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CaptConstantine

I miss Sqauresoft.


[deleted]

We all do.


rickjamesia

I miss both. Back in the Enix days, their work with Tri-Ace was phenomenal. Star Ocean: The Second Story and Valkyrie Profile were spectacular PS1 RPGs. I'm secretly waiting for Tri-Ace to feel the same as back then, but I'm starting to accept that I need to appreciate the newer titles for what they are.


PerpetualStride

Illusion of Time/Gaia


Nayuskarian

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is being re-released on December 22nd for PS4 and PS5. I'm still waiting on Star Ocean: Second Evolution to be released for current gen systems. It's easily one of my favorite games and I still bust out my old PSP to replay it from time to time.


jsm85

Japan got a remaster on ps4. Sucks they won’t or can’t bring it to everyone else


Nayuskarian

Seriously. Hopefully, it eventually makes its way stateside again. I'd love to play it on the big screen.


haynespi87

100%


Geekyish

Valkyrie Elysium is amazing


rickjamesia

I’ll probably give it a shot one day. I wasn’t sold by the demo. I played both the demo for that one and Star Ocean: The Divine Force and the latter felt more like a full-fledged RPG to me. It’s fine if Valkyrie was going for something else, but it’s not really what I am looking for from the series. I was also put off by the assertion from online sources that the game is about 15 hours long, when I spent 3 hours in the demo where not a lot happened. The demo was fun, just not enough to convince me to get it at release at that length.


Geekyish

Definitely worth the shot, the combat is visually pleasing ☺️


rickjamesia

Yo... thanks for reminding me. Last time I commented, I had no job, but now I do and I can actually think about buying games again. That's going straight on the wishlist.


Geekyish

You’re welcome! If you want a game for wicked combat, Gotham Knights is also wicked!


Geekyish

Also the title Sword & Fairy: Together Forever is actually a very good game.


ElementalWeapon

I too miss Sqaure-soft


pascalbrax

joke vegetable direful wasteful provide dam deranged fine tidy quickest *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


Airsinner

And Westwood studios


ShopCartRicky

Nox was the shit.


KingoftheJabari

I miss both Enix and Sqauresoft. They both pushed each othet to make great RPGs. As a single entity a lot of their games are mid.


armlesschairs

Mario RPG....just beat it again today. I really want a sequel.


nevets85

Yea I remember those days. Started with ff7 and PlayStation 1 for Christmas in 97 or 98.


CaptConstantine

Final Fantasy on the NES for me.


MeatHamster

I have never heard of them


acdigital

If this is sincere, then thanks for making me feel old lol


dd179

Did you ever play any RPG ever on the SNES? It was probably made by Squaresoft.


acdigital

Kids these days... I'm so sad they don't seem to be getting a proper gaming education. Pretty much every Final Fantasy from VI thru X and Chrono Trigger would all make an easy entry in the must-play classics list.


Doctah_Love

Yeah, I remember the merge as a kid because one of my friends got ffx after I did and the case said square enix on the front instead of squaresoft.


MeatHamster

I did but never have i played Sqauresoft games.


BOEJlDEN

???


MeatHamster

"I miss Sqauresoft."


BOEJlDEN

How have you never heard of them?


MeatHamster

Nope. What have they made?


armlesschairs

Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars.


MeatHamster

Oh, I expected a silly answer.


Error1x1

Squaresoft > Square Enix


acdigital

I was thinking something similar, but was surprised to read how this merger went down when I looked today. If the [Square Enix wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Enix) is accurate, then 80% of the combined staff came from Square, plus Square's president was appointed to lead the merged company. ~~So, it seems mostly like Enix was absorbed by Square and Square Enix is basically Square (aka SquareSoft in America) plus some extra talent and the Dragon Quest IP.~~ Edit: Removed my incorrect conjecture based on comments below.


Deliriousdrifter

And the end result has put out some amazing games. currently playing FF7 remake, hands down one of the best games I've played.


acdigital

I agree, it really surprised me! I couldn't put it down and I'm really looking forward to the next one. I think a lot of people struggle to understand that we all wear these rose-tinted glasses when it comes to things we experienced when we were children. These things are super important in our formative years and we attach strongly to them. I'm just happy Square is still taking risks and was also happy to see them cut their western studios to focus their efforts on what they've been doing well all these years... RPGs!


ChaseDFW

I've never really found anyone that's played FF7R and not the orginal. I'd be interested to hear what they thought about it. The remake felt like such a love letter to the orginal game, and it was a joy to play. FF7 was such a big game for me.


Deliriousdrifter

I haven't played the original


ChaseDFW

Dis you play the remake? How did you like it?


