Square Enix is a major entertainment company that develops and distributes video games, manga, and anime. Their corporate philosophy is to spread happiness through unforgettable experiences. They aim to authentically share Japanese culture and values through their creative works across multiple mediums. Square Enix blends visual art, music, and gameplay that reflect Japanese aesthetics and storytelling traditions to engage audiences worldwide.
3. “develops,
publishes, and
distributes
entertainment
content including
interactive
entertainment
software and
publications in Asia,
North America and
Europe.”
4. As a major company, Square-Enix’s corporate
philosophy which guides its company’s
functions is as follows:
“To spread happiness across the globe by providing
unforgettable experiences.
This philosophy represents our company’s mission
and the beliefs for which we stand.”
Therefore, as a company, Square Enix
successfully blends various arts to express
Japanese culture to the world in an effort to bring
wholesome entertainment to the masses.
5. The company has made guidelines to abide by in
order to fulfill their philosophy while achieving
their corporate goals.
They endeavour to provide a high level of
professionalism while also providing a continual
open ended opportunity for innovative creativity
in the arts while maintaining a harmony in how
these areas come together.
These guidelines directly reflect Japanese cultural
values.
6. Square Enix has a particular strategy they use to produce entertainment.
Their vision is to create “polymorphic content”.
This means that the company aims to “form original ideas without being
restricted by the notions of hardware or media, and to deliver these
ideas via consoles, online gaming, mobile gaming, or DVD.” (see
bottom right for chart)
An example of
polymorphic
content is
Square Enix’s
Fullmetal
Alchemist
manga series,
which has been
developed into
two televsion
anime series,
video games,
several novels,
and a movie.
8. “Creating a game requires more than just blood, sweat
and tears. Every area of a game is heavily influenced
by the culture that produced it, whether it be the
visuals, the musical scoring, or even important
aspects of the game play.” -Kurt Kalata
As the quote states, Square Enix’s media cannot avoid heavy cultural influences.
Whether it be their visuals, musical scoring, or gameplay, Square Enix’s
Japanese culture is revealed and shared in their media.
Visuals Musical Scoring Game play
9. Square Enix’s graphics are consistent with Japanese culture. As other Japanese
games, Square Enix’s graphics are characterized by having bright, colourful and
different art styles.
This may be due to the fact that Japan is a very visually oriented country. Text,
artwork, and huge headlines are everywhere. Historically, the classic Kabuki
theatre has always been enjoyed because of the ornate and visual individuals.
Even Japan’s writing system is based on pictographs.
Advertisements Kabuki Theatre Japanese Pictograph
10. Another reason why Square Enix’s graphics are so ornate may be because of this:
"I think a lot of the bright, cartoonish visual look in many Japanese games is
a result of the strong culture of anime cartoons and manga comic books we
have in Japan" –Hiroyuki Kobuyashi (producer of Resident Evil 4)
Anime and manga often have bright and colourful visuals. Since anime and manga are such a
part of Japanese culture, it is natural for Square Enix to create games with those
characteristics as well.
Technologically, Square Enix is a leader in the world when it comes to graphics. As a company
they always strive to make their graphics better as technology advances. This reflects the
Japanese paradigm of having a hard work ethic that result in high expectations for success.
11. Square Enix has placed importance on appropriate theme
music to their media. There has been an incredible
reception to Square Enix musical scores. The Final
Fantasy Series is a prime example of this.
Nobuo Uematsu has gained global recognition
for scoring the majority of the Final Fantasy
series. He left Square Enix in 2004, however,
his impact was so large that there have been
concerts of his Final Fantasy musical scores
until this day.
For example, Distant Worlds: music from FINAL
FANTASY tours internationally.
Uematsu’s music are based on the plots and
scenarios of the game. These Japanese plots
have the certain characteristics that represent
the culture.
Music: Final Fantasy X’s “To I will be attending a Distant Worlds concert in Vancouver
Zanarkand” that’s on July 27th at the Orpheum Theatre. The musical score is
performed in Distant a primary reason why I have enjoyed the Final Fantasy
Worlds-> Series.
