I have been waiting for a long time to write this thing, but didn't get any nice ways to compare them. Now, I have just decided to note down the TOP NOTCH games of both here, and let it onto you to decide. I know it might sound foolish comparing a legendary developer with a company born out of it.

But anyways, I felt this was the only way for self-realisation of today's Square fans that what their dear company has lost in the merger with Enix. It is Father versus Son.

SQUARESOFT

It basically boils down to this. Without, Squaresoft the RPG genre would not be the same today. There wouldn't have been so many early revolutions in the gaming world without Square.

Even as a basic gamer you can NEVER ignore the legacy of Square's games. Square is the real creator, populariser, revolutioniser and the undisputed king of RPG. Without, it RPG may not have been as famous as it is now. It has created a legion of lifelong fans from it's megahit franchises.

Square's history has been equally like a fairy tale. From measly depths of bankruptcy to the sky high heights of success, Square has seen it all.

Here's a list of the BEST games Square has entertained fans with. There are some few experimental games of Square at the end that I have noted. Whatever let's start with:

FINAL FANTASY I (NES)

RELEASE YEAR : 1987

Without this game, there would BE NO SQUARE. This game alone skyrocketed Square's sinking ship. As the name itself suggests, this was supposed to be the series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's last game after a series of flop games, the SquareSoft was on the verge of bankruptcy. But this was far from his Final game, and the rest is history.

This game initially defined RPG's. Many tried to vainly copy the game's success during that era and failed. This changed people's view on RPG's by giving it such an imaginative story to capture people's attention.

This along with other games like Zelda No Dentetsu and Super Mario. Bros shows that great franchises, were indeed born on NES. This game became hugely popular that the bankrupt-recovered Square decided to try their luck in the overseas market.

But by the time it was released in US, FFII was already selling in Japanese markets. It's story represented the humble beginnings of this series.  Four Warriors of Light must save the light of the four elemental crystals, from the fiends of Chaos.

The story, by today's standards of RPG is way too immature but at that time it was considered innovative.

THE GOLDEN ERA ON SNES

FINAL FANTASY IV ( FFII in US) [SNES]

RELEASE YEAR : 1992

Probably, the series initial breakthrough entry in world gaming, FFIV attracted gamer's attentions with it's unique storyline that revolved around a web of emotion, betrayal, love and hatred. These later on became typical FF plot elements. This game influenced many aspects of future FF games probably, way up to FFIX.

 It's gameplay, the Active Time Battle System (ATB) is familiar with post-FFIV games but this was the first game to use it. Nobuo Uematsu was praised by many gamers for his brilliant soundtrack, but his best was to come.:)

The storyline was considered very mature at that time. Cecil Harvey, FFIV's protagonist also holds the title as the first proper RPG hero.

CHRONO TRIGGER (SNES)

RELEASE YEAR : 1995

Yes, yes! If you are talking of SNES's top games and even the top 2D games, FFVI and Chrono Trigger come to your mind. Chrono Trigger was made by Sakaguchi, Kazuhiko Aoki, Nobuo Uematsu of SquareSoft and Yujii Horii and Akira Toriyama of Enix.

These two RPG giants combined their minds to form a Dream Team, whose mission was the Dream Project. And they made one hell of a dream game at the end of SNES lifecycle, with Chrono Trigger. It was termed by all who played it as 'Next-Gen' probably, due to it's solid graphics. Even today, you will be hard-pressed to find an old 2D game on SNES with graphics better than Chrono.

But, NO! NO! Graphics wasn't all. The gameplay, shunned FF's repetitive random encounters, making this the first ever Action-RPG. Gamers were awed by such wonderful gameplay. And the cherry on the icing was perhaps the best original soundtrack (see Gamespot's TenSpot) except FFVI in a game. Freelance musician Yasunori Mitsuda created magic and became a rival to Uematsu.

By Vivek

FINAL FANTASY VI ( FFIII in US) [SNES]

RELEASE YEAR : 1994

Ah,yes! My personal favorite and it truly deserves a place as one of the best 2D RPG's if not the best 2D games ever. FFVI was a masterpiece in every right. From it's over-the-top powerful, heart-melting story, to brilliant graphics to ONE OF THE BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (See GameSpot's TenSpot of Top Ten Original Soundtracks of all Time : Reader's Choice).

People including myself play this game just to listen to it's great soundtrack. It's opera soundtrack Aria di Mezza Caraterre was praised by even some opera afficionados as a delightfully emotional soundtrack. It's overworld music  IS THE BEST and I mean it. Whatever, FFVI quintessentially represented the pinnacle of the RPG and the series. You will not find a BETTER 2D RPG than FFVI and I am serious.

AH! It's now all those FF fans favorite TIME!

THE GOLDEN ERA ON PS ONE

FINAL FANTASY VII (PS)

RELEASE YEAR : 1997

The iconic era of RPG begins. FFVII may not be the best game in the series today but it has influenced the mainstream console RPG's to venture outside Japan. People who had never owned a console before, bought PS and FFVII and fell for it. At that time, FFVII's now outdated graphics were considered to be light years ahead. And it probably holds true in some rights. Those who had never played the previous Nintendo/Square RPG's found this wonderful.

