Do you trust Squenix?

[Sephiroth]

The team Final Fantasy, the team Dragon Quest, the team Tomb Raider, the team Drakengard ... they all are a part of Square Enix now. What is a name? What does Square, Enix, Eidos, Cavia, et cetera stand for? For a bunch of people. Just because they become a part of something else and also change their name or are a department of another company they do not become different human beings. Sure, there are some people like Nobuo Uematsu or Hironobu Sakaguchi leaving it but really, there are many great artists, Masashi Hamauzu or Utada Hikaru, there are so many people which can also impress you. And sometimes legends like N. Uematsu even work together with Square again.

I can see these things with many products. Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Dragon Ball, et cetera. Seriously, just because something is not exactly the same you are used to and does not express what you have enjoyed before and which was probably not even a part of the product but just misunderstood by you, and yes, that happens, I just need to look at fans saying something against the new Final Fantasy VII parts, Dragon Ball GT, just because it is shown like this it is not worse. Often it is just something new or something with exactly the same charme but you just refuse to see it. I also don't like that you fight monsters in Final Fantasy XIII like this and say the linearity would be replaced by the feeling of freedom with random battles, I also don't like that Silent Hill Downpour only shows like no abstract demons or that Studio Toei's drawing of Cell in GT looks nothing like Akira Toriyama's but hey - that does not make something bad or a "total change of things".

I always trust Square. And they have never disappointed me. With no Final Fantasy. And Nier from their Cavia guys was something that touched me almost as much as Final Fantasy VII. And yes, it is from them, Square, there is no difference betweem them developing or publishing it. Cavia is just a name, like Square. Cavia is a part of Square now, so the people are. Square is not just team Final Fantasy. It is a company with many brilliant people thinking about games for us to enjoy. And half of my favourite titles are from the time after the fusion. So I think of team Tomb Raider and their new Tomb Raider and I will definitely buy it. Someone becoming a part of my favourite company just proves to me that they are very skilled people. Of course I have known Tomb Raider before already, but this one is a title which I'm really interested in.

I know many people hating one of Final Fantasy I-X, normally because of the anti-hype hype of the internet, of course. You would never satisfy everyone today. The RPG market is no little store anymore, it is a real super market.

I only don't like waiting for something I want. But at least I can feel like a kid under the christmas tree again this way.

And I don't care about anything anyone thinks about trusting or not trusting Square and so I won't answer to anything and recommend no one to try starting a discussion with me because I don't try it either. I don't like posts like "if you like this song more then you don't understand the orginal version of the other song because it is better" as it would be a fact. I am fine with people trusting them and not trusting them. I've grown up with it and my passion has not gone. And so Square's didn't. That's why I will always trust them.

Everyone has their own feelings.

Final Fantasy VI says it right:

THE WORLD IS SQUARE

[Loony BoB]

Remember when FFVIII got lambasted by everyone and their uncle for being rubbish? Remember when FFX got the same treatment (by me, too, no less)? XII got a lot of criticism, too. Even FFVI fans are quick to lambast FFVII when given the opportunity. Modern gamers look back at games like FFII and FFIII with disbelief that they could be seen as good games.

Final Fantasy is arguably never outdone when it comes to reinventing itself. Square, Squaresoft, Square Enix... they innovate in every Final Fantasy game they create. It's always something new, it's never the same.

Gamers who enjoy one Final Fantasy game might not enjoy another Final Fantasy game. We have so many previous Final Fantasy games that at the time of FFXIII's release, you had fans of twelve very different games with different stories, different characters, different leveling systems, different battle systems, different minigames, different worlds. At the time of FFXIII's release, more than ever, the fans of these very different games were able to communicate with each other online. The world is huge, now. Everyone has their opinions. When FFXIII was released, the people all were hoping for a game more like the one they enjoyed most from the previous series.

