SquareEnix (Squaresoft, Enix)

[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]

Forgot Rocket Slime. Awesome game. But I don't think it was developed by Enix or the other regular SE developers, I think it was a TOSE game. :lol:

FFX-2 truly did have one of the best battle systems of any RPG. It just needs to be in a better game.
 
[quote name='Blackout']It was like they were gay lovers or something. [/QUOTE]

Don't tell the kids that or it will turn them gay. ;)
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Forgot Rocket Slime. Awesome game. But I don't think it was developed by Enix or the other regular SE developers, I think it was a TOSE game. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Yep, it's TOSE. And while we're at it, h.a.n.d. developed Chocobo's Dungeon.

It's all Squeenix to me :razz:

[quote name='Dead of Knight']FFX-2 truly did have one of the best battle systems of any RPG. It just needs to be in a better game.[/QUOTE]
Well for me, it wasn't only that. The less linear structure, the minigames, the characterization, the music, and so on were all great. It's just the story that wasn't.
 
Star Ocean The Last Hope is decent, TWEWY was great, I havent completed it yet as far as anything else they released lately those 2 are the only ones worth mentioning
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Yep, it's TOSE. And while we're at it, h.a.n.d. developed Chocobo's Dungeon.

It's all Squeenix to me :razz:


Well for me, it wasn't only that. The less linear structure, the minigames, the characterization, the music, and so on were all great. It's just the story that wasn't.[/QUOTE]

The music and characterization were good too, agreed. I'm not a minigame or nonlinear person though. Minigames are shit to the most part for me and I prefer linearity. The way the nonlinearity was structured in FFX-2 was bullshit too. Onoes, I forgot to talk to ONE person at one EXACT moment, now I can't get 100%. :bomb: Yes, this is what happened to me. I didn't see that I need to talk to these people at ONE exact moment. I go back to talk to them literally a few minutes later gameplay time, and it doesn't count. :bomb: 99.9%. fuck you whoever designed that bullshit.

Oh yeah, and my fiance has put over 250 hours into DQIX. He loves it. The main storyline kind of blows thanks to normal Level 5 bullshit, but the post-game content is nearly endless. Look forward to it.
 
[quote name='hohez']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.[/QUOTE]
I would play Last Remnant if my PC could run it. Yes Last Remnant is on the PC.
 
[quote name='kainzero']What is this "Level 5 BS" you speak of?[/QUOTE]

Their storylines are always full of bullshit. For example, DQ8. Somehow the staff is lost like 6 different times just because the main characters, who have been going around the world killing shit because of this staff, were for some reason careless during a cutscene and didn't pay attention to the staff that is causing all their troubles. Like when the dog gets the staff. Yeah, right. fuck you Level 5.
 
How about naming one of the characters in Rogue Galaxy "Steve"? Not every JRPG character needs to be named Maverick Destinyworldsaver, but come on, Steve?
 
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[quote name='Ryuukishi']How above naming one of the characters in Rogue Galaxy "Steve"? Not every JRPG character needs to be named Maverick Destinyworldsaver, but come on, Steve?[/QUOTE]

I'll take Steve over Rush Sykes (The Last Remnant) or Edge Maverick (Star Ocean The Last Hope).

Personally I like names that don't sound completely ridiculous, such as Max and Monica from Dark Cloud 2 (another Level-5 game), even if they are fairly generic.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']How above naming one of the characters in Rogue Galaxy "Steve"? Not every JRPG character needs to be named Maverick Destinyworldsaver, but come on, Steve?[/QUOTE]

Steve is not the issue here. I think the name Steve is an inside joke for Level 5. There were weapons in the Dark Cloud games called Steve.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Steve is not the issue here. I think the name Steve is an inside joke for Level 5. There were weapons in the Dark Cloud games called Steve.[/QUOTE]
Haha, your totally right... I completely forgot that in Dark Cloud 2 the ride pod (i.e. robot that Max can use) is called Steve.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Their storylines are always full of bullshit. For example, DQ8. Somehow the staff is lost like 6 different times just because the main characters, who have been going around the world killing shit because of this staff, were for some reason careless during a cutscene and didn't pay attention to the staff that is causing all their troubles. Like when the dog gets the staff. Yeah, right. fuck you Level 5.[/QUOTE]
I dunno.

DQ8 was too good.
Fine they should've picked it up or whatever but oh well, the main story in DQ is always kinda weak.
 
I have no problem with Level 5 for gameplay. But their stories really need work. They should just outsource them. I hear WKC's story is horrid too.
 
What was the last RPG you guys played that had a good story?

I played Crisis Core earlier this year and couldn't help but think the whole time, "Boy would this been way more awesome if I were still in high school." I just think everybody's standards have steadily risen over the years.
 
