battlestation isnt dead and is more alive then space invaders see unlike other franchises games as a service games are kept alive by their players not the game devs we dont need 100s of these games 1 or 2 are just fine counting its a competitive game
Seems like your Sega franchise video aged poorly Sega announcing the revival of 5 dead IPs coming back is the biggest put your whole dick on the table move I’ve seen from a company in a LONG time (no pun intended).
@@retrohero2762 Even if with the invitation, did anyone expect Sega to go and announce 5 franchises with more on the way to be coming back, we were expecting only one with Virtual Fighters or Jet Set Radio because of the leak a while back
Seeing The World Ends With You be so dormant only to seemingly go right back into that state after 1 1/2 decades always hurts to think about, as the original is one of if not my all-time favorite games.
Yeah, me too. I feel like I got a monkey paw wish though, I wanted a good sequel to my favorite game, but it undersold and probably will be forgotten about.
I mean it is a good sequel, and I'm not too upset about the whole public reception. All of us 12 fans who waited for a sequel finally got it, along with an ok anime adaptation too.
@@Kazzy234 Well, technically yes, but the connection between Nier and Drakengard is about as tangible as a Matpat theory. The two games are more different than similar to the point where it'd be understandable to consider them completely separate, especially since they are standalone titles.
One important addition on Taito's 1980s franchises: The Ninjawarriors was another one of those three-screen arcade games. It's not a "super active franchise" but the latest game surprisingly came out in 2019. I want to safely say "it exists".
Just want to say Kai I’ve been rediscovering so much video games and hidden gems due to your videos I’m truly grateful for your work and everything you do!
Thanks for saying that! It is partly the reason I do these, not only do I learn a lot, but it helps highlight some lesser known franchises that others may want to check out and enjoy.
@@WarpChaos Yup, I've beaten KH1, 2, Chain of Memories (GBA), Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, KH3, and watched all of the cutscenes to Re:coded and 358/2 Days. I got pretty far into Re:coded after borrowing it from a friend, but I never finished it because it is probably the worst game in the series. Overall, I think it's an okay series, and the Disney stuff and the Yoko Shimomura music are the highlights. But even then, Shimomura has done MUCH better soundtracks (Xenoblade, Live A Live, Mario & Luigi, etc) and the core storyline and characters of KH are just Nomura stuck in 8th grade syndrome. I like the series well enough, but when people go like "OH MY GOD IT'S SQUARE ENIX'S BEST FRANCHISE AND A MASTERPIECE OF GAMING" all I can think is that there's so much better stuff out there that the KH fans have never actually tried.
@@AnaverdGaiden Kh's story's problem is that it is not really that batshit insane as its premise could give. First entry was surprisingly ambivalent dream-simulator but then it started to just follow some basic JRPG story-tropes without the charm. At least newest arc seems to get bit more interesting as it seems to go more meta.
@@Yurikon3 Yeah, I agree. People act like the storyline is convoluted and complex, but in actuality it's really simple and just likes to throw the words "light", "darkness", and "heart" all over the place to pretend it has themes. Which newest arc do you mean? Like the recent mobile game?
First of all, SO excited for the Mana series! I've been a Mana fan ever since Secret of Mana back in 1993 on the SNES, and we Mana fans have had to endure our fair share of disappointments over the years. Thankfully, Trials of Mana remake turned it around and Visions of Mana looks fantastic! And while not a franchise per se, I REALLY want to see a return of the Ivalice Alliance world/series of games. Start with giving us that remaster of FF Tactics and a remake/remaster of Vagrant Story and expand from there. Ivalice is such a great world and they can do so much more amazing stuff with it! Vagrant Story is one of my all-time favorite games, and it's stuck on old hardware. It's such a genuinely unique and masterfully crafted game that it needs to be brought to modern platforms with some quality-of-life enhancements!
Im playing ffxii for real now, having only playing it before as a child for just a bit (but still having veeery clear and warm memories of it). It's blowing my mind, and it's so funny it is one of the most underrated (and i can think of a few reasons why). But i am really eager for more Ivallice worldbuildg, its indeed great
Well, since you asked, here are some franchises that you missed: - Heaven and Earth trilogy, Quintet action RPG series or whatever you want to call them, aka. Sol Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma. While these games does not share a name, or are part of the same overacting story, i'd still consider them a part of a series. they are all action rpgs with very similar narative themes, Terranigma's working title was even Illusion og Gaia 2. If tokyo RPG factory can be considered a francise, then i think this one should be considered one too. - Bust a Groove, Enix/Square Enix was the publisher of all these games, so i am pretty sure they are still the ones who owns the rights to them. - Tornkeo's mystery dungeon, if Chocobo can be its own franchise, i think this one should be one too. Originally started out as a spin off to dragon quest 4, it was also the birth of the entire Mystery Dungeon series. Having 3 games to its name, if Pokemon Mystery dungeon can be its own franchise, then torneko's mystery dungeon should be one too. - Dragon Quest monsters, while it is a Dragon Quest spin off, it is also by far the biggest spin off series that square enix has to its name. with almost 10 titles to its name, this series is huge, especially in Japan. - Final Fantasy Tactics, if we should be counting Dragon Quest Monsters, then Final Fantasy Tactics should also be considered imo, even if its a spin off.
@@catantcha99 Spike chunsoft is just the ones who makes most of the mystery dungeon games, Whoever owns the property of a spesific mystery dungeon game are the owners of that spesific game. Its similar to how Mario Tennis is not owned by Camelot, even if they are the ones who have made all the Mario Tennis games. Even in the Every Nintendo Franchises video, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was counted as its own series. Spike Chunsoft has also not made all of the Mystery Dungeon games, Chokobo's Dungeon on the Wii was made by H.A.N.D, amd Young Yangus was made by Cavia for example. The only Mystery Dungeon series that is its original IP is the Shiren the Wanderer games, which is 100% owned by Spike Chunsoft.
