IGN Japan's Scores

  • Games
For 439 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 8% same as the average critic
  • 39% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.9 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score: 100 Pokemon Pokopia
Lowest review score: 25 The Quiet Man
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 5 out of 439
439 game reviews
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Haven is an RPG that depicts two people living together on a lonely planet. Through their communication, the player learns not just about their love and insecurities, but also what kind of world it is they are inhabiting. While the ending may feel a bit anticlimactic, putting the state of mind of a couple into gameplay makes for a truly remarkable experience.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sol Cresta is a new entry in a legendary series, this time developed by director Hideki Kamiya at PlatinumGames. While complicated mechanics and a difficulty jump in the game’s latter half make it hard to recommend to newcomers to the shmup genre, the formation-based gameplay and the pull of the scoreboard make Sol Cresta feel fresh while staying true to the genre’s roots. Even with a lack of variation in boss design and simple presentation, Sol Cresta is a satisfying game for fans of the genre.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    With beautiful visuals, an epic soundtrack and an exciting world with interesting characters, this hardcore Touhou Project inspired shmup is well worth your time. While the multiplayer mode lacks significant depth, the story mode alone is enough to recommend Maiden & Spell to fans of the genre.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Rage 2’s nonsensical story is unbearable, and the unskippable exploration parts are mostly irritating and boring. Luckily, the shooting gameplay is so amazing that it’s easy to forgive these flaws. And while encounters can become repetitive, new weapons and abilities make sure there’s always some fun to be had.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Goro Majima takes the lead in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. This is an action-adventure game with a unique setting in which fan favorite Majima becomes a pirate in modern-day Hawaii. Fans can finally use his iconic fighting style during battles, while an all new combat system that incorporates the game’s pirate theme is added as well. Although the main story doesn’t utilize the game’s spacious field to the max, the game packs in a lot of content to enjoy.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shenmue I & II is a masterpiece that is not for everyone. That’s a shame, because a more solid port with a few tweaks here and there could have made it a package to recommend to all.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Forza series is famous for its engine sounds, which have reached new heights for Forza Motorsport. The graphics are outstandingly beautiful, especially in their rendering of the air. The racing is highly enjoyable, and the powerful assistance makes it more playable with a normal controller. When played with a racing wheel controller, the force feedback is more accurate than before, making Forza Motorsport a simulator that is also fun to play. There is not much to do beyond racing, and if you want to modify your car things can get a little bit grindy, but Forza Motorsport does offer you the chance to learn more about cars.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    With a fantastic story, interesting lore, and great graphics and presentation, Phantom Liberty succeeds in expanding Cyberpunk 2077’s already rich world even further. While some of the individual side quests can come off as weak, they do a good job in contributing to Cyberpunk 2077’s world. With this DLC and patch 2.0, Cyberpunk 2077 has become a complete and pretty much flawless package.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Laika: Aged Through Blood is a blend between motor racing and gun action that feels somewhat similar to the Trials series. While the exploration elements don’t quite hit, shooting at enemies while riding a bike feels fresh and satisfying. Elements besides the gameplay, such as a melancholic soundtrack, are also well executed, and the story that depicts the relationship between Laika and her daughter feels novel in an action game like this.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A strange world where objects come to life is beautifully depicted with rich animations, making Forgotton Anne feel and look like a full-fledged anime movie. However, while the pacing is good, the puzzles in the latter half of the game lack variation. Some cutscenes could have had better animation, and the Japanese translation has room for improvement. Still, this is a magical adventure that is well worth your time nonetheless.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cult of the Lamb is a cute yet dark and grotesque experience. The gameplay loop of managing a dark cult and exploring dungeons is quite addictive. However, in the latter half of the game conditions become more favorable for the player, to the extent that much of the game’s tension is lost.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Xenoblade 3 has high-quality cutscenes, a world worth exploring and a deep combat system. It also fixes some of the issues of previous titles in the series, making this an RPG that both fans and newcomers can enjoy for many hours. It’s too bad that the story ends without giving answers to many of our questions.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    From overall balance to questionable design choices, Sonic Frontiers might not be as sophisticated or polished as the very best games out there. However, when it comes to discovery and sense of wonder, Sonic Frontier’s Open Zone design can proudly stand side by side with any open world masterpiece. While admittedly many of its activities are simple, the amount of content it offers is staggering. The Open Zones and their epic boss battles make great use of Sonic’s speed, creating an experience that still feels authentic to the character. While far from perfect, there hasn’t been a Sonic title that feels this relevant in a long time.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While an interesting counter to what RPGs were like back in 1994, it’s hard to deny that today Live A Live feels like a dated experience. That being said, as a remake this is a very well crafted game.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Combining the realistic settings from the series’ earlier titles with the over-the-top style of entries that came after Saints Row: The Third, this is an excellent reboot. That being said, a lack of polish in the gameplay department and low quality localization for Japan cannot be ignored.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy VII Remake is a reconstruction on an almost unprecedented scale. Midgar feels like a real place, and strong character development sucks you into its fascinating world. The battle system is a great mix between real-time action and turn-based strategic elements, but with many consecutive lengthy fights in linear dungeon-like areas, it can sometimes become too stressful for the casual player, and the slow story progression won’t be for everyone either.