Square Soft In The 90's | The Golden Era Of RPGs

[@friendlyninja5048]

I could listen to people talk about 90s Square RPGs for hours.

[@GamingBroductions]

We’ll be covering more Squaresoft RPGs in the future for sure, we’ve yet to release a full retrospective over one of their games like we have with other RPGs from the 90’s so we’ll definitely be changing that

[@Virjunior01]

Try to hunt down some old Retronauts podcasts from the days of 1Up. That'd be right up your alley!

[@james-michaelrobson287]

[Checks watch history] yes thats true

[@Virjunior01]

@@james-michaelrobson287 creepy bastage

[@jimdavies9354]

What did you think of the Parasite Eve games?? I love the horror arpg gameplay, even though its tank controls.

[@KarimJovian]

Dude I literally watched this, fell in love with some of the games like LiveAlive and said "wow that is a great concept, sucks we never got something like that here". The next day which is today THAT and most of the gems you spoke of too are getting either remade or remastered on the switch!

[@fitz394]

You manifested it dude

[@randomrfkov]

You were right. Many of them are getting remasters like LiveALive.

[@fouronetwo813]

I haven't bought a console since the Ps3. Very apathetic to consoles at this point. Switch is tickling my fancy though.

[@GamingBroductions]

The universe listened and presented us with all these great gems. Hopefully this will lead to more games like these that didn’t see a release outside of Japan.

[@ramonmujica3193]

Thank you for wishing the game into reality!

[@klaasfaak4039]

Xenogears is such a legendary classic that I wish got more attention.

[@fifacraft49]

Oh how I wish I could play that one again finally got to the second cd when I saw it was broke in half

[@me2632]

I just beat Xenogears for the first time a couple weeks ago. I owned it back when it originally came out in 98 but never beat it. I was never able to get past Deus (the first fight before Alpha Weltall, which is odd because when I beat the game a couple of weeks ago I had not trouble against him?). Over the years I played it several times only progressing to various points throughout the game, but never finished it. But I finally was determined to beat it and it was quite satisfying.

[@davianjohnson]

@@me2632 everytime I get to the second disk I get bored. Lol

[@stillthrashed5938]

More attention? I don't think so. What the game needs is a remaster (not a remake!) with the cut out disc 2 content finally completed

[@klaasfaak4039]

@@stillthrashed5938 And to get that it needs more attention to show Square that people still care about it

[@TheMightyLevon]

I am so glad that I grew up during this age! Mario RPG, FF6, FF7, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, and FF Tactics were huge formative games in my childhood. Outside of Square, toss in the Breath of Fire games (especially BoF 3) and EarthBound, and this was just an amazing decade.

[@EmilyRose900]

Absolutely, I'm super grateful I grew up with video games and truly understand what a great game actually is. So many gamers now grew up with the Xbox 360 and PS3 and think microtransactions and paid DLC is normal and not a big issue. It's really sad they don't know what real quality is. Back in our day, developers crammed as much content as possible to compete with other titles based on how much stuff was in their games. Now they cut 40% of content and sell it to you piece meal for more than what you paid originally.

[@skycloud4802]

And there's so much more too.

[@moogleking]

Your forgetting to mention chrono trigger, secret of mana, parasite eve, persona 1 and 2 and many more

[@Matthew.E.Kelly.]

I was in my teens to 20s for the era but the same is also true for me -- younger Gen X & older Millennials truly grew up in a time when games were "their own thing" instead of market speculation for a potential blockbuster Hollywood film franchise or ongoing Netflix TV series. Video games were created *to be video games* & they didn't have to "be" something more for advertising & sales, they were things in & of themselves -- self-contained, a complete experience with no additional purchases necessary. These days the entire purpose of a video game is to produce short term sales to generate profits, which lead to more products that are based on the game, to be sold for more short term sales to boost immediate profits, ad infinitum. The sales & profits are all that matter. The game itself doesn't even matter because there will be endless add-ons, DLCs, booster packs, loot packs, sequels, spin-offs, etc. The entire reason things exist in general now is to sell other things. Nothing exists to _be a thing_ we enjoy. We have to keep buying more stuff without the satisfaction of experiencing or even completing anything for enjoyment itself. *We exist to consume without end* -- the most depressing thing I've ever written.

[@Cahrub]

Literally every game you mentioned I'm right there with you homie. It was an amazing time to be a kid/teenager. I remember after church, like 15 of us, aged 10-17, all in one room together, crying at the next cutscene in FF8 lol.

[@Deibodese]

Squaresoft’s output of RPGs in the 90’s truly transcends humanity. Those guys were directly connected to the divine with their work. Xenogears also happens to be my favorite RPG ever.

[@gotoastal]

’90s*

[@Deibodese]

@ gotoastal 9’0s.

[@noname72390]

xenogears is one of the best and worst game they have ever made. it had the opportunity to be THE best but since they ran out of funds during production and we got that trash known as disc 2.

[@chaoticcritical9335]

The 90s and 2000s era of JRPGs is the best era of JRPGs imo. There were so many unique and epic JRPGs.

[@pokeburt8722]

Atlus has done a good job keeping this genre alive and relevant since the 90s ended

[@GamingBroductions]

For sure. Would love to make a video on Atlus and their RPGs at some point

[@xenobreak1160]

Nihon Falcom reminds me a bit of early-mid 90s Square-Soft.

