As per usual another game is getting review bombed on Metacritic, this time over the console in which these particular games chose to launch. This time the games in question are the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters that were announced during Square Enix’s E3 conference this year.
The issue that is surrounding these remasters, and has since they were announced, is their targeted platforms of both Mobile and PC. While on steam they have managed a pretty decent user score, despite some hiccups with their choice of font, Metacritic saw a score as low as 0.3 for the games. This number eventually rose to 3.5 though still maintains a massive number of poor scores.
One user commented in their 0 score review that “Get the console version, and I’ll change my assessment.” Another user stated “Square Enix long ago said that all installments listed would be available on consoles; we fans demand this minimum,” in a low scoring review. Yet another user stated “We want to be able to play these games on consoles. Classic games such as Final Fantasy should not be gated behind mobile phones and computers.”
Review bombing has become an act of protest against games, adapted throughout the years but more commonplace now that multiple open sources to leave negative reviews allow easy access. While these happen with lots of games gamers might remember the active protest again Last of Us 2 that began after unpopular plot points were leaked online.
It is also important to note that multiple remasters of Final Fantasy games have first come to PC over the console, including both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX. They were both eventually ported to consoles, while other games, such as earlier titles have yet to make that jump. Either way, this is not a new practice for Square Enix.
More good reviews have started to appear for the games as well, with praise going to the OST and gameplay. I do hope they get a port as well, but my recommendation is if you can play them currently, and would like to, then go for it.
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