Love them or hate them, just about everyone in the world of gaming knows the name Square-Enix. Between the Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior series?, Square-Enix has two of the two biggest selling game series? of all time.
You can?t talk about Square-Enix without mentioning Final Fantasy, and Square-Enix had four Final Fantasy products on display this year. First, is the highly anticipated movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Taking place a few years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children seems to tell the story of what appear to be ?children? of Sephiroth. There wasn?t much new shown, though some noteworthy additions were appereances by Vincent, Tifa, and Marlene.
The second Final Fantasy showing was Final Fantasy XII. It?s being developed by the relatively newer team responsible for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but it still has the usual army of Square-Enix artists behind it, so the game looks gorgeous. Read more about it in my in-depth Final Fantasy XII article here.
Next, we have Before the Crisis - Final Fantasy VII. A cell-phone game set six years before the original, Before the Crisis is an RPG shooter that puts you in the shoes of the Shinra wet-works organization, The Turks.
Finally, there?s Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia. While the game wasn?t playable in any direct form, the only playable incarnation of Final Fantasy XI was in a Rise of Zilart area, they did show some scenery clips. Also, since Promathia is an evil figure that is featured prominently in the Final Fantasy XI storyline, I expect this expansion will be for the more powerful players to explore. Veteran players will be able to unlock the deepest secrets of Vana?diel near the end of 2004.
A welcome surprise was the announcement of Samurai Legend Musashi. A sequel to the PlayStation hit Brave Fencer Musashi, Samurai Legend Musashi takes the basic gameplay ideas from the original and puts them in beautiful cel-shaded goodness on the PlayStation 2. I was able to play through the E3 demo and can tell you that the gameplay feels very similar. Quick attacks, strong attacks, the double jump, stealing and using enemy powers, its all there. Musashi?s sword slicing adventure will come to us in fall of 2004.
A game I?ve been waiting for is the latest installment in the Star Ocean RPG series, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and at E3 I finally got my chance to get some hands-on time with it. I was thoroughly impressed. Taking place 400 years after Star Ocean: The Second Story, Till the End of Time tells the tale of a boy named Fayt and his journey to find his family. Keeping the semi-real time battle system of it?s two predecessors, Till the End of Time has a frantic pace to it. With multiple characters you can directly control as you slash about on the battle screen, it even offers multiplayer options. You?ll get your chance to gallivant across the galaxy this August.
Two other games that were playable were Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel and Front Mission 4. Based on the TV anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist tells the story of two brothers who attempt to resurrect their mother using forbidden alchemy and pay a terrible price. One loses some limbs while the other loses his body entirely, his soul encased in a suit of armor. Front Mission 4 is a strategy game in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics. Only, instead of moogles and magic you have mechs and machine guns. Expect Fullmetal Alchemist in spring of 2005 and Front Mission 4 this June.
No coverage of Square-Enix would be complete without mentioning Kingdom Hearts. You can read our coverage of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories here and Kingdom Hearts 2 here.
Square-Enix also plans to expand into the mobile market as Square-Enix Mobile. Some of the titles they?ve announced in addition to Before the Crisis ? Final Fantasy VII are the original Final Fantasy and the original Dragon Warrior. They have already released a game called Brave Shot in the U.S.
It looks like it?s going to be a good year for Square-Enix fans.