[@dougiebuckets1364]

Atlus can do no wrong. They even made a badass dodgeball game on the gba back in the day lol

[@00ABBITT00]

No. Altus is awful.

[@rafnork9325]

My only issue with Atlus is that they just can't decide which console they are going to be exclusive to.

[@CRedd9830]

1998 was the year of really ambitious JRPGs. Games like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Shining Force III, Xenogears, Parasite Eve and Brave Fencer Musashi were all ahead of their time in certain aspects.

[@xOmniCloudx]

Gaming and entertainment as a whole honestly.

[@kaisarr7632]

1998 was actually the most proflic year in gaming not just for jrpgs, 1998 saw the release of ocarina of time,metal gear solid 1,re2,tekken3,marvel vs capcom,street fighter alpha 3,tomb raider 3, Half-life etc, Only years that comes close is 2000,2001 and 2004.

[@silkil7100]

Not gonna lie jrpgs are becoming quite amazing again, tales of arise, new star ocean, blue fantasy, and I even have pretty high hopes for ff16, not to mention ffvii remake despite the game being cut in parts was pretty solid none the less.

[@princealbertz]

You hit 2 of my favorite PSX classics my friend

[@charlesfarley28]

It is known, Khaleesi. It is known.

[@Brian-yz8dj]

Shed a tear the moment Tera's theme began to play in the background. It always just evokes this incredibly powerful feeling of nostalgia in me.

[@shin867]

i feel absolutely blessed to have a grandpa that was into gaming because i got to play most of these gems

[@nasimulnadim5269]

Final Fantasy VIII was my first rpg and I feel in love with the game and everything about it, including Square Enix and their entire library. Great walk down memory lane.

[@AgentBootyPants]

I still remember walking by a video game store (think it was EB Games) back before VIII came out. They had a demo disc playing the ff8 intro on loop at the front of the store and I stopped and just had my jaw gaping and watched it at least twice. I'd already played 4, 6, and 7, but the FMV just blew my mind. Absolutely love 8

[@AthosJosue]

FF8 was my first FF also, well second alfer mistic quest, but that one barely counts, I remember loving it back in the day, but now days I prefer almost all the other FF, especially 9 and 10.

[@ShinSuperSaiyajin]

Square hasn't been the same since they merged with Enix. They really mastered making JRPGs down to a science in the 90s.

[@first-law-fantasyabercromb7308]

the merging was not the problem, i think the fact that Hironobu Sakaguchi left the company (due to an lost internal powerstruggle, the new CEO of Square had vastly different ideas on how to create games, for the worse and Sakaguchi was in a bad position due to the millions he lost on the FF movie) and many talents followed him out the door and remaining talents like Hiroyuki Ito got shelved off by the new leadership (Ito was Director of FF6/9 and nowadays he sits in the mobile department of Square), that caused the dramatic loss in quality i think.

[@ShinSuperSaiyajin]

@@first-law-fantasyabercromb7308 true but yeah after Sakaguchi left things were never the same.

[@Viper4ever05]

Looking at the sales numbers for Square they really didn't sell many copies outside of the mainline final fantasy games which probably didn't help either. Honestly Squares marketing was lacking because I had never heard of most of their games until many years later and I only stumbled onto final fantasy after making an impulse purchase at an EB games discount bin.

[@JBtheJMB84]

Since the merger, Octopath Traveler has been my favorite RPG SE has made...other than that, yeah I 💯 agree.

[@xrenzo1991]

I've been saying this for the last 20 years. At least we have Falcom too keep old school JRPGs.

[@dabulls1g]

You missed out, the 90s were incredible! I remember FF7 dropping after I won my PS1. Amazing atmosphere with all the other absolute GEMS that came out in the late 90s. There was never a shortage of fun and excitement: Resident Evil 2, Parasite Eve, Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot 2, Spyro The Dragon, Bushido Blade., Brave Fencer Musashi, Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu., Tomb Raider, Tekken, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Siphon Filter, Ridge Racer, Twisted Metal! The list goes on and on and on, I feel for people that weren't born early enough to enjoy these classics.

[@angelredvivar]

Won PS1? A contest?

[@gamedrop3262]

yessir. . .i have dedicated a lot of my time to going through all of the classic titles that i had only begun to play as a kid and could never fully grasp. . .these games are leagues beyond anything done today.

[@pslovebird]

Ridge Racer is a classic lol, I will never forget that game. Tenchu was pretty solid as well back in those days.

[@Evilj82]

1996 to 2000 aka the PS1/N64 Generation early Dreamcast/PS2 generation was my favorite.

[@Virjunior01]

Funny thing.. FF7 changed my life... by not playing it. 7: -freaked me out because even jocks and thugs were playing it in highschool -i never played rpgs before it -i remembered Chrono trigger commercials, thanks to the Square name and went to another state to find it -bought xenogears first, because it was 98 -square rpg saves only took up one slot on a memory card, while all ea sports games took up an entire card, so I completely stopped following sports -was a big arcade an Saturn boy, and discovering Square *STOPPED ME FROM BUYING PANZER DRAGOON SAGA. I'M STILL KICKING MYSELF.*

[@kamihaap]

