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We’re rapidly approaching the end of E3 as conferences upon conferences come and go, some brilliant, others a travesty. Being a relatively large name in the gaming industry, and one of our main focuses, how did Square Enix do?
Guardians of the Galaxy
Eidos Montreal have been working on this for quite a while, and we finally got a sneak peek into Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a game that puts you in the shoes of Peter Quill, a.k.a Star-Lord and his rag-tag team of outlaws.
Good news, it’s also a single-player only experience and a story-driven campaign with limited branches depending on the player’s choices during the story, which serves as a welcome reprieve from the always online live service that is Marvel’s Avengers. We had close to 10 minutes of footage that showcased the dialogue and banter the Guardians have always been known for, as well as a glimpse into the combat.
Marvel’s Avengers
Speaking of Marvel’s Avengers, they’ve rolled out their roadmap for this year, which includes a new expansion featuring Black Panther. The expansion, titled War for Wakanda, pits Black Panther against Klaw, in an epic which will shake Wakanda down to its very core.
Final Fantasy
No news about XVI, VII Remake Part 2 or even critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, Endwalker. What we did get is a look into the mobile battle-royale game set in the FF7 universe. Titled The First Soldier, it looks to be a pretty unique experience. Who wouldn’t want to cast Firaga in a battle-royale game?
Aside from that, we also had announcements that FFI-VI will be remastered and ported to PC and mobile, as well as a collaboration between the gacha game, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and the main Final Fantasy universe.
Babylon’s Fall
The newest offering from Platinum Games, after the unfortunate cancelling of Scalebound, Babylon’s Fall looks to be a co-operative action RPG set in the world of Neo Babylon.
Babylon’s Fall will primarily be single player, but you will be able to traverse dungeons with up to 4 people. The game is also providing live-service elements, where new updates and game modes will be added to the game though post-launch support. Whether this is a good move remains to be seen, but the game does not yet have a release date. You’ll be able to register for the beta on the game’s site, however.
Life is Strange Remastered
The almost universally praised story driven adventure, Life is Strange gets a fresh coat of paint with this remaster. Relive the story of Max Caulfield as she navigates through her powers and find a way to save Arcadia Bay, when the game drops this fall.
Life is Strange: True Colors
A new installment to the venerable franchise, True Colors puts you in the shoes of Alex Chen, a girl with the mysterious power to see the emotions of everyone around her as “auras”, as she uncovers the secrets surrounding her brother’s death.
As per usual, the story is likely to be a banger, but we’ll only find out once the games launches in September.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
The final reveal of Square Enix’s showcase, Stranger of Paradise precedes almost all Final Fantasy, by creating a dark fantasy interpretation of the original tale. Stranger of Paradise tells the story of Jack, consumed by an overwhelming need to kill Chaos.
Brought to you by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo, it’s another entry featuring the action RPG style we’ve come to know from Final Fantasy, but time will tell if it becomes a step in the right direction for the series.
Verdict: 2/10
While there were some good reveals, Life is Strange: True Colors being one that a lot of people looked forward to, it feels like almost everyone else got shafted when it comes to other stuff we were anticipating.
Babylon’s Fall being a live service game, Guardians of the Galaxy overstaying its welcome and literally taking up half of the show, Life is Strange Remastered looking barely better yet still managing to cost 40 USD, poorly shot trailers of relatively anticipated games, it just keeps getting worse for Square Enix.
With no news on any of the main Final Fantasy entries being worked on, it’s one heck of a dry spell, and I sincerely hope it works out for Square Enix.
Want to know more of our thoughts on E32021? Join THE MAGIC RAIN on Facebook every day at 9pm, where we’ll be discussing all things E3 live on stream!