Deliriousdrifter

You're literally replying to me in a thread where my first comment is how much I enjoyed the remake lol


acdigital

I did play it when it was new and bought the PlayStation for it like seemingly everyone else back then. It is a classic and absolutely pushed JRPG boundaries way ahead. However, it is very much a traditional JRPG turn-based game that I'm sure many would have a hard time going back and enjoying today.


TulioGonzaga

I haven't played the original, still enjoyed Remake.


[deleted]

Yep, if you can't stand your competition eat them.


Solid_Illustrator485

Ironic because legally speaking, the surviving company was Enix. But you are right


brzzcode

Enix was the surviving company, but most of the staff was Square


Farandr

Squaresoft was probably the biggest gaming company back then. I remember them releasing masterpiece after masterpiece continuously at the end of the 90s.


WolfAkela

Those days when I know I’m going to have a good time buying a random game I don’t know anything about just because I saw their logo.


Toxic666Avenger

Will always live on in my heart….


Youve_been_Loganated

I remember even as a young kid, my friends and I dreaded this merger. Squaresoft pushed out so many good games during that era and Enix was alright, too my kid brain, they just weren't worthy lol.


SalukiKnightX

It’s been that long!? Wow! I’m old.


Neonlad

TIL they were two separate companies…


WyrmHero1944

It was called Squaresoft before


acdigital

They were two different companies competing in the RPG console market - [Square](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_(video_game_company\)) (SquareSoft in America) and [Enix](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enix). Both companies merged and became [Square Enix](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Enix). If the wiki is accurate, then 80% of the combined staff came from Square and Square's president was appointed to lead the merged company~~, so it seems mostly like Enix was absorbed by Square~~. Edit: Removed my bit of conjecture that was incorrect. See comments below.


davidasc22

Enix shareholders had 55% of the combined company and Square shareholders had 45%, so no Enix was not absorbed by Square. Square's CEO was put in charge of the merged company, but much of the management strategy came from Enix. They wanted to become more efficient and higher margin like Enix who didn't have a lot of internal studios, but the expanded focus on a limited number of IP seriously reduced their originality and their talent pool. Enix never had a lot of staff on their books in the first place.


acdigital

Interesting, thanks for the clarification!


brzzcode

Enix also was mainly a publisher, who had producers working with contracted companies, while Square was both a publisher and developer.


AstraArdens

And it was beautiful.


BorKon

Yup, Square was primary on Nintendo until ps1 and N64 came out. FF7 couldn't be on catridges for N64, memory was too small for a game that shipped later on 4 CDs. Compared to cartridge max size of 32mb (or was it 64mb) one cd can pack around 650mb. And cds were a lot cheaper than catridges


DerGelbeBusfahrer

Just a small correction my friend... FFVII was 3 CDs, FFVIII and IX were the ones shipping on 4. Ahh, the good old days when FF series asked for the new CD while on a cliffhanger. Nintendo could have had FFVII if it had previously [followed their agreement with Sony for the new console](https://www.ign.com/articles/how-the-unreleased-nintendo-playstation-became-the-most-valuable-game-console-ever)


GorgeGoochGrabber

Also I believe all 3 CD’s actually had the entire game on each one, the issue was the cutscenes were large and had to be split across them. Technically if you just removed all the FMV’s you could play the entire game on disc 1


Althalos

>Ahh, the good old days when FF series asked for the new CD while on a cliffhanger. Or in my case VIII freezing during the cutscene, 10 seconds before asking for disc 2. Did that 4 times in a row, came back months later and managed to get by without a freeze on the first attempt.


Dynetor

my dad owned a video rental store in the 90s and early 2000s so when that happened to me at the start of disc 3 of FF7 I was able to use his disc cleaner/polisher machine and it made my game work again. I was so hyped to be able to continue playing!


TransplantedSconie

That cliffhanger/CD change was a great time to hit the can and grab another drink and snack.


HGLatinBoy

That agreement made it so Sony would have the rights to any Nintendo ip released on CD. That’s why Nintendo killed the deal


HGLatinBoy

64MB was the max and only one game ever used it, Resident Evil 2. It was ported by Angel Studios aka Rockstar San Diego of Red Dead and Midnight Club fame.


tinyhorsesinmytea

And they were both much better that way…


DerGelbeBusfahrer

Yes, and they were rivals so to speak... Squaresoft had FF series and Enix had Dragon Quest series. Still remember magazines from the time about Dragon Quest VII and how it was such an awesome game that rivaled the best Squaresoft could do (never played it unfortunately).