Square just haves a place in my heart ❤️ as born in 85 in Finland, we didn’t have much of the games on store but a store keeper that time was travelling a lot in Asia so we did manage to get some of the games and also the consoles we didn’t have here 😅 chrono family was just an epic even with the game we didn’t have a clue what it meant what it said but we managed! FF VII just broke the bank for me, I think I did spend more than 300hours playing it in total just to get all the stuffs and so on (after that I did buy a strategy book and did the same in 40h 🤣) Huge fan of tactics, VIII, IX and X. Chrono cross also 👆🏻 when square did announce the release of the FF VII remake….. omgomgomg I think I was first in line at my town 😅 now have plaid it through a few times but still missing some trophy’s

[@Ryan-is-me]

I loved the dialog so much in Super Mario RPG, that I actually started transcribing it as a kid, lol. I played through the first third of the game and wrote down every line a character would say before I lost steam

[@ryanl8730]

Bro you crushed it. So much nostalgia and eerie sadness so much time has passed since my childhood spent summers playing these. Thanks Broductions

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem man, glad you enjoyed it!

[@munihousen123]

I feel privileged to having grown up during this period. Thank you for the video, and wow..I didn't know Jeremy Soule produced the music for Evermore! Edit: CT, CC, Front Mission, Yasunori, and yes, FF Hype!

[@keithsimpson2685]

It wasn't just the RPG's though. 90's square also experimented with genre awesomely, from racing lagoon to ehrgeiz and Einhander.

[@RiotKurhein]

Einhander is a underappreciated gem, and Ehergeiz rpg mode was a precursor to how open world rpgs would play in the future.

[@BoozeAholic]

​@@RiotKurhein What? I thought Ehrgeiz's rpg mode was a dungeon crawler. It wasn't open world at all.

[@TenchiHawkwing]

@@BoozeAholic It is. It's similar to roguelikes but without the turn-based aspect of them.

[@Mykaizer]

Even fighting games like bushido blade. They truely were special at that time.

[@RicochetForce]

Yeah, Einhander always sticks out in my mind from that era. A brilliant shmup from a developer that mainly made JRPGs was a nice surprise.

[@ppmguire]

Ah, that PS1 boot up sound gave me goosebumps.

[@apex_prey]

Man. Me too. Orgasmic.

[@GJP1105]

My entire childhood in one video - it really is absolutely insane how close these released to each other! And I absolutely love that you have the original cases on display. Nostalgia overload. Thank you for this incredible video!

[@johnnyward2346]

When square had quality not greed - all these were amazing titles

[@wizdomtrust1596]

Greed always kills

[@pauldehayes1898]

My favorite thing in Square's RPG's, aside from the story-telling and the beautiful music (Kingdom of Zeal comes to mind), is one little thing in Chrono Trigger that I didn't immediately figure out as a kid, though I should've: If you have Magus in your party for the final Queen Zeal battle, there is an extra bit of dialog and HIS music plays! Still fucking epic to this day!

[@wizdomtrust1596]

Wow. I never use Janus (Magus) in that fight, but I will be sure to on my next playthrough. 💯

[@gab_v250]

Seems like Square Enix listened to you, because in the 9th February Nintendo Direct they were announced: - a 2D-HD remake of Live A Live (same engine of Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy) - an HD port of Chrono Cross, with the official localization of Radical Dreamers - the remakes of the first two Front Mission games Man, what a time to be a RPG fan in the 2020s.

[@Allendaleism]

that is very good news to hear!

[@mihailcirlig8187]

Aaaaand the Chrono Cross port was garbage, will still play the original version on ps1 rather than that trash

[@Loner098]

​@@mihailcirlig8187 Well, at least Square acknowledges the Chrono series does still exist(?).

[@Evilriku13]

@@mihailcirlig8187 It got patched tho, so Idk why you're shitting on it still!

[@lunarknight6471]

I still play a lot of these games. I could never give them away …(final fantasy, secret of mana, crono cross, super Mario rpg, which I hope that they bring it out again on the consoles now ) the memories….

[@finalfantasycrystalcardgam550]

You have done a wonderful job bringing me back to my golden youth, and while I still have so many of these games to finish myself, I do intend to do it. Thank you, for the nostalgia you brought made some good in my heart.

[@RaphaelBGiannotti]

Man, this video brought up so many fond memories. It put a smile (and tears) on my face.

[@GamingBroductions]

Ah man I love to hear that, wanted to hit people in the feels with this one so mission accomplished I guess 😅

[@dirtydan2695]

One of my favorite JRPG’s from the PS1 era is Legend of Dragoon. I enjoyed the story and I thought the combat system was unique where they used a quick time effect to increase the amount of damage you could do. It wasn’t perfect but god I enjoyed it

[@Wicked061]

Legend of dragoon is my favorite game of all time. Theres just something........ special about it.

[@da_pawz]

It's good! I love the gameplay, how me must push the button in right timing lol. Too bad I got bad CD, I could not play the 2nd Disk :(

[@bahamut149]

No menu theme beat lengend of Dragoon's menu theme.

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

I'm currently playing through it for the first time and just hit the 4th disc. Incredible game. Only problems I have are the amount of random encounters and the fact that turning into a dragoon is kinda... pointless.. at least so far

[@dirtydan2695]

@@chiarosuburekeni9325 ah man leveling up your Dragoon power makes it worth it especially in boss fights since the magic powers you get are great…. Are you over leveled? Might explain why it seems pointless

[@ssgss4iammacabeefu_]

Xenogears is grossly underrated and overlooked by many. Truly a great RPG.

