[Multiplatform] The Last Remnant: Life at 12 frames a second is a beautiful thing.

Originally Posted by Drex

Square games might not be all-around masterpieces nowadays, but I always enjoy playing them. And they get real close in many aspects a lot of the time. DQ8 and FF12 were both very enjoyable, and the novelty of KH and KH2, despite story/plotline etc. issues, made it fun as well. I'm sure I'll buy into this one and enjoy it, though my expectations on plot won't be very high.

I'm gonna have to ditto you and Mucknuggle, on this one. As of late their games have been passing my "Am-I-Having-Fun?" test, so I really don't see where the hate comes from. Now, if I start expecting masterpieces from them, I think I'll understand where the others are coming from.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

Well, yeah...You'd kinda think games that sell as much as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy would be masterpieces though.

Not really, as there are quite a few games that sell better than either of those and they're by no means "masterpieces". SE seems to be giving folks what they want, that's all (and people buy it).

They do this even though they'll wind up pumping out formulaic titles that makes a small niche avoid their titles.

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I really hate the mark Nomura has left on the Final Fantasy franchise (not to mention many other lesser Square games he's designed characters for...Can someone say "pallette swap"?) and I didn't enjoy the first Kingdom Hearts at all (so naturally, I didn't pay any attention to the sequel). I think Square has been downright awful for a long time now, but I don't think it's solely on Nomura's shoulders...That whole company has issues from the ground up right now. I do think he has been given too much control of their most important projects.

What bugs me is...Why are the two guys who basically made Final Fantasy working at another company (Sakaguchi/Uematsu), while those that remain at Square whore the living fuck out of it?

So yeah...The Square side of SE is pretty "meh" these days.

I definitely agree with the bolded part. Though that just seems like a reflection of the company's current issues, in that they keep spamming this guy all over the place. Don't know how they'll fix this, but they should, since the FF series has seen its sales dropping since VII.

BTW, I like how you mentioned Sakaguchi and Uematsu seeing as how both have been meh for a good while now.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Iwata

Having just recently completed Blue Dragon, i have to scoff at this opinion. Blue dragon has been the most engaging RPG i've played that has come out of the Square/ex-Square employee camp since FFVI.

I highly doubt it comes anywhere near FFVI, a title that many folks consider a masterpiece. For some reason, this looks like people getting fed up with Nomura's influence in many of SE's major titles.

Many of these gamers just want the same FF formula, without Nomura, and Mistwalker seems to provide this. Blue Dragon isn't exactly amazing, but taking the above into account, it's preferred over something from the Square-Enix camp.

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Sakaguchi specifically didn't have much too do with many Square games in his final years with the company, his name was pretty much stamped on em because of who he is, but every game that he has entrenched himself in regards to the development has come out wonderful unlike the never-changing bullcrap that is churned out by Nomura.

Really, the only RPG-centric company that has been quality throughout it's entire life-span has been Altus.

Eh, I wouldn't get all mastubatory on Sakaguchi. Like you mentioned in that last line, very few (if any) RPG-centric studios are capable of maintaining a certain level of quality for their titles. Mistwalker will have the same thing happen to them.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

*Shrug* Aside from Ys Origin and Wild Arms Vth Vanguard, the music for Blue Dragon is the best RPG score I've heard in awhile. And I'm finding out now I'd much rather have even uninspired Uematsu than some of the various replacements they've found for the series. Yes, even Hanjuku Hero 3D.

As for Sakaguchi...I'm not saying he's been god or that I'll buy a 360 just for Blue Dragon. I'm just saying he was the guy who oversaw the coming-up of FF (and Square, to be honest), so it's odd seeing him in another company and those remaining to have so little direction (other than to spam FF). Doesn't boost my confidence in Square at all.

Oh, definitely. The real problem, at least in my opinion, is the apparent lack of new blood or talent. That would explain Nomura's rampage across their games. I'm sure if they tried, they could still appeal to their target demographic and old fans and try something new, but maybe they don't see the risk as worthwhile?

Edit: Ah, something else. The culture may have changed, such that the development environment isn't tolerant of new ideas or approaches to features we've taken for granted.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

If the culture has changed, then how come it only has really affected Square? I mean the other companies haven't exactly filled out their list of Upcoming games with just one franchise. And then we have games like Okami from Clover which was pretty fresh and new.

I should've been more specific when I made that comment. I meant the environment within SE itself, since we're talking about SquareEnix here.

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Trouble is Square is just way too famous and over shadowing other RPGs. Yeah, I may be a huge KH fan, but I still like venture more into different RPGs, which is why I'm glad GFF is back so I can read up on other RPGs and try them out. I have my eyes on Odin Sphere now. I mean, I went to two gaming concerts and naturally Square images didn't appear on their screens. Why? Cause they know they're too famous for it now, and to them its "better" to be more protective of their work, and unlike games like Odin Sphere they don't need show their game shots and videos cause they feel they don't need to market it, cause over 90% of the audience there are already fans of Square games and music.

I think that arrogance has affected the way they make their games, along with the lack of new talent. Strange is Konami and Capcom have franchises that can deem them into such pride, yet I haven't seen them go down the Square route or milking, nor did they went protective of their video material, so MGS videos defintly were at both game concerts I went. Why is Square the only exception?

I agree they've become entirely too comfortable where they are now, and pick people to head their titles who will keep them there (hello Nomura), or at least avoid deviating from the procedure which has put them in their current spot. But as I mentioned before, the FF series has seen steadily declining sales since VII.

Unfortunately that's probably what it'll take to get them to change.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Shin

I would hardly describe SE as losing consumer confidence. Sure, those of you who pay attention to the career paths of their employees and wish their lives away waiting for another FFVII might be wary but as Enk said, they're in the business of making money, not catering to obsessives and "Hard core" gamers (Such a contradiction in terms that phrase).

Which was my response to GoldfishX with regards to KH and FF selling well, despite not being 10/10 products. But they have been losing customers over the years since VII, and if they want to reverse this trend they'll need to try something else. I'll find the all-time sales chart I'm citing in a second.

Here's it is This is for Japan mind you, but you can see how their sales have slipped considerably since VII.

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They churn out FF cash-ins because that's what the majority of the game buying public want and that's how they make their money. It seems to me that some people here are mistaking businessmen for artists...

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Not really, as there are quite a few games that sell better than either of those and they're by no means "masterpieces". SE seems to be giving folks what they want, that's all (and people buy it).

They do this even though they'll wind up pumping out formulaic titles that makes a small niche avoid their titles.

Pretty much, and even though their sales for the series are lackluster compared to their golden age, they still sell like hotcakes. It's probably why we never got another Einhander.

I was speaking idiomatically.