Ever since the original Final Fantasy, right at the ass end of the 80s, I was a huge Squaresoft fan. And why wouldn’t I be? They heavily inspired me ever since Final Fantasy and kept the hits coming with games like Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve, Breath of Fire (they partnered with Capcom to make the original), Front Mission 3, Super Mario RPG, and of course, further Final Fantasies, both in the main series and also the various “gaidens.”

Yeah, the 90s was where it was at in the realm of Squaresoft. Come to think of it, I honestly think that’s when some of the best games of all time were made, but maybe that’s just my preference. But at some point, Square changed and not for the better. It’s gotten to the point that virtually everything they release either sounds really stupid and pretentious, IS really stupid and pretentious, or is just…okay.

I mean, seriously, HOW many Kingdom Hearts titles are we up to? And we still haven’t had a bonafide Kingdom Hearts 3 yet? Why? Look, if you’re just planning on making the series a trilogy and that’s it, I could KIND OF see holding out on it, but even then, just like with Final Fantasy, you know you’d milk that shit until we become absolutely oversaturated with them.

But where did it start, exactly? Well, here’s what I think: it started with the PS2 era. Think about it. Final Fantasy X was released, as was The Bouncer, they made those terrible Final Fantasy movies, and even partnered up with Enix, which would’ve been a stroke of brilliance, but ultimately it hasn’t served their core games in the least. Really, Enix has survived more than Squaresoft, which I’ll demonstrate later.

What I’d like to do is take a look at what was released in the 90s and then 10 years later. Should be an interesting poke into gaming history. Any games that I feel are in any way good or worth playing will be in bold. Anything that was not released in America (that year anyway) will be italicized. If it’s something that’s neither italicized or emboldened, then either I’ve played it and it’s not very good, I have no desire to play it, or I simply haven’t played it yet so I can’t very well give you my opinion on it.

I’d also like to point out that even if I prove myself wrong, this will be a good romp into the yesteryears of Square, Enix, and finally, Square Enix.

1990 vs. 2000

1990 Square – Final Fantasy 3 (NES), Final Fantasy Legend 2 (GB), Rad Racer 2 (NES).

1990 Enix – ActRaiser (SNES), Dragon Warrior 4 (NES).

2000 Square – All Star Pro-Wrestling (PS2), The Bouncer (PS2), Chrono Cross (PS1), Driving Emotion Type-S (PS2), Final Fantasy 9 (PS1), Front Mission 3 (PS1), Gekikuukan Pro Baseball: At the End of the Century 1999 (PS2), Hataraku Chocobo (WS), Legend of Mana (PS1), Parasite Eve 2 (PS1), SaGa Frontier 2 (PS1), Threads of Fate (PS1), Vagrant Story (PS1).

2000 Enix – 0 Story (PS2), Blade Arts Tasogare no Miyako R’lyeh (PS1), Command Master (GBC), Dance Summit 2001 Bust A Move (PS2), Dragon Warrior Monsters (GBC), Kaikan Phrase (PS1), Omiai Commando Bakappuru ni Tukkomi o (PS1), Orega Kantoku Da! Gekitou Pennant Race (PS2), Suzuki Bakuhatsu (PS1), Tenma de Jack Odoroki Manenoki Daitoubou (PS1), Torneko The Last Hope (PS1), Utautau Seirei Songs (PS1), Valkyrie Profile (PS1).

So right out the gate we see that the years 1990 and 2000 were very different and also very awesome. Yeah, there were a few duds in the year 2000, but ultimately, these were not bad years for either company. Final Fantasy Legend 2, for example, is probably my favorite portable FF, hands down. And of course, you jump forward to 2000 and you have awesome titles like Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve 2, Final Fantasy 9, Front Mission 3, Valkyrie Profile…I mean, goddamn.

Now, you might be wondering why I bothered to include titles that didn’t come to America. Well, here’s the deal. There are titles both in the 90s and 00s that I know are going to make an appearance that are HUGE titles, at least in my opinion, and deserve recognition. They’ll actually assist in tipping favor toward Square Enix.