Speaking of Taito series, you forgot to mention couple franchises. Side By Side (later known as Battle Gear) The Landing Series/Jet De Go Densha De Go (How could you miss this? This series has a cult following) Music GunGun Rastan The NewZealand Story Violence Fight Gunslinger Stratos Groove Coaster
50:44 seeing Star Ocean become a Square Enix mainstay again is enough to make someone’s (such as myself) heart warm up. Divine Force and the remake for 2 were really great, hopefully we see further successes with the series such as SO7 being greenlit
I hate when people say that Tobol was only stressful because it bundled the Final Fantasy demo. Final Fantasy seven wasn’t Final Fantasy seven yet. The amount of people who were interested in it wasn’t huge. The number of people interested in fighting games was much larger
I found The World Ends With You through Kingdom Hearts BBS and fell in love with the game. I almost didn’t even know when the sequel dropped. I think the main issue is that the series got almost no advertising. In fact, the best advertising it got was the very mediocre anime adaptation, and I feel like that may have done more harm than good
Rpgs are the best. I grew up with nes, snes, and ps1 specifically jrpg is my favorite genre. There still some really good stuff coming out but I wish more turn based stuff came out. There's so many great old school jrpgs
As a fan of NEO: The World Ends With You, I'm saddened. Square barely marketed the game and wondered why it failed. This IP deserves better because not many other games have its sort of punkish art style.
@@inthestorm2002 At the very least I'm glad we're getting a new JSR. I also hope Hi-Fi Rush comes to other consoles to get more fame. We need more stylized games.
Even with Disney’s current struggles, I doubt they’d give up on Kingdom Hearts because they still get profit out of it. It’s the TV shows they mostly give up on since those require they pay creator royalties… Which sucks so much because Disney TV shows are made with creative freedom compared to the films. Lest we forget how executive meddling led to Wish ending up how it was…
The Disney VP of their gaming division also stated they value their relationship with SE and are looking forward to the next KH game, so I don't think they will give up on that partnership anytime soon.
Plus, Kingdom Hearts is widely beloved and is hugely popular. It was only 2 years ago when Sora entered the world of Smash Bros. Knowing Disney, I don't think they would just suddenly give up on what is essentially their most famous video game series
This is such a great video My favourite franchises from squaree enix are final fantasy, Chrono series, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts. I have interests in the mana games given that we have got visions of mana being announced As for Chrono series it is pretty accurate on where it is currently since we haven’t had a game in a while I’m still hoping we would get a Remaster on the game
Kingdom Hearts quite literally being the light in the darkness for Square, saving them from near bankruptcy, is very on-brand and makes for a great underdog story.
Nice video!! You miss: 1) Illusion of gaia series (where Terranigma is inculded: Soul Blazer, Illusion of time (Gaia) and Terranigma). 2) I undestand that Xenogears is just one game but since the xeno series continues under other companies, well... ¿maybe some mentions? 3) I think the Full Metal Alchemist games, since I belive Square owns the rights 4) ¿Maybe FF Tactics and chrystals chronicles should also appear as separated franchises?
Actually Square-Enix is a manga publisher, owning all the Gangan editorials. Things like Fullmetal Alchemist, Akame ga Kill, Soul Eater and many many more are their franchises. I understand that these videos are on the videogames, but I'd love if he at least mention it.
@@alvissstar4371 Yeah I know. Some of them did even released outside Japan, so would've been great if he mentioned it. At that point dropping that Square-Enix also publishes mangas could have worked.
Yeah, there have been 3 FF Tactics games, so that could be considered a franchise. I might go even further and say that they are part of the Ivalice Alliance series, which would also include Vagrant Story and FFXII.
Not to mention Square Enix has the most playable characters of any third-party company, in smash with seven in total (those being Cloud, Luminary, Erdrick, Solo, Eight, Sephiroth and Sora). Along with having the most mii costumes being tied with Capcom. Also I can’t wait to get my hands on that Sora amiibo hehe anyone planning to get one as well?
You put a ton of work into this, congrats, but man, I cannot comprehend the reasoning that Space Invaders is considered a 'flagship' IP in a video about the CURRENT state of franchises. Surely it belongs more in the 'It Exists' or 'Nearly Dead' category, right? A crappy AR game is hardly a flagship release.
You need to check out the Taito games, they were fun and underrated. Too bad they were overshadowed by Sega, Capcom and Namco. Just like Namco, you never heard anything bad from Taito at all.
I'm still sore over Square not doing anything with Xenogears. It could have easily become another flagship franchise if not a mainstay had they given it chance.
i hold twewy very dearly to my heart. it really sucks how the marketing for neo was next to nonexistent, ofc it didn't meet sales expectations. both games have great characters, nice story, tetsuya nomura art, banger soundtracks, and satisfying gameplay :)
There was a title during the PS3 era published by Square Enix called "MindJack". I found it recently at a gaming convention in Portland, Oregon. I dont know that it counts here as I dont know much about it but thought it was such an odd game for Square to publish. This is a phenomenal look at Square Enix's offerings over the years. I definitely miss Tobal, really enjoyed the first one we got in the states. Also, I hope we see more from Tokyo RPG Factory, or games of that caliber. Thanks a ton Kai!
1:03:37 up until now without a shadow of a doubt, excellent video, and belive me this is not a mediocre content at all, great video quality, perfect storytelling going chronologically year by year, graphics, infos and sounds on point and a little bit of funny jokes here and there. What i would point out though is one mistake, Urban Chaos and Urban Chaos: Riot Response are not from the same franchise, they have similar name titles. I thought for years as well and made the same mistake but through discovery they do not comes from the same series. I just wanted to say only this because the video is absolutely great, and also because i know a lot about Urban Chaos: Riot Response 'cause i played with that game for years! so many memories. P.S: Sorry for any grammar mistake, trying my best, I'm from Italy.
Hey thanks for the correction! And also all the kind words it means a lot. I've been doing this series for a while now so I try and improve with each one haha. I tend to get a good handful of things wrong though so I appreciate people informing me about them. I do plan on doing an updated combined list when I've completed all the companies. But wow, certainly confused me with those names.
The only part of vid that had me mildly annoyed was that Square was to my knowledge called Squaresoft before the merge but I mean, no biggie, but when we are spitting facts 😅 Super interesting video - thanks for doing it!
Wonderful video. I'm a huge fan of Square Enix games. The only thing missing was the best of all: Vagrant Story. Which unfortunately is so forgotten that it didn't even appear in the video 😢
Always happy to see Itadaki/Fortune Street get a mention! Such a shame that the franchise is in purgatory atm, especially since what I and many others consider the best games (Special, 30th, 3, heck arguably the rest) still remain Japan-only. It still has a dedicated modding and translation team, but even that can only do so much to keep the franchise afloat.
