• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Square Enix Reportedly Overhauling How It Makes Games

Buggy Loop

Member
These things sell niche. SE wants big AAA success like their PS1-PS2 days with the franchise.

Make an as good FF as VI in HD-2D and I guarantee it would have bonker sales. They keep throwing new franchises in this style which are still successful but it takes time to build branding.

Main FF in this style would sell more than their latest attempts. I would bet on that.

Modern ones are scaled back, as per S-E’s very own words, FF6 remake would take 20 years (ah!). It’s pretty telling that something is wrong.
 
These things sell niche. SE wants big AAA success like their PS1-PS2 days with the franchise.

They have a very solid blueprint with ff16. The issue is their structure is a team makes a FF then another one comes in to do the next. They need to commit to one mainline FF team to keep making the next game better from their own learnings. Western studio AAA tends to keep the same team working on a franchise to expand upon it like Uncharted for example.

While I agree with this, I believe the crux of the issue lies in the series' struggle to maintain a distinct identity.

Simply incorporating recurring elements like Chocobos, crystals, and Moggles isn't enough to capture the essence of "Final Fantasy."

The series doesn't know if it's an action or role playing game, anymore. And it shows.
 

kevm3

Member
Rehaul for what? FF16 was one of the best FFs in a long time, and they've released a ton of gems like the Octopath series, Triangle Strategy, etc. Square has been much better this generation than they've been in a long time.
 

BlackTron

Member
AI tools to speed things up are great, replacing developers and full art departments is probably not. I'd like to remain positive, but Square does not have a history of making the best decisions.

Too bad we didn't have AI when Square decided to make a movie
 
Make an as good FF as VI in HD-2D and I guarantee it would have bonker sales. They keep throwing new franchises in this style which are still successful but it takes time to build branding.

That's probally what the FF9 remake is, if it exists. But it probally has an AA budget at best.
 
I just hope they don't think they need to westernize any further..
Yes... i have a bad feeling some of these companies (mostly Capcom and Square-Enix) see the mainstream push for ESG, idpol, and pro feminism, as popular in maintream narratives, but don't realize most of us gamers can't stand that shit and want them to stick to their roots and make good games. Don't cater to the current West, as that is a recipe for disaster. You will get some twitter celebrations from a subset of people, many whom don't even play games, or don't play them in enough volume to chart. That in turn also turns away the traditional jrpg crowd.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Parasite Eve with FFVIII Rebirth quality, game is much shorter so it shouldn't take that long to develop.
Not evey game has to be as big as FFVIII Remake Series.
But that's the quality you need.
 
So atrocious, how could SE ever live with themselves after 16's reception?

BexH4W4.jpg

nF4TwDN.jpg



Just shameful. Horrific. Devastating.
Lol.... FF16 was awesome. I think some are salty as it was exclusive, or wanted turnbased. I loved it and am glad they stuck to their guns and didn't cave to the journalists shitting on it during developement for its European /middle ages setting.

Could it have had more party mechanics, yes, but that isn't what their vision was. The beauty of final fantasy is every title is different in battle system and style.
 

Dynasty8

Member
Lol.... FF16 was awesome. I think some are salty as it was exclusive, or wanted turnbased. I loved it and am glad they stuck to their guns and didn't cave to the journalists shitting on it during developement for its European /middle ages setting.

Could it have had more party mechanics, yes, but that isn't what their vision was. The beauty of final fantasy is every title is different in battle system and style.

Bias reviews. If people took off their fanboy googles the meta score would be lower. IF the game didn't have the FF name on there, it would not have scored that high.

It was one of the games I was looking forward to most last year...didn't give a shit about the exclusivity or the fact that it was action, I really wanted the game to be good seeing as it was a mature mainline title...but everything about it was very lacking. People just refused to acknowledge that because how dare they criticize their masters at SE.
 
Parasite Eve with FFVIII Rebirth quality, game is much shorter so it shouldn't take that long to develop.
Not evey game has to be as big as FFVIII Remake Series.
But that's the quality you need.
Id love a new Parasite eve game. We got 3rd birthday on psp. That game was a far cry from original parasite eve as it wasn't turn based, and was a stat based third person shooter. That being said, I loved 3rd birthday too.

I don't understand why they didn't port or make a console release, and just gave up on the franchise. Probably afraid of backlash for making an attractive Aya Brea:
Just look how awesome she is:
5qtJPLg.png
parasite_eve_aya_brea_collage_by_kumikosan16_d4c0i2w-fullview.jpg
actor-aya-brea-307319_large.jpg
 
  • Strength
Reactions: TGO

Hero_Select

Member
And I am of the very unpopular opinion that they should do that for more FF games.
They literally tried and failed with "Fabula Nova Crystalis" and then the XIII trilogy kinda bombed (Even though I personally really like all 3). And then they tried with FF15 with the anime and movie and all the dlc.

And while the game sold really well, it had a LOT of flaws. Partially because it tried to be so big outside of the games that the story was cut into different pieces and you really felt it when you played through the story.
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Id love a new Parasite eve game. We got 3rd birthday on psp. That game was a far cry from original parasite eve as it wasn't turn based, and was a stat based third person shooter. That being said, I loved 3rd birthday too.

I don't understand why they didn't port or make a console release, and just gave up on the franchise. Probably afraid of backlash for making an attractive Aya Brea:
Book author disavowed use of the IP after PE2. IP is effectively dead in the water.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Id love a new Parasite eve game. We got 3rd birthday on psp. That game was a far cry from original parasite eve as it wasn't turn based, and was a stat based third person shooter. That being said, I loved 3rd birthday too.