It had a complex storyline, probably too complex, but people liked it, and what people like becomes famous and well, FFVII is now an icon.....:shock:

FINAL FANTASY VIII (PS)

RELEASE YEAR : 1999

After reading the above, FFVIII was a great game and it though departed from the basic fantasy setting felt much more like Final Fantasy than FFVII ever had. It has had one of the most complex story surrounding around relationships between two opposites, a highly complex and intriguing protagonist, plus a plot to save the world in not the simple way.

Graphically, FFVIII was the best thing to happen on PS. Even, MGS graphics looked weak against the highly polished FMV's of FFVIII. It's soundtrack was so emotionally touching and always seemed to appear at the places in the game, which always made me cry. Hands Down, the best FF ever.

By Ajay.

FINAL FANTASY IX (PS)

RELEASE YEAR : 2000

In the fight between, FFVII and FFVIII, it was FFIX that suffered the most. What was one of the most underrated RPG titles, FFIX certainly deserved more, and it pains me even today to know that no one considers this the best FF game. I know deep down that FFVII and FFVIII are A WHOLE LOT better, but FFIX deserves more. It had a wonderfully constructe, epic storyline that revolved around a faction of thieves of which Zidane Tribal, the protagonist is a part of.

This took FF back to the old days, of castles and medieval towns unlike FFVII and FFVIII( even FFVI). It had very neatly designed characters and graphically this was the most artistic one probably, next to Chrono Cross.

Vivek

THE TREMENDOUS TRIO

XENOGEARS

Xenogears maintains a 90% ratio on Game Rankings, and within the top 15 best reviewed games on the PS. However, it remains a critically divisive title with some, even years after its initial release. Many praise the game's storyline, with its discussions of Religion,psychology , and religion Also popular is the multitude of references to religious terms and well known science fiction films such Star Wars and Soylent Greens as well as praise for its innovative combat system. Some of the noted flaws from critics include the overabundance of cutscenes, an excessively high frequency of random battles, and Linear gameplay. A notable criticism is the ****of the second disc, where the use of the world map is restricted and the amount of cut scenes increases

Courtesy to Wikipedia

FINAL FANTASY TACTICS (PS)

RELEASE YEAR : 1998

Final Fantasy Tactics received positive reviews upon its release, and critical opinion of the game has improved further over time.IGN  awarded the game the Editor's Choice Award on 1998, praising the in-game graphics as "amazing" and the battle environments with its extra details as being "extremely well designed". The spells and summoning visuals were compared with Final Fantasy VII 's detailed graphics.[ Gamespot lauded the game's battle sequences as challenging and requiring more strategy making than ordinary RPGs; they found this a welcomed element that deviated from the countless enemy encounters featured in typical Japanese RPGs.[ The intricate plot was also the strength of the game as reviewers found it to be more in-depth, with numerous plot twists. Even during battle sequences, the story unfolds to create a serious atmosphere of the plot, even with simple and "cute" character

Courtesy to Wikipedia

VAGRANT STORY (PS)

RELEASE YEAR : 2000

The dark horse of Square's genious creations was the almost unknown release of the 2000's Vagrant Story. No action RPG has achieved a level of complexity and detail and still has maintained it's head like Vagrant Story does. Read more in my review on Vagrant Story. (Aaargh! Hyperlinking is damn confusing). People said that it's graphics resembled MGS andit is probably true but despite the low production rates, Vagrant Story rocked!

CHRONO CROSS (PS)

RELEASE YEAR: 2000

Chrono Cross sold 850,000 and 650,000 units in Japan and the United States respectively It was re-released once in the United States as a Greatest Hits title and again as part of the Japanese Ultimate Hits PS series. Critics praised the game's complex plot, innovative battle system, varied characters, moving score, vibrant graphics, and success in breaking convention with its predecessor.[ Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Chrono Cross a Gold Award, scoring it 10/10/9.5 in their three reviewer format.[ GameSpot  awarded the game a perfect ten , one of four in nearly 1,100 games, and its Console Game of the Year Award for 2000.[ Famitsu rated the game 36 out of 40 from four reviewers. As of August 2006, Rotten Tomatoes and Game Rankings  rate Chrono Cross at 92% One review held that Chrono Cross crossed mediums to "artistic interactive storytelling."

In terms of negative criticism, reviewers claimed that the game's flaws were its vague ending, confusing plot elements and narrative pacing problemsFan reaction was largely positive though certain Chrono Trigger fans were disappointed that Chrono Cross broke convention in featuring a new cast-with more characters and fewer double and triple techs

cOURTESY TO Wikipedia

FINAL FANTASY X (PS2)

RELEASE YEAR: 2001

Both Japanese and western critics have generally given Final Fantasy X high scores, with the game attaining a 92/100 "universal score" according to Metacritic .[ A leading Japanese video game magazine,Famitsu, awarded the game a near-perfect 39/40 score while readers of the same magazine voted it the best game of all time in early 2006.[ Another leading Japanese gaming magazine, The Play Station, gave the game a score of 29/30

As part of their reviews, Famitsu and The Play Station expressed particularly favorable responses toward the game's storyline and graphicsthe website offered extensive praise for the game's innovations in gameplay, particularly with regard to the revised summon magic system, the option to change party members during battle, and what they felt were more efficient character development and inventory management systems. Offering additional praise for the game's graphics, which they suggested "improves on its predecessors in every area possible", they commented that the game as a whole was "the best-looking game of the series [and] arguably the best-playing as well" at the time of release.

cOURTESY TO wIKIPEDIA