One thing you didn't really go over is how FF is probably in the best state its been in for years (in the west at least). Going into the 2010's, starting as early as honestly the mid 2000's, the series kinda "fell off". The ff7 remake, ff14, and ff16 really brought the series back into the mainstream popularity.
Great video bro, rpgs have been my favorite genre since the late 80s and this is good content regarding my favorite genre. Appreciated, I was already subbed but liked and commented for the almighty algo.
Great video! Tho I'm kinda surprised you skipped over games like Vagrant Story and Threads of fate. Even tho they're both dead and one off games, they were hugely influential to how SE moved forward with how games were developed.
One off games, by definition, are not a series, and aren’t eligible for this list. This video would be 12 hours long if every new franchise was covered here!
I freaking love Parasite Eve. It's kind of one of my personal...Christmas movies, I guess??? Seriously the original & club remixes of the OST go on in December in heavy rotation in my house, & I revisit content around the first game (I'm temporarily unable to play games). I know it sounds odd but PE gives me Christmas Cozy. 57:38 lol that fire joke is more layered than this video frame; good stuff.
i have so many criticisms of squenix and how they've fumbled the vast majority of their decisions for about 15 years now. but i'm forever grateful for final fantasy and the stories i cherish to this day
Yet another great video, though I am admittedly sad you didn't cover some of Eidos' other series (mostly because they have a big legacy with Squenix at this point, even if they'll continue without them). Also, Live-A-Live could possibly be argued to have gotten a spot now right...? I mean TECHNICALLY it now has more than one game (they're the exact same game but shhh). Now one big thing I'm excited about is the recent announcement from Squenix that they're looking at some series to promote to Triple A status... And in all honesty, with that recent Mana announcement, I think the Mana series will be the first (deservingly so). Another thing I hope for is that in the future Paranormasight becomes a franchise, as Squenix barely dabbles into visual novel games and that one is fantastic and the most likely to become a proper franchise. Sad it couldn't be featured here, but also makes sense. Well, that's the end of my ramble honestly. Have a good one, great video.
Half way into the video and absolutely enjoying it, learned some a lot of new and interesting stuff too, Square Enix really are the Kings of the JRPG Genre, I love how Visions of Mana got announced at the Game Awards while this video was scheduled to premiere and I’m really excited for that and FF7 Rebirth.
@@AnaverdGaiden I mean sure I get it. But there's plenty of other Videos or comments. Of people not liking the game. Why not converse with them? Why go out of your way to state your opinion? Because the guy happens to like the game And is excited about it. It's just weird.
Chrono Trigger is the goat I love KH 2 FM SO MUCH!!!!!!!! FFIX is amazing!!! Nier Automata is Fantastic Star Ocean 2nd Story slaps hard Bravely default is one best on 3ds Dragon quest is the reason any of this stuff exists
I respect your opinion, but in my eyes, Dragon Quest will always be the GOAT. Literally the entire reason why the RPG genre even exists. I'm not even a huge fan of the series (Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts fanatic here) yet even I have to recognize the sheer impact it had on the world of video games Also based for being a Bravely Default enjoyer
Hope this doesn't come off crass, but you're missing a franchise. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_a_Groove. AKA Bust A Move was originally an Enix series that is well know SE property. Last game came out in 2000 as Dance Summit 2001: Bust A Move 3.
I'll change my comment if it's addressed, but you went through square's history without even mentioning when it was Square soft (where they helped make Xenosaga and some other games iirc) unless that's what you meant by parent company in which case alright, but hey good video so far
Im glad you continue this series of videos, sadly im not gonna watch this one (i commented on this video before the premiere date) because i don’t like square enix. So basically my guess are final fantasy, kingdom hearts & dragon quest are flagship while life is strange & star ocean are in main. All those shovelware rpgs from the hd-2d era and nier are in the its exist section and the rest are on dead or life support. By the way i think you need to do a video on snk or tecmo or arc system works.
Square Enix, king of RPG, broke the mold when they made Kingdom Hearts, real cultural phoenomanon shit right there, KH2 is one of the greatest video games ever made. I'm really excited to dip my toes into other games like Final Fantasy, Mana, Bravely, Various Daylife... theres lots of good stuff is what I'm saying.
Of course Squeenix sold Deus Ex. They can't be bothered to fund quality games outside of their core Japanese franchises, so we got Mankind Divided and it's mid-plot ending. No, seriously, I thought I was only halfway through the game when I beat it. And I did all the side content.
can't believe you forgot the one thing i was waiting for, while still being so thorough, and that was the soul blazer trilogy from quintet published by enix back in the day
I feel like the Darius franchise pretty much concluded with Chronicle Saviours. And Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission was one of the most surprising comebacks I've ever seen lately. Then again, last year we were greeted with Sol Cresta, the finale of the Terra Cresta series, and Aleste Branch is on the way, so... Not to mention we also got Contra: Operation Galuga coming next year as well.
I would argue Darius series ended at Dariusburst (2009). Another Chronicle which came out after this is more of the same with some new features. Chronicle Saviours is more of a complete package that contains everything from previous two entries and they added DLC ships too
Yeah, but Chronicle Saviours includes the CS Mode, which culminates in a definitive final battle against Gigantic Bite (unless you're a perfectionist and would beat every area in the game, including the bonus area Kyokkuho).@@QF_Dan72
Maybe a knitpick but Space Invaders at the top tier seems weird to me? I feel like maybe it should be one column down just because I don't really see an active space Invaders community today? If I'm wrong though I'd definitely be interested in exploring it further. It's a fun game but so simple too. I'd love to see innovations on it.
Poor, poor Dungeon Siege... Easily the most brutal way to go out of everything else on here. Its fate alone would honestly justify the creation of a "Fate Worse Than Death" tier below Dead or Finished if you ask me.
Final Fantasy VIII was my first Final Fantasy, and RPG. I actually got better at reading because of how text heavy the game was compared to other games. Id agree VIII and IX are far better.
On a different note, I've always imagined Sora encountering 2B in one of the worlds he visits or her world. Actually, would I even want that? Sora is a cinnamon roll after all...
