SquareEnix (Squaresoft, Enix)

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battousai11

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So, I might get shot down for this rant, but is it just me or has Square/SquareEnix not made a really good game since 2002? I mean 8 years is a really long time to be a disappointed Square fan. The last game that I really did enjoy from them was the first KH.

I actually got into a discussion about this with my friends and none of them could come up with an amazing game that Square's released in NA for the past eight years. Sure, they've done re-releases and ports of amazing games, but that's not making a new game.

It's just sad that we as fans have had to bear this mediocrity while other companies are leaving them in the dust. I love Square and have most of their games and I will continue to support them, but it feels like they're just sitting on their laurels and reliving the past.

I feverently hope that FFXIII will be the game that boosts them out of this rut that they're in.
 
FFXII and tactics A2 were both excellent games.




Since 2002? Seriously? KH2 kicked ones ass, Dragonquest VIII was great!
 
i really wanted to like FFXII, I did, but the story didn't compel me to keep playing.
tactics A2 was better than the first, true, but that just didn't sit well with me for some reason.

I personally thought that KH2 wasn't as addicting as the first KH. Story was good, but it was missing something

Finally, I still maintain that DQVII was better than DQVIII.

Am I just expecting too much of Square?
 
I'm just wondering why they stopped making Final Fantasy games. Six was great, Seven, while now obviously dated, was also damn good, and Tactics was just plain badass. Then after that, it's like the series disappeared off the face of the earth. Damn shame, that.
 
FFX was great, in my opinion, but we don't even talk about X-2 or XI.

However, they seem like they've stopped trying as hard since they merged with Enix, who was one of their big competitors.

I'm just think that Square can make great games, and they should consistently. Look at the Disgaea series. Every iteration is better than the last one.
 
[quote name='heavyd853']FFXII and tactics A2 were both excellent games.




Since 2002? Seriously? KH2 kicked ones ass, Dragonquest VIII was great![/QUOTE]

KH2 was one of the worst sequels ever made.
 
I'll admit it: I enjoyed Crisis Core and Dissidia Sure, they aren't on the level of previous greats, but they are still great game, nonetheless.
 
I apologize, TWEWY was wonderful

Let me revise my initial statement.

Square/Square Enix has only made one great game since 2002


[quote name='KingBroly']The World Ends With You destroys the OP's argument.[/QUOTE]
 
I've actually enjoyed a lot of Square games I've played in the last few years. Hell, I even liked Dirge of Cerberus to an extent.

Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile are great games, too. I'm surprised no one's mentioned them yet.
 
TWEWY was developed by Jupiter, just as Dragon Quest 8 was Level 5. Square-Enix just published them. So you can return to your original assertion if you like.
 
[quote name='battousai11']Finally, I still maintain that DQVII was better than DQVIII. [/QUOTE]
DW7 was ugly. Ugly graphics and ugly translation. There is no way it was better than DQ8.
 
Final Fantasy XII is one of the very best games ever (IMO of course). Dragon Quest VIII, Crisis Core, and a number of others were no slouches either. The Square logo may no longer be the ironclad guarantee of quality that it was during the SNES days, but they still churn out plenty of great games. (And I'd argue that if Square has lost some of its luster, that happened way before 2002, with PSX games like Chrono Cross and Legend of Mana.)
 
Can we include Batman: Arkham Asylum since Square Enix owns Eidos?

Other good games
Dragon Quest Rocket Slim
FFIV The After Years
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
Song Summoner
 
Not much Final Fantasy fans liked Final Fantasy XII because it didn't have a love story, and instead dealt with war. Nuff said. I loved Final Fantasy XII, and Crisis Core. Those who think Kingdom Hearts is a great series needs to learn what a good story is, because I found Kingdom Hearts to be pure bullshit.
 
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They're definitely living in the shadow of their SNES/PS1 days but they still put out a few good titles. The FF series has definitely gone downhill since FFVII (and hit rock bottom with FFX-2) but they still put out great games every now and then (Kingdom Hearts, TWEWY).

