Square pegs -
January 23, 2001 - Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed
within this column are those of the participants and the
moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive
material afoot. When this gray wold crumbles like a cake, I'll be hangin'
from the hope, that I'll never see that recipe again.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
It's columns like this one that pull me back from the abyss,
every time I start to question if we're concentrating too much on
Square. The fact is, no matter what else you think of them,
they're entertaining - no other major developer seems to
make major announcements like this one. Not Capcom, not Konami,
not Enix, not Sega or Nintendo. We don't even have to argue about
the quality of their games, because their antics outside the
gameplay world are plenty interesting on their own. Kinda like watching
a rock star self-destruct, regardless of if you enjoy their music
or not.
So the only real question is, will Square be featured on a "Behind the
Music" type show, 10 years from now?
Onward.
| Reexamining the remakes |
| Agent Jonesy,
Why does Square need to remake FF7-9 for the PS2? Doesn't the PS2
already play all of those games?
I can understand remaking SNES games like FF4 and Chrono Trigger for the
PSX, or FF4-6 for the GBA, since those games don't already work on those
systems, but if the PS2 can already play a $20 greatest hits PSX version
of FF7, then they better have something spectacular in mind for a PS2
native version. I doubt simply including higher resolutions or cleaner
textures will cut it. And even if they sell it at a low $20 price
(similar to the DC versions of Resident Evil 2&3) it still doesn't seem
to be worth it considering the original versions already sold something
like a bazillion copies and most people who are interested already have
them.
Or maybe I'm wrong, and people will just buy it because Square says so.
It just seems like it would be more sensible to rerelease the games on a
whole new platform like X-Box or GameCube, or even Dreamcast.
-JD |
After talking it over with some fellow staffers last night, I
retract my statement that FF 7 - 9 on the PS2 will be a straightforward
FFA style remake. As a lot of people pointed out, copies of all 3
games are still fairly plentiful, and there's little point to porting a
game that can be played straight from the original on the new system.
Instead, I'll guess that these remakes will have two additional
features: a model upgrade that'll bring the world map and battle
characters closer to what's seen in the FMV, and an omake mode. The omake
mode's a real no-brainer, since with their available technology it's
fairly straight forward to make a few more FMVs (or maybe some Toy Story 2
style outtakes). And if the games were programmed in a sane, modular
fashion, it should be fairly simple to upgrade resolutions and character
textures to bring the games more in line with what you'd expect from a
PS2 game. Either one of those options is fairly cheap for Square, and
either one is something that might inspire people to buy a game they've
already got.
| What a difference a
few years makes |
| Chris
Wow.
What a contrast. Over the last two years, Square has diversified their
lineup, and gone back to some of their older stuff, while branching out into
new genres. We have a new Saga game, a new Front Mission, the long overdue
revival of Seiken Densetsu and Chrono, an entirely new, innovative and
fantastic game from a relatively new director (Vagrant Story), and some
lousy sports games to boot.
And now.
Wow. Talk about a complete paradigm shift. After months of nothing (in
Japan, at least), all of a sudden Square seems to have a thousand titles in
development, and what's more, it seems every damn one of them is a Final
Fantasy game. You can say Square is just trying to save their ass from
financial hell (and I'd be inclined to believe you), but this somehow seems
more planned. As I've thought for a while now, Sakaguchi seems to be taking
a Miyamoto approach, spinning of his series, and letting some other talent
get a crack at things. And, as you pointed out, all of these new FF games
represent something completely different and new. We're at the end of an
era; may the FF series of old rest in peace, and at the same time, lets
welcome in the new guard. Not just the rebirth of the FF series, but, for
better or for worse, the rebirth of Square itself.
Justin Freeman
|
I'd actually tend to argue the exact opposite - this feels like a
replay of the period following Square's initial crush of PSX games,
when they backed off of exploring new genres (Soukaigi, Another Mind,
Einhander) and concentrated on more traditional RPG markets. Back then,
essentially, Square got scared off from trying to be dominant in every
imaginable video game field and pulled back to what it knew best...
with good results.
