Does Square Enix Deserve More Credit? - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 13 September 2011 / 6,752 Views
In a world where Western developers dominate the industry, it's hard for Japanese developers to really hold their own. Outside of Nintendo, most Japanese developers are having trouble finding their place in today's market, especially on a world-wide scale. Some have stuck to niche markets around the world, others are chasing western tastes and in some cases, some have completely given up on regions outside their home territory. Larger developers have it a lot harder, as they not only need to stay on top of the Japanese market, but also try to regain lost ground in the Western markets. Split between two different design philosophies, it's hard to make a quality title that appeals to both markets. Many developers have given up finding this happy medium or gone the extreme of one way or the other. Square Enix, on the other hand, seems dead-set on making it work.
After being a dominate force the last two generations, it's a bit of surprise at how much of an after thought Square Enix has become as a developer. On their publishing side, recent titles from Eidos have cast quite a shadow on Square Enix's internal teams. Now-a-days Square Enix is often called out for not innovating enough and sticking to their big guns, specifically the Final Fantasy series. In terms of making use of that franchise, it's true. Add up all the portable Final Fantasy games across Nintendo DS, PSP and Wii and you're set for at least a year. While there's only been two HD Final Fantasies so far, there are still quite a few more on the way.
Despite criticisms of these titles and the general idea that Square Enix isn't evolving from their Japanese philosophies, I’d argue that they are one of the more adventurous companies when it comes to Japanese developers. Not only do they attempt to find a balance between development philosophies for a global market, they also have been pushing to create some unique and innovative titles, even if they have have big names slapped on them.
Final Fantasy XIV pushed many features that that didn't follow the World of Warcraft formula, with an engaging stamina based battle system, an economy that didn't rely on auction houses, as well as attempted change the role of a crafting system in an MMORPG. The 3rd Birthday took the Parasite Eve series in a new direction, essentially making it a third person with a bit of its own flair. A bit of an older title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, had a world that encouraged heavy amounts of experimentation and threw the typical JPRG hero and plot out the window for more of an Indiana Jones-style action title. Square Enix must have not gotten the memo that different doesn't always equal good, because all of the titles mentioned above aren't exactly, um... the cream of the crop. It's a phase I think Square Enix had to go through, and possibly is still going through, to really understand what they need to do to succeed.
Revisiting Final Fantasy XIV, it's still a bit early to say if they'll find a healthy balance, but they've been reining the title back a bit to implement features that are more standard fare in MMORPGs. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is introducing dialogue trees where the player can make choices during conversations with NPCs, although they will have no effect on the plot outside of that dialogue. The title will have multiple endings through time traveling and going to different areas at different times. While we haven't seen much of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the gameplay we've seen hints at taking the traditional Kingdom Hearts gameplay style into a full Final Fantasy experience, as well as adding quite a few more Western features like including elements of third person shooting. Many JRPG elements seem to remain, but they're also implementing these other elements more commonly found in Western titles.
As long as it's profitable we'll continue to see the Final Fantasy name or other big franchises from Square Enix like Dragon Quest. Despite this, it's important to look beyond the name and at the software itself. Final Fantasy is probably one of the few franchises that can really adapt with ease to different settings and gameplay styles, whether it be in a main numbered entry or a spin-off. I definitely think Square Enix has their development heart in the right place, but they need to learn to build an experience around that to, yet again, make truly great software that gamers can't afford to miss
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They should stop trying to scrap old elements of the franchise and simply try to improve upon them. We want more, not different.
There's a market for it, though I wish sales were more convincing for games like Persona 4 and the very few other franchises that stick to their JRPG roots. I'm having to go through a backlog of games I never got around to playing in the past just to get my RPG fix. I'm playing 7th Saga for the firs ttime and it's a whole lot of fun, made by Enix, and though it's rudimentary simple for an RPG, I can't put it down. =)
To answer the question in the title - No.
I'll give them credit for trying to change the style of games they make. I don't like it and I believe now they know consumers don't like it. Final Fantasy XIII was a fine game but XIV wasn't. That was not SQEX. I also give them kudos for actually being one of the few JPN devs to actually care about there western base and actually localize stuff. They did hit a down period, the only place they can go now is up so let's see how it goes.
for what they've done in the past,YES
wouldn't it be more proper to rename the title of the article to "Does SE deserve more credit for Final Fantasy?" That's basically the only series covered (sans 3rd birthday).
This article is enlightening and lifts me up from a rather competitive and at times pessimistic hobby. Square vs Bethesda, Sony vs Microsoft, EA vs Activision. We're so opinionated, and money doesn't go on trees quite fast enough, that we tend to choose a genre or two of games and for whatever reason lash out at the competing developer and its franchise. Most people in this generation of gaming have chosen real-time first-person RPGs over traditional turn-based(with active battle or not) JRPGs, but that doesn't mean Square-Enix hasn't done a good enough job.
Most game companies work hard to deliver a product, and while it's a shame the sales at times don't reflect the amount of effort that went into a title, a number of factors can reflect that. Were the main characters not appealing enough? Was the game advertised -at all-? (The first I heard of The 3rd Birthday was by browsing Gamestop just this last week and spotting it on a discounted PS2 rack) Did they take elements, code, and experiences from their past titles and build on that foundation to create a better title? FFXIII was arguably a step up from FFXII in terms of gameplay, though many would be hard-pressed to say FFXIV is an improvement over FFXI.