What they got was Final Fantasy XIII. Like it or not, it was a different game. It had a different story, different characters, a different leveling system, a different battle system, different (if few) minigames, different worlds. Those who wanted FFVII got FFXIII. Those who wanted FFVI got FFXIII. Those who wanted FFX got FFXIII. It was a new game, and it has divided opinion just like the Final Fantasy games before it (VIII, X, XII, etc) - only now, more than ever, there are enough people online who could get together and rant about how it wasn't the game they wanted, and downgrade the rating to fit their rage at such an occurance. Final Fantasy XIII still got a decent rating compared to many games, though. Because it picked up new fans - FFXIII fans - along with those fans of previous FF's that were happy enough to see the game for what it was rather than for which previous FF it was not.

In the end, Square Enix released a Final Fantasy game.

With FFXIV, they did the same, but they buggered it up because it was buggy and laggy as hell. These are things that are actually inexcusable - FFXIII had no bugs whatosever that I've known about.

Still, Square Enix - in the case of both games - innovated. They tried new things. Success or failure, they did what Call of Duty, Uncharted, Far Cry, Starcraft and others did not. They didn't take what they knew already worked in previous games and create more of the same. They made something new. They started from scratch and worked their way up, even creating a new engine for both games. Like it or not, Square Enix will do what very few other games in this industry do and try to shake things up.

People criticise Square Enix, but these same people also criticise the industry for a lack of innovation. Perhaps they need to consider exactly what they want out of the industry. More of the same, or something new? If you want more of the same, it's out there in bulk. If you want something new in an AAA title, you have to look to the few developers out there that have the money and the balls to create such a thing. Those developers include Square Enix.

Do I trust Square Enix? Like Spooniest quite rightly pointed out, I don't have to trust them, it's not about trust. If they make a game I don't like, it doesn't mean I'm going to not trust them. I mean, if one of you lot were to like a movie I thought was crap, that doesn't mean I'm going to think that all movies you like are crap. Likewise, if you like a movie I think is amazing, I'll bet that there is a movie out there that you like that I don't. These things happen. It's a matter of opinion.

[black orb]

Hhaha I remember when we interviewed Toriyama and Kitase, and a chick from penny arcade asked him how do they feel about fans near hating the recent games and what would they do to bring those die hard fans back? When it was translated he, toriyama, looked so offended. Kitase was like "What? o.o"

>>> Are these guys living in a bubble or something?? well, this explain many things..

[Bolivar]

To be honest, a lot of the hate towards Square's latest games comes from those under the confused impression that RPGs are obligated to employ dialogue trees and exploration.

A lot of fans like XIII. Do we hail it the greatest game on the PS3? No, but it wasn't bad. Sure, it has a lot of naysayers on this forum, but so does XII. And X. And IX and VIII. Even FFVI and VII have their fair share of skeptics and outright haters.

[Shoeberto]

Wait? People think that games with overworld maps were not linear? It was just a much larger corridor, but a corridor nonetheless. Often, in the older FF titles that had an overworld, you could not really go far without either meeting a guard blocking a key pass or the geography blocking your way. At least most of the them started rather linear until it opened up with a vehicle (be is ship or airship) though those were often unlocked only mid to end game.

All of the X-Wings and Tie Fighters in Star Wars were just little models moving around on a green screen. And there weren't even any real dinosaurs in Jurassic Park! It was all puppets and computer graphics! Don't even get me started on Independence Day; the real white house is still standing. What a rip-off.

My point being: Yes, it's an illusion, and technically it's a corridor. It still makes it feel much bigger to have it be in a real world. I never felt invested in FFXIII because there was never a bigger picture that came together; it was just a bunch of loosely-connected scenarios before you got whisked off to a newly themed area. I think a big part of the FF games is a feeling of connection to the characters and the world they're in, and that's something that I think has been lacking since FFX; even in that one, you can start to see it falling apart somewhat, but they tried to maintain that you were playing in some coherent world. XIII was just a bunch of whiz-bang stuff being thrown at you and loosely connected by a nonsensical plot and a bunch of combat in between.

