Everything Announced at the Square Enix Presents Summer Showcase
Our Rapid E3 coverage continues with Square Enix’s Summer Showcase! What surprises lie in store and what blockbuster games were revealed during this 45-minute showcase? Find out below!
Guardians of the Galaxy
We kick things off with the only somewhat decent announcement: Guardians of the Galaxy. Avengers was decent and will continue to be supported (More info later in the article) but I believe Guardian’s of the Galaxy is going to be a more fun adventure game than the Avengers!
I am Groot!
You will play as Peter Quill and your decisions matter, just like every other major action-adventure, pseudo RPG game. Rocket will remember your decisions if you toss him into a ravine which will lead to a plethora of outcomes and replayability. The story is unique and the art is true to the comics! This was clearly the most important announcement of the entire show as they gave this game about 20 minutes of their 45-minute showcase. Check out this new title when it launches on October 26, 2021!
And now for the rest…
Finally! The remake we’ve all been waiting for! The groundbreaking, perhaps the most important RPG series finally gets the wonderful 2.5D remake treatment that Octopath Traveller started. Final Fantasy I-VI are getting the remake treatment and it’s coming to………your iPhone or Android device and Steam…..talk about an anticlimactic announcement. I guess we will see if there are more announcements to come regarding this decision.
Legend of Mana Opening Trailer
Following that horrid announcement, a beautiful opening cinematic was revealed for Legend of Mana. This is a beautiful remake of a classic JRPG that will come to the Switch, Steam and PS4. This is definitely one for the library. Catch this remake on June 24, 2021!
Avengers Assemble!
Next, we heard from Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix on their continued support of Marvel’s Avengers. They showcased the upcoming expansions in June which includes Hawkeye and the Scientist Supreme and then a beautiful trailer showing off their War for Wakanda expansion. This expansion alone will make me want to get back into the Marvel Video Game Universe, but I will wait until it drops later this year.
Time to go Mobile…
Next, we have a few announcements for mobile games because people are still playing these games on their phones. We start with Hitman Sniper: The Shadows. Agent 47 has disappeared and it’s up to you and your friends to try to find him. This free to play mobile game will drop sometime in 2021.
A Frenzy of Final Fantasy Mobile Trailers
The next few trailers were very short celebrations of the longevity of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, some interesting mobile Final Fantasy VII chapters and a Nier Reincarnation mobile game. Enjoy!
Babylon’s Fall
Teaming up with Platinum Games, Babylon’s Fall looks to be another epic hack and slash action-adventure game. The story seems bleak yet intriguing. This title looks similar in concept to Bayonetta to a dark story with interesting gameplay. A release date was not announced, but there is a long developer interview you can watch below!
Life is Strange
Next to follow was an announcement of a remaster of the award-winning narrative-driven story, Life is Strange. The remaster looks….interesting. I am not an expert on graphics, but they don’t very different. Check out the remastered version on September 30, 2021.
Life is Strange: True Colors
This edition to the Life is Strange story looks really interesting. You use your empathy laden psychic powers to help people through their issues and tribulations. It seems very unique and gripping and I might actually enjoy this! This new chapter drops on September 10, 2021!
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin
This game looks beautiful, exciting, and hopefully, it won’t be repetitive. It has that Final Fantasy Charm with a little bit of a twist in the gameplay. They describe it as “A bold new vision for Final Fantasy” coming in 2022. Time will tell what will become of Chaos.
Final Thoughts….
I was excited about this presentation. I wasn’t overwhelmed, or even underwhelmed, I was just….whelmed. For an E3 presentation, this definitely did not have the spark. This presentation was well put together and fast-paced, but the decisions Square Enix made absolutely baffle me. Why would you remake the original Final Fantasy games 1-6 and only port them to Steam or Mobile devices?? I guess we will have to just wait and see! Stick with us as we continue our coverage of E3 2021!
You can find and read our reviews on OpenCritic.
