The only way in which the "new" Square is different from the "old" Square is that the "new" Square isn't making games when you were 12 years old anymore.
That's just not the case. "Golden Age" Square--which for me is roughly from the beginning of the PSX era to just before FFVIII (I suppose you could stretch it back further if you wanted, though I'm personally not a big fan of their SNES work)--Golden Age Square made games completely unlike anything they would make today. Part of the difference is the loss in talent they've suffered since the turn of the century, and part of it is the ultra-cautious stance they've taken since the Spirits Within disaster, but their output has fundamentally changed. 10 years ago Square was known as an innovative, revolutionary developer, a pioneer of the 3D era. Games like Tobal, Einhander, Bushido Blade, and FFVII were the proof of that. And even when they weren't precisely
innovating, they were at least attempting new intellectual properties that often turned out brilliantly--Brave Fencer Musashi and FF Tactics were some of these. Today, Square is a running joke to a lot of people: the company that just rehashes the same games again and again--remakes and sequels, remakes and sequels. This is a fundamental change in their strategy, and not just something in people's imaginations. And last year, Square lost what was perhaps its last truly great mind, Yasumi Matsuno. Where they'll go from here, I don't know.
But for all of that, I would argue that the main FF series has managed to stay fresh and fun to play through it all. Even as they've stagnated almost everywhere else, they've kept that one gem bright. FFXII, if you ask me, was the best entry in the series since VII. A lot of people disagree, I know, but these people are just... wrong.
Maybe this generation, Square will enter another renaissance, and some new stars will rise up to replace the old ones. Or maybe XII was a fluke, and now without Matsuno and Sakaguchi both, they're truly lost.