It’s Square Enix’s loss now cuz now that Tomb Raider is under Embracer Group we finally got the Remaster collection coming next month and it has already been preordered numerous times with it also being the highest preorder game on GOG which is kinda like a Steam store of sorts and ever since new details were revealed the number of preorders has only increased across all platforms. Both Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics said that there wasn’t a market for Tomb Raider remasters but how wrong they were when Embracer gave the project to Aspyr. If the Remasters sell well which they probably will since they have a lot packed into them for a only a $30 package with stuff like the Gold expansions for all 3 games, 200+ achievements on PC, PS, and Xbox, a new photo mode, as well as both classic and modern control schemes just to name a few Square Enix will probably be kicking themselves once the remasters sell well and make a lot of money cuz these didn’t cost a whole lot of money to make.
You can practically split FF7 away from Final Fantasy as its own franchise. It's crazy how this entry alone has more games made than most of the IPs on this list. It even has a damn movie.
Can we please stop that elitist nonsense? they're all FF all taking things from the ones that came before in many ways while evolving the franchise forward to what the devs feel like they want to work on next these amazing games are all built on the backs of what came before in dozens and dozens of ways in fact there are ALWAYS as much similarities than diffrences in each FF title and none is an exeption from this
Ikr, it's wild how a single entry from an already massive franchise managed to split itself off from the rest of the franchise and essentially became it's own thing
It's a shame that FF has veered further and further away from turn based combat over the years. I'd like to believe that the poor sales of 16 will have them rethink the direction they've taken the franchise, but i'm not holding by breath.
"Poor" sales? 16 sold a LOT, specially for being a PS5 exclusive. You probably are basing this on a interview that was misdirected/mistranslated were it was said that 16 sold "less than the expectations", but in reality what was said was that FFXVI sold less than the "higher" expectations of SE, but more than the "normal" one. Selling the "normal" expectations it's a success, even if they sold the "lower" amount it would still be a success (but it would be the minimum amount). So yeah, FFXVI sold pretty well.
As much as I'd love to see a return to turn-based FF, I can see why they can no longer return to that genre. There's an excellent and amazing video by a RUclipsr named Repaduski that explains why Final Fantasy can't be turn-based anymore. Also, XVI absolutely did NOT fail. What even made you think that? The fact that it didn't get a GOTY nominee like FFVII Remake?
Sega Saturn's Dragon force 1 and 2 were the RTS games that i love but i never hear much about them anymore. tho not many people know about it despite a Band having the same name as the game. -_-
I would also say your intro, if we included japan rpgs. Falcom for pc is as well known as square. They have a treasuretrove of pc only rpgs. Btw. Japan has a dragon quest amusement park the size of Disneyland. No final fantasy has that
I Heard a myth: if you say your favourite RUclipsrs name 3 times you will get pinned
Kai
Kai
Kai
I found this comment in my reviewed ones...apparently it was flagged as spam LOL
@@Legend-of-Kai hah btw love your vids and keep making more great content
battlestation isnt dead and is more alive then space invaders see unlike other franchises games as a service games are kept alive by their players not the game devs we dont need 100s of these games 1 or 2 are just fine counting its a competitive game
Leave it to the Game Awards to announce 10 million new entries for these franchises while I'm rendering and uploading this vid...😅
Especially for the Mana games.
Seems like your Sega franchise video aged poorly Sega announcing the revival of 5 dead IPs coming back is the biggest put your whole dick on the table move I’ve seen from a company in a LONG time (no pun intended).
The Sega announcement definitely made your video on that outdated😅
@@retrohero2762 Even if with the invitation, did anyone expect Sega to go and announce 5 franchises with more on the way to be coming back, we were expecting only one with Virtual Fighters or Jet Set Radio because of the leak a while back
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO
Seeing The World Ends With You be so dormant only to seemingly go right back into that state after 1 1/2 decades always hurts to think about, as the original is one of if not my all-time favorite games.
never believed a sequel would even happen, and Neo TWEWY is fantastic. I'll just love that I even got a new game and be happy with that
Yeah, me too. I feel like I got a monkey paw wish though, I wanted a good sequel to my favorite game, but it undersold and probably will be forgotten about.
Maybe I'll try it
I mean it is a good sequel, and I'm not too upset about the whole public reception. All of us 12 fans who waited for a sequel finally got it, along with an ok anime adaptation too.
fr i love when square shadowdrops a game and gives it no marketing whatsoever
despite their lore connection, Drakengard and NieR could probably be considered separate franchises, but grouping them together is fine
They are spin-offs. Like how Persona is a Spin-offs of Shin Megami Tensei.
Doesn't nier specifically start after darkengard's ending E?
@@Kazzy234 Well, technically yes, but the connection between Nier and Drakengard is about as tangible as a Matpat theory. The two games are more different than similar to the point where it'd be understandable to consider them completely separate, especially since they are standalone titles.
@@ctrl_x1770 Bro your theory is just blatantly wrong. They are connected, not "technically" they literally are. Read the lore
Both are connected to the Final Fantasy series now, as they have canon events that are permanently a part of FFXIV.
One important addition on Taito's 1980s franchises: The Ninjawarriors was another one of those three-screen arcade games. It's not a "super active franchise" but the latest game surprisingly came out in 2019. I want to safely say "it exists".
Just want to say Kai I’ve been rediscovering so much video games and hidden gems due to your videos I’m truly grateful for your work and everything you do!
Thanks for saying that! It is partly the reason I do these, not only do I learn a lot, but it helps highlight some lesser known franchises that others may want to check out and enjoy.
That moment when Simple and Clean enters my ear, I can feel the goosebumps.
Kingdom Hearts is indeed magical.
Annd Space Invaders is surprising 😮
I've always been kinda surprised and confused by this take. Like, outside of nostalgia, what's so amazing about that song and KH?
@@AnaverdGaidenHave you played the series?
@@WarpChaos Yup, I've beaten KH1, 2, Chain of Memories (GBA), Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, KH3, and watched all of the cutscenes to Re:coded and 358/2 Days. I got pretty far into Re:coded after borrowing it from a friend, but I never finished it because it is probably the worst game in the series.
Overall, I think it's an okay series, and the Disney stuff and the Yoko Shimomura music are the highlights. But even then, Shimomura has done MUCH better soundtracks (Xenoblade, Live A Live, Mario & Luigi, etc) and the core storyline and characters of KH are just Nomura stuck in 8th grade syndrome. I like the series well enough, but when people go like "OH MY GOD IT'S SQUARE ENIX'S BEST FRANCHISE AND A MASTERPIECE OF GAMING" all I can think is that there's so much better stuff out there that the KH fans have never actually tried.
