Can Final Fantasy Still Save Square Enix?

In the past, whenever Square Enix released a new Final Fantasy, things were a-okay. Yet, in 2010 the Tokyo-based game maker released two, and things are anything but.

[MattS]

I'm not sure Square Enix needs "saving." A dip in profits is normal over the life of corporations, and it's not like SE is suffering massive losses.

[Dragon_Hiko]

I say they sure as hell need some major saving. I'm not talking about 'profit' I'm talking about god damn quality games! There was a time not too long back where I knew, I KNEW that if there was the Squaresoft label on the game it would be quality. It didn't matter if I'd never heard of it before I knew it would be a good game. Not to mention final fantasy 7, 8, 9 and 10 were all phenomenally good games. And again I'm not talking profit, just because FF XIII made more money does not mean it is even in the same class of game as it's predecessors. And I'd also say....OF COURSE it made more money, the video game industry is MASSIVELY bigger now than it was 10 years ago, AND the game is multi platform so it's hitting a larger percentage of the larger industry and it's selling off of the brand name of it's predecessors when the name square and FF MEANT something.

Edit: I am NOT buying FF Xiii-2...I used to be a FF collector, I have every single main and most of the side FF titles (not originals, but through remakes and some originals) and I just...cannot buy this crap after XIII. I am holding on to the ever so slight hope that versus XIII could be OK, but I have no high expectations for anything square now, they have to earn that back.

[Istanbull]

Square Enix didn't even produce ONE good rpg since Sakaguchi left. Its hard but true, all their rpgs suck, they can't make any games anymore, except for the KH and Crisis Core team.

Instead of focussing on new story, gameplay ideas, they are fooling us with nice CGI graphics.

I'm not buying that shit SE.

[JoySticksFTW]

Bubbles to both Dragon and Istanbull for breaking it down

The only SE game that I've liked recently was FF:CC. I admit that I haven't tried "The World Ends with You" though.

But if we're talking strictly FF, SE has disappointed as of late.

I was a HUGE FFXI fan, but FFXIV sucks. I said it. They released a broken game.

And XIII's broken too, because the story and character development that were such staples in so many Squaresoft games are missing.

Square lost it's soul when it merged with Enix and the forefathers of FF left. SE cares only for money now.

And they just don't realize that if they release quality games, the money will come -- especially when you attach an FF to the title.

Back to character development...

People used to argue who the coolest FF character was. XIII's cast had potential that was never harnessed and built upon. They're bland

And don't even get me started on FF villains. Man, people STILL argue who the best FF villain is. But XIII's won't even get laughed at, because it's so forgettable.

With a forgettable cast of heroes, a forgettable villain, and a forgettable story for their flagship title? Yeah... SE needs saving all right

[ElementX]

I think SE needs to drop the Final Fantasy name. There are too many spinoffs and crappy games trying to ride the FF name.

[RememberThe357]

Thats a little drastic. I think they need to go back to what worked. Right now they're depending on established IPs and people seem to be getting bored. It seems to me that Square was much better at implementing new IPs in the past.

Their quality standard has completely fallen off. That is what they need to work on. FF is fine, they just need more on consoles.

[George Sears]

These guys just need to calm down and do there projects like they used to do. Past gen I never seemed them this hectic. They tend to release too many games every year. On handhelds, on consoles, on mobile devices they are trying way too much to cater towards the over all masses that they are losing track on what is much important. Quality.

Now, they are trying to release FF games like if it was the COD RPG, each year. Last year we had FFXIII (not counting remakes on mobile devices of FFI-FFII etc); they just recently released the horrendous FFXIV which truly has shown the testament of there overall quality.

Then we got FFXIII-2, something that doesnt even need to be made but I guess it's a lot easier to just re-use same old characters and worlds to garner some decent profit, right?

Which leaves Versus, another project in which they should had finished first instead of jumping on another huge FF game like XIII-2. They shouldn't really even put Roman numbers anymore since they are so mixed up. Hopefully, we would get to play Versus before they announce XVI.

I do still have faith in these guys though. I just hope they can get there acts together. IMO, it all should start by kicking Yoichi Wada off the curb.

[DigitalRaptor]

If XIII-2 is not a lot better than XIII, then Versus XIII will be their last chance!

[USEYOURFIST]

i think it will be better then xiii but they need to carry on the story directly otherwise will be pointless like x-2

[jneul]

dont get your hopes up, ffxiii-2 looks like a gap filler to me, im avoiding it (rental only), but i will buy ffvs but only because they actually are listening to the real ff fans for that game

[cyrus228]

jnuel

lol nommura isnt listening to any fans, he is making what he wants and it just happens to be what we wanted. versus has been in development before ps3 launch sooooo yeah lol. i think nomura is the last good dev Square has honestly.

what square enix needs to hurry and release while they have time is Valkyrie Profile 3!!!! HD lenneth FTW

[hellzsupernova]

versus will save them if it is half as awesome as it looks

[guitar_nerd_23]

i have an inclination verus will please nobody although id like to be proven otherwise, but expect it will be too kindom hearts to be a good ff and too ff the be a good kingdom hearts

why do they anounce stuff so damn early its been 5 yrs since e3 06 (i tihnk thats when the teaser trailer was out)

[hellzsupernova]

I do see where your coming from but i like the combat more in Kingdom hearts then in FF and i like the FF world more then Kingdom hearts so in my case it is a win win :D

[guitar_nerd_23]

fair, i havent played loads of kingdom hearts didnt mind crisis core though- i hope this is cool tho, if has a decent story ill be happy enuf

[Fel08]

I think Versus can and it will.

