Part 8/11:
However, a shift occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the development of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy titles like X. Neon criticizes the industry’s over-reliance on remakes and nostalgia, noting that since Final Fantasy X-2, the original Squaresoft spirit seems to have faded. Since then, major franchises like Kingdom Hearts have become franchise anchors, and innovation has largely given way to rehashes.
He further points out that the financial disaster of the Final Fantasy movie—costing Square Enix dearly—severely impacted their risk-taking and creative freedom. The company has been trapped in a cycle of re-releases and nostalgic callbacks, neglecting the risk-taking and innovation that marked their golden era.