yes.they publish really good games and they still make some really good games.

That 4th option is kinda unfair :P the fact that Square was better shouldn't be attached to not caring about Square Enix anymore. Anyways, I still care, JRPG/FF fanboy for life. I'm hopeful they'll get FF back on track before the company crashes and burns. FF15 doesn't seem to be going the right direction, I want an old school style FF game not some shitty attempt at making it a western action rpg. I would kill for a Super Mario RPG 2 or Chrono game.

This. And like many others have said, ever since they bought Eidos, they have become much more interesting.

Well, they get one more chance with that one. Hitman absolution was just garbage compared to blood money and even contract. Hope they go back to what makes Hitman unique instead of making a boiler plate stealth game from 2003 with pretty graphics.

Yes I do. They've put out a number of tremendous games. Their publishing side has produced some fantastic titles as well. I'm not one to lose myself in nostalgia, so I don't really give a shit about Squaresoft anymore. They're gone. I had great times with their games, but I've had great(er) times with some of the games Square Enix has released. So they didn't have an exciting E3. They've got things on the way.

I thought Tomb Raider was a groovy game. Also, I haven't played many of their JRPGs. I'm halfway through Chrono Trigger, never finished Mario RPG and have FF6 on my "to play" list. I have their entire back catalog to discover if I ever really get a Square RPG itch.

Just because Just Cause.

They've been picking up some really cool publishing rights in the past few years and I still really love their RPGs. So yeah.

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it FFXIII is my favorite of the series and my favorite JRPG. So yes. They are. FFXIV is absolutely killing it in the MMO space right now and FFXI is still going strong as well.

Yep I still love Final Fantasy d espite being near the end of 13-3 and no desire to finish it.

They haven't developed a game I care about in years, but I'm not done giving them second chances. I voted 2.

Blood Money was a great game, no doubt. Absolution's story was silly/stupid (sexy nun assassins, really?) and many level designs were forgettable, but I thought they did a bunch of good things gameplay-wise. The AI was pretty great, the Contracts mode was a terrific addition, and the Glacier 2 engine is obviously pretty solid. In other words, it kept me plenty excited for the next Hitman game, which has the potential to be really special. Which, honestly, makes Absolution fall pretty much in line with how I feel about Hitman: Contracts. I absolutely loved Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, but Contracts was a step up in AI, mechanics, et al. while being a huge step back in level design. And then we got the combination of what was great in H2: SA and H:C in Blood Money. For the next game in the franchise, potentially pairing the Contracts mode, improved AI, and Glacier 2 engine from Absolution with a greater focus on story/level design could produce a truly great game.

I'd also like to note that some of the side stuff they're doing with the Hitman franchise has been fantastic. The Sniper Challenge from Absolution is far and away the best preorder bonus I've ever gotten in any game. I'd buy a standalone game of just that with different levels; that's how good that was. And then this year we got Hitman GO, which came completely out of left field, but was creative and awesome. I think the franchise has a lot going for it, and if the next multi-platform game is a bit less juvenile and goes back to a less-linear style of taking down dictators and the like in exotic locales, that will be greatness.

Hitman GO is exactly the thing all companies need to do. Instead of trying put Hitman on a tablet/phone if they got a good idea and it fits the game then they should go for it.

I just wish their other mobile stuff wasn't so pricey and goofy.

No, I'm pretty much done with Square.

She raises my tomb IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN *wink* *wink* /sarcasm font

The reactions to the latest FF games might have been less than stellar but for me they still produce and publish enough games I truly enjoy for me to care as a company.

I love some of the recent games they published like Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. I have also Final Fantasy XIII, and for what I've played of it, i didn't find it bad. So for the most part I still see the brand as a synonim of quality.

They did Publish The Worlds Ends With You, so untill the second game is released I have no choice. :P

I like many of the games Square Enix have published lately. However their recent Dragon Warrior/Final Fantasy efforts haven't really been that hot except for the relaunch of FF14 which is legitimately a good MMO if you like MMO's. FF15 MIGHT be good though from what I have seen so far, so I am holding out hope.

Once upon a time I would've named Square as my favorite developer. Now, I enjoy the occasional game from them (Deus Ex, Bravely Default). So yeah, Square Soft was better. Never been an Enix fan.

Thanks dude!

Yeah personally I think much of the so called "decline" of Square Enix is the rise of others. Once upon Squaresoft stood heads and shoulders above the others for an Immersive RPG experience with a compelling story, explorable world and setting and characters. That's a relative position they (or anybody) will never have again. As you mentioned that's an impossible expectation to meet.

What's different today vs back in the mid 90's is that their competitors (especially their console ones) really stepped up their story telling game and world building. Whether it be games like Witcher or Mass Effect bringing WRPG gameplay to consoles finally from PC or even other genres that didn't exist like Open world games like Red Dead and Skyrim, gamers have a lot more choice and a lot more variety to get compelling well told entertainment. Many of those today to come from western developers, so they tend to dovetail more neatly into western tastes than Square Enix's do. Especially when you throw in voice acting, which helps I think make a few linguistic differences feel much more noticeable. So when Square has a character like a Vanille or a Hope, it feels more alien to a gamer who has gotten to play more characters created in their culture. Square hasn't always hit out the park with their modern releases, but they are still quality games, unfortunately for Square they have to work harder to maintain their reputation given the competition they face.

I felt like when Wow/Everquest hit people started to catch up to them. FF X was the last one where they kinda had the crown unopposed and the undying love of the gaming press.

Hey, I hope you blog about FF Vi when you're done. I'd love to hear what someone coming into it now thinks about it.

I do but they really need to turn crap around.

Final Fantasy 14: ARR and Bravely Default are great. And I think that's about it?

FF13 was just horrid, so you know, lets make a bunch more of those. And FF15 looks like it'll be stupid and nothing like a traditional FF game. That game is as good as dead to me before it's even out.

And then after Bravely Default's surprise (to them) success.. they say "oh it turns out people like RPGs?" ... wtf is a matter with them? The company was built on RPGs. Focus on that. In a market that is mostly devoid of eastern style RPGs, they could have the run of the place if they'd stop trying to be so much like the west. Do your own thing!

I still care for Square Enix and Im of the few who actually loved Final Fantasy XIII and its secuels ... altho they do need to make more rpgs as they did during the PS1/2 Eras , as for their international developers they are alright and do look foward for the next Deus Ex.

Seeing the name "Squaresoft" gives me the warm and/or fuzzies.

I haven't cared about Square since FFVIII

I care because they own Deus Ex, Hitman, and Tomb Raider. Those are all franchises that I have enjoyed in the past, and will hopefully enjoy again in the future.

Oh, and Just Cause too, I think. They at least published the last one. And Sleeping Dogs? That game was cool.