@@AnaverdGaiden Kh's story's problem is that it is not really that batshit insane as its premise could give. First entry was surprisingly ambivalent dream-simulator but then it started to just follow some basic JRPG story-tropes without the charm. At least newest arc seems to get bit more interesting as it seems to go more meta.
@@Yurikon3 Yeah, I agree. People act like the storyline is convoluted and complex, but in actuality it's really simple and just likes to throw the words "light", "darkness", and "heart" all over the place to pretend it has themes.
Which newest arc do you mean? Like the recent mobile game?
First of all, SO excited for the Mana series! I've been a Mana fan ever since Secret of Mana back in 1993 on the SNES, and we Mana fans have had to endure our fair share of disappointments over the years. Thankfully, Trials of Mana remake turned it around and Visions of Mana looks fantastic!
And while not a franchise per se, I REALLY want to see a return of the Ivalice Alliance world/series of games. Start with giving us that remaster of FF Tactics and a remake/remaster of Vagrant Story and expand from there. Ivalice is such a great world and they can do so much more amazing stuff with it! Vagrant Story is one of my all-time favorite games, and it's stuck on old hardware. It's such a genuinely unique and masterfully crafted game that it needs to be brought to modern platforms with some quality-of-life enhancements!
Im playing ffxii for real now, having only playing it before as a child for just a bit (but still having veeery clear and warm memories of it). It's blowing my mind, and it's so funny it is one of the most underrated (and i can think of a few reasons why). But i am really eager for more Ivallice worldbuildg, its indeed great
Well, since you asked, here are some franchises that you missed:
- Heaven and Earth trilogy, Quintet action RPG series or whatever you want to call them, aka. Sol Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma. While these games does not share a name, or are part of the same overacting story, i'd still consider them a part of a series. they are all action rpgs with very similar narative themes, Terranigma's working title was even Illusion og Gaia 2. If tokyo RPG factory can be considered a francise, then i think this one should be considered one too.
- Bust a Groove, Enix/Square Enix was the publisher of all these games, so i am pretty sure they are still the ones who owns the rights to them.
- Tornkeo's mystery dungeon, if Chocobo can be its own franchise, i think this one should be one too. Originally started out as a spin off to dragon quest 4, it was also the birth of the entire Mystery Dungeon series. Having 3 games to its name, if Pokemon Mystery dungeon can be its own franchise, then torneko's mystery dungeon should be one too.
- Dragon Quest monsters, while it is a Dragon Quest spin off, it is also by far the biggest spin off series that square enix has to its name. with almost 10 titles to its name, this series is huge, especially in Japan.
- Final Fantasy Tactics, if we should be counting Dragon Quest Monsters, then Final Fantasy Tactics should also be considered imo, even if its a spin off.
Mystery dungeon games are more like a spike chunsoft franchise
@@catantcha99 Spike chunsoft is just the ones who makes most of the mystery dungeon games, Whoever owns the property of a spesific mystery dungeon game are the owners of that spesific game.
Its similar to how Mario Tennis is not owned by Camelot, even if they are the ones who have made all the Mario Tennis games.
Even in the Every Nintendo Franchises video, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was counted as its own series.
Spike Chunsoft has also not made all of the Mystery Dungeon games, Chokobo's Dungeon on the Wii was made by H.A.N.D, amd Young Yangus was made by Cavia for example.
The only Mystery Dungeon series that is its original IP is the Shiren the Wanderer games, which is 100% owned by Spike Chunsoft.
also the games they made when they were Square soft lol
Speaking of Taito series, you forgot to mention couple franchises.
Side By Side (later known as Battle Gear)
The Landing Series/Jet De Go
Densha De Go (How could you miss this? This series has a cult following)
Music GunGun
Rastan
The NewZealand Story
Violence Fight
Gunslinger Stratos
Groove Coaster
50:44 seeing Star Ocean become a Square Enix mainstay again is enough to make someone’s (such as myself) heart warm up. Divine Force and the remake for 2 were really great, hopefully we see further successes with the series such as SO7 being greenlit
Kingdom Hearts Just Cause and Final Fantasy are enough reasons to love square enix in my eyes
Pretty stoked for you that you’re getting a new Mana game!
I hate when people say that Tobol was only stressful because it bundled the Final Fantasy demo. Final Fantasy seven wasn’t Final Fantasy seven yet. The amount of people who were interested in it wasn’t huge. The number of people interested in fighting games was much larger
You forgot the Rad Racer and 3D World Runner series
I'm crying, seeing how my beloved franchises (Musashi and Drakengard) are being discussed... Hope to see the Square Enix remade the originals.
I can't believe how much the resurgence of Saga is happening. It's finally good enough for outside Japan and therefore good enough to actually make.
I found The World Ends With You through Kingdom Hearts BBS and fell in love with the game. I almost didn’t even know when the sequel dropped. I think the main issue is that the series got almost no advertising. In fact, the best advertising it got was the very mediocre anime adaptation, and I feel like that may have done more harm than good
I thought it was Dream Drop Distance not Birth by sleep
@@eternalinnocent9506 you’re right. Got it mixed up
5:31 ohhh yes, I knew you would talk about Taito franchises, given they were bought by Square Enix.
Rpgs are the best. I grew up with nes, snes, and ps1 specifically jrpg is my favorite genre. There still some really good stuff coming out but I wish more turn based stuff came out. There's so many great old school jrpgs
As a fan of NEO: The World Ends With You, I'm saddened. Square barely marketed the game and wondered why it failed. This IP deserves better because not many other games have its sort of punkish art style.
Closest thing I can think of is Jet Set Radio, but still pretty unique in its own right
@@inthestorm2002 At the very least I'm glad we're getting a new JSR. I also hope Hi-Fi Rush comes to other consoles to get more fame. We need more stylized games.
@@jmaster4941was going to mention hifi rush, which is on gamepass rn.
Zenless Zone Zero an upcoming game by mihoyo has a vaguely similar aesthetic
@@Rayxke Hopefully it comes to Switch. I'll probably check it out.
Even with Disney’s current struggles, I doubt they’d give up on Kingdom Hearts because they still get profit out of it.