I don't get excited about SE titles like I used to though. Outside of Kingdom Hearts 3 (you know it's coming), I can't think of any upcoming SE game I'm really excited for (yes, that includes FFXIII).
 
valkyrie profile was before 2002 and so were star ocean 1 and 2. I didn't like Slimeria or Till the End of Time that much.

As I said on my first post, I love Square and will continue supporting them, but I'm just disappointed with them.

[quote name='CaptainJoel']I've actually enjoyed a lot of Square games I've played in the last few years. Hell, I even liked Dirge of Cerberus to an extent.

Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile are great games, too. I'm surprised no one's mentioned them yet.[/QUOTE]
 
While Square on published Star Ocean (Tri-Ace develops), I thought it was serviceable. I'm really enjoying The Last Remenant but Magna Carta 2 (Softmax) has my attention for the time being.
 
Last Remnant would have classic status if it wasnt for the slowdown, and even with the Slowdown, it's one of the best games I've played the last two generations.
 
IMO SquareEnix has been a disappointment for the past few years. I wouldn't go back as far as 2002 and there's been a trickle of good games here and there. But for the current gen when it comes to JRPGs it's lacking the quality they've been know for in the past.
 
[quote name='lokizz']KH2 was one of the worst sequels ever made.[/QUOTE]

Huh? How is a game that got a bunch of 8's and 9's one of the worst sequels ever made? You're gonna tell me that it's worse than some of the crappy Sonic games we've seen? Or that awful Bomberman Act Zero? Driv3r? There's a big difference between a bad game and a game you don't like.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Huh? How is a game that got a bunch of 8's and 9's one of the worst sequels ever made? You're gonna tell me that it's worse than some of the crappy Sonic games we've seen? Or that awful Bomberman Act Zero? Driv3r? There's a big difference between a bad game and a game you don't like.[/QUOTE]


1. it was very easy to beat ( i played it the first and only time on proud mode) and the only real challenge in the game was the sepiroth battle and the final battle where you had to block attacks with 2 characters at the same time.

2. most boss fights could be finished quickly with that stupid triangle special move thing thereby making magic and drive forms useless and unnecessary. in the first game magic was a necessity and it went a long way to help you defeat diff enemies quicker so youd try to see what worked on whom.

3. special items were placed in ridiculous areas and werent hard to find ( othe first game had lots of diff areas and nooks and crannies to explore to find special items) in kh2 everything was lazily placed in areas like around the corner or behind this door or box.

4. the overuse of the 3 main characters names. one day i hope someone writes down how many times they say "sora donald goofy" in that game cause it seemed like every few damn minutes.


i loved and love kh1 and have played it numerous time i even enjoyed the gba game but kh2 was a joke. they dumbed down all the stuff that made the first one great and levels that should have been fun to explore were very 1 dimensional and boring. i finished that game and now i dont care what happens to sora, donald or goofy. and dont get me started on that story they demolished the plot entirely.


btw just because a game gets high scores doesnt mean its a great or good game. thats like saying transformers was a great film because it made so much money. game ratings dont mean much especially when they can be influenced by many diff things.
 
[quote name='battousai11']valkyrie profile was before 2002 and so were star ocean 1 and 2. I didn't like Slimeria or Till the End of Time that much.

As I said on my first post, I love Square and will continue supporting them, but I'm just disappointed with them.[/QUOTE]
I was more meaning the Valkyrie series. I loved Profile 2 and many others did, too I'm sure.

I LOVED Star Ocean: Till the End of Time as well.

I know this is more of a case of opinion than anything else, but I'm really not at all disappointed by Square and am very much looking forward to the new additions to the KH and FF series.
 
[quote name='kainzero']DW7 was ugly. Ugly graphics and ugly translation. There is no way it was better than DQ8.[/QUOTE]
yes, because good graphics means good game :roll:
 
[quote name='heavyd853']FFXII and tactics A2 were both excellent games.




Since 2002? Seriously? KH2 kicked ones ass, Dragonquest VIII was great![/QUOTE]

Yesx1000.

[quote name='b3b0p']yes, because good graphics means good game :roll:[/QUOTE]

Yep, i still play my atari 2600 and pong is so awesome, im gonna get Pacman soon cause i hear you move and eat balls in it, and since hd graphics, online gaming, etc is all stupid, i think eating balls would be fun.
 
