Never heard of this one, seems interesting if I ever have a chance to play it.
It seems that there was a golden age of Square's experimentation both into new genres and in new RPGs beyond its established franchises, which I miss. The new RPGs all tried new ideas in both storytelling and game mechanics -- nothing was a mere reskin of a Final Fantasy game. I guess this era peaked with the PS1 but spilled over some into the PS2.
The merger with Enix might have contributed to what Square is now; Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest under a single roof meant two big franchises to harvest and not as much energy to plant new seeds. Also there are now decades of nostalgia to exploit, for a genre (JRPGs) that is otherwise past its prime.
It's sad, I know business has changed and grown dramatically more expensive over the years, but I hate how almost every AAA game, whether from Square or others, just feels so safe now.
I remember your episode of Polygon Symphonies on this one. Back in the day I heard a bunch of guys from school talking about the PS2 launch. They were big into games and would’ve skipped school if they got a PS2 when they came out. The only launch window title they were excited about was the Bouncer. It’s pretty much forgotten now but as you mentioned there was a ton of hype around it back then!
Wow, a Polygon Symphonies listener?! You just psyched me out, sir! Thanks for being here!
Yeah, The Bouncer looked killer in screenshots and also came with a demo of Final Fantasy X, which looked equally stunning. I'm sure the game did alright, sales-wise, but it definitely had come and gone by 2002.
Awesome stuff dude, lots of Great memories
Thanks buddy!
Never heard of this one, seems interesting if I ever have a chance to play it.
It seems that there was a golden age of Square's experimentation both into new genres and in new RPGs beyond its established franchises, which I miss. The new RPGs all tried new ideas in both storytelling and game mechanics -- nothing was a mere reskin of a Final Fantasy game. I guess this era peaked with the PS1 but spilled over some into the PS2.
The merger with Enix might have contributed to what Square is now; Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest under a single roof meant two big franchises to harvest and not as much energy to plant new seeds. Also there are now decades of nostalgia to exploit, for a genre (JRPGs) that is otherwise past its prime.
It's sad, I know business has changed and grown dramatically more expensive over the years, but I hate how almost every AAA game, whether from Square or others, just feels so safe now.
Thanks for the comment!
I remember your episode of Polygon Symphonies on this one. Back in the day I heard a bunch of guys from school talking about the PS2 launch. They were big into games and would’ve skipped school if they got a PS2 when they came out. The only launch window title they were excited about was the Bouncer. It’s pretty much forgotten now but as you mentioned there was a ton of hype around it back then!
Wow, a Polygon Symphonies listener?! You just psyched me out, sir! Thanks for being here!
Yeah, The Bouncer looked killer in screenshots and also came with a demo of Final Fantasy X, which looked equally stunning. I'm sure the game did alright, sales-wise, but it definitely had come and gone by 2002.
Couldn't agree more.