You’ll notice that in 2000 they JUST started putting up PS2 titles…and none of them good. Even still, you can see remnants of both companies acting accordingly awesome for both of these years, so I’d say these were both ultimately good years for both companies.

1991 vs. 2001

1991 Square – Final Fantasy 4 (SNES), Final Fantasy Adventure (GB).

1991 Enix – (According to wikipedia, Enix made absolutely nothing this year)

2001 Square – All Star Pro-Wrestling 2 (PS2), Blue Wing Blitz (WSC), Final Fantasy X (PS2).

2001 Enix – Cross Gate (PC), Depth Fantasia (PC), Dragon Warrior 7 (PS1), Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 (GBC), Endonesia (PS2), The Fear (PS2), Minna de Quest Nijiiro no Yoru (PC), Star Ocean Blue Sphere (GBC), Super Galdelic Hour (PS2).

Now…here’s where things get weird. Again, according to Wiki (who has been oh so wrong before), Enix didn’t release anything in 1991. However, 1991 was a good year for Squaresoft. No, not much was released, but what WAS released was damn great. There was only one American title released by Square in 2001 and while it’s not the strongest FF, it’s still a good one.

Great, no…but good, yeah alright. Enix was the clear loser for both of these years only managing to bring a few titles out to an American audience, only one of which was halfway decent and only just. I wasn’t a big fan of DW7, but I know people that swear by it. This was more of a Japanese year than anything. There really isn’t much more to say about these years other than they were really weak for both companies.

1992 vs. 2002

1992 Square – Final Fantasy 5 (SNES), Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES), Hanjuku Hero Aa Sekaiyo Hanjukunare…! (SNES), Romancing SaGa (SNES).

1992 Enix – Dragon Quest 5 (SNES), Dungeon Land (GB), Soul Blazer (SNES), E.V.O. The Search For Eden (SNES).

2002 Square – Kingdom Hearts (PS2), World Fantasista (PS2).

2002 Enix – Chase Chase (PC), Dragon Quest Characters Torneko no Daibōken 3 (PS2), Dramatic Soccer Game Nippon Daihyou Senshu Ninarou! (PS2), Grandia Xtreme (PS2), Itadaki Street 3 Okumanchouja ni Shite Ageru! (PS2), Orega Kantoku Da! Volume 2 (PS2), Robot Alchemic Drive (PS2), Samurai Evolution Oukoku Geist (GBA), Snap Kids (GBA), Zoku Segare Ijiri (PS2).

In a surprising turn of events, this would actually be a rare instance where the future year was better for Square rather than the yesteryear. Fewer titles were released in 2002 for Square, but that meant less loss of revenue. Kingdom Hearts also sparked a huge following and series thereafter, so while there isn’t a way to triple bold something, you get the idea.

Final Fantasy 5 and Mystic Quest are both guilty pleasures for me. Neither are very good, but they’re still fun to play…at least for me. Enix was the clear winner of 1992 pulling out the awesome starter for what I’ve come to know as the “soul series:” Soul Blazer. EVO wasn’t half bad either and both the SNES Dragon Quests were top notch stuff.

Sadly, 2002 was a total dud year for Enix, favoring a Japanese audience with several odd titles and giving nothing but shit to an American audience. This is more than likely the worst year for Enix besides 1991, where they allegedly did nothing at all.

1993 vs. 2003

1993 Square – Alcahest (SNES), Final Fantasy Legend 3 (GB), Romancing SaGa 2 (SNES), Secret of Mana (SNES).

1993 Enix – 7th Saga (SNES), ActRaiser 2 (SNES), Jyutei Senki (SNES), Paladin’s Quest (SNES).

2003 Square Enix – All Star Pro-Wrestling 3 (PS2), Bakusou Yankee Damashii (PC), Dragon Quest Monsters Caravan Heart (GBA), Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA), Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2), Hanjuku Hero Tai 3D (PS2), Kenshin Dragon Quest Yomigaerishi Densetsu no Ken (TV), Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest Shōgeki no Shippo Dan (GBA), Sword of Mana (GBA), Unlimited Saga (PS2).