[quote name='b3b0p']yes, because good graphics means good game :roll:[/QUOTE]
no, but ugly graphics means ugly game.

staring at ugly pixelated graphics with a screwy camera is not very immersive. it's sad when dragon warrior 1 has better graphics.
 
[quote name='DarkSageRK']You never played the first, did you?[/QUOTE]


yeah i played kh1 in my rant i said i love the game. kh2 was a joke.
 
I haven't played a FF game since FFVII, and I hope FFXIII delivers.

I am keeping an eye on Nier Replicant too, but AFAIK it's not an RPG.
 
[quote name='lokizz']btw just because a game gets high scores doesnt mean its a great or good game. thats like saying transformers was a great film because it made so much money. game ratings dont mean much especially when they can be influenced by many diff things.[/QUOTE]

1) You're trying to compare two different things. Ratings are not equal to sales. I never said a game was good, because it sells, like the Transformers movie did.

2) I never said KH2 was great or good. No where in my post did I say that. I did say it got 8s and 9s. Sorry, but the "worst sequel" is not gonna get 8s and 9s. Even if you wanna argue that ALL of the scores were influenced by something, then you might wanna knock it down to 6s and 7s. Still, not the "worst sequel".

As I pointed out, there is a difference between a game you don't like and a bad a game. Kingdom Hearts 2 was not broken or glitchy or short or had horrible controllers...all of the things that would actually make a game bad.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']1) You're trying to compare two different things. Ratings are not equal to sales. I never said a game was good, because it sells, like the Transformers movie did.

2) I never said KH2 was great or good. No where in my post did I say that. I did say it got 8s and 9s. Sorry, but the "worst sequel" is not gonna get 8s and 9s. Even if you wanna argue that ALL of the scores were influenced by something, then you might wanna knock it down to 6s and 7s. Still, not the "worst sequel".

As I pointed out, there is a difference between a game you don't like and a bad a game. Kingdom Hearts 2 was not broken or glitchy or short or had horrible controllers...all of the things that would actually make a game bad.[/QUOTE]

i didnt like the game because it was bad it was a shitty sequel and i listed why it was bad. youre trying to tell me how could it be such a bad game if the review scores were high and what i did was show you that scores and money dont mean something is good. plenty of games get higher review scores then they deserve especially when reviewers are biased.

the only thing you said as far as why the game was good was its review scores but i listed all the things i felt made the game crappy. kh2 was a dumbed down simplified version of the first game.
 
[quote name='CaptainJoel']I was more meaning the Valkyrie series. I loved Profile 2 and many others did, too I'm sure.

I LOVED Star Ocean: Till the End of Time as well.

I know this is more of a case of opinion than anything else, but I'm really not at all disappointed by Square and am very much looking forward to the new additions to the KH and FF series.[/QUOTE]




How could you love that game after what the previous Star Ocean gave us? Star Ocean End of Time was one of, if not, the worst RPG's produced (IMO) by SS in the past decade. They took what was an acutal story in the first two segments, and turned it into a virtual world in which you are saving yourself from deletion.....

The fuck does that have to do with the star ocean?
 
[quote name='Sito']How could you love that game after what the previous Star Ocean gave us? Star Ocean End of Time was one of, if not, the worst RPG's produced (IMO) by SS in the past decade. They took what was an acutal story in the first two segments, and turned it into a virtual world in which you are saving yourself from deletion.....

The fuck does that have to do with the star ocean?[/QUOTE]

It was just really enjoyable for me and got me really into the whole Star Ocean world. I didn't really think the story was bad since I've played so many crazy Jap-RPGs and it wasn't the worst story by far. The gameplay and everything really scratched my RPG itch at the time. I love the game.
 
Kingdom Hearts 2 was not broken or glitchy or short or had horrible controllers...all of the things that would actually make a game bad.
Click to expand...

Agreed, just because it wasn't as great as the original, which IMO is a difficult task. After saying that, I want to point out the KH2 did a decent job in adding to an already excellent battle system and the story was good as well. There are plenty of examples of a bad sequel, and KH2 isn't one of them.
 