[Loony BoB]

While I was able to connect to the characters in FFXIII and able to connect to certain areas to some extent, I do agree that having an overworld really connects you to the world. It makes you feel like you aren't just stuck in one little part of it. The fact that we never know where on Gran Pulse we are, or how far away from the rest of Gran Pulse we are... it sucks. Who is to say there are not still people alive somewhere on Gran Pulse? These kind of 'mysteries' are what I wanted to be solved in FFXIII-2 and FFXIII-3, but it seems that won't happen and I'm kind of gutted. I would have loved for Gran Pulse to be the Gaia and the crystal tower-held Cocoon to be the Midgar. Essentially it feels like you're exploring the entire world, not wondering what is around the corner. For example, in Ivalice, I'd love to just wander off to the rest of the world but we're restricted to that specific region. It always bugged me. xD

I really hope that someday they create a Final Fantasy that focuses on 'discovering a new world' like it could have been for XIII-2. It's that sense of discovery that really excites me about these games. Even in FFIX, discovering the second continent has been a real breath of fresh air after playing previous games where everyone knew about every part of the world from the get-go.

[Bolivar]

Final Fantasy XII!

[Mirage]

My point being: Yes, it's an illusion, and technically it's a corridor. It still makes it feel much bigger to have it be in a real world. I never felt invested in FFXIII because there was never a bigger picture that came together; it was just a bunch of loosely-connected scenarios before you got whisked off to a newly themed area. I think a big part of the FF games is a feeling of connection to the characters and the world they're in, and that's something that I think has been lacking since FFX; even in that one, you can start to see it falling apart somewhat, but they tried to maintain that you were playing in some coherent world. XIII was just a bunch of whiz-bang stuff being thrown at you and loosely connected by a nonsensical plot and a bunch of combat in between.

I thought the Gongaga reactor area, Fort Condor and Wutai were pretty non-illusive. In addition to that, there were many other places where you would get hidden/bonus conversations with NPCs if you went there earlier (or later) than you were supposed to. Even if these aren't significant cutscene events, it still gives you something back for not following the straight line that you may follow if you want to. Every little bit of lore/information/funny talk counts.

[edczxcvbnm]

Do I trust Squenix? No...smurf no. I trust the creative forces behind a game until they lose my trust. I trust Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon and Tarantino like I trust Hideo Kojima, Sid Meier or Miyamoto. Like wise I trust Square or Konami like I trust Paramount or Warner Bros.

There are exceptions like Disney when you look at their tentpole productions much like Final Fantasy is Square's tentpole production. The ones they care about more than anything. It doesn't mean there isn't turmoil during production and some bad projects that come out but they do try to do their very best with these as it represents the company as a whole.

[black orb]

To be honest, a lot of the hate towards Square's latest games comes from those under the confused impression that RPGs are obligated to employ dialogue trees and exploration.

A lot of fans like XIII. Do we hail it the greatest game on the PS3? No, but it wasn't bad. Sure, it has a lot of naysayers on this forum, but so does XII. And X. And IX and VIII. Even FFVI and VII have their fair share of skeptics and outright haters.

>>> Trying to hide the sun with a finger?. sounds pretty SE to me..

[escobert]

I stoped trusting them when they came out with X and KH and all that crap. I know many people here loved those games but for me, voice acting killed square games.

[Bolivar]

^ There is some merit to that.

[escobert]

I suppose I could add the level of character detail too. Just didn't leave much to the imagination like the old games or a book sorta deal.

[Dr. rydrum2112]

I stoped trusting them when they came out with X and KH and all that crap. I know many people here loved those games but for me, voice acting killed square games.

I know someone who would agree with you on that. I still really enjoyed X but do think the voice acting has not helped.

[VeloZer0]

I agree absolutely about the voice acting. However I kind of see that all balled up part and parcel with improved graphics. I imagine it would look really stupid to have such realistic character model who just stood around silently 'talking'.