It’s the TV shows they mostly give up on since those require they pay creator royalties…
Which sucks so much because Disney TV shows are made with creative freedom compared to the films.
Lest we forget how executive meddling led to Wish ending up how it was…
The Disney VP of their gaming division also stated they value their relationship with SE and are looking forward to the next KH game, so I don't think they will give up on that partnership anytime soon.
@@NoonDragoonHopefully they feel the same about Marvel Vs Capcom...
Plus, Kingdom Hearts is widely beloved and is hugely popular. It was only 2 years ago when Sora entered the world of Smash Bros. Knowing Disney, I don't think they would just suddenly give up on what is essentially their most famous video game series
@@austinreed7343well...
@@makhyusnimakhyusni401
Seems like they do.
This is such a great video
My favourite franchises from squaree enix are final fantasy, Chrono series, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts.
I have interests in the mana games given that we have got visions of mana being announced
As for Chrono series it is pretty accurate on where it is currently since we haven’t had a game in a while
I’m still hoping we would get a Remaster on the game
Kingdom Hearts quite literally being the light in the darkness for Square, saving them from near bankruptcy, is very on-brand and makes for a great underdog story.
Nice video!! You miss:
1) Illusion of gaia series (where Terranigma is inculded: Soul Blazer, Illusion of time (Gaia) and Terranigma).
2) I undestand that Xenogears is just one game but since the xeno series continues under other companies, well... ¿maybe some mentions?
3) I think the Full Metal Alchemist games, since I belive Square owns the rights
4) ¿Maybe FF Tactics and chrystals chronicles should also appear as separated franchises?
Actually Square-Enix is a manga publisher, owning all the Gangan editorials. Things like Fullmetal Alchemist, Akame ga Kill, Soul Eater and many many more are their franchises. I understand that these videos are on the videogames, but I'd love if he at least mention it.
@@edgarlozada3858 Yes but there are games of FMA published by SE
@@alvissstar4371 Yeah I know. Some of them did even released outside Japan, so would've been great if he mentioned it. At that point dropping that Square-Enix also publishes mangas could have worked.
Yeah, there have been 3 FF Tactics games, so that could be considered a franchise. I might go even further and say that they are part of the Ivalice Alliance series, which would also include Vagrant Story and FFXII.
Deus Ex was not there too I think
i can't believe they keep the gex franchise, out of all the ips from eidos
Not to mention Square Enix has the most playable characters of any third-party company, in smash with seven in total (those being Cloud, Luminary, Erdrick, Solo, Eight, Sephiroth and Sora). Along with having the most mii costumes being tied with Capcom. Also I can’t wait to get my hands on that Sora amiibo hehe anyone planning to get one as well?
The money Sqaure Enix could make if they partnered with Monolith Soft to remake XenoGears
You put a ton of work into this, congrats, but man, I cannot comprehend the reasoning that Space Invaders is considered a 'flagship' IP in a video about the CURRENT state of franchises. Surely it belongs more in the 'It Exists' or 'Nearly Dead' category, right? A crappy AR game is hardly a flagship release.
Thank you for this history of Square Enix. Looking to play most rpg games from them
Was gonna say missing Einhander but remembered that these are all franchises ! The ephemera though is wild
Came here for the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, stayed for whatever tf Taito was cooking
You need to check out the Taito games, they were fun and underrated. Too bad they were overshadowed by Sega, Capcom and Namco.
Just like Namco, you never heard anything bad from Taito at all.
I'm still sore over Square not doing anything with Xenogears. It could have easily become another flagship franchise if not a mainstay had they given it chance.
Are any of the people who worked on Gears still at Square, I could have sworn all of the creatives behind that game left to form Monolith?
@@NintendoSegaGuys pretty sure yeah whole team is monolith soft who Nintendo scooped up one reason KOS MOS has cameo in xenoblade 2
i hold twewy very dearly to my heart. it really sucks how the marketing for neo was next to nonexistent, ofc it didn't meet sales expectations. both games have great characters, nice story, tetsuya nomura art, banger soundtracks, and satisfying gameplay :)
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE. TURN IT UP!
There was a title during the PS3 era published by Square Enix called "MindJack". I found it recently at a gaming convention in Portland, Oregon. I dont know that it counts here as I dont know much about it but thought it was such an odd game for Square to publish. This is a phenomenal look at Square Enix's offerings over the years. I definitely miss Tobal, really enjoyed the first one we got in the states. Also, I hope we see more from Tokyo RPG Factory, or games of that caliber. Thanks a ton Kai!
Completely forgot about mindjack! The concept was very similar to 3rd birthday
This morning was the first time in years that I remembered we were meant to get an HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III.
After this, do the current state of every microsoft franchise or EA franchises.
If he does Microsoft, his video will be instantly obsolete because it feels like they buy something new every month
1:03:37 up until now without a shadow of a doubt, excellent video, and belive me this is not a mediocre content at all, great video quality, perfect storytelling going chronologically year by year, graphics, infos and sounds on point and a little bit of funny jokes here and there. What i would point out though is one mistake, Urban Chaos and Urban Chaos: Riot Response are not from the same franchise, they have similar name titles. I thought for years as well and made the same mistake but through discovery they do not comes from the same series. I just wanted to say only this because the video is absolutely great, and also because i know a lot about Urban Chaos: Riot Response 'cause i played with that game for years! so many memories.
P.S: Sorry for any grammar mistake, trying my best, I'm from Italy.
Hey thanks for the correction! And also all the kind words it means a lot. I've been doing this series for a while now so I try and improve with each one haha. I tend to get a good handful of things wrong though so I appreciate people informing me about them. I do plan on doing an updated combined list when I've completed all the companies. But wow, certainly confused me with those names.
In Brazil you can still play the Sonic Blastman punch game on the original cabinet.
You can find cabinets in arcades in the US too, if you know where to go. There’s an arcade called Galloping Ghost in Illinois that has one.
The only part of vid that had me mildly annoyed was that Square was to my knowledge called Squaresoft before the merge but I mean, no biggie, but when we are spitting facts 😅 Super interesting video - thanks for doing it!
Wonderful video. I'm a huge fan of Square Enix games. The only thing missing was the best of all: Vagrant Story. Which unfortunately is so forgotten that it didn't even appear in the video 😢
You could group it with the Ivalice FF series, but otherwise, it doesn’t make the list by virtue of only having a single entry.
