E3 2009 and E3 2010 Square-Enix Lineup

E3 2009 & E3 2010 Square-Enix Lineup

By: Des Manttari
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

June 11, 2010.

Sometimes it's more fun to look back into the video game industry's past and our impressions of it than to look to the future. With Another E3 Expo right around the corner, you can read my comments from last year's presentation by Square-Enix and then compare it with their upcoming lineup of games found in their 2010 PRESS RELEASE. In the meantime, let's take a trip back to a year ago on June 5, 2009 to the Square-Enix 2009 Video Game Lineup...


Those who remember Square-Enix as the company known as Squaresoft have very little not to praise. Whether it be the “Final Fantasy”, “Kingdom Hearts”, or “Front Mission” franchises, “Chrono Trigger”, “Chrono Cross”, or other games here and there, know that Square has always given itself 100 percent to the gaming experience. Now that Square has taken on Enix’s “Dragon Quest” franchise and hence changed its name to Square-Enix, the future looks promising. There was a time after Square’s less than appealing foray into 3D animation with “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”, that Square struggled financially and the fans wondered whether the word “final” meant that the company could not move into the future. But, as E3 once again attempted to regain its former glory, so did Square-Enix.

Although the gaming company did take up quite a bit of floor space at the E3 show, complete with playable demos of various games, a massive movie screen of trailers, and a nice exhibition of gaming figurines, both past and present, it was obvious to all Square-Enix fans that the highly anticipated “Final Fantasy XIII” was sorely missing both any real new cinematic footage or playable demos. Also, not allowing attendees to capture any video footage for the first two days of the show did not go over well with many fans and media representatives. Additionally, diehard fans felt cheated that “Final Fantasy XIII” will not be exclusive to PlayStation 3 when it comes out next year. The game will also debut on Xbox 360 Live while some other new Square-Enix titles are exclusive to Xbox 360, making some feel that Square-Enix may be spreading itself out a bit too thin.

For what I’ve gathered from the all-too brief “Final Fantasy XIII” trailer, we can expect a lot of the same staple Final Fantasy roleplaying elements with magic, swordplay, and the familiar summoned Eidolons (guardian forces). As usual, we are thrown into a fantasy world with an interesting cast of characters. Absent was any sort of interesting villain though. In previous Final Fantasy installments, there was always a good-looking young Caucasian male that drove the story forward, whether it was Cloud Strife from FFVII, Squall Lionheart from FFVIII, Zidane Tribal from FFIX, or Tidus from FFX. Now, it looks like the female heroine Lightning takes the limelight. I find that the supporting African American character is a double-edged sword though. It is nice to see a bit of ethnic diversity, yet, on the other hand, I tentatively wait to see how this character fits seamlessly into the overall cityworld of Cocoon and outerworld of Pulse.

The worlds do look very detailed and lush and I hope that the game will support true 1080p high definition. Hopefully, the soundtrack will live up to previous Final Fantasy games. “Final Fantasy XIII” promises a seamless transition between real-time battles and in-game cinematics and I expect the mechanics to be much along the line of Square-Enix’s PS2 game, “Final Fantasy XII”. Given the fact that this is the first Final Fantasy game for the PS3, I expect the game to be a console seller for those interested in a solid role-playing fantasy adventure.

There was simply no mention of the “Final Fantasy XIII Versus” game, so it is questionable if this game is going forward or has been thrown on the backburner. “Dissidia: Final Fantasy” offers fans of the series some portable battles on their Sony PSP handheld with all their favorite characters, but doesn’t offer much more. Owners of the Nintendo DS will be able to continue the Kingdom Hearts story on the go with “Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days”, but rather than focus on Sora, Roxas takes the reigns as the main character. The game looks promising for a simple handheld experience.

Square has not forgotten its Nintendo origins. Although “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles” seems like a forgotten memory on the GameCube, a loose sequel with some so-so playable footage was available for their new Nintendo Wii game “Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers”. There is the typical blond Caucasian male character, flying space ships, and fantasy elements. There was simply not enough available to get too excited about this game.

Jumping on the military bandwagon, Square-Enix debuted a few games for the Xbox 360 Live and PC such as “Supreme Commander 2”, “Order Of War”, and “0 Day Attack On Earth”. These games look visually appealing, but I really didn’t see too much in innovative and refreshing gameplay that would make me rush out to buy an XBox. Square-Enix continues to milk its Final Fantasy series with “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years”. Originally a mobile phone game in Japan, it now comes out for WiiWare. For those wishing to take a stroll down the 16-bit memory lane era of gaming, it looks like a nice simple RPG experience.

Lastly, Square-Enix combines a Resident Evil type experience with some fantasy elements in its upcoming action adventure game “Nier” for both owners of the PS3 and XBox 360. Players control Nier in his quest to find a cure for his daughter who is infected with the Black Scrawl virus. Expect battles through a plague-ridden world with “unrecognizable creatures.” The visuals look very impressive, but there is not enough on the game to really get excited just yet. At this point, it would be safer to run out and buy “Resident Evil 5” for the PS3 if one wishes to immerse oneself in an outstanding action adventure horror genre driven game. Since Square-Enix is known for story, there still may be hope for Nier.

Absent in Square-Enix’s 2009 lineup was any mention of a new Dragon Quest games, leaving one to wonder if Square has finally abandoned this franchise for the time being or if the latest Dragon Quest games for the Nintendo DS suffice. There was also a brief trailer for Final Fantasy XIV over at the Sony booth at E3. Of course it looked simply spectacular, yet although it promises to be exclusive to PS3, the fact that it is an online game dampened my spirits a bit. Given the fact that there was no playable footage of “Final Fantasy XIII”, don’t be surprised if the 2010 launch date is pushed back a year and the only thing available at next year’s E3 is a playable demo of the game. In the meantime, you can pick up some “Final Fantasy XIII” Play Arts figures to keep you entertained. Additionally, Square has completely re-mastered its 3D animated movie “Final Fantasy: Adventure Children” in high definition, adding additional footage and an exclusive preview of “Final Fantasy XIII”.

(c) 2010: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

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