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[duckroll]

Ok so we all know the story. Square and Enix merged, biggest RPG developers in Japan in one company, YAY! A promise of larger budgets, more marketing, greater games from both sides! Except..... not. Ask yourself now, what was the last major Squaresoft game you played? Final Fantasy X-2? Kingdom Hearts? Final Fantasy XI? Doesn't look like there are many Squaresoft games hitting the market anymore. Let's have a rundown on the major Squaresoft products we've been looking forward to:

Final Fantasy XII - no release date, previously scheduled for Summer 2004 then moved to Fall 2004.

Kingdom Hearts 2 - no release date, previously scheduled for 2004.

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children - no release date, previously scheduled for Fall 2004.

Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cereberus - no release date, no set genre, no information.

Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII - no release window, previously set at 'early 2006', now moved to simply '2006'.

Final Fantasy III DS - Announced with no release date and no info.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles DS - Announced with no release date and no info.

Seiken Densetsu DS - Announced with no release date and no info.


Now, obviously the company has not been sitting around doing NOTHING, so money has been flowing in. Let's look at recently released Square Enix products as well as upcoming titles.

-released between 2004 and now-

Star Ocean 3 Director's Cut - released in 2004. (ENIX)

Dragon Quest 5 - released in 2004. (ENIX)

Torneko's Big Adventure 3 Advance - released in 2004. (ENIX)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Demon of the red elixer - released in 2004. (ENIX)

FF & DQ in Itadaki Street Special - released in 2004. (ENIX)

Dragon Quest VIII - released in 2004. (ENIX)

Radiata Stories - released in 2005. (ENIX)

Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission - released in 2004. (SQUARE)

Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia - released in 2004. (SQUARE)

Final Fantasy I+II Advance - released in 2004. (SQUARE)

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories - released in 2004. (SQUARE)

Hanjuku Hero vs. 3D - released in 2004. (SQUARE)

Egg Monster Heroes - released in 2005. (SQUARE)

Musashiden II - Samurai Legend - announced but unreleased in Japan, released in the US in 2005. (SQUARE)


-upcoming games-

Drag-on Dragoon 2 - announced and set for release on June 30th 2005. (ENIX)

Grandia III - announced and set for release in Summer 2005. (ENIX)

Dragon Quest VI - unannounced, heavily rumored by multiple reliable sources for 2005. (ENIX)

Fullmetal Alchemist - heiress of the gods - announced and set for release this year. (ENIX)

DQ Slime Mori Mori 2 - announced along with the Square DS line-up, media has appeared in magazines. (ENIX)

Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song - announced and set for release on 21st April. (SQUARE)

Front Mission Online - announced and set for release on 12th May. (SQUARE)

Hanjuku Hero IV - announced and set for release on 26th May. (SQUARE)


It clearly seems that all the SQUARE-type titles in the company that actually have been released in recent memory or will be released soon are in the following categories: 1) handheld games 2) ports/remakes 3) B titles. The only side of this company that has actually been getting big-budget and high-profile stuff out on time and with more on the horizon is clearly the ENIX side.

Could it be possible that Enix management and shareholders (which as everyone knows holds more power and value than the Square side since the merger) are holding the budgets of Square games tightly to allow their own titles to be released in a timely manner? It seems to be that either Square's staff are completely screwing up on their high budget titles and unable to complete and finish them (which is not something we've seen in past experience) or someone is screwing them on the projects.


Note: Code Age is not part of this analysis as it is a new franchise with no release date and is irrelevant to the issue at hand. But just in case anyone whines, SQUARE staff are on that one.

 

[Amir0x]

they better get crackin', I need some more SquareEnix "big RPG" lovin'.

 

[Jonnyram]

Also coming soon.
FMA #3 (ENIX)
Code Age (Square)

 

[JackFrost2012]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

 

[Jan]

Why are FMA 2 and Drag on Dragoon 2 Enix games?

The first parts were Square games .

Anyway I´m a lot more interested in Enix games than in the Square ones.

