Oh, Square Enix… you used to be the best. You used to make games that not only had compelling and fun gameplay, but you gave us STORIES. Stories about people we cared about and wanted to succeed. But now you give us…Vanille? Hope? We didn’t care about any of them. And then you gave us Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO that had more bugs than a bait shop, an annoying grinding system, and an experience that sucked the very soul of the Final Fantasy formula from it.
Why Re-Release A Game Nobody Really Likes?
Word is coming in that development of the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIV is still on the way and is in fact halfway completed…but nobody cares. The fact is, going the MMO route with Final Fantasy was a stroke of genius. But making the MMOs numbered installments in the franchise was a move that was horribly conceived.
The fact is that Final Fantasy XIV put Square into financial loss because nobody wanted to play it. So does porting it over to PS3 mean it will somehow gain success that eluded it when it first launched? It’s highly doubtful. The fact is that Square is the alcoholic uncle of the video game world. They gave fans a lot of good memories, fun experiences, and unforgettable stories, but in hard times they just couldn’t get their act together.
How Square Can Fix Their Company
What Square needs to do is go back to square one and revamp their image. If they really want to recapture their glory days, then they need to give the people what they want: they need to dust off that Final Fantasy VII remake idea. Sure, going back and remaking a beloved classic may not seem like the most dignified route, but Square’s problems right now stem from the fact that nobody cares about their characters right now. By revisiting FF VII, they can make a financial killing. On top of that, it would help them remember who they are: storytellers above all else. And if they really want to go for the whole phoenix rising from the ashes thing, there can be no better first step than changing their name. Square-Enix is a horrible name. We want Squaresoft back.
