VGC: White Knight Chronicles Review

VGChartz writes: "White Knight Chronicles seems like a really cool idea. Combining MMORPG style gameplay with a JRPG could help to keep people engaged in a game that would otherwise be a one-shot deal. Sadly, this focus seems to have a detrimental effect on the game in general and has made the gameplay go at a snail's pace. The single player is too short, and the item management is annoying. It isn't without its good sides, since the online questing aspects and the ability to visit other people's hometowns can be a lot of fun, and I love having large areas that I'm free to explore in the singleplayer campaign, but overall this is a decidedly below average JRPG."

[Blaster_Master]

"Graphically White Knight Chronicles is pretty average from a technical standpoint"

read the whole review twice, and the only conclusion that i can come up with is that either this guy doesn't like rpgs, or he's a total fanboy. Judging from the quote I just posted up with this comment, Id say he's a freakin fanboy. Everything in the review is complete bullcrap. He's lying. The game looks gorgeous, even up close. I take pictures in the game of everything. So much detail. Then he says the single player is only 23n hours long and its too short. LOL! All I gotta say is wow. This review is exactly whats wrong with the gaming media.

[Myst]

I will never get how 20~30 hours for an JRPG is short. In a way that's slightly average to above average from what I've gathered from playing previous ones. The graphics are indeed a bit nice, though I think the sentence you have quoted may be from the author trying to compare it to another game(s) though they chose not to mention.

The best scenes are in the high-detail cutscenes ( don't know the name of them ), but honestly those show the most work and promise. An example of these is where you going to greede, I would say another one, but that would be spoiler territory.

[Homicide]

I always thought 40 hours was average for an JRPG. Most of them I've played last that long, or even more (just look at my avatar).

He is a JRPG fan. Here's his profile with all the reviews he has done. He loved Persona 4, Valkyria Chronicles, Devil Summoner 2, Little King's Story, etc.

http://vgchartz.com/profile...

But yeah, I also thought the game looked nice, especially the water.

[TheGameLlama]

The graphics are about as good as FFXII... a PS2 game. I know this game has been out for over a year in Japan, but you gotta get with the current gen, Level 5. Come on, I was expecting such good things.

[BeaArthur]

Blaster_Master...wow man, you are a total fanboy. So much so that you can't even objectively evaluate the game. Now I will admit that I have not payed this game but I have seen nothing to make me think that this is in anyway a good looking game. The in game graphics look like a decent PS2 game. You actually went as far as to call the guy a liar because he can see what everyone else but you sees. Try and relax before you have a heart attack.

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

Then play it and eat your words. Aside from some screen-tearing the game looks good. The draw-distance it's insane, the water effects are really nice and the environments are huge.

This is no Uncharted 2 but the game looks really nice.

[bmw69]

to be fair, the graphics aren't all that. Doesn't really look much better than FFXII on PS2 in my opinion

[ThanatosDMC]

The trailer a year or two ago was great but somehow it missed the mark when the game finally came out. It was suppose to be an extremely smooth transition between gameplay and in-game cinematics and the combat wasnt as lame.

Just because it's an exclusive doesnt mean it's great. I'll wait for FFv13 and hopefully it delivers. Oh yeah, SO4I coming out soon on the PS3!

[BeaArthur]

Bodyboarder_VGamer...don't need to eat my words because I have seen multiple reviews that say this game looks like a PS2 game. Now I am usually one to make up my own mind but since I have no intention on playing this game (since it has been thrashed by reviewers) I will go ahead and take their word for it. But by all means, keep enjoying it.

[Blaster_Master]

Agreed. 23 hours plus unlimited mmo online with no subscription fees gives us unlimited amount of WKC to play. This author fails to explain that of course. Also, the game is gorgeous, and most cut scenes use the games engine which means "technically" its a huge achievement considering how huge this game is.

Plain and simple the game is freakin epic! The best mixture of leveling up, story, and online seen in any genre of game. Anyone who passes on this but loves rpgs are doing themselves a terrible injustice. Dragon Warrior 4 and FFX were my favorite rpg's till this game came out. Thank you so much Level 5 for not turning corporate and westernizing your games to suit little kids that wouldn't buy it anyways because they are too busy wasting their life on COD. Thank you.

Edit: He loved Persona 4, Valkyria Chronicles, Devil Summoner 2, Little King's Story, etc.

LOL. Those are games who's standards haven't even hit the NES and SNES days of rpgs when it comes to quality. Wanna know what are good rpgs? Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, FF4, Dragon Warrior 4, Skies of Arcadia, and Mario RPG. Every game that matters is on my list. I could definitely see why this dude thinks WKC sucks. He just started playing rpgs 4 years after the ps2 has been out.

Oh and btw, Valkyria Chronicles was good, but I wouldnt even consider that an rpg. It was more of a strategy game then anything. So much for his jrpg background and its legitimacy.