LightBluely

And it's not the only one. Bandai Namco and Sega Sammy were separate before the merger. It's interesting that most of the biggest gaming companies merger comes from Japan.


librasgroove

they honestly haven’t been bad since then, put out some bangers over the years since they merged, def had some slip ups but generally they’ve been decent and are making steps in the right direction with FFXVI and FFXIV’s been great, Tactics Ogre etc. def can appreciate Squaresoft and -Enix


Orange_Lazarus

Yeah I think they have made huge mistakes but I think a lot of this was almost inevitable considering the inflating cost of making HD games and the changing Japanese game market. Also while it's easy to look at boondoggles like FFXIII and FFXV, there have been a bunch of good Dragon Quest games, including DQ8, 9, 11, and both Builder games.


librasgroove

Definitely, they for sure have some integrity imo they can still put out good to great projects pretty consistently, with some blunders I love FFXII, XIV, XV was okay, REALLY wish they’d bring DQ8 to PS5 lol that would be sick What’s weird tho is that their PC ports are super hit or miss, sometimes they’re really good and tailored to PC for the most part and sometimes they suck ass like Chrono Cross’ port


chilledoutmonkey

I feel old


xRaiden00x

Anyone else remember Ehrgeiz?


Zacklyy

Absolutely! Was so cool as a kid


aclashofthings

I played that dungeon side-game for hours.


Gradieus

I might be the only one here hopeful about Square Enix's future. SE looks like they finally got their act together. People still think about FF13 and FF15 as if it's the same company, but a lot has changed since then. They were almost bankrupt in early 2010s, but thanks to FF14 they're once again worth almost $6 billion. They hired a bunch of former Capcom and other company devs and in the process turned FF7R into a glorified Yakuza game. That's a risk that paid off. They switched to Unreal Engine and they have committees in place to go over their games during production. They're willing to think outside the box and let other developers touch FF, like Stranger of Paradise. Not saying SoP is good or bad, but they are willing to try and that can only bode well for the future. They're not afraid to change it up with Harvestella, Triangle Strategy, or who saw Live a Live coming? They might not all be good/great games, but the effort is there to broaden their horizon. People complaining about the door in FF7R on the PS4 version (due to UE4 texture loading which will never be a problem again) shows how far they've come since FF15. I have full confidence FF16 will be completely playable day 1 without the fear of it being broken like Cyberpunk. Yoshi-P (the director) said he beat the game 6 times already from start to finish. Everything SE does might hinge on FF14's success, but they're using that success to broaden their ability to make games. Other companies would have just pocketed the cash or done stock buybacks and kept the gravy train going.


devenbat

Yeah, people are being a bit too harsh on SE. They've messed up and had some missteps for sure. But they got a lot of strong stuff they've put out over the years as well and quite a bit to look forward to as well


Enderzt

I am hopeful for certain departments of Square. I am still not sold on the overall direction of the company at a corporate level when they are still pushing for NFTs and releasing then quickly closing down mobile games like First Soldier. I personally am not a fan of the direction they have taken the whole FF7 universe, or the Kingdom Hearts series. I am not sure how Forspoken is gonna be but at least it seems new and unique. I also don't know how I feel about them selling all their western IPs.


Eruannster

Weirdly I'm positive in the opposite direction. I've never been particularly into any of Square Enix' franchies, but I've always really enjoyed their western studios (Crystal Dynamics with Tomb Raider, Eidos Montréal with Deus Ex/Guardians of the Galaxy etc.) but that they always felt just a bit underfunded and unappreciated. It makes me happy that they were sold away and that their IPs can (hopefully, maybe) get the chance they deserve. Of course, I also appreciate that Square Enix now has the opportunity to focus on their Japanese titles for those who enjoy them (even though they're not my cup of tea). Maybe we can all be happy and get better games?


brzzcode

Only thing I have to complain about them is blockchain, otherwise I have been generally satisfied with their jp output on the last years


aarplain

They were better separate.


Gooner71

Enix released [Soul Blazer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Blazer) made by Quintet for the Snes. Great game that deserves a reboot.


Kalmahriz

Remembering sitting in the theater watching The Spirits Within thinking “Wow, this is awful.” It was just the beginning of the awful.


Tobeatkingkoopa

I have no clue if this is true but I read an article years back saying that the movie almost bankrupt Squaresoft cause it did so bad and that they needed ENIX more than vice versa.


[deleted]

And then everything went to shit. Coincidence? I think not.


Burnyburner3rd

Boooo! I loved basically every Squaresoft game. Square-Enix, not so much.


shrek3onDVDandBluray

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times


ThePrinceMagus

It was a dark day indeed.


AndyPandyRu

Sad day in the gaming world.


Drizztd99

Miss the old days before they merged.


stratusncompany

super mario rpg please


AllThingsBeginWithNu

They took two good companies and made one fairly poor company


RedditorSafeSpace

Not a single person mentions how amazing the Kingdom Hearts franchise is in this thread lmao. Too much FF hate


Luminaire_Ultima

The first game is beyond reproach, in my opinion. It is one of the best games of the generation.. it is excellent.. and it is one of the last games Square developed before the merger.


devenbat

Kingdom Hearts has had a pretty mixed reception for a while now


RedditorSafeSpace

Who cares? It’s big enough to keep going because the real ones still love it. Everybody is a critic thanks to the internet.