^ This is my biggest complaint with the genre. Even games that try and break the mold like the Persona series don't really have great stories, just great characters. IMO Suikoden V was the last great JRPG story.
 
[quote name='DQT']What was the last RPG you guys played that had a good story?

I played Crisis Core earlier this year and couldn't help but think the whole time, "Boy would this been way more awesome if I were still in high school." I just think everybody's standards have steadily risen over the years.[/QUOTE]

This is true. But Level 5's aren't bad in the high school drama way. They are just poorly written/structured.
 
[quote name='DQT']I played Crisis Core earlier this year and couldn't help but think the whole time, "Boy would this been way more awesome if I were still in high school." I just think everybody's standards have steadily risen over the years.[/QUOTE]
i actually liked crisis core

that ending got to me

what i couldn't stand was all the fanboys crying because of the retcons that invalidated their fanfics
 
[quote name='DQT']What was the last RPG you guys played that had a good story?

[/QUOTE]

Um.. I would have to say Dragon Age. The script is so well done, the fact I actually give a shit about the characters is plus. Each one has a good back story that makes me want to learn more about them. Though after doing the city elfs origin I really have to wonder how this game didn't get an adult rating.

JRPGs have been shitty this gen. Only two that I can think of that I have enjoyed are Cross Edge ( I love my sprites, story is basic ) and ToV ( fun game play, pretty good chars, story is standard JPRG crap ).

I will say I have high hopes for DQ10 and maybe FFXIII, but not holding my breath on FF any more. I really have not enjoyed a FF game since 8, but had a decent enjoy time with 12 ( no dumb ass love story ). Criss Core was pretty good, I like that they tried a new system for it but only two parts of the game put a smile on my face. The loveless theme and when Zack dies ( part was well done imo ).

I really wish more JRPGs would just try something new, brake the damn mold that has been used for far to long now.
 
[quote name='kainzero']what i couldn't stand was all the fanboys crying because of the retcons that invalidated their fanfics[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that the retcons also contradicted some of FFVII itself.

I don't mind the backstory bits (and yes, most of my fanfics were invalidated by the entire Compilation of FFVII), but when you contradict the original game, then you've got serious continuity problems. Many old school fanfic writers - and there are a lot of them still around in FFVII fandom - have since gotten around this issue by stating their works are "original game canon".

As for RPG stories in general, there is a problem with them being formulaic, usually, but that's the nature of the beast. As long as the basic structure, pacing, characterizations, and dialogue are up to snuff, I've no complaints. Granted, the main reason I play games is not for the story, but I do like a well-told one.
 
[quote name='kainzero']i actually liked crisis core

that ending got to me

what i couldn't stand was all the fanboys crying because of the retcons that invalidated their fanfics[/QUOTE]

Do not get me wrong. I loved Crisis Core. The ending was beautifully done. Zach was annoying (would not stop reminding me that like Ninja Turtles, SOLDIER FIGHTS WITH HONOR!!!), but I still really liked him.

Back to the topic, I was sincere when I asked that question. Also I do think it's perfectly fair for people to have higher expectations of SE after years upon years of success. They should be able to show they've grown since then.
 
[quote name='DQT']Do not get me wrong. I loved Crisis Core. The ending was beautifully done. Zach was annoying (would not stop reminding me that like Ninja Turtles, SOLDIER FIGHTS WITH HONOR!!!), but I still really liked him.

Back to the topic, I was sincere when I asked that question. Also I do think it's perfectly fair for people to have higher expectations of SE after years upon years of success. They should be able to show they've grown since then.[/QUOTE]

I think that it is fair that we expect more of them. That's the main reason I started the thread. I feel that if there's no growth in their games that it feels stagnant and as much as I want to support SE, I've been finding myself glossing over their games in lieu of other publishers.
 
[quote name='battousai11']I think that it is fair that we expect more of them. That's the main reason I started the thread. I feel that if there's no growth in their games that it feels stagnant and as much as I want to support SE, I've been finding myself glossing over their games in lieu of other publishers.[/QUOTE]
I think, for a little perspective, we might want to compare Squeenix to similarly-sized publishers and see how they stack up.

I'm willing to give Squeenix the benefit of the doubt. All companies have their golden eras, and those are tough to keep going, especially for the bigger ones. For the most part it seems to be certain smaller, boutique studios (thinking mainly of Blizzard and Valve here) that are able to continuously crank out fantastic games, in part because they are so small.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']"Crank out" implies a certain bit of speed, Shin.

Still waitin' on SC 2 and Episode 3, here...[/QUOTE]
LOL, so true. My bad; I should've typed "drip out slower than molasses" *also waiting on SC2, of course*
 
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