XI had to undergo a few changes and took a few years to really take off, but at its core, it's a great MMO that anyone would be excited for a sequel for. FFXIV took a step in the completely wrong direction- repetitive environments, monotonous gameplay,, a disconnected HUD- just so many issues that make you wonder why any of this wasn't corrected during beta.
When it comes to japanese developers looking to please both audiences, I think it's simply a matter of 'getting it.' Any developer works hard to create a game and sure, they deserve credit, but to say Square has done a fantastic job this generation is a fruitful lie. We need more franchises other than Final Fantasy, we need to see more leaps of faith in terms of design, and we need to see Square actually listen to its fans so it could make a more profitable product.
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god no, the author seems like hes stuck in PS1 era, THAT is when Square was a developer that was doing different things, Bushido Blade, Brave Fencer Musashi, PE, Einhander, Ehrgeiz, Tobal, Choccobo racing, etc. thats not even getting into the JRPGs they made that were NOT FF.
My fav part "The 3rd Birthday took the Parasite Eve series in a new direction, essentially making it a third person with a bit of its own flair." So taking a series that was essentially RE RPG and turning it into a generic 3rd person shooter with some silly little hook is better??? OK
I think you should also have mentioned their recent successes as a publisher. Great games like Just Cause 2, Human Revolution, and also the upcoming Tomb Raider and Hitman: Absolution. They seem to be reinvigorating a new life into a lot of old franchises.
Nope
Square-Enix? No.
Monolith Soft? YES!
I think they do yes. Both for the game they develop and the games they publish.
Not at their current state , no
they are many ff fans out there that cldn't wait 4 ffXIII then we found out what a car crash it was. I had ffXII before i got my ps3 and that game was amazing there was tons of stuff to do and the battle system was actually amazing i thought the story was lame, but the main problem with that game was the side missions were better than the actual quest itself. What is ff without towns? nothing
No they do not deserve credit because quite frankly their titles are boring. Honestly put, I'm tired of JRPGs. I grew up on games like Dragon Warrior, Chrono Trigger, 7th Saga and the like but today's JRPGs are just plain boring with muddled storylines, stupid anime graphics (can't those people draw in any other style--hate it) and retarded Japanese or eastern philosophical theory. In terms of story, there is no JRPG that can come even close to Dragon Age.
Ah, this is a only FF realted. Because for me Square is doing a good work from when it's returned the duo Square/Eidos. I'm appreciating Just Cause 2 and Deux Ex Human Revolution a the moment. For FF, we he to see if this time the long promise of free exploration it's for real in the next ones, before at least i can judge.
Japanese games have been behind the curve for years now
FF games are no longer the graphic powerhouse games. FF XIII had average graphics, weak storyline/plot, no towns and too many boring CGI cut scenes that ruined the flow of the game.
Remake of FF VI, VII, VIII, IX or X would be nice for FF fans. Why does SE insist on breaking a proven RPG formula of success with failed experiments?
I don't care if they do new things; but I am really sick of RPG developers changing the core mechanics of RPGs to make them actiony; it really cheapens the experience, and ends up turning what should be a relaxing gameplay experience into a somewhat irritating one.
What Square should do is make a more traditional battle system; stop making gigantic worlds that take forever to get around; ease off the battles a bit, they are like the fries of an RPG, no one really likes THAT many of them and they are generally just there to make the meal seem larger. Also bring back interesting towns, the last very interesting town was Treno in way back in FF9.
Dragon Quest is fine, although I am really worried about Dragon Quest X after hearing you might actually have to be online to play it; I don't want a game like that, one that might not work in 10 years. I like to pick up and play old games, 20 years from now I'll enjoy playing DQ5, I would like DQ10 to be the same.
FF12 is the greatest game ever created with an MJ look alike main character.
Final Fantasy is now a tired old dated series well past its used by date. The last three or four iterations of Final Fantasy have gone from bad to worse. XI, XII, XIII and XIV left a sour bitter taste in FF fans mouths. Well below the great FF eps of the past: VI to X.
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Yes, simply because they are trying to do something new instead of simply copying all of their past successes. That said, they also deserve pretty much all the blame they get for failing in what they're trying.
I want to give Square more credit, but they seem too intent on pleasing the western audience too much, that they forgot what made them who they are now. I think most people will still flock to buy Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but they have made quite a few bad decisions in the past and still seem to be making some poor decisions nowadays. One of those poor decisions is the recent Dragon Quest X title, with making it like an online MMO and exclusive to the Wii/Wii U (Wii having some poor online capabilities).
they're one of the main reason why the japanese market is failing.
if they kept their japanese games being japanese , this wouldn't happen.
I've loved everything square did until Final Fantasy XIII...that alone almost ruined the company for me, sadly. That said, I like giving more chances so you can bet I'll be there to get future games from them.
SE = biggest fail this generation
Nope... I just already sick with so many final fantasy titles
