Summary
- Square Enix took risks with experimental games throughout the years, some of which remain relatively unknown.
- SquareSoft developed Aliens: Alien 2 for MSX, featuring Ripley fighting Xenomorph bosses.
- Square Enix's diverse and lesser-known catalog includes games like Another Mind, Blue Wing Blitz, and Nameless Game.
Enix started in 1975, while SquareSoft began business in 1986. They both had small beginnings, but with time, they created their two biggest franchises: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. They were big alone, but became even bigger when they merged in 2003 to create Square Enix.
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With their combined catalog, Square Enix has had an impressive few decades of highs and lows. Their willingness to experiment is commendable, as not every gamble paid off and reached the heights of Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. So today, let’s salute those weird titles and remember the forgotten that even diehards may not know about, and wonder if they are worth seeking out today.
This list will include Enix, SquareSoft, and Square Enix games.
8 Aliens: Alien 2
Bigger Than Life
Aliens: Alien 2
- Released
- January 1, 1987
- Developer(s)
- Square Co.
- Publisher(s)
- Square Co.
- Genre(s)
- Action, Side-scroller
- Platform(s)
- MSX
SquareSoft developed many games for the MSX computer in Japan, including Aliens: Alien 2. It’s a bit of a redundant name, but the game is based on the sequel and features Ripley tearing through Facehuggers and other creatures through side-scrolling levels.
Players will have to fight several Xenomorph bosses, too, that are much larger than Ripley’s sprite, making them appear even more menacing. It’s just wild to think that a game based on a Western franchise, Alien, could have exclusive titles in Japan.
7 Another Mind
Live From Your Head, It’s A Mystery!
- Developer: Square
- Publisher: Square
- Released: November 12, 1998 (Japan)
- Platform: PS1
Another Mind was an adventure game made for the PS1 by SquareSoft. The interesting bit was that it used live-action graphics, mostly through photos, to tell its odd tale. After a car crash, players woke up to discover a new entity in their brain, and the game revolved around uncovering this mystery.
The adventure game genre is huge in Japan, so some other notable ones that used live-action sets include Murder on the Eurasia Express from Enix on the PS1 and Love Story on the PS2, also from Enix. These are just the tips of the iceberg.
6 Blue Wing Blitz
Plane-Based Tactics
- Developer: Square
- Publisher: Square
- Released: July 5, 2001(Japan)
- Platform: WonderSwan Color
Square Enix’s tactical mech-based RPG series, Front Mission, has many games that remain relatively unknown in the West, including Front Mission Alternative and Front Mission: Gun Hazzard. However, there is an even more obscure tactical RPG that used vehicles that SquareSoft developed for the WonderSwan Color, a Japanese-only portable, called Blue Wing Blitz.
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Instead of mechs, players moved around the battlefield with planes and other aircraft that were just as engaging to play, albeit on a smaller scale. Wild Card is another WonderSwan Color game from them, as SquareSoft overall was quite the supporter of the handheld.
5 Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Mario’s Other Square Enix Venture
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
- Released
- September 11, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Sports
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was a collaboration between Nintendo and SquareSoft, who gave Mario his first RPG. Many fans probably don’t know that Square Enix did make more Mario games, but they just weren’t strictly RPGs.
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 was a basketball game with many familiar faces from Browser to Princess Peach, along with some Square Enix characters. Players could play as Moogles and various mages with tons of specials to help the basketball-based gameplay become more frantic. This was followed up by Mario Sports Mix on the Wii.
4 Nameless Game
A Unique Horror Game
Nanashi no Game
- Released
- July 3, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Epics
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
Nameless Game was published by Square Enix, and it featured one of the oddest gameplay combos in a horror game for the DS. Most of the game will look familiar to horror fans as it takes place in first-person, giving players various creepy environments to explore for items.
There was also an in-game RPG that was bright, colorful, and looked like something from the NES era. This game was reportedly haunted, and players had to switch between these perspectives to solve the mystery. It also received a sequel on the DS, but none of these games left Japan.
3 Nankoku Shonen Papuwa-kun
Platform Action Straight From The Comics
- Developer: Daft
- Publisher: Enix
- Released: March 25, 1994 (Japan)
- Platform: SNES
Nankoku Shonen Papuwa-kun is the name of a manga published by Enix in Japan, which also received a game by the same name on SNES. Even though it was released only in Japanese, it’s a relatively easy action platformer to pick up and play.
It has a uniquely bright art style, and the character sprites sometimes look like they are made out of clay. It’s also just extremely weird, as the source material is a comedy series by trade.
2 Rise Of Mana
Hiding On Mobile
- Developer: Goshow
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Released: March 6, 2014 (iOS, Japan)
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PS Vita
Rise of Mana is the only relatively big franchise on the list, and it’s the one Mana game that Western fans have been dying to play for a literal decade. It was originally released as a mobile game in 2014 before getting a port to the PS Vita in 2015.
Like most Mana games, this game featured action-based gameplay and even co-op. Plus, it was free to play, which meant it had some gacha-based mechanics, but they weren’t that egregious compared to other free-to-play models.
1 Square's Tom Sawyer
Will Never See The Light Of Day Again
Square's Tom Sawyer
- Released
- March 19, 1989
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Square Co.
- Publisher(s)
- Square
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Square's Tom Sawyer is probably never going to see the light of day again. It’s another game based on a Western property, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was a late 1800s novel that most have heard of. They probably had no idea SquareSoft made a turn-based RPG loosely based on the novel, though.
What makes it problematic today is sort of what makes it sketchy to read nowadays due to racial depictions. Square Enix could re-release it with some sprite changes, but that may be too much work for them on a product they may not see a lot of value in nowadays.
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