Lunar Threads

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3144082&did=1

I'm new to the Lunar series, and I only have enough money to buy either this game, or Castlevania which comes out next week. I was at first leaning towards buying this, but the reviews for it seem to be lukewarm at best while Castlevania is being hailed as the best in the series and perhaps even the best game on the DS.

What would you honestly suggest?

You need to remember that everyone has their own opinion and tastes, on what they like. What is more important to you, a deeply involved action game, or a deeply enriching role playing game? Since you're new to the series, you're not going to be chomping at the bit, for a continuation of a series we've been waiting a long time for. It all comes down to what you're more eager to experience. I haven't played either as of yet, so I can't really sell you on what makes one better over the other, because they're completely different. I am going to buy Lunar, and decide down the line if I want to buy Dawn of Sorrow. The choice is yours.

Thank you; I'll probably wait for some more reviews all around and decide based on that. I like action games and RPGs equally, so I'm just after whatever will provide more entertainment.

the score itself is useless. read the entire review first

lunar legend got like a 7 and i loved that game...

Yeah, some of the reviews complained about the older style graphics and the dual mode battle system. The former doesn't really bother me that much.

That being said, I have been hearing really fantastic things about Castlevania DS.

I don't understand how they can give it a 6.5, and yet, still claim it is above average. This is like the only game EVER that has truely confused me with the way the review for it was written.

Regardless, the reviewer didn't seem to hate the game. He just seemed irked about a lot of seemingly pointless or annoying "features" the game had. I'm still 50% on this one, as the reviews don't look overly convincing just yet.

What's so confusing about a 6.5 being above average? Not every reviewer inflates their scores. I still get amused by how folks think I gave Lunar: Genesis a bad review since I gave it a 75%, despite the fact that I've repeatedly said how much I like the game, I've constantly been recommending Lunar: DS, and there's a sprite of Jean right beside the number saying "Pretty Good!"

I'm thinking none of my future scores will involve numbers. It gives a disincentive to read the review itself. KF

That was actually an idea I had. To just ditch scores completely from reviews... but well, we don't exactly have a bunch of reviews up currently anyways, so eh.

I think the reason people are used to 6/10 being bad and 7/10 being just average is because if you got by the typical education grading scale 60% is JUST passing whereas 70% is average. Ill be honest kiz, i read your review and looked at the score...and your score makes it seem pretty average based on those standards, even though you constantly say you enjoyed the game.

*double takes* Dude, it's Rick!

Kizyr wrote:What's so confusing about a 6.5 being above average? Not every reviewer inflates their scores.

I disagree with the term "inflation".

Say that a string of very awesome games are released, each one of them worthy of a 9 or more. Say that a game that's only so-so is subsequently released, earning a 7. Gamers are going to set the latter game against the standards set by the previous games.

If there's a lot of good stuff that's out there, and right now there IS, the "average" game will actually be well over 5 on the rating scale. A game set against the same scale as these games earning a 6.5 is not in any way above average. It might be a decent game, but against such competition, that doesn't mean it's above average.

The term "average" is not static - it's impossible to pin down and therefore shouldn't be attached to any rating scale. Accusing reviewers of inflation when they give games that are only "above average" relatively high scores isn't fair.

I have a feeling there's a lot more shovelware out there than you realize...it just doesn't get the same attention because it IS shovelware and/or is in genres you don't usually look at.

And 5 being average is on the average of the scale, not the things measured by the scale. If there are a lot of games that are above-average, then that's great...it doesn't make the games less good for the top being crowded. Games should be judged on their own merits rather than comparatively; the only time that's relevant is when you need to decide which to get and even then it's more a matter of what suits your particular taste more. I don't have any interest in Castlevania, so a comparison between Dawn of Sorrow and Dragon Song is totally meaningless to me.

Incidentally, based on the Japanese game I pretty much agree with this review, although I'd like to mention that there are frequent statues for recovery in the beginning, so the HP loss from running isn't that bad even then. Oh, and I haven't experienced this speeding up of battle animation he mentions, so maybe that's a US addition.

Alunissage wrote:Incidentally, based on the Japanese game I pretty much agree with this review, although I'd like to mention that there are frequent statues for recovery in the beginning, so the HP loss from running isn't that bad even then. Oh, and I haven't experienced this speeding up of battle animation he mentions, so maybe that's a US addition.

I just checked; it's not in the Japanese version. That is a welcome addition.

I finished reading the review, and it sounded pretty favorable to me. A nice traditional RPG with nice characters, nice story, and nice art. I'd wanna check that out (if I hadn't already). In fact, I got to the bottom and the score seemed at odds with what the reviewer had written.

1up staff has been encouraged to deflate their scores the past year or so by their head editor folks. It's their way of "using the entire scale", but the way I see it is if reviewers have to put disclaimers in their blogs every time they link to their reviews, there's probably a problem in how the scoring is done. With almost every review, I see the reviewer's blog say "Now keep in mind that the score ____." Maybe the problem is the scoring; maybe it's with the majority of their audience obsessing over scores, but it's a problem nonetheless.