I know everyone will say KotoR, and it may be the better game, but I would like to stand up for Jade Empire. I'm not a Star Wars fan, so I'm probably biased, but I think JE kinda gets lost in the shuffle because it always gets compared to KotoR. But it has a lot going for it- the combat mechanics are over-simplified but the system itself is intriguing and works very well, the story is pretty good, and the game is genuinely fun. The loading times are absolutely atrocious, but besides that, I was never bored and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I've no doubt KotoR is superior in a variety of ways, but I just don't want to see JE get dumped on. It was a great game, IMO.

As a general rule of thumb - and I know this is out-dated advice now, but whatever - stick to first-party memory cards at all times. Otherwise, you WILL learn your lesson the hard way.

But that totally sucks about your save file. I've had it happen to me before (not with FF XII, but still), and you get this completely helpless feeling. :(

[QUOTE="fathoms_basic"]

I'm just going by personal experience. There are many people - especially in the GameSpot forums - who harbor inaccurate assumptions about Japanese games. Many believe ALL Japanese titles are exactly the way you describe certain "sugary" ones here. They have difficulty comprehending that the same country can produce something like Chulip and Katamari Damacy and at the same time provide Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, and Resident Evil.

I'm sure Japanese gamers may have similar misconceptions about Western titles, but from everything I've seen in the gaming community over the past decade or so, it seems that Western gamers are more hellbent on being negative about Japanese games, while Japanese gamers are more hellbent on supporting their own products. One is negative and one is positive. That's just how I see things.

Ghost_Face

I definitely don't believe that many on the GS forums believe all Japanese titles are sugary. I'm almost certain that the overall majority of forumites here know that Konami and Capcom are Japanese devs and that MGS, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Castelvania, Silent Hill, etc are anything but sugary.

Your negative seems little more than holding the American public to task over not liking some of the games or genres that the Eastern region adores. If people over here don't get dating sims or the like, how is that any different than the Japanese market not getting first person shooters?

You can believe what you want. I'm just telling you what I see. You seem to think there's nothing in between Resident Evil and dating sims or "sugary" titles, but that's just plain obtuse and exlusionary. No, JRPGs don't hold a certain stigma around here...of course not.

I wouldn't defend the American gaming public so ardently. I saw the Halo fankids down at the game store today. It was pretty effing embarrassing.

[QUOTE="fathoms_basic"]

I believe Japan is biased towards their own products when it comes to gaming, but I believe a lot of US gamers are biased against Japanese games. Personally, I believe the latter is worse if you look at it this way.

They're playing what they want to play; many gamers here won't play certain Japanese titles just because of the stigma or stereotypes that come with them. I think the Japanese could certainly be a little more open-minded when it comes to Western-developed games, but for the most part, I believe the vast majority simply play what they like. Here, I think they do the same thing, but there's more of the inaccurate "oh, Japanese games have all the same ****" assumption (and that's just one of many), which is a little more embarrassing.

Ghost_Face

Why can't that same thought be applied over here? The gamers here are playing what they want to. I also don't agree that gamers don't play certain games because of a stigma or stereotype because they are Japanese games. A lot of those Japanese titles are very niche and come off too sugary cute in their presentation. These too cute games are seen as something for children and if anything, that is what stops a majority of people over here from playing those games you're referring to.

I'm just going by personal experience. There are many people - especially in the GameSpot forums - who harbor inaccurate assumptions about Japanese games. Many believe ALL Japanese titles are exactly the way you describe certain "sugary" ones here. They have difficulty comprehending that the same country can produce something like Chulip and Katamari Damacy and at the same time provide Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, and Resident Evil.

I'm sure Japanese gamers may have similar misconceptions about Western titles, but from everything I've seen in the gaming community over the past decade or so, it seems that Western gamers are more hellbent on being negative about Japanese games, while Japanese gamers are more hellbent on supporting their own products. One is negative and one is positive. That's just how I see things.

I don't think developers realise how HORRIBLE, AWFUL, PAINFUL and EXCRUCIATING it is NOT to be able to skip their cutscenes.Pedro

...sounds more like a physical problem.

If you can't sit through a 30-second cut-scene, you've got other issues to deal with. And I doubt you're seeing many that are too much longer than that, because as you obviously hate cut-scenes (and stories, presumably), you're probably not playing any RPGs. Not everyone is a "twitch gamer" that can't sit still for a minute or two, and some people like to see storylines, plots, character development, etc. If that's not your bag, just stick to games that won't...inconvenience you. :roll:

I believe Japan is biased towards their own products when it comes to gaming, but I believe a lot of US gamers are biased against Japanese games. Personally, I believe the latter is worse if you look at it this way.

They're playing what they want to play; many gamers here won't play certain Japanese titles just because of the stigma or stereotypes that come with them. I think the Japanese could certainly be a little more open-minded when it comes to Western-developed games, but for the most part, I believe the vast majority simply play what they like. Here, I think they do the same thing, but there's more of the inaccurate "oh, Japanese games have all the same style" assumption (and that's just one of many), which is a little more embarrassing.

Just a note for those taking such good care of their 360s: that doesn't stop the primary problem, admittedly built into every console, which is the disastrous system crash. They never really told us what caused it, but I know plenty of people who treat their systems like gold, and all of them are at least on their 2nd console; three of them are on at least their fourth.

When the five major game retailers estimated a catastrophic 33% defective rate for the 360, Microsoft needed to do something. Anything. But it seems like they did- while we've heard this claim before, the company is saying they've "made improvements" to the system, and they'll make those same improvements to any systems they have to repair. On top of which, they instituted that 3-year warranty for anybody who experiences the "three red rings of death." MS's customer service might be the worst on the planet, though, so I don't envy anybody who has to try to cash in on that warranty.

That being said, this thing has been out for almost two years. I just don't think they're going to get any better reliability-wise - unfortunately - but you can't ignore the great games if you're a true gamer. You just can't. Yeah, there's a risk, but you don't really want to pass up stuff like Bioshock, Halo 3, and Mass Effect, do you? I sure don't. It's why I've got my 360...as much as I despise Microsoft for basically lying through their teeth and stealing everyone's money and loyalty for several years. As a gamer, I just gotta take the bad with the good and accept certain things. And you do, too. :)

Edit: You will see a lot of replies like Alaris' up there, though. Unfortunately, this is the kind of disgust Microsoft's 360 debacle left in its wake. I don't believe you should ignore these replies (after all, the consumer is who you should listen to), but just from a gaming standpoint, I don't think you can pass it up. But it IS a risk, no doubt about it.

It's not so much connectivity issues for me, although I have seen a few.

For me, it's like I don't exist when I play. It doesn't matter if I play in a ranked game or not, the game never records my stats. I'm still at zero, I'm totally ticked off, and I can't fix it. Maybe the future update will help, I dunno. But this is infuriating.