[@grahfkarate1799]

Grahf approved

[@jacobmorris7532]

Best game on playstation I'd love to see a modern remake for pc or ps5

[@varunchandrasekaran9245]

Incredible game. Pushed the boundaries of what's possible through fiction.

[@JusAObserver]

ESPECIALLY incredible given the financial struggles the DEV team had in making this game(which would account for the stark transition in exploration in disc 2). Still to this day my fav PS 1 game.

[@vollkerball1]

@@grahfkarate1799 you mean Lacan? Kim?

[@peepoSad_]

22:12 Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my all-time favorite games to this day. I bought a PSP a couple years back just to replay the game again. I pray it gets a release on steam. I'd love to play it again on the Steam Deck.

[@matthewholland4782]

Chrono Cross ost Another World still gives me chills and takes me back to endless possibilities.

[@kyletelleria4374]

Where has this channel been all my life! This was an amazing video. So many great memories tied to some of these games. I just finished re-playing Final Fantasy Tactics for upteenth time.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks man! Tactics is an absolute classic and a great one to replay due to all the different team builds you can shoot for.

[@KalinhoPL]

Chrono Cross intro is on another level. Goosebumps every single time! Mesmerising game. Squaresoft was above and beyond gamedev durning 90'. Sadly after merging with Enix it was just getting worse and worse every year. Good old times man, good old times, thank you for the video it brought back some beautiful memories.

[@PsytheZero]

Super Mario RPG was my first JRPG as well. My parents picked it up for us on a whim just because it was a mario game, and it started an addiction that has lasted 25 years.

[@whasian1487]

I feel like Super Mario RPG is underrated. It's one of the best rpg games imo. Right up there with my favorites, Chrono Trigger, FFVI, and FF Tactics.

[@johnandrewliem]

Today out of the blue youtube reccomends your vid to me, I clicked it didnt't think it would be a memberberries-vaganza, turns out there was a time in my childhood when I played back to back EVERY SINGLE ONE of those games you covered from FF7 all the way to FF9... the early 2000s what a time to be a kid....

[@GameArts1]

Thanks for this glimpse in our cherished childhood memories. For me it all started with FF7 which my brother got for his birthday (Europe), the music and world drew me right into it. However, as I was one of the few psx kids on the n64 dominated playground - when I showed the game to them most kids didn't ''get it''. Even one friend saying ''Why are the towns smaller than the guy? That's stupid'' when I showed them the world map. I never ever thought of it that way haha.

[@makasete30]

Interesting. I have different memories of that time. For me, I was so surprised with how FFVII went mainstream for kids in the playground. For FFVI And Chrono Trigger, which I loved, I often got those disparaging comments that you had from friends as RPGs we're seen as for nerds, and Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Combat were the ones everyone talked about. The PlayStation changed that and in my small circle everyone had a mix of either the N64 or PS but the PS was seen as being for older teens and everyone wanted one for the amazing looking games. I think it really hit me how popular FFVII was when I heard some hard-looking kids at the back of the bus raving about the game. That was pretty eye-opening as a year before you would never hear those kinds of kids praising RPGs.

[@tankt13]

This time was a great time to be alive. Although I haven't played any video game since I was 18, here I am at 38 just blasted with memories of Chrono Cross, FF7 and others. Times were so much simpler back then and I miss sharing the moments with the people who have since passed away, but how we felt will always remain with me in the music and stories those games gave us. Thanks for making this good Sir.

[@OlDirtyChinesRestaurant]

FF Tactics was so great. I remember grinding for HOURS to get JP and mastering all the classes. The music really helped as well. I never got tired of it. And when War of the lions came out for psp. That was the end of the long bus/subway rides for me in seoul.

[@jacobmorris7532]

The good old shout and yell trick to boost speed for jp. Game was kinda broken for sure in the level system as you could 99 in a single fight

[@cajungoat]

@@jacobmorris7532 I would make everyone monks to get chakra, get in a line, do waves of attacks, and then self-heal, then repeat until done.

[@cajungoat]

I loved the basic fighting and leveling so much I near maxed my crew of no name characters and I didn't even do the story yet. Only got up to Doter City. When I finally did the story I got to the end of the game without stopping to level.

[@muchlovegambine949]

The sound of your PlayStation coming on was soooooo relaxing as a child. Then the square soft logo meant it’s time to enjoy my Saturday

[@ghettofridge]

Not gonna lie watching your videos has gotten me to do another playthrough of Xenogears and it's as good as I remember.

[@PetrikLeo]

This video is a beautiful blast to the past. God, the good times we spent on these games. Good old days. And it was indeed, the golden age of JRPG. Thank you for this video!

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem, thank you for watching!

[@outkastshadowking2719]

Sadly I missed out on the 5th generation, but when I had a PS3 I played most of the JRPG I couldn't play and let me tell you, Final Fantasy games are top tier quality, especially FF6 and I was blown away by Parasite Eve and Brave Fencer Musashi both games do something different from the norm at the time.

[@ooooswain]

Wow I forgot about parasite eve. I remember playing it on a demo disk. I should play the full game now.

[@ssgss4iammacabeefu_]

Well said. Definitely one of the best times in gaming.

[@leeartlee915]

Damn, Squaresoft squeezed every ounce out of the SNES towards the end there. Kind of incredible, especially since they didn’t use any custom chips (e.g. Super FX).

