An Attack On Square: As A Company And A Creative Enterprise

by Mike Lenzo 

I love Square games. My first great Nintendo game that I played was Final Fantasy. I loved Final Fantasy II/IV on the Super Nintendo, and to this day I still base my opinion of a new roleplaying game against FFIV. As I have grown and matured, Square, as both a company and a creative enterprise has also grown and matured, stumbling a bit, but slowly coming to the realization of certain truths.

Square, as both a company and a creative enterprise, is an not an anomaly, as Mr. Carr has stated in his editorial. They have produced good and bad games, and still make millions. Why? Why do movies which are generally considered garbage, such as Armageddon, make money? Because there is a public that overlooks faults in many products and continues to purchase and use them without protesting said products.

Square has for a long time been a mystery to me. Just why would a company throw away money? That is what Square has done time and time again. Square threw away money by not releasing Final Fantasy V in the U.S. They threw away money by not releasing Front Mission. They threw away a LOT of money by not releasing Seiken Densetsu 3 (instead releasing Secret of Evermore). Front Mission II. Front Mission Alternative. All three Romancing Sagas. Gun Hazard. Rudra No Hihou. Final Fantasy II and III. Tobal No. 2. Treasure Hunter G. Bahamut Lagoon. All good games (with the possible exception of Gun Hazard and Bahamut Lagoon) with the potential to make money. By not releasing such games in the U.S. and building brand awareness (even more so than they have now) Square threw away money. I cannot honestly think of any other industry that such an event would occur in. Stockholders in Square should be justifiably concerned over its mystifying release schedule. The fact that there was any doubt as to the translation of Xenogears is laughable.

Square is a company that has defeated itself time and again. Its attempt to create a niche market for RPGs in the U.S. was successful, and yet they still feed their customers substandard products. The translation in Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy VII was so ridiculously bad that I grimace to play the games, if simply because of that. Andrew Vestal said it best in his petition, stating that there is NO REASON that Square cannot adequately translate its games with proper grammar and elementary spelling. Frankly, I was insulted by the level of errors present in Final Fantasy Tactics, and wonder if any novel or movie would be translated so poorly.

The level of writing in Square's games is gradually approaching that of pulp novel, which is pretty sad really, as Square has trumpeted the storylines in many of their games as being "epic" and "awe inspiring." The story in Final Fantasy Tactics impressed me with its ambition and three dimensional characters, but the "epic" nature of Final Fantasy VII eludes me. The story of Final Fantasy VII is poorly plotted with horrible character development, a ridiculously one dimensional villain, and numerous plot holes. I once read a post comparing Final Fantasy VII with Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 2001, and I just started laughing. Mr. Kubrick would doubtless be incensed by the reference. Square needs to hire real writers. Parasite Eve was a good step in the right direction, since it was based off a book by a writer who (presumably) actually learned their craft through numerous pieces of work.

My problems with Square are basically the ones stated above. I love Square's games, and I wish them the best of luck with them, and I will continue to enjoy them, but I feel that I have the right, and the need, to criticize what I see wrong in their products. Square has released numerous substandard products or refused to release some products at all. Working Designs, a company I have boundless respect in, has released many quality games (okay, let's forget Shining Wisdom) and delivered sterling translations of each work that they undertake. It continues to mystify me as to why Square cannot look at Working Designs' incredible products and put as much time and quality into the localization process. Until Square changes their policies and begins to mature and grow, I will continue to criticize Square both as a company and a creative enterprise.