They say that Japanese and American gamers have different taste in games. Well, that certainly appears to be the case in Japan. Lair (or Rise from Lair, as it's called in Japan) has been getting a serious push by Sony's Japanese marketing team. They might have an easier job of selling the game in the territory, thanks to the fantastic critical reception of the game. Famitsu, Japan's leading gaming magazine awarded the game an impressive 34/40, which is far more generous than the current critical average of 55/100.
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Is this Japan thumbing it's nose to the rest of the world, or have Japenese sat down with the game longer then the rest of us and learned how to control that dragon? This just seems a bit off to me.
They tend to like different things over there. Its a bit wierd, i'm sure some sort of cultural difference is what causes it, but i'm not sure.
Never try to understand the japanese culture, and when in Tokyo, beware of the KANCHO!
34/40 is an 85. if that's critical acclaim, then japan really does things a lot different there.
yeah i saw some of the japanese trailers and it seemed like this game was gettin alot of hype...
34/40 is an 85. if that's critical acclaim, then japan really does things a lot different there.
Most reviews in the states gave Lair a 5/10 so a 85/100 is a lot better, so the Japenese must have seen something we didn't, or are a bit more forgiving when it comes to control.
They tend to like different things over there. Its a bit wierd, i'm sure some sort of cultural difference is what causes it, but i'm not sure.
umm... what? 
Yeah my bad, i think studying for cisco 3 finals has finally fried my brain.
yeah i saw some of the japanese trailers and it seemed like this game was gettin alot of hype...
It was getting such good hype here too,but most reviewers called the controls frustrating that involved shaking the controller violently for minutes. It could have be the dragons in the game that appealed to them.
I'm still surprised that a game that was universally panned everywhere else got such a high score in Japan.
The Japanese are fans of clunky control schemes.
See:
- Resident Evil(s) before 4.
- Silent Hill
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Armored Core
- Metal Gear
All great games, providing you have the patience to deal with the hurdle.