Square Enix

Square Enix is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, and distribution company. It is best known for making role-playing video game franchises, having created well-known titles such as, , the Chrono series, the series, the SaGa series, the Drakengard/NieR series, and (in collaboration with Disney) the  series. The company as it exists today is a merger between and. Square started in 1983 as a division of the Den-Yu-Sha powerline company dedicated to video game development before spinning off into an independent company in 1986. Enix started in 1975 as a tabloid publisher and real estate brokerage firm, but shifted to video games in 1982 after that venture failed. Both companies considered merging since the year 2000 because both were on a financial decline at the time. Negotiations were delayed because the failure of  resulted in series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi leaving Squaresoft and making Enix hesitant to merge. However, the success of Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts and the Dragon Quest: Monsters series rebounded both companies into financial recovery, and the merger went through on April 1st, 2003.

With Nintendo, Square Enix has produced a strong number of exclusives including The World Ends with You, the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, the series,  (which inaugurated the "HD-2D" line of games), and several  games: ', ', ', ' (Japan only) and . Square Enix has also acquired the Taito Corporation, bringing numerous franchises including Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble into the Square Enix fold.

In the Super Smash Bros. series, they are the original creators of four guest characters that appear as playable fighters: Cloud Strife and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, the Hero from the Dragon Quest series, and Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. They also supplied additional content from their work on the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the action RPG Trials of Mana, the traditional RPGs Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default II, and the Nintendo-exclusive Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, a Square Enix-developed game, received representation via a sticker of Diddy Kong holding a basketball.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
One of Square Enix's flagship characters, Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4, announced during a Nintendo Direct on November 12th, 2015 as downloadable content along with a stage based on Midgar, the songs "" and "", and a Chocobo Mii Fighter hat.

In addition to Cloud, Geno from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars appears as a DLC costume for the.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
returns as a playable character, along with the Midgar stage and its two accompanying tracks, "Let the Battles Begin!" and "Fight On!", and 2 spirits, which are the renders of Cloud's first and second alternate costumes respectively. was also added as a DLC newcomer in December 2020, as part of Challenger Pack 8, along with a new stage, nine new music tracks, and several new Spirits as part of Challenger Pack 8. Alongside Sephiroth's release, a Barret Wallace costume for the, a Tifa Lockhart costume for the , an Aerith Gainsborough costume for the , and the returning Chocobo Mii Fighter hat were made available.

The from  also appears as part of Challenger Pack 2, being announced at E3 2019. He is not based on one single Hero; he is represented by the Luminary from Dragon Quest XI, Erdrick from III, Solo from IV, and Eight from VIII, with the Luminary being the default costume. He brings a stage, several music tracks, and a multitude of spirits. Additionally, multiple Dragon Quest Mii Costumes released at the same time, including Veronica and Erdrick for the, a male and female Martial Artist costume for the , and a Slime as a Mii Fighter hat.

from the Square Enix-developed and published also appears as part of Challenger Pack 11, being announced on October 5, 2021 and released on October 18, 2021. He comes with a new stage, ten music tracks, and eight spirits. It should be noted that the Kingdom Hearts series itself, including the characters, is fully owned by Disney.

Geno and Mallow from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars make an appearance as Spirits, and the former's costume made a return as DLC. Duran, Angela, Kevin, Charlotte, Hawkeye, and Riesz from debuted in the Spirit Board event, "The Spirits of Mana", on April 24th, 2020 as a tie-in to the release of the game's remake. Obleric, Primrose, Tressa, Cyrus, Alfyn, Therion, H'aanit, and Ophilia from debuted in the Spirit Board event "Second Anniversary of OCTOPATH TRAVELER" on July 10th, 2020. Seth, Gloria, Elvis, and Adelle from debuted in the "BRAVELY DEFAULT II" Spirit Board event on February 26th, 2021 as a tie-in to the game's launch.

Trivia

 * Square Enix is the first third-party company to be introduced to the Super Smash Bros. series via DLC (followed by Atlus, Microsoft (through Rare Ltd. and Mojang Studios), SNK and Disney).
 * It is also the first of two third-party companies with multiple major universes that all debuted through DLC, with the second being Microsoft.
 * All three Square Enix playable characters have at least one alternate costume that changes their model (Cloud’s Advent Children costume, the Dragon Quest III, IV, and VIII Heroes, and Sephiroth’s coatless costume).
 * When counting the four Heroes separately, Square Enix has the most playable characters of any third-party company, with six in total (those being Cloud, Luminary, Erdrick, Solo, Eight, and Sephiroth).
 * Square Enix is tied with Capcom for the most Mii Costumes at 9, with 7 set costumes and 2 hats.
 * For Cloud in Smash 4 and Hero and Sephiroth in Ultimate the respective wave of Mii costumes that released alongside them only contained Square Enix-owned characters (Chocobo and Geno with Cloud; Slime, Erdrick, Martial Artist, and Veronica with Hero; Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Chocobo, and Geno with Sephiroth).