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Post by Ex on Dec 29, 2021 12:56:23 GMT -5
X These days Square and Enix are the same company (Square Enix), but that was not always so. For many years prior to the merger, Square Enix were two entirely different companies; SquareSoft and Enix Corporation. (Square used to be called SquareSoft, before shortening its name.) Two Japanese development/publishers best known for their JRPGs. Square most famous for the Final Fantasy series, and Enix for the Dragon Quest series. However, both Square and Enix also produced games that were not RPGs at all. This month's theme is about playing games developed/published by Square and also playing games developed PUBLISHED by Enix. But not stuff by "Square Enix".
Play games by Square, and play games by Enix, and revel in each company's independent strengths, contrasted against the other's weaknesses. Was one company better at some things than the other? Was one company overall the better game producer? Was one the more astute publisher, the better at business management? Is Dragon Quest the greater JRPG series than Final Fantasy? These questions and more are yours to figure out this month!
Click here for a list of all games published by Square(soft).
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 29, 2021 13:08:34 GMT -5
I know we have two people with their sights on FF8. Honestly, it makes me a little tempted to replay it too, I'd go for the remaster though so I can get that speed up feature (or emulation).
But as a bigger Square Soft fan, I think I'm due to study up more on Enix this month. I'm still more of an FF guy in the end over DQ, but as some here know my journey through the DQ games in recent years has been extremely positive and fun. I've seen the light and can see how some people would take DQ over FF. So, maybe it would cliche' to play some DQ this month, but if anyone here reading this hasn't given them a fair shake, I definitely recommend it. I'm assuming DQ3-4 were in house at Enix, so I'd give those my biggest thumbs up for starting points. But DQ5 has its hardcore fans too.
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Post by toei on Dec 29, 2021 14:29:26 GMT -5
Er... Enix was never a developer. All those games credited as developed by Enix were made by other companies, it's just that they're mostly obscure Japan-only releases so the info isn't widely available on the English-speaking Internet. Enix started with that famous game creation contest that Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura applied to; the goal of the contest was to find a bunch of games to publish. They did not directly hire any of the game developers. To my knowledge, they never had an internal development team at any point. We have to include games they published, or this theme can't exist.
Dragon Quest 1-5 was developed by Horii, Toriyama & Sugiyama + Chunsoft. 6 & 7 = same trio + Heartbeat (a short-lived company founded by former Chunsoft staff). 8 & 9 = the trio + Level 5. Etc.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 29, 2021 15:54:36 GMT -5
True, it pretty much has to be published for Enix. Something I didn't know when I was a kid, of course.
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Post by Ex on Dec 29, 2021 16:19:36 GMT -5
Enix was never a developer. I had no idea that was the case, and upon further research, it is indeed the case. So yeah guys, for the Enix side of this theme, playing games published by Enix is the only option. I also learned the name "Enix" is a play on the words "phoenix" and "ENIAC". (ENIAC having been the worst first digital computer.)
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Post by Sarge on Dec 29, 2021 16:23:27 GMT -5
That being said, they were one heck of a publisher. I was so sad when Enix America closed their doors - they put out many of my favorites of that era. It was also astoundingly disappointing that we didn't get Dragon Quest V or VI back in the day. Seeing screenshots certainly only compounded the envy. Also, relevant linkage for their NA stuff: gamefaqs.gamespot.com/company/72458-enix-america-inc
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Post by Ex on Dec 29, 2021 16:25:41 GMT -5
I know we have two people with their sights on FF8. I do intend to play FF8 in 2022. However, I may not start it until February. I'm already playing an RPG ( Dark Souls) so adding another RPG on top of that isn't a good idea. Also February is the month of love, and FF8 is a love story , so I guess that goes together.
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Post by toei on Dec 29, 2021 16:35:44 GMT -5
I can't get started on FF8 for a while either. Probably late January or February too. I'm gonna have *some* free time, but not enough to consistently play a 40-50 hours RPG, and I don't want to play like 5 hours of it and then put it aside for 3 weeks or I'll get sidetracked.
I'm wondering if there's anything I could mess with on the Enix side. I've played through all the old-school Dragon Quest, the Quintet stuff, Star Ocean 1 & 2... I'll take a closer look at their library.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 29, 2021 17:41:33 GMT -5
I know we have two people with their sights on FF8. I do intend to play FF8 in 2022. However, I may not start it until February. I'm already playing an RPG ( Dark Souls) so adding another RPG on top of that isn't a good idea. Also February is the month of love, and FF8 is a love story , so I guess that goes together. Rinoa is probably one of my least favorite female characters in all of FF, largely because of the love stuff. Plus she looks like a bootleg Tifa.
Didn't know that about Enix myself. Guess that opens the door for a ton more options.
For bite sized RPG's, I can't recommend the Quintet games enough!
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Post by toei on Dec 29, 2021 18:11:57 GMT -5
Everyone knows about Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma, but who else has played Robotrek? The American title tries to mask this, but it's basically a comedy (the Japanese title was Slapstick), and it has you customizing a robot. I think it's Quintet's only turn-based RPG, as it has ATB-style battles. It doesn't have random encounters, enemies are visible and usually avoidable. I avoided it a long time and was pleasantly surprised when I finally played it. Here are the Enix candidates for me: The Portopia Serial Murder Case - The NES port of Horii's first game. Seems a little obtuse, though, with way more menu options than subsequent Japanese adventure games. Dark Half - A dark isometric RPG with small-scale tactical battles, where you alternate between demon and hero every chapter like in Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. The tone and visuals are very different from your average SNES RPG - realistic proportions, muted colors, dark story, which Ex will be happy to know does not seem to involve much friendship. It was actually made by Westone, too. Actraiser 2 - I've tried this one before and it never grabbed me, but maybe I can give it another shot.
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