Similarly, this time Square tried to push console RPGs into places they
hadn't been before, which was a noble goal but incurred big debts and a
steep learning curve. It's still possible FFXI and the FF Movie will be
successful, in which case those ventures can still move forward, but in
the meantime Square's maximizing their existing properties, like you
suggest. And as long as they're keeping people like Matsuno around, I'm
not gonna complain.
| If they were doing
well, they'd be developing 50 titles, I tell you... |
| Chris,
Makes me wonder. First, I hear "Square's got no money!
They're cutting back on developing multiple titles at
once!"
Now I hear they have 23 titles in development.
TWENTY-THREE. Even if 11 are remakes, using math
skills, we note that's 12 NEW titles in development.
If that's "cutting back," what's "expanding" ? Taking
over small countries and calling them SquareSoftLand?
Seriously though, maybe this huge remake-o-rama is a
prelude to the end of the Final Fantasy series? Kind
of like the big finale to a fireworks show?
=====
Peter |
Er, I don't remember anybody saying that Square would cut back on
development because of their money problems, except as far as some of
their more experimental titles (FFX's online component) were concerned.
Still, you're right that this deluge doesn't seem like the action of
somebody in dire financial straits... until you start to look at how
cheap most of this development will be, and how much money it's liable to
net the company. And I doubt Final Fantasy will ever end, unless Square
itself ends. Which is unfortunately a real possibility, but even so it
does tend to work like you suggested - if you gotta go, go out with a
bang.
| I knew somebody
would be this obsessive *potential FF9 spoilers* |
|
About the FMV shots in the beginning of FFIX:
All of the pics are from game FMV, except for Amarant's and Quina's.
Zidane's is from the ending, Garnet's (i hate the name Dagger) is from when
she becomes queen (end of disc 2, before Alexandria gets, uh, "tampered with"
[how can i hope to keep this spoiler-free anyway?]), Stiener's is from when
he sees Garnet with Zidane in the beginning, Vivi's is from the beginning
also, when he is looking up at the Prima Vista (or it might be when the cargo
ship is attacked by the Black Waltz), Freya's is from the end of disc 1 in
Burmecia, Eiko's is from when Alexandria is "tampered with." As far as I
know, neither Quina nor Amarant is in any FMV. Which sucks 'cause I like
Amarant, the damned beatnik.
Um, this has too many spoilers to get printed, huh?
Christoph, sending in his second letter for today's column, though probably
neither will get printed
|
Sounds about right - thanks for the clarification.
| Somewhere, somehow,
the good guys won out |
| Hi,
I was wondering if there was any way you could tell your readers about the
About.com Best of 2000 - Readers' Choice Awards. It covers console games in
over 20 categories, with an award for just about
everything. Please don't feel any pressure to include this item-- I will
always continue to refer people to your site, since it is one of my favorite
destinations.
Anyway, if you want to take a look:
http://videogames.about.com/library/weekly/aa012101.htm
I'm proud to say that my readers looked past the glitz of Final Fantasy IX
and elected Skies of Arcadia the #1 RPG of the year.
Thanks,
Marlen Rattiner
Video Games Guide
http://videogames.about.com |
I put this up because there was considerable rejoicing among some
of the staff that Skies of Arcadia got some kind of recognition,
somewhere. I still haven't been able to give it a try myself (working
on Lunar 2 first) but I understand that it's an excellent game, that in
many ways represents traditional RPGs better than FF9 did. So congrats
to Skies of Arcadia.
On the other hand, neither our own staff picks or the DA Best of 2000
awards ranked Skies of Arcadia that highly... so what does that say about
the staff, or you guys? What's wrong with all of us, that we can't pick
out the clearly superior game? Are we some kind of unwashed philistines
that can't appreciate true quality when we see it, or what? Man, I'm so
disappointed in you people... it's sad, really.
| Eh... |
| "Vagrant Story 2." "Final Fantasy Tactics 2." Another
"Chrono" title.
