I find these topics funny. Had Yahtzee said, "I think TWEWY is a solid RPG. Everyone with a DS should pick it up." or something to that extent, everyone would agree.

Gotta love Yahtzee fanboys.
^^^ This. If everyone would stop for one second and think for just a moment, you'd probably remember that about 95% of american RPGs don't let you contribute to the story either. In fact, nearly every game in every genre has you hobbling over from point A to B while your chiseled, square jawed space marine or equivalent shoots cookie cutter enemies only to have a few words of pre-determined dialogue, only to end up at the same final destination no matter what you've done prior to the endgame. Pick your genre, it's still true. If it takes a JRPG to make this obvious to most gamers, then surely you've been playing with your hands over your ears. Or not recognizing that Yahtzee's reviews also double-up as good trolling and everyone rushing to S his D is just plain lulzy.

Haw hee haw hee haw.

Egoraptor said:
I've just discovered Zero Punctuation.

You are very intelligent, Yahtzee. The metaphors, parallels, and jokes you make are all very funny. The problem is I have no time to laugh. What's the point of comedy if I can't enjoy it and laugh at it? I don't think this pacing does anything for your content. Oftentimes I'll miss really good, complex lines or jokes because it went by at the speed of light. I know it's your gimmick but it's still just a gimmick and honestly I think it's numbing your creativity.
And if you are THE Egoraptor, this is sheer wankery. Did you forget about Metal Gear Awesome 1's pacing or were you too busy counting bills from 2's t-shirt sales?

(protip: don't get mad, because I love your shit and bought a shirt)
 

darthur

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May 9, 2008
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Okay, the majority of people here ragging on JRPGs have little enough idea what they are talking about. How do I know? Well one big clue is most of them start by saying they have never heard of TWEWY. In particular, people saying JRPGs are all the same have probably played little enough outside of FF, and saying all JPRGs are similar because all FFs are similar is like saying all American games are similar because all GTAs are similar. In truth, there is basically nothing in common between, say, Final Fantasy and Super Paper Mario or Earthbound.

Some random comments:
- Stories are all the same? Even bringing this up will surely make me sound super-uncool, but I would argue the main plot of even "kiddy" JRPGs like the Kingdom Hearts series (mainly KH2 and KH:CoM) are more original and more interesting than the vast majority of American RPG plots, certainly including every BioWare game I've ever played (basically everything before Mass Effect).
- Can't control the personality of your main character? True, but this drawback also allows for much more cohesive and personalized storytelling. Besides, the American answer of choosing between good vs evil has now become as repetitive and as gimmicky as anything in the Japanese market. Especially since it likely causes you to forget about character altogether and just "role-play" one decision at a time so as to optimize equipment.
- A lot of stock characters? To some extent, yes. But mainly, this is a problem with people only playing FFs where all characters are made by one guy, and he has trouble coming up with original ideas each game. And, uh, this isn't exactly unique to JRPGs. Or have you never met the evil wizard from American fantasy games?
- Most JRPGs involve saving the world? Well yeah. See also: RPGs from any culture, and indeed, most video games from anywhere.
- Linear? Yep. This is a personal preference - maybe it bothers you, maybe it doesn't. In general, non-linear equates to two things: the good path or the evil path gimmick, or the you can do things in different orders idea. The first is a gimmick, the second can be done badly as often as it can be done well, and in particular, it can lead to not having a cohesive purpose in the story - i.e., just explore until you win the game. There's also non-linear in the sense of optional content of course, but JRPGs have never shied away from that.
- Too many cutscenes? Well there are a lot usually. JRPGs have movie elements. No denying that. But the cutscenes are almost always well done and are usually skippable (helpful after deaths or on second playthroughs), so this is not a bad thing for a lot of people. If you want to be shooting off heads 95% of the time, yes, you picked the wrong game. But it's not like cutscenes should prevent most people from enjoying themselves except in extreme cases.
- Turn-based combat? Usually. Extra level-grinding required? Often not - all that is required is to (a) not run from fights, (b) not skip through areas quickly, and (c) learn how to use your abilities. If you want 100% completion, well then all bets are off, but meh. There certainly are action JRPGs out there too. See for example, Super Paper Mario, Kingdom Hearts, or Okami among recent games.
- Bad translations? Eh, when's the last time you've really played a JRPG? Translations have been fine since the Final Fantasy 3/6 days.

Not that I think anyone really cares. Shrug.

PS: The review was funny as it always is.
 

Psychedeliasmith

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Jan 1, 2008
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I got the pink clue - where's the helicopter?

Still can't decide if I want this game, it looked interesting and I don't mind a fair bit of grinding but that bit about the maths/shop really set my teeth on edge.

Also, what's with this ghastly 'OMG you sad fanboy' response to anyone who likes anything that's popular? Is sneering so important? When you die, nobody goes 'Well done! You made cheerful people feel like idiots and didn't enjoy yourself at all, here's an award.' Miserable bunch of nipples.
 

Malmer

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Apr 23, 2008
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I'm currently kicking myself throught a couple of non-jrpg (non-gay) RPG's, Kotor 1 and Kotor 2.
Being a couple of hours into the second now, I'm beginning to wonder why I started in the first place, because it sure does feel like a chore...
Oh yes, because it's made by the same guys who made the only RPG's I ever enjoyed, Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.
That, and it's games that "everybody" must have played.
And it's Star Wars.