[quote name='lokizz']yeah i played kh1 in my rant i said i love the game. kh2 was a joke.[/QUOTE]

I was implying the original sucked.

It may have actually been the worst RPG I've ever played, and I've played Romancing Saga.
 
[quote name='momouchi'] There are plenty of examples of a bad sequel, and KH2 isn't one of them.[/QUOTE]

yes it is.:nottalking:
 
Well, I'm one of the few that thought FFVIII was better than VII, so that does change things a bit from my perspective. However, from FFVIII to Last Remnant, I was not too terribly impressed.
If Last Remnant ran from the disc like it did from the HDD (just some stutter and slowdown here and there) but ran perfectly installed, it would have possibly knocked Lost Odyssey off the pedestal of best recent RPG in my opinion. Instead, it ran like semi-solid shit from the disk and was only just acceptable installed.
 
[quote name='DarkSageRK']I was implying the original sucked.

It may have actually been the worst RPG I've ever played, and I've played Romancing Saga.[/QUOTE]

My god don't even joke, you have opened up dormant scars which were inflicted upon me by attempting to beat Romancing Saga; like that game is seriously broken in so many ways. Also the mention of Romancing Saga also reminded me of my two hour experience with Unlimited Saga (to research whether it was really as bad as people said) and let me tell you even after two hours I had no clue what was going on during combat or leveling up after dungeon sequences, and it was a miracle I finished the third dungeon which I can only describe as a board game with fog over every spot except the one your currently on... in case there is any question that game is probably worse than what people have said about it.

[quote name='lokizz']i even enjoyed the gba game but kh2 was a joke.[/QUOTE]

All I can say is that I am terribly perplexed, Chain of Memories is complete trash compared to KH2... I mean randomly generated dungeons where you basically just run around killing enemies to unlock more of the random dungeon... no thank you. I can understand liking KH1 more than KH2 but I don't think either is worse than Chain of Memories.
 
[quote name='battousai11']So, I might get shot down for this rant, but is it just me or has Square/SquareEnix not made a really good game since 2002? I mean 8 years is a really long time to be a disappointed Square fan. The last game that I really did enjoy from them was the first KH.

I actually got into a discussion about this with my friends and none of them could come up with an amazing game that Square's released in NA for the past eight years. Sure, they've done re-releases and ports of amazing games, but that's not making a new game.

It's just sad that we as fans have had to bear this mediocrity while other companies are leaving them in the dust. I love Square and have most of their games and I will continue to support them, but it feels like they're just sitting on their laurels and reliving the past.

I feverently hope that FFXIII will be the game that boosts them out of this rut that they're in.[/QUOTE]

This is pretty much true. The DS remakes of DQ IV and V were excellent, and that's about it. And again, those were remakes. DQ8 was decent but the Level 5 bullshit really dragged it down. Level 5 needs to hire outside people to write scenarios for their games. They can make great gameplay systems, but dear god their storylines are horrible. FFX-2 and Grandia 3 had excellent battle systems, but everything else in those games was shit. Fatlus has been beating the shit out of SE in terms of getting worthwhile RPGs to market.
 
If you ignore big chunks of the story, FFX-2 is one of the best Squeenix games from the previous gen. I had a blast playing it. Yuna was much more tolerable, too.

Also, can I add my name to the list of people who disliked KH2? I didn't think it was horrible, but it was less satisfying than the original. The story was convoluted and contradictory, the battle system was essentially stripped down to QTEs and (aside from certain bosses) made the game too easy, and so on. At least the Gummi Ship segments, including the ship editor, were much better. I kind of have to agree with Bob Mackey that that entire series has swiftly gone downhill. Oh yeah, and I liked the GBA game too; it had a certain grindiness about it that I loved, and the card-based system was neat.

TWEWY, as had been said before, is fantastic. Same with Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Front Mission 4, and (for the most part) Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.

Personally, I still love a lot of Squeenix's games (in particular, I can't wait for DQIX's localization). As someone else said earlier, I think nostalgia plays a big part in these sorts of discussions...
 
[quote name='blueshinra']If you ignore big chunks of the story, FFX-2 is one of the best Squeenix games from the previous gen. I had a blast playing it. Yuna was much more tolerable, too.

