Square-Enix has been making amazing games for decades now. For many fans, the only games they need are Square, especially considering they’ve made two of the biggest JRPG franchises in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.
The PlayStation 4 was another great generation for them as well. They managed to bounce back from their Final Fantasy XIII obsession, cranking out plenty of amazing games for all of their major franchises, and not just in their main two. They even managed to remake one of their most beloved titles from the PlayStation era in Final Fantasy 7: Remake. There’s very little else most Square fans can ask for...other than a good Star Ocean game.
10 Dragon Quest Builders 2 Combined Building With The Classic Dragon Quest World
When Dragon Quest Builders launched, Minecraft was one of the most popular games on the market, so Square-Enix’s attempt to capitalize on it made plenty of sense. But Dragon Quest Builders’ popularity led Square to create an even better game in Dragon Quest Builders 2. This game added a number of features players requested, including the ability to build with their friends and create larger structures. Taking place after Dragon Quest II, Dragon Quest Builders had it’s own epilogue to a classic Dragon Quest title, making the game enjoyable whether players wanted to build or enjoy the story.
9 Trials of Mana Upgraded A Classic Title
The original Seiken Densetsu 3 spent years entirely untranslated, available only to people who either spoke Japanese or were willing to translate the game through patches. But eventually, Square decided to not only bring the game over but remake it from the ground up in gorgeous HD graphics as Trials of Mana. The game manages to bring an experience that’s familiar to fans of the original while being appealing to the new generation. This title has no doubt created plenty of new fans of the Mana franchise who are awaiting the next installment.
8 Final Fantasy XV Sent Fans On A Road Trip Around The Country
It took almost a decade from the announcement, but Final Fantasy fans finally received Versus-XIII...reborn as the latest installment in the main franchise. Final Fantasy XV needed two completely different directors to actually make it to release, but it still turns out to be a well-received game that sold nearly ten million copies.
People loved the story of Noctis, a young prince on a road trip to protect the world from the empire of Niflheim. The game needed a second version to add things like extra vehicles and more than one playable character, but Royal Edition is still one of the best JRPGs on the market right now.
7 Kingdom Hearts 3 Completes The Xehanort Saga
It took over a decade, but fans finally got the last entry in Kingdom Hearts’ “Xehanort Saga." Sora travels to a number of new worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3, including the worlds of Frozen, Toy Story, and Big Hero 6. The only big problem in this game is that the Final Fantasy crossover elements have been toned down from the early days. For people who looked at Kingdom Hearts as a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy, this was a disappointment. But for fans invested in Sora’s story, Kingdom Hearts 3 was everything most they were hoping it would be.
6 Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster Makes A Great Game Prettier
To some, Final Fantasy X was the peak of the Final Fantasy franchise. It might not be the best game in the series, but its status as the first appearance for Square’s premiere franchise on PlayStation 2 makes it memorable to a certain generation. So of course fans were all-in when a remastered version of Final Fantasy X was finally developed for PlayStation 4. The game was originally a PS3 title, where it’s resolution was bumped up to 1080p, but the PlayStation 4 version looks and sounds just as good.
5 NieR: Automata Showed Square Can Still Make New Games
NieR: Automata brought more recognition to one of gaming’s most unique auteurs in director Yoko Taro. Though Taro was known for the previous Nier and the Drakengard series, combining his work with Platinum Games unsurprisingly resulted in major success. The hype was high around NieR: Automata from the moment the game was announced, and it delivered in spades. People fell in love with not only the combat android 2B but also the dreary world in which she was at war with robots from another planet.
4 Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Made Much Needed Improvements To A Classic
Final Fantasy XII is a game that a lot of people don’t talk about. Though the original game sold over six million copies, it was released at the tail end of the PlayStation 2 generation, when fans were looking forward to the HD era. Still, this is one of Square’s best JRPGs and one of the last ones where director Hiroyuki Ito actually wanted to work on a major title.
The Zodiac Age is a remaster of the improved International Zodiac Job System version that released solely in Japan. This new version bumps up the graphical performance, while also adding trophy support and a remastered soundtrack, giving players the chance to return to the world of Ivalice for the last time.
3 Dragon Quest XI Brings The Best JRPG Back To Consoles
Dragon Quest had a weird few years in the West where it vanished from discussion thanks to the installments released on the Wii and 3DS. But with its eleventh game, the franchise returned to home consoles again to great success. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age’s secret is that it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. After so long away from main consoles, fans only wanted a high fantasy story about a hero fighting against the forces of darkness, and they got exactly that. Dragon Quest XI is the best version of a classic JRPG one could ask for, and fans rewarded Square by buying the game in droves.
2 Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Is One Of The Best MMOs Ever
It’s not a single-player game, but Final Fantasy XIV is still one of the best RPGs not just from Square-Enix, but from anyone. It’s the ultimate success story for a game that initially was poorly received, even more so than No Man’s Sky, with the original game being seen as almost unplayable. But the A Realm Reborn version completely remakes the game’s gameplay and improves on the story to the point of being seen as the best Final Fantasy story in years. And it’s only become more beloved with each expansion, with the recent Endwalker making the game so popular Square had to stop selling it to new players because the servers are so jammed.
1 Final Fantasy 7: Remake Revitalizes A Beloved Classic For New Generations
An age-old promise finally kept, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a game fans have been talking about since the start of the PlayStation 3 generation. It was revealed at Sony’s 2015 E3, and fans weren’t sure whether it would even come out for PlayStation 4, let alone that it would be good. And while fans weren’t exactly excited that it’s not the entire Final Fantasy 7 story, it was still one of the best games of its year. Focusing only on the early Midgar era allowed the developers to flesh out the entire Avalanche group, lending more personality to early game characters but still retaining iconic moments from the original.