If Square-Enix didnt exist....

[Zargabaath]

I know that Tri-Ace for the longest time only had their games published by Enix and then Square Enix, so there is no need to clarify I can recall correctly. I don't think Tri-Ace would have went to Namco, if you can recall correctly, Wolf Team and Namco had some fighting over Tales of Phantasia which caused the three major developers and other employees of Wolf Team/Telenet Japan. They could have went to Capcom, Konami, or Sega who had a great reputation in Japan as well as a better reputation in America than Enix.

Squaresoft only published the first Breath of Fire game in America, though I think Capcom could have done it themselves. I would say the reason behind the move was that they wanted a company who was known for RPGs for the American release.

It's quite hard to say which direction RPGs would have taken because nobody knows what could have happened. Some japanese developing company could have created the JRPG that would have been the spark that Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy were. Dragon Quest was made to be more accessible to other players- especially in Japan, where Ultima and Wizardry were too hardcore. I think it "the JRPG" would have been made, we just won't ever know.

I would like to add that Squaresoft would have been a better option than Enix if Tri-Ace wanted a company that was popular in Japan as well in America. I know this is a non-existent Square or Enix thread but since they did exist, I find Squaresoft a better pick.