Also, can I add my name to the list of people who disliked KH2? I didn't think it was horrible, but it was less satisfying than the original. The story was convoluted and contradictory, the battle system was essentially stripped down to QTEs and (aside from certain bosses) made the game too easy, and so on. At least the Gummi Ship segments, including the ship editor, were much better. I kind of have to agree with Bob Mackey that that entire series has swiftly gone downhill. Oh yeah, and I liked the GBA game too; it had a certain grindiness about it that I loved, and the card-based system was neat.

TWEWY, as had been said before, is fantastic. Same with Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Front Mission 4, and (for the most part) Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.

Personally, I still love a lot of Squeenix's games (in particular, I can't wait for DQIX's localization). As someone else said earlier, I think nostalgia plays a big part in these sorts of discussions...[/QUOTE]


yah thats right the gummi ship segments were better in kh 2. funny how the shity part of kh1 is better in the sequel but he rest of the sequel was crap comared to the original game.
 
[quote name='lokizz']yah thats right the gummi ship segments were better in kh 2. funny how the shity part of kh1 is better in the sequel but he rest of the sequel was crap comared to the original game.[/QUOTE]

Of course it was crap compared to the original. The original was pretty much an instant classic in the scope of RPGs, and Square Enix would have had to put an insane more work in the sequel in order to top it. I think comparing KH2 to the original and saying it is the worst sequel ever because it isn't better than the original is an unfair conclusion.
 
[quote name='momouchi']Of course it was crap compared to the original. The original was pretty much an instant classic in the scope of RPGs, and Square Enix would have had to put an insane more work in the sequel in order to top it. I think comparing KH2 to the original and saying it is the worst sequel ever because it isn't better than the original is an unfair conclusion.[/QUOTE]


i said its one of the worst sequels ever not the worst. and they should have put more work into the sequel look at the GOW series for example. the first game , just like kh1, was an instant classic and when the sequel came around instead of being lazy and pulling a kh2( or insert hated sequel of choice) .

they took all the stuff that made the first game great improved it, fixed the stuff that was broken or off and went above and beyond to come up with a game that actually is beter than the original. thats what a good sequel should do.

they improved everything across the board with that game and still added new stuff. yeah that said im worried that gow3 wont live up to the hype but so far theyve had a pretty solid track record ( dunno about the psp gameive never played it).
 
KH2 was basically a long ass version of KH1 DLC because they just went back to the same areas found in the first game. That was a big problem I had with it.

Another problem I had was that Sora was just a little whiny bitch the entire game, crying over his friend (forgot his name) who was missing. It was like they were gay lovers or something. That really killed it for me because a lot of the story revolved around him acting like he's 6 years old and his friend is like his mom who abandoned him or something. It was so annoying and actually legitimately pissed me off.

I also like how the ending set up KH3, but there has been no word on the sequel and it probably won't be coming out on this cycle of consoles.
 
I enjoyed KH1 immensely... I was blown away with how such a great story could weave together Disney and SE characters. In fact, I thought the story and premise was so good, you could have put any other property in there, and it STILL would have been good. Of course, the soundtrack was freakin' amazing!!! And the ending was so touching.

KH2 was good too, but it did suffer from the loooooooooooooooooooong Roxas intro which made little sense to US fans who did not play CoM. The battlesystem got better (if not a little too HYPER) as well as the controls, but I did not appreciate the redesigned levels... If I go to the Aladdin world in KH2, I expect it to look the same as it did in KH1. Finally, the rich background that KH1 was suppressing didn't seem to be very well thought out for KH2... org 13, Riku looking like someone else, etc.

358/2 is a very good game too. I think if the other KH didn't exist, I would have appreciated it more. However, the end felt rushed and I don't think it did a good job of tying into KH2. Again, it felt like they made some stuff up along the way just to make things fit... like trying to glue together a broken glass cup ... yes, you see it's a cup, but you can also see where it was in pieces.

Anyhow, I still love the KH series. Am looking forward to the PSP release next year! Maybe that will be the KH game that helps me relive those original KH memories and feeling! ;)
 
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