 

[JackFrost2012]

Why are FMA 2 and Drag on Dragoon 2 Enix games?

The first parts were Square games .

Drag On Dragoon 1 was Square Enix, not Square. But in any case, it's "Enix side" staff.

FMA is 110% Enix from the very start.

 

[ourumov]

Well...Like if the latest Square games had been stellar or something...
If the games have to be more polished to avoid FFTA or KH products then I'll wait.

 

[DDayton]

When I first heard the details of the square-ENIX "merger", it seemed fairly obvious that it was actually Enix buying out Square. Enix was the bigger company in Japan and was free of Square's financial burdens... if you were running the new company, wouldn't you greenlight titles from the more successful divisions first?

Eh... things seem to have gotten better since the merger, so I'm happy enough.

 

[duckroll]

Also coming soon.
FMA #3 (ENIX)
Code Age (Square)

Good catch on FMA3, i added that. Read note about Code Age.

Regarding Fullmetal Alchemist in general:

It should be noted that FMA isn't just a "based-on-anime" game series that Square Enix decided to do. FMA was originally (and still is) a manga that ran in Enix Gangan, which is now Square Enix Gangan. The series was always under Enix supervision and it was a huge success, and became the most popular shounen manga that doesn't run in Jump. The popularity was then expanded into a huge-budget anime TV-series that ran for 51 episodes and is now licensed for DVD and TV in just about every country in the world. It is now the top rated show airing on Adult Swim in the US, and DVD sales have been stellar. The manga is up to its 10th volume and still going strong while the anime will receive a grand finale in the form of a theatrical movie in Japan this July. It has been mentioned several times in financial reports that FMA is one of the MOST profitable franchises that Square Enix has at the moment with everything ranging from manga, anime, merchandize, etc being highly popular. The FMA action RPG games are simply an extension of that and were handled mostly by outsourced developers and Enix staff. It would be foolish to mark it as a "SQUARE" franchise because if not for ENIX being part of the merger there would be no part of SQUARE in FMA at all. Food for thought.

 

[TTP]

Nevermind, me blind I guess

 

[ThirdEye]

FF11 is their constant source of revenue.

 

[speedpop]

I can agree that Enix are essentially being made the big guys in this merger, not that I don't mind.. but I do feel sadness for the Square guys beind led around by a leash. I just hope FFXII can redeem themselves... I have faith in Matsuno & co.

 

[jarrod]

Good! The more DraQue/tri-Ace/Grandia the better. After FFXII wraps up maybe Enix management will have the sense to get Matsuno working on an Ogre SRPG too.

 

[RevenantKioku]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

:lol
Awesome man. Purely awesome.

 

[borghe]

why is grandia considered enix? weren't grandia 1 and 2 released by game arts in japan?

 

[TekunoRobby]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

Congratulations, you have single handedly made this thread awesome.

 

[monchi-kun]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

i thought that was a drawing of a mishapen twat....

 

[Bat]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

:lol Amazing.

 

[DCharlie]

The evidence before the court is... etc

confirmed! Square Enix on Xbox 360!

 

[lexi]

The evidence before the court is
Incontrovertible, there's no need for
The jury to retire
In all my years of gaming
I have never heard before of
Some one more deserving
The full penalty of GAF
The way you made them suffer
Your exquisite franchise lovers
Fills me with an urge to defecate
Since, Squenix, you have revealed your darkest plan
I sentence you to be a wash outside Japan

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

 

[Jonnyram]

why is grandia considered enix? weren't grandia 1 and 2 released by game arts in japan?

Grandia 2 and Grandia Xtreme were both published by Enix for the PS2.

 

[jarrod]

why is grandia considered enix? weren't grandia 1 and 2 released by game arts in japan?

It's "Enix side", meaning they're overseeing it (Division 10 iirc). For publishers in Japan...

