Ben-DutkaI remember it like it was yesterday: perusing the game store shelves and looking for just about anything with "Squaresoft" on the box. If I found one I hadn't played, it was probably coming home with me. One of the big reasons the original PlayStation was the king of RPGs was because a company called Squaresoft continually delivered top-notch titles, time and time again. It was amazing. In retrospect, I don't think we've seen such a stretch of undeniable mastery since…by anyone.
And although I will always love Final Fantasy , and I will even defend FFXIII as being a really, really great game (just not a great FF installment), Square-Enix has given me almost nothing that ranks in the upper stratosphere in the past decade. Sometimes, we just have to face up to facts and accept that the past is never coming back. I still recall thinking, "hey, Squaresoft and Enix coming together…so like, FF and Star Ocean merging…wow!" Yeah, not so much "wow," anymore. And so, this statement is just for you, Square-Enix: you've got one more chance. One. I will remain excited and enthusiastic for Final Fantasy Versus XIII all the way up until its release; I will hold out hope and sit down to play it with high expectations. All those brief updates have been incredibly encouraging – especially that bit about it being "like the old 2D FFs in HD" – and the early footage is impressive. It really looks great.
We still need some actual gameplay but for now, I'm holding tightly to a quickly diminishing faith; a faith that has been eroding away for years; a faith irrationally fueled by frequent reminiscing via FFVII and FFT. I know a third Kingdom Hearts might be on the way, but that's not a deal-cincher for me; the games are cool, but not necessarily my cup of tea. I'd play it (probably) but I want what the old Square was always known for: an epic, memorable, landmark RPG that helps to define a generation. You set the bar years ago; you can't just go and sit in a corner. Therefore, deliver on your last chance or you will be permanently downgraded on my own personal publisher ratings board. You can't continue to keep a top slot simply because of history, you know.
Related Game(s): Final Fantasy Versus XIII
hi,
Appreciate your comments. I just think that in my opinion the western RPG's are giving us more than the JRPGs. The western RPG's are just totally more innovative than the current generation JRPG's.
Worry Not Guys,
Final fantasy Versus XIII
will redifine modern RPG.
sqaure enix work so hard at every single game ,
its bound for there hard work to pay off.
Says who?
Square promised XIII would be a VII killer and it so was not.
They better show us something good this time.
Level 5.
1st impressions are in for WKC2, it's apparently 50x better than the original and Famitsu (not that i care) rated it high with 8's and 9's.
Might be deemed off topic, but consider it my way of saying, in the menacing Tony Soprano way, "Enix is dead to me".
Check out this new town in WKC2 and god the music is golden era great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GbahVVeJqs – Yeah, impossible in HD…..
Oh, your avatar gets a Knight too…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwwf-lysiAo
And don't forget The Another World RPG with studio Gibili! My golden era needs are satisfied.
Coolness.
WKC2 is absolutely a D1P for me. I will pre-order and play through the WKC1 campaign again for the heck of it.
Rad badical. I really can't wait for WKC2 to come out. I need to actually finish WKC, guess I know what I'm doing this weekend after I replace the seals on my bike.
Sweet. I'm only 26 hours into WKC but I already know that it is amongst one of my favorite games in my collection. Funny thing is I think FF 13 is my least favorite.
As frustrating as it can be, I can't seem to put down Demon's Souls to finish WKC and Star Ocean : The Last Hope.
WKC2 is a friggin lock, that and Star Ocean are my fave JRPGs this gen.
Im very interested in that Ni No Kuni game Level 5 is working on.
I agree with you on that, Jawknee. And they have Studio Ghibli on board too! Should be an awesome game.
It makes perfect sense if you'd actually read the article. Squaresoft was known for far more than just Final Fantasy. Furthermore, I made it very clear that FFXIII isn't a very good FF in comparison to the rest of the series.
Squaresoft used to make greatness all the time, from Vagrant Story to Chrono Cross to Parasite Eve to even Einhander. Square-Enix? Maybe you can see where I'm going with this.
Makes perfect sense to me. The game wasn't complete a turd, but it didn't come out smelling like roses either.
We expect more from Squeenix. Ever since they decided that being in MS pocket was more important that making great games, they have gone down hill. Big time.
It's more then pathetic we are 4 plus years into this gen and we have one big budget game on the PS3 from them. Sony consoles gave Square the tools needed to become the industry leaders in developerment. It only took MS and the Xbox to strip that leadership away from Square.
Again. One.Freakin.Game.For.PS3.In.Four.Years.
PATHETIC!
Last edited by Jawknee on 8/20/2010 1:25:06 PM
FF games are normally held it to a much higher standard. SE's other games are held on a lower standard, but in the past they were still pretty decent. What Ben is saying is that FFXIII seemed like a good game coming from SE but wasn't FF good. Every other game released by them this gen has sucked, can't include just cause 2 though since i haven't played it
Yeah I heard Infinite Discovery and The last remnant bombed. I actually enjoy Star Ocean 4 and NIER seems to be the closest thing to how SE used to make a traditional JRPG though I haven't played it yet.
But as you said the FF series is supposed to be Square-enix's baby. When they release a Final Fantasy they CANNOT afford to screw around.
Last edited by shadowscorpio on 8/21/2010 12:28:40 AM
Their only human if they do make a mistake. Other than that the game should be fine.