These are what I wanted to hear in the way of sequels, and I didn't hear
them...
Or better yet... something completely and totally new...
It's hard to get excited about Final Fantasy 12 when 10's a good 8-10
months away.
It's hard to get excited about Final Fantasies 4-6 on the Game Boy Advance,
because I played them on the SNES/PSX.
It's hard to get excited about Final Fantasies 7-9 because I played them
(or in 9's case, am still playing them) on the PSX.
Three words -- Victorian Era RPG. You can do it, Square.
New. NEW!
Bleah.
-- Nick Ware |
We don't know everything that's on Square's list yet, so who knows,
a new FFT or Chrono could be on the list. As it is, putting Matsuno in
charge of FF 12's still about as cool as I could have hoped for...
except I can kinda see where you're coming from. It's almost too much
to take in at once. And as you say, it's hard to get hyped up about any
of these titles when we're still trying to figure out FFX.
But if you want a Victorian Era RPG, just go play Koudelka.
| And I knew somebody
else would be this obsessive... |
| Chris,
Since I have very little else to do right now, I thought I'd try to piece
together what Square's 23 games/11 remakes could be...
First, 11 remakes. This is actually very easily answered, since all of them
have been announced. Final Fantasy II, III (WSC), IV, V, VI (GBA...?), VII,
VIII, IX (PS2) make eight. That leaves three: Seiken Densetsu 2, Front
Mission, and Romancing Saga for the WSC.
Then we have 12 new games. Of these, five are known: Wild Card (WSC), the
new handheld Final Fantasy (GBA...?), FFX, FFXI, FFXII (PS2). Finally,
Squaresoft wasn't exactly clear as to whether they counted the PC and PS2
versions of FFXI as different games, so their PC projects may be counted
again in the total.
So we don't exactly have 23 new, unknown games to worry about here; we have
somewhere between five and seven. And, it is important to note, they are in
varying stages of development. I'd assume a few are little more than design
sketches at this point. So in conclusion, Square's not crazy. They're just
being rather honest. I'm sure plenty of other companies have a similar
number of titles in the works; they just aren't talking about them all at
once.
Chris Kohler |
I honestly don't know if we have enough info figure out how many of
these games are serious new development, or what. It's probably fair
to say that one or two are likely mediocre sports titles, but there's
still plenty of room for some cool but heretofore unknown stuff to be
announced... and chances are, Square's just holding back so avoid
drawing attention from the remakes.
But you're right that, if we just look at the new development, Square's
probably not that much more prolific than most of the other major
development houses out there. Instead, it really is the flood of remakes
that makes this announcement important... which is maybe another piece of
evidence that this is simply a bid for more cash on Square's part.
| Gone portable, for real |
| Square potentially working on GBA titles? Sounds great to me. Square makes
a ton of money, Nintendo makes a ton of money (in hardware units sold), and
24 million units in one year sounds a heck of a lot more like a forecast
than wishful thinking.
As for the remake situation, one would hope that Square actually "REMAKES"
the titles, such as what they are doing with Final Fantasy on the Wonderswan
Color. Since only a small team is needed for such a task, it proves to be a
very profitable venture, as opposed to emulation sets like Anthology (ugh).
The only real difference between the remake of FF1 and the remake of the
Dragon Quest titles was that the latter lacked all but the semblance of a
story until the 4th chapter, so extra stuff (such as story scenes) were
added.
I suppose I could go even further and imagine the second trilogy of FF
titles brought into the world of 3D with the PS2, but thats *really*
dreaming.
KZ |
It'll definitely be great to have Square back on a portable
Nintendo system - they've
been gone way too long from the world of portable gaming, and while
the Wonderswan Color's an interesting side show, it quite simply lacks
the potential of the GBC. Which leads me to wonder if Square will be
coding any Pokemon Crystal type games, not so much in the monster
breading sense, but an epic portable RPG with online links, perhaps
even to PlayOnline. Heck, that'd be yet another way to make the network
more solvent.
| Bungie. Halo. Not
enough said, apparently... |
| Bungie. Halo. Enough said.