[@thomasbeall9069]

Only one did, Super Mario RPG used the SA1 but I think that’s literally the only game to use one.

[@leeartlee915]

@@thomasbeall9069 Oh that’s right. I had forgotten. But wasn’t the chip in Super Mario RPG different than the Fx chips?

[@zuben4077]

Final Fantasy VII, my favorite game ever. Great video man

[@jalenrox5070]

For sure. Ray Coffman always calls the early 90’s - mid 2000’s as the “Golden Age” of the whole JRPG genre… and he ain’t wrong!

[@davewebster5120]

Square's catalog was awesome all around. Einhander absolutely dunked on the shooters of the time. Brave fencer musashi is basically a steampunk zelda title and fftactics was a frontrunner in strategy rpgs. They could do no wrong.

[@samtschetter9516]

And now Live A Live, Chrono Cross, Front mission, and radical dreamers are all coming to switch... What a time to be into RPGs and square too!

[@BenBarrett1]

Found this video in my recommended list, which is why this is the first of yours I've ever watched. You've definitely earned a sub here. Wow. Absolutely top notch work.

[@syn3232]

This was the golden era for rpg’s. Glad people are talking about it.

[@tepandflash5950]

Really? The same people have been saying the same thing for 30 years…and the worst part is you assholes just keep buying the same games over and over again…why bother making an effort t when they can just shove a port of chrono cross down your face…

[@asdfghjkllkjhgfdsa8725]

Squaresoft literally were 90s jrpgs. They were solely reaponsible for my even having a desire or taste for jrpgs and in 2021 they no longer make games that fulfill that desire!! I want another turn based final fantasy masterpiece!!

[@RedSpade37]

As you probably already know, there's quite a few romhacks out there; I can't really recommend specifics, but there's a wide variety. What's one of your favorite SSJRPGs from that era?

[@xenobreak1160]

I agree. Bravely Default series looks good though. I’ve been meaning to get into that series.

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

I would love to see another JRPG video, except from other companies such as Konami!

[@GamingBroductions]

We’ll look into that! In the meantime we did release a retrospective over the first Suikoden a few weeks ago and do plan on covering more games in that series

[@Johnnydubois]

I love how you showcased the original japanese box art. Your japanese collection must be awesome. I recently started my japanese-only RPG collection for the ps1 and they just hit different. Great video!

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks man! Yeah needless to say I just love that Japanese box art aesthetic so have tried to collect them over the years, mainly super famicom but I do have some ps1 games as well. Going to Japan a few years ago helped a lot in getting started since most are so cheap over there. Seeing them in their originally released state does hit different for sure

[@jrs4516]

north america really got the shaft on box art. unbelievable how many classic japanese covers some stooge in america thought it would be a good idea to change. the guy who thought the SotN cover needed changing should be shot in front of his family (chill out, it's an old top gear joke). they did much better job with cover art in europe. but then they got shafted on all the games they didn't get at all.

[@Zeomantic]

Back in the day, my dad was in the air force and one time he went to Singapore and brought home a SNES game copier with a bunch of games on floppy disks. One of those games was Final Fantasy VI before it came out in English. I remember blindly fumbling my way through, knowing very little Japanese. I remember getting stuck at the part where you had to use Pummel on Vargas in the early game. We were living in Okinawa at the time, and didn't have internet access yet. I also remember going to a Japanese arcade with a couple friends, and these places had home consoles hooked up to coin-operated TVs. My friends and I were totally blown away.

[@GamingBroductions]

That's a pretty cool story, I wonder what kind of store he picked up a SNES game copier from. Japanese arcades just hit different than any other arcades out there.

[@Zeomantic]

No idea since that was almost 30 years ago. Yeah Japanese arcades hit differently, that's for sure.

[@pimpedoutgeese4584]

Man I’m so grateful to have been born in 83. What a perfect time in western history as a child! It really was the golden era for not just RPGs but a lot of other video games as well. What a time to be alive!

[@beyoutillfull9695]

The way you talk about these hits the sweet spot in the heart. Felt so good, glorious & nostalgic I almost wanted to cry lol. Thanks man.

[@HeatwaveNightwinds]

Chrono Cross stigmatized me as a little kid. Now I am 30 years old and I feel the same way, cannot forget this one of a kind masterpiece.

[@GamingBroductions]

and now we are getting a remaster soon!

[@svperuzer]

stig·ma·tize: verb past tense: stigmatized; past participle: stigmatized 1. describe or regard as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval. "the institution was stigmatized as a last resort for the destitute"

[@CrimRui]

Squaresoft was an absolute beast in the 90s. Xenogears, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest to Chrono games. Every single one was a masterpiece. Parasite Eve is such a gem. There is something seriously wrong with Square today for not remaking/porting it.

[@EmpoweredTravels]

Loved Parasite Eve. The gameplay, the music, and the tone were awesome. I also loved Aya as a character. More introverted with a lot of internal chatter. I can definitely relate! 😄 Anyway, Xenogears was another gem. I remember playing the demo. I can't remember what game that demo came with (Brave Fencer Musashi?) but I was like I got to have this game! I didn't care much for the Xenosaga games. I just wanted Xenogears back and PE. Come on Square Enix!

[@josephmarino310]

@@EmpoweredTravels if you like parasite eve try vagrant story

[@EmpoweredTravels]

@@josephmarino310 Funny you should say that. My friend said the exact same thing. I'll have to give it a try. Not sure how I missed that one back then but it was something of a golden era for RPGs.

