Square Enix or Atlus

[swiftzx]

I can't wait for the new SMT game for ds

[AmishSamurai]

Haven't played enough Atlus stuff to fairly judge, but all my favorite SE stuff is from back when they were two separate companies (namely on the Squaresoft side).

[weasels]

While i still look forward to new SE games, i can say with 100% no doubt in my mind that ever since the merger of Squaresoft and enix, they have not been for the fan. the first obvious sign was when they made FFX-2. before hand Squaresoft promised to never make a side game to a final fantasy series. and what happens? they make X-2. and not for the fans but because they thought they could capitalize on FFX's success. what even more prevalent is how much they whore out of FF7's success...making it one of the most over rated final fantasy games. that disappoints me because it's hard to enjoy FF7 without the constant reminder that it's blown over proportion. that's not to say i don't like this attention for the FF series. i honestly enjoyed Advent children, and i like dissidia: FF as well. what i find wrong is three things: first is the fact that they went back on a promise to the fans. my second beef is that with all of the focus on FF they have not been giving any attention to other games/series that have a lot of potential. my last problem with them is that they are out there for the money, not the fans as it should be. Atlus is by far the exact opposite. they are in it for the fan. not only just because of their extra stuff, but because they actually value their fan's opinions. their new letters show this. many times there have been polls for picking a games name (check out kencho bancho: bad ass rumble), contests, etc. oh and here is the kicker...they support fan translations! atlus has done well lately and has had some great success....but i think they need a few more killer app series besides SMT (i honestly feel that the persona games are way too over rated and the other games in the SMT series are a lot better). I can see atlus being able to beat SE in the future as long as they keep on this path.

[lisalover1]

I'm starting to root for Atlus [and their RPGs, specifically] more and more, mainly because of their fantastic localizations, fun battle systems, and general dedication to fans. They also support many consoles [even the Virtual Boy!], and don't brag and over-hype their games like most companies. They let the reviews do the talking. SMT games don't sell very well in the US, but they keep localizing them, because they know that their fans love them. To paraphrase Scott Adams, "If 90% of people think your product is okay, or less, but 10% absolutely adore it, your product will be successful."

[darthmunky]

I didn't even know what Atlus was before reading this thread. After looking them up, it seems the only game I've played by them was Trauma Center on DS.

[Hatta]

You should check out more Atlus games. I'm constantly trying out games recommended to me, finding the name Atlus, and I'm very seldom disappointed.

[Gamerforlife]

I didn't even know what Atlus was before reading this thread. After looking them up, it seems the only game I've played by them was Trauma Center on DS.

I've always been aware of Atlus, but little they've done over the years has caught my interest. Their big thing seems to be Shin Megami Tensei. I've played Nocturne and a little bit of the Digital Devil saga games and wasn't that impressed by them. Some of my favorite rpgs come from Sega, Level 5, Nippon Ichi, Gamearts, Bioware and I've always been a fan of Square. Square has definitely deteriorated somewhat over the years. I saw it as a bit of a bad sign when they started whoring out their FF characters to the Kingdom Hearts series, which I always felt would have been successful enough with just the Disney characters. Final Fantasy X2 was a joke. Final Fantasy 11 wasn't even a real Final Fantasy game and some early reviews I've read for FF13 make it sound like Square has finally done what people have been saying they would do all these years, they made a Final Fantasy game that is mostly movie, little game.

[lisalover1]

they made a Final Fantasy game that is mostly movie, little game.

Fans of Metal Gear Solid 4 didn't seem to mind. I've heard some rather nasty things about FFXIII, particularly, as mentioned, the excessive video cutscenes. FMV games have risen from their graves, and are attacking the games of the living!

[MrPopo]

I didn't even know what Atlus was before reading this thread. After looking them up, it seems the only game I've played by them was Trauma Center on DS.

I've always been aware of Atlus, but little they've done over the years has caught my interest. Their big thing seems to be Shin Megami Tensei. I've played Nocturne and a little bit of the Digital Devil saga games and wasn't that impressed by them.

I was first made concious of the Atlus brand when I somehow found out about Etrian Odyssey before it came out. I don't know how, but it was mentioned to be a promising looking old school (including hard) game. I browsed the GameFAQs board and one thing that stuck me was the adoration people had for Atlus as a company. That's how I got introduced to the Persona series, which I really enjoyed.

Now, I will be the first to agree that the SMT series is not for everyone. However, like the Working Designs of old Atlus USA has been doing a phenominal job of bringing over niche titles in limited print runs to allow Americans to play Japanese games we otherwise wouldn't. Izuna, everything from Sting, and Demon's Souls are three that stand out in my mind. I don't even pick up everything that Atlus localizes, but I do make a point of giving each game a good hard look before I decide if I want to preorder or not. With most companies I go with an initial gut reaction.