This is the first year of the Square Enix merger, so things should take an interesting turn here…for better or worse. When we’re done, we’ll also take a stab at which games I feel are actually Square or Enix, not collaborative. Square had a great year in 1993 pulling out titles like Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy Legend 3. Alcahest is a lesser known Japanese action/RPG that I’d highly recommend as well.

Enix had an okay year in 1993, only really cranking out 7th Saga and helping port Paladin’s Quest (yeah it was mostly Asmik). Jyutei Senki is…okay. It’s an RTS of sorts that’s kinda hard to figure out, even with the translation guide. ActRaiser 2 was terrible. It looks good, but that’s about it. The first year for S-E was kinda all over the place.

They mostly released Japan only exclusives and what was released in the states was very hit/miss. For example, Sword of Mana and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance were goddamn great, but Unlimited Saga was so terrible it almost nullifies both of them. This is especially sad because the Saga titles up to this point (Romancing Saga, SaGa Frontier, Final Fantasy Legend) weren’t all that bad, with many of them being pretty good.

So yeah, first year for S-E was kind of a bust, at least in America.

1994 vs. 2004

1994 Square – Breath of Fire (SNES), Live A Live (SNES).

1994 Enix – Brain Lord (SNES), Itadaki Street 2 Neon Sign wa Bara Iro ni (SNES), Nankoku Shounen Papuwa-Kun (GB/SNES), Robotrek (SNES), Wonder Project J Kikai no Shōnen Pīno (SNES).

2004 Square Enix – Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special (PS2), Drakengard (PS2), Final Fantasy 11 Online (PS2), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (GC), Front Mission 4 (PS2), Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (GBA), Star Ocean Till the End of Time (PS2).

1994 was a pretty solid year, but again, not so much for 2004. We see great classic SNES titles like Breath of Fire, Brain Lord, Robotrek, and even some good Japanese titles, but for 2004? Not so much. Sure, I like Front Mission 4, but a lot of people didn’t. Kinda the reverse for Star Ocean 3…I hated that game. Chain of Memories wasn’t exactly a bad game either, but it was a strange entry in the Kingdom Hearts series, which I suppose doesn’t mean much today.

So even in the second year, it seems like S-E just has no fucking idea what they’re doing when even as far as 10 years ago, they were individually cranking out all kinds of hits. So is this proof? Well honestly, I don’t think we’ve seen enough to say for sure, so let’s move on.

1995 vs. 2005

1995 Square – Chrono Trigger (SNES), Final Fantasy 6 (SNES), Front Mission (SNES), Romancing SaGa 3 (SNES), Secret of Evermore (SNES), Seiken Densetsu 3 (SNES).

1995 Enix – Dragon Quest 6 Maboroshi no Daichi (SNES), King Arthur & The Knights of Justice (SNES), Mystic Ark (SNES), Joushou Mahjong Tenpai (SNES), Mahoujin GuruGuru (GB/SNES), Nekketsu Tairiku Burning Heroes (SNES), Ogre Battle (SNES), Violinist of Hameln (SNES).

2005 Square Enix – Code Age Commanders Tsugu Mono Tsuga Reru Mono (PS2), Dragon Quest 8 Journey of the Cursed King (PS2), Egg Monster Hero (DS), Front Mission 2089 (Mobile), Front Mission 5 Scars of the War (PS2), Front Mission Online (PS2), Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (PS2), Fullmetal Alchemist 2 Curse of the Crimson Elixir (PS2), Fullmetal Alchemist 3 Kami o Tsugu Shōjo (PS2), Hanjuku Hero 4 7 Jin no Hanjuku Hero (PS2), Heavy Metal Thunder (PS2), Musashi Samurai Legend (PS2), Radiata Stories (PS2).

1995 was a FANTASTIC year for Squaresoft with high quality titles being released both in America and Japan. The only title I’m not a fan of is Evermore, which a lot of people liked, so don’t mind me. Enix had some bombass hits too such as Dragon Quest 6, Mystic Ark, and Ogre Battle. Yeah, as you can tell, Enix was mostly peddling to Japan in this year, but that’s okay…at least they were good ones that we can emulate now.