[@Wiseman108]

Dragon Quest was Enix not Squaresoft.

[@thomasffrench3639]

Dragon Quest was not made by Squaresoft, but they would come under the umbrella in the 2000s. I don’t think it’s fair to call them having Dragon Quest.

[@jumbonoval]

ahhh.. that console booting animation and sound... warms my heart..

[@frankferrero5827]

Wife is pregnant and due in a couple of months,10 years from now i plan in giving my kid an unopened and pristine PS1 and a sealed copy of FFVII (best game ever). I miss games from the 90's,graphics not as good as today but they made up for it with ''fun'',fun seems to be a foreign word these days. Awesome video,liked and shared.

[@blobeyeordie]

Xenogears and Vagrant Story are 2 of the most underrated RPGs imo, least that Ive played. Vagrant Story is a very interesting, at times VERY difficult yet fun game. Its battle system/character building is also quite complex and refreshing from the norm. Probably the game with the most cinematic feel, cutscenes, voicing and camera work are stupidly good, especially for its time. Xenogears is unbelievably deep and profound for a video game, even by todays standard. Its a shame it wasnt finished as intended, yet despite its glaring flaws and unfinishedness, its still a must-play near masterpiece. Albeit maybe a few times to even grasp the narrative themes and subtext(also Perfect Works). Idk man, some games like these, it feels wrong calling them 'video games'. Theyre so much more, even beyond formative experiences. Truly works of art

[@majorgear1021]

How are they underrated? Every post I see about them praises them.

[@blobeyeordie]

@@majorgear1021I do see that too, but I think it could just be praise from the minority of people who have actually played these games and are giving input on these videos like I am. Though Im sure many have heard about them however.

[@BaoZakeruga]

This was a great watch. Loved the intro, the stroll back to memory lane, the hip hop remixes of the jrpg music, and just how enjoyable you made the whole video. You got a new sub.

[@GamingBroductions]

Appreciate the kind words man. Thanks for subbing!

[@fasa34]

we are blessed to be born in the 90's to enjoy these games as kids. Newer generations will never know how it's like.

[@YaowBucketHEAD]

My boys are 12 and 6 respectively and I'm desperately trying to get them into games that I enjoyed as a lad in an attempt to "round out" themselves as "gamers". But, they won't put down the Fortnite and COD. I've failed. 😩 I'm genuinely sad that they won't experience the amazing stories and worlds of 90's JRPGs or have fun "tinkering" with the game's battle system to overcome difficult enemies. Or the "reward" of grinding and the pay off of reaching new parts of the game as one levels up. Oh well. These games will forever live in my heart at least.

[@fusilism]

@@YaowBucketHEAD it's like making a kid read classic literature vs let's say comics. Jrpgs aren't that easy to get in to. Personally I played all these square games when I was a kid because I had no choice, but it was a blessing in disguise since square games really are the best in the genre ❤️

[@kitohhh]

@@YaowBucketHEAD You're doing the lord's work! I wouldn't lose hope, I'm sure they'll branch out when they get older and eventually give it a try

[@Tetronga]

Why? I was born in 2001, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying Squaresoft games from the SNES / PS1 era so far.

[@jr2904]

@@Tetronga you're still missing out on when the games were new and a lot of kids at school were talking about them. You're still playing the same games, but the times are different

[@jmaydon7207]

I feel you on that last statement about square soft shaping my imagination and creativity to the person I am today, the deep complex passionate person I am today that many can't relate to in my eyes lol thank you square soft.

[@Citizen_JQP]

Damn man. That music really compels long forgotten memories. I played ff6(3) when it was fresh. That was during my formative years, 12ish. That game changed everything for me.

[@edwardcooper3097]

My favorites were, Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Breath of fire series, Front Mission series, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden series, Star Ocean 3?, Secret of Mana, and some others. Of course, I only talked about '98

[@damianwarneke305]

PS1 era had banger rpg after banger rpg, half of them nobody remembers. Legend of Legaia, Parasite Eve, Dragoon, Mana, Wild Arms, I could go on

[@carloscanales6746]

Man. The golden age of jrpgs. What a time.

[@Nimva97]

I just discover your youtube acount and men what a good discover!! Keep the good work!!New follower here men.

[@waylonrhoads1897]

This is a great video dude! I've been playing Squaresoft games since Final Fantasy 2.

[@shadowtheimpure]

90s Square was balls deep in its stride. Even the lesser of their games were still pretty good. EDIT: I personally consider Chrono Cross to be a spin-off game set in the Chrono universe. Much the same way that Final Fantasy Tactics was to the Final Fantasy universe.

[@diamondgrape543]

God Tactics was and is so damn good.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

The comparison is kind of weird, because the FF games are apart from each other, the same cannot be said of Chrono Cross which is an actual continuation of the story.

[@_Tzer]

i wonder what a chrono fan's thoughts on live a live is chrono trigger seems like a spiritual successor to it.

[@RedSpade37]

I thought it was canon that CC takes place in one of the "fallen" timelines from CT, similar to the "Fallen Hero" timeline from Zelda.

[@_Tzer]

@@RedSpade37 it takes place in the new ending in the ds version's timeline iirc. Also theres another game~ a third one called radical dreamers.