[Homicide]

Valkyria Chronicles, Little Kings Story and Demon's Souls (which he also liked) came out this generation. Persona 4 and Devil Summoner 2 came out in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Even though they were for the PS2, they came out a few years in the seventh generation.

Many reviewers are calling this game average or mediocre, which it is. It has a boring/whored-out story, lifeless characters, slow and easy combat that been be beaten by using slash.

[Torillian]

If your list was complete it would include Earthbound, one of my first and favorite RPG's from when I started playing them. Of course if you want you can assume I just started playing them based on when I started reviewing them, but that seems rather asinine logic don't you think? Obviously I probably played games long before I started writing down my thoughts on them.

[senseinobaka]

Blaster Master... great name BTW.

You are being unfair here. You admit that WKC has become one of your favirote games. Knowing that about yourself you should realize that you may not be the most objective person here. His analysis of the graphics is fair compared to other offerings the PS3 has, and the mention of the length is also compared fairly to other JRPGS.

Also, elitist rhetoric that only kids play COD and the writer doesnt know anything about old school rpgs is unfounded, and it also makes you sound like a "fanboy".

[Myst]

As much as I would like to applaud you for at least sticking up for a game that I have thoroughly enjoyed you are starting to show a lack of thinking in your writing.

I was going to pick apart the paragraphs you have presented, but this by far stuck out to me the most: "Every game that matters is on my list." So are you insinuating that all other games that aren't on your list (but may be on mine.) do not count? If that is the case then most reviews would be null to you and quite a few games that others might play in the RPG -- JRPG field would not tickle your fancy.

Again I will reiterate my first paragraph I would applaud you for sticking up for the game, but you have to admit the game is far from perfection, but not as far from a rating of at least 8.0 maybe even 8.5. Level 5 have done something awesome with the game in scope of the online, Georama and GeoNet as a whole; but with every positive their is also a negative some of them are quite heavy (for some) and some are just small nuisances. One of which the authors mentioned is lip syncing. While I was playing the characters mouth didn't move while the character continued to "talk."

I must also add this is 2010, the game came out near the end of 2008 so obviously we ( as gamers and those who review ) are going to rate it amongst other games visual appeal. Whether or not some of us reading the reviews can agree upon it or not it is still that person's opinion on the matter.

[FrankWest]

Expected it since that RPGFan import review, doesn't surprise me at all

[naznatips]

I'm pretty disappointed with this. I was really looking forward to it. :(

[senseinobaka]

Yea same here. A Level 5 dev'd RPG was one of the reasons I wanted a PS3 to begin with. I'll probably still check it out.

[Myst]

Rent it for a weekend it's at least worth that much though quite a lot more by my own personal opinion. I mean if you want to only play online that's possible, as long as you beat the first "section" of the game which is leaving the main town you start in. Or if you just want to do the story you can do that to, but if you want to check out Georama I'd suggest earning quite a sum of cash before embarking on that; as well as some materials.

[HOSe]

you guys talking about graphics are fan boys, idk about the final version, but the e3 demo from 09 like a pretty solid jrpg mmo style game which has gotten pretty lame reviews
that had good graphics lawl the graphics . its a niche game, and i bet the online is one of the best online systems outside of demons souls (and i guess modern warfare 2, but thats another story).

[Braineater2448]

Good review. May not be the score the fanboys wanted, but a good review anyway.

[Raoh]

so far i'm enjoying the game. creating your own town is fun and interesting. getting online works simple enough, partnered with 3 people twice for two quests. so is setting up your characters/party the way you like, just like other jrpg's.

all in all, its a better looking jrpg compared to the ps2 era. this isnt final fantasy, mass effect, oblivion, demon'souls here.

its a jrpg. if you like controlling your own party, traveling to towns, going into peoples homes and rummaging through their belogings for health potions and killing wild life on your way to and from quests then this game just might be for you..

i'm not sure what people were expecting with WKC but it seems to me like an offline copy of Final Fantasy XI with some online play if you choose. which is exactly what i got. sure the story could be better. better graphics? sure why not, try better next time...

but as far as jrpg's go.. its just liken any jrpg with a few new things.. i'm very happy with it.

any one who claims to be an rpg especially a jrpg gamer should know that jrpg's especially in the u.s. get generally poor reviews. you have to try them for yourself to really decide.

it will be probably be a better value if you buy it when the price drops. the game is not as bad as people say it is, im starting to wonder if some of the reviewers are jrpg gamers or if they played a few final fantasy games and mass effect and dragons age and feel they can truly judge these games.

here is my problem. it's not the scores like 7 that are given to it. 7 means good game, worth the play time. but the reviews read like the game should have gotten a 4. once you read the reviews and play the game, you can tell people did not really play the game or even understand or like jrpg's.

[Raoh]

oh and my personal score for WKC is 7.5/10

i could give it a 7 or an 8 as i progress further but a 7.5 feels like a good deserving score.

