Well, I found an interesting article on IGN. While it's certainly debatable (I don't agree with everything they say), I can't comment enough because I haven't played IU or TLR (will play TLR when it comes out on PC). Strange that they don't mention that IU was developed by Tri-Ace, not Squeenix
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/933/933825p1.html
The Gameplay Mechanic: Fixing Square's RPG Machine
November 25, 2008 - In 2002, the two biggest RPG developers/publishers in Japan, Square and Enix merged. It was a match made in heaven for fans. Square is famous for its Final Fantasy series and Enix is best known for its Dragon Quest series. Together it would seem there could be no limit break. And while Square-Enix has delivered for the previous generation of consoles, its stumbled so far in the new generation.
Both Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant failed to deliver the same level of production and gameplay quality we've come to expect from Square-Enix. Western RPG developers have learned from Square-Enix's successes and built on them, creating some of the most memorable RPGs of the past decade. We want Square-Enix back in top form. So we've come up with five steps Square-Enix can take to get back on track and start making the high-level of RPGs we've come to expect.
1. Learn to Use the Unreal Engine
Or just ditch it. The quality of the Square Enix Xbox 360 releases has been dragged down by crummy technical issues that shouldn't be a problem in high quality RPGs. Infinite Undiscovery has framerate issues. The Last Remnant has them worse -- and it's a turn-based game where relatively little is happening on-screen at once. Both use Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Write The Last Remnant off as running better with a hard drive install all you want, but the fact of the matter is Square Enix released a game that performs poorly on the hardware SKU (Xbox 360 Arcade) Microsoft is pushing the hardest this fall.
One game could be seen as a fluke. Two is a trend. It's time that the powers-that-be at Square Enix take a long hard look at the tools the company is using to make its games. If the Unreal Engine 3 isn't working, scrap it and move on before the Square Enix brand gets tarnished.
2. Upgrade the Presentation
Back in the day, the CG cutscene ruled the RPG world. They have largely gone the way of the dodo, with just a few popping up here or there. Whether that makes you sad is a matter of taste, but what we have gotten as a replacement is hardly satisfactory. In-engine cutscenes have the potential to look fantastic, but using the same engine that doesn't work well for you and the same animations we've seen since the PS1 era doesn't do it for us.
Animations don't make or break a game, but they can add a lot to the sense of immersion RPGs would hope to convey. People don't wave back and forth slowly while they stand in one place. They don't move stiffly. And more than just the lips move when somebody talks.
If the story is important to your game -- and in an RPG it should be -- then you had better make sure you present it in the best possible way. That also means doing away with text-box cutscenes. If Square Enix wants to compete with Western developers, it needs to voice every major conversation. The company is simply being outhustled right now.
3. Evolve the RPG Elements
Let's face it, most Japanese-developed RPGs still use the same design philosophy that worked 20 years ago. Just about every Square-Enix RPG has towns you walk around in, with dozens of people you speak with for no reason. There are poorly conceived fetch quests and uninspired city designs. The popular comes off as a bunch of animatronics from a Disneyland attraction there to repeat the same line over and over. It's time for a change.
More and more Western RPGs are creating interesting cities with people that feel as if they exist even when you're not around. One way to remove unnecessary conversations is to display names over the heads of all citizens, with unimportant NPCs being named "Shopkeeper" and "Millworker" while those who matter can be "Jim the Barber" or what not. The most recent Square-Enix RPGs have large, empty, uninteresting towns that seem there more out of habit than necessity.
Square-Enix needs to suck up its pride and start playing some Western RPGs. Let Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and Fable II inspire you. This doesn't mean you have to provide morality choices, but you should endeavor to create cities that feel lived in with citizens who have a place within the community.
4. Flesh Out Your Gimmicks
Infinite Undiscovery has a flute that often serves no purpose and The Last Remnant has unions which don't fully make sense. As far as IU's flute goes, it was an interesting idea that never fully formed. The flute was your hero's version of magic, but for a good portion of IU, it was pretty much unnecessary. The non-combat properties were made too obvious (you can "see" the invisible areas you are supposed to reveal with the flute) and using the flute in combat meant you were just standing around unable to attack.
The unions in The Last Remnant is an attempt to add some strategy to the combat, but is just too simplistic to work well. The unions you create separate from you in combat, giving a sense of a larger battle. But having no direct control over your unions is actually too limiting. It doesn't help that none of the characters you can recruit are better than the six characters available from the get go.
So how can this be fixed? Make certain that whatever the gimmick is for the next Square-Enix game, it is integral to the story and is a primary focal point when designing gameplay. The gimmick needs to become the star in some way, instead of feeling like an idea tacked on halfway through development. Give greater thought to the gameplay elements and how they can be given greater depth.
5. More is Not Always Better
Just because your game is 50 hours long, it doesn't mean that all 50 of them are necessary. Just because you have a ton of characters in the game, it doesn't mean that gamers will be excited to use them all. It's important to provide a sense of focus.
There seems to be this belief that an RPG is worthless if it isn't a 50 hour epic. We're all for getting the most out of our games, but simply cramming extra generic battles or extended boring dungeons into a game doesn't make it better. In role-playing games, it's often the choice to extend your game that is most important. Forcing a long game just makes it tedious.
The same goes for playable characters. Infinite Undiscovery had over a dozen playable characters and forces the player to use all of them rather than allowing them the choice of which to enjoy. The Last Remnant swings the pendulum in the opposite direction and offers even more playable characters, though no party members are required. The trouble there is that every single optional character you can recruit for your party is worse than the six you start the game with. Neither option shows focus on what the player might enjoy and instead forces the issue.
What do you think? And, for anyone that has played either IU or TLR, are these criticisms fair?
