I won't lie to you. Bashing Square is one of my all time favorite things to write about. Consider this the first in a series of Square bashing articles, in which I will be voicing my opinion on when and why the gaming colossus fell from grace. Why pick on them, you say? Three dead simple reasons. The quality of their games have been in a steady decline for some time now. A company such as Square, which has set the high water mark for the RPG genre on several occasions should be held to a higher standard. Then, finally, because I find it both amusing and fun.

There will be vitriol. There will be spite. There will not be mercy. But throughout this article, please keep in mind that this is, after all, only my opinion.

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What happened to Final Fantasy? Oh, I don't mean the Final Fantasy we have today, I mean the classic Final Fantasy of that rose colored yesteryear. Specifically, what happened to the standard of the JRPG? Turn based menu styled fighting. Square used to be the masters of that particular niche... and then.... something happened.

Final Fantasy used to be all about the old school menu driven turn based approach. Some might say that it still is, but I rather vehemently disagree. You see, one day, Final Fantasy VI was released. Don't get me wrong. Final Fantasy VI is and always will be a classic in it's own right. But it presented an unprecedented paradigm shift in how Square would make future installments of Final Fantasy. It introduced the Active Time Battle. Now you not only had to choose your attack options, but you had to do so in a given timed order, or else the enemy would start attacking again. Not that bad, really. It added a little additional pressure to battles and there's nothing wrong with that. Final Fantasy VI also introduced the advent of direct input techniques for certain characters, such as Sabin's Martial Arts, Setzer's slots, and Cyan's sword techniques. Again, innocent and harmless, right? Just another way to get the player more into the game.

Ha! If only we had known.

With each new installment in the series, Square repeatedly changes the recipe. They slowly evolve the time tested menu driven system to an action oriented one. From advanced direct input techniques in VII to the active boosting of Summons in VIII to the full on removal of turned based systems in XII... Square's intent is clear. Final Fantasy is slowly being morphed from a classic menu driven RPG to an action RPG setup. It's a cool and calculated move, one nefarious step at a time, but the end result is obvious. Here's the kicker. I'm okay with that. I have no problem with Final Fantasy becoming an action RPG- but for one thing....

Square already has an action RPG series. It's called Seiken Densetsu, and it's being pushed out. Square has its new action RPG, and it doesn't feel that it needs another, so Seiken Densetsu, known to many as Secret of Mana, is being rather unceremoniously shown the door. The loss of this series hurts me greatly.

Secret of Mana has always been a very rich and well formed universe in it's own right. It owes very little to the showboat Final Fantasy series, instead drawing upon a wealth of individualism to it's own unique feel. A Secret of Mana game is unmistakably a Secret of Mana game. From the moment you pick one up, you can tell the difference.

Or at least.. you used to.

You see, as Final Fantasy continued to encroach on Secret of Mana's territory, Square had to do something. In their infinite "wisdom", the course of action they chose was to morph Secret of Mana into some other genre, the way they had successfully morphed Final Fantasy. The problem is, they had no clue what genre to aim for. This has led to a series of aberrations that should make even the most novice to the series cry. It started off adapting the series to 3D and reworking it using the Havok system. That failed miserably. Gamers wanted their classic 2D action gaming with the lush and unforgettable enemies and environs. Imagine that. It also didn't help that the game mechanics were poorly designed and missing that signature Squaresoft polish. It comes as no real shock. Square was too busy turning Final Fantasy into Secret of Mana to be bothered making the next Secret of Mana... y'know... good.

Then came a series of blunders. A Dungeon Crawler, an RTS. Seemingly Square wanted Seiken Densetsu to become anything, just so long as it wasn't Seiken Densetsu. Then came the announcement. Due to poor sales, the Seiken Densetsu series would not be made again.

Due to poor sales?

It certainly is hard to imagine that fans of one of the most beautifully conceived action RPG series wouldn't be absolutely thrilled to see their beloved series being pimped out as everything this side of a real time dating sim. Why it's unbelievable to think that they wouldn't go right out and say, "Well, I loved the formula and though all I ask for is more of the same goodness I've been given, sure. I'll go out and buy a real time strategy version, even though I don't care for RTS and the entire feel of the series has been completely changed. Hell, it still has Rabites in it, and therefore it must be Secret of Mana-ish enough for me!"

I lament the shelving of any series before its time, but the cancellation of a masterpiece before it hit its stride is unforgivable. And the fact that its death comes at the hands of its own creators against the express wishes of the fandom is treasonous.

I raise a glass to you, Secret of Mana. I toast to you in loss.

No more Sprites.
No more Mana Spirits.
No more weapon upgrading and leveling.
No more Item Rings.
No more Rabites.
No more Chobin Hoods.
No more Ballooning.
No more Tomato Man.

I raise a glass to you, Seiken Densetsu, and recall memories bittersweet.

You deserved better than the end you received.