Always happy to see Itadaki/Fortune Street get a mention! Such a shame that the franchise is in purgatory atm, especially since what I and many others consider the best games (Special, 30th, 3, heck arguably the rest) still remain Japan-only. It still has a dedicated modding and translation team, but even that can only do so much to keep the franchise afloat.
Fortune Street is exactly the sort of game I’d love to play on my Switch, too. What a bummer
One thing you didn't really go over is how FF is probably in the best state its been in for years (in the west at least). Going into the 2010's, starting as early as honestly the mid 2000's, the series kinda "fell off". The ff7 remake, ff14, and ff16 really brought the series back into the mainstream popularity.
FF 12 and 13 both sold over 7 Million copies each and 15 sold over 10 Million copies. Sounds pretty mainstream to me
I know there probably won't be as many franchises to cover, but you should try looking at Rare's line-up of video games!
I thought twewy getting a sequel was impossible so the fact it did makes me happy, even if the game didn't sell well
Excellent video, and shoutsout to the huge amount of work and research you clearly put into this.
you guys have no idea how many chills I get everytime I listen to Simple and Clean
Dragon Quest ⚔and Space Invaders! 👾
I was slightly sad no Xenogears was referenced but it makes sense as a single game.
Great video bro, rpgs have been my favorite genre since the late 80s and this is good content regarding my favorite genre. Appreciated, I was already subbed but liked and commented for the almighty algo.
Great video! Tho I'm kinda surprised you skipped over games like Vagrant Story and Threads of fate. Even tho they're both dead and one off games, they were hugely influential to how SE moved forward with how games were developed.
One off games, by definition, are not a series, and aren’t eligible for this list. This video would be 12 hours long if every new franchise was covered here!
You should do the the current state of every EA franchise, I could use a good cry.😢
I freaking love Parasite Eve. It's kind of one of my personal...Christmas movies, I guess??? Seriously the original & club remixes of the OST go on in December in heavy rotation in my house, & I revisit content around the first game (I'm temporarily unable to play games). I know it sounds odd but PE gives me Christmas Cozy.
57:38 lol that fire joke is more layered than this video frame; good stuff.
Well... The game history happens during Christmas time, so you're not wrong lmao
i have so many criticisms of squenix and how they've fumbled the vast majority of their decisions for about 15 years now. but i'm forever grateful for final fantasy and the stories i cherish to this day
Please someone help me. What's the music at 32:00 ???
Just Cause is an action franchise that uses humour and action movie tropes to tell the story. My favourite is the third game.
Yet another great video, though I am admittedly sad you didn't cover some of Eidos' other series (mostly because they have a big legacy with Squenix at this point, even if they'll continue without them). Also, Live-A-Live could possibly be argued to have gotten a spot now right...? I mean TECHNICALLY it now has more than one game (they're the exact same game but shhh).
Now one big thing I'm excited about is the recent announcement from Squenix that they're looking at some series to promote to Triple A status... And in all honesty, with that recent Mana announcement, I think the Mana series will be the first (deservingly so).
Another thing I hope for is that in the future Paranormasight becomes a franchise, as Squenix barely dabbles into visual novel games and that one is fantastic and the most likely to become a proper franchise. Sad it couldn't be featured here, but also makes sense.
Well, that's the end of my ramble honestly. Have a good one, great video.
Half way into the video and absolutely enjoying it, learned some a lot of new and interesting stuff too, Square Enix really are the Kings of the JRPG Genre, I love how Visions of Mana got announced at the Game Awards while this video was scheduled to premiere and I’m really excited for that and FF7 Rebirth.
FFVII Rebirth looks godawful, though. FFVIIR is pretty much just a really expensive train wreck propelled by nostalgia.
@AnaverdGaiden It's okay for people to like things you don't like, man.
@@rangedfighter2663It's also okay to disagree with someone regarding crappy overrated games.
@@AnaverdGaiden I mean sure I get it. But there's plenty of other Videos or comments. Of people not liking the game. Why not converse with them? Why go out of your way to state your opinion?
Because the guy happens to like the game And is excited about it. It's just weird.
@@AnaverdGaiden Let me guess you're excited about reload
Chrono Trigger is the goat
I love KH 2 FM SO MUCH!!!!!!!!
FFIX is amazing!!!
Nier Automata is Fantastic
Star Ocean 2nd Story slaps hard
Bravely default is one best on 3ds
Dragon quest is the reason any of this stuff exists
I respect your opinion, but in my eyes, Dragon Quest will always be the GOAT. Literally the entire reason why the RPG genre even exists. I'm not even a huge fan of the series (Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts fanatic here) yet even I have to recognize the sheer impact it had on the world of video games
Also based for being a Bravely Default enjoyer
I actually would put Life is Strange in the Flagship franchise. It taps into an audience that Square Enix hasnt hit whatsoever.
So is mana a flagship now?
More like a mainstay
Hope this doesn't come off crass, but you're missing a franchise. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_a_Groove. AKA Bust A Move was originally an Enix series that is well know SE property. Last game came out in 2000 as Dance Summit 2001: Bust A Move 3.
I'll change my comment if it's addressed, but you went through square's history without even mentioning when it was Square soft (where they helped make Xenosaga and some other games iirc) unless that's what you meant by parent company in which case alright, but hey good video so far
Today I learned, I've owned at least one game from every one of these series, I didn't realize they were square games...
FF 7-8 Squaresoft was prime RPG Gaming period.
Im glad you continue this series of videos, sadly im not gonna watch this one (i commented on this video before the premiere date) because i don’t like square enix. So basically my guess are final fantasy, kingdom hearts & dragon quest are flagship while life is strange & star ocean are in main. All those shovelware rpgs from the hd-2d era and nier are in the its exist section and the rest are on dead or life support.
By the way i think you need to do a video on snk or tecmo or arc system works.
21:11 Guys what's the name of this song?
Man... that Octopath music hits so hard. Thanks for reminding me.
I always thought Graffiti Kingdom would work great on the Wii U. Shame they never continued with the series.
I think Life is Strange may be a flagship, not just a mainstay.
I know it's popular and all but I honestly forgot it was even made by Square Enix
Square only owns the series and didn't contribute anything
Square Enix, king of RPG, broke the mold when they made Kingdom Hearts, real cultural phoenomanon shit right there, KH2 is one of the greatest video games ever made. I'm really excited to dip my toes into other games like Final Fantasy, Mana, Bravely, Various Daylife... theres lots of good stuff is what I'm saying.
