Summary of The Complete History of Square | Part 3 [Documentary]

00:00:00 - 00:35:00

The documentary "The Complete History of Square" covers the development of the company from its early days in the 1980s to its establishment as a leading Japanese video game developer and publisher. The video discusses the importance of good game design and marketing, and how these factors helped make Final Fantasy 2 a massive success.

• 00:00:00 In this third part of the documentary, Square focuses on their shift in focus to quality over quantity, with the aim of recapturing their former glory. In order to do this, they focus on two projects - one led by Kazuhiko Aoki, and the other by Hironobu Sakaguchi's assistant, Hinumi Titanica. However, while these two projects are successful, they don't generate as much revenue as they'd hoped. As a result, Square decides to disband their disc original group and focus on their own initiatives. This includes developing the upcoming game, Seiken Densetsu.
• 00:05:00 The video discusses the development of Square's upcoming role-playing game, Hunjakuhiro, which was cancelled after senior management took a closer look and saw how ambitious it was. Hunjakuhiro was an ambitious project, incorporating real-time strategy, sound, and visuals.
• 00:10:00 Square Enix's history begins with the development of Final Fantasy in 1987. The company changed its approach to development for Final Fantasy 2, releasing a game that was self-contained instead of iterating. The success of Final Fantasy 2 led to the development of a sequel, Final Fantasy 2, which was released in 1988. Hanjako Hero, a game released in 1988, was the first real-time strategy game targeted at home consoles. The success of Hanjako Hero showed that Square had changed its approach to development and that they were capable of creating a successful follow-up to an established property.
• 00:15:00 This 1-paragraph summary of the documentary "The Complete History of Square" covers the development of Square's hit RPG, Final Fantasy 2. The article highlights the importance of good game design and marketing, and how these factors helped make Final Fantasy 2 a massive success.
• 00:20:00 In 1986, Square released soundtracks for three of their games: "Cruise Chaser Blasty", "Alpha", and "Dragon Quest II Suite". The Dragon Quest II Suite was particularly successful, selling over twelve thousand copies and reaching number 67 on the "Oricon" charts. In 1989, Square released two games for the Famicom: "Final Fantasy I" and "Final Fantasy II". The success of these games encouraged Square to continue developing video games, and in 1990 they released "Final Fantasy III".
• 00:25:00 This video documents Square's history, starting with the company's beginnings in the early 1980s and moving on to their foray into the North American market in the late 1980s. Square's first North American release was of the Famicom game King's Knight, which was met with moderate fanfare. In 1990, Square established their North American subsidiary, Square Soft, and began localization of their own games as well as licensing games from other developers. Among the games released by Square Soft during this time period were the Famicom games Super Mario Land and Baseball, as well as the MSX game Final Fantasy. In 1991, Square established their second North American subsidiary, Square USA, and began localization of Square's own games as well as releasing games by other developers on their behalf. Among the games released by Square USA during this time period were the Famicom games Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins and Street Fighter II. In 1994, Square merged their North American subsidiaries into one company, Square Soft USA. In 1995, Square released their first game on the Nintendo 64, Final Fantasy. In 1997, Square released the game Kingdom Hearts on the Super Nintendo. In 1998, Square released the game Chrono Trigger on the Super Nintendo. In 1999, Square released the
• 00:30:00 The video discusses the history of Square, from the Famicom days to the days of the Gameboy. In 1989, Square decided to move forward with their gameboy game, even though they were already heavily invested in developing Final Fantasy and two other projects. Senior resources were needed to develop on three fronts, and so Akitoshi Kawazu, the man chiefly responsible for the success of Final Fantasy 1 and 2, was let go. Kawasu found a new job at a software company, but when the opportunity arose to work at Square again, he decided to apply. He was hired and worked on Final Fantasy 2 and 3 with Kiwichi Ishii and Hiroyukito. However, they decided to make a different type of game than Final Fantasy, and so the story was changed to involve a god and a tower. This new game, which would be called Final Fantasy, was a success and is still played today.
• 00:35:00 The video documents the history of Square, from its origins as a game company inspired by an old game called Hack to the creation of Saga, which became the company's first successful role-playing game. As Saga became more successful, the team struggled with the task of expansion and maintaining quality control. However, their efforts paid off with the success of Final Fantasy III and the establishment of Square as a leading developer and publisher in the Japanese video game industry.