@zexen_lowe: Okay, so for you the addition of Enix just wasn't able to make up for what Square had lost. Makes sense.

@Zen: Many had mixed opinions on FFXII - it wasn't anything like a normal FF, it's almost like a spinoff like FFTactics was "forced" onto the fans of the main series. People felt jipped by it, so naturally they've lost some confidence in the franchise. I'm not saying it was a bad game, but it's lacking the features that make the FF franchise so popular.

TWEWY is amazing, no doubt, but the KH team is a given. I haven't played Crisis Core, but FFIV, while great, is still a remake. Either way, both games are feeding off the old games' success (FF4 and FF7). Look at how many FFXII and FFXIII games they're releasing. It's like they're not confident in anything else making sales, so they've gotta put name recognition on it.

It all boils down to this: they're struggling with creating new IP's, and it's taking them forever to come out with the new iterations for their main ones. KH3 is starting to look like 2011 at the earliest. The last traditional, main Final Fantasy, FFX, came out at the end of 2001. It will have taken them at least 8 years to release their newest installment. I still look forward to their releases, and I'd agree people exaggerate the extent of their "decline," but they're definitely not what they once were.

This pretty much sums up what I dislike about them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Enix#Business_model (use the references if you dislike wiki)

It sounds like they're going for one big hit, and once it happens, they'll whore out the franchise's success. I don't want a Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger success turned into a movie, anime, manga, or spinoffs. Just deliver us more new games to play, damnit!

That business model is disgusting but is obviously a result of sony's fall. Last gen, the Jackpot platform was the ps2, no questions asked. And the people who buy the whored-out spin-offs are the biggest problem. I hate Wada as well. He seems to only care about money not reputation or quality.

First, call me just zexen (I need to add it to my sig)

Second, about the business model, that's Wada for you, a sentence in the link you posted sums it up (you seem to have quoted it too)

"it's very difficult to hit the jackpot, as it were. Once we've hit it, we have to get all the juice possible out of it"

That's my biggest problem with Squeenix, and the biggest reason I hate Wada, and that's what changed from Squaresoft. Heck, one of the things people liked from FF is that every FF was unrelated to the others. I have no problem with good sequels (I haven't tried Crisis Core, but I'm sure it's great, but when you have almost as much ports and remakes in production than new games, you know there's something wrong with the company

Still they have great people under them (Tetsuya Nomura is a fantastic director/designer, one of my favourites), and they will keep releasing great games. Just not as frequently as before

That, folks, is how one hits a nail: one clean whack to the head. With a fourty-pound sledge. The only thing I'd add is a bit of data: Enix took a 55% share of Square-Enix after the merger. They had the cash and were in the driver's seat, not Squaresoft (who was then being propped up by Sony, which as a result of the Spirits Within fiasco still owns over 10% of Squeenix).

And just to toss my own two cents into the debate: Squeenix went wrong when it started to adopt the mindset that polish>originality. The extra spit and shine they've been putting on their games appeals to their remaining fans, but that base hasn't expanded since the PS1 days, while the cost of pandering to that group has continued to increase exponentially. Literally. I'd rather Squeenix break down most of its teams and assemble them into smaller, more agile groups. This way, the remaining big teams can keep cranking out original Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest titles, and the smaller teams can make smaller, more diverse titles like Soul Blazer, Bushido Blade, Robotrek, etc. That way we get the best of all worlds.

Oh, and as a personal favor, make another damned Ogre Battle game. We've waited long enough, and Knight of Lodis does not count.

I am probably gonna get flamed for this, but I was disappointed with Final Fantasy XII.

My explanation is somewhat involved. Let me use Baldur's Gate as an example. The game has very good gameplay, as it is better to prevent damage than to heal it. Healing spells are expensive, and defensive spells are very effective. Also, offensive spells are so powerful that they can turn the tide of the battle instantly if the right spell is casted correctly. This is balanced by how few spells you can cast and mages are vulnerable to attack, as it will disrupt their spells. Fighters are usefull at absorbing damage and archers are usefull at dealing easy physical damage. Both are necessary at killing smaller enemies not worth one of your precious spells.

Final Fantasy XII is almost the opposite. Healing spells are cheap and have to be casted almost constantly. Defensive spells are moderately effective, but are often necessary, and you still have to spam healing spells. Offensive spells are most of the times useless unless you can find an enemy weak against them, and then they are moderately effective. You are better off just shooting an enemy or stabbing them than casting offensive spells.

All of that to tell you why I was disappointed with Final Fantasy XII. You can see on my games list that I do own the game and I have played it for about 15-20 hours.

Yesssssssssssssssss. Final Fantasy XII was a spiritual successor to Ogre Battle, but it's not the same.

Not that Knights of Lodis was bad, either. Kind of a breath of fresh air! But sidestories don't count.

That was the funniest part of FFXII for me.

During a cutscene.  "I know that purple hair... that's Lans!"

After saving Basch "Basch Von Rosenberg my ass.  That's the other Lans Hamilton!"

It seemed to be Half Ogre Batle, half Star Wars... but the new not good star wars.  Not the old cool Star Wars.  Van and Penelo I suppose do a fair job recreating their LUCT analogs as well.  Though still, the game felt off to me.

Probably Denim was never that annoying, because you basically controlled what he said.

I still haven't forgiven Knight of Lodis for two things either.

1) Getting rid of WT.  Why?  WT's made the gameplay so much better and strategic.

2) The training medal.  Some units you just want or have to train at base for massive expierence because they're going to suck in most situations.   Why put in a medal that lowers those units effectiveness?