Neither of the two sagas occupy the top two positions, regardless of the list we use, which tells us that the trend is different on Steam.
When we talk about great Japanese RPG sagas and mention Square Enix, we usually think of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. At least in most cases. However, as many of you already know, the Japanese giant has other big, equally powerful franchises, as in the case of Star Ocean.
Interestingly, when we check Steam user ratings, we find a very interesting reality: the developer’s best game isn’t Final Fantasy. It’s not Dragon Quest either. No. Among recent releases (since 2021, especially if we take role-playing games as a benchmark), Star Ocean The Second Story R, released in 2023, has the highest rating.
Square Enix’s best JRPGs on Steam
Does this mean the developer has reached its peak with its most iconic franchises?, at least as far as consumer criticism is concerned? Well, it could be, because as we continue to dig into the topic, we realize that the only Final Fantasy that manages to reach or exceed 90% ratings is remakes o ports from his most famous classics. To illustrate this, I want to present to you a list with the ratings of their latest games on Steam, that is, based on positive and negative comments from people.
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (2021) – 89%
- Bravely Default II (2021) – 82%
- Saga Frontier (2021) – 92%
- Legend of Mana (2021) – 80%
- Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster (2021) – 94%
- Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster (2021) – 79%
- Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster (2021) – 93%
- Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster (2021) – 90%
- Final Fantasy Pixel V Remaster (2021) – 87%
- Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaste (2021) – 90%
- Babylon Fall (2022) – Removed from store
- Triangle Strategy (2022 on PC) – 79%
- Alien from Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022) – 85%
- Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition (2022) – 62%
- Live A Live (2023 on PC) – 89%
- Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden (2022) – 81%
- Different Daily Life (2022) – 33%
- The Diafield Chronicle (2022) – 48%
- Valkyrie Elysium (2022) – 60%
- Star Ocean: The Divine Force (2022) – 68%
- Harvestella (2022) – 78%
- Tactics Ogre: Reborn (2022) – 74%
- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (2022) – 90%
- Predicted (2023) – 54%
- Octopath Traveler II (2023) – 95%
- Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai – Infinity Strash (2023) – 42%
- Star Ocean The Second Story R (2023) – 96%
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (2023) – 55%
- Dragon Quest Treasures (2023 on PC) – 75%
I’ve highlighted the ones that have over 90%, highlighting two in particular: Star Ocean The second story of R in Octopath Traveler II. This should be done very carefully Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster, with 94%. This leaves us with some very interesting conclusions. For starters, according to the PC and Steam community, Square Enix’s best recent game isn’t Final Fantasy.
It’s a bit of a shock since we’re talking about his most famous franchise, especially now that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is on everyone’s lips and that Final Fantasy XVI is starting to rear its head on PC. And while it’s clear that popularity can work against you if you approach yourself more publicly mainstream, still interesting. All the more so whoever is on the first place, that remake a classic saga not as well known in the West.
That’s not to say that Star Ocean is completely unknown, but it clearly doesn’t have the media clout that FF does. It also stands out that the other is Octopath Traveler II, Well, it’s a relatively new IP.. By this I do not mean that it is better or worse. Plain and simple, and at least on PC, people have more respect for a saga with less than 10 years of history than a franchise with decades behind it.
Ok, but there are Final Fantasy with more than 90%, a few that achieve that, many others that are close and many others that are well appreciated. Quite true, but what stands out is that almost all of them are remasters. Moreover, isn’t it amazing that there are so many games with these specs? Looking at the list, the only new thing on PC is Intergrade, missing XVI and Rebirth. As if that wasn’t enough, there are plenty of other games with relatively low ratings, which explains (in part) why Square Enix’s sales have been declining over time.
Be that as it may, the ultimate idea behind the title is clear: Square Enix’s best game in years isn’t Final Fantasy. In fact, while the numbers are a bit confusing here because they don’t match what I’ve seen on Steam, the two best games in the developer’s history are Octopath Traveler II with 93.06% Star Ocean The Second Story R with 92.34%, according to Steamdb. If we take this data as a benchmark, taking release date out of the equation, the best Final Fantasy is IX with 91.76%, while Dragon Quest XI comes in fifth with 90.99%.
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