I won't get tricked into RPGs as easily next time =(
 

thetragicclown

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May 29, 2008
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Now this is freaky. Having played TWEWY near-relentlessly, I jokingly asked myself only the other week "I wonder what Yahtzee would say if he reviewed this? Ha! Like that will ever happen. We all know he hates JRPGs with the burning fury of a thousand suns."

Then lo and behold...

I enjoyed the game and am currently working to get all the little secrets, tidbits and other unlockables; something I could never be arsed to do that in any other JRPG. I found TWEWY a nice variation on the standard JRPG formula, and the game even has moments where it makes fun of the genre's cliches ("Squall syndrome", I'm looking at you).

I also immensely enjoyed this review because it was highly entertaining, Yahtzee made valid points about the game, and I'm not a drooling Nintendo fanboy with a Game & Watch lodged in their cerebellum.
 

BrunDeign

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Feb 14, 2008
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You know what he should start reviewing? Games made by indie developers. Some of the ones that will be coming with WiiWare look incredibly intuitive. Genious even.
 

GokoWildheart

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Apr 24, 2008
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Great review yahtzee and i have to agree aobut the lack of some freedom and why do most if not all jrpg games do that. You know the answer so why do you ahve to go to a npc to be told it -_- .

Keep them coming it's one of the few things that brighten up a wednesday ^^
 

Gregorius

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May 28, 2008
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KBKarma said:
Gregorius said:
[lots and lots of text]
...

Yes, the AI sucks ass. No, the Fusion is not, necessarily, useless, since it will also heal you a bit, thus resulting in one hell of a last-minute save. Didn't know it did less damage than pins, though. Point is, though, it overcomes an enemy's resistance to either melee or ranged combat, and does the damage directly. It's also not affected by trends, so that's cool too.
Whoa, someone actually read my huge paragraph-shaped rant on the game? I applaud you, KBKarma!

Yeah, I noticed the healing function of Fusion, too, but it only heals you... what, 100 HP? One of those Cure Drinks has the same effect, essentially. If it weren't for the fact that I was unable to achieve a hyper-REM state whilst playing, I'd've actually liked the Fusion system; it had some good things going for it. I found it pretty shameful when my Onikiri pin did 600+ damage to anything before rebooting.
On that note, the fashion system was pretty amazing, although I kind of broke it when Neku was wearing all Jupiter of the Monkey clothes and pins and I ended up raping every kind of Noise after a few battles, wherein by that time, JotM would be the most popular brand in that area-- nay, all of Shibuya. But by that time, I neglected almost every other pin except the few I started with, and it was bloody annoying when I was trying to kill that one Pig Noise in Molco with ONLY Pyrokinesis... why do they make you do that? How do we, as a Player, profit from that?!

Ahem... but enough ranting on that note. Once again, applause for KBKarma! YAY!
 

Parsec

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May 28, 2008
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Psychedeliasmith said:
I got the pink clue - where's the helicopter?

Still can't decide if I want this game, it looked interesting and I don't mind a fair bit of grinding but that bit about the maths/shop really set my teeth on edge.

Also, what's with this ghastly 'OMG you sad fanboy' response to anyone who likes anything that's popular? Is sneering so important? When you die, nobody goes 'Well done! You made cheerful people feel like idiots and didn't enjoy yourself at all, here's an award.' Miserable bunch of nipples.
Grinding isn't required at all, really. You can change the difficulty at any time (it only affects exp gained and drop rates), and on easy and normal you can put up a good fight at any level. I beat the game at 73 because I loved the fighting, but I had two friends do it at 36. Grinding is only necessary for optional bosses and ultimate difficulty.

And while putting up the wall was a bit annoying, it was a perfect opportunity for your partner to be a know-it-all asshat, so it didn't bother me.

EDIT: Oh, and you people are completely missing out if you ignore fusions. Shiki's level 3 isn't anything special, (fun to watch, though), but Beat's does a good amount of damage and Josh's "Jesus Meteor" will destroy all non-bosses in one hit. If you think the healing is low, up your sync rate by eating stuff. A level 3 will heal me for 100% of my health no matter who uses it, and I have something like 8500 HP.

Gregorius said:
I neglected almost every other pin except the few I started with, and it was bloody annoying when I was trying to kill that one Pig Noise in Molco with ONLY Pyrokinesis... why do they make you do that? How do we, as a Player, profit from that?!
Wait till you get pin sets before you start talking about neglected pins. Once you get the Darklit Planet set it's all over. Oh and as for the pigs, some of them will have you pulling your hair out. Just wait till they fight back! :D
 

The Bandit

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Feb 5, 2008
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Alexsutton said:
I wouldn't call 'Challenge Anneka' an obscure reference, well maybe for Americans but the world doesn't revolve around the US!
That could be what he meant by "obscure British reference." But, who knows?
 

Dectilon

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Sep 20, 2007
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If someone actually made a jrpg with the same ditsy girls and Captain Obvious men but let you have the protagonist be a manipulative, evil bastard for once I'd play it ;)
 

this_was_a_mistake

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May 22, 2008
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great review, but i think it would be funnier if you review more games that's actually bad, just for our amusement. i suggest haze.

happy birthday yahtzee :D