Of Beers and Shooters.

Don't let the title fool you. Well, okay...beer was in a way involved. The subject of the hour, however, is a shooter. Not just any shooter, but a shooter made by a company. Not just any company, my friends. No, the name of the shooter is Einhander and the name of the company is Squaresoft (now know as Square-Enix). As I tossed back some Bud Limes and watch one of my homeboys light up the screen with plasma fire and vulcan flak, something had come to mind: Square past and present.

Let's rewind about 10+ years. You have games like Einhander, Brave Fencer Musashi, and Chrono Trigger establishing memories in the generation that would become today's gamers. Back in those days, and no this is not nostalgia talking, this is dead-aim fact, you had quality and originality from Square. Sure a game may share a likeness here and there, but no game was ever the same. Then Final Fantasy VII came along. From there on out, ingenuity took a backseat to the almighty dollar. If you've looked at the barrage of Final Fantasy merchandise and spinoffs, then you know what I'm talking about. The last game made that mirrors what Square was back in the day is The World Ends With You. That could have been a spark that could get Square back to their roots. However, the heads at S-E held a meeting and despite the good things said about TWEWY, the heads wanted Final Fantasy or nothing. Oh, and this was done in an ultimatum form, too.

So come on back to 2008 and where are we now? We are inundated with Final Fantasy and enough Sephiroth and Cloud materia to keep every otaku and squeeling Yaoi manic at bay until the next fix. Oh, and we have another Final Fantasy on the way. However, the thrill is gone. I will pick it up, but I'm not too gung ho about it.

Eh, rant. Also, chalk it up to the memories and the beer. If you were around about 10+ years ago, then you know what I mean. If you weren't, then sorry about your damn luck.