Not to be a pain in the ass, but... ahh... HALO hasn't been ruled out for the
MacOS or Windows PC platforms just yet. As a hard Mac supporter in the past,
I doubt Bungie would dissapoint it's fans and sell out by not realeasing the
hottest game since Marathon. I wouldn't be surprised to see an X-Box version
released AFTER the MacOS version... considering all the screenshots are taken
from the Mac Alpha.
http://bungie.com/faq.shtml
(there's no direct link, but scroll down to section III; Future
Titles)
-Dibo |
While Halo hasn't been ruled out for PC or Mac yet, it also hasn't
been confirmed, either. There was an article on Mac Central today
suggesting that it would be on Mac, and I'd be surprised if it didn't
get ported after all the work that's been put into a Mac version.
Still, one of the main motivations for Microsoft to buy out Bungie was
for the X-Box to have a major league title that was definitely bound
for the platform, as opposed to all these other games that were
merely "maybes". The point is that at this point, X-Box is Bungie's
primary target platform, and there shouldn't be any disagreement about
that.
And yes, the new Oddworld game is also an X-Box exclusive.
| Beware the assembly
line, my son |
| Hey Chris!
First of all, I can't entirely agree that the new FF games will differ
from the rest of the series more than, say, FFVII and FFVIII differ from the
six games before that. I mean, sure, it will have a new battle system, and
it'll be fully 3D (albeit with fixed cameras). But the point is, FFVII was a
giant leap from the Super Nintendo games too, with its move to polygons and
pseudo-3d and CGI and amibiguous and mature story. And FFVIII was even more
experimental, with its realistically portrayed characters, its lack of MP,
its lack of equipment and so on and so forth.
Second, I'll present to you the exception to my first point : FFXII. By
the way, I can't believe Square is already talking about that game before
FFX is even out. It makes me a bit skeptical and cynical about those future
games' quality (mass-production, anyone?). BUT, FFXII will probably be so
different that it will stand apart from the series, because of Matsuno's
involvement. Now I don't like the micro-managing of elements and affinities
of Vagrant Story that much, but I LOVED that game for its brilliant,
BRILLIANT cutscenes. If Matsuno can bring that to a Final Fantasy game, I'd
sell my family and move to Japan just to play it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Sir Farren, comes packaged with a flame extinguisher. |
Wild idea here: maybe the 3D graphics of the PSX games really aren't
that important. Take away the FMV and the rendered backgrounds, and
FF7 wouldn't have been that much different from FF6, a slightly
more intense plotline aside. FF8 was a major departure for the series,
battle-wise, but it was still done under Sakaguchi's supervision and
doesn't seem to be as big a departure as FFX is liable to be. There's
room for honest disagreement here, but these new FFs really do feel
like a much larger departure than anything that's come before, at least
to me.
There's no idea what Matusno will bring to FF 12. Remember,
he's sharing directing duties with Ito from FF9, and while I can't
recall of the top of my head what else Ito's done, if his work on FF9 is
any indication then Matusno's progressive experimentation might well be
cancelled out. Still, I think we need to have one unabashed Matusno
worship letter in here somewhere...
| How could we leave
without makeing a baseless declaration? |
| Hey Chris,
Goodness, I was wondering what Yasumi Matsuno's next project was going to
be...and then I learned it was FFXII.
My favorite game director paired with one of my favorite series. I hereby declare
FFXII to be the BEST GAME EVER. Even though as of yet there's no other information
on it.
The screenshots and other FFX information have been interesting, but right now
it's FFXII that I'm drooling for.
~ J. Tonberry |
I just had to fit "BEST GAME EVER" in here somewhere. Good night,
everybody!
Closing Comments:
But before I go, I do have to give you guys a topic: the GBA, with
a cell phone connection. What kind of games could be developed for it,
and what kind of games would you like to see developed for it? Later.
-Chris Jones, knows deep in
his heart that Square would never do anything wrong
|
