So let’s just be honest for a second, we weren’t expecting a whole lot for Square Enix this E3, it seemed to be a shaky booth to start with and we thought they would probably just get by showing the new Hitman, Just Cause and Tomb Raider at the Microsoft and Sony conferences this year. Well clearly we were wrong as it seems Square Enix did in fact use their booth to its full potential and really wowed everyone, from every aspect of gaming. Let’s talk about what they did right!
So as I said before, we didn’t really expect much more than the new Hitman game, Just Cause 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Everyone seemed set for a good, but not dazzling conference. But the financial troubles and inefficiencies at Square Enix really seems to have lit a fire under their backsides as they set out to please everyone at this conference. We saw a range of games from action and adventure, to RPG’s and fansasy games! Square Enix no longer seem to want to just please the triple A audience and the mainstream with their high action assassination style from Hitman and the sky diving, adrenaline based gameplay of Just Cause. No, they went above and beyond with new IP’s and reboots of old ones. We obviously saw the Final Fantasy 7 remake at the Sony conference, but we got another opportunity to revel in that trailer, as well as seeing games like Star Ocean 5 that we haven’t seen for a while and the new twist on the Deus Ex series.
As much as we feel like mobile games are just filler for these conferences mostly, the new Lara Croft: Go looks to be a really great mobile experience, with many calling it one of the first true “mobile triple A’s”. We also saw a fairly solid looking Kingdom Hearts mobile game, to go along with the announcement and first ever gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III!
They also closed the show in a pretty good way, fooling me into thinking that certain games were their “grand finale” at least 3 different times, with Hitman looking so good and revitalised as well as the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, taking a darker look at how human augmentation could affect human society. Then they really ended in style with a brand new RPG from a brand new studio. It is called “Project SETSUNA” and is slated for a 2016 release on all consoles. Not much was said about it, but the fact that Square Enix chose to end on it showed that they had some confidence in the developers and where the game seemed to be heading.
Overall, a really enjoyable conference for everybody, whether you are someone who enjoys the casual triple A games, more niche JRPG’s or even just mobile games, there really was something for everybody today at this conference. Way to go Square!
What did you guys think about the conference? Did something catch you? What are you looking forward to playing from Square? Let us know down below!
