Summary
Enix opened its doors in 1975 and would gain infamy when it released the firstDragon Questgame in 1986. Squaresoft officially began in that same year, coincidentally, and even though they made games before that, their first big success came a year later in JapanwithFinal Fantasy. Then the two merged in 2003 and created an RPG empire calledSquare Enix.
Together, they have a lot of franchises and individual games under their belt. It can take a long time to go through them all, butthese Square Enix are must plays, not just because of their quality, but because they don’t require much setup and are great right from the start.
Bushido Blade 2is one of the better fighting games that Square Enix has had the privilege of putting out, and yet it’s still trapped on the PS1. Players can grab an assortment of ninjas, samurai, and weapon experts, along with a plethora of weapons, to duke it out in this arena fighter.
The catch is that one hit will kill the player, which has been followed up by modern developers in games likeDivekick. This makes matches inBushido Blade 2more exciting, as it’s accessible and fun for hardcore fighting game experts and novices alike.
Chrono Triggerwas ahead of its time on the SNES, featuring a well-paced RPG story without much in the way of filler. While there were still side quests, it was a more linear game, but that didn’t really matter as thetime-traveling storymasked the lack of exploration early on.
The battle system was also innovative, as characters could team up for attacks, and monsters appeared in dungeons. Plus, there were no random battles on the world map, making it one of the better beginner RPGs to start with. Right from the first moments during The Millennial Fair, players will be hooked.
Square Enix has a lot of class-based RPGs under their belt, likeFinal Fantasy TacticsandBravely Default 2,butDragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remakeis a great one to start with. It’s a remake of a game that was first released on the NES, meaning that the story and gameplay concepts aren’t that advanced.
However, it’s still a highly addictive game thanks toDragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake’supgrades and class system called Vocations, which allows players to max party members out and share abilities between them. It’s a classic RPG through and through for players looking to get into the gameplay straight away.
Dungeon Siege 3is the one game in theDungeon Siegeseries that Square Enix published after getting the rights, and it was a good one, thanks toObsidian Entertainment’s partin developing it. What makes this game fun is the inclusion of multiplayer, as two players could team up on the couch or four players could get together online.
It was a fairly basic hack-and-slash looter RPG akin toDiablo,and for some, that gameplay hook is all they need to get invested, and they can right away with this game. Thankfully, this Xbox 360 darling is still accessible for console players as it’s backwards compatible with modern Xbox systems.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis the second remakein what will be aFinal Fantasy 7trilogy, and Square Enix went all out to make it a memorable one. After a brief flashback, the open-world environment opens up, and players can play as five different characters from the start.
It’s full of intense action, tons of side quests, and the mini-games are some of the best in the series. Plus, it balances the serious parts of the story with goofy interjections to keep the vibes jovial, from the party turning into frogs and action figures to the girls competing in a bikini contest to win Cloud’s affection.
TheKingdom Heartsseries is notorious for its slow starts between mainline entries and spinoffs, butKingdom Hearts 3finally gets it right. Players will get right into theaction with Sorain Olympus, which introduces players to new gameplay elements like party tweaks, verticality skills, weapon transformations, and amusement park level abilities.
It has some of the most fluid action in the series, and some memorable Disney worlds too, fromFrozentoTangled. While newcomers will be absolutely lost when it comes to the story, there’s no denying that this is the best game in the series that gets right to it so fast.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Starswas the first game that movedMario into an RPGformat, and it didn’t bog players down with typical RPG tropes. The narrative flows well, as Mario is immediately thrown into a chaotic hunt for seven magic stars to return wishes to the world.
The combat system borrowed some typical franchise elements to make things more active, like jumping on enemies and getting time-based bonuses. It’s still a breeze to get through in a few sittings on the SNES or the Switch remake,Super Mario RPG, so noMariofan has any excuses to delay on this classic any longer.
Players may struggle to like Neku, the protagonist ofThe World Ends with You, right off the bat, but they shouldn’t have a problem with the gameplay. It has one of the more unique combat systems that utilizes the DS’ touch screen and dual-screen setup well.
Players controlled Neku on the bottom screen and used his pin-based skills with various touch motions, and the party member on the top screen, which changed between story arcs, was controlled with the D-Pad and face buttons. It may sound complex, but it was easy to learn. Plus, the remaster on Switch got rid of the dual-screen mode and made things flow more smoothly.