[@dobadobadooo]

I was born in 94, so these games were mostly a little before my time. I have gone back and replayed the big ones like Chrono Trigger, but that was only when they got re-released. It's a bit of a shame I couldn't play more of these games growing up, I feel like they would have really impacted me as a child. I still enjoy them now of course, but nowhere near as much as I would have when I was young.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

If you're the type of person who who really enjoys that stuff, it was such an awesome time.

[@escanor3549]

same here 94, I just played games on 98 then thanks to emulation, was able to play all FF games

[@frog6054]

@@escanor3549 Thanks to emulations, I get to play all this awesome classic games as well.

[@86lanzo]

You know you're a JRPG connoisseur when you're completed 99% of the games in this video multiple times.

[@carlosrueda9204]

Amen to that

[@kylehill3643]

@@carlosrueda9204 The alt right took over big business and morphed it into their own image to 'spit' on the left instead they just wrecked what was working and the left morphed into communism. The Clintons handed China illegal weapons for political power and it was known back then if you didn't stare at CNN all day.

[@carlosrueda9204]

@@kylehill3643 umm. Cool...?

[@_Gilles_]

@@kylehill3643 what are you on?

[@ProjectTony]

@@kylehill3643 yeah I like jrpgs too

[@legolaswong]

Oh boy. I still remember the opening music of Chrono Cross. It made me almost cry.

[@Totalonerboy]

Great video.... so many like minded people here. This era was truly something special and a time I will ALWAYS cherish... Square definitely was a powerhouse for some of the finest JRPGS of the 90s but there were some amazing titles too like Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, Legend of Dragoon 👍

[@jaycenteno8385]

This was AWESOME!!! Id love to see more of these deep dives. :)

[@GamingBroductions]

Thank you 🙏 We have some shorter videos planned for the near future just to get some content out but we’ll definitely be tackling some longer topics again!

[@jaycenteno8385]

@@GamingBroductions Quick vids or long vids, either way just keep em coming! lol

[@DistrictGentleman]

I was blessed to have come up in the 90s era of Square. I remember seeing an ad for Secret of Mana in a magazine and begged my mom to get it for me for Christmas. That was my first introduction to RPGs. That, Chrono Trigger, FF7 and Final Fantasy Tactics will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@thewhitewolf7241]

I look at this…and look at what we get now…and am filled with great sadness that SquareSoft died in the fifth generations. What we have now is cold and soulless. The love of the craft, replaced by greed. And note there is a difference between the games Square produces versus the ones they simply publish.

[@prevara5162]

it's like that everywhere. gaming is for the most part dead

[@toastedt140]

@Prevara Capitalism isnt satisfied until the profit/dissatisfaction is min/maxed

[@setlight]

I'm rewatching the video for the third time and I always get the same feels on the opening sequence "Hmm yeah, baby, that's amazing"

[@kevinstreetgaming]

I found your Tales of video in my recommended and have been binging some of your longer videos. PS1 rpgs are probably my favorite types of games ever created. Great channel man!

[@kristopherb8046]

Chrono cross is not just the greatest rpg game ever, it is the greatest game ever. I have played video games since the 2600 and I have to say Chrono cross I love the most. Only two games I have put more hours into (Morrowind about 1k hrs/Skyrim about 5000). I remember getting the bradly guide for the first time and realizing so many different endings exist and lossing my mind lol. Great video bud you earned the sub. Edit: Rip on my poor grammar lol

[@Comet-lc2ls]

I still get the chills when I hear that old PS1 start up sound. Love all those old games. What I would kill for a really badass remake of Xenogears....

[@rabbyd542]

I forgot how insane this era was. So many unforgettable games.

[@jaythomas468]

Just found your channel and saw you have videos on stuff like the Suikoden series and other once iconic series I loved. Here, take a subscription.

[@anchorsaweigh9893]

Oddly enough I haven’t played video games in many years but I bought both Secret or Mana and FF3 when they were brand new as freshman in Highschool. I absolutely have the greatest memories of playing those games. They were epic for their era.

[@brandonfakenamejohnston8105]

It hits me at an instinctual level everytime i hear that start-up sound 😭 i love you playstation

[@GamingBroductions]

Holds a special place in our hearts as well

[@maynorzapata8737]

I know it’s not Squaresoft but man was Valkyrie Profile such a gem of the 90’s! Very unique for it’s time and so aesthetically pleasing. The 90’s were truly an amazing time to be a gamer…

[@GamingBroductions]

For sure! We actually have a video about Enix in the ‘90s coming out soon and we’ll be talking about Valkyrie Profile there

[@maynorzapata8737]

Gaming Broductions Yessss!!!! I love Enix games so much! They were very prominent and made excellent games as well! Dragon Quest series, Actraiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terra Nigma, OMG Star Ocean, and the list goes on…

[@Rocker21344]

Parasite Eve and FF9 are two of my favorite games of all time. Watching what Square became really saddens me (at least in terms of FF)

[@trowa9960]

I agree. It is sad what’s happened to FF. FF9 was so good! I’ve played through the first 10 (including tactics) so many times. 12 was just okay but I could never get into a second play through and 13 killed the series for me. Every character was so annoying… I miss how good FF use to be

[@Waybear]

Agree with everything after FFX except FFXIV, which is outstanding.

[@reallyshel]

@@trowa9960 dude that's pretty cool I have a very similar feeling. After 13 I was done taking FF seriously. I still have hope for next gen.