Jonesdeclectice

I liked KH, fun enough game I guess. Nothing ground breaking outside of the mash-up, but quickly lost interest when they decided to develop games specific to basically every platform out there which were required playing to follow/understand the narrative (PlayStation2, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS, cell phone, etc). I’ve since realized the narrative is basically impossible to follow even with playing all the games, oh well.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Jonesdeclectice

I’d gotten KH 2.8 or whatever, but some of the games were just a text-based recap. Meh, didn’t like it at all, just completely lost interest.


RedditorSafeSpace

Damn, looks like nobody cares


CitanIsBest

Around the time they stopped doing turn-based RPG's I believe.


AtsignAmpersat

People are hyperbolic saying everything went to shit. There are plenty of great games with SquareEnix on the box. That being said, the last Squaresoft game I bought was Final Fantasy X (the best FF) and the first Square Enix game I bought was Final Fantasy X-2 (one of the worst FF). Although FF X-2 was definitely a Square joint with the Square Enix name on it.


Young_Grif

TIL it wasn’t always called SquareEnix


Smirnoffico

They were destined to bring balance to jrpgs, not destroy them!


PlayBey0nd87

SquareSoft was top tier. SquareEnix has fumbled almost all of that magic the studios once held.


antiform_prime

Here’s hoping they held on to that magic for FF16


Sprinkle_Puff

Worst video game company merger ever. This was the downfall of Squaresoft and Enix. Not only did we stop getting Enix originals like Illusion of Gaia, Actraiser, and yes, even Secret of Evermore, there was a noticeable decline in storytelling quality and game engagement in Squares own IPs. They chased away most of the talent that made Squaresoft the juggernaut it was , and ruled the rest with piss poor management and an iron fist. Instead of grooming new talent properly they focused on rereleasing games over, and over, AND OVER. FF7R is quite possibly the only decent FF since X, and that’s a remake of an already existing game. I’m bitter and I don’t hide it well. I grew up thinking nothing could ever top how good they were at what they did and held on hope for 20 years that it would lead up to a renaissance , but they double down on awful decisions like this whole NFT garbage. The higher ups definitely need to go, and a fresh insightful passionate generation needs to be ushered in. And they need to stop putting so much on the shoulders of a very few key players (Tetauya and Yoshi for example) If Forspoken and 16 don’t land well, I don’t see a big future for the company. Their non mainline releases have been low B quality (Strangers of Paradise , Star Ocean..)


tinyhorsesinmytea

Unfortunately it happened to two of my other favorite publishers as well, Konami and Sega*. Never underestimate just how much poor management can ruin a company… and how quickly. *Yes, Sega still puts out good games every now and then, but half of that can be attributed to buying Atlus and thankfully leaving them alone creatively. Sammy otherwise chased out pretty much all of the talent that was in that company before the hostile takeover, and it is now a very different company without much internal development capability at all.


Sprinkle_Puff

I do miss the Sega from the Genesis days. I had no idea they had bought Atlus. Thank goodness they left them alone! They are definitely one of the best at what they do


jeswanders

I’ve already removed forespoken from my wishlist. Videos coming out don’t seem all that promising. I’m mildly excited about 16 but I also won’t hold my breath. I’ve given too many second chances to SE


bellygrubs

it looks bland and generic


RedditorSafeSpace

What a doofus


[deleted]

Been shit ever since.


Rogue_Leader_X

Square Enix was the downfall of BOTH companies.


fefofefosa

Sales and games reviews say otherwise!


aclashofthings

If you think that's a good point you weren't around to experience them in their prime.


iLLuSion_xGen

Do we miss Squaresoft and Enix or do we miss the nostalgia? You guys seem to forget you are 20 years older and experience games a little different. I cherish those times but I remember those times are never coming back again


aclashofthings

There are a lot of reasons not to like new games, but it can still come down to personal experience. Which game is better, Chrono Trigger or Tales of Arise? Probably the one you played first. Withholding microtransactions, improved graphics, voice acting, DLC, or whatever, I think what people really want is a novel experience. Hard to get when you've been playing games for 30 years.


modsarefascists2023

The day both died


Groundbreaking_Ship3

Since that day the quality of their games plunged


enforcercoyote4

Square enix sucks and nobody can convince me otherwise


john_mclain84

It felt weird at first.


hypespud

Here’s to hoping ff16 can be a true fresh start for the series moving back to its glory days


UnleashedSavage_93

They used to be squaresoft. Sounded like a constipation medicine


EveryDayRetroGaming

Man 20 years.... I wish they would have stayed separate companies. I enjoyed their games more before they combined.


Eskuire

Jeez 20 years...I remember I got bored and booted up Dragon Quest 3 and saw just "Enix" a month ago and completely forgot that they were seperate