[hatchimatchi]

I don't care what the scores are.

I'm having more fun with WKC than I have had with any other rpg this gen.

When I buy jrpgs I want stereotypical turn based grind fest games. I liked it back on the NES and I still like that gameplay style today.

I can understand why some people may not like WKC but it doesn't deserve scores this low.

[njguy2]

Eh...a review is a review is a review.

[foxxy]

Final Fantasy 12

[Lirky]

it did the same thing in ffxii but it got 9.5/10 and it was offline mmorpg ish. But just the name alone final fantasy probably upped the score.

[Figboy]

i finally got a chance to sit down and play some of the online with two friends, and it was great.

i don't know why a game just can't be FUN anymore.

reviewers are looking for too much, and are impressed by too little.

visually, WKC has excellent backgrounds. the creature designs and character models are decent. it's very stylized anime.

they like to criticize the game play, when it's no different than some of the MMO's that they praise to no end like WoW and Guild Wars.

as for the cliched story? it most certainly is cliched, but as i've been delving deeper into the game (i'm about 21+ hours into it now), i find it quirky and silly like a lot of popular animes. the game doesn't take itself seriously at any point.

on the flip side, games like Final Fantasy XII and XIII, and Mass Effect 1 and 2, are trying to be a lot more deep and meaningful than WKC.

it's a love it or hate it game like Demon's Souls and MAG. some people will dig it's game play, some people won't. just like EVERY SINGLE OTHER GAME out there.

for example, i don't like Call of Duty 4 or Modern Warfare 2. i can't stand those games. i don't think they're fun, clever, or enjoyable to me in any way.

does that mean that they are terrible games? NO. they just aren't for me.

obviously, the people reviewing WKC just don't dig it. doesn't mean it's a terrible game.

i wonder how many of them have WoW accounts...

[Blaster_Master]

How am I a fanboy? You guys are just insane. The game is awesome. I haven't even messed around with the geo ramma, whatever that thing is called. Actually let me take that back. I guess I am being a fanboy of a new IP that only played for about 6 hours and totally wiped away all the skepticism I had before it came out. I seriously was gonna give up on having that killer, old school rpg on my ps3. And yes, my list is what matters. Everything I mentioned is what gave rpgs its spot in the market.

To the author trying to stick up for his review. Its pure crap. You talk about earthbound, that game was good, but pales in comparison the the old NES classics. I see that people named games you supposedly liked, Im gonna be straight up with you. Your lame, and im sure you can find better things to do then to hate and lie about a great game that deserves someone with an actual passion for the genre to judge it. I would love to smack the crap out of all of you dull forms of life.

[SiteNblog Defender]

Beware of the internet tough guy.

[DelbertGrady]

You are the first to post in EVERY M.A.G. or WKC review and always write the same thing, that the game is the best ever and that the reviewer is an idiot for not agreeing with you.

[Jamescagney]

Lol@Blaster_Master. You're so tough, please stop it you're scaring us.

Anyway, WKC eh? Not very good is it?

[JokesOnYou]

"How am I a fanboy?"

-lol, Are you serious, lets see, hmmm...where do I begin?

I would point out that your assumption that everybody who does not like this game is some childish COD fan is nothing more than typical fanboy rhetoric.

I would point out that accusing every one of being "insane" just because they dont agree that "the game is awesome" is typical behavior of a fanboy.

I would point out that calling the author a liar with no creditable proof of a lie is very fanboyish.

I would point out that your whole attitude/response to the author's review with your all too common "I know best" or the ever popular "I dont like this review, so I instantly call it crap" is again more typical fanboy behavior.

I would point out that your failure to grasp the concept that reviews are no more than a "point of view" and thus may or may not conform to what the mass public likes or dislikes, and thus this reviewer clearly just didnt enjoy the game as much as **YOU** did and the fact that you can not respect his review while maturely telling us why you disagree with the merits/content of the review is very, very, very much typical of a fanboy.

I would point out all these things and more to say you are a fanboy, but the saddest part of all this is that you cant even see it for yourself, you lack any objectivity, hopefully your misguided passion begins and ends with videogames, your type of "passion" would be very dangerous in so many other lines of work.

JOY

[Solbadguy]

the single player campaign but the 4 player co-op is a blast to play. Its a mixture of Monster Hunter, FFXI, FFXII, and Phantasy Star Online. I've played more WKC than I have Mass Effect 2 thanks to the online component. Mass Effect 2 is still the better game though.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

Get this game...Truth is Most people don't like them anymore...so dont trust these reviews..ITs not the best rpg its solid and fun

[kewlkat007]

I picked up that game for $20 bucks not too long ago....

Too many games to give this top priority. Gonna wait on MA2 a little bit and plat that while I play FFXIII. Picking up Dante.

[Kratos215]

I think the west really hates JRPG'S but this game is easily a 8.0 to 8.5. I think it has some flaws it could fix but it's very fun.