[@krspykreame1]

FFXIV is where it's at nowadays. It's the gift that keeps on giving tbh

[@Waybear]

@@krspykreame1 What server are you on? I just played for 12 hours lol.

[@MrGrimlocksmash]

Literally my childhood. My black label cib PS1 game collection and fat PS2 are everything to me. My best friend actually added a PS2 Slim to my collection the other day as a late collection. I lost my copy of Dirge of Cerb with memory card somehow (pretty sure a friend stole it recently). That game swapping intro was right in the feels though. I could never forget that popping sound.

[@datpspguy]

That intro bought back so many good memories as a kid. Almost tear worthy...thank you!!

[@krspykreame1]

Chrono trigger and Chrono cross are two of my favorites of all time. The definition of timeless

[@krspykreame1]

I still get chills during the intro with times scar

[@_Tizoc_]

Squaresoft’s golden age is some how under appreciated. Only to be ended by them flying too close to the sun - trying to make a feature film. I love these damn games.

[@toshineon]

It's a shame I'm just so slightly too young to have grown up with these games. I've been on a 90's RPG binge the last few years trying to catch up on what I've missed, and so far pretty much every single game has been absolutely fantastic.

[@TheKenshinEmo]

I grew with those games but I was so young I couldn't finish them. Re discovered them recently and just finished FF8 yesterday !

[@Walamonga1313]

Play the Trails series instead

[@toshineon]

@@Walamonga1313 Why not both?

[@StewNWT]

what all have you played? Illusion of Gaia? Alundra? Brave Fencer Musashi? FF Tactics? Wild Arms? Suikoden? FFIV VI VII V IX? Vagrant Story? Xenogears?

[@toshineon]

@@StewNWT I've so far played Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 1-10, Suikoden 1-3, Breath of Fire 1-3, Arc the Lad 1 and 2, Dragon Quest 1, 5, 7 and 8 as well as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona.

[@MB-gl2bl]

Beautiful video - it really brings up a lot of memories from my childhood. Very relaxing, too. Would love to see more like this!

[@kcottone]

I grew up with all of these. Looking back, it's incredible to see the progression in both technology and complexity in only 10 years. From 8 bit Nintendo graphics and MIDI chiptunes to fully 3D games with FMV cut scenes and orchestral scores. It seemed normal at the time but I'm not sure if we'll ever see such rapid progress again in our lifetimes. I'm 38 now and games today look almost identical to those 5 or 10 years ago. Elden Ring and Skyrim look pretty similar to each other compared to the vast differences between Final Fantasy III and IX.

[@Zeul28]

This is a very well done video. Square had made my childhood so magical and filled with adventure. Eventhough Ff8 had a lot of flaws, I loved it a lot. I think its because I didnt try to break the game so I got to enjoy it as I did. Btw, didnt Chocobo Racing came out during the 90s too? I aint sure

[@GamingBroductions]

Thank you! Yeah it did, just didn’t mention it because it’s not an RPG but considering I made an exception for a couple others I probably should have for this one too given the final fantasy relation. Oh well. I never actually played this one as a kid but have heard it’s a pretty charming game

[@Zeul28]

@@GamingBroductions Yeah it is. The ending is a real tear jerker haha. Looking forward to more of your videos 🎄

[@Micxhxael]

It will never be this good again.

[@Densetsu13]

I hear what you're saying, but if I take my nostalgia goggles off for a second they make a good argument for what we got in this last generation in their last PS4 JRPGs video. If you haven't seen it, you should definitely check it out! 🙂

[@outkastshadowking2719]

@Densetsu1312 You got a few great games during the 8th generation, but 5th generation was pumping out quality after quality and then we got some games that are truly ambitious with innovation. We don't see a lot of JRPG on PS4 that can the stuff that JRPG did on PS1.

[@Densetsu13]

@@outkastshadowking2719 Perhaps we're not playing the same games; perhaps it is impossible to separate the paradigm of nostalgia that factors in time and place of where we were in our lives experiencing those generations of games for the first time and what they had to offer! We were, after all, seeing a lot of those things for the very first time (gameplay mechanics, story beats, graphics, etc.). What I would definitely posit is that this is a conversation probably better had 10 to 15 years from now when more objectivity can be present. 😉

[@outkastshadowking2719]

@Densetsu13 I only played old games during 2010 and beyond, so missed out on the golden era during my childhood. Only played game like Legend of the Dragoon, Tekken 3, Twisted Metal during childhood. Now after being introduced to games like Brave Fencer Musashi, Legend of Legaia, Arc the Lad 2 (which exceeds pokemon and SRPG in many ways), Parasite Eve, Valkyrie Profile, Legend of the Dragoon, Suikoden I & II, Soul of the Samurai. Each of these games either have soul, unique concept and ideas that have never been done before, or create a world that seem alive or all of these things. Do we see such games in during PS4 era? Barely or most hardly.

[@TheMythriel]

That opening sequence when the PSX boots up always takes me back...

[@motoryzen]

11:58 and to 12:06 and with the absolutely BEST epic inspiring intro/main theme music of all time

[@GobiPup]

I absolutely worshipped the Chrono Cross OST for many years. I still love it but haven’t listened as much later in life.

[@geekinitwithjimclassic8240]

You covered just about half of my favorite games ever. I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of Chrono Cross, but that opening theme, is just cathartic for me; it's such a call to adventure.