Second Scholarly Post - Kahlani Hall (Revised)

Square Enix and the Rise of the Role-Playing Games

It goes without saying that Japanese video games have had quite an impact on the development of the video games of today. According to Chris Kohler in Power Up ,“Western games are now starting to dominate the charts, but no one can dispute the profound effect that Japanese game creators have had on our industry”. From Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda, to Namco’s Pac-Man, Japanese gaming companies have been developing games that appeal to all ages and audiences.

Since the days of the arcade games, many different genres have also begun developing. Arcade games and shooter games had become mainstream successes thanks, but other genres, such as the role-playing game, or RPG, were just beginning to gain popularity. RPGs are typically very story-oriented, and have fantastical settings. Originating from earlier pen and paper games such as Dungeons and Dragons, RPGs require decision-making, as well as character development through combat. Regarding the gameplay of RPGs, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo fame commented, “The RPG system works best for games with lots of dialogue, to help bring about a writer’s voice, to bring a book to life. [1]” With that being the case, one company in particular can be said to have been the reason for the rise of the RPG.

Japanese powerhouse Square Enix is a name synonymous with that of JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games). From Dragon Quest to Final Fantasy, Square Enix has given the video game industry many games featuring epic storytelling elements, emotionally compelling musical compositions, and breath-taking visuals that continue to astound.

Square Enix is actually the result of a merge from two rivaling companies. Founded in 1975, Enix was a fairly successful publishing company. In 1986, they released Dragon Quest, which was created by Yuji Horii. Released for the NES, it was different from other games of that time because it called for players to become the character they were playing. Through experience, the main character would become stronger, and turn from weakling to powerful. This contrasted to games such as Super Mario Bros., “because Mario was always the same Mario throughout the game[1]," as said by Chris Kohler in his book Power Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Sales were low initially, however, Horii used his connections with the popular manga-publishers Shonen Jump, including the artwork of Akira Toriyama of Dr. Slump and Dragonball fame, to market his game. The Dragon Quest series, while not as popular in America, is the best-selling game series of all time in Japan, far outselling any of its competitors [2].

Screenshot from Dragon Quest (1986)

Dragon Quest II Artwork (1987)

 illustrated by Akira Toriyama

Square, also known as Squaresoft in the United States, was a game development company that was founded by Masashi Miyamoto in 1986. Within months, however, they were on the verge of bankruptcy.  Wishing to create one last game, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the senior game designer for Square, gathered every last bit of money remaining, and began to develop what would later become the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy series. Released in 1987, Final Fantasy I combined Sakaguchi’s storytelling and world concepts, along with the conceptual designs of freelance artist Yoshitaka Amano, and finally, the emotional and melancholic melodies of Nobuo Uematsu, to create the franchise that would temporarily save Square from the brink. 

Final Fantasy’s success stabilized Square for a while, and they continued to create more games in the series, as well as other games outside the Final Fantasy franchise such as such as Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu (known as the Mana series in America), and Kingdom Hearts, the last franchise Square would release before the merge. Unfortunately, the release of Sakaguchi’s first feature-length computer-generated film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was considered a failure at the box office, which set the company back again. An analysis of Square by Darryl Kaye states that the failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within saw Square Co. announce what they deemed "extraordinary losses", of $115 million [3].

Along with Sakaguchi, there are two other names that go hand in hand with the Final Fantasy series. Musical composer Nobuo Uematsu has created the soundtracks for the first ten games in the series. As requested by Sakaguchi, Uematsu created melancholic and emotional music through use of synthesized versions of strings instruments and woodwinds. Uematsu has been known to delve into several genres of music that he’ll use for his scores, such as rock, ballads, techno, and world music. When Squaresoft merged with Enix and moved to Shinjuku, Tokyo, Uematsu had to resign as leading composer for the company, however he occasionally returns to supervise the development of soundtracks for other games in the series. 

Aerith's Theme, from Final Fantasy VII (1997)

composed by Nobuo Uematsu

            Artistically in the visual aspect, Sakaguchi has looked to the works of Yoshitaka Amano to implement his concepts and visuals. Noted for his unique style of traditional Japanese ink brush work with a more contemporary Art Noveau style, as noted by Philip Defina of Septagon Studios [4]. He was the main conceptual designer up until Final Fantasy VI’s release in 1994. He still returns to do promotional work and design the Final Fantasy logos for Square Enix however. 

Artwork for  Final Fantasy IV (1991)  and Final Fantasy X (2002) 

designed by Yoshitaka Amano

In April of 2003, after several disagreements, Enix and Square finally merged to form Square Enix. Initially, the newly formed company did not see the release of many titles, other than several sequels for already established franchises. In 2004, they would receive new management, and Japan and the world alike would see an explosion of new titles from Square Enix, including more CGI films, and newer and older titles.

Video games have obviously come a long way since its early beginnings. The role-playing game genre, originally derived from tabletop games, has been known to feature games that are similar to movies. Japanese gaming company Square Enix has mastered the development of RPGs, and has continued to create games that are more like experiences, rather than forms of entertainment. 

Works Cited

[1] Kohler, Chris. Power Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, Indiana: Pearson Education, 2005.

            [2] "A Short History of Square-Enix." Last modified February 16, 2007. (accessed November 5, 2012. http://voices.yahoo.com/a-short-history-square-enix-200588.html?cat=19.

[3] Kaye, Darryl. "The History Of Square Enix: The Formation." May 29, 2011.    http://www.gamingunion.net/news/the-history-of-square-enix-the-formation--5250.html (accessed November 4, 2012).

[4] Defina, Philip. "The Inspirational Artwork Of Yoshitaka Amano." Septagon Studios Comic Blog (blog),   June 9, 2011. http://comicblog.septagonstudios.com/the-inspirational-artwork-of-yoshitaka-amano/ (accessed November 4, 2012).