Summary
Enix started in 1975, while SquareSoft began business in 1986. They both had small beginnings, but with time, they created their two biggest franchises:Dragon QuestandFinal Fantasy. They were big alone, but became even bigger when they merged in 2003 to create Square Enix.
With their combined catalog, Square Enix has had an impressive few decades of highs and lows. Their willingness to experiment is commendable, as not every gamble paid off and reached the heights ofDragon QuestorFinal Fantasy. So today, let’s salute those weird titles and remember the forgotten that even diehards may not know about, and wonder if they are worth seeking out today.
This list will include Enix, SquareSoft, and Square Enix games.
SquareSoft developed many games for the MSX computer in Japan, includingAliens: Alien 2. It’s a bit of a redundant name, but the game is based on the sequel and features Ripley tearing through Facehuggers and other creatures through side-scrolling levels.
Players will have to fight several Xenomorph bosses, too, that are much larger than Ripley’s sprite, making them appear even more menacing. It’s just wild to think that a game based on aWestern franchise,Alien, could have exclusive titles in Japan.
7Another Mind
Another Mindwas an adventure game made for the PS1 by SquareSoft. The interesting bit was that it used live-action graphics, mostly through photos, to tell its odd tale. After a car crash, players woke up to discover a new entity in their brain, and the game revolved around uncovering this mystery.
The adventure game genre is huge in Japan, so some other notable ones that used live-action sets includeMurder on the Eurasia Expressfrom Enix on the PS1 andLove Storyon the PS2, also from Enix. These are just the tips of the iceberg.
6Blue Wing Blitz
Plane-Based Tactics
Square Enix’stactical mech-based RPG series,Front Mission, has many games that remain relatively unknown in the West, includingFront Mission AlternativeandFront Mission: Gun Hazzard. However, there is an even more obscure tactical RPG that used vehicles that SquareSoft developed for the WonderSwan Color, a Japanese-only portable, calledBlue Wing Blitz.
Instead of mechs, players moved around the battlefield with planes and other aircraft that were just as engaging to play, albeit on a smaller scale.Wild Cardis another WonderSwan Color game from them, as SquareSoft overall was quite the supporter of the handheld.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Starswas a collaboration between Nintendo and SquareSoft, who gave Mario his first RPG. Many fans probably don’t know that Square Enix did make more Mario games, but they just weren’t strictly RPGs.
Mario Hoops 3-on-3was a basketball gamewith many familiar faces from Browser to Princess Peach, along with some Square Enix characters. Players could play as Moogles and various mages with tons of specials to help the basketball-based gameplay become more frantic. This was followed up byMario Sports Mixon the Wii.
Nameless Gamewas published by Square Enix, and it featured one of the oddest gameplay combos in ahorror game for the DS. Most of the game will look familiar to horror fans as it takes place in first-person, giving players various creepy environments to explore for items.
There was also an in-game RPG that was bright, colorful, and looked like something from the NES era. This game was reportedly haunted, and players had to switch between these perspectives to solve the mystery. It also received a sequel on the DS, but none of these games left Japan.
3Nankoku Shonen Papuwa-kun
Platform Action Straight From The Comics
Nankoku Shonen Papuwa-kunis the name of a manga published by Enix in Japan, which also received a game by the same name on SNES. Even though it was released only in Japanese, it’s a relatively easy action platformer to pick up and play.
It has a uniquely bright art style, and the character sprites sometimes look like they are made out of clay. It’s also just extremely weird, as the source material is a comedy series by trade.
2Rise Of Mana
Hiding On Mobile
Rise of Manais the only relatively big franchise on the list, and it’s the oneManagame that Western fans have been dying to play for a literal decade. It was originally released as a mobile game in 2014 before getting a port to the PS Vita in 2015.
LikemostManagames, this game featured action-based gameplay and even co-op. Plus, it was free to play, which meant it had some gacha-based mechanics, but they weren’t that egregious compared to other free-to-play models.
Square’s Tom Sawyeris probably never going to see the light of day again. It’s another game based on a Western property,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was alate 1800s novelthat most have heard of. They probably had no idea SquareSoft made a turn-based RPG loosely based on the novel, though.
What makes it problematic today is sort of what makes it sketchy to read nowadays due to racial depictions. Square Enix could re-release it with some sprite changes, but that may be too much work for them on a product they may not see a lot of value in nowadays.