[rataranian]

No.

[guitar_nerd_23]

i thought it would be a fitting sentiment to treat square the way theyve treated me over the last few years so rather than post my disgruntlement about square ill copy/paste it from the article yesterday that was of a similar vayne lol

"i really hope they (square) redeem themselves and turn back into the seal of quality they once were

im an utter diehard sqaure fan most of their catalogue represents my all time favourite and most cherished gaming memories of rpgs be it chrono trigger, xenogears or one of the many great final fantasies- hell, i even liked bushido blade and brave fencer a fair bit

i don't know if they've got it in them anymore or maybe they're not so cut out for the modern style of games we've become accustomed to

i'll still at least rent their games in hope of them being worth my money in case they do, just wont through down 40quid at the slightest glimpse of the badge like i used to without a worry"

[Nicaragua]

Final Fantasy 13 pretty much killed my faith that Square are still capable of making good games.

A flagship title with a massive following, years in development, huge budget - What could go wrong? Well as it happens everything - FF13 sucked so badly it raped my teenage nostalgia of FF7 and FF8.

[jneul]

well if SE can survive ffxiii-2, which imo is a gap filler and will be horrible (not getting my hopes up), then yes ffvs will save them but only because for that game they are returning the series back to it's roots its all about story, exploration, character development, being able to control vehicles, gameplay, and having towns....

[Deacon]

No. Final Fantasy 6 (Final Fantasy 3 here in the US) was their last great game. Everything else began taking a slow and steady downward spiral. Till this day, Kefka remains the the epitome of evil in all FF games. How many FF villains actually succeeded in taking over the world and changing everything as the characters presently knew it? None that I can remember but that's just my opinion.

[C0MPUT3R]

FFVI was the best, but most kids sadly never heard of Final Fantasy until VII.
.
The epic stuff that happens in VI would be unreal on an HD system.
.
IV through X were all great in their own way.

[ally12345]

It's true that Kefka is one of the best (or THE best) final fantasy villains. but a good villain doesn't equal a good game. there have been many FF games after FFVI that have still been great.

at this point, i'd settle for a good final fantasy with a shit villain over a shit final fantasy with a good villain.

[Mr_Luke]

Probably Versus. The rest... no.

[C0MPUT3R]

Under Squaresoft Final Fantasy was treated with respect, and they did it the right way. Each new title had a new world, characters, gameplay tweaks, and mini-games. While at the same time keeping the same themes & motifs transcendent through each title.

Squaresoft

FFIV - Traditional JRPG
FFV - Traditional JRPG
FFVI - Traditional JRPG
VII - "
VIII - "
IX - "
X - "
.
Under Square-Enix they exploited the name brand w/spin-offs like Crystal Chronicles, Revenant Wings, Now Type - 0, and other crap even the titles within the main series are no longer Traditional JRPG's.

Square-Enix

X-2 - Blasphemy!
XI - An MMO ( could of called it FF online instead) Use XI on real JRPG.
XII - Best one from Square-Enix, but was made from their B Team.
XIII - Dumbed down for a "new" western audience that doesn't exist.
XIV - Another crap MMO.
XIII-2 The rest of the FF XIII content that was held back & will be reworked to milk another $60. Yay
Vs. XIII - Kingdom Hearts for adults. (This looks promising, but I wouldn't hold my breath.)

F@ck You Squeenix for ruining one of my favorite franchises that I've been enjoying since 1993 when I stumbled across a game called Final Fantasy II (IV) for the SNES.

[Stealth20k]

Another article which has no idea what its talking about

Pretty much everything with the FF name has been pretty damn good this gen.

ff gaiden and crisis core the latest 2 games

[x5exotic]

correction "save it for old faggots like you"

for us it doesnt need saving,ff12 and 13 are awesome ,versus willl be the best ever,if u dont like it....there is no "SAVING" for u.simply fuck off and dont play it

[darkside]

Square Enix go bankrupt for all i care

[Ponurasky]

Even Amaterasu herself (and I'm talking about goddess not that wolf) cannot save SE. And I hope they go down as quick as possible. F@ck you Wada, you greedy bastard! You destroyed everything I loved in Square!

[Tuxedo_Mask]

While I like Final Fantasy games I wish SE would start revisiting some of their other franchises. Final Fantasy may be their most popular series, but they have a lot of other IPs that people like too.

[Relientk77]

They need to stop making dissapointing games

[Vesemir]

I think SE have a lot of money, they don't need to be saved.
They don't even need to make good games. FFXIII sold more than FFX.

That being said, well, you know the rest.

[zackacloud]

Is there another game to save Square Enix ????