ESP Software
-Grandia (SS) 1997
-Grandia: Digital Museum (SS) 1998
-Grandia (PS) 1999
-Grandia II (DC) 2000

Hudson
-Grandia: Parallel Trippers (GBC) 2000

Enix
-Grandia II (PS2) 2002
-Grandia Xtreme (PS2) 2002

Square Enix
-Grandia III (PS2) 2005

Gung Ho Online Entertianment
-Grandia Online (PC) tba

...and the Lunar games....

Game Arts Entertainment
-Lunar: Silver Star (SCD) 1992
-Lunar: Eternal Blue (SCD) 1994
-Lunar: Sanposuru Gakuen (GG) 1996

Kadokawa Shoten
-Lunar: Silver Star Story (SS) 1996
-Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (SS) 1997
-Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PS) 1998
-Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (SS) 1998
-Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PS) 1999

ESP Software
-Mahou Gakuen Lunar (SS) 1997

Media Rings
-Lunar Legend (GBA) 2002

Marvelous Interactive
-Lunar Rune (DS) 2005

 

[Jonnyram]

Musashiden II is now scheduled for 7 July (same as Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy).
I guess my FFXII July prediction fails

 

[Pellham]

Well before the merger, Square was losing money and Enix wanted to improve its business. Post-merger, seems like Square is just responsible for what you said, recycling old games and pumping out sequels to their franchises. I see nothing wrong with this, it's just good business sense to give fans what they want (in this case, a myriad of spinoffs to Square's most popular game of all time, FF7).

So I don't really understand what you're complaining about, unless it has something to do with FF12 being delayed forever (which has nothing to do with Enix's side).

 

[JackFrost2012]

I see nothing wrong with this, it's just good business sense to give fans what they want (in this case, a myriad of spinoffs to Square's most popular game of all time, FF7).

FF8 outsold FF7 in both Japan and the US.

I am a huge Square fan, and I hate FF7. These spinoffs make me retch.

EDIT: Your argument is pretty disingenous anyhow; what fans REALLY want is FFVII-2 for PS2 ... instead they get a cell phone game, a movie, a PSP game, an action something starring Vincent ... so much wasted money and potential.

 

[BobbyRobby]

At least in Japan, you're only getting screwed out of Square games. In America, we aren't even getting most Enix games.

FF8 outsold FF7 in both Japan and the US

What were the numbers for US version?

 

[jarrod]

FF8 outsold FF7 in both Japan and the US.

It didn't in the US. Worldwide FFVII is still the best seller in the series.

 

[jarrod]

What were the numbers for US version?

United States
Final Fantasy VII~ 2.45M
Final Fantasy VIII~ 1.91M

Japan
Final Fantasy VII~ 3.28M
Final Fantasy VIII~ 3.62M

 

[John Harker]

Didn't Square also acquire the Ogre Battle liscence from Atlus a bunch of years ago?
What happend there?

And.....

Chrono........ Break........... where did...... you go.......?
Come back Chrono.

 

[xsarien]

confirmed! Square Enix on Xbox 360!

Christ. The meltdown around here would make Chernobyl look like microwaved popcorn.

 

[jarrod]

Didn't Square also acquire the Ogre Battle liscence from Atlus a bunch of years ago?
What happend there?

They aquired both the property itself and the development team from Quest. Since then, the team made Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and is now working on Final Fantasy XII and maybe a DS game.

 

[Drek]

The Spirits Within and the utter failure of their early attempts at other genres (Type S, Bouncer, and X-Squad) left them on a bad footing for this generation. Last generation they ended strong, and I'm thinking they will in this one as well, but it won't be as strongly as they did last gen. The merger has also slowed them some I would say.

Hopefully next generation Square Enix can get off on a better footing and approach it as a single entity, not two companies sharing distribution branches.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

the last time I cared about Enix was in the QUINTET days...

please bring back QUINTET! We need a new ActRaiser (with the God aspect back, you cockburglers!)

ActRaiser Rebirth- PS3 - Winter 2006

 

[Quartet]

if sega can make the following game in the next 2 year they are going to top them as the giant rpg maker

phantasy star universe
skie of arcadia II
panzer dragoon saga remake
panzer dragoon saga II

 

[jarrod]

if sega can make the following game in the next 2 year they are going to top them as the giant rpg maker

No way will Sega be topping Square Enix in the RPG food chain. They won't be passing Namco or Nintendo either.