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Forspoken is an ambitious title that builds both its fluid movement and its battle system around the concept of magic. From comfortable exploration to speedy combat, this unique open world action RPG has plenty of appeal, and its story that depicts the spiritual growth of its young New Yorker protagonist is immersive. That being said, the game does have issues, such as a lack of variety in side quests and a hub area that takes too much time to navigate through.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crimson Desert is an open-world adventure game that boasts stunning visuals and an enormous amount of content. From challenging combat and puzzles to slower-paced activities such as trading and animal husbandry, it offers a wide variety of ways to play. That said, the game falls short in its storytelling, and some inconvenient systems leave it missing the mark in many respects, making it hard to call it universally accessible. Still, for those looking to embark on a complex, anything-but-straightforward ambitious journey, it’s a game well worth experiencing.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Taking its cues from Nioh and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty boasts a number of challenging mechanics. The simple yet profound Kisei system and the Morale Rank system are innovative features, and the sheer speed of the combat is addictive. However, while the fundamentals of Wo Long are excellently made, it suffers from a number of problems both large and small, including an unwieldy UI, a one-dimensional story, and a lack of variety in both melee attacks and enemy types. If developer Team Ninja’s Nioh series is anything to go by, it’s possible that many of these problems will be resolved in future updates and DLC. For now, at least, Wo Long is a highly enjoyable game that falls just short of hitting the next level.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    In RPG Time: The Legend of Wright, the player sets out on an adventure inside the notebook of an elementary school student. The immense variety and care that went into this game in surprising. As the hero of the game, you’re not just exploring and fighting, as there are many minigames and amazing little details to enjoy on each page of this notebook adventure. The game doesn’t hesitate to take you out of the notebook either, offering even more variety of content in all sorts of forms and shapes. That being said, in the end you’ll realize that RPG Time is more like an interactive storybook than an actual RPG with deep gameplay mechanics. If you were looking for the latter, RPG Time won’t be for you.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Quantic Dream successfully depicts a universal SF theme from a fresh angle by using a game system where choices the player makes stand central, and does so with incredibly realistic visuals. If only the story had been constructed a little more cleverly, there would have been no hesitation in calling this a gem.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Moonlighter is a game that has you experience the life of a hero and a shopkeeper at the same time. You fight enemies to obtain items at a dungeon, and go on to sell these at your shop, allowing you to buy better armor. The gorgeous graphics enhance the experience and the gameplay loop is great. The game could have offered more to do and the story is a bit simple, but it’s an enjoyable ride nonetheless.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This 8-bit spin-off of Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is at the same time a nostalgic linear sidescroller and a modern game that manages to be accessible to new players.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The battle system that allows you to turn back time and retry is well done, and once you manage to stylishly defeat enemies after a long session of trial and error, it feels great. While the game offers many different situations to keep things fresh, sadly its story is not as captivating as its gameplay.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While certain parts of Trials of Mana definitely feel retro, as a whole Square Enix has crafted an extremely well renovated experience. What makes this a great remake is that both gameplay and visual revisions faithfully represent the original experience.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ghosts ‘n Goblins has always been famous for its difficulty, and the newest entry in the series is no exception. That being said, you can now choose between four difficulty options, and with new modern systems like checkpoints and the ability to equip multiple skills and magic, things have become a lot more manageable. But even with all that, there’s no doubt about it: Ghosts ‘n Goblins is going to kick your ass again and again. This reboot is as true to the franchise’s DNA as possible. At the same time, it tries something new with the co-op, which can be a blast if you head in with a player of approximately the same skill level.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    With a wide variety of crabs and weapons, and with each crab's claws controlled in detail with the analog sticks, Crab Fighter delivers a surprisingly deep battle experience. It’s great fun to play with friends, and the campaign mode offers plenty of satisfaction. However, the game is not balanced well enough for more serious competition, and online fights will be difficult to get into for newcomers.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    After many missteps, Paper Mario Origami King is a return to form for the series. It fixes many of the issues that marred previous entries, and allows the player to casually enjoy puzzles together with a wide array of beautiful locations and quirky characters, while the wonderful sound alone is reason enough to play.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    While the weak scenario and some other issues drag Necrobarista down, its 3D model animation and cleverly positioned text create a unique experience. In that sense, it’s no exaggeration to call this the beginning of a brand new era for the visual novel genre.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Forza Horizon 6 is an ambitious new entry in the Forza Horizon series, brought to life with tremendous passion by Playground Games. Cruising through its vast open world while familiar J-pop songs play in the background, taking in famous landmarks like a tourist on a road trip, delivers a truly exceptional driving experience. Dynamic set pieces—such as racing against giant robots and fighter jets—add plenty of spectacle, while the game’s occasional use of stylized exaggeration makes both Japan’s landmarks and the gameplay itself even more captivating. On the other hand, the limited selection of objects available in the build mode, the inability to visit Mount Fuji directly, and the lack of massive, jaw-dropping sequences like those seen in previous entries leave some room for disappointment.

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