Diving headfirst into a gaming world and getting lost in it is, hands down, my favorite hobby. Living one fantastic story after another is an indescribable feeling, hence my love for JRPGs, and something I intend to keep doing until I can no longer hold a game controller.
However, despite all the playfulness and artistry that gaming has, games are still products. And when there’s a product involved, there’s money, audience, company, shareholders, and ultimately, capitalism with all its baggage.
Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in this industry. For every blockbuster that hogs the spotlight, there are probably dozens of flops in the background – many of which the public never even hears about.
In today’s piece, I want to talk about the most disappointing Square Enix game cancellations, from titles people didn’t even know were scrapped to some that never made it past concept but would’ve been incredible had they been released.
11
Gun Loco
Estás Loca, Square Enix
Personally, Gun Loco never had a pitch that really grabbed me. I’ve always been a fan of Square Enix for their RPGs, so a third-person shooter with online multiplayer components just didn’t appeal to me.
Still, I found it worth adding Gun Loco to the list to show that Square’s adventures into multiplayer or unusual genres are nothing new, despite what some might think about Foamstars, Outriders, or even the upcoming Killer Inn.
Granted, the game was going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive, so a third-person shooter made sense for the console. On top of that, Gun Loco seemed like a mix between battle royale and extraction gameplay. The description said it was about 12 prisoners locked up on a prison planet. At the start of each match, every player would take control of one of these prisoners.
With the ability to jump, hide, climb, or run along walls, the apparent goal was to be the last prisoner standing. We’ll never know for sure, though, since Gun Loco was axed back in 2011 without any explanation from Square Enix.
10
Chocobo Racing 3D
No Betting Allowed
Nowadays, the only Chocobo races I take part in are the ones in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Gold Saucer, and I only did those for the rewards. It was a fantastic minigame, dare I say even better than the dedicated Chocobo GP.
Back in the day, I would spend hours upon hours playing Chocobo Racing on my PS1. So the idea of a new Chocobo racing game was exciting, even if it was only coming to the Nintendo 3DS — a handheld I only bought much later after its release.
Chocobo Racing 3D was announced in 2012 and was meant to be an enhanced version of the 1999 Chocobo Racing. The game even got a brief gameplay teaser, showing not just a swordsman riding a Chocobo, but also slashing away at monsters.
Then, in 2013, the original Chocobo Racing director, Takashi Tokita, confirmed the game was canceled. Soon after, then–Final Fantasy brand manager Shinji Hashimoto reiterated the cancellation, saying the game’s quality was unsatisfactory and that console games should target adults. Well, Pokémon and Mario Kart beg to differ, but what do I know, right?
9
Project Prelude Rune
Tales of Fantasy
Hideo Baba, former producer of the Tales of series, left Bandai Namco after Tales of Zestiria. In 2017, he founded the studio Istolia, funded by Square Enix, and soon after announced a new RPG codenamed Project Prelude Rune.
The project got a teaser at TGS 2018, showing a vast, colorful open field as a character, presumably the intended protagonist, walked across it. From a mile away, you could tell it screamed JRPG, and well, I was also screaming with excitement at home.
Not long after, in 2019, all traces of the game disappeared in thin air. Social media, official website, and any mention of Project Prelude Rune were erased from Square Enix’s history.
It wasn’t far-fetched to assume the game had been canceled, without so much as a single justification. A real shame, because I’d have loved to see Hideo Baba spearheading a new JRPG title under Square Enix.
8
Final Fantasy Tactics 2
This One Hurts
Final Fantasy Tactics might not have sold as much as Final Fantasy VII or VIII back in the day, but it’s still hailed as one of the franchise’s best titles and one of the greatest spinoffs of all time. So a sequel seemed like a no-brainer – this was before the release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
After the launch of the Return to Ivalice raid in Final Fantasy XIV, Yasumi Matsuno reunited with former team members in a livestream where they discussed Final Fantasy Tactics’ history. During that event, Matsuno shared plans and images for a scrapped Final Fantasy Tactics 2.
At the time, Hironobu Sakaguchi wanted to make a sequel, but disagreements arose about the game’s direction, such as whether it would be developed internally or outsourced, and eventually, the project was canned.
The only detail Matsuno shared was that he wanted to switch from 3D graphics to a 2D hexagonal system, but that was it. Look, I love Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and can even tolerate its Judge system, but I’d commit crimes (bailables) to see a sequel to the original with the same mature tone and political intrigue.
7
Ambrosia Odyssey
PlayOnline’s Second Child
I always wanted to play Final Fantasy XI, but owning a PS2, an original copy of the game, a network adapter, and paying a subscription was way out of budget for this poor Brazilian. So why on earth am I sad about the cancellation of Ambrosia Odyssey, an action RPG tied to Square’s PlayOnline service, if I never would’ve been able to play it anyway?
Because if the game had succeeded, Square could’ve had another hit IP under its belt, even if the game wasn’t developed by them. Square was publishing Ambrosia Odyssey, while Rocket Studio was the main developer, with support from other companies.
It was described as an offline game with a branching narrative, but with online features. In the RPG, players could create towns and develop them, leading to different plotlines. Online mode would allow sharing your town and visiting others’, a feature that reminded me of White Knight Chronicles.