So how did 2005 fare for S-E? Well, there weren’t a whole lot of American titles, but there were some damn fine ones. Dragon Quest 8 and Radiata Stories both came out this year and are probably the two finest products S-E has ever slapped together, but…well, how do I put this. Radiata Stories is Tri-Ace (Enix) and Dragon Quest 8 is…well, also Enix.

So while, yes, there were some fine Front Mission titles that came out and I’m sure they did their Japanese audience proud, Square really didn’t do much for us this year.

1996 vs. 2006

1996 Square – Bahamut Lagoon (SNES), BS Koi wa Balance – Battle of Lovers (SNES), DynamiTracer (SNES), Front Mission Gun Hazard (SNES), Radical Dreamers Nusumenai Hōseki (SNES), Rudra no Hihō (SNES), Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES), Tobal No. 1 (PS1), Treasure Conflix (SNES), Treasure Hunter G (SNES).

1996 Enix – Mahoujin GuruGuru 2 (SNES), Star Ocean (SNES), Terranigma (SNES), Wonder Project J2 Corlo no Mori no Josette (N64).

2006 Square Enix – Children of Mana (DS), Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy 7 (PS2), Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime (DS), Dragon Quest Shōnen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon (PS2), Drakengard 2 (PS2), Fantasy Earth Zero (PC), Final Fantasy 12 (PS2), Grandia 3 (PS2), Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2), Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS), Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria (PS2).

1996 was kind of a weird year for both companies with only two titles coming out to America. And granted, a lot of the Japanese titles kicked ass, so bully for the Japanese, but that didn’t leave us much sadly. In fact, I still have no idea why Terranigma was never released to an American audience. It could be that they were preparing for the PS1, but that’s still not a very good reason.

So how did 2006 fare for S-E? Pretty well, actually. If we’re just looking at the American titles, they have a success rating of about 45%, which is pretty good considering exactly what titles were released. They were finally getting experimental again, opting to revive classics such as Valkyrie Profile and Grandia, for better or worse. Rocket Slime was an especially interesting entry and was damn fun from start to finish.

However…Dirge of Cerberus? I mean, really? Sure, they were trying to milk the Final Fantasy 7 pig yet again, but good GOD man. Just terrible. TURRIBLE even.

1997 vs. 2007

1997 Square – Bushido Blade (PS1), Chocobo no Fushigi Dungeon (PS1), Final Fantasy 7 (PS1), Front Mission 2 (PS1), Front Mission Alternative (PS1), Power Stakes (PS1), Power Stakes Grade 1 (PS1), Pro Logic Mahjong Hai Shin (PS1), Tobal 2 (PS1).

1997 Enix – Mischief Makers (N64), Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari (Saturn), Nin Pen Man Maru (Saturn).

2007 Square Enix – Concerto Gate (PC), Dawn of Mana (PS2), Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road (Wii), Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (DS), Final Fantasy 12 Revenant Wings (DS), Final Fantasy Fables Chocobo Tales (DS), Heroes of Mana (DS), Itadaki Street DS (DS), Project Sylpheed (360), Yosumin DS (DS).

1997 will go down as a year of infamy for Squaresoft. Sure, I love it because that’s the year of the almighty Final Fantasy 7, but it’s since generated a lot of anti-fanboyism. There were also some other Front Mission titles and the original Bushido Blade that came out this year, which is pretty fucking awesome. Mischief Makers was mostly Treasure, but goddamn is that a fun game.

Of course, it should be…it’s fucking Treasure. 2007 was a terrible year for S-E. Project Sylpheed wasn’t a bad title, but come on. How do you fuck up Seiken Densetsu, Dragon Quest, AND Final Fantasy all in one year? Maybe they were drunk, I don’t know.

1998 vs. 2008

1998 Square – Another Mind (PS1), Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1), Bushido Blade 2 (PS1), Einhänder (PS1), Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1), Hai-Shin 2 (PS1), Parasite Eve (PS1), Power Stakes 2 (PS1), SaGa Frontier (PS1), Sōkaigi (PS1), Super Live Stadium (PS1), Xenogears (PS1).