12. Besides providing live performances, Square Enix has provided other means for fans to
enjoy their culture through their music.
There have been original soundtracks produced for most of their Role-Playing Games
(RPGs). In some series, there has been “Piano Collections” produced.
Both Final Fantasy and the Kingdom Hearts series have produced “Piano Collections”.
Click to compare Final Fantasy VIII’s “Blue Fields-Piano Collections
(which is playing) to “Blue Fields-Original Soundtrack
Click to compare Kingdom Hearts 2’s theme song: Hikari (By Utada Hikaru)
to the orchestral version featured in the beginning of the game
Final Fantasy VIII Kingdom Hearts Utada Hikaru
13. Whenever I hear or play music from a
Final Fantasy game I played, it brings a
memory and a strong emotional tie to
the scenario or character the music
represents.
In newer Final Fantasy games, they have
developed theme songs with Japanese
lyrics. (Ex: “Tsuki no Akari” , Final
Fantasy IV’s “Theme of Love” )
Even though I cannot fully understand
the words, I still can understand the
emotion that is being communicated.
Click: “Tsuki no Akari” Music Video
By Ida Emi
In conclusion to Square Enix’s musical scores, they break the language
barrier between Japanese and English. The same emotions can be felt by
a Japanese gamer and a Canadian gamer.
Square Enix has successfully incorporated their music into their games
and other media. This has caused Japan’s culture regarding music to be
shared internationally.
14. Culturally speaking, Japanese culture is firmly rooted in wet-rice
agriculture and its status as an island nation," says Inafune.
"Japanese want to be able to plan, they want to have guidance,
they want to have focus. To put it simply, Japanese people feel
uncomfortable with the unknown and not understanding the
future.- Keiji Inafune
Final Fantasy XIII Battle mode Chrono Trigger Battle Mode
Square Enix represents this philosophy. Often their developers fix the camera angles so
there’s a better cinematic presentation, and ultimately, so they control the gamer’s
experience.
It goes back to the philosophy of fearing the unknown. There’s also a security in knowing
that something will happen next in Square Enix games.
15. Square Enix allows people to have a glimpse of
what the Japanese culture is.
The world benefits from Japanese visual art and
music.
Square Enix successfully blends arts like game
play, music, and visual arts in their media.
Square Enix has gone past language barriers and
still been able to affectively communicate
through other means
I have enjoyed various Square Enix works and I
appreciate the talent it takes to create their
media.
16. 1UP GAMES. 1UP Specials: Nobuo Uematsu 1/3. 15 February 2008. 14 July 2011
<http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/17535>.
EUROGAMER. Square Peg, European Hole Interview. 16 July 2004. 8 July 2011
<http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_squareenix_july04 >.
Final Fantasy Wiki. Music of Final Fantasy. 20 June 2011. 16 July 2011
<http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Music_of_Final_Fantasy>.
Lowe, John. SQUARE-ENIX’ SUCCESS AND AAA TRIANGLE ANALYSIS. 2005-2011. 8
July 2011 <http://www.ivoryresearch.com/john-lowe.php >.
SQUARE ENIX CO. LTD. Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds. 2011. 14 July 2011
<ttp://www.ffdistantworlds.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id
=46&Itemid=54 >.
SQUARE ENIX CO. LTD. Company Info. 2010. 8 July 2011 <http://www.square-
enix.com/na/company/infomation/>.
Square Enix Holdings CO., LTD. Digital Entertainment. 2011. 15 July 2011
<http://www.square-enix.com/eng/group/digitalentertainment.html>.
SQUARE ENIX MUSIC. SQUAREENIXMUSIC.COM. 2006-2010. 14 July 2011
<http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/uematsu/index.shtml>.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nobuo Uematsu. 7 July 2011. 14 July 2011
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuo_Uematsu >.
all photos from google, all game covers by Square Enix
