E3 2018 reflection and recap: Square-Enix

by Tanner Kinney Square-Enix, despite being a long time publisher and developer with dozens of franchises under their wing, has spent very little time with E3 press conferences. Their last E3 showing was three years ago, where they showed trailers that were already shown at Sony’s conference that year. With two long-awaited titles in Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake finally happening (eventually), Square has a lot to show, with room for plenty of surprise announcements. If fans are expecting something on the level of Microsoft yesterday or Sony later tonight, they’re going to be disappointed. After watching the event, even fans with tempered expectations were most definitely disappointed.

The summary

• Shadow of the Tomb Raider had another trailer that was different from the one shown at Microsoft's conference, complete with more gameplay. The game will be available on September 14th on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
  • The player will have to fight a Mayan apocalypse
  • Lara Croft will "become one with the jungle" which means that the game has a heavy stealth focus.
  • New traversal techniques, including 360 degree underwater swimming
  • A greater number of deadlier tombs
• Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood had a short gameplay trailer that shows the new content added in the most recent patch. This includes the new raid, Ridorana Lighthouse. The patch has already been released.
  • A new crossover event between Monster Hunter World and FFXIV was announced for Summer 2018, probably with an upcoming patch.
• The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit received another new trailer. The game is not Life is Strange 2 but will lead into that game's world. The game will be available for free on June 26th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age was given a trailer and a release date, which was previously known. The trailer showed some story elements and brief gameplay segments. The game is set to release September 4th, 2018 on PS4 and PC.
  • It will also have a crossover with Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
• A new game by Platinum Studios, titled Babylon's Fall, was given a trailer. The game will release in 2019 for PC and PS4.
• Nier: Automata for Xbox One had a trailer that was repeated from Microsoft's event. The game will be available June 26th on the Xbox Store.
• Octopath Traveler had a trailer shown. The game is available on July 13th, 2018 on Nintendo Switch.
• Just Cause 4 had another trailer shown, this time with more depth.
  • Just Cause 4 has the largest and most breathtaking world in the series.
  • The game will have more variety than previous games.
  • Extreme weather will be introduced to make the game more destructive.
  • Vehicles were overhauled from previous titles.
  • The grappling hook can be upgraded and modified.
  • Enemy AI is more intelligent than previous titles.
  • The game is running on a new open world Apex Engine.
  • The game will release December 4th, 2018 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
• A partially live-action teaser trailer for a game titled "The Quiet Man" (presumably the sequel to The Bye-Bye Man) was shown. More to come in August.
• Kingdom Hearts III was shown again, in a trailer very similar to the one shown in Microsoft's conference. A Ratatouille summon was shown, along with some more new story content. The game is still set to release on January 29th 2019 for PS4 and Xbox One.

The good

like Just Cause 4 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Kingdom Hearts III Kingdom Hearts

The bad

The Quiet Man The Bye-Bye Man Final Fantasy XIV Final Fantasy VII Remake

The pointlessness of it all

The Quiet Man Dragon Quest Final Fantasy VII Remake The Quiet Man

---

Source:  YouTube Image:  Nintendo Everything