squaresoft

An RPG company that has founded its modern roots during the era of the NES/Master System. Almost at the end of its line, it decided to create an RPG which was appropriately named "Final Fantasy". However, the game founded a surprisingly popularity among gamers and the company found itself surviving. It went on to create Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III for the NES. It is the days of the SNES to which many gamers say is when SquareSoft was at the pinnacle of talent for RPGs. During this era, they created Final Fantasy IV (praised for its epic story), Final Fantasy V (which perfectly the job system originally conceived in Final Fantasy III), and Final Fantasy VI (praised for its epic scope of gameplay). Also during this time, Square also created what many considered to be one of the finest RPGs ever conceived, Chrono Trigger. Included in their SNES string of successes was Secret of Mana, Bahamut Lagoon, Treasure Hunter G, and so on. It is also notable that their first and only collaboration with Nintendo has resulted in Super Mario RPG, which was well received by fans of both companies. With the arrival of the N64/Saturn/PSX, Square had a falling out with Nintendo and they decided to work on the PSX. While they have created what is their most popular and most well known game to date on the PSX (Final Fantasy VII), it is widely considered that they were not as good as they were on the SNES due to their string of failures. Many sequels (Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VIII-IX) were considered to be inferior to their predecessors. However, their successes were well received. Games such as Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears, and Valkyrie Profile gave their reputation a tremendous boost despite their failures. With the arrival of the next generation systems (PS2, GameCube, XBox). After the PS2 single-handed crushed Sega's DreamCast, Square soon followed later with Final Fantasy X. While FFX is a commercial success, it was plagued by criticism from time of release and is still considered to be inferior by many (especially fans of older Final Fantasies). This plus many other flops including The Bouncer, Final Fantasy: Spirits Within (a movie), and Unlimited Saga helped to humble Square. Later on during this generation, a mega announcement was made of Square merging with its long time RPG competitor, Enix. The new company became known as Square Enix and it quickly became known as RPG company supreme. Also during this generation, Square Enix decided to branch out somewhat. They created their first direct sequel entitled "Final Fantasy X-2", made their first MMORPG called "Final Fantasy XI, collaborated with Disney for Kingdom Hearts, and many are speculating that Final Fantasy XII will make a triumphant return to the Final Fantasy roots of the SNES days. However, that remains to be seen. Included on Enix's side of things is the first 3D Star Ocean and Dragon Warrior. Future new projects include many derivatives of Final Fantasy VII (most well known of which is Advent Children).