 

[Link316]

the Enix lineup is mostly sequels & spinoffs just like Square's, where's the bias?

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

I wander in here from the OT side by mistake and now I have to ask WHAT THE FUCK is that?
It looks like some giant evil monster pussy with teeth.

 

[djtiesto]

What exactly happened to Quintet... last I heard of them was a Saturn game (Solo Crisis was it called?)... then I guess they split up. Damn, they made some of the best games in the SNES era... Actraiser, and the Soulblazer/Gaia/Terranigma trilogy were godly!! I've always preferred Enix to Square for some reason...

 

[jarrod]

Qunitet's still alive I think, doing mostly development support. The last game they made entirely themselves was Godzilla Generations on Dreamcast for Sega. They also worked on Mystic Heroes (GC/PS2) for Koei.

 

[Blackace]

whoever thought the Square Enix "merger" was indeed a merger of equals needs to learn PR basics 101...

 

[LakeEarth]

i thought that was a drawing of a mishapen twat....

It's like a vagina with balls.

 

[Matlock]

I pretty much just got goatsed by jackfrost2012.

But am I ashamed? No.
Am I shocked? No.
Am I damn amused? Yes.

 

[duckroll]

the Enix lineup is mostly sequels & spinoffs just like Square's, where's the bias?

Maybe you didn't actually read the post but this isn't a "haha look at these bad games" listing. It's about how when Enix announces titles, they come out, but everything big that the Square end announced last year has all gone into development hell and most might not even make the light of day this year.

 

[the year 20XX]

No Bushido Blade and no Bust-A-Groove means I basically don't care about Square Enix.

I'd kinda like a new King's Knight too.

 

[Ranger X]

Last time i was in awesomeness thanks to Square was in FF9.
PLEEEAAAASE make FF12 and Dragon Quest 8 amaze me!

 

[Link316]

Maybe you didn't actually read the post but this isn't a "haha look at these bad games" listing. It's about how when Enix announces titles, they come out, but everything big that the Square end announced last year has all gone into development hell and most might not even make the light of day this year.

no I read it and think you're just seeing what you wanna see, games get delayed all the time, Square's had that happen plenty of times even before they merged, maybe some games now do get shuffled around so that they don't cannablize each other's sales, but its just not Square that get their games delayed, Star Ocean 3 got delayed and so did DQVIII

 

[neptunes]

Not sure if this needed it's own thread but...

Square Enix to Hold Conferences
Square Enix will be holding two conferences,
the first in Tokyo on April 13th and another in Osaka on April 15th,
to release information regarding their upcoming titles

Next wednesday

Yeah and it looks like the UMD version of AC will be released before the DVD version.

 

[Johnas]

Last time i was in awesomeness thanks to Square was in FF9.
PLEEEAAAASE make FF12 and Dragon Quest 8 amaze me!

I wholeheartedly concur. I really liked FFIX, I was surprised to see it as one of the ten most overrated games in the last EGM. Chocobo Hot and Cold was probably the best minigame I have played in any game ever. I am anticipating DQVIII like you wouldn't believe. It is now my #1 most anticipated game of '05, barely nudging out Zelda. I like Zelda, but I've played waaay too much of it lately, I need a break.

 

[Red Scarlet]

*shrug*

Stuff seems to be coming out at around the same pace before the merger (but I mainly import DQ and FF stuff anyways, so it doesn't seem any different).

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

The Spirits Within and the utter failure of their early attempts at other genres (Type S, Bouncer, and X-Squad)

Of the three games you listed, one was externally developed, one was half externally developed, and the third was an EA game that just happened to be published in Japan by EA Square (a company owned 70% by EA) under the joint venture agreement they had at the time.

And yeah, Drag-on Dragoon was totally an Enix game. I dunno why people think it's Square.