You're giving them alot of credit gaNWars.
I'm just hoping FF 13 was an attempted experiment that went wrong and they learn from it.
FF versus 13 is going to in fact be the thing that reafirms that FF13 is either their new direction or if some where in Square-enix there are still people that can give us a beloved game that fans will talk proudly about for a decade if not longer (FF7, FF8, FF10, FF Tactics, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, etc.).
They aren't human, they a massive evil corporation.
Well said Ben.
HOWEVER, please don't forget about FF6. I've played them all (yes, including the god awful FF2), and the epic ones to me were: FF6, FF4, FF7, FFT.
Here's hoping that one day they'll get their act together and make a huge comeback.
FFI to FFX were all 9+ games. I also loved Kingdom Hearts and maybe more (I don't remember right now). But now, every title Squeresoft bring us is not necessarily a "must own". I'm really crossing my fingers with Versus since the concept looks cool.
I really can't figure why anyone would pin their hopes of old-timey Square on FFVXIII — the actual FFXIII had more people working on it from the past games people liked, and what I've seen and heard of Versus so far sounds more like Kingdom Hearts than the ATB powered, turn based games people here seem to be pining for.
And I'll say it again, Squeenix is still making some great games in the same vein as their PSone stuff… except it's on the DS.
Well, it doesn't HAVE to be old-timey to be greatness. I think nomura has been clear that it was actiony. But it does have to have most of the elements that SE thought it was okay to cut from XIII. Towns, NPCs, exploration, airship, some sort of world map, etc.
If your thinking of Dragon Quest 9, that isn't Enix, it's published by Enix, but it's developed by Level 5….the golden era rpg company of today.
Enix haven't made a golden RPG this gen.
I guess, but what turned me off to FFXIII the most wasn't the new fangled battle system or lack of towns, though that definitely didn't help. There wasn't much about the entire project that really felt like Final Fantasy. A Kingdom Hearts kind of game doesn't strike me as being that much closer to what I'm looking for, towns or otherwise.
@Lotusflow3r – Yes, Level 5 developed Dragon Quest IX (and VIII) but it was very much designed by the usual core Dragon Quest team, headed by Yuji Horii. I think Level 5 are incredibly talented technically, but when they design their own RPGs they actually bore the heck out of me (Rogue Galaxy was at the same time beautiful and yet amazingly cliched, dull, and crudely designed)
Looking at Square Enix now all I can think of is that they have become Shinra Electric Power Co.
Great comment. 😀
I think Heidegger is Creative Director.
I disagree. I think final fantasy series will always sell square enix will be here for a long long long long time.
Omgoodness, will people please stop trashing ff13. One of the best looking action rpg games PERIOD. Looks better than gow in overall quality, fun as heck. The in game cutscenes not the full motion video looks almost identical to the in game graphics. Was anybody complaining about the shortness of gow? Or complaining about the ending?
Let's face it, the gow series is done on the ps3. Yes, there making one for the handheld, but not the ps3? Seriously? And lastly, would people be complaining about this ff13 if it was exclusive, if they sold the ff13 skinned consoles which included the game or collector's edition for 300 or 400 dollars, or sold there ff13 soda cans, or there ff13 soundtrack for very reasonable prices here? Maybe, maybe not.
Could you imagine if this was exclusive and it was advertised as often as metal gear solid was and had an almost worldwide release in the usa and japan?
I'm not going to wager, but i wouldn't be shocked in the least if xbox get there hands on ff13 versus, or ff agito (what's that by the way). Oh is anyone playing the ff14 beta? How is it?
God of War? What kind of crack are you smoking? That has nothing to do with anything.
If FF13 WAS exclusive, it wouldn't have been the travesty it turned out to be.
And Agito is for PSP, so yeah, probably won't make it to Xbox.
PLEASE know what you're talking about before you make such acrimonious remarks. You look like a crazy person.
Last edited by Rings0fUranus on 8/21/2010 3:08:47 PM
"Looks better than gow in overall quality, fun as heck. The in game cutscenes not the full motion video looks almost identical to the in game graphics."
First of all, that's not even CLOSE to being right. Secondly, this isn't about graphics. It's about the game itself, which would've been sub-par in Final Fantasy land, whether it was an exclusive or not.
Agreed. Graphics does not play an role in determining the quality of the RPG. We're looking for some substance.
very very well said BEN. two thumbs way up, i am with you completely. the old epic, memorable, landmark RPG is the one i seek for in this gen, so far, only Lost Odyssey has come close to that, but not quite exactly, and it was not made by SE. so… let me give it one more chance and will it be worthy for the wait??
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 8/21/2010 3:47:00 AM
Regarding your first paragraph, I remember those days fondly as well. That's how I discovered Star Ocean The Second Story. And it was one of my favorite games of the generation.
What's happened to you Squaresof- errr, I mean Squeenix?
LOL, SE has been caught by the UK's ASA, for showing the better PS3 version to promote the 360 version….
Square Enix Admonished by U.K. ASA Over Final Fantasy XIII Advertisement.
http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/square-enix-admonished-by-uk-asa-over-final-fantasy-xiii-advert/
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Is Your Last Chance, Please FFXIII was SE last chance. I want even buy FFVII now if they do a remake.