You should be VERY excited when it comes to playing Final Fantasy, especially VII onwards
Of course Squeenix sold Deus Ex. They can't be bothered to fund quality games outside of their core Japanese franchises, so we got Mankind Divided and it's mid-plot ending.
No, seriously, I thought I was only halfway through the game when I beat it. And I did all the side content.
It’s fine with me if Square Enix puts everything aside to allocate all their resources into Octopath Traveler.
Small correction: Chaos Rings III is still available on Google Play and the App Store.
Oh man, I used to play Gex back in the day when I was a kid. That brings back memories.
can't believe you forgot the one thing i was waiting for, while still being so thorough, and that was the soul blazer trilogy from quintet published by enix back in the day
I feel like the Darius franchise pretty much concluded with Chronicle Saviours. And Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission was one of the most surprising comebacks I've ever seen lately. Then again, last year we were greeted with Sol Cresta, the finale of the Terra Cresta series, and Aleste Branch is on the way, so... Not to mention we also got Contra: Operation Galuga coming next year as well.
I would argue Darius series ended at Dariusburst (2009). Another Chronicle which came out after this is more of the same with some new features. Chronicle Saviours is more of a complete package that contains everything from previous two entries and they added DLC ships too
Yeah, but Chronicle Saviours includes the CS Mode, which culminates in a definitive final battle against Gigantic Bite (unless you're a perfectionist and would beat every area in the game, including the bonus area Kyokkuho).@@QF_Dan72
Maybe a knitpick but Space Invaders at the top tier seems weird to me? I feel like maybe it should be one column down just because I don't really see an active space Invaders community today? If I'm wrong though I'd definitely be interested in exploring it further. It's a fun game but so simple too. I'd love to see innovations on it.
These videos are gold. Thank you so much for the trip down memory lane. Tobal was the first PS game I played 🥲
Im pretty sure Grafitti Kingdom haa a fairly succesful phone game currently running in japan
great video!
RIP to all the games without Sequels
Poor, poor Dungeon Siege... Easily the most brutal way to go out of everything else on here.
Its fate alone would honestly justify the creation of a "Fate Worse Than Death" tier below Dead or Finished if you ask me.
Chaos Rings is crazy underrated and TWEWY is my personal favorite square franchise
Final Fantasy VIII was my first Final Fantasy, and RPG. I actually got better at reading because of how text heavy the game was compared to other games. Id agree VIII and IX are far better.
Long Story Short:
Dragon Quest: Great!
Mana: Great!
Bravely Default: Great!
Octopath Traveler: Great!
Final Fantasy: Dead
3:38 Not sure why the box art for DragonSlayer shows up when it was made by Nihon Falcom. It even says in the top right corner.
On a different note, I've always imagined Sora encountering 2B in one of the worlds he visits or her world.
Actually, would I even want that? Sora is a cinnamon roll after all...
It’s Square Enix’s loss now cuz now that Tomb Raider is under Embracer Group we finally got the Remaster collection coming next month and it has already been preordered numerous times with it also being the highest preorder game on GOG which is kinda like a Steam store of sorts and ever since new details were revealed the number of preorders has only increased across all platforms. Both Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics said that there wasn’t a market for Tomb Raider remasters but how wrong they were when Embracer gave the project to Aspyr. If the Remasters sell well which they probably will since they have a lot packed into them for a only a $30 package with stuff like the Gold expansions for all 3 games, 200+ achievements on PC, PS, and Xbox, a new photo mode, as well as both classic and modern control schemes just to name a few Square Enix will probably be kicking themselves once the remasters sell well and make a lot of money cuz these didn’t cost a whole lot of money to make.
You can practically split FF7 away from Final Fantasy as its own franchise. It's crazy how this entry alone has more games made than most of the IPs on this list. It even has a damn movie.
The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is such a trip, I enjoyed Crisis Core Reunion.
Can we please stop that elitist nonsense?
they're all FF all taking things from the ones that came before in many ways while evolving the franchise forward to what the devs feel like they want to work on next
these amazing games are all built on the backs of what came before in dozens and dozens of ways in fact there are ALWAYS as much similarities than diffrences in each FF title and none is an exeption from this
Ikr, it's wild how a single entry from an already massive franchise managed to split itself off from the rest of the franchise and essentially became it's own thing
Even a few books too.
RIP the one game wonders Einhander and Racing Lagoon
It's a shame that FF has veered further and further away from turn based combat over the years. I'd like to believe that the poor sales of 16 will have them rethink the direction they've taken the franchise, but i'm not holding by breath.
"Poor" sales? 16 sold a LOT, specially for being a PS5 exclusive. You probably are basing this on a interview that was misdirected/mistranslated were it was said that 16 sold "less than the expectations", but in reality what was said was that FFXVI sold less than the "higher" expectations of SE, but more than the "normal" one. Selling the "normal" expectations it's a success, even if they sold the "lower" amount it would still be a success (but it would be the minimum amount). So yeah, FFXVI sold pretty well.
I'll settle for veering away from designing their game to look like The Witcher.
As much as I'd love to see a return to turn-based FF, I can see why they can no longer return to that genre. There's an excellent and amazing video by a RUclipsr named Repaduski that explains why Final Fantasy can't be turn-based anymore. Also, XVI absolutely did NOT fail. What even made you think that? The fact that it didn't get a GOTY nominee like FFVII Remake?
Sega Saturn's Dragon force 1 and 2 were the RTS games that i love but i never hear much about them anymore. tho not many people know about it despite a Band having the same name as the game. -_-
1:13:05 - 1:13:29 2B truly saved this franchise 😮😮
NieR automata is underrated
Best story and music
Good and fun gameplay
Best design and art style
And ending E is a masterpiece
I would also say your intro, if we included japan rpgs. Falcom for pc is as well known as square. They have a treasuretrove of pc only rpgs.
Btw. Japan has a dragon quest amusement park the size of Disneyland. No final fantasy has that
No mention of the Soul blazer trilogy?
It was really funny reading the last minute edits you made for the Mana series.
Weird that you didn't include Threads of Fate or Ehergiz when there were articles about both having anniversaries and SE doing nothing.