Jimquisition: Batman Is Everything Wrong With Square Enix

[Jimothy Sterling]

Batman Is Everything Wrong With Square Enix

In this excellently titled episode, we look at how a Batman action figure represents everything wrong with a major videogame publisher.

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[Leonardo Huizar]

The title is the same problem DC seems to be having these last few years.

*Edit*

Great video Jim. All i saw the first time of that picture was a clustercrap of black scrap put together and it looks more like the final boss of a Darp & Griddy JRPG than the "protector" of Gotham.

 

[Evonisia]

Nice new picture, though I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean.

Also, this episode, once it started dipping into 2011 style of ranting, is simply wonderful.

 

[Artemicion]

I was fond of the XIII series, but everything you said was more or less right on the money, Jim. Squenix definitely needs to take it down a notch.

 

[Raika]

The only fallacy I'd point out in this video is that Jim accused Lightning of having no personality but briefly lionized Link a few moments prior. Other than that, the things he's saying aren't wrong, even if I don't agree with all of them. The core concepts of Final Fantasy XIII, one of my favorite games of the seventh generation, are actually pretty simplistic, but it obfuscates those concepts in a miasma of bizarre proper nouns and the narrative does rail on a bit.

 

[Ziggy]

That Batman reminds me of Terrorblade from DotA 2.

 

[DSP_Zulu]

The fade-to-black-while-rambling is what put this one over the top.

 

[go-10]

you just compared Square Enix to Rob Liefeld 0__0

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holy shit you're right!

 

[Zombie Badger]

I think the problem these companies have is the same that many Hollywood producers have (JJ Abrams being the most notorious) that they are obsessed with trying to impress their audience at the cost of all else. FFXIII's endless graphical details serve the same purpose as Abram's constant plot twists and that whole 'mystery box' bollocks, in that they both desperately want you to tell them how clever they are at the expense of actually telling a good story, and their constant showing off pulls you out of the story. There's an old Hollywood adage which sums this up beautifully: "Don't impress me, convince me"

 

[Haru17]

Square Enix does make some pretty stupid buisness and game design decisions from what I've heard. That said, I always appreciate over-the-top JRPG and anime outfit designs (at least when they're not bikini armor). Tales of Symphonia and Code Geass just wouldn't be the same without the cool, ridiculous duds.

 

[loa]

Yes.
Fuck greebles.
Fuck fantasy weapons.
Fuck squeenix for popularizing the "blind them with bullshit" aesthetic.
Character design should fucking mean something.
Character design should not stretch your suspension of disbelief further.
Function over form.

 

[Hazy992]

The sheer number of Batman figures Square Enix have announced also feels like a parallel to the AAA industry as a whole; keep doing the same thing over and over until it's completely run into the ground.

Seriously Square Enix, stahp. I like Play Arts and Batman, but I already have (or have my sights on) a couple of those guys, I don't need a hundred million billion more of the bastards.

And that figure in the video is frigging hideous. I can't stand overly designed bullshit.

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

From what I can tell, Square has been focusing on dazzling players with visuals ever since the PS1 days. I mean Final Fantasy VII had attack animations that last over a minute and boxarts boasting "Over 120 minutes of mind-blowing cinematic sequences" (PAL version) or "lush 3D animation" (US version).

Same with Final Fantasy VIII: "Nearly an hour of stunning motion-captured CG cinemas seamlessly integrated into gameplay"*

* source:
http://img.gamefaqs.net/box/6/5/9/3659_back.jpg

(my apologies, I don't know how to imbed images on this forum or if it's even possible.

My point is that "Companies focus too much on graphics these days!" is one of those complaints often made against the modern game industry that I don't really agree with. Not when I realize that games from back in the day also tried to attract players with (at the time) cutting-edge graphics.

 

[Jandau]

I'm guessing that if you went on a friends picnic with Square Enix, the sandwiches would be overdesigned...

 

[Grimh]

That was oddly cathartic, thank you Jim. Thank god for you.

I actually do sort of like Lightning (as portrayed in XIII) though, not enough however to want her to be some sort of transcended icon of all that is Final Fantasy like her creator seem to. I mean come on.

 

[LostPause]

I feel like part of the issue here is a clash of cultural aethestics. Even if Square Enix has made a few 'westernising' concessions in recent years it is still fundamentally based around very Japanese ideals. That Batman is a pretty stereotypical example of 'What if 'X' was a Power Ranger?' crossovers. Consider how many of the major Japanese properties have heroes and villians that transform or evolve or combine in order to fight one another. That's not to say that it doesn't happen in Western comics and cartoons but more often than not Western heroes and Villians are more distinguished by the distinction between their 'ordinary' lives and their Superhero counterparts.

Case in point: when the Japanese get a hold of TMNT this is what happens...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQAQohS0On4

In the end I appreciate that Square Enix has some serious issues in its writing departments lately but I kinda feel like all us Western nerds [still] aren't quite their target audience.

 

[xaszatm]

Eh...is this problem with Square Enix or is it a problem with Tetsuya Nomura? Asides from the graphics thing, which is still primarily on Nomura, most of these comes from Tetsuya's tastes and his inability to stop announcing things when there are unfinished projects. I mean, for all the talk about Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest IX and X from last generation were pretty simplistic. I mean, X being a MMORPG didn't help Dragon Quest that much, but it was still a pretty simplistic game (which has been the point of the series since VII) for an MMORPG. Furthermore, things like Tomb Raider: Definite Edition and Final Fantasy XIV: Reborn shows that they are dedicated to fixing their mistakes.

Still, if you replace Square Enix with Tetsuya, I agree with you mostly.

 

[UberTriangle]

Overdesigned costumes is kind of a running theme in japanese design. They are never simple, never practical. From hair to boots it's spikes, straps and layers. I think the reason for this is that artists are drunk on money and processing power, they just can't stop adding more bullshit to their design until there is no design left.