But, as the title of this article suggests, Ambrosia Odyssey was canceled. Speculation says it was because Square was focusing entirely on Final Fantasy XI, their first MMORPG, which was riding a wave of popularity and seemed like a safer bet.
6
Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur
The Legend of the Sacred Sword
Seiken Densetsu, aka the Mana series, was born on the Game Boy — or so the story goes. But did you know the franchise was originally planned for the NES? Squaresoft was on a mission to produce a colossal RPG by NES standards, which would require the console’s floppy drive add-on to run.
However, the peripheral flopped, and Squaresoft saw no reason to keep developing this ambitious RPG. As you may have guessed, Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur was canceled, with only a few scattered images and promotional material in magazines left to tell its tale.
Still, the Seiken Densetsu series didn’t die. Maybe to keep the trademark alive, or because someone simply liked the title, Square released Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden, known internationally as Final Fantasy Adventure, for the Game Boy. The RPG sold reasonably well and spawned a sequel: the beloved Secret of Mana.
5
Fortress
I’m Captain Basch Fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca
Alright, so far, I’ve mentioned Square cancellations that never really hit me personally, either because I only learned about the games while researching for the list or because they were from new IPs. From here on out, as the entries go on, my misery kept getting worse.
Whether you love or hate Final Fantasy X-2, the game’s successful launch triggered something within Square. The developer realized it could make direct sequels or spinoffs of mainline entries and still make bank. Thus, the idea for Fortress was born, an action RPG spinoff of Final Fantasy XII starring Basch fon Ronsenburg.
To be fair, the game’s development, helmed by Sweden-based company GRIN, didn’t start as a Final Fantasy spinoff. But Square was so pleased with the result that they decided to brand it as an FF title, specifically a direct sequel to FFXII. The game would have Basch protecting a fortress against hordes of monsters over a span of two in-game years.
Financial and trust issues began to arise between Square and GRIN, and eventually, the project was canned. Countless pieces of concept art and even a rough, unfinished gameplay trailer can still be found online in case you’re curious.
4
Final Fantasy Type-Next
I Miss You, Ace
I played, devoured, and platinumed Final Fantasy Type-0. I cried seeing a chocobo die in the opening scenes, got completely lost in the game’s lore, and constantly wondered where this title would fit in the grand scheme of the Fabula Nova Crystallis.
But none of that mattered, because I was having a blast constantly swapping between the Class Zero students and getting hyped over the gorgeous cutscenes that only Square’s technomages could pull off. And you know what else got me pumped? That post-credits scene where Ace appears decked out like a samurai with Phoenix powers.
Everything pointed to Final Fantasy Type-0 getting a sequel – be it the trademark filings for Final Fantasy Type-1 and Final Fantasy Type-2, director Hajime Tabata expressing his wish for a sequel every chance he got, or, obviously, the secret ending of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
Sadly, it never came to pass because Square reassigned the entire dev team to Final Fantasy XV, yet another reason I hold a grudge against that game.
3
Xenogears 2
This One Also Hurts
Ok, first off, I’m not getting into the weeds of Perfect Works or everything Tetsuya Takahashi theoretically wanted to make. I’m sticking to documents, interviews, and verifiable info I’ve found. And yeah, of course I would’ve loved to see a Xenogears 2, but that just wasn’t the case.
Bottom line is: Xenogears was both a critical and commercial hit. So, Takahashi and Sugiura drafted a plan for Xenogears 2, but at the time, SquareSoft was heavily investing in its movie division (god damn Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), and the developer never greenlit a sequel, according to an interview with Weekly Famitsu.
Still, there was a silver lining. Takahashi and Sugiura left Square and founded Monolith Soft, bringing along many Xenogears developers. Their goal was to bring the concept of Xenogears 2 to life somehow, which gave birth to Xenosaga. Yet again, Takahashi’s ambition couldn’t be fully realized, and what was supposed to be a six-part series got cut down to three.
To this day, fans still hope Monolith will release a Xenoblade that either continues the old Xeno narrative or ties them together. The extra content in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition hints that all the games are connected, but I still need stronger evidence before I take that at face value.
2
Chrono Break
Square’s Most Overlooked Game Ever
Chrono Cross is one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. I get and respect all the criticism about it not being the ideal successor to Chrono Trigger, but it doesn’t change my appreciation for what the title set out to do and how masterfully it delivered it.
Maybe the devs themselves knew this – especially Masato Kato, scriptwriter for Chrono Trigger and director of Chrono Cross. In 2001, when Chrono Break was trademarked, Sakaguchi said Kato was already planning story ideas. In fact, Kato wanted to make a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger before Chrono Cross, but ended up with the latter.
The biggest problem, I believe, was timing. Many of Square’s key developers had left to form Monolith Soft, as mentioned above. Others were fully tied up with Final Fantasy XI. Time kept passing, and while Kato and Yasunori Mitsuda were still willing to make a new Chrono Trigger, Yuji Horii, on the other hand, had lost interest.
Sakaguchi said he wanted Chrono Trigger to become a series in its own right, but Square’s management didn’t see eye-to-eye, and the project was shelved. To this day, the biggest mystery to me, and many other fans, is how Chrono Trigger is simultaneously hailed as one of the greatest JRPGs of all time while being completely neglected by Square Enix.
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