1998 Enix – Astronōka (PS1), Bust a Groove (PS1), Eurasia Express Satsujin Jiken (PS1), Great Hits (PS1), Itadaki Street Gorgeous King (PS1), Nihondaihyō Chiimu no Kantoku ni Narou! (Saturn).

2008 Square Enix – Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 (PSP), Dragon Quest Swords The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates (DS), Final Fantasy Fables Chocobo’s Dungeon (Wii), Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Grimoire of the Rift (DS), Infinite Undiscovery (360), The Last Remnant (360), The Legend of Kage 2 (DS), Lord of Vermilion (Arcade), Nanashi no Game (DS), Pingu’s Wonderful Carnival! (DS), Sigma Harmonics (DS), Soul Eater Monotone Princess (Wii), Space Invaders Extreme (NDS/PSP), The World Ends With You (DS).

These were by no means slow years. In fact, only 2009 was a busier year for S-E. 1998 was a pretty damn good year for Squaresoft. Not so much for Enix, but don’t knock Bust a Groove. While there were a lot of Japanese only exclusives, we got some pretty kickass titles like Brave Fencer Musashi, Bushido Blade 2, Einhänder, Final Fantasy Tactics, Parasite Eve…fuck, even Xenogears!

Yes, all in one year! This was an amazing year, really. So how did 2008 do? Well, there were some good titles, but mostly there were Japanese exclusives and poor new IPs. It should also be noted that there was a Taito acquisition at some point, thus the Space Invaders Extreme. It was by no means a bad year, but it really could’ve been better.

1999 vs. 2009

1999 Square – Chocobo Racing (PS1), Chocobo’s Dungeon 2 (PS1), Cyber Org (PS1), Ehrgeiz (PS1), Final Fantasy 8 (PS1), iS – internal section (PS1), Racing Lagoon (PS1).

1999 Enix – Bust a Groove 2 (PS1), Mystic Ark Maboroshi Gekijou (PS1), Planet Laika (PS1), Pop’n Tanks! (PS1), Rakugaki Showtime (PS1), Segare Ijiri (PS1), Star Ocean The Second Story (PS1).

2009 Square Enix – Blood of Bahamut (DS), Cross Treasures (DS), Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP), Dragon Quest Wars (DSi), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles The Crystal Bearers (Wii), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time (Wii), Fullmetal Alchemist Daughter of the Dusk (Wii), Fullmetal Alchemist Prince of the Dawn (Wii), Gyromancer (360/PC), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), Kuroshitsuji Phantom & Ghost (DS), Lord of Vermilion 2 (Arcade), Major Minor’s Majestic March (Wii), Mini Ninjas (Multi), Nanashi no Game Me (DS), Order of War (PC), Space Bust-a-Move (DS), Space Invaders Extreme 2 (DS), Star Ocean The Last Hope (360), Valkyrie Profile Covenant of the Plume (DS).

Sorry about the quality on that last pic…it was a bit rushed. Here we come to the final side-by-side. In a surprising twist, Squaresoft released absolutely nothing worthwhile in 1999. Meanwhile, Enix finally brought over Star Ocean, in the form of Second Story to us. And 2009? Well, there were some good titles, but most of this year was full of Japanese only exclusives and S-E desperately trying to make Crystal Chronicles work, which THEY NEED TO STOP DOING.

Conclusion

It’s fairly obvious with the side-by-side that Square-Enix will never truly be as strong as the companies were individually. I understand why the merger occurred and to be completely honest, we probably wouldn’t be seeing some of the more awesome RPGs we have now from them without the merger. I don’t necessarily believe that the ends justified the means here, but I am glad that they’re still around.

Honestly, I think they know they’re starting to suck because more often than not they’re simply publishing things now rather than dishing out fuckloads of cash to release something mediocre. I hope that one day they’ll turn this around and start releasing stuff we want to see again, but it may take a while. I guess that until then they’re best left working in the shadows.