I don't understand why they didn't port or make a console release, and just gave up on the franchise. Probably afraid of backlash for making an attractive Aya Brea:
Just look how awesome she is:
5qtJPLg.png
parasite_eve_aya_brea_collage_by_kumikosan16_d4c0i2w-fullview.jpg
actor-aya-brea-307319_large.jpg
aAyXgt9.jpg
umDbbpd.png
akDHZVb.jpg

Indeed 👍
 

TheAssist

Member
They literally tried and failed with "Fabula Nova Crystalis" and then the XIII trilogy kinda bombed (Even though I personally really like all 3). And then they tried with FF15 with the anime and movie and all the dlc.

And while the game sold really well, it had a LOT of flaws. Partially because it tried to be so big outside of the games that the story was cut into different pieces and you really felt it when you played through the story.
I think it was a good idea, horribly executed.

There are lots of reason why 13 and 15 turned out the way they did, but that shouldnt distract from the core idea behind it.
Reiterate more stuff that works and dont throw everything out the window (or only throw out the stuff that didnt work)
 
The founder still has creative control over Dragon Quest. You don't trust him?
Squeenix is already preparing to move on without Horii. After all, who knows how long he has to live.

They've admitted on interviews that starting from the next entry, they want to create a template for the next 10~20 years for the franchise.

And if you look at how they're describing this "template", it includes words such as "mature", "adult", "dark", "new direction".

Also, combat will be revamped somewhat:

It seems they're also struggling with the concept

Now, I don't want to be too negative, because something good may come out of it.
But it's clear Squeenix wants to exert some control over the long-term future of the series.

Judging by how they SUCK at making decisions (e.g. FF13, FF 15, FF16, Forspoken, FF7R) I won't hold my breath.
 

Labadal

Member
Keep letting Team Asano do their own thing.

Keep the main Dragon Quest series turn-based.

Other than that, do what you want.
 
New structure can imply a lot of different things. I believe Square Enix's approach to development is world building, characters, and narrative first. The gameplay is built around that, or the battle systems with their own directors and leads, are adapted to it. On the other hand, the Nintendo approach is the opposite of this, building out the gameplay systems first, and then carving out the lore, story, and contexts for players to engage with. Perhaps the Square Enix boss is suggesting a change to their approach to game design/development?

Hard to know what Takashi Kiryu is talking about here. Maybe we'll have an idea in April, but it is also worth noting that the results of these initiatives won't be seen for at least a year plus, whatever they are.
 
Last edited:

Scotty W

Banned
Wrong post. I said- conflating the remakes.

Yes, the remakes sold ok, but all that other garbage.

7 million is mid btw. Sounds like a money losing operation. Biggest mistake se ever made, apart from spending the past 25 years cheapening 7’s legacy.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
Gee....maybe release you games on more than one platform (FF16, FF7 Remake, FF7 Rebirth.......Playstation only). People can say that there isn't an install base so makes no sense, but there are over 20 million XSX owners. If they actually put these (among others) out on Xbox, they would build up a fan base. Hard to justify 'no fanbase' if they never took the time to try.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
So atrocious, how could SE ever live with themselves after 16's reception?

BexH4W4.jpg

nF4TwDN.jpg



Just shameful. Horrific. Devastating.
I just deleted FF16 to make room for FF7 Rebirth. I hated FF16. Probably the worst in the franchise. Of course the fanboys will eat it up.....but I think in retrospect, it wasn't one of the good ones. I enjoyed the Star Ocean Second Story R much better.
 
7 million is mid btw. Sounds like a money losing operation. Biggest mistake se ever made, apart from spending the past 25 years cheapening 7’s legacy.

It sold well enough to get Part 2 greenlit. And that's with Part 1 being in such development hell.

Gee....maybe release you games on more than one platform (FF16, FF7 Remake, FF7 Rebirth.......Playstation only). People can say that there isn't an install base so makes no sense, but there are over 20 million XSX owners. If they actually put these (among others) out on Xbox, they would build up a fan base. Hard to justify 'no fanbase' if they never took the time to try.

Even 15 (which sold OK on PC) didn't sell well on XBox.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I hope next dragon quest will be a proper RPG compared to this abomination ff16.

I just deleted FF16 to make room for FF7 Rebirth. I hated FF16. Probably the worst in the franchise. Of course the fanboys will eat it up.....but I think in retrospect, it wasn't one of the good ones. I enjoyed the Star Ocean Second Story R much better.

I found it was way better than FF13 and FF15
 
Last edited:

Scotty W

Banned
It sold well enough to get Part 2 greenlit. And that's with Part 1 being in such development hell.

It probably barely broke even. They only did another because it would have been shameful not to complete to. Honor and shame are huge parts of Japanese culture.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Rehaul for what? FF16 was one of the best FFs in a long time, and they've released a ton of gems like the Octopath series, Triangle Strategy, etc. Square has been much better this generation than they've been in a long time.
They're essentially trying to indentify which games will bring them success, aka FF16, Octopath etc and increase the resource and budget for these games, whilst ending the many shots on goal approach with all the C-tier and some B-tier games. This will mean less output but higher budgets for the games they do make in the B-tier and A-tier category. Perhaps also upgrading some games from B-tier into A-tier. For example NieR.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
I just deleted FF16 to make room for FF7 Rebirth. I hated FF16. Probably the worst in the franchise. Of course the fanboys will eat it up.....but I think in retrospect, it wasn't one of the good ones. I enjoyed the Star Ocean Second Story R much better.
It's nothing about fanboys eating it up. I really disliked 13 and 15 and never played 14. But I loved 16 as there's a lot of quality there. Not perfect (pacing, some game design choices, difficulty - too easy) but enough elements hit the mark for me to really like what they made. (story, world, lore, music, characters, cinematography presentation, combat, mystery